Buzz Buys: Space-used memorabilia, Olympic ink, Ruby Soho, Odo, Marvel legends, WWE stars ... and Keith Olbermann's leg?

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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FLOWN IN THE FINAL FRONTIER?
The Card: 2018 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Museum Collection Aviation Jumbo Relics (5-by-7) Space Shuttle Columbia Mission STS-75 MLI Blanket
The Price: About $85
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This over-sized piece is one of a number of space-related memorabilia cards that you can find (as redemptions) in this past Goodwin release, and I opted for this one since it's got a lot going on with its swatch and because it's noted as being used for Mission STS-75 that went to space in the spring of 1996. What exactly an MLI blanket is I didn't know when I grabbed it, but apparently "Multi-layer Insulation" blankets help protect various pieces of equipment from heat and light while in space. I liked how this piece has a rivet hole on one side and some Velcro on another along with some striping to help make it a little more interesting than just a big plain white swatch of material. A lone drawback here is that it's not easy to store at 5-by-7 and about a half of an inch thick but it's a cool card. (I wrapped it in a sealed magazine bag and then boxed it away.) Did I need it? Probably not, but it's pretty interesting and I will have more oddities like this coming in the future. If it grabs your attention, there are a number of standard-size cards with varying pieces inside them to suit more budgets easier than this card. Other blanket swatches look like tin foil and you can find other pieces in cards, too. I may need to get one of those.
Grab a box right here: Goodwin Champions (all years)

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

SCHOOL TIES AT A DISCOUNT
The Card: Haylie McCleney 2021 Topps U.S. Olympics U.S. Flag Autographs (/25)
The Price: $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This parallel auto is on the rarer side of things and I got it at a bit of a steal price ... if it was clean ... but it's not. It's got some corner and edge issues -- several lifts up top that didn't break the color but it certainly won't grade well at all -- but I picked this one up for the auto. McCleney fits the school ties part of my collection and she had quite a bit of cardboard in this set that was on the lean side of things for this year's Olympics. I think this parallel looks like the best option out there and hobby boxes include autos every single time. Hit that link if you want to chase ink, too. It's a smaller lineup this year but there's still some solid stuff waiting to be found. 
Grab a box right here: 2021 Topps U.S. Olympics

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DON'T CALL IT A ROOKIE CARD ... 
The Cards: Ken Landreaux 1981 Topps
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This common card is an odd and funny one if you know some trivia. That part of jacket and leg behind the Twins player here? Well, that's allegedly Keith Olbermann -- don't take my word for it, take his -- as he was around the game back then as a writer and card photographer. Don't call it a Rookie Card, though ... candidates for that showed up around 2002.
Grab a box right here: Click here for MLB boxes

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TWO OF A KIND
The Cards: Reggie Jackson 2019 Topps Transcendent Franchise Favorites Reproductions (/100)
The Price: Under $13 (total)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This dynamic duo was all I needed for this player in this release and I really only did it as I thought it would be cool to have a player "set" with matching serial-numbers from this super-premium card set. More realistically, I also grabbed them since they were dirt cheap and the heavy framed cards are impressive when they don't cost you $200 a break spot. (I did it once for WWE ... I didn't do awful, but I didn't do well, either, based on what I had hoped to land.) I did fare better back in the day in one MLB break but other than that one auto and maybe some Aaron or Maris grabs, I think these are it for me and the high-end brand for baseball. There are several names I'll pick off if the price is right -- and ink from these premium releases seems to be drying up for the best names out there. 
Grab a box right here: Transcendent boxes (all years)

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DESTINATION KNOWN SOON
The Card: Ruby Riott 2019 Topps WWE Road to Wrestlemania Silver Autographs (/25)
The Price: $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This former WWE star should be re-surfacing any time now on TV with one of its competitors with a new name, Ruby Soho, and with a new theme song you might not be able to guess. (Hint: She's a friend of the band ... and she has their permission to use that name along with their song.) It's a cool twist as the name "Ruby" to start with was a nod to the song "Ruby Soho" and now that's her name. Now, with a new start elsewhere there might be some added interest here and there for her cards ... I have just picked them off here and there when rarer or when signed as long as the prices were comfy. (Do I think there will be a run on them? Nah, but she should be one to watch and that doesn't hurt.)
Grab a box right here: WWE Road to WrestleMania boxes (all years)

