Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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MY BEAR NECESSITY
The Item: Paul "Bear" Bryant autographed & dated/inscribed (Oct. 18, 1976) 8-by-10 photo (BAS authenticated)
The Price: $219 ... high for me but it's the perfect item for me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a jaw-dropper of a find for me during a random search of Mill Creek Sports' superstore for autographed stuff earlier this year and I've saved it for football season, specifically this month, to present it and tell its story. It's personalized and that makes it perfect for me this time ... and to top that, the signed date -- the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach and football icon who won 323 games dated everything signed like this -- might as well be on Buzz's actual birthday. (It's close ... close enough.) The odds of this existing or one being signed on my actual birthday? Well, I'm sure there were a number of things to sign on this Monday and I'm also very sure he wasn't sitting down to sign requests on a gameday when I kicked things off in the world. So, this is perhaps as close as it can get. The quality and condition of the photo are perfect and the ink is perfectly legible, too. Now, is his autograph really rare? Not particularly, but he died in January 1983 well before sit-down and paid signing sessions were en vogue for sports legends and he's still in high, historic demand despite Nick Saban equaling him and/or re-writing the Alabama record book in more recent years. It's the perfect item at a perfect price and it will always be mine.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but football cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

A HIGH-GRADE DOMINATOR
The Card: Paul Skenes 2025 Topps Heritage
The Reason Bought: I'll fully admit I'm a sucker for high-grade Heritage Rookie Cards and, while this isn't an RC, this one captured my attention just like one as I've ripped my fair share of Heritage this year and, well, not much of the cards that matter that I pulled could have checked in at a perfect grade. All that perfection, the clean photo and the color scheme here got me to bite.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: I didn't check the pop report before grabbing it, so it was an extra bonus to see that it's the lone card in the top slot with a decent number of cards below it -- and that goes as low as a CGC 7. That reinforces that Heritage isn't the easiest grade. That makes this one even more of a win in my book.

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

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What: 2025 Leaf Kickboxer trading cards
Arrives: Oct. 3
Box basics: One autographed card per box

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf showcases a memorable fighting film of the past with nothing but ink from two top stars in every box.

Keep reading for more details.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Leaf Metal Pop Century 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs 
Where to buy: Click here (these are box-toppers in Pop Century boxes)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Leaf Metal Pop Century 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs 
Where to buy: Click here (these are box-toppers in Pop Century boxes)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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What: 2025 Topps Disney Wonder trading cards
Arrives: Oct. 15 for hobby/blaster ... Nov. 15 for Winter Mega
Box basics: One serial-numbered card per 20-pack hobby box (12 per case); seven packs per blaster (40 per case); 15 packs per Winter Mega (20 per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when live)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps introduces a new Disney line coming soon that has "magic in every pack" as this one "brings the entire Disney universe to life in stunning new designs" in an "enchanting collection features a 190-card tiered base set across specially designed Tier 1, Tier 2, Villain and Princess tiers."

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2024 Topps Chrome Dune trading cards
Arrives: Oct. 10, 2025
Box basics: Three serial-numbered Refractors per 10-pack box (12 boxes per case) -- four autographs per case
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' mission to Chrome the entire universe -- real or fictional -- reaches the planet of Arrakis next month.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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The Roy Hobbs prop baseball card seen in The Natural is heavily faked and all over eBay. The real one as seen here does not have a printed back. Robert Redford died today at age 89.

What's Buzzing: Robert Redford, NFL chatter, C.J. Stroud, The Boys, Phillies Karen and the MLBPA Players Collection are today's topics.

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1 -- All your NFL chatter is here

2 -- What goes up ... 

3 -- Robert Redford dies at 89

4 -- Inside a case of The Boys

5 -- Introducing the MLBPA Players Collection 

6 -- Phillies Karen: The new offer stands

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Auction Buzz is a monthly look at some of the variety found out there on the auction block ... check 'em out.

It's going to be a busy end of the year for Dallas-based Heritage Auctions with a number of regularly scheduled events as well as some showcase auctions with high-profile stuff all on the calendar. This time, we look at a few things from a few active sales this month.

