Buzz buys a lot of stuff these days and for a few reasons, really. Sometimes it's just bargain-hunting, sometimes it's just something that strikes me. And other times it's a lot -- a group of things -- and that has happened enough lately I figured I'd try something different as a regularly appearing item. Sometimes my lots will be wins, sometimes they won't be ... but I'll let you decide. 

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DIGGING UP ONE GEM?
The Lot: A lot of nine 1975-76 Topps NBA stars
The Price: About $11

Keep reading for more on this one ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: MLB pulls, Topps Heritage chatter, Angel Hernandez, Victor Wembanyama, Elly De La Cruz and the end of the eBay Vault.

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What: 2023-24 Panini Select basketball cards
Arrives: May 10 for hobby, May 22 for H2
Box basics: Three autos or memorabilia cards per 12-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case); four packs her H2 box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Select once again hits the court with the same formula -- a tiered base set with plenty of parallels -- but a new rookie class and some other surprises from this colorful brand.

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

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Buzz recently landed a grail item ... and here's its story.

My latest in this Collecting Game-used series is a game-used jersey for a player probably most of you won't know -- actually, I expect that -- and it's an item that's pushing 50 years old, too, so it's definitely not a piece with ironclad straight-off-the-back holographically stickered documentation with an authenticity statement that can be looked up in some database somewhere at any time on any day.

In this case, though? I can without any hesitation state that this 1976-77 Houston Rockets road jersey is as real as it gets, was on the back of small forward John "J.J" Johnson back in the day -- likely all season long when on the road and then during the playoffs, too. These days, postseason jerseys would have extra touches on them with specialty patches attached and in some cases a guy might wear a few jerseys per game. In this case it's just like any other jersey -- if there are any others.

How do I know it's legit, though? Some dumb luck, really, thanks to a publicly available photo database cross-checked with Johnson's game logs for his two seasons with the Rockets. It's mostly the luck part thanks to one photographer's work from back in the day, a photo that's not the norm at all from those years. It's also an ironclad match thanks to some quirky flaws on this jersey -- look closely at that "Houston" we'll come back to that later. It might have scared some people off of this one as this sat on eBay for weeks (if not months) before I made it my biggest hobby purchase ever in decades of collecting. Why? Some school ties -- Johnson was the first former NBA player I ever interviewed long, long ago ... and also the fact that vintage game-used memorabilia just doesn't pop up regularly. I doubt I'd be able to find anything comparable ever again if I passed it up.

Keep reading to see the details this time -- it's those weird flaws that make this photo-match a lock.

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A top college basketball star is joining the Panini America team.

LSU Tigers star Angel Reese has signed an exclusive autographed card and memorabilia deal and it was revealed Wednesday morning by the Irving, Texas-based company. It's the second exclusive deal with a female athlete for the company, according to Panini, with Iowa's Caitlin Clark its previous signee.

"Angel is an outstanding talent and an electric player, and we are excited to welcome her to the Panini family as an exclusive athlete," said Jason Howarth, Senior VP of Marketing and Athlete Relations. "We look forward to offering her fans Angel's trading cards and memorabilia."

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Topps Heritage, NBA pulls, showing off sets, Julio Rodriguez and more in today's edition.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Caitlin Clark ends things one win short, Wrestlemania chatter, Shohei Ohtani and more in this Monday edition.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Wrestlemania chatter, ripping a case of Big League, non-sports pulls, 2024 Bowman, Caitlin Clark and Shohei Ohtani.

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What: 2024 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketball Jerseys
Arrives: June 19
Box basics: One autographed basketball jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line hits the hardwood for a new year with some of the biggest stars in the history of the game involved as either standard jerseys or as the big chase and the biggest new name in the NBA is in there, too.

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What: 2023-24 Panini Noir basketball cards
Arrives: May 29
Box basics: Four autographs and three memorabilia cards per 10-card box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Noir hits the hardwood once again with the nods to shoes, moody hues and, of course, new Rookie Cards and plenty more within its high-end boxes.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: 2024 Bowman chatter, NBA pulls, Shohei Ohtani, Caitlin Clark, Kris Bryant and some advice threads to see for returning collectors.

