Buzz Buys: Project 2020, NFL Draft gems, Samuel L. Jackson, Stacy Keibler, Hall of Famers, cheap memorabilia & more

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 that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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PROJECT 2020 GOT ME
The Card: Ken Griffey Jr. 2020 Topps Project 2020 -- Artist: King Saladeen (/2,504 made)
The Price: $19.99
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was my first card I picked up in the recently launched Project 2020 series from Topps, which is a higher-end premium-stock card set that takes a look back at 20 memorable players' memorable cards through the eyes of 20 different artists. They start at $19.99 with combo and volume discounts available, but I'm going to be on the boat for selected cards here and there as I don't heavily collect any of the players and all artists' styles aren't for me. That said, this card is a memorable take of a memorable Rookie Card for one of the biggest players of the last 40 years so I grabbed it. There are 400 cards in the set with each having Artist Proofs (/20) that vanish instantaneously as well as a Gold 1/1 that's randomly inserted into direct orders from Topps. You'll see more of these cards here throughout the year and you can see the ongoing gallery that updates every weekday right here on The Buzz. I have more of these incoming but this is the only one I presently have in-hand.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ... see MLB boxes here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

BACK IN THE (DRAFT) DAY ...
The Card: Marshall Faulk 1994 Classic Pro Line Live Draft Day NYC -- Colts, Bengals & Bucs cards 
The Price: Under $4 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This year's NFL Draft won't be like anything we've seen in years -- it starts on Thursday and I'll leave it at that -- and one thing we haven't had to see in a long time are promo cards done like these that are created and printed with a few teams that a star player might go to. These days, there's no guessing as Panini Instant is on it fast -- just not in physical form at the draft where the player can be handed his correct NFL card right then and there. Faulk took up a few of the cards in the set that year and he did end up on a correct card as the Colts drafted him -- so that one doesn't feel that special. It's the Bengals and Bucs cards that are a little more interesting to me. They're not super-expensive but they also aren't the easiest finds. 
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ...see NFL boxes here

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PROMO PACK POWER
The Card: Allen Hurns 2016 Panini Father's Day Game-Dated NFL Memorabilia Cracked Ice (/25)
The Price: Under $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: How about that swatch? It's from the NFL Shield on a game-used ball used on the date seen on the card (Oct. 11, 2015) and this is a parallel version from the mix of stuff that was found in the Father's Day promo packs. If you're a regular reader here, then you know these mem cards can be a bit of a go-to for me as they're often cheap with interesting pieces inside.
Grab a box right here: See the promo packs section here

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BASIC TRIVIA ...
The Card: A.J. McCarron 2014 Bowman Sterling Magenta Printing Plate (1/1) -- Rookie Card parallel 
The Price: Just over $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one is for the beginners out there. Do you know why this printing plate is backwards when others out there are not? Well, it's a plate for a Chrome card and the image is printed on the back side of the clear plastic that's the top layer of the stock for these cards. Then the cardboard with its printed back is glued on. I collect McCarron to a casual degree now -- he's not played much in years but he's still around as a backup -- but the price wasn't bad for a 1/1 in my mind. 
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ... see NFL boxes here

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A PIECE OF THE ACTION
The Card: Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus 2008 Inkworks The Spirit Pieceworks
The Price: $3.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This iconic actor has a ton of memorable roles and a number of cards from his time in the Star Wars franchise -- including autographs -- but, for memorabilia, his cards in this release were his first. Jackson does have a small amount of mem cards in general but they're nearly all from Pop Century sets where he is not actually shown on the cards. I picked this up because it looked good and the price was right -- the lack of others actually showing him makes this pick-up feel even better.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ... see non-sports boxes here

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PROMO POWER?
The Card: Stacy Keibler 2004 WWE Raw Deal TCG Promos
The Price: Under $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I picked up this trading card game promo because it's really not like what I remember of the Raw Deal stuff as they just didn't generally use photographs well -- small distant images in the top half of a card that looked a lot like the Magic: The Gathering format. Those were the norm from what I remember, not this. This card looked very clean with a black border and skinny foil stock, so I grabbed it and it's in my maybe-grade pile. It does have a spot on the back edge that might hurt a bit but the front of this one is close to flawless. Fun fact: Did you know Keibler was once a cheerleader for the Baltimore Ravens? That's her rarest card appearance ... I haven't seen one on eBay in years.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ... see WWE boxes here

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THE KING IN BRONZE
The Card: Hank Aaron 1983-91 Topps Gallery of Champions Premium Bronze
The Price: Under $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Aaron passed Babe Ruth on the career home run list this month back in 1974 but a recent Aaron kick of mine -- a number of cards all on the modern and cheaper side -- included a heavy-metal look at his 1954 Topps Rookie Card. It's made of bronze. These are smaller than card size but still have all the details you can see on the original -- they're impressive if you ask me and even better at this price.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ...see MLB boxes here

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CERTIFIED INK
The Card: Geena Davis A League of Their Own autographed 8-by-10 photo (Official Pix)
The Price: Around $70
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This 1990s (and beyond) A-lister has had a lot of memorable roles, but Dottie Hinson is a memorable one. I picked this off as it's 100-percent legit and from a past Official Pix private signing. This isn't a brand-new pick-up for me, but I realized that I wasn't doing this Buzz Buys series at the time and figured I'd throw it in as one of my non-card items. This particular pose is long gone from their remaining stock but other images can be found there. What you might not be able to find are her certified autograph cards (all from the 2019 Pop Century set) on the cheap. They're all priced higher than this by a good amount among active auctions over on eBay.
Grab a box right here: No boxes ...see MLB boxes here