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THE SEASON IS NEAR
The Cards: Assorted Calvin Ridley rookie jersey, patch and inserts
The Prices: Under $1 up to $13
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This young star has been just that for the Falcons and now with future Hall of Famer Julio Jones over on the Titans roster, he's the unquestioned No. 1 receiver and could have even better numbers to show for it this year. (His numbers showed him to be a No. 1 last year ... but with Jones still looking pretty good.) I have picked off his simple stuff -- no ink here -- on the cheap for some time now (these are probably all pick-ups from last year that I had piled up) since he's got school ties for me. His autos and RC parallels are what got more attention once he was playing well, so I simply watched and picked off cheaper kinds of cards that I like.
Grab a box right here: NFL boxes

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LONG LIVE ODO
The Card: Rene Auberjonois 2019 Rittenhouse Star Trek InfleXions: Starfleet's Finest Bridge Crew Autographs
The Price: $17.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This veteran actor died at age 79 in 2019 and ultimately this one just came down to price for me to finally grab one. Odo was a fun character in the Trek world while Auberjonois also was part of the Benson cast as well as Boston Legal, MASH (the movie not the TV show), Archer and a ton of other series as an actor or voice performer. The Trek stuff is what I remember best and there's always a lot to choose from as well as a lot of demand for that stuff, too.
Grab a box right here: Star Trek boxes are here

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PIECE OF A FUN COLLECTION
The Cards: Assorted Halle Berry X-Men movie lobby cards
The Price: Less than $1 apiece as part of a lot deal
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is just a tiny sliver of a lobby card lot I picked up from a collector who amassed the cards in a different way -- collecting by the actor, not the film. I'm not sure how they pulled it off as lobby card sets are made for a lot of movies both in this country and elsewhere, so that means a lot of sets got broken up to amass good volume for just a single performer. (Perhaps they knew a good dealer?) How big was the lot? Probably 60-70 for Berry alone. I sorted them out and went through them and then boxed them up with my other stuff -- oversized top-loaders aren't cheap and there were several sizes depending on the sets and countries -- but I'll drop some here from time to time just to mix things up. This lot is perhaps the coolest of them with her runs as Storm and her varying looks getting the nod here and there are some cool cameos, too. (X-Men lobby card sets can be pricey at times, which just reinforces how unusual this collecting approach seems to be.)
Grab a box right here: Marvel boxes are here

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FINALLY LANDED ONE
The Card: Chris Boucher 2019-20 Panini Chronicles Airborne Signatures Blue (/25)
The Price: $27
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy is a real NBA cardboard oddity -- see my past story here -- and it's only gotten weirder since then. You can find him on just over 50 cards out there from Panini America and none of them are standard cards. His only candidate for a "Rookie Card" is a card in the Raptors NBA title Panini Instant set (see the link) or a sticker from this past year. Literally everything else he appears on is a certified auto card (or the Instant card's parallels). Technically, the next time he appears on a standard card in a pack-issued set, it would be a Rookie Card by the definition ... years after his first cards were made. Boucher had a break-out year this past season and like I said at the link I have school ties here, making me need one of his autos. I waited as it's, well, a pretty awful-looking sig and prices on them have been nutty -- way higher than this.
Grab a box right here: 2019-20 Panini Chronicles NBA boxes

