With these Ticket Stud or Ticket Dud stories I'm turning just a tiny bit of that energy just a few degrees away from cards (we'll still have plenty of them here) for a different kind of cardboard. What am I doing? Simple ... this is an occasional dip into some random ticket lots -- a show and tell showing something small with a story.

This time? Rain won ... and then so did the Atlanta Braves thanks in part to a Hall of Famer's pinch-hit home run.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and tell me if you think it's a Ticket Stud or a Ticket Dud.

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Mystery Box Buzz Break is a new series here on The Buzz -- it's essentially a Buzz Break but only for "mystery boxes" that seem to be everywhere these days -- and not just in the sports realm. Like this and want to see more? Is there a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The mystery box: Boston Red Sox Mystery Publications Grab Bag
Where to buy: Via Red Sox on MLB.com (find new MLB cards at BlowoutCards.com)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and a gallery of what was in this box. (Yes, it was a box and not a bag ... but that's their image.)

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... sometimes stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new fun cards and oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

IT'S ANNIE SAVOY!
The Cards: Susan Sarandon 2024 Leaf Pop Century Now Showing Red, White & Blue Mojo Pre-Production Proofs (each a 1/1 card)
The Buzz On This: This long-running non-sports catch-all card franchise often shows celebs in headshots or on fashionable red-carpet moments, but when I spotted a few of these blank-backed cards sporting a photo from Bull Durham -- still likely the movie of all movies when it comes to Minor League Baseball -- I picked off each of these and another color (to be seen elsewhere later) among a bunch of these proofs with various colors and textures from this set. Why? They're affordable and fun -- something rare (each color/texture is the lone copy in proof form) -- and still can be collected without breaking the bank. I landed these for less than $10 a card shipped, though I wouldn't have bothered if these didn't have the Annie Savoy visual. (This is from the memorable batting cage scene and the set is made to lightly emulate a movie ticket.) I did a lot of cheap proofs here, so I'll show off others and my other shade of this one elsewhere at some point. These aren't my typical oddball cards here, but I figured since we're in-season I'd mix in some other stuff from the MiLB realm.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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What's Buzzing: MLB chatter, The National, Frank Gore Jr.'s autos, the NBA Finals and more in this Friday edition.

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1 -- All your MLB chatter is here

2 -- Eleven years?

3 -- NBA Finals chatter

4 -- Still on their minds: 2025 Topps Series 2

5 -- So, about Frank Gore Jr.'s autos ...

6 -- The National section is open

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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: 2025 Topps Heritage baseball cards (hanger)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (all other formats)
First Buzz preview, odds & checklist: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was found in this one.

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What: 2025 Leaf National Lacrosse League cards
Arrives: Aug. 29
Box basics: Two autos per six-card box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf turns to the lacrosse ranks for a new brand and sport in its product lineup with ink in every box and a small array of colorful parallels to chase, too.

Keep reading for more.

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USA Baseball is still on Panini America's team.

Both parties revealed on Thursday that a third extension of their licensing deal that launched in 2012 has been signed, giving Panini the exclusive rights to create baseball cards for its stable of teams. That includes the Collegiate, 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams as well as its National Team Development Programs. It will also usher in the first cards for the USA Baseball Women’s National Team.

“For 14 years, Panini America and USA Baseball have collaborated to provide unparalleled early access to cards of the game’s next generation of stars,” said USA Baseball COO David Perkins in a prepared statement. “With today’s announcement, we are pleased to continue our partnership, and now also capture and deliver USA Baseball’s national team players, gold medals and other defining moments for the organization to Panini Instant.”

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What's Buzzing: NBA Finals action, 2025 Topps Series 2, Frank Gore Jr.'s ink, The National and more.

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1 -- NBA Finals chatter

2 -- A lot of patience

3 -- New & on their minds: 2025 Topps Series 2

4 -- So, about Frank Gore Jr.'s autos ...

5 -- Highlights from a Series 2 rip

6 -- The National section is open

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Going for the gold starts all over again soon.

Nope, it's not the Olympics out of nowhere ... the hunt for Golden Mirror photo variations starts up once again as 2025 Topps Series 2 MLB is set to arrive in roughly a month -- get your boxes at the link here soon. In the interim, we've got a selection of 30 cards -- one per team -- along with one extra, the Shohei Ohtani World Series moment you see above, as a hint of what's to come.

