5th Annual Almost the Easiest Super Bowl Contest on the Web!!

Wow I can't believe I'm actually holding my 5th, yes 5th, Super Bowl contest.  Sure we've still got a few weeks till the regular season ends, but that doesn't mean I can't plant the seed.

This year I'm calling it my Big Old 5, kudos if you get the nerdy reference.

I love holding my Super Bowl contest.  Unlike my World Series contest which the playoffs start almost the right away and I have almost no time to get the post ready and take entries, my Super Bowl contest has a good week till the Playoffs start and usually we know most of the teams.

This year I'm going to have a nice mix of old and new. Some nice relics, vintage, and oddballs.  And as always a smattering of your favorite team mixed in.

So you've been warned, stay tuned.

2013 Topps Platinum Retail Three pack

I really have no idea why I like this year's Topps Platinum so much. I really wish I had the extra money to really put an effort into the set, but I don't.  That doesn't mean I won't and didn't pick up a few packs.  I wetted my appetite last time I was at Don' Sportcards and picked up a few hobby packs.  I got a few of the blue refractor parallels and a nice Aaron Rodgers for my Packers team set and this card.

A camo die-cut ribbon card with Arian Foster on it.  The odd thing about this card is the rookie card label on the front.  Are there two Arian Fosters that play for the Texans?  It's a great looking card all shiny and chromed out.   

It's interesting to me the way a few of Topp's football card sets tend to emulate the other card manufacturers out there.  Topps sets tend to have borders and while slightly different from year to year tend to have a certain style that is just Topps.  But Platinum is more of a card that you'd expect from Panini.  The base veteren cards are foil board, with the player cut out from the background and placed in front of some design.  Topps Prime Football reminds me of Upper Deck.  The cards are usually full bleed, meaning they have no borders on the edges and the lettering and logos tend not to interfer with the action on the photo.  That being said, I still can't figure out why this set has piqued my interest so much. I'm really not a fan of Panini cards.

Anyway, like I said the base veteren cards are on foil board and all the rookies are chromed out.

I couldn't reisist picking up a retail triple pack when I was out shopping this afternoon and for lack of better content to post about I figured I share it here on the Crack.

I was really interested to see what those Flame Refractor cards looked like.

Pack 1.  You get one rookie per pack. Meh.

Here's what the backs look like.

Pack 2.  Ohh a Mike Glennon rookie card.  I ended up pulling his auto from my Jumbo Topps box break. Maybe I'll have to become a Mike Glennon supercollector. Ah maybe not. How about that Anquan Boldin? He totally smoked my Packers in week 1.

Pack 3. Wow three very meh packs.  Alright lets see what these Flame Refractors look like.

Ah, well, rrrr, emmm, at least they're all rookies and all offensive position players. These are all chromed out as well, and honestly I was a little let down.  Of course the packaging doesn't say that the Flame refractors are all rookies, so I guess it's a bonus to get all rookies, or maybe not.

Overall I wouldn't mind putting this set together. At 150 base cards that probably wouldn't be too hard, but I promised myself to limit my set building this year and the final set I'm going to build is coming out middle of next month.  

And with the end of the regular baseball season coming to a close it's almost time for Almost the Easiest World Series Contest on the Web III!!

Stay tuned for that.

cb out.

Almost the Easiest Super Bowl Contest on the Web Almost Time for Round 2

Wow this was a slow week.  It drug on by.  Luckily I've got a Beer Festival in my immediate future and my game isn't on till 4pm tomorrow night my time so I've got time to sleep off the hangover.  But before I go out and forget you all for the weekend I figure I should put the standings up one more time since they are slowly getting moved down the blog list. 

Here are the Ins and Outs going into Round 2 the Divisional Playoffs.

