Buzz Buys: A huge Hank Aaron surprise, a large Mike Trout, fun NFL hits, Toni Storm, Peyton Royce, Mr. Blond & more ink

Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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A HOME RUN OF A SURPRISE
The Card: Hank Aaron 2021 Topps x Sports Illustrated five-pack ... Red (/5) parallel and standard cards (/2,057)
The Price: Direct from Topps ($29.99)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was my first grab from this year's SI set since this cover was one I was hoping to see in the release and I decided to take a shot at a five-pack for grading purposes. I was rewarded with one of the rarest parallels to find in one's order. Only the 1/1 is rarer and there are three other colors. (Just 111 parallel cards between all of them.) I've collected a number of cards that have commemorated Aaron's record-breaking home run back in 1974 but never graded any for condition reasons ... I might have two to slab now.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but MLB boxes are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

BIG FISH INK ... WELL, SORTA
The Card: Mike Trout 2021 Topps Through The Years insert wall art (/99)
The Price: Under $24.99 (discount for buying three posters)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is an iconic card these days -- I think I pulled one back in the day but it wasn't my box of 2009 Bowman Draft -- but thanks to this insert set in 2021 Topps and the company's wall art line, well, now I have a big one. Ironically, since this is numbered to just 99 copies it's far rarer than the card it shows. (More valuable? Of course not.) I came pretty close to landing his uniform number on the serial-numbering, though. Does that mean much? (Of course not.) But it's mine. 
Grab a box right here: 2021 Topps Series 1 boxes are here 

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UNIQUE PIECE OF HISTORY
The Card: Isaac Bruce 2002 Topps Super Bowl Goal Post Relic
The Price: $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card has a piece of a goalpost from Super Bowl XXXVI cut and glued into it and it's a nice piece since it's from the game where Adam Vinatieri won it all for the Patriots on a 48-yarder as time expired. That meant That Tom Brady Guy got his first Super Bowl ring and I'd bet we might not have gotten this cardboard at all had it not come down to a kick in that game. This card is for one of the Rams' players from a 10-card set that includes Brady, Kurt Warner and others while the only autographed card to be found is inked by Vinatieri. These cards can be pricier than other Relics since they are something different, but there is also a Chrome version of these to steal their thunder.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but NFL boxes are here

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SECOND-YEAR BARGAINS
The Card: Calvin Ridley 2019 Panini Select Signature Memorabilia (/35)
The Price: $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: With future Hall of Famer Julio Jones heading to Tennessee, this top WR gets even more attention as the Falcons' No. 1 (which he was last year if you're looking at the stat sheet). I think I grabbed this one just before last season and it's modestly priced since it's not from his rookie year (the year before). So, my timing and his auto made this cheaper than you might think. (Flippers are likely focused on rookie-year stuff.) His "CR" sig isn't all that but I have actually seen ones that look worse than this. Either way, Ridley fits in my school ties part of my stash -- just like Jones -- but he's far cheaper. He's worth the look on cheaper cards from now until the season starts if you're a flipper. 
Grab a box right here: Click here for 2019 Panini Select boxes

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PROSPECTING PEYTON ROYCE?
The Card: Peyton Royce 2016 Topps NXT, 2017 Topps NXT Autographs (2), 2017 Topps WWE Blue Autographs (/50), 2018 Topps WWE Series 2 Blue Autographs (/50) 
The Prices: Around $1 up to $45
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This member of the former WWE women's tag championship team known as The IIconics was one of a number of notables cut by the company in the last few months along with her tag partner Billie Kay. They are Australian wrestlers who have come up the ranks together but had been split up. When it had looked like Royce was going to get a push up the ladder as a singles performer, I grabbed a few more than I might normally. That move didn't happen for any extended period of time but I was picking these off no matter what as the team was entertaining to me -- both as comedic talents and as a bit of a jackass heel tag team (at times) on the women's side. I think I've subconsciously started trying to do the Blue autos in 2018 (and I like them in other years) as those are the pricer grabs of this grouping. We'll likely be seeing both of them on TV elsewhere next month so there's still some potential cardboard interest here.
Grab a box right here: WWE packs and boxes are here

