If you've watched any NFL games this season, you've likely heard the word "concussion" many times as the league has implemented new tests on players to help prevent future problems by assessing the here and now immediately following a hard hit.

On Christmas Day, a film about the issue of concussions in football called Concussion opens in theaters. You've probably seen the commercials for the film during NFL games.

Will Smith stars as Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovered the degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It's a real-life issue that has affected more than 80 former players -- many you've seen on football cards and might have collected. The movie is an important one and Sports Illustrated has Smith on its cover this week to discuss the movie.

Is it the first time a celebrity has appeared on the cover of the highly collectable sports magazine?

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What: 2016 Topps Warcraft trading cards
Arrives: May 11, 2016
Box basics: Two autographs or Relics per every 24-pack hobby box

What's buzz-worthy: If you were at a movie theater this weekend, odds are you saw the
trailer for the next Topps trading card property -- Warcraft -- which is a movie based on the top-selling video game series. Just like other films you might have heard of (you know, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) this one will have autographs, Relics and more for a release that will be found in both hobby and retail boxes in advance of the film's June 10 release.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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A pair of 2015 Topps Star Wars The Force Awakens Mystery Redemptions have hit eBay since the set's release on Friday.

And the first one has sold -- for big bucks.

The card was initially announced as being for Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in The Force Awakens, but Topps unspoiled its spoiler by removing the reference to it being a card for her on the autograph checklist posted on its website.

So, how much did it go for?

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Will it sell? That's the simplest question as the first certified autograph of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' John Boyega has hit eBay.

Click here to see its price -- if it's not gone already.

Boyega plays Finn in the film, which opens today and this card is from 2015 Topps Star Wars High Tek, which includes one autograph or sketch card in every box. He's the only signer for the new cast members in the product and it's his first run at a certified autograph.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing: Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars. Oh and National Treasures, Tim Duncan and ... Panini Eminence football cards?

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Update (Aug. 8, 2016): After a long wait, Ridley has been confirmed as being the mystery auto by Topps.

Topps has released the checklist for 2015 Topps Star Wars The Force Awakens Series 1, and it includes a Mystery Redemption on the autograph checklist.

But there's no mystery -- it's Daisy Ridley. (It says so right on the checklist.)

>> Click here to view the 2015 Topps Star Wars The Force Awakens Series 1 checklist as released by Topps

Among the signers, only Ridley and John Boyega are the only signers among the new cast. The rest are notable names from the past films who'll apparently appear in The Force Awakens. Among them are Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew.

Keep reading for a full autograph checklist and more details.

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The awakening will be felt by many starting tomorrow but there still could be a sleeper set out there when it comes to Topps' newest Star Wars trading cards.

Two types of 2015 Topps Star Wars: The Force Awakens Series 1 boxes have been made for hobby distribution atop its retail presence. The standard hobby box will have all the hits and things collectors have come to expect -- expect a checklist to arrive on those in the next 24 hours -- but there's also a Hobby Special Edition version of the product that has a cheaper box price.

And these boxes have an added bonus not found anywhere else.

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Less than two days away from the arrival of The Force Awakens and the newest Star Wars card sets, Topps solved one of the mysteries about its forthcoming releases.

John Boyega, who plays Finn in The Force Awakens, will appear on the autograph checklists for both 2015 Topps Star Wars High Tek and 2015 Topps Star Wars: The Force Awakens Series 1.

“We are very excited to have John Boyega join the Topps family,” said brand manager Mark Von Ohlen. “He’s such an important part of the movie and having him in the product was pivotal for us. We know all the fans out are going to love opening packs of cards knowing they can potentially find a John Boyega autograph.”

>> Click here to view the 2015 Topps Star Wars High Tek checklist

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We're less than two days away from the arrival of The Force Awakens and the newest Star Wars card set from Topps -- and both have carry plenty of mystery.

Why? We don't have a checklist yet because even it could contain potential spoilers.

The checklist for 2015 Topps Star Wars: The Force Awakens Series 1 is coming as early as tomorrow and it's likely to include the first autographs of the new generation of Star Wars stars -- the likes of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, who haven't had certified autographs before.

And that got Buzz thinking about the possibilities.

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If you're a fan of a few 1980s toy brands and their cartoons, a new movie deal revealed Tuesday should spark added interest in those collectible toys.

Paramount Pictures and Hasbro have agreed to create films for five properties all as part of one movie universe -- MASK, G.I. Joe, Micronauts, Visionaries and ROM.

"Paramount and Hasbro have had a longstanding relationship and we're proud of the success we've enjoyed on the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises," said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures in a prepared statement. "We're excited to grow our agreement and make even more movies based upon these popular and powerful Hasbro characters and their worlds."

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Somewhere out there in a galaxy not far, far away is a list where every single character in the Star Wars universe exists. Whether they are a bit player or a background character, they seemingly all have names because of merchandising needs and they all probably have back stories to justify the action figures, trading cards and other ways those small-time wonders on the big screen can help make big bucks.

We're not here to showcase bit players who had a few seconds or a few lines. We're here for 10 of the top names from the previous films as the hours melt away before the arrival of The Force Awakens on Friday.

Here are 10 cool cards for 10 key characters in the past Star Wars films.

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If you haven't felt the awakening yet, you will by Friday.

That's the day that Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives and that's also the day that the galaxy right here right now gets a new set of Star Wars cards -- one that includes full scenes from the film and the most-important thing of them all.