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ANOTHER BIG JORDAN
The Item: Michael Jordan Oct. 26, 1984 (NBA Debut) Chicago Bulls season-ticket stub (PSA 4)
The Price: $65,000 after 25 bids (ends Sept. 27)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Last month, a Michael Jordan (and Kobe Bryant) card sale via auction re-wrote some hobby history and, while we're confident this one won't fetch $12.9 million, this one is in some rare air. It has already hit its estimated price from the auction house and while its grade is low there are only three higher. "The most important athletic debut of the post-war era?" asked Heritage in its listing. "A strong argument could be made. Perhaps only Wayne Gretzky could challenge Michael Jordan in balloting seeking to identify the most dominant figure of his respective major sport, but once you step outside the sports arena and into the wider popular culture, M.J. leaves The Great One in his dust. He remains one of the most recognizable humans on the planet two decades after his retirement from the NBA." Jordan scored a modest 16 points in a 109-93 win over the Washington Bullets on this night and only 14 of these have been grade overall.

Keep reading for more interesting pieces up for grabs right now.

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What: 2025 Cryptozoic CZX Jurassic Park trading cards
Arrives: One autograph, one sketch card (and more) per standard box ... Preview Boxes (/500) dropped at San Diego Comic-Con July 24
Box basics: TBD for standard release ... 10 cards per Preview Box
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Cryptozoic's high-end line goes prehistoric at some point soon, but later this month a Preview Box arrives to get things hatching for the long-running film franchise showcasing all those famous dinosaurs.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery sampling the possibilities in this one.

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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GOING FOR THE GOLD
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Wave Prizm (/10)
The Price: Around the price of a blaster box at arrival
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This brand is my favorite of the Panini years for WWE, and in the case of this star who I collect I have seemed to found her rarities on the affordable side at times with this release. This is a perfect example of that with it being one of the rarest parallels in there but it cost me not much more than the price of a retail box. It was arguably underpriced, so I grabbed it quickly when I spotted it. Will I grade it? It's a possibility, though this release's centering issues can create some surprises (that aren't totally surprises) as I found out with a different parallel of this card. Poke around in Making The Grade last month for an example.
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Leaf Metal Pop Century 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs 
Where to buy: Click here (these are box-toppers in Pop Century boxes)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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What's Buzzing: A.J. Lee returns to WWE, NFL Week 1 chatter, Junior Caminero, Star Wars Chrome, Sapphire UFC and more.

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1 -- NFL Week 1 is here

2 -- A.J. Lee returns to WWE after a decade away

3 -- Checking in on the Junior Caminero thread 

4 -- Results from almost a half-case of Star Wars Chrome blasters 

5 -- Inside a Sapphire UFC box

6 -- All your MLB chatter

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What: 2025 Topps Chrome SpongeBob SquarePants trading cards
Arrives: Oct. 1
Box basics: Five autographs or sketch cards per case -- 12 packs per hobby box (12 boxes per case); seven packs of four cards per blaster box (40 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here (when live)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' mission to Chrome the world reaches the realm of the square yellow sponge living in a pineapple in the city of Bikini Bottom on the floor of the Pacific Ocean at some point soon.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The pack: 2025 Leaf Metal Pop Century 1/1 Pre-Production Proofs 
Where to buy: Click here (these are box-toppers in Pop Century boxes)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

TOP-GRADE VARIATION
The Card: C.J. Stroud 2021-22 Bowman University Chrome Prospects -- image variation
The Reason Graded: If you poke around in the archives for the Buzz Breaks of this release, you'll likely find a break where I missed this one and just simply called it a Refractor despite it being an image variation (all are Refractors on these). It should have been obvious based on the practice photo vs. game action, but I only spotted it well after the fact -- months, if not years, later -- when going through my old boxes. When I stopped to look, this card looked absolutely flawless and since it's somewhat rarer than the others it's also still a bit pricier for a standard card. (It's no monster but it's definitely better than a few types of Refractors.) Since it was so clean and the NFL season is upon us, I put this one into a bulk submission.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: This card checked in at exactly where I thought it would. Fun find and a win -- and it wasn't even tucked away in a box penny sleeved. The divide between mine and the other copies graded is also an interesting one -- perhaps there's a common flaw on copies due to position on the sheet or from machinery? No idea ...

