2014 Topps Supreme Football Box Break Recap and Review

Collectors should be familiar with Topps Supreme Football by now. This 1 pack - 4 card - 1 hit wonder provides a nice middle road for collectors looking to take a chance on pulling a big hit but wanting a price point that is closer to a hobby box of standard cards. 2014 Topps Supreme delivers this with good design but the trade off is sticker autos for veteran players, but the rookie class is on-card.

2014 Topps Supreme Football fits into our Premium Cards category.  This Hobby Exclusive comes with 1 pack per box, 4 cards per pack, with 1 autographed card. 

Here are the cards we pulled from our box.

Throw Back Thursday Vintage TBT Card for February 5, 2015 Is Joe Namath

Here is our Throw Back Thursday Vintage TBT Card for February 5, 2015, Joe Namath.

Not his rookie card, but close to it. (Side note - his rookie card is on my short list of dream cards.)

2011 Press Pass Football Hobby Box Break, another All About Cards SPEED-break™

With the 2011 NFL draft just three weeks away, here's our SPEED-break™ of 2011 Press Pass Football cards.  Five minutes, five on-card autos, one hundred and forty cards shown. 

Direct link to video

Short Print Cam Newton and Very Short Print Ryan Mallett to be found in 2011 SAGE HIT High Series Football

2011 is turning out to be the year of the SP and the SSP.   We were one of the first to spot the Alex Rodriguez mirror image SSP’s and have kept you up to date on all the other 2011 Topps Heritage short prints and variations.

We just did a Box Break of 2011 SAGE HIT High Series Football and noticed something odd, almost another mirror card.   Take a look.

It’s not a mirror, but definitely a variation of card number 100 as you can see from the back.

The Cameron Newton with the orange stripe on his sleeve, the one with him on the right side of the card is a short print.   But why is does the SP of Cam Newton exist?

When SAGE was going to print, they were missing one image, one for a pre-rookie card. That left a blank space on the printing form.  To make their deadline, instead of leaving the space blank, they filled it with a 2nd base card version of the Cam Newton.  Kinda of a win-win situation, nothing gets wasted and collectors wind up being able to chase a short print of a player who is scheduled to be an early pick in the draft, if not the first pick.

The image was used on the opposite side (right side) of the card to allow the SP to be easily identified. So the base card SP should have about the same printing numbers as the Pre-Rookie cards.

But what about the Pre-Rookie card that wasn’t printed?  

The missing image was of Ryan Mallett, another player who is scheduled to be an early pick in the draft. That image was eventually found but it was too late to put in the regular print.  The Pre-Rookie Ryan Mallett card (#PR6) was printed digitally, which takes far less time than conventional printing. But it was printed at an even lesser number than the other Pre-Rookie cards, making it a very short print. Here is a look at the card. 

The Mallett SSP was inserted in the boxes of 2011 SAGE HIT High Series Football randomly at the last minute.

So be on the look out for both of these cards.

2011 SAGE HIT High Series Football Hobby Box Break, another All About Cards SPEED-break™

To complete the set of cards from our previous break of the low series, here comes 2011 SAGE HIT High Series Football Cards.

This box comes with 10 autographs on average per box.  Check out our SPEED-break™ to see which ten prospect autos we pulled from this hobby box.

Direct link to this video

2011 SAGE HIT Low Series Football Hobby Box Break, another All About Cards SPEED-break™

Just when you thought it was time to wrap things up for Football, here comes 2011 SAGE HIT Low Series Football Cards, the first football release for 2011.

Check out our SPEED-break to see who we pulled from this hobby box.

Direct link to the video.

Box Break of 2010 Panini Limited Football Cards

Here is a little football sorbet to help cleanse your palette of today's games.  A box break of 2010 Panini Limited Football Cards. Bon appetit!

Sneak Peek at 2010 Panini Limited Football Cards

Here is an advanced look at the soon to be released 2010 Panini Limited Football Cards.  No question, these are some amazing looking cards, but at $100 for one pack of seven cards, its not for your casual collector.  Still, who wouldn't like to get a hold of these.

