What makes Buzz's Fantastic Four each time? Simple, they're cards or collectable items for names in the headlines -- or from new releases -- that came to mind for this veteran collector. Maybe they're good fits for your collection, too? Let's find out together ... 

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THE SAFE ADDITION ... 
The Card: Patrick Mahomes 2017 Donruss Rookie Card
The Price: A variety of eBay asking prices between base and parallels
Why It’s Buzzworthy: Today's modern card collectors have tons of choices -- it's not like the old days where a player had one, maybe two Rookie Cards in a year. But, if you had to choose which of Mahomes' RCs is the most iconic the simple one, Donruss, might get that nod from many collectors. Today's top QB appeared on roughly 2,000 different cards back in 2017 and that's thanks to plenty of inserts and parallel cards in plenty of releases. Of those, almost 40 qualify as a RC by the standard definition and Donruss -- or maybe its higher-end brother, Optic (at right) -- are arguably the iconic cards where many can afford to chase. If you don't have one, it can be as easy as grabbing a Donruss factory set that guarantees you can land Mahomes -- and everybody else.
The BlowoutCards.com Chase: 2017 Donruss NFL
The BlowoutForums.com Chatter: Mahomes threads

Keep reading for three more items in this roundup ...

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as the newly launched Blowout Cards NFL Draft Supersale is here.

A few of them caught Buzz's attention with their potential ... here are some picks from that group in the sale that just dropped ahead of the NFL Draft next week.

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BOWMAN'S BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
2022 Bowman's Best University hobby box & eight-box case
The newest box in the big sale is one with a lot of potential between guys who are set to be drafted soon -- or perhaps later -- as well as cards and autos from guys who are already in the NFL. How is this possible? NIL deals that let players show up on cards well before draft time -- and that makes it one with a longer shelf life in terms of potential. Who's in here? Among the already-pro names are C.J. Stroud, Jahmyr Gibbs, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, Jordan Addison, Bijan Robinson, Will Anderson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba for starters. Among the 2024 draft hopefuls and potential future picks? Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Jordan Travis, D.J. Uiagalelei, Dallas Turner, J.C. Latham, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Taulia Tagovailoa to name a few. There are autos for a lot -- it not all -- of them in both insert sets and standard ink as well as a small lineup of rarer dual- and triple-auto cards, too. (There's heat here -- especially when slabbed.) The best part here beyond all of the parallel and potentially Super finds in play are two autographs in every single box. Cases should also be considered here, too.

Keep reading for a few more boxes you should consider (and are likely to end up in Buzz's cart).

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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: "I think I once owned this card," NFL and college football, chatter, new pulls, NBA talk and where will Shohei Ohtani land?

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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 ...

A COLLEGE CLASSIC
The Card: The Four Horsemen 1955 Topps All-American #68 SP -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: College football is back for another season, so I'll lead things off with a vintage classic. This card featuring Notre Dame quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Jim Crowley and Don Miller as well as fullback Elmer Layden is one that's been on my want list -- albeit very casually -- for a long time. I recently found one at a price that wasn't uncomfortable so here we are. I don't need a high-grade copy of this one -- just one that looks pretty good so I can say I have it. Besides their place in college football history, The Four Horsemen have a place in sportswriting history, too, as Grantland Rice gave them this name early on in what was a perfect 1924 season that ended with a national title. His New York Herald Tribune story started like this: "Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below." It's one of those pieces that's often cited when talking college football or sportswriting history and it's often emulated and it later sparked a marketing scenario -- the players would go on to pose on horses in uniform. In a lot of ways, that marketing is still replicated every Heisman season and beyond. This set is a landmark release, especially for college collectors, and this is one of a few big cards.
The Grade: BVG 2.5

Reality Check: Mine checks in low, but it's not the lowest -- there are 18 copies worse than mine and 14 others with this grade. It's very interesting to compare that total and then consider how few cards there are above a seven here.

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

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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 ... a mix of new slabs and some recent pick-ups.

