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 ...

The Card: 2017 Donruss Rookie Gridiron Kings #2 Patrick Mahomes II
The Reason Graded: His break-out campaign started off so strong I had to revisit my past pulls from Donruss last year -- I busted a ton -- and I submitted a trio of his cards. You saw one last month, you see this one here and you'll see another in March. (Call that a spoiler.) This insert isn't the most-striking of cards but it looked very clean in my pre-examining of cards so it made the cut.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: None have graded higher but this one is not alone on the pop report. That surprises me a bit as grading seems to be all about standard RCs, rare numbered parallels and the ol' big mojo hits, but it seems that a season like the one he had could be prompting anything from his first year on cardboard to get another look. (Ironically you can still grab boxes of this one and others relatively cheap, too. To me that all spells fun ... and wax will dry up over time.)

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 3.

The box: 2017 Panini Absolute Racing (hobby)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com (for hit-per-box blasters)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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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 Today: Nothing but highlights and big pulls from boxes and cases from all around the collecting world.

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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 Today: Nothing but big pulls and other break highlights in this Sunday edition.

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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: 2018 Panini Prizm NASCAR cards (blaster box)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 7 (six standard and one Camo Prizm pack)
Cards per pack: 4 (three per Camo)
Cards in this box: 27
Base set completion: 
12 of 50 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Bill Elliott, Danica Patrick, Marcos Ambrose, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman

Rookie Cards (3) – Hailie Deegan, William Byron, Bubba Wallace

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What: 2019 Donruss NASCAR cards
Arrives: Feb. 6
Box basics: One autograph and two memorabilia cards per 24-pack box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: A new season for NASCAR arrives soon with Optic cards worked into the Donruss lineup along with a few surprises that all help celebrate the past, present and future of racing.

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

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We're less than 10 days away from the biggest shopping day of the year and Panini America has begun teasing its promo pack inclusions for Black Friday.

The first wave of teases -- and we'll add the rest right here as they come -- focuses on the parallels found in the eighth edition of packs for the promo packs, which will be bonuses with purchases of the company's products at participating hobby shops beginning on Nov. 23.

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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: 2018 Panini Prizm NASCAR cards (blaster box)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 7 (six standard and one Camo Prizm pack)
Cards per pack: 4 (three per Camo)
Cards in this box: 27
Base set completion: 
12 of 50 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Trevor Bayne, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski, Harry Gant, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Jeff Burton, Joey Logano, Kyle Petty

Rookie Cards (2) – Hannah Newhouse, Christopher Bell

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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: 2018 Panini Prizm NASCAR cards (blaster box)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 7 (six standard and one Camo Prizm pack)
Cards per pack: 4 (three per Camo)
Cards in this box: 27
Base set completion: 
11 of 50 (22 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Rusty Wallace, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose

Rookie Cards (1) – Hailie Deegan

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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 Today: Pondering the worst starting QB in the NFL and highlights from several big pulls from around the collecting world.

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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: 2018 Championship Collection NASCAR repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart ($19.98) Click here for NASCAR cards

Packs per box: 9 plus one bonus item and eight extra cards
Cards per pack: Varies by brand

Notables on base cards – See gallery for highlights

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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THE LATEST ROOKIE ARRIVAL
The Item: 2018 Panini XR Calvin Ridley Rookie Patch Auto Laundry Tag NFL shield 1/1
The Price: $999.99 Buy-It-Now
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This Atlanta Falcons rookie arrived big-time in a shootout with the New Orleans Saints last Sunday with seven catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns. That firmly put him on the radars for a few more collectors although many were probably already watching this first-round pick anyway. This brand is loaded with all kinds of nice cards like this one and he's got plenty of other high-end feeling cards from products without high-end prices. It's these prime cards that could be the most-volatile on the high-end if dominance continues from the rookie.
Similar Pieces: Other Calvin Ridley autographs on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for Panini XR boxes

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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What:

What's buzz-worthy: Panini America brings this hit-driven product to the track with a high-end product that Panini says "will deliver the most jumbo-prime memorabilia hits of any NASCAR product yet" and "the most on-card autographs of the 2018 season."

