Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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MY BEAR NECESSITY
The Item: Paul "Bear" Bryant autographed & dated/inscribed (Oct. 18, 1976) 8-by-10 photo (BAS authenticated)
The Price: $219 ... high for me but it's the perfect item for me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a jaw-dropper of a find for me during a random search of Mill Creek Sports' superstore for autographed stuff earlier this year and I've saved it for football season, specifically this month, to present it and tell its story. It's personalized and that makes it perfect for me this time ... and to top that, the signed date -- the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach and football icon who won 323 games dated everything signed like this -- might as well be on Buzz's actual birthday. (It's close ... close enough.) The odds of this existing or one being signed on my actual birthday? Well, I'm sure there were a number of things to sign on this Monday and I'm also very sure he wasn't sitting down to sign requests on a gameday when I kicked things off in the world. So, this is perhaps as close as it can get. The quality and condition of the photo are perfect and the ink is perfectly legible, too. Now, is his autograph really rare? Not particularly, but he died in January 1983 well before sit-down and paid signing sessions were en vogue for sports legends and he's still in high, historic demand despite Nick Saban equaling him and/or re-writing the Alabama record book in more recent years. It's the perfect item at a perfect price and it will always be mine.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but football cards are here.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz.

GETTING EVEN BETTER?
The Card: Victor Wembanyama 2023-24 Panini Haunted Hoops -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I'm basically casually ripping at best when it comes to NBA these days -- just can't collect it all at today's prices (and might not want to with that) -- but the holiday-flavored version of Hoops got me to bite a few times since it's got a good volume of stuff in a box and a pair of Wemby RCs on the checklist. Is this a big card in the big scheme of things? Nah, but the printing and cutting here was so clean I knew I needed to grade it. Why?
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: Because this should be the result more often than not as long as the centering is there ... and the stats here show that to be the case roughly half the time. The phenom seems to be getting better with time and once the wax dries up for even stuff like this there could be interesting trends that buck the idea that stuff is overproduced these days -- it is ... but not when there's increased demand for a popular player. I need to scout singles more for this guy and cards I like ... I think there's more potential here over time than people might think based on soft prices for raw cards. (Even if boatloads of his cards are already graded.)

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

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... 

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DOGPOOL'S DEBUT
The Book: Prelude To Deadpool Corps No. 3 -- first Dogpool appearance
The Price: Under $8
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was an impulse/curiosity buy once I saw Dogpool -- a character that I'm admittedly not that familiar with -- on this cover of Empire in advance of the Deadpool & Wolverine movie to come as well as in a preview trailer. Why? Well, one reason I grabbed this was that the lone graded copy of this book on eBay at that time had an asking price of $400-plus. While I know that's high, you never know what people might grab if the that pup steals the show or at least picks up some headlines alongside Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds when this one hits. (Weird thing have happened with Baby Yoda and Star Wars' Porgs in recent years.) This comic cover isn't exactly the same as what we're getting on the big screen dog-wise, but with the movie figuring to generate a lot of buzz and perhaps include a lot of cameos I've been looking at stuff here and there ... and I really need to go find that magazine, too. It's actually got higher asking prices on eBay than this book and has sold for more than $20. (It's a UK mag ... so it's perhaps not as easily found just yet.) The comic has had CGC 9.8 sales of $85 and $299 in recent months, too, so there's definitely some speculating ... and there should be. This movie will be huge.
Grab a box right here: BlowoutCards.com for non-sports cards

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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: World Series chatter, NFL Week 8, playoff integrity, baseball cards at Costco 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: Corbin Carroll might be the best TacoFractor to own, blasters for the win, baseball cards at Costco and more in today's edition.

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A new package arriving from Topps in some non-traditional places has 'em talking ... and it's got some unique cards inside that might do the same thing, too.

It's the 2023 Topps Flagship Collection box and it's been found -- so far -- at Costco, which isn't the typical place to find cards for some time now. It's a move that has 'em talking over on the Blowout Forums and you can see what it's all about if you keep reading here.

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