Changing The World One Entry at a Time

Our current contest, "Random Packs of Kindness" has been live for close to two weeks now.  I wanted to share BA Benny's entry to our contest in hopes it will inspire more of you to enter, which you can still do up until this Wednesday by 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time.

"Today was the day that I did the good deed you wrote about in this post. Funny part is that I had completely forgotten about the contest until I found a note reminding me of it when I got home tonight. I, along with 3 of my co-workers, was working in a building on Queens Blvd along a very busy part of said roadway. This particular street is very wide and has had several pedestrian crossing deaths over the last few years. We were in front of a building preparing what we needed to pull a length of cable in the building from the basement to the roof when a kindly elderly woman approached me looking for directions to the local subway station. While the station was only a couple of blocks away it was on the other side of the very busy street and she was not the fastest of walkers and had some bags with her from a shopping trip so I figured the best and safest way to get her to the subway was to walk her myself. So now with bags in hand (and some good natured ribbing from my co-workers who I am sure would have done the same thing) I begin to lead this sweet old lady to her destination. It took 2 cycles of the traffic light for us to cross the street due to its width and her slowed pace plus another 15 minutes to go the 2 blocks but we finally got there. I finally led her down the stairs into the station and I wished her a good day as she went through the turnstile toward her train. To me it was no big deal to take a half hour out of my day to help this person and I would certainly hope that somebody would do the same for my mother before she passed away a year and a half ago. There you have it, my good deed for the day."

Quality Control Of Panini 2010 Certified Football Cards Instills Confidence.

Panini has released a video on its blog, The Knight's Lance, that just may be the smartest move ever made by a card company, and might be one of the most reassuring videos about a company you'll ever watch.  Sounds like hyperbole, but this is no exaggeration.

The video is straight forward and simple in its concept.   Tracy Hackler walks into a Quality Control session for Panini 2010 Certified Football cards, being conducted by Panini America's Football brand manager, Carlos Torrez and Product Development Director, Ben Ecklar.  But this is not just the two of them going over card designs, or checking individual cards, sent from the factory, for manufacturing defects.  They are sitting in a conference room busting open a case of product AFTER its already been fully packaged and is ready to go to market.

If you've been collecting long enough, odds dictate that you will open a box that is short a hit or contains dinged cards.  For some of us lately, it happens a little too often.  To point where you start to think "Is anyone checking these boxes?  Do they even care?"

As a customer, you expect a company to do Quality Control checks all the way through the manufacturing process, but to see that Quality Control is still being conducted right at the point of customer delivery, essentially role playing the experience of a collector busting open a box, really gives you the sense that for Panini, ensuring their cards arrive to the customer in good condition and with the correct number of hits is AS important as the design of the cards.

Do I think that every box coming from Panini will now be perfect?  Of course not.  Mistakes will happen even when a company is diligent.  But it is clear from this video that Panini does care and they are putting forth as much effort as can be reasonably expected of a company, if not more, to ensure that we receive a quality product. To witness this on video, instead of being given the standard company PR line that they care about their customers, makes you feel completely confident in your purchase and that Panini truly stands behind what they sell.  That's the brilliance of this simple and straight forward video.  As with all things, transparency leads to confidence.

To see this video for yourself, use this link to visit their blog.  The video is just after the gallery.

NFL Network announces their picks for the top 10 NFL players of All-Time

The NFL Network just announced there picks for the top ten NFL players of All-Time.   Here they are;

10. Dick Butkus

9. Don Hutson

8. Peyton Manning

7. Reggie White

6. Johnny Unitas

5. Walter Payton

4. Joe Montana

3. Lawrence Taylor

2. Jim Brown

and at Number One,  Jerry Rice

So the question is... do you think they got it right?