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COWBOYS, RAVENS ... ALL IN ONE
The Card: Randall Cunningham 2002 Pacific Private Stock Reserve Authentic Game-Worn Jersey
The Price: $3
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I used to try and collect this past MVP when he was with the Eagles but that was mostly before the memorabilia card era of cardboard -- and I never really chased autos, either as I landed a signed helmet early on that I still have stored somewhere. This card? It's an oddity from later years as it's a card showing him with the Ravens but I'm pretty sure that the swatch is from a Dallas Cowboys jersey. He only played in six games for both teams and was done by the time this card even arrived. For the price, I liked this one's oddball appeal.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but NFL boxes are here

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ODDBALL CLASSIC
The Card: 1992 Pro Line advertising sheet
The Price: Only a couple bucks (part of an oversized-item lot)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I vaguely remember this two-page cardboard foldout appearing inside a hobby magazine back in the day but for whatever reason I didn't grab one despite busting countless 1991 Pro Line packs back in the day -- I landed autographs of the wives of John Elway and Bernie Kosar that first year. (Really.) The 1992 set which is teased here took things up a notch with even more unusual cards that included the Ken Stabler snake card you see on this sheet and a whole lot more. This piece was in a small lot of over-sized items that I grabbed since I thought they were interring and cheap for the price of the lot.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but NFL boxes are here

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TWO GREATS, ONE CARD
The Card: Gale Sayers & Shaun Alexander 2004 Leaf Limited Bound by Round materials (/50)
The Price: $14
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: One is a Hall of Famer and one probably should be as he scored 100 rushing TDs and ranks eighth on the career list. (Sayers only had 39 in his seven seasons.) I grabbed this one as I liked the combo here and the Sayers swatch is definitely some older fabric adding to the appeal for the price.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but NFL boxes are here

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COLLECTING A WWE DEBUT
The Card: Toni Storm 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Purple (/99) & Bronze (/75) parallels as well as Women's Evolution Mat Relic (/199), Women's Evolution Blue (/25) parallel
The Prices: From $9 to $15
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This young star made her in-pack WWE card debut in this release with everything but her first autos. I ripped a bunch of these and graded her card with strong results but had to go the singles route for parallels and her first Relics. She has some cardboard before this -- a Topps Now card and Stardom cards from a successful run in Japan that was before WWE -- and they're all pretty cheap other than her autos. She had ink in just one release until the recent 2020 women's set arrived and that had them selling very well but there will be more to come.
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division boxes

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RARE PARALLEL
The Card: Mark Sanchez 2011 Panini Threads Silver Signatures (/5)
The Price: $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is definitely a card I didn't need but with it being so rare and having an interesting (simple) design for an autographed card, well, I bit. It's from a brand with a design I typically have liked -- and his autos will always be popular to some degree with his USC ties and butt-fumble fame -- so I figured why not.
Grab a box right here: 2011 Panini Threads NFL boxes

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IT'S MR. BLOND!
The Card: Michael Madsen 2019 Upper Deck James Bond Collection Autographs
The Price: $8.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This movie veteran appears in a lot of stuff and actually has a decent amount of certified ink -- cards signed for four companies -- but his signature has not appeared very cleanly on stickers. Madsen has nearly 100 cards and almost 70 percent of them are signed. This appears to be his only autographed card in this release but it's not his only Bond ink ... in fact, that's where Madsen's first autos arrived back in 2002. I grabbed this one since he's a regular player in Quentin Tarantino movies.
Grab a box right here: None for this one ... James Bond boxes are here (when available)

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COLLECTING THE WWE CUTS? NOT INTENTIONALLY ...
The Cards: Assorted parallels, variations, RCs, international releases and hits for Braun Strowman, Ruby Riott, Lana, Mickie James, Bo Dallas, Aleister Black
The Price: $1.25 (Dallas and others) up to about $15 (Riott)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The WWE has cut a lot of notable names this year and a more than few of them were among the cardboard I had waiting for a spot here. (Admittedly, I have bought too much wrestling as prices on a lot of stuff got wacky over the last year, too.) The Riott ink and her SP here might be among the pricier grabs among these ($10-15) while the rest was, for the most part, on the cheaper side or part of bulk grabs. The James ink is one of the bulk cards (so it was far cheaper than it's worth) while the Attax-looking cards are actually food-issue inserts from Mexico that recycled that design. (Big fan of that set ... but too obscure to try and collect a bunch.) I'm betting we see nearly all of them wrestling on TV before the year is over. Some new possibilities might spark new interest in all of them.
Grab a box right here: WWE packs and boxes are here