Keep reading to see 'em all.

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What: 2025 Topps Series 2 baseball cards
Arrives: June 11
Box basics: One auto or Relic per hobby box (12 per case) or one auto and two Relics per jumbo box (six per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The earliest teases of the second series of the Topps baseball card flagship set are here -- the packaging formats -- with Shohei Ohtani leading the way on all fronts.

Keep reading for more info.

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What: 2025 Score football cards
Arrives: July 3, 2025
Box basics: Four autographs per 10-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Score once again kicks off Panini's 2025 NFL lineup soon with new rookies, plenty of stars, all those familiar inserts and more for football collectors.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images released so far.

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What's Buzzing: 2025 Topps Series 2 is here, new MLB pulls, Hidden Gems, Frank Gore Jr.'s ink, NBA Finals and The National.

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1 -- New today: 2025 Topps Series 2 is here

2 -- MLB pulls are here

3 -- Hidden Gems no more

4 -- So, about Frank Gore Jr.'s Topps autos ...

5 -- NBA Finals chatter ... and even more NBA

6 -- The National section is open

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

For years now, I've said that every card has a story ... but, every once in a while, a celebrity's meandering tale has chapters you might not even know about and, in a few really rare instances, there might even be some cardboard to go with it.

That's the case for me with this card this time -- I'm a grizzled veteran collector who's seen plenty, forgotten even more and collected all kinds of directions as players come and go in the traditional sports realm. TV shows and movies come and go on other cardboard, too, and times just sometimes change for collectibles ... just like my sometimes-meandering tastes. But this one? It was something that's right in my wheelhouse as a Shotzi Blackheart collector and it's totally new to me so here we are. She's a pro wrestler and a unique, self-made character if you don't know -- find her in WWE boxes here.

Not that long ago, I spotted a set that had me doing a spit-take, then a double-take -- and all of that was followed up by picking up my jaw off the floor, a click to buy and then hoping that the stuff would actually arrive. In short, it was something I'd never, ever seen before -- or even seen in a photo anywhere at any time. It's a card set for Creepy KOFY Movie Time, a watch-along late-night TV series that ran several years on KOFY Channel 20 in San Francisco that celebrated the retro horror movie genre with a surf music-serving house band called The Deadlies, as well as regular characters for bits, guests for other segments and then a regular go-go dancer ensemble on stage at all times called the Cave Girls, which marked Blackheart's TV debut. The series came to an end just as her indy wrestling career was taking off and eventually took her around the world with WWE.

The card set is from 2013 -- the year before Blackheart's pro wrestling debut in the indies with Oakland-based edgy and irreverent promotion Hoodslam where she was aligned with the Stoner Brothers (a parody of a famous team) under a Missy Hyatt-inspired moniker for a debut match on ... April 20. (Get it?) This name, though, which she has used otherwise for the rest of her wrestling career and to this day post-WWE, originated before that -- "Shotzi" comes from a nickname based off a character in a musical called Starmites (and her role in a high-school production) and "Blackheart" was an ode to Joan Jett and her band, The Blackhearts.

That's here captured in this set with some eccentric characters that you'd expect to find with the genre. It was a show broadcast from a "cave" under the TV studio with a demon (Balrok) and a zombie (No Name) as its hosts. This card set came two years before her attempt at WWE fame as part of its Tough Enough reality show -- she made it but then didn't when they found she had a health issue -- and then seven years before her eventual arrival on WWE cards (2020) as an NXT star. In between was a busy indy wrestling run where "The Ballsy Badass" left her red hair behind in favor of her trademark neon green and crafted her horned-helmet, tank-driving ways that she rode right into WWE unchanged.

Now, what's my convoluted headline and that Tom Cruise cameo all about?

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What: 2025 Pulse Foundry football cards
Arrives: Late August
Box basics: Four encased autographed cards per six-pack hobby box (10 boxes per case); One encased autographed card per Heat Seeker box (24 boxes per case); Two encased autographed cards per 24-pack/24-card booster box (10 boxes per case)
Checklist: See early players list for each version in the gallery
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: This newer player in the card realm hits the gridiron once again with a release with a trio of packaging formats, unique inclusions and varying lineups, too, for fans of autographs and football.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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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 pack: 2024 Leaf Metal Signature Series Multi-sport 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs
Where to buy: Click here for other Leaf Metal boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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What's Buzzing: Denzel Clarke, Jac Caglianone, NBA Finals, Frank Gore Jr.'s autograph, The National and an impressive Mets autograph booklet.