Sneak Peek at 2010 Panini Certified Football Card Inserts Rookie Mirror Black

Panini is doing something right.  Seems like everyday they are announcing an insert to be included in one of their sets that is awesome.  Today is no exception.  They will be hard to get a hold of because they are 1/1's, but these Rookie Mirror Blacks, Jahvid Best and Sam Bradford, look great.   To see a whole gallery of them head over to Panini using this link.

The Minnesota Vikings waive Randy Moss or Moss' Weekend in New England

 

I wrote in my post "Randy Moss and Tom Brady in a girl fight" that the New England Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for about a pack of gum.  Well...  it looks like the Patriots got the better end of the deal.


Less than a month after the trade, the Vikings have waived Randy Moss.


Fitting that I chose to feature Moss' 1999 Donruss Rookies and Stars "Slide Show" Football card.  The only thing that could have been better is if there where a line of inserts called "Downward spirals."


Could it have anything to do with his weird press conference after yesterday's game?  Randy might as well have been singing Barry Manilow's "Weekend In New England."   Please play this video as you read quotes from Moss' conference, it will help you understand the true feelings behind his words.


On his former coach, "Bill Belichick is the best coach in football history"


About how good the Patriots are as a team, "Man, I miss them guys, man.  I miss the team" and "It was hard for me to come here and play."


Questioning Brad Childress's decision to go for it on four and goal instead of kicking a field goal, "I wish we could have had that three at the end of the half.  Maybe could have been different, maybe not..."


Slamming the entire coaching staff for not listening to him during the week of prep for the game "The bad part about it -- you have six days to prepare for a team, and on the seventh day, that Sunday, meaning today, I guess they come over to me and say, 'Dag, Moss, you was right about a couple plays and a couple schemes they were going to run.' It hurts as a player that you put a lot of hard work in all week, and toward the end of the week, Sunday, when you get on the field, that's when they acknowledge about the hard work you put in throughout the week. That's actually a disappointment."  


His love letter to New England and the Patriots at the end of the conference, "I don't know how many more times I'll be in New England again.  But I leave coach Belichick and those guys with a salute; "I love you guys.  I miss you.  I'm out." 


Do you think this is the kind of stuff the coaching staff of the Vikings and its players want to hear after a loss, let alone from a guy who's been with them for less than 4 weeks?


Well... Randy Moss has no need to pine for New England anymore.  The Vikings left him there, literally.  Didn't even bother to fly him back to get his stuff in Minnesota.  Being put on waivers can affect free agency for Moss next year, so, for now, Randy Moss is in complete limbo.  To quote the song "We've started a story who's end must now wait."

Is it time for Brett Favre to retire?

PLEASE NOTE: THIS WAS POSTED BEFORE BRETT FAVRE WAS INJURED.  WE HOPE FOR NOTHING LESS THAN THE BEST FOR HIS LONG TERM HEALTH.

Brett Favre is putting up good stats today, very impressive for someone with a damaged ankle.  In his 292nd consecutive start, there is no question that Favre has earned his right to stay on the field if he feels he can still play.  But as I sit here watching the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots game, I can't help but wait for what I term  "The Favre Meltdown." That point late in the game where he tries to live up to what he thinks is still his image, the invincible quarterback.  It's an ugly point late  in the game where he tosses a wobbly football into a sea of opposing defenders, gets picked and costs the Vikes the game.  Yes, its cynical, some bad mojo for sure, but it seems like Standard Operating Procedure at this point in Favre's career.

I'm not against veteran players trying to extend their careers, George Blanda is a prime example.  But something bothers me with the way Brett Favre has handled himself since his first retirement.  I'm starting to feel that if Favre tries to extend through the end of the season, he might do more damage than good to himself and the Vikings.   I respect the man for what he has done as a quarterback in the past, but I'm uncomfortable watching him play at this point.  To me, its tarnishing his career's impact.

So what do you think?  Should Favre stick it out or has he overstayed his welcome?