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HE CREATED FANTASY BASEBALL
The Card: Daniel Okrent 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Mini Autographs
The Price: $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Ginter is always the home of unusual autos but I actually prefer the oddballs that have some kind of tie to baseball. This one? He's a former newspaper editor and an author who created Rotisserie League Baseball -- aka fantasy baseball -- along with one other person who also had a card in that year's set. All of his cards in this year of Ginter are his only card appearances so I grabbed the best one (I think) for a next-to-nothing price.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one but MLB boxes are here

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BARGAIN RETRO INK
The Item: Mira Sorvino autographed Romy and Michele's High School Reunion 8-by-10 photo (PSA/DNA)
The Price: $15
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked this one up more than a year ago since it was such a cheap item with an Oscar winner's autograph attached -- an auto that I think came from a Leaf Pop Century box based on that label. (Well, that and it was sent in one of those boxes.) I think I was hunting for a sealed box with one of these signed photos inside but didn't find any on the affordable side of things. This photo was cheaper than it might have been as the surface of the photo has a gloss issue up top but otherwise is fine. The ink isn't the most-visible but this comedy was a pretty big deal for a short time in the 1990s and is perhaps still a bit of a cult classic for some.
Grab a box right here: Leaf Pop Century boxes (all years)

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TOY TIME
The Toy: Michael Jordan University of North Carolina Funko Pop! toy (warmups version)
The Price: About $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This might have been a free shipping throw-in but that was still a decent deal for the price as some of the Jordan Pop! toys can be in demand ... and he has a few. This one probably isn't on the higher scale of value but I thought it was simple enough. Over time, his stuff might gain in demand unlike a lot of players you can find in toy form.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but NBA boxes are here

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JUST KEEP LIVING
The Card: Sasha Banks 2021 Topps WWE Living Set five-pack (/1,242)
The Price: Direct from Topps ($27.99)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is just my second grab from the WWE Living Set and it was a good experience this time with all five of my cards for The Boss being clean and grade-worthy copies. My first batch was all off-center and scared me off a bit from making any buys from the set that I might have been on the fence for. Only 14 of the 38 cards in the set so far have topped the 1,000-card mark sales-wise and this is the only 1,000-plus card in recent weeks. I'll likely grade one of these at some point that's how much I like this one.
Grab a box right here: WWE packs and boxes are here

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COLLECTED 'EM ALL
The Cards: 2020 Upper Deck Marvel Avengers Endgame & Captain Marvel Avenge The Fallen 10-card insert set
The Price: Under $3 for all
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This basic set is a total bargain grab -- literally less than 30 cents for every card -- but I liked the odd approach here with a bit of a movie poster vibe.  The combination of foilboard and then dark colors make this one a tough one condition-wise but I did have the notion in my mind that a small set like this might look cool graded if they were clean. I'm passing on that idea ... maybe if it was only a five-card set. I actually graded a small non-sports set like this once and you can find it in a past Making The Grade. I wonder why more collectors don't try it, especially if they are sellers.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this one ... but Marvel boxes are here

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SOFTBALL SEASON
The Card: Stevie Wisz 2020 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Autographs
The Price: $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You might see some softball in the news as it's World Series time for the college ranks -- softball and baseball -- right now, but this former UCLA Bruin won't be seen on the field. Wisz needed heart surgery but made sure she played her team toward a national title and then she had open-heart surgery after her team won it all. Goodwin is the home of a lot of autos with people who have interesting stories and she's one of them -- and they aren't expensive in many instances. Here's more about her story.
Grab a box right here: Goodwin Champions boxes (all years)

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THROWBACK APPEAL
The Card: Paul Hornung 2008 Press Pass Legends Saturday Signatures red-ink version (/46 announced)
The Price: $23
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This member of the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame died at age 84 late last year and that's when I grabbed this rarer (but not super-rare) on-card auto from one of the past Press Pass sets. The Golden Boy was the first Heisman Trophy winner to go with the first pick of the NFL Draft and he played for the Green Bay Packers for basically a decade winning four NFL championships and one Super Bowl. He signed a lot of autographs for memorabilia companies and shows so his ink isn't all that rare, but it's a quality sig and his football resume is a strong one that makes his stuff worth the look.
Grab a box right here: None for this one but NFL boxes are here

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