The first night of Dallas-based Heritage Auctions' three-day Spring Sports Catalog Auction opened with some serious firepower that wasn't just about all of those vintage rarities that just shouldn't exist anymore.

It also included some impressive sales of rare singles from modern cardboard -- and some modern cases that probably don't exist anymore in high volume as the treasures inside them can command huge wads of cash, too.

Among five cards that commanded six-figure sales last night was the 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Superfractor 1/1 autograph of former NL MVP Christian Yelich, which sold for $111,000 in a PSA 9 slab. Joining it was a 2011 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Superfractor 1/1 autograph (also a PSA 9) of Francisco Lindor, which went for $102,000. The other five six-figure cards were of Joe Jackson, Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams -- cards either immensely rare or in high grades. A top-grade Michael Jordan 1986-87 Fleer Rookie Card just missed that club but set a new record for the card's sale.

A number of other key modern cards were scorchers, too -- check out a gallery and sales stats after the jump -- and some modern cases less than a decade old also commanded top dollar, too.

Continue reading →

If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now over on the mothership as BlowoutCards.com is in the midst its Black November sales now.

Wave 7 is here and 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/cases that caught this collector’s eye.

2013-14 Panini Prestige NBA wax boxes and cases
This isn't a high-end brand but it's one that packs two autographs and two memorabilia cards in every box with roughly 20 insert cards, too. The key here? Giannis. His autographs are in here. His Rookie Cards are in here. He's such a big deal, he doesn't even need his long last name mentioned here. (Yes, I can spell it ... Antetokounmpo.) If you land his auto, it can pay for at least a third, if not half of the case. This is a brand where you can also land the likes of Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant ink (among others) and there's plenty of stuff in there -- especially if you go with a volume buy with the low sale price.

Continue reading →

"Giannis Antetokounmpo: The night the legend was born"

"This is just the beginning"

"'He really could be anything' -- Giannis Antetokounmpo is about to take over the NBA"

Those were just some of the headlines about, if you haven't figured it out, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks forward who has lit up the NBA in the first week of a new season with 38.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Breaking down the first week of the season, SI.com noted that "The Freak" is not like others on its list of 12 biggest surprises so far.

"Some of the trends on this list will soon disappear," reads Rob Mahoney's piece. "This is real — a fledgling MVP candidacy behind one of basketball’s transcendent talents."

Keep reading for the basics on this potential MVP's cardboard after his career-high 44-point game this weekend.

Continue reading →