Buzz Buys: Tua Tagovailoa, Project 2020, Star Wars toys, Silent Bob's mom, The Last Dance, Starrcast & plenty more
This entry was posted on May 12, 2020
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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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THE CORRECT COLOR OF PRIZM
The Card: Tua Tagovailoa 2020 Panini Prizm Draft Picks Red Prizms
The Price: $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I didn't pull anything for this guy in a number of retail Prizm boxes and packs so far this year, so I opted just to grab the parallel I wanted the most -- the one with the right color for his team on this card that should have been found in one of my mega boxes but wasn't. I had an eye on slabbing this one but it has a surface issue that nixed that idea ... so we'll see what happens from here on out. Once new cardboard starts flowing, I'm sure there will be more options out there. Maybe I'll grab and slab one of these ... or maybe something else.
Grab a box right here: 2020 Panini Prizm Draft Picks
Keep reading for more interesting items ...
CHASED AFTER-THE-FACT ...
The Card: Rickey Henderson 2020 Topps Project 2020 -- Artist: Joshua Vides (/1,221)
The Price: $35
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I skipped buying this one from Topps and probably mocked this artist's cards when they first arrived because, well, it might not be the most-complicated approach of art for Project 2020. (It's really not.) But once Topps teased the fact that the painting/tracing done here to add contours and a different feel is more of a foiled look on what seems to be an acetate layer, well, then these made more sense. (They look a lot better out of their cases based on images I have seen but I'm not going there despite my case being warped or not flush under its seal -- see that top left side.) I may or may not try to grab all Henderson cards -- I've done the first three -- but so far so good. Since this earlier card is on the rarer side and flippers are going in hard on this set, they are going for about $180 a pop on eBay right now -- this buy paid off a bit.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this -- but MLB boxes are here.
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NO MONEY THIS TIME ...
The Card: Carmella vs. Asuka 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Purple (/99)
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This year's Money In The Bank pay-per-view had these two in the main event match for the title but this time around it was Asuka who won the briefcase (and the title). I picked this one up since it was a parallel of a card with a classic photo -- that reaction just is her character -- for a relatively cheap price. Numbered parallels don't seem to flow as easily from WWE hobby boxes like this one, either.
Grab a box right here: None for this one -- WWE boxes are here
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AW, NUTS ...
The Card: Dale Jarrett 2000 Press Pass Optima Race-Used Lugnuts driver card (/100)
The Price: $2
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This rare card was too cheap to pass up and it's a unique one as it's got a slice of a race-used lugnut embedded into it. I'm not totally sure what part is the metal from the lugnut -- the middle or the lignite shape -- as it's all laminated and thin cut but for the price and the scarcity I'm not worried about it. Doesn't hurt that it's a card of a Hall of Famer, too.
Grab a box right here: None for this one -- newer NASCAR is here
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JUST FOR FUN
The Toy: Han Solo in Carbonite -- Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary Funko Pop!
The Price: $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Star Wars Day got me ripping into some wax from a galaxy far, far away but it also got me looking at toys as a new wave of stuff was timed for that merch-pushing debut day on the calendar. Rather than chase a new hilarious traditional figure of this moment, this one got my attention. It's not a perfect sculpt but it's a funny one and it works for me -- it'll sit on the ol' desk for a while and then end up in its box in a box with other pick-ups from the past at some point. I try not to do a lot of Funko Pop! toys -- they are always worth a look, though -- and it's easier to not get sucked in without Toys R Us around and hundreds of these staring me in the face.
Grab a box right here: Find new Star Wars boxes
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UFC IS BACK!
The Card: Arianny Celeste 2018 Topps UFC Knockout Tier One Relics (/99)
The Price: $6
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I try to pick up unusual (or at least different) Relics from time to time to add some variety to the stash and to what I present here. This one seemed like a good one to unleash since UFC is back. (Why this one? Well, I didn't have any other UFC options sitting in my queue.) She appears on roughly 300 different cards with nearly half of them being autographs and a third being memorabilia cards -- both surprisingly high numbers if you ask me.
Grab a box right here: None for this one -- other UFC boxes are here
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THE LAST DANCE ...
The Card: Carmen Electra 2005-06 Topps "Rookie Card"
The Price: Pocket change
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: One name I didn't expect to see during The Last Dance was Carmen Electra who showed up during the Dennis Rodman episode. What might be a surprise to some collectors out there is the fact that she appears on a lot of trading cards and some of her first ones (I say some because there are likely some I don't know about) are from Topps NBA card sets. She has about a dozen cards from a few releases where Topps included some celebs -- Jay-Z, Christie Brinkley, Shannon Elizabeth and Jenny McCarthy among them (with autos and mem cards). I've picked off a few of her cards here and there with an eye on maybe slabbing some -- just for fun -- but I'm sure there were some out there looking for her cards here with The Last Dance. Everything else on cardboard seemed to get a bump from the series that ends this coming weekend.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one -- but NBA boxes are here
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THE NEXT LAST DANCE?
The Card: Mark McGwire 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Framed Relics
The Price: Under $5
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: In June, a new ESPN documentary arrives called Long Gone Summer and it will track the story of the home run chase between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire -- a storybook run that turned out to be bogus in the eyes of many as PEDs were in play and since McGwire admitted using them during his career. How in-depth will the documentary get? We'll see ... it's just a single episode. McGwire's autographed cards aren't as rare as they used to be -- and Sosa isn't signing much -- but both could end up being on some peoples' minds as they revisit what was a fun time until it wasn't. I grabbed this Relic awhile back since I've always been a sucker for framed mini cards and I can probably count the number of McGwire mem cards I've pulled on one hand. (Not pricey in general ... just not everyday finds.)
