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: Press Pass is returning, inside a Stadium Club case, an iconic Mike Trout RC, the Super Bowl is set 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: Spencer Torkelson and 2020 Bowman Draft are in high demand, good Target timing, big pulls and ... threatening a retail stocker? (Don't do it.)

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Update: The above card sold for $1.84 million when the auction ended -- the buyer being a direct-mail company's CEO.

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The action is picking up as the clock is winding down for the finale tonight at Goldin Auctions with this 2003-04 Exquisite Collection LeBron James card already topping the $1-million mark with its premium.

There's about nine hours to go before the auction might end with more bids beyond the current 24, but even the current mark would make it the most-expensive basketball card ever sold as well as the priciest modern card in any sport, topping past $900,000-plus sales of key Mike Trout autos via Goldin.

The Runnemede, N.J.-based auction house has a number of other big-ticket memorabilia pieces and interesting items in its current auction. (Don't believe me? Hit that link and look at the first six items -- they're huge and don't make my list this time.)

Keep reading for a deeper look at a few more items ending tonight.

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This is merely a re-enactment of an April Fool's prank that done a kid very, very wronnnng. (No cards were harmed in the making of this image ... unlike yesterday.)

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: Cooked Trout causes childhood trauma, a big autograph pull, The Walking Dead, NBA breaks, The National, and Luka vs. Zion 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 Today: How about this BlowoutTV pull? See it and more in today's links ...

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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: Did you pay the taxman? If so, you can continue reading today's highlights ...

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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 ...

The Card: 2014 Topps Chrome Update #MB46 Mookie Betts RC
The Reason Graded: I didn't buy a ton of Mega Boxes when these arrived five years ago, but I did land this card, which is a Rookie Debut version for then Red Sox rookie and now-reigning American League MVP Mookie Betts. This card is an ironic classic in that he's captured taking the field at Yankee Stadium. That aspect of the photo isn't as easily seen in Chrome form, but I opted to get this pricier version of the card graded. I'll probably grade some more of my others in the future. For now, though, this one leads the way.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I wasn't that confident in this one as I just have bad luck at times with Chrome cards, but this one turns out to be one of the highest-graded copies. I'll take it, especially considering what I've got up next.

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

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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 ...

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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Fans of the PSA Set Registry will now have different ways to compete with other collectors as they use the platform.

It's the PSA Set Registry Achievement Program and it "draws inspiration from fantasy sports" and "will challenge existing PSA Set Registry members as well as newcomers in the field to test their mettle in all facets of set collecting and earn points and rewards -- digital medals -- for their efforts."

Visitors to www.PSAcard.com/SetRegistry will find that PSA has opted to add gamification -- "the intent is to reward collectors for reaching various milestones on their way toward building collections."

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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: Big pulls, Storage Wars scenarios, tampered retail packs and The Luka Doncic Experiment."

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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: Rare Mike Trout Rookie Card parallels, big pulls, player-collector stashes 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 ...

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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: A big deal and big pulls from around the collecting world.

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Jose Altuve was the Houston Astros player who stole the spotlight on Thursday night with three home runs in Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series.

The number was just one short of his Rookie Card total from 2011 -- and the three-time batting champ doesn't have much cardboard before that, either, just an appearance in 2010 Bowman Chrome.

And that fact has me pondering a simple question for all of you ...

[polldaddy poll=9846384]

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

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A new season's new emerging names are doing just that.

Your MLB home run leader right now is Eric Thames of the Milwaukee Brewers, who has smacked seven longballs so far. The latest came as part of a 3-for-4 day Monday against the Cubs in Wrigley Field.

The 30-year-old entered this season with 21 homers in his previous three big-league seasons -- his last being in 2012 with the Mariners. He hit 12 of those homers as a rookie with the Blue Jays in 2011 but struggled with a career average that's up to .259 with his .405 start this year. How far off the radar was he? Thames spent the last three years playing in Korea's KBO League -- where he hit 124 homers in 390 games.

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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: Plenty of baseball and some impressive pulls and projects.

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com's Black November Wave 3 hits today.

Many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz had to sit down and ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five boxes that caught this collector’s eye.

2009 Topps Mayo football hobby box 
Buying older football boxes can be tough at times as players can come and go quite quickly, but, then again, so did this brand -- but there aren't many sets like it. It's retro-styled football in the realm of Allen & Ginter with some downright unusual inclusions. Example? It's the home of a Tim Kaine "Rookie Card" -- perhaps notable to some collectors out there since we're so close to Election Day. Mayo was only around two seasons, and it includes non-traditional autographs and Relics along with a decent mix of big football names. (The big names remain big but the rookies may not be.) For the price this one's got potential and it's bound to be very, very different than other NFL brands out there -- no matter who you pull.

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