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 Today: 1/1 showcases, unopened wax stashes, Connor McDavid, big-time retro box breaks & Muhammad Ali.

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Way back in 1999, Elton Brand was a star center for the Duke Blue Devils -- a center from tiny Peekskill, N.Y., who was about to make a big impression as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Fast-forward to today and the former Chicago Bull is coming out of retirement to join the NBA's worst team -- the Philadelphia 76ers, owners of a 3-33 record -- to help mentor another former Blue Devils star and first-round pick, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, of course, has had issues off the court this season while also picking up the NBA game quickly. It's a match made in Blue Devils collecting heaven.

"He's not unlike most 20-year-olds you probably know, and he's definitely not at all different than most of his fellow players," Brand wrote in a piece for Sports Illustrated's website. "... if camera phones were around when Brad Miller, Ron Artest and I were Jahlil's age, we might've been banned from the league altogether, never mind suspended for a few games."

So, what about Brand on cardboard?

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Memorabilia from the career of Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin will hit the auction block next week via Goldin Auctions as the former Cincinnati Red has decided to sell his collection.

Among the items in the sale, which will begin on Jan. 11 and end on Jan. 30, are his 1984 USA Baseball uniform and the ball from his first career hit as a big-leaguer. Also found among the 53 lots are items from his University of Michigan days and an All-Star Game-used uniform.

"Barry Larkin is among the most popular players in Reds history as he was born and raised in the Queen City and then played all 19 of his MLB seasons with his hometown Reds," said Ken Goldin founder of Goldin Auctions. "During his remarkable baseball life, he was an Olympic champion, Rookie of the Year, World Series winner, MVP, 12-time All-Star and a Hall of Famer. We are honored to make these rare collectibles from his career available for the first time."

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The biggest driver on football cards these days is the Rookie Card and now that the regular season is over most of those big-name newcomers are done for the year.

So, naturally, that makes us wonder who get the Rookie of the Year nod? We'll focus on offense since it matters the most when it comes to cards. (On defense Buzz thinks it will probably go to Kansas City's Marcus Peters, who tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions and two TDs.)

But on offense it's not as easy.

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Panini America starts off the new year with not one but four new products scheduled to arrive this week -- from four different sports, too. Meanwhile, there's only one other brand on the calendar.

The biggest for most collectors is the arrival of 2015 Panini Contenders football cards with the annual chase for the Rookie Ticket autographs one that's been a mainstay for years. Which ones will be short-prints? Which ones are variations and which ones aren't? We'll find out more beginning Wednesday. Each box includes at least five autographs -- and it looks like some of them might be coaches who have never signed before. Will those be short-prints? Should be interesting to watch.

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The Dallas Cowboys' QB put up impressive numbers in a game that was never even close -- but they still count.

Kellen Moore threw for 435 yards and three touchdowns (also throwing two picks and losing a fumble) in a 34-23 loss to Washington on Sunday, marking the end of a dismal season for the Cowboys and his last chance to make an impression on collectors before Tony Romo returns from injury next season. He ends the year with just four TDs and six picks since he only played in two other games this season -- all losses.

Will a game like this breath some long-term life into his 2012 Rookie Cards? Probably not, but it's a reminder that a good game can bring the spotlight to anyone in any week in the NFL -- so he gets the nod here.

>> Click here to shop for football boxes on BlowoutCards.com.

Keep reading for four more guys who generated some buzz on the field this week. (Note: selections made before late games were completed on Sunday ... and watch for our yearly version of this list later this week.)

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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: Contenders variations, game-dated Relic confusion, signing 1/1 cards & more

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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: 2015 Panini Contenders baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 42
Base set completion: 
19 of 99 (19 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notable names pulled on base cards: Dansby Swanson, Barry Larkin, Aaron Nola, Aaron Judge

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Jason Dean Martin
Also Known As: @jasondeanmartin on Twitter (And everywhere else, too.)
Website: www.jasondeanmartin.weebly.com & www.beansballcardblog.com
Email: jasondeanmartin@gmail.com
Location: Pennsylvania
Work away from cards: Territory Manager for PPG Industries
Collecting since: 1987

Main focuses: Josh Fogg and anything baseball including MLB, MiLB, NCAA and USA. Also errors and variations.

Favorite players/teams: Josh Fogg, Bobby Bonilla, Bryce Harper

Current collecting projects: Josh Fogg (including cards and memorabilia), 1991 Topps errors and variations

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Nick Loiacono
Also known as: @YanksandBeans
Website: thecardboarddugout.blogspot.com
Email: NickLoiacono@gmail.com
Location: New York
Work away from cards: Mobile DJ (PickNickParties.com)
Collecting since: 1986-91, 2008-present

Main focuses: Through-the-mail autographs, New York Yankees, Thurman Munson, Mariano Rivera, Rickey Henderson, Will Ferrell (on cardboard)

Favorite players/teams: I’ve always loved Yankees first basemen. When I started collecting again in 2008, I decided to "supercollect" Mark Teixeira. It was going good for a long time, but was getting frustrating as I was constantly getting outbid on auction sites by someone I dubbed as my "Nemesis." Long Story short, that collector was featured on Buzz, Robert Morris, and to this day he remains one of my best collecting friends. I eventually conceded my collection to him and sent him all of my 1/1s to add to his insane collection. I still have great stuff, but I knew when to cut my losses.

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Simply put, it pays to follow @blowoutcards and @blowoutbuzz on Twitter.