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

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What: 2025 Leaf Metal Halloween autograph cards
Arrives: Late September
Box basics: Three autographed cards per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: The Metal holiday releases take a turn with this one -- carrying a wider distribution beyond just online -- with fewer than 450 cases made for a release that teams the pop culture stars of this holiday with icons from the sports realm.

Keep reading for more details and a teaser gallery for this one.

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This new department will be an occasional series that will take a quick look at a game our gaming release with card elements -- essentially a breakdown of what's in a box, but not the typical kind of a Buzz Break. (Buzz isn't a gamer so this will just be what's in a box vs. gameplay analysis.) Maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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The Game: Star Wars Rivals Expandable Game System Premier Set Series I (Funko Games, 2023)
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for other gaming -- or for traditional Star Wars cards

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery from this one.

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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PARALLEL POWER?
The Card: National League Wins Leaders (Spencer Strider, Zac Gallen, Justin Steele) 2024 Topps True Photo variant & Gold Foil parallel
The Price: About $11 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The concept of this one is simple and it's striking -- knock off the border of a base card completely, using just its photo -- and I think it works. But there's also one thing here that's striking -- and not in the best way. These are arguably too rare to make that big of an impact with me and I think perhaps other collectors who might not bother to grab their players or even think about a team set or full set. How rare? They are one in 677 hobby packs and I'm confident they'd be more popular if people could reasonably collect a team run or set. Why? Because they're something dramatically different and you can compare the regular card and this version side by side. I also grabbed a Gold Foil parallel for this one this time after I bit on the variant ... just to say I had one. Even paying $10 for this was a stretch for me ... and those odds and that price might say that these aren't as popular as they could/should be. These are one in basically every third hobby case.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2025 Leaf Metal Authentics autograph cards
Arrives: Aug. 29
Box basics: One on-card autograph per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Metal is back with nothing but autographs and colorful, rarer parallels in play with a mix of sports and non-sports all in one -- and with multsigned cards (above) and inscriptions (below) also mixed in.

Keep reading for more details and a teaser gallery for this one.

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What: 2025 Leaf Vivid football cards
Arrives: Sept. 12
Box basics: Seven autos per nine-card hobby box (12 boxes per case) or 10 autos per 12-card jumbo box (eight per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: A third year of Vivid football includes base cards in the mix -- every one of them a 1/1 creation -- alongside the autographs that cover the gridiron and offer up a few surprised from beyond it, too.

Keep reading for more.

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For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? A member of The Sandlot cast, Patrick Renna.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

NINES ARE FINE
The Card: Aaron Judge 2017 Topps Archives -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: The unique 1960 Topps design always stands out to me. Why? Because one of my first clean vintage cards as a kid was a Gus Bell form the set, which I got since I knew he was a big-leaguer's dad. (Yay, trivia!) So that's perhaps one reason I held this Judge RC instead of letting it go. (Plus, I didn't rip as much of this brand ... so it was the only copy I pulled.) Judge's dominating 2025 season should make you stop and wonder about slabbing any RCs or early/rare stuff you have now ... just because. He and Shohei Ohtani are all-timers playing right in front of our faces now and are as safe as it gets when it comes to grab and slab or buy and hold -- even with plenty of their cards being graded.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: I knew this wouldn't be a 10 contender with the finicky stock here and the centering being a smidge off by my typical standards for a slab, but, like I said, it was my only copy. Most check in at this grade, so the nine makes sense, too, and the volume below it also shows this card isn't the easiest to grade.

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

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

The box: 2004 BenchWarmer Series 1 (Canadian box) trading cards
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... See newer BenchWarmer boxes here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of everything in this box.

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What's Buzzing: Nick Kurtz is putting on a show, The National is next week, talking Topps Chrome and more.

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1 -- Nick Kurtz is at 24 homers ... four on Friday night

2 -- The National is next week

3 -- Talking Topps Chrome

4 -- Showing off some movie baseball cards

5 -- Go Bananas, folks ...

6 -- Hulk Hogan dies at 71

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.