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1 -- Denzel Clarke's catch has 'em talking

2 -- NBA Finals chatter ... and even more NBA

3 -- So, about Frank Gore Jr.'s Topps autos ...

4 -- Talking Jac Caglianone

5 -- Check out the Mets booklet here

6 -- The National section is open

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Multi-time WWE champion Becky Lynch.

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My bad.

Simply put, Jac Caglianone, the Kansas City Royals super-slugging prospect turned big-leaguer as of last week, missed one.

No, it wasn't a breaking ball in the dirt or a fat fastball right down the middle -- he hits those and often quite far. This was a certified autograph card in a jumbo box of 2025 Bowman. Err, well, it was supposed to be ... and then it ended up in a pack.

Not long before his arrival, White Plains, N.Y-based dealer Valor Sportscards found the card in a pack during a break and was shocked by its bold, un-inked glory. Ironically, not long after that, though, the Fanatics Live breaker was in Omaha for Caglianone's Triple-A debut and to bust open packs along with the soon-to-be big-leaguer

That's where he took care of business.

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What: 2024 Leaf Trinity Baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 26, 2025
Box basics: Six autographed cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Trinity showcases the stars of the diamond -- and sometimes beyond -- in a release that packs nothing but ink from past and present stars in there along with a number of potential newcomers, too, via college and even high school standouts on NIL deals.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery.

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What: 2025 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Worst of GPK 40th Anniversary Edition trading cards
Arrives: July 11
Box basics: One autograph, sketch or printing plate per eight-pack box (10 boxes per case)
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The Kids are back for a 40th anniversary celebration with a smaller box but a hit every time as it presents some notables from the past as well as some new creations parodying the world around us.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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What: 2025 Panini Select NASCAR cards
Arrives: Aug. 8
Box basics:  Two autographs and one memorabilia cards per 12-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Select once again hits the NASCAR circuit with an array of potential collecting finds with a tiered set, plenty of parallels and a hit in every fourth pack.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images released so far.

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What: 2025 Donruss WNBA basketball cards
Arrives: Oct. 2
Box basics: Three autographs or memorabilia cards per 12-pack box (16 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Donruss WNBA returns to the court with a variety-packed mix of inclusions that will take collectors Downtown (of course) as well as on and off the court.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of what's to come. Continue reading →

Take a minute and make some predictions and sports picks -- and if you're at the top of the mountain when it's all over then you get some free cards.

It's still that simple.

YourDozen.com is back with more free cardboard up for grabs to one lucky winner -- this time it's for Sunday sports action as well as some Majority Rules questions. Those questions are simple -- whatever gets the most votes is the winning answer -- and we've sprinkled in those along with the traditional picks. The end result is still the same -- whomever has the most correct answers once the dust settles wins free cards.

You have until 1 p.m. on Sunday to get your picks and predictions in. (Do it now -- one of the tiebreakers is who entered first.) The prize remains a mystery item.

>>> CLICK HERE TO ENTER <<< 

Did you get in on last week's action? Check the leaderboard and contact fish@blowoutcards.com to claim your prize if you're the winner.

How does it work? It's short and simple. Register and you'll get a dozen questions where your answers will be compiled and compared to others. Whomever gets the most correct gets the prize -- or at least a shot at it if there's a tie.

The goal with YourDozen.com? Have a little fun and get free stuff into some of your hands.

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

What: 2024-25 Topps Chrome Bundesliga soccer
Arrives: July 10
Box basics: One autograph per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (when live)

What's buzz-worthy: A new edition of Topps Chrome Bundesliga cards arrives with some new approaches, plenty of color and even some new inserts with parallels that might have some saying "welcome to the jungle."

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: NBA Finals chatter, The National, hot takes, WWE, MLB and more in this Monday edition.

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1 -- Talkin' baseball

2 -- Big-picture hot takes

3 -- WWE chatter after a busy weekend

4 -- Some NBA Finals Game 2 reactions ... and even more NBA

5 -- So, about Frank Gore Jr.'s Topps autos ...

6 -- The National section is open

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.