BIG RETAIL PULL NOW VS. THEN
The Card: Christian McCaffrey 2017 Crown Royale Platinum #88 (/49) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: With the NFL season (perhaps) finally coming, I'll let this guy kick things off since it's a rarer card and one that I figured would grade well but did have some fears about with one of the back corners showing some funk. I pulled this one from a mega box (or whatever it was called for this one) while sitting in a snowy Walmart parking lot back in the day only to be bummed that my autograph guaranteed in the box wasn't there ... it was Panini Rewards points. I was more hung up on that than appreciating this card back then, but he's been a playmaker in the league -- so much so I actually got rid of my Donruss and Optic RCs of him without getting them graded. Instead I decided to slab this one.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It graded better than I had expected -- I was thinking probably a 9 but optimistically a 9.5 -- and I consider this one a win. It's razor-sharp and clean except for that one corner and on the back it may not hurt as much. Either way, I'm good with this one. Only 12 total cards of McCaffrey from this release have been graded and this is the only for this parallel. There have been nine copies of his standard RC graded and only four cards overall equal this one with nothing higher.

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

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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 RIGHT PARALLEL COLOR
The Item: Patrick Mahomes 2017 Donruss Red Press Proof -- Rookie Card parallel
The Price: $600 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Everything for Mahomes in 2017 is kind of a big deal and given how the last two seasons have gone there's no reason to stop looking -- either as singles or in wax form. I picked this one because I managed to pull one and it graded a BGS 9.5 -- not an easy task for paper stock -- and I think it's the best more-basic version color-wise (perfect for the Chiefs) and then also in its obscurity as its a retail-only parallel. Oh, and have you seen some of the prices paid for slabbed versions of this card? (A PSA 10 recently sold for $2,300 and raw copies have topped $500.) The photo here is a good one with his helmet off so you can see his face much like many oldschool RCs of legends from the past. He's already a legend of today. I'm not saying this card is under-priced -- raw, it probably isn't -- but if it ends up grading well? That's a solid long-term piece.
Similar Pieces: 2017 Donruss Mahomes cards on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2017 Donruss NFL mega boxes (that also include two hobby packs) and other options are also in stock

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

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Fast Five is new department here on The Buzz -- a quick list under a single topic. Five items that could have a common tie, fit a theme, be fun for a starting collector, or be a new way to add to a stash that might already seemingly include everything when it comes to cardboard. For some of you, it's probably common sense. For others of you out there, it's something to think about.

This time? Five breaks from the Bargain Breaks bin that could be fun or do pretty well with some luck.

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 1.

The box: 2017 Donruss football cards (jersey hanger box)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

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

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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: 2017 Donruss football cards (jersey hanger box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 50
Base set completion: 
30 of 300 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – J.J. Watt, Philip Rivers, Joe Theisman, Matt Ryan, Jason Witten (Wot the best mix this time ... will the rest make up for it?)

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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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RED-HOT SAPPHIRES
The Item: Adley Rutschman 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Sapphire Edition Red Refactor (/5) — BGS 9.5
The Price: $4,500 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card of the No. 1 draft pick is just one of the monsters that can be found in boxes of this online-only released parallel version of one of the most-popular brands on the planet -- and this white-hot release is one that's quickly running its way toward the top of the parallel lists, too, as its slightly non-traditional release is one that a lot of people just don't see in their typical shop spots. Only the 1/1 Padparadscha (a type of immensely rare Sapphire) is a tougher pull than this shade and it's one of several parallel types you can find in these small but loaded boxes.
Similar Pieces: 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Sapphire cards on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2019 Bowman Chrome Draft Sapphire Edition boxes

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

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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: 2017 Donruss football cards (jersey hanger box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 50
Base set completion: 
30 of 300 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Tom Brady, Dak Prescott, Mark Ingram, Joe Theismann, Boomer Esiason, Jameis Winston

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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: 2017 Donruss football cards (jersey hanger box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 50
Base set completion: 
29 of 300 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Jared Goff, Tony Romo, Richard Sherman, Dez Bryant, Eli Manning

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If you hadn't noticed, our second wave of Black Friday boxes with discounted prices have dropped right now right here as BlowoutCards.com is bringing a wave approach to today's sales.

