Jimmy Howard: Limited Ruby

A little while back I realized I hadn't picked anything up on eBay in about a month. That's a long time for me, but when you're just too busy to keep track of auctions, it's easy to miss out on a lot of great deals. Anyway, I finally had some time to watch some eBay auctions and ended up with another great piece for my Jimmy Howard collection.

This time it's the Ruby parallel version of the base card from 2011-12 Limited. It's the same as the base card, other than the red tinted background and the red foil at the bottom with "Spotlight" on either side of the player name bar. I think it looks amazing in hand, especially the way the red tint goes with the Wings colors.

 

In case you were wondering, this one is numbered 22/49, which is on the back of the card. I ended up getting this one for around $5 delivered, which isn't all that bad considering it's one of like three I've seen on eBay since Limited came out a while back. Now I just need the base version and a few other tougher parallels.

That's it for now. I will say though that after I landed this card I went on a mini spending spree on eBay where I managed to grab a few other nice PC cards for a few bucks each. Stay tuned for those in the days to come...

SCE Ink Script Update

It's been ten months now since I've had any kind of TTM activity here, so coming home from a weekend trip to New York to one of my SASE's was a nice, unexpected surprise earlier today. Back in February I was sorting through some of my monster boxes and put together a stack of cards that would work for my Ink Script project. At that time I also saw Dave's TTM update over at Wax Stain Rookie and decided to write to Jeremy Roenick.

First, here's the important one for my Ink Script project. It features Jeremy during his time with the Coyotes and you can see he added his number at the time.

The second was this one from 2003-04 Victory featuring Roenick with the Flyers. Gotta love those third jerseys, one of my favorites from before the Reebok era. You can also see on this he added his jersey number featured in the picture. 

The last one is from 1993-94 Upper Deck and featured Roenick with the Blackhawks. 

Nothing like free autographs, right? The first one is the third I've added to my Ink Script project now. It looks pretty good next to the Patrik Stefan and Terry Yake I already have. I really need to work on sending more of these out...

Goaltending Gallimaufry: Capital Gains

Gallimaufry [gal-uh-maw-free] - A hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.

After seeing the news video about how the sports card hobby is dying over at MHCO a little while back, it got me thinking about one of the things I like the most about collecting, my oddball side projects. I've got two of them right now in "Captured on Cardboard" and "Goaltending Gallimaufry," both of which have seen some time on the blog lately. 

Today, as the title suggests, it's another Gallimaufry post this time featuring three former Washington Capitals goaltenders and their mismatched equipment.

This first of the trio is this Rastislav Stana from 2005-06 Victory. Right away you can see something is different as the black/grey/red color combo is a strong contrast to the blue/white/copper of the Capitals color scheme. The equipment Stana is wearing is from his time with the Portland Pirates of the AHL.

The second is this Jim Carey from 1995-96 Topps Stadium Club. This time you've got a nice contrast between all the red and white of Carey's equipment with the Capitals color scheme. This mismatch is also courtesy of the Portland Pirates, where Carey spent a bit of time, although before they changed their look in the early 2000's.

The third is this Rick Tabaracci from 1993-94 Leaf. Going even a little further back this time, you've got Tabaracci wearing all back pads/gloves along with a plain white mask. This one I can't figure out. Tabaracci was acquired from the Jets, who were red, white and blue like the Caps. The only other place he played was Moncton of the AHL, who were also red, white and blue. Anyone know where the all black is from?

 

So there you have it, three more closer to 100. I think the best of the three is probably the Stana, but the Tabaracci is the most obvious when it comes to the mismatch if you ask me. It's kind of hard to miss the solid black against the red, white and blue, isn't it?

Goaltending Gallimaufry Count: 76

Captured on Cardboard #9: Chris Chelios

This series is designed to show off cards that highlight a specific moment in time, one that can easily be recalled. Most cards just have some generic action shot that could've come from any game on any given day. That's why these cards stick out when I come across one. 

The latest one for this project is this Chris Chelios from 1997-98 Donruss Canadian Ice. As you can see below, this one features a pretty specific moment in time, that would be his entrance/introduction at the 1997 NHL All Star game in San Jose.

Now for a look at the video. If you fast forward to the 3:40 mark of the video, you see Chelios preparing to enter the ice for his introduction. Around the 3:47 mark is when the photo on the card was taken, just as the fireworks were set off. It looks like those were only for the starters, so that makes this particular photo that much cooler.

So there you have it, another moment captured on cardboard. This would be another cool little side project, collecting cards featuring all star game intros, wouldn't it?

Goaltending Gallimaufry: Three More Thibault's

Gallimaufry [gal-uh-maw-free] - A hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.

