Via @r9tee ... Panini VIP got me thinking ... #WhoDoYouCollect? #PaniniVIP

Day 4 of this year’s edition of The National is coming soon inside the Donald  E. Stephens Convention Center and it's been a busy couple of days already with the preview night (click for gallery), Day 2 already behind us (gallery) and Day 3 also in the books (gallery).

Now it’s time for the busiest day of the show and then the Panini VIP Party you'll see right here after that. Since we're not yet going today on the show floor, we'll lead things off up top with a few scenes from late yesterday's action.

Keep reading for more and to see a gallery that will grow throughout the day.

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Via @nsccshow ... The Panini America Kids Break at the 40th National Sports Collectors Convention.

Day 3 of this year’s edition of The National is coming soon inside the Donald  E. Stephens Convention Center and it's been a busy couple of days already with the preview night (click for gallery) and Day 2 already behind us (gallery).

Now it’s time for a new slate of signers and even more action. Since we're not yet going today, we'll lead things off up top with the Panini America Kids break and some more highlights from yesterday.

Keep reading for more and to see a gallery that will grow throughout the day.

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All that limousine riding and jet flying is to get to the Panini America VIP Party on Saturday night.

Professional wrestling legend "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is the ninth star that Panini has revealed for the event tomorrow night in Chicago.

The 16-time world champion is a member of several wrestling Halls of Fame and has been a global star for WWE, WCW, the NWA and other past organizations as one of the top heels in pro wrestling history. He had his first certified autographs made by Panini in its 2009 Americana release -- and, if you're to believe him back in the day, his shoes cost more than your house.

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The Panini America VIP Party has another Hall of Famer suiting up.

Former Atlanta Braves slugger Chipper Jones will be on hand for the Saturday event made for high-rollers in Chicago, and he's the eighth star announced for the show.

The former third baseman and outfielder hit .303 with 468 home runs and 1,623 RBI in his 19-year career that included a World Series ring in 1995, eight All-Star appearances, an NL MVP award and an NL batting title.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2019 Topps Chrome baseball cards (mega box)
Where to buy: Click here (a few formats)

Packs per box: 12 (10 packs plus two X-fractor packs)
Cards per pack: 4 per standard, 5 per X-fractor
Cards in this box: 50
Base set completion: 
30 of 204 (15 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Jacob deGrom, Blake Snell, Max Scherzer, Rhys Hoskins, Kris Bryant, Byron Buxton, Buster Posey

Rookie Cards (11) – Eloy Jimenez, Jake Cave, Francisco Arcia, Michael Kopech, Chance Adams, Cionel Perez, Taylor Ward, DJ Stewart, Josh James, Kevin Kramer, Corbin Burnes

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Just one of the Blowout MegaMix Day 1 winners ... a National Treasures case in a $200 box? Yep.

Day 1 of this year’s edition of The National is over inside the Donald  E. Stephens Convention Center and the preview night (click for gallery) has come and gone, too.

Now it’s time for Day 2 with a larger slate of signers -- heavy on the football today -- and plenty of action. Since we're not yet going we'll lead things off up top with one of the MegaMix rippers who hit it big. (A small number of boxes are available today, so get to the booth quick if you didn't pre-order.)

Keep reading for more and to see a gallery that will grow throughout the day as the doors open shortly.

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The Panini America VIP Party has a Hall of Famer and a heavy hitter ready for its Saturday soiree.

Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman and500 Home Run Club member Rafael Palmeiro will be there, and that ups the roster to seven past stars from the sports world and beyond for the event made for high-rollers in the hobby this weekend in Chicago.

In 18 seasons for the Marlins, Padres and Brewers Hoffman recorded 601 saves, which is second only to the new Hall of Famer who passed him, Mariano Rivera. 

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The No. 2 pick in the NHL Draft has a new team.

Panini America revealed on Thursday that it has signed Finnish hockey star Kaapo Kakko to an exclusive autograph card deal. That means the new New York Rangers star will only have autographed Rookie Cards via Panini, which no longer holds an NHL card license after its deal there ended following the 2013-14 season.

“Kaapo Kakko is nothing less than an international hockey phenomenon and his arrival in the U.S. – and New York, no less — is one of the most exciting developments the sport has seen in years,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop in a prepared release. “He’s expected by many to drive the hockey trading card market this season and is poised to become the next great athlete in the sport of hockey, and we’re thrilled to have him as an exclusive member of the Panini America team. We’re looking forward to working closely with him to create exciting and creative trading cards for fans and collectors and having him be a part of a number of new initiatives in the trading card category.” Continue reading →

If you have this card and are at The National, then at least $2,500 could be yours.

It's a 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter framed autograph card of Blowout Cards' Thomas Fish and while it's one of just 10 framed cards put into packs it's the only one with this special inscription.

This reward stands until 3 p.m. on Saturday at the show and the card must be presented at Booth 854 to claim.

Even better? If this tweet from the @BlowoutCards account gets retweeted more than 2,500 times then the price goes up -- the price will be the same as the number of RTs with a cap of $5,000.

With so many boxes of Ginter on the show floor at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, there's a good shot that it could be right there, right now ... waiting on you.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com.

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2019 Topps Living Set #179 RC
The Reason Graded: While I own a few Topps Living Set cards the arrival of this second-generation MLB star in this weekly release sparked my first purchase from this popular brand that's clearly popular with flippers. I ponied up for 10 copies of the card --solely with potential grading in mind -- but didn't receive a single perfectly centered card in my batch, which was a bummer. After some grumbling, I picked out this one from the batch and sent it in.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded as well as I thought it could -- maybe better -- so I wasn't unhappy with the grade and it appears that I'm perhaps on the luckier side with just two 10s out there better than it via BGS ... for now. This is a card that will likely be graded more and more often so those won't last but but it appears that this one is arriving between 8.5 and 9.5 more often than not. I have a second one I'll submit to PSA at some point with my sights set on a 10 there. We'll see sometime later this year.

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