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ELEGANT SIMPLICITY
The Card: Calvin Ridley 2018 Panini Encased Rookie Triple Memorabilia (/75)
The Price: $3.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The designs from this release -- particularly their use of color and black-and-white in images -- is simple and different and that's what draws me in. If you're not chasing ink, you can find some good prices on singles from this higher-end brand.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Panini Encased NFL cards

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THREE OF A KIND
The Card: Amy Farrah Fowler, Penny & Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz 2016 Cryptozoic The Big Bang Theory Seasons 6-7 Silver Portraits
The Price: About $6 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is one of my favorite insert sets in the Big Bang releases and you'll see more of it at some point here on The Buzz. I picked up these cards -- foilboard parallels -- thinking I might do the whole set but they're not the easiest (or always the cheapest) finds ... so I punted on that idea after getting the best ones first. Long-term, I might add the others. The basic versions are super-cheap and I have them all a few times over. (You'll see.)
Grab a box right here: 2016 Cryptozoic The Big Bang Theory Seasons 6-7 trading cards

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NEW HALL OF FAMER
The Card: Harold Carmichael 1974 Topps -- Rookie Card
The Price: About $24
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I did a triple-take when I saw this card as this copy of the RC for this Eagles legend and new Hall of Famer was listed in low condition despite its super-clean front sharp corners and good centering. The bottom-right corner and that edge has some creasing but I didn't mind at the price, so I clicked ... at least what I thought was the price. It was about half that when it hit my cart but a sale on the card literally ended as I was buying it ... but I didn't notice until it was bought. This card is clean enough I still might get it graded -- his stats were among the best in NFL history when he retired. It's a solid card.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ...see NFL boxes here

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DO YOU RECALL?
The Card: Lycia Naff as Ensign Sonya Gomez -- 2015 Rittenhouse Star Trek: The Next Generation Portfolio Prints Series 1 Autographs
The Price: $5.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There are a ton of Trek sets out there with obscure autos and this is a classic example -- she appeared in just two episodes back in 1989. But when I checked her IMDb credits that's when I got a chuckle and I figured I'd add the 'graph, though it's a minimalist first-name-only sig. (I think.) She actually had a lot of roles in the past but after she stopped acting her career took a different turn -- she ended up working in newspapers and that's led her back to Hollywood again in a different way. Check out this piece from where she used to work to see why she might be remembered in one of those roles.
Grab a box right here: Star Trek Portfolio Prints (all releases)

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A CAP HE NEVER WORE (FOR REAL)
The Card: Garrison Lassiter 2008 TRISTAR Prospects Plus PROminent Green Die-Cut (/50)
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former 27th-round pick never played past advanced-A ball and was done by age 22. Why is he here? He recently sued the New York Yankees for $34 million. It's weird -- and it's right here ... just read it. That got me looking at some cards and this one showing him in his Yankees uni jumped out at me for pocket change and a low-volume print run. A lot of his cardboard is from his USA Baseball time and I've got plenty there, including plenty of ink.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ...see MLB boxes here

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HALL OF FAMER'S FIRST AUTO
The Card: Jennifer Capriati 1992 Classic World Class Athletes Autographs (/3,000)
The Price: Around $4.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was her first certified autograph and it stood as her only autograph until 2008. In that time, she went from teen phenom (a pro at 13 in 1990) and an Olympic gold medalist to somebody who had off-court struggles and personal issues but then pulled it all back together to put together a Hall of Fame career (inducted in 2012). That included three Grand Slam wins as a singles competitor, a 430-176 record and more than $10 million in earnings. I don't do a lot of tennis stuff, but this one seemed like an interesting auto to grab for the price.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ... see other sports boxes here

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WHOOPS!
The Card: Mo Williams/Vladimir Radmanovic 2009-10 Upper Deck (wrong-foil error)
The Price: $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: You're not seeing things -- that's the wrong team logo and player name on the front of this Mo Williams card. Errors like this are of arguable value -- some say they are worthless, some say they are 1/1 gems especially if a star name is attached -- but it did get me to bite with some school ties. As they say in RoboCop, "I'd buy that for a dollar!"
Grab a box right here: 2009-10 Upper Deck NBA

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BIG BACK IN THE DAY
The Card: Tim Couch 1999 SP Authentic (/1,999) -- Rookie Card
The Price: $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: With the NFL Draft starting on Thursday, I figured I'd end with this one -- a once-key card who was the No. 1 overall pick back in 1999 out of Kentucky where he was a scorcher, leaving the Wildcats with several team, conference and NCAA records. His record of 4,275 passing yards in 1998 was an SEC record that stood until That Joe Burrow Guy arrived. (You should know him.) Couch was taken by the Cleveland Browns and played just five seasons in the NFL -- 64 TDs and 11,131 yards in 62 games. He basically has as many RCs as games played ... and I landed this one for a buck. There are a lot of NFL Draft busts -- they arrive every year -- but that doesn't mean there's not somebody out there picking them up ... or maybe it's just me.
Grab a box right here: No boxes for this set ... see NFL boxes here

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