It's been a little while now since I've been able to post one of these, so it's nice to get another group of cards for the collection up here. If you remember the first post in this series, there were several Thibault cards from his days with Chicago. These next three are a bit older and feature him with the Quebec Nordiques.

This first one is from the 1993-94 Score set, one I remember seeing a ton of as a kid just getting into collecting. You can easily see the reason this card is here as there is obviously no yellow in the Nordiques color scheme. So what's the yellow from? It's from Thibault's days with the Sherbrooke Faucons of the QMJHL. Click here to see an example of that.

This second one from 1993-94 Topps Premier features the same equipment minus the mask. In this case, Thibault was wearing a plain white mask. Must have been the first piece of equipment he was willing to swap out in order to match his new team's color scheme.

Here's one more with the same exact equipment set as the Topps Premier, this time from the 1993-94 Upper Deck flagship set. The only difference here is seeing Thibault in the home white Nordiques sweater. Doesn't look as good as the blue, does it?

 

That's it for now. These three happen to come from cards I've had in my collection all along. It just took a little while to come across them. Kind of makes me want to hit up another card show though. There's nothing better than this kind of project for sorting through dime and quarter boxes.

Goaltending Gallimaufry Count: 73

Thoughts: Point of No Return

When it comes to player collecting, I'm sure all of us have given up on at least one guy at some point in time. I myself restarted and subsequently quit my Dominik Hasek collection because the number of cards out there was more than overwhelming. For me, it was easy to give up on the Dominator because I didn't invest all that much into it, maybe $5 on dime box pickups and $20 on a few memorabilia cards this time around.

Now, my Jimmy Howard collection is a completely different ball game at this point. I am more than 100 unique cards into it with a few hundred dollars invested over the last few years. So far it's been great, expect for the local premium I pay at card shops and shows around here. Regardless, I believe I have hit the point of no return as I think I've built the collection a solid foundation. I don't see myself wanting to stop any time soon, unless of course this entire hobby falls apart like a certain news outlet is predicting. But seriously, it would be hard for me to quit now as Jimmy is far and away my favorite player these days and it looks like he'll be here to stay for a while now.

That brings me to my question of the day: what is your point of no return when it comes to a player collection? Do you even have one? Is there even such a thing? I'd like to get your guy's thoughts either way as fellow player collectors.

My Picks #85: Matthew Barnaby

Here's another pick that is about the picture on the card more so than the actual design of the set. It's a Matthew Barnaby from 1997-98 Pinnacle, a set with plenty of well, interesting photography. This is probably one of the more unique photos in the set, although it would've been much better without the out of focus player in the foreground.

This one is definitely on the positive side of the spectrum when it comes to fan signs. The photo was obviously taken during warmups, as I'm sure a sign that big would not sit too well with the fans in the rows behind for very long during any kind of game play.

Now that we've seen the lighter side of fan signs, let's take a look at some of the more negatively directed signs I could find with a quick Google search:

Gotta love the love for Crosby in Philadelphia. The one for Jokinen dissing Sean Avery is pretty good too. What do you guys think? Know of any other good fan-made signs out there? Positive or negative?

Vote for Jimmy: EA Sports NHL 13 Cover

Not much in the mail for me lately, as you can tell by the lack of posts here lately. Anyway, I came across a Puck Daddy article on Yahoo! about the cover athlete for EA Sports NHL 13, due out later this year. For the first time, fans are going to vote on the cover athlete, and as it turns out, Jimmy Howard is one of the two Red Wings candidates.

I'm sure a lot of you guys are at least into a game like this, I know I am. It's the only video game I buy on a yearly basis. If Jimmy was on the cover it would make it that much cooler, at least to me. Here's what it might look like. I found this pic over on a site called PicturePush under the username marri61. Check it out:

Pretty cool, eh? Click here to vote for Jimmy and be sure to do so before the June 4th deadline. Unless of course your favorite player is among the candidates.

My Picks #84: Kerry Fraser

That's right, Kerry Fraser. Time for something a bit different, a referee card. You don't see many of those nowadays, do you? This one is from one of the good old NHL Pro Set releases from back in the day. I love the idea for this little subset they have. I think it's the only one I've ever seen featuring any kind of official.

Here's a look at the front of the card. It's got the standard layout common to the entire set, with a few differences of course. The most notable is probably the black & white striped trim above and below the image. Pretty neat, right? Well, at least for 1990,

As you can see Fraser has his hair perfect and styled just like we're always used to seeing. Other than that the only problem with the front of the card is the way the picture is a bit off center to the right. One thing I will say is the teal top and bottom borders contrast well with the black and white stripes of the trim and Fraser's uniform. 