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GRABBED THE VARIANTS
The Comics: Deadpool & The Mercs For Money #1 Wizard World Comic Con Box variant
The Price: $3 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: These $1 books were a throw-in over at the Wizard World Vault recently where a certain level of purchase got me a substantial discount on a really nice piece you'll see somewhere here on The Buzz soon. This is a variant cover for a book that also was made with a color cover for a show (as the line above notes) but I didn't realize they were polybagged -- that presents other challenges for condition -- but at $1 I figured what the heck. (I actually grabbed five ... opened one that was slightly mangled to check it out and gave it away with a second copy to a fan of the 'pool.) The WW Vault has some pretty interesting high-end stuff to be found -- like signed and slabbed comic books as well as autographed photos from past show guests -- and they have gotten me a few times while out looking for stuff when I couldn't get my hands on wax boxes within my typical comfort zones.
Grab a box right here: Marvel boxes are here

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COLLEGE STANDOUT?
The Cards: K.J. Costello & Simi Fehoko 2016 Leaf U.S. Army All-American Bowl Freshman Class 2016 Gold (/20) & Red (/15)
The Price: $20 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Costello is a rookie for the Los Angeles Chargers now -- not sure how much time he'll get there with That Herbert Guy on the roster -- but I grabbed these after his Mississippi State debut that included 623 passing yards and five TDs in a win over LSU. That yardage was an SEC record for a single game -- nobody had ever topped 544 (Eric Zeier, 1993) but things unraveled after that for the transfer from Stanford where he threw 43 TDs in three seasons. So much so, Costello wasn't even drafted but he's clearly got some potential given those past big games and these were some of his first cards. I liked them (I grabbed after the big game) for the price. Meanwhile, Fehoko was a fifth-round pick by the Cowboys ... so there's some other potential here, too. (I'll throw them in a box with my other hits ... considering this to be a bit of a miss but we'll see.)
Grab a box right here: Leaf All-American boxes (all years)

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THE CHAMP IS HERE
The Card: Nikki Cross 2018 Topps WWE Road to Wrestlemania Autographs
The Price: Free (really)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: She's changed her name -- she's now Nikki A.S.H. -- and has adopted a campy but not totally awful "almost a superhero" persona since this card was made. More importantly, she's presently the Raw women's champ ... so kind of a bigger deal right now and that helped get this one into my lineup this time. Why did I keep it on my collecting tarmac to maybe include here? Well, this card was free ... thrown in for whatever reason with a card that I bought. (Maybe somebody feared I might not like an iffy corner on a card I ponied up a bit more than normal to land?)
Grab a box right here: WWE Road to WrestleMania boxes (all years)

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THOSE OTHER MOMENTS
The Cards: 2008 Topps President Obama cards Inauguration Day Gold stamp version
The Price: About $2 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: There's a ton of political cardboard out there I simply have no need for -- I've been tempted to dabble at times for the hits and odd inclusions but couldn't do it. But, while on a search out there I happened upon these cards that I didn't even realize existed. They are stamped versions of the Topps Obama cards that sold very well after he was first elected. I never really dabbled with the regular set -- I was busy working in other areas and collecting other realms near-exclusively -- so I didn't remember these at all.  I grabbed two -- one more of a traditional behind-the-scenes power pose and one that's totally not that. The "please pass the syrup card" is something of an off-brand moment that might make more political sets more appealing if they happened more regularly. (And the cameos there add some interest to that particular card, too.) Prices on unopened boxes of this one over on eBay are a bit surprising these days -- $100 and $140 for hobby/24-pack boxes -- while blasters are still pretty cheap. Meanwhile, asking prices on high-grade cards for Obama in general can be pretty strong. There could be some money to be made grabbing a box and getting some of the more-memorable cards graded.
Grab a box right here: Non-sports boxes are here

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ODDITY I HAD TO HAVE
The Card: 2019 Historic Autographs 1969 Keys -- F250 Trunk Key
The Price: $6
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This release is a quirky one with actual 1969 Topps baseball cards, memorabilia cards, cut autos and even these weird uncut key cards in the mix all in an effort to reflect this year from the past in various ways. I ripped a box of this one and landed some interesting (and to a degree weird) stuff on the cheap but I didn't land a key card, which is probably what I wanted the most. While this isn't the exact model I'd have wanted, this worked for the price. It's just a simple and odd memorabilia card ... I dig that.
Grab a box right here: Historic Autographs 1969 boxes