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What: 2023-24 Panini Obsidian basketball cards
Arrives: May 22
Box basics: Two autographed cards and one memorabilia card per seven-card box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Obsidian arrives on the hardwood for the sixth time with top NBA rookies and plenty more to be found as part of this sometimes-colorful release.

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

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What: 2023-24 Panini Impeccable basketball cards
Arrives: May 15
Box basics: Five on-card autographs per nine-card box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Impeccable NBA collectors drops once again with all of the precious metals, rookies, autographs and plenty more in a hits-driven approach.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Big pulls, the Sophomore Slump, Victor Wembanyama, Shohei Ohtani, Joey Bart and more.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

SNIKT!
The Book: Wolverine No. 50 (newsstand edition)
The Reason Graded: Back in 1992, Little Buzz was probably nearing the end of his comic book days -- or maybe a little after this one arrived -- but with some connections to a local book store I was able to get comics before they hit those spinner racks that resulted in books getting broken spines like they were Batman up against Bane. (Or something.) And with that era being one of mass-produced stuff that was still very creative on both the art front as well as the printing/gimmick front, I and many others were buying ... in quantity. This issue is one exploring Wolverine's origins and it's got a cardboard cover with his claws the source of the big die-cut gashes here revealing the first page of what's in the file (issue). I bought maybe a half-dozen of them as it was cool -- a few at the local comics shop and a few more at the book store -- and that's the key here. These newsstand versions -- same except for the UPC in the corner and not a marvel direct logo (that started in 1981) filling the box -- figure to be much, much rarer in a high grade.
The Grade: CGC 9.8 (Universal)

Reality Check: This one was a win but I expected it as my copies here are razor sharp. How many of those graded might be newsstand copies? It's a mystery right now but asking prices on eBay as I prep this file are as high as $500 for a newsstand copy while a direct has a max asking of $299. Actual sales for 9.8s in recent weeks? About $320 for newsstand and $85 for direct. I'll take that ... I'm in for just $2.50 (though I may have gotten a discount) and my grading fees. Most "serious" collectors bought at comics shops in the boom years, seeing newsstand is inferior with those barcodes ... now those barcodes are gold as long as you're in an elite grade.

Keep reading for more of this month's pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Victor Wembanyama and NBA box-buying, Shohei Ohtani, Nikola Jokic, new golf cards, MLB chatter and a bad year for NFL cards?

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: MLB chatter, Shohei Ohtani, Bronny James, new Topps Tribute pulls and more.

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What: 2023-24 Topps National Basketball League basketball cards
Arrives: April 24
Box basics: 20 packs per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The stars of Australia's Hungry Jack’s NBL get another packed-out card set of their own showcasing today's stars of the basketball court down under.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of what's to come for this one.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Opening Day standouts, Shohei Ohtani, Caleb Williams, player collectors and more.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: New pulls, NFL and MLB chatter, the "Ohtani Guilt-O-Meter" and could old-timers play in MLB today?

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: The Shohei Ohtani scandal, new NBA and Chrome UFC pulls, card alterations and more have 'em talking.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: A Shohei Ohtani-related scandal, CGC's new addition, Peyton Manning, card alterations, grails and more.

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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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FROM 61* TO CARDBOARD ... 
The Card: Roger Maris & Barry Pepper 2021 Leaf Ultimate Sports The Ultimate Duo (/12)
The Price: $25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This one flew under my radar for sure until I recently spotted it and had to grab it instantly. For those who don't know, actor Berry Pepper played Roger Maris in 61* -- trailer here -- a 2001 Billy Crystal movie made for HBO. It's easily among the best baseball movies out there for accuracy as Crystal is an obsessive Yankees fan who notes it all in behind-the-scenes segments you can see on the DVD. This one pairs a piece of what is likely a Maris bat with a piece of what looks like a leather jacket for Pepper -- not the most-ideal combo of items, but it is what it is. This is the only card pairing the two and it's the easiest version to find -- the rest of the parallels and printing plates have lower numbering here -- all /6 and below ... no wonder this one was off my radar for three years. I simply hadn't seen any of them.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this one but Leaf baseball boxes are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Justin Fields is set to be a Steeler, showing off multi-player autos, vintage NFL, Connor Bedard and more in this Sunday edition.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Talking MLB and NBA, Ronald Acuña Jr., the Dylan Cease deal, 2024 Topps and more.

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