Late take on NHL final

I still have two games of NYRangers vs Montreal Canadians taped to watch.

So you can see how I've been out of the game lately.

I don't have any Stanley Cup game taped but since Rangers lost to the Kings I don't think I lost that much...

But the Rangers, even if beating my Penguins, are still my second favourite team so I was happy with their season.

One man that helped a lot with Rangers success was mister Rick Nash.

I already liked him while playing with the Blue Jackets and since I heard he signed with NY I was quite happy.

And he did great!

For next year I hope that my Pens, with a new coach, manage to win the playoff ghost that have been hunting the team since the Stanley Cup win back in '09.


By the way... I love this Upper Deck Victory cards!

Stickers time

I ordered more packs on eBay from the usual seller and again I got a bonus from him.

One of the bonus were 3 packs of NHL stickers.

It feels a bit more home to me.

I got the John Tavares sticker to it was almost done to me.

And even better because he's wearing the All Star jersey.

One thing the stickers have better than the cards is the multi sticker image.

When you put 2 stickers or sometimes 4, all together and get a big picture is awesome.

And it needs high qualified skills to get the picture right. Sometimes the stickers are not cut well and it's quite difficult to get the photo nice and square.

The next step after getting Tavares is getting some Penguins.

I got two. Mister goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal.

I like the blurriness that makes it seems like the players are really skating fast.

Sad that the goalies I got, even the ones with masks, are not wearing it. Well, but at least I get to see their faces.

But the bonus were not only NHL stickers but also baseball stickers.

Two packs.

I thought they would look like normal stickers packs but they are quite smaller.

And if the packs are smaller what to say about the stickers?

They are even smaller than the ones Panini insist to do for the normal football releases (European League and Euro/Wrold Cups) nowadays.

They are a bit thicker too.

And I really couldn't find the best way to un-glue them. (I don't think that is a word...)

But not all is bad.

They look shiny like the Lou Gehrig one. Quite cool indeed!

And the base stickers have good photos. What I have yet to confirm if they are the same as the ones on the cards.

Besides getting a Yankee I didn't do that bad and got some players I actually like.

Like Gonzalez, Fowler, Zimmermann, Tim Hudson, Ichiro.


So this was a great fun opening this stickers packs.

But there is something in American sports that only feels good in cardboard.

1991-92 NHL Pro Set

I got so many packages the past 2 months that I cannot process all of it. Usually the US seller I get cards from send me a bonus pack. I understand the incentive to buy more but I like it none the same.

Well, one of the bonus packs was this 1991-92 NHL Pro Set French Edition!

French was like the second language here in Portugal back when the people emigrated mainly to France (and we are near, we only have Spain between us). With all this crisis we are living now many people are emigrating again but nowadays is English that works as a second language.

So I'm in the team English-as-second-language and truly cannot speak French for living. I can read and understand but please don't ask me to talk because it all comes out with a strange English accent.

But I still appreciate the sellers gesture.

And here are the cards I got.

Gary Roberts @CGY - This must be my favourite card from the pack and probably from all NHL cards I have. Roberts is pushing some (I think!) Flyers' player and it seems he is doing on purpose so he can have all the card only or him. 'Get out of my card!'

Mike Vernon @CGY - "He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, with the Flames in 1989 and the Red Wings in 1997"

Jari Kurri @LA - No photoshop (un)happiness so Jari has his Kings card with a photo wearing Oilers uniform. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Curt Giles @MIN - North Stars has similar colours to Wilds so it seems is a Minnesota thing. Curt "had a portion of his left ring finger amputated on March 24, 1986 in order to compete in the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs. The finger had a tumor in the bone and forced him to miss the end of the 1985-86 regular-season". That's a bigggggg ouch!!!

Stéphane Lebeau @MTL -  He won a Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Canadiens. So this is his card from previous-winner-year.

Denis Savard @MTL - Denis was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. That makes this my second HOF player card in the pack.

Gary Nylund @NYI - He was the first NHL player to change teams via free agency.

Bernie Nicholls @NYR - He is on the team 1'000-points-player.

Ron Hextall @PHI - One of his records is having the most career goals by a goaltender, including playoffs – 2. I wish I could see goaltenders going for penalties more often. We see sometimes that happening also in football. And Portugal had one happy example of that back in UEFA Euro2004 against England.

Alexei Gusarov @QBC - I love Nordics' logo. I confess I didn't know nothing about this team before collecting cards. So I like getting all Quebec cards as possible. And Alexei has a good career resumé: he "is a member of the Triple Gold Club, having won the 1989 IIHF World Championship, the 1996 Stanley Cup, and the Olympic gold medal in 1988."