Autographs from the new faces of the franchise. (If you thought Star Wars was a force on cardboard before, you haven't seen anything yet. Guaranteed.)

In fact, Friday's release of 2015 Topps Star Wars: The Force Awakens is merely a first series of cards. In fact, it won't even be the only Star Wars set of the week ...

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What: 2015 Onyx Icons Collection autographed baseballs
Arrives: Dec. 24
Box basics: One signed baseball per box (three boxes per mini case and 12 boxes per master case)

What's buzz-worthy: This one includes icons from not just baseball but the entire sports world -- and beyond -- with all of them signing baseballs for the final Onyx Authenticated release of 2015.

Keep reading for more and a full listing of signers.

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When you think of Sylvester Stallone's career, one character probably comes to mind first.

Rocky Balboa.

The memorabilia left over from that big-screen boxer's multi-film career are among countless lots being sold next week as Stallone has chosen Heritage Auctions to sell pieces from throughout his career. It's a collection of memorabilia that spans from the first Rocky films and includes Rambo, The Expendables and plenty more.

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A pair of auctions this week from Profiles in History will help get some iconic pieces of original art into collectors' hands from some of the most-memorable works in pop culture history.

Up first on Thursday (Dec. 10) is the Calabasas, Calif.-based company's "Animation & Disneyana" sale, which will include 880 lots of artwork and Disney memorabilia ranging from retired ride vehicles to animation cels from classic films.

The top two pieces in the sale are original animation cels from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (above) and Lady and the Tramp (below). These pieces carry opening bids of $35,000 and $40,000 respectively and are estimated to command around $50,000 apiece when the final gavel falls. Several other pieces from memorable works, including Fantasia, are among the sale's items as well as a pair of Charles Shulz Peanuts strips.

You can browse the catalog for the auction right here.

And on the other end of the artistic spectrum ...

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Sotheby's is home of notable auctions that are probably not on the radar of most of us -- unless you're somehow a collector of fine art.

In past years the auction house has sold iconic pieces such as Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" for $119.9 million or Pablo Picassso's "Garcon à la Pipe" for $104.3 million. (You probably know the images but not their names.)

If you didn't believe it by now after watching TV or walking down any aisle in a retail store, there's one more way to know Star Wars is a big deal this month.

Sotheby's has an auction coming.

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There will be an awakening in less than a month and we've all felt it in some form or fashion as collectors.

The latest example of that might be Empire magazine's newest issue, which arrives this week with not one, not two, but six different covers for stars of Star Wars: The Force Awakens arriving on Dec. 18.

Each cover arrives with a 3D look delivered via lenticular plastic -- you know, like the old school Kellogg's and Sporflics cards ... but just more intergalactic and stuff.

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The third Blowout Black Friday Doorbuster Preview this year is one that will make a case for buried treasure and cinematic greatness all in one pretty large package.

Autographs of Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg aren't the easiest pulls in the world, but they all can be found in Topps Indiana Jones Heritage. An eight-box case of this one will be one of the dramatically discounted Doorbuster deals on Black Friday (Nov. 27) at BlowoutCards.com.

How much for a case?

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If he signs it, they will come.

Leaf Trading Cards revealed on Friday that it has the first certified autographs of actor Kevin Costner found in packs of the upcoming 2015 Leaf Trinity baseball product.

Other than occasional cuts, he had never signed for a card company.

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Variant editions of comic books are sometimes the Superfractors of that world, commanding crazy cash because of their scarcity and, of course, demand for them.

While this copy of Star Wars Vader Down issue No. 1 is not a 1/1 creation, it's estimated by those in the know to be as rare as a dozen copies because it was only available to dealers who ordered ... wait for it ... 4,999 copies of the standard book. You buy that many, you get one of these.

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Star Wars is a force. We all know that it's a behemoth at the box office, a trailblazer in the toy aisle and just about everywhere else these days in advance of The Force Awakens' arrival next month.

But the sales figures estimates for the toy sales alone so far are staggering.

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Autograph appearances aren't just for baseball players -- they're also for the Rookie of the Year.

And that's exactly who's showing up for an Indiana signing on Sunday -- Thomas Ian Nicholas, the Rookie of the Year. You know, Henry Rowengartner ... the guy who once struck out home run king Barry Bonds?

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Fans of Funko Pop! figures may not see a change in their seemingly always-arriving collectibles, but there was a change in ownership for the Everett, Wash.-based company that makes them earlier this month.

Funko, which was founded in 1998, was acquired by ACON Investments for an undisclosed sum. Its CEO, Brian Mariotti, and management team will continue to lead operations.

"We are excited to be partnering with Brian and the entire Funko team," said Ken Brotman, Founding Partner of ACON, in a prepared statement. "Funko has established itself as a fore-runner in the pop culture space and we look forward to building value in a business that is very well positioned for continued growth."

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New Era Caps, the maker of on-field hats for Major League Baseball and countless other styles of headwear in the sports world and beyond, launched a new line of Star Wars caps on Thursday with classic characters from the science fiction saga but also some new characters from The Force Awakens arriving on Dec. 18.

It's the Star Wars Big Face Collection.

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How 'bout them Stormtroopers? Or ... maybe The Force is strong with them Cowboys.

I've got a bad feeling about this. Or ... It's a trap!

No, Coach Ackbar, this is the latest merchandising push from the Dallas Cowboys -- a line of co-branded apparel meshing Star Wars and the famous Death Star. You can see all of it if you try to keep reading.

Do or do not, though. There is no try.

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