Grab a box right here: 2019 Topps Allen & Ginter
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A TALLBOY MYSTERY TO ME
The Card: Steve McNair 1995 Classic Pro Line Draft Jumbos (/1,250)
The Price: $1.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This oddball card got my attention as I'll admit I'm not real sure what the deal is with this set ... but McNair was a bit of a mild favorite of mine back then as I simply pulled more of him than anyone else. I did a lot of ripping since stuff was a lot cheaper and there were a ton of options then. This year's NFL Draft came and went without any big issues and this one was among a few oldschool draft-time pickups I figured I'd show off here. So here you go.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this one -- but NFL boxes are here
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A CHEAP GEM
The Card: Tris Speaker 2014 Panini Hall of Fame 75th Anniversary Sapphire (/15)
The Price: $3.75
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one was a no-brainer of a buy for me as these gem cards -- there's a sapphire embedded into the foil diamond below Speaker -- are interesting and this was too cheap to pass up. I've landed a few of these for low prices through the years but this might be the lowest of the bunch. It's not the flashiest design, but being a unique card is the point here.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this -- but MLB boxes are here.
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THE MILKMAID IS SILENT BOB'S MOM
The Card: Grace Smith 2017 Upper Deck Skybox Clerks RST Autographs
The Price: Under $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: With Mother's Day just past us, this card seemed like it was time to go from my waiting list to Buzz Buys reality. Grace Smith is director Kevin Smith's mom and she played The Milkmaid -- the woman who checks every date on every gallon of milk -- in his original made-in-a-convenience-store classic. (Made for $27,575 on his own credit cards with a minimum-wage job while working that same store during the day, by the way. It's a fact.) I didn't buy a bunch of these boxes -- but somebody did because they are nowhere to be found now -- because there were quite a few autos like this one that are super, super cheap ... but at least it's one with an amusing side story. (His sister has autographed cards, too, but I can't really detail what her job was in the R-rated classic.)
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this -- but non-sports boxes are here.
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HUH-HUH ... HUH-HUH ...
The Card: 1994 Fleer Ultra Beavis and Butt-Head promo sheet
The Price: $5.50
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pick-up was one that I made with a chuckle -- I didn't need it but I thought it was interesting. There were a few past card sets for this hit series back in the day -- two from Fleer and one from Topps and I think one was for release in the UK as some of the cards are alarmingly identical content-wise -- but this promo sheet seemed like it might be the most-oddball find of them all. The back explains the product to come on a single image (no card backs) giving it a little different feel, too. (Promo card sheets weren't all that uncommon in hobby publications back the day but I hadn't ever seen this one.) I may try and chase a high-grade copy of some key singles here at some point -- but unopened boxes might yield problematic cards gloss-wise if you open them ... and they are not cheap at all. Seriously.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this -- but non-sports boxes are here.
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COOL SWATCH, BRO
The Card: Mack Anglin 2018 Leaf Metal Perfect Game All-American Patch Autographs Orange button (/4)
The Price: About $10
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I knew nothing about the player when I picked up this card -- it was solely since it was a button card -- but he's apparently playing for the Clemson Tigers. We'll see if that leads to an MLB draft spot at some point ... he didn't have amazing stats this year based on what I saw. Cool card, though.
Grab a box right here: Leaf Perfect Game boxes (all years)
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BABYFACE TURNED HEEL
The Card: Candice LeRae 2018 Topps WWE Women's Division Purple Autographs (/99)
The Price: About $7
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is her WWE card debut and first autograph so I figured I'd pick one up just because of that awhile back -- and now Mrs. Johnny Wrestling and her husband are heels who are taking on darker personas in NXT. That could get interesting. You'd think once they work through going bad their next stop would be some Raw or Smackdown time ... we'll see.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Topps WWE Women's Division
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FOOD ISSUE ODDITY
The Card: Chuck Knoblauch 1992 Mother's Cookies Chuck Knoblauch 1991 AL ROY
The Price: $1
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: When I first saw this card not that long ago, I thought it was somebody playing a Photoshop joke in the realm of Billy Ripken but without any profanity. It turns out the "Big Knob" notation on his bat is real ... so I grabbed the card. It's nothing pricey and nothing really rare ... just a reminder of how checking out the details on cards was a bigger deal back in the day, especially back in 1989.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this -- but MLB boxes are here.
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RARE PARALLEL?
The Card: Dan Johnson, Nick Swisher & Joe Blanton 2005 Fleer Tradition Gray parallel
The Price: $1 ... but I would have paid more.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one popped up and I did a double-take as it's a card I haven't landed despite years of chasing one player's cards here. It's statistically not rare -- these parallels with gray borders and backs are supposedly one in every other pack -- but I've never seen one in person. Maybe the Trio Prospects parallels are rarer than standard cards? Or perhaps this set was so bland that nobody really wants to look through them and thinks anybody would want to buy ... yet I did.
Grab a box right here: No boxes of this -- but MLB boxes are here.
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A DIFFERENT FINALE ...
The Set: 2019 Starrcast II wrestling cards -- 36-card set
The Price: $16
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This is a card set made for a three-day wrestling convention known as Starrcast, which includes not only plenty of live action but also a streaming element where those who can't make it to the show (this one being in Vegas) can see what's up. While these tend to coincide with AEW events this one included stars from the past and present and stars of several promotions and the names attached to the event made the set, which has a traditional card front and then backs that show the same image but as more of a Vegas-style playing card. It's simple but I picked it up for a good price to get some earlier cardboard of a few names and perhaps some rarer cards of some well-established ones. See anybody you know?
Grab a box right here: Poke around online and you might find 'em -- WWE boxes are here
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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
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