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

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She just turned 17 last month, but she's out-selling many of the guys when it comes to NASCAR cards.

Her name is Hailie Deegan, and she's a NASCAR newcomer who is the daughter of a racer and motocross rider (one among the most-successful X Games competitors ever) and her card appearances in Panini America's first three racing sets this year are in relatively big demand.

Deegan is in her debut season as part of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and has a handful of top-five finishes so far this season in 14 races -- generating enough fan interest that the 2018 Donruss Next In Line Cracked Ice insert above, a relatively standard card limited to 999 copies, sold on eBay for $27.95. (Boxes don't cost much more than that.) 

But her first autographs are generating even more interest.

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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: 2018 Donruss NASCAR cards (hobby)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 10
Cards in this box: 242
Base set completion: 172 of 175 (98 percent)
Duplicates: 16

Notables on base cards – Pretty much everybody from the past and present can be found in this one ...

Rookie Cards (6) – Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Spencer Gallagher, Christopher Bell, William Byron (2)

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The wrapper redemption programs at the National Sports Collectors Convention are a challenge, a pastime and a must-do for many attendees every year.

But there are drawbacks, too, hence that challenge part. There can be long waits -- depending on how long the lines are and, more importantly, how early you got in them -- and there's the possibility that your line could get cut off before land your treasures.

But the wait can be worth it with the surprises in your packs -- or your boxes you grab to get said packs -- and that's what Buzz opted to try a few times this year. Now up? The Panini America program.

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If you're headed to this year's National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, odds are you have a few bucks in your pocket.

We want you to earmark $10 for a little something something at the show -- whatever you want from wherever you want, whatever you think is cool.

Why? We've got a package of 10 cards (see our gallery) that can be yours if you participate in the Blowout Buzz $10 NSCC Challenge. 

Keep reading for the details.

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NASCAR fans at this year's National Sports Collectors Convention have a reason to dig into new boxes of 2018 Panini Certified racing cards at the show.

Panini America revealed on Sunday that it has readied a special National racing promo pack that they'll get for each box of Certified they open at the company's booth during the show that's set for Aug. 1-5 in Cleveland.

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Buzz doesn't hit The History Channel that often -- unless there's maybe an American Pickers marathon on -- but there was a little bit of oldschool Americana there for three hours late Sunday night.

A show called Evel Live brought a little bit of daredevil insanity that felt right out of the 1970s as motorsports star Travis Pastrana successfully replicated three of Evel Knievel's biggest stunts all on live TV -- without any of the broken bones that the late star suffered in his Caesar's Palace jump that ended in jarring fashion that's been seen countless times in painful slow-motion.

Pastrana used an Indian Scout motorcycle -- a 340-pound beast much heavier and stiffer than his motocross equipment where he's done some insane stunts -- to jump 143 feet over 52 crushed cars, 192 feet over 16 buses and 149 feet to clear the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Before that last one, he wound his way through the crowded strip posing for selfies and high-fiving fans stuck in traffic in a way that would make Johnny Blaze proud.

You might not expect either of them to have a lot of cardboard -- and they don't -- but you can find certified autographs of each with some hunting.

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What: 2018 Panini Prizm NASCAR cards
Arrives: Sept. 19
Box basics: Four autographs per 12-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Panini America brings Prizm back out on the track after a season in the garage and it returns with on-card autographs and a new array of features.

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

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 7.

The box: 2016 Panini Prizm NASCAR (retail jumbo packs)
The cost: Click here for hobby (when available)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Panini America is readying its Father's Day promo packs for the seventh season and has begun teasing what's to come.

So far, we've gotten a look at the basics for the release as well as some of the inserts.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 7.

The box: 2006 Press Pass Legends NASCAR (retail blister packs box)
The cost: Will vary (click here for hobby when available)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 10.

The box: 2017 Panini Absolute Racing (hobby)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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What:

What's buzz-worthy: Panini America takes Certified out on the track once again after a season in the pits and it returns with on-card autographs and plenty of memorabilia.

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

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