 (now with color coding)

In It to Win It
Adam E: STEELERS over Bears 17-6
cubsfan731: PATRIOTS over Falcons 23-14
Captain Canuck: PATRIOTS over Falcons 42-31
Mark: PACKERS over Patriots 24-17
Fuji: PATRIOTS over Packers 24-17
seemahn: FALCONS over Patriots 28-24
Community Gum: PATRIOTS over Falcons 31-17
Offy: PATRIOTS over the Falcons 31-14
Kev2380: BEARS over Patriots 24-20
Milwaukee Southpaw: FALCONS over Steelers 27-24
Colby (Flywheels): STEELERS over Falcons 24-17
Wicked Ortega: RAVENS over Patriots 21-17
mike: BEARS over Steelers 20-14
steve: PATRIOTS over Packers 24-17

14, just 14 make it to round two with possible match-ups. Now to be honest there are still people that picked a team still in it but picked an opponent that is not. So those still technically in it and if lets say the Patriots play the Seahawks everybody who picked the Pats are still in it ect.



The Wild Cards

Play at the Plate: PATRIOTS over Eagles 38-21
Steve D: PATRIOTS over Saints 35-27
dayf: FALCONS over Colts 30-28





And lastly we have those that have fallen, but like I keep saying there will be a bonus prize which everybody who entered will be in the running for... What is it? I still don't know.



The Fallen:

Spankee: EAGLES over the Pats 27-24
BA Benny: SAINTS over Pats 38-31
Mariner1: SAINTS over Steelers 27-17
Nathan: COLTS over Saints 24-17
dawgbones: EAGLES over Steelers 27-17

Yeah I just cut and pasted it for the earlier post but it's going to be really lonely if we have any major upsets this weekend.  Hmmm nobody picked the Jets either.  Seahawks/Jets in the Superbowl.  I really hope not.  No offense to any Seahawks or Jets fans out there but you all know I want my Packers in there.  We'll see who I'm rooting for come Monday. 

Have a good weekend everybody.

ASSHATS and other douchery.



meow.


Not much to say today on the subject of Sports or Sports cards.  Although the Colts/Titans game was actually pretty tight.  Can I just say that the NFL network has the worst announcers EVER.   It brought back memories of college when we would watch Packer games and turn the volume down on the TV and turn on the Packer Radio network and listen to Max McGee and Jim Irwin get drunk on the radio calling the game.  I can even remember hearing glasses clinking in the back ground.  Those were the days.  Anyways I decided not to rant about the latest home buying situation that has me pissed off.  Instead I posted it over at my rant blog 13 Tenets of Cynicalbuddhism.  If your interested.

And on a positive note I made it into the playoffs of my fantasy football league.  Of course I'm playing against a guy who soundly beat me last time we played and his starting QB in Aaron Rodgers.  Damn.  OK pack nothing but rushing TD Sunday. 

Bye Childress and Take the Favre with you on the way out!

I wish I'd have seen this a few hours ago when I posted my gloat.  The ax has fallen in Minnesota.  It was only a matter of time and now Childress can go have a beer with Wade Phillips and I'm sure John Fox will be here soon too.

The only question is Favre going to be put out to pasture?  Now don't get me wrong, I like the old guy.  I root for him when he's not playing the pack, really I do.  But seeing as the Viks playoff hopes are gone, I would think you would want to get the guy who is probably going to be your starter next year, Jackson, some playing time. 

Next week the Viks take on the Redskins so we'll have to see what Leslie Frazier can do with the team.

Is Upper Deck done? Another day of WHY?

Now this got me.  Matt F. over at Heartbreaking Cards posted a link to the NY Post. Which is an article about the whole Upper Deck Yu-Gi-oH debacle.  The thing I got out of it was that this might take Upper Deck down.  I mean no more, kaput, gone, bye-bye, Auf Wiedersien, Ciao. 

I guess it all makes sense now why there are no preview pictures up at Upper Deck's website, and absoluly no news about this at all there either, although I guess that's not that surprising.  But what's going to happen to Upper Decks NFL and NHL licenses??? Will Panini or Topps come and scoop up the carcass up after UD has to pay millions to Kanomi or will some other company emerge? 

My other question is WHY?  Why on God's green earth did Upper Deck do it?  I'm confused as to the motivation and what was to gain from this?

Another question is if this goes to Upper Deck's credibility, what of all there "authentic" game used cards and autos??  Can we still trust an Upper Deck Guarantee?    mmmmmm.  I've seen card companies come and go and get swallowed up by other companies but this is the first time I can remember a card company shooting themselves in the head. 

I wonder how this will all play out.