Besides the latest info about your hobby and collecting, there are also contests -- and we're here on the first day of 2016 to reveal the final contest winners of 2015.

Boxes of Topps' Star Wars cards, Upper Deck's hockey cards, Topps' 2015 Bowman Draft baseball cards and Panini America's football cards were up for grabs with a simple retweet contest that developed on Twitter Thursday evening.

Were you one of the winners?

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A new year is nearly here and Buzz simply has a pair of questions for collectors as we wrap things up for the day and head into 2016 ...

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Have more to say about the hobby today? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com.

When someone says "1952 Topps Mickey Mantle" there's simply one image that comes to mind for collectors -- the image of the Oklahoma-born slugger looking over his right shoulder where his Louisville Slugger resides.

The blue hues and the yellow bat -- the results of colorized images back in those days -- are dramatically different than what we often expect from the cardboard of today, yet they are the basis of everything, too.

Seeing one of these memorable card images recently got Buzz wondering whether fellow collectors would be able to identify photographs from memorable vintage baseball card sets -- but without the accoutrement that make 1952 look like 1952 or 1965 look like 1965.

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We all knew that Connor McDavid was going to be a big deal and we all knew his Young Guns Rookie Card from 2015-16 Upper Deck would be kind of a big deal, too.

But what about a perfect BGS Black label specimen? Well, one of these sold this week so we know how big it can get.

How much?

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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: Multi-player cards, player-worn patches, Court Kings, goals and resolutions for 2016, college football and more on the forum that recently joined the 10-Million Post Club.

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame is an odd one in terms of who gets in and who doesn't -- many memorable names from the past have yet to make the cut and many who do you might not know because of the positions they played and their relative lack of cardboard.

Part of that's on the hobby, but part of that is on the voters.

Buzz briskly scoured the record books to select five players who you probably have in your collections who aren't in Canton. Check 'em out ...

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There are 32 players on the Baseball Writers' Association of America Hall of Fame ballot this year and the ongoing debate of who's worthy, who's not and who cheated with performance-enhancing drugs will rage on well beyond the reveal of the voting results on Jan. 6.

In Buzz's book, there's quite possibly only one new Hall of Famer headed to Cooperstown this coming summer, and that lock is Ken Griffey Jr.

The rest? Well, it's not that easy. Buzz has eliminated 12 of the guys who are not likely to even make the cut to be on next year's ballot and examined the stats for 20 of those who are left. Along with this, Buzz has added some key Rookie Card info, too, just in case you haven't tracked any of them down just yet or want to revisit cardboard from your youth.
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The checklist for 2015 Elite Extra Edition is here -- click to view a PDF version.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com.

What: 2016 Topps U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team & Hopefuls trading cards
Arrives: May 11, 2016
Box basics: One autographs, one Relic and one manufactured Relic in every 24-pack hobby box

What's buzz-worthy: The latest batch of future Olympians arrives on cardboard in advance of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August. As with past Olympic releases, there are plenty of first-time signers who can become overnight sensations and sell very, very well once the Olympics arrive.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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It's a time of change, a time of high-end product exploration and a time of options for many collectors in what we call the sports card industry these days.

Tastes, products and prices continue to evolve as does the business environment that helps bring us our cardboard. For every super-pricey box being made, there are seemingly just as many buyers ready to rip or pick off singles for not-always-so-super prices (but super bargains).

The Buzz has only been around for part of 2015, but Buzz has been here all along as part of the world of collecting. Here are Buzz's picks for 15 cards that helped define 2015.

2015-16 Upper Deck #201 Connor McDavid RC
The impressive prices being paid for what's just a simple piece of cardboard with just gloss and some foil stamping shows that fundamentals never go out of style when there's a big name involved. This time, it's the No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, a Canadian phenom drafted by the Edmonton Oilers. This photo was selected by collectors and it even has a fun sign of 2015 -- the fan showing off a photo on her phone in the background.

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If you're a Buzz regular, you have already read all about (link here) the 2015 Topps Strata Clearly Authentic Relics that include MLB Authentication. If not, check out the link after you check out this video released by Topps.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com.

Upper Deck revealed its checklist for the 2015-16 MVP rookie redemptions on Tuesday with 35 cards of newcomers headed to the printer and into collectors' hands soon.

No surprises who's at No. 1 -- Connor McDavid has a standard card, an autograph card and a gold autographed card.

Who's on the rest of the list? Keep reading.

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When Topps Chrome arrived in basketball, it was a bit simpler time than it is today -- so much so that the brand was a retail-only release because the idea of merely Chroming a set perhaps wasn't a sure thing.

Plenty of time has passed since 1996 and in that time so has the career of Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant who was a rookie back in 1996-97 Topps Chrome.

The best card in that landmark product is arguably Bryant's Refractor version of his Rookie Card and this copy is the best of the best of the thousands that were pulled and saved since then.

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Another holiday week leads to another abbreviated release schedule for trading cards with just five brands on the tarmac and set to arrive beginning tomorrow.

We've got one from Leaf Trading Cards, one from Cryptozoic, one from Topps and two from Panini America and that's where we'll start off.

This week's NBA release is 2015-16 Panini Court Kings, a rookie-heavy art-style product that will include one autograph and one memorabilia card per 10-card box. It will also include box-toppers. This one will feature on-card autos as well as one Hot Box delivering extras in every 15-box case.

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Teemu Selanne was a 10-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year who scored 684 goals in his 21 seasons and whose next stop is the Hall of Fame.

Now he's a member of the Upper Deck Authenticated signing roster.

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