Injured In Practice, Detroit Lions Second Round Pick, Mikel LeShoure, Is Out For The Season

Collecting Rookie Cards early can be a high-risk proposition, but speculators who gobble these cards up are aware of the risks involved.  It is part of the deal.  With that risk comes the potential for a huge upside if the player takes off.  

The first causality of the 2011 Rookie Class that possessed that potential is the Detroit Lions’ second-round draft pick, Mikel LeShoure.  He tore his Achilles after a high hit during practice on Monday.  LeShoure is out for the season. 

Mikel was not slated to be the starter for Detroit. That position is comfortably held by last year’s first round pick, Jahvid Best.  But it is clear that LeShoure was being groomed for the number 2 position and in particular for short yardage situations.  The Lions will have to rely on Maurice Morris to pick up the slack or they may seek out a free agent/trade to fill the hole left by LeShoure’s absence.

The Complete Redemption List of Team USA Baseball Autograph Cards For 2011 Bowman Platinum

If you have opened a box of 2011 Topps Platinum Baseball Cards you just might have received a redemption card that looks like this.

These redemptions can be found at a rate of 2 per 12-box hobby case.   You’ll be able to redeem the card for one hard signed 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team player that will be randomly selected from the list below.

Mark Appel  (projected # 3 in 2012 draft)

DJ Baxendale

Josh Elander

Chris Elder

Dominic Ficociello

Nolan Fontana

Kevin Gausman (projected # 10 in 2012 draft)

Brian Johnson

Branden Kline

Corey Knebel

Michael Lorenzen

David Lyon

Deven Marrero (projected # 2 in 2012 draft)

Hoby Milner

Andrew Mitchell

Tom Murphy

Tyler Naquin

Matt Reynolds

Brady Rodgers

Marcus Stroman

Michael Wacha (projected # 8 in 2012 draft)

Erich Weiss

Here is what the cards look like.

Chris Elder On Card Auto

2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball NBA Trading Cards Box Break Recap and Review

You know it when you see this box, even before you open it, that 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard is going to be a thrill ride.  Panini has paid attention to the details here, investing heavily in getting this release right.  This time and effort has produced dividends that pay off.  We, as collectors, are the beneficiaries of those dividends.

Gold Standard is a perfect candidate for our premium cards category.  Each golden bar box contains 12 cards, which breaks down to 3 Autographs, 2 Memorabilia Cards, 3 Insert cards and 4 Gold Commons, all of which are numbered to 299 or less

Here are the cards we pulled from the box.

 Gold Base of Joe Johnson #/299, Front and Back

 Our other Gold base #/299, Aaron Brooks and Glen Rice

Dan Majerle Platinum Gold Base #/25

Eric Gordon Gold Nuggets Insert #/299

 Derrick Rose Gold Bars Insert and Andrei Kirilenko Gold Stars Insert both #/299

 Tim Duncan Gold Rings Swatch #/299 and Dwight Howard Gold Medalists Prime Swatch #/25

Eric Gordon Gold Base Auto #/299

And we pulled two redemption cards, but they were huge hits.

We've done Photoshop Mock-Ups, envisioning what we think these cards will look like based on similar cards we've seen.   We will update this when the actual cards arrive.

Amar'e Stoudemire Gold Team Logos Auto card #/10

Kobe Bryant Twenty Four Karat Kobe Signatures Auto card #/49

Overall Look

These cards look great, top-notch design.  Every card, base and inserts alike, is tied into a golden theme.  The photography is excellent, a task that is particularly difficult when you are taking the background away from players and just isolating them.

Quality and Variety of Players

This is amazing collection of players.  It is overflowing with legends of the game, the stars of today and tomorrow.

Do the Hits satisfy?  Are the cards too base heavy?

Because insert auto and memorabilia cards are so desirable, a small percentage of the base auto cards feel  a bit overshadowed.  Mind you, this is an embarrassment of riches, because in any other product, these autos would be highly valued.  It is a minor knock to an otherwise stellar collection of hits. As it stands now, Gold Standard is an amazing product. Legends autos, single and dual, a huge pool of Kobe Bryant autos, Gold Rush cards with actual 14K gold inserts and Solid Gold cards made entirely of 14K gold combine for must have hits.  Add to that Golden Tickets for your chance at 1 of 5 amazing prize packages (see a description of the prizes with this link) and it is clear this is an awesome collection of hits.