Reminder about our giveaway

Just before today's games start, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone that we have a contest running right now.  You still have time to get in on the giveaway.  To check out the details, please use this link.  Happy Football Sunday.  Hope this week's games are better than last week.

New Contest for Free Football Cards or Random Packs of Kindness

Yesterday was awful.  Someone decided to made my life miserable, not because I had done something to them, but because my mere presence stood in the way of their agenda.

I'm not a big fan of people acting like four year olds to get want they want, unless, of course, they are four years old and even then, it can be unpleasant.  That's exactly how this person was acting, like a four year old.  I couldn't just leave to avoid this person, even though I wanted to, I had to be there.  So I stuck it out and tried to take the high road.

Then, just as I was about to "check out" mentally to protect my sanity, someone tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around to see a sweet, welcoming face.  She told me "you dropped this" and then handed me a ten dollar bill that had fallen out of my pocket.  After thanking her, I turned back to what I was doing and all the problems of the day melted away.

It was not the amount of money that changed my mood, it was the act of kindness that changed my outlook.  The reaffirmation of the potential for the goodness of humanity.  She could have just pocketed the money, I would never have known, but she did the right thing, the thing we all should do.

I was going to do what I normally do with found/recovered money, give it to charity.  Since I never would have noticed its absence, there is no reason to hold on to it.  I believe an act of kindness should result in another act of kindness.  Today, as was I was about to send the money to one of my local charities, an idea came to me.  Perhaps there is potential to extend this act of kindness even further.

I walked into my local Target and decided to pick up the first random packs of cards I saw, up to the ten dollars of recovered money.  Here's what I got ;

1 pack of 2010 Panini Threads Football Cards
1 pack of 2010 Panini Rookies & Stars Football Cards
1 pack of 2010 Panini Epix Football Cards

OK.  So you're saying "how can taking money that was intended for charity to buy packs of cards be doing something for the greater good?"  Well... here's where you come in.  I'm taking these cards and making them the prize in a contest I call "Random Packs of Kindness." There is only one way to enter.  You have to do something kind for someone else.

That's right.  No signing up for a newsletter, no joining a mailing list.  Just going out into the world and making it a better place.  Visit an old folks home, do extra chores to help out your folks, babysit for free for a couple that needs a night out but can't afford it, volunteer at a food bank, sell some of your extra trading cards and donate the money to a charity, ANY ACT OF KINDNESS WILL DO.  Then share what you did with us.  After the deadline has past, we'll take all the participants and random off the prize to one of them.  But in this situation, its safe to say, everyone will win even if you don't wind up winning the cards.

So here are the rules for this contest;

1 - This is only open to people who are a public, visible follower of this blog, a person who "likes" us on Facebook, a follower of allaboutcards on Twitter or a subscriber to our YouTube channel.  This is the only way I can confirm that people aren't trying to double dip with multiple email addresses.

2 - Go out into the world and do something kind for someone else.

3 - By using the comments here on the blog, or writing on our Facebook page, or by tweeting us @allaboutcards or by leaving a comment on our YouTube channel page, TELL US WHAT YOU DID.

4 - At 11:59 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, anyone who has completed the three steps above will be entered onto a list.  We will use Random.org to pick a winner from that list.

5 - We will announce the winner sometime around Friday, November 12, 2010 and upload a video of the pack breaks.

6 - We will then ship the prize out to the winner

It will be interesting to see how far we can take this.  Good luck to all and let's make this world a better place.

First look at Panini 2010 Crown Royale Football Rookie Die-Cutes Prime Signatures trading cards

OK.  Here's something to get excited about.  These Panini 2010 Crown Royale Football Rookie Die-Cutes Prime Signatures football cards look great.  With this year's rookie class, they make for some sweet cards, don't you think?  Here is a look at the best of them, Sam Bradford, Jahvid Best, Ryan Mathews and Jermaine Gresham.  Sorry Tebow fans, he has a card but I'm just not feeling the love for him yet, so if you want to see his and others click on this Panini link.