Paul MacDermid @WIN - The Jets returned last season so I know them.

Tomas Sandstrom ASG - Tomas was named to the 1985 NHL All-Rookie Team. And to the All-Star team in 1991-92 season.

Andy Moog ASG - Moog is No.14 in the NHL goaltenders with 300 wins list.

Rick Tocchet ASG - In '92 Rick scored 19 points in 14 playoff games, helping the Penguins win Stanley Cup champions again.

The last card is from a convention. I'm not sure if it's from the draft or not. It's a checklist card.

And speaking of Penguins the card I save for the last is the only Pittsburgh player I got.

Kevin Stevens @PIT - At this time this uniform was the regular, nowadays is the retro one alongside the blue one. Kevin was the LW in the Lemieux line and won two Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992.


Now I'll go a try to get some help from my fellow dictionary.


Note: all additional info via wikipedia

2009-10 Upper Deck Victory - NHL

Got yesterday an other pack of NHL 2009-10 UD Victory. Unfortunately it was the last one the sellers had. So I put all my faith in getting a Tavares RC and/or a Sidney Crosby card on it.

As you can see from the next photo I didn't get the Tavares RC. Got 2 RC even, but no Tavares. Got Byron Bitz and Peter Regin RC. I confess that I don't know them but I'll go and search.

I got pretty happy with this pack what concerned the base cards even if the first had 3 Pens players and this only gave me one. I like Sutter card very much because I simply prefer that team uniform than the current Hurricanes one. That's nice!

I don't like Philadelphia teams. Phillies, Flyers or Eagles. Simply don't like them. But I do can see that Briere and Gagne are two very good players. That's why I got them on the photo.

As you can also see I got 2 inserts. Rick Nash for the Game Breakers (red teeth protection is jumping off his mouth!) and this beauty Sidney Crosby Stars of the Game.

HURRAY!

He really is one of the Stars. And I hope that Winter Classic did not end his career...

But what I don't get it is...I'm not native English speaker so I do need to get to dictionary sometimes but isn't that 'transcendant' word misspell? I'll give it to you if so just because I like Crosby.

eBay shopping cards

For the first time I ordered some specific cards from my usually eBay seller.

And those wonder things are...

Mark Teixeira Rangers 2005 Topps,Cracker Jack Mini Relics,(Game-Used Bat)

 

Mario Lemieux Penguins 2009-10 Upper Deck Champs (Mini)

Alex Rodriguez 2008 Upper Deck Starquest (Green)

Alex Rodriguez 2007 Upper Deck Triple Play

Alberto Gonzalez  (Rookie Card)2008 Bowman Chrome Refractor

Hideki Matsui  2006 Topps Heritage

A.J. Burnett2010 Topps Chrome (Refractor)

Phil Hughes (Rookie Card)  2007 Topps Turkey Red

New York Yankees 1974 Topps Team Card

Gone on a Yankees round trip through the years and favorite players.

The Lemieux card is an outsider but I really am thinking in starting getting more ice hockey cards, and the Pens and Lemieux is a push to that.

To prove that, also ordered more rack packs of 2009-10 UD series 2.

I cannot wait to get these cards in the mail!

TGIF!

Ahhhhhhh not only is Friday and we're having the weekend in a few hours, but also one of my awaiting cards package arrived!

Welcome my 2009 Topps 206 value box packs...

...but also my first NHL cards!

Now I'm just looking at them. I like this moment where all possible cards can be in those packs...Can you feel it!? Awesome!

Upper Deck Ice Hockey

I decided to risk and buy other cards than baseball cards. For this test I ordered a 2009-2010 Upper Deck Victory Ice Hockey rack pack and also a 2009-2010 Upper Deck Series 2 Ice Hockey rack pack.

It's not only the year my Penguins won the Stanley Cup but I'm trying to get Tavares RC. His parents are Portuguese. That's why I care about him. Because I don't like NYI. In NY I'm a Ranger on Ice. But none of them can reach Pens! Let see if I get a Crosby card to make me smile.

Of course that with them I ordered too a 2009 Topps 206 box. Maybe my favorite set until now.

But before I receive these cards I got to receive yet my 80's boxes and 2009 box.

Will be a good week.

Baseball? Not this time.

So...what do you say if I try some other sports cards? I'm thinking about trying some NHL cards but then look at some baseball ones and invest in them.

So what do you all think I might do?