Will you keep coming back for more?

100% yes.  It is a special product that is a thrill to open.   An amazing job for a first time product.   If you can get your hands on a box, do it.   For those with deeper pockets, buying Gold Standard by the case is an easy purchase. Each 10 box case contains one Gold Rush insert, two Auto Gold Logoman Patches, two Auto Gold NBA Team Logo Patches, one Dual-Signed Autograph card and at least one auto of either Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant or Bill Russell.  No doubt someone with excessively deep pockets will pull a Veruca Salt, busting cases of Gold Standard to find a Golden Ticket, but as the story goes, even those of us that are Charlie Bucket can catch a break.

Rating

5 out of 5

2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball has raised the bar, providing an exciting box break for premium collectors.



Review box provided by Panini

Fully Updated Player Movement and Team Changes Since the NFL Lockout Ended

We told you about all the player movement in the NFL post lockout.   Here is an update on even more team changes.

Kevin Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals

Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) from the Bengals to the Patriots

Reggie Bush from the Saints to the Dolphins

Greg Olsen from the Bears to the Panthers

Donovan McNabb from the Redskins to the Vikings

Sidney Rice from the Vikings to the Seahawks

Matt Hasselbeck from the Seahawks to the Titans

Daren Sproles from the Chargers to the Saints

Vince Young from the Titans to the Eagles.

Nnamdi Asomugha from the Raiders to the Eagles.

Mike Sims-Walker from the Jaguars to the Rams

Plaxico Burress from the Oneida Correctional Facility to the Jets

Tim Hightower from the Cardinals to the Redskins

Todd Heap from the Ravens to the Cardinals

Vonta Leach from the Texans to the Ravens

Jason Taylor from the Jets to the Dolphins

Zach Miller from the Raiders to the Seahawks

Jerious Norwood from the Falcons to the Rams

Kevin Boss from the Giants to the Raiders

Braylon Edwards from the Jets to the 49ers

Ronnie Brown from the Dolphins to the Eagles

Trying to Crack The Code? Here is a Little Free Help to Solve the Topps Allen & Ginter Puzzle.

I love puzzles but nothing frustrates me more than coming close to finishing and finding there is a piece missing.  Trying to crack the yearly code included with Topps Allen & Ginter can be quite a task, having to gather the various pieces to solve the puzzle.  Many people actually try to actually charge for a look at parts of the code they acquire.   That's not in the spirit of All About Cards, so we are giving away what we got in a recent box for free.   No... this is not a contest, we are not shipping these cards to one person.  We are posting these for all to see, setting a level playing ground.   So here is what we have, hope it helps.  And if we do become a part of helping you get to the solution, come on back and let us know how you put it together.

 We pulled these four A&G Crack the Code cards

 Reid Brignac Ginter Code Card

 Ryan Ludwick Gold Ginter Code Card

Tim Howard Gold Ginter Code Card

Our Must See Video Box Break of 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball Cards

I could go on about the importance of gold, the gold standard as a monetary system and the parallels to these cards, right down to the details of the packaging.  But on this, the first day of the 2011 National Sports Collectors Convention, the yearly celebration of sports cards and the people that collect them, I'm going to let the cards do the talking.  After all, that is what all of this is about, the cards and the thrill of collecting them.

Here is our must see video box break of 2010-11 Panini Gold Standard Basketball.

Still Missing The Captain, Thurman Munson, 32 Years Later

You can tell who are the die-hard, long-time Yankees fans by mentioning one name, Thurman Munson.  He was the subject of one of my first blog posts, a permanent fixture of the All About Cards logo and a good luck charm when busting boxes of Baseball Cards.

But others start to show there Pinstripe Pride on this day.  For example, you should check out the great write up over at From The Cheap Seats which should give you an idea of what it was like to be a fan at that time.

If he were alive today, he would have been in his 64th year, twice the amount of time he was alive, and, most likely, a member of the Hall of Fame.