Anyone Interested in a Jamie McGinn Auto?

Sorting through a box of cards tonight that hadn't seen the light of day in probably years, I stumbled across this, my lone autograph from a box of Heroes and Prospects busted a long time ago (back when I bought boxes):

Jamie's turned into a decent NHL player, and just came off his best statistical season to date, with 19 goals and 19 assists.  He even chipped in a couple goals and 3 assists in 7 playoff games for the Avalanche.  I figure there's someone out there who'd enjoy this card more than I would...

Gypsy Queen N174 & the Beauty of the Internet!

On Friday, I read this post over at Night Owl Cards which featured this really slick-looking N174 insert of Clayton Kershaw from the 2014 Gypsy Queen release:

Now that is a nice looking modern baseball card!  If you read many of my posts you know that I'm a vintage guy through and through, and for the most part remain ignorant when it comes to recent releases.  In fact, I had no idea 2014 Gypsy Queen was even out until I read Greg's post.  I knew I wanted to track some of these down though...

You have to love the world we live in, because about 10 minutes after reading Greg's post I was the proud owner of the entire 15-card set for just $2 plus a couple bucks shipping.

Thanks to a super quick eBay shipper, the cards arrived in my mailbox Monday afternoon, less than 3 days after I found out they even existed.

A bit short on time today, but I hope you enjoy the scans of this entire 15-card insert set.

I'm glad the Red Sox at least got one card in this small set, and certainly a valid choice in Wade Boggs, one of the best pure hitters to ever play for Boston.

There you have it, the 2014 Topps Gypsy Queen N174 inserts!  Coming later this week is another trade package from my buddy Douglas from Sports Cards from the Dollar Store...

Suckered In - The Next Two Packs...and Some Bonus Material

Picked up one of these a while back.  10 packs for $11.99.  Not my usual thing but so far I've been pleasantly surprised.  Today I'll tear into the next two packs, starting with 2008-09 Upper Deck Collector's Choice...

Just six cards in this one, here we go...

Retired a couple of years ago after multiple hip surgeries.  Married to actress Hilary Duff.

Marek is still kicking around with the New Jersey Devils.  These cards are kind of boring.

Here's a guy who's been enjoying another solid playoff run, in fact he put the nail in the Kings' coffin with the third goal in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals yesterday.

Here's my one-per-pack Choice Reserve card, rookie Mattias Ritola.  After some time with the Wings and the Lightning Mattias has been playing in the Swedish Elite League the past couple of seasons.

The anti-Toews, here's a guy whose team seems incapable of winning in the post-season.

Finishing off a disappointing pack with a player who had a disappointing season with his new team in Toronto.  That was definitely a snoozer.  Maybe today's second pack, 2010-11 Donruss will help?

10 cards, at least that's respectable.  I'm not a huge fan of this design, but let's see what I got...

Now playing in the KHL in Russia...

Dupe!  Off to the doubles box...

Alright this pack is not much better so far.

Probably my favorite card in either pack.  Funny to pull a guy I used to watch in the mid-'90s out of a 2010 product, and still playing for the same team no less.

At least I got a decent insert, I'm a fan of these Tough Times cards and this is just my second one.

Dave, if you need this card or the Clarkson from last pack they're yours.

Man that game 7 was awful...

That's it for today.  Those were two dull packs for sure.  I guess the only silver lining is that I "needed" all of those cards but one, but did I really need any of them?  Probably not.

Since there wasn't much of note to be found there, let's look at a few cards that are more up my alley from one of these 75-cards-for-a-dollar grab bags from my LCS:

Ah, much better!  What a great card, and new to me!  I only picked up a pack or two of Select back in the day, and those cards are long gone.

I think the '90s will always be my favorite decade for hockey cards, even huge busts like Alexandre Daigle are welcome in my collection.

Great shot of the Nordiques logo, and great player too.

I really like this Select set quite a bit.  I don't need another hockey set to collect, but if I did I'd consider this one.

I doubt a Larry King card is going to come spilling out of any of those packs from Target!

Cheap rookie of one of the most dominating goaltenders I've had the pleasure to watch as a fan.

I've mentioned this before, but I was a huge fan of the 'Legion of Doom' Flyers line, so I was very pleased when this Metal Universe Renberg came out of the bag.

How about some obnoxious Fleer?

Forsberg rookie!

Finally, one last example of why I'm liking the '94-95 Select set.

Ah, much better.  I think that helped to get the taste of those two awful packs out of my mouth.  I'll continue on with the miscellaneous packs later this week...

Signature Sundays - Hawerchuk, Shutt & Gadsby - A Trio of Hall-of-Famers

Yes, I still have a few more 2012-13 Panini Classics Signatures autographs kicking around that I've yet to post.  For this week's Signature Sundays installment let's take a look at another trio...

Fantastic photo, sub-par signature.  Dale Hawerchuk was a young hockey prodigy when the Jets drafted him first overall in the 1981 entry draft.  It didn't take him long to make his mark at the NHL level as he became the youngest player (at the time, since bested by Sidney Crosby) to record 100 points in a season en route to a Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.  He never won a Stanley Cup, but he did rack up over 500 goals and over 1,400 points even though he retired at the relatively young age of 34.  Dale was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Steve Shutt played before my time, so I really can't say in all fairness, but it seems to me like he's one of those questionable members of the Hall of Fame.  Yes, he was a member of those powerhouse Canadiens teams in the '70s and captured multiple Stanley Cups as a result, and yes he tallied plenty of points.  I'm sure that anyone playing on a line with Lafleur and Lemaire would have had some success though.  In an era known for offense, Steve managed just a single 100-point season and was only named an All-Star three times (and a First-Team All-Star only once).  Whatever the case, he's certainly got a very nice signature.

Wrapping up today's trio is Bill Gadsby of the Chicago Blackhawks.  Bill wasn't as lucky as Steve Shutt, and like Dale Hawerchuk never got to raise Lord Stanley's Cup.  He was a rock solid defenseman though, with multiple First and Second Team All-Star appearances to his credit.

For playing the back end, he could certainly put up some points as well.  At one point he set a record for assists in a season for a blue-liner, and his offensive numbers are very impressive when you consider the era he played in.  Gadsby was a physical presence also; apparently during the course of his career he received over 650 stitches, 11 broken noses, multiple separated shoulders, a broken leg, and had a handful of teeth knocked out.  That is a real hockey player right there.

Well, that's a wrap for this week.  These three take me over the century mark to 102 autographs from this beautiful set.  I've got a few more still to come, I'd like to get them all posted soon so I can put this set to bed during the summer...