There are three more waves of discounted boxes to come later in today's big sale ... so keep watching.

Here are five boxes/cases that caught this collector’s eye in this first wave.

2019-20 Panini NBA Hoops hobby box
The big discount on this one is an opportunity to chase some of those big on-card autos of the big guy here, Zion Williamson, along with plenty of other autos as you get two per box. There isn't some kind of tiny limit on how many boxes you can grab here, either, so that helped make this one the lead-off spot for this new wave. Loading up on basic Rookie Cards from brands like this are better done now than later as flagship-style releases and their RCs are prime grading material and seemingly more popular than ever in recent years across the major sports. For many collectors who might have first dabbled in basketball cards with the arrival of Hoops back in 1989, this brand is a comfortable one. There's also plenty of insert action and other stuff to chase in here, too, beyond the guy on the box.

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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: 2017 Donruss football cards (retail blister pack)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per blister: 4 (plus Red bonus card)
Cards per pack: 8
Cards per blister: 33
Base set completion: 
24 of 300 (8 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Jim Brown, Phil Simms and ... see the gallery?

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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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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: 2017 Donruss football cards (jersey hanger box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 50
Base set completion: 
30 of 300 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Amari Cooper, Marshawn Lynch, Antonio Brown

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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 Press Proofs Red #327 Patrick Mahomes II Rated Rookie
The Reason Graded: Oh what a difference a year makes. This time last year, this parallel Rookie Card was a pull from a retail box where it didn't do much for me -- in fact, I had it set aside to send away when I revisited a box out of curiosity and there he was ... and he wasn't alone. Now, he's an MVP lock and one of the hotter Rookie Cards in the hobby after a 50-touchdown season. These Reds are only found in retail boxes and I figured I'd take my shot at getting it in a slab since it looked pretty clean.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It was definitely that and what's surprising is that nobody else has pulled one and opted to slab it up. Yes, I know it's the rare autos from key brands that lead the way, but I think a slab for a card like this -- one where there may not be as many out there as other un-numbered parallels -- with a low pop could surprise you if you were a seller. (I'm not ... I stash my stuff 99.9 percent of the time.)

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 ...

Continue reading →

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: 2017 Donruss football cards (Mega Box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 10 (three hobby, seven retail)
Cards per pack: 10 per hobby, eight per retail
Cards in this box: 86
Base set completion: 
57 of 300 (19 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, Aaron Rodgers, Eddie George, Dan Marino, Walter Payton, Dan Fouts, Jerry Rice, Mark Brunell. Matt Ryan, Boomer Esiason, Bruce Smith, Jason Witten

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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 Donruss NFL jersey hanger
The cost: $8 (Click here for hobby)

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

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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: 2017 Donruss NFL cards (jersey hanger box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

Packs per box: 1
Cards per pack: 50
Base set completion: 
30 of 300 (10 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Carson Wentz, Andrew Luck, Troy Aikman, Mark Ingram, Jameis Winston, Von Miller

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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 9.

The box: 2017 Donruss football cards (jersey hanger)
The cost: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

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

Continue reading →

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: 2017 Donruss football cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Packs per box: 11
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 88
Base set completion: 
73 of 300 (24 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Peyton Manning, Joe Theismann, Franco Harris, Randy Moss, Ezekiel Elliott, Derek Carr, Marshall Faulk, Odell Beckham Jr., James Harrison, Jared Goff, J.J. Watt

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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: 2017 Donruss baseball cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 7
Cards in this box: 56
Base set completion: 
39 of 195 (20 percent)
Duplicates: 0
Short-prints (Nos. 1-45; Diamond Kings & Rated Rookies) (1) – Masahiro Tanaka

Notables on base cards – Buster Posey, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, Frank Thomas, Anthony Rizzo, Ryne Sandberg, Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Cal Ripken Jr., Kirby Puckett, Mookie Betts, Willie Stargell

Rookie Cards – None

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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: Fairfield Baseball 10-pack retail repack
Where to buy: Target ($11.99)

Packs per box: 10
Cards per pack: Varies by brand
Cards in this box: 81
Base set completion: N/A

Notables on base cards – See gallery for key pulls

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