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THE OTHER CANSECO
The Card: 1987 ProCards Madison Muskies team set
The Price: Less than $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Jose Canseco has tons of cardboard from the past but his twin brother, Ozzie, doesn't -- at least nothing in comparable volume -- so I will pick off some of the oddball stuff when it presents itself. This set is not his first MiLB card or anything (that's way back in 1983) but I have always liked this one. The drawback? I've never seen a copy of his card without that awkward blotched "MADISÓN" -- I bought this set blind and wasn't worried about it since it's so cheap. I also wasn't surprised to see it there when I opened it.
Grab a box right here: Click here for MLB boxes

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PADRE FROM THE PROJECT
The Card: Fernando Tatis Jr. 2021 Topps Project70 -- by DJ Skee (/5,291)
The Price: Direct from Topps 
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This image is one that I liked a lot with its concept of bat flips and explosive home runs  on its face -- I know it's an album cover reference but I'll leave that to you guys who do -- and I grabbed it due to that. Skee's cards actually have gotten my hobby bucks a few times this year as they can have strong visuals even if they are an homage to something else. A lot of creators who are going that route don't pull it off as well.
Grab a box right here: Click here for MLB boxes

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PAIGE FROM THE VAULT
The Card: Paige autographed WWE 8-by-10 (Wizard World Authentication)
The Price: Around $40
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one was a Wizard World Vault pick-up a few months ago at a good price before they sold out -- these were from a signing several years ago -- and I grabbed it because of two things. One, she only has a couple of certified auto cards and hasn't signed for Topps in a long time (or for a premium brand) and she's always been generally pricey as she's popular both here and elsewhere as a British star. A more recent development made me wonder ... she's still on a WWE deal and hasn't been seen on TV in a long time. Yet she's still there despite all their recent cuts. Could there be a surprise comeback brewing in the future? (Perhaps not wrestling a full slate but ... something?) If I could find some of her auto cards I have wanted, I'd grab them but they have dried up. Even finding certified ink like this is not as easy as it used to be.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes are here

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BIG-TIME ARTWORK
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 18-by-24 matte poster
The Price: $25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Sure, it's a "poster" ... but this one is flat matte printed with some serious vibrant color that only makes it more outrageous than it is -- and this is an actual photo of my poster, too. (It's just too large for me to photograph cleanly but the printing here is simply awesome. Sorry, Miz.) This isn't some numbered or signed artist litho -- though it's cool enough it should be -- and it was impressive enough I went out and found a top-loader that size to put it in with my autographed flats stash.
Grab a box right here: WWE boxes are here

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OUT OF THIS GALAXY
The Card: Koska Reeves (WWE's Sasha Banks) Topps Star Wars Living Set 10-card lot (/2,637 made)
The Price: Direct cost from Topps
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This top name on the WWE's women's side for several years now had a small role in The Mandalorian and is just now starting to appear on Star Wars cards in packs. This one dropped just before those arrived and the only cards before them were a few cameos on Topps Now episodic sets made for the hit series. She's done signings -- as Mercedes Varnado -- for some Star Wars-focused promotions, so there's a chance we could see some signed cards next. Those will be a big deal but until then I went with a lot of this one -- it's the kind of card I'd totally grade, too.
Grab a box right here: Star Wars boxes are here

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EVERBODY'S FAVORITE RELIEVER?
The Card: Brett Phillips 2014 Topps Heritage Minor League Edition Real One Autographs Black (/35)
The Price: About $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up was a cheap one back when he was a World Series hero for the Rays. More recently, though, he's gotten headlines (and even a Project70 card) for his relief pitching in a blowout for the team that came up just short last year. He's a character and has fun with the game and everybody should have a small segment in their collection for oddball cards or players who stand out in ways beyond just the stat sheet or price column.
Grab a box right here: MiLB boxes are here

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