I will always remember Kerry Fraser as public enemy number one to Red Wings fans for a few bad calls back in the day, gotta love the "Fraser sucks!" chants that came out of The Joe back then. Others probably know him for the above YouTube clip. I don't really remember it because that was a year or two before I got into hockey, and I was like 5 years old.

Jimmy Howard: More Trade Pickups

There's nothing better than picking up cards you need through trading because other than the small cost of shipping, you get something you want in return for something you don't want or need. The best part is both parties involved get something out of it and more cards find a home in a collection where they will actually be enjoyed. 

Today I have another trade post to share, this time from Brad over at Cards from the Crease. He and I worked out a deal that involved him sending some Jimmy Howard stuff my way and me sending some Paul Kariya stuff his way. Both of us got rid of stuff we didn't need and got stuff we did need, win win, right?

Anyway, the first one and my favorite of the bunch was this base card from 2011-12 Black Diamond. The BD designs are always hit and miss with me, sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. The thing that puts this one on the good side is the little bit of red trim that goes perfectly with the Wings' jerseys.

The second was this one from 2011-12 Certified. I think this is definitely an upgrade over last year's design, especially the added ice texture fading down from the top of the card. I also like how the Certified logo is on the bottom with everything else, leaving the top completely open to focus on the picture.

The third was this one from 2011-12 Score. While I don't mind the direction Panini went with the design of Score this year, I can't really love this card because it has the exact same image as the UD base card, which I have two of now. Oh well, what can you do?

In addition to these three, there was also a Howard sticker from this year's Panini NHL sticker set. Now I've got one from this season and last season. There were also a couple of other nice Wings cards of Pavel Datsyuk and Chris Osgood. Thanks again Brad!

Jimmy Howard: LCS Pickups

We were out shopping today and I made a quick stop into my local card shop just on the off chance the guy had any Howard stuff I could pick up on the cheap. Well, he did and I ended up grabbing two base cards for the collection. 

The first was this one from 2011-12 Pinnacle. It's a great looking card with an even better picture, one with an overhead view that you don't see all that often. 

The second was another copy of a card I already had, which I somehow forgot when I was in the shop. Anyway, it was this one from 2011-12 Upper Deck Series 1. 

All in all not a bad pickup, I got one new card and another dupe for the collection for just $1.50. It would've cost me that much just to buy either of the cards on eBay, plus another $3 to ship each one, so I look at it like I've saved about $5. Plus, I'm supporting a local business this way and that's always a good thing.

Thoughts: I've Gone to the Dark Side...

...relatively speaking. I'm talking about what I've always considered the dark side of social media, Twitter. As long as it has been around I've thought it was a dumb idea and never really understood why people used it. Now that I've been strapped for time when it comes to the blog here lately, a Twitter page was a good alternative for sharing quick thoughts here and there or really cool eBay finds, rather than writing an entire blog post. 

 

So if you're already on the Twitter, look for me @CardBoarded or if you're new to it and have no idea what its about, click here to go directly to my page.

 

What do you guys think about using Twitter when it comes to the hobby? UD and Panini are in on it already and it's actually a nice way to get the most up to date information.

Jimmy Howard: Limited Jersey

Man have I been busy at work this week. Normally I have plenty of time on my lunch break to post here, but this week I've been busy with something from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm every day. It's nice to be able to sit down tonight and actually get this post out of the way now. 

I mentioned recently that I've been trying to keep my card spending to a minimum lately, without stopping completely of course. Ebay has made that goal pretty easy lately with a bunch of stuff ending on the cheap side. While this one isn't another $0.99 special, it only cost me $6 delivered.

It's a 2011-12 Limited base jersey card numbered 02/99.I love the design of the Limited base set this year, especially the scratched ice kind of texture over the background of the pictures. I also like how the player is the only thing in color, it really makes them pop.

It's definitely an upgrade over last year's design even though it's actually pretty simple. The other thing I like about this one is the fact that the swatch on the front of the card actually matches the color of the jersey pictured on the card. Although if you want to get technical, a white swatch could've come from the same jersey just as easily, right?

That's it for tonight. This one brings my Jimmy Howard collection total to 111, as evident by the updated sidebar tracker.

Jimmy Howard: Another $0.99 Special

Like I said in my last Howard show and tell post, I'm trying to stay on the cheaper side as far as purchasing cards lately. That leaves me hoping for auctions ending with just the one initial bid of $0.99. This one was another pleasant surprise as I watched the auction count down to the last few seconds as I was the only bidder.

This time it was for a beige parallel from 2005-06 Beehive. Here's a look at it:

One thing that's cool about this card that I never noticed before is the different finishes on the front of it. It's hard to tell from the scan, but the photo area is actually glossy and the perimeter is a kind of matte finish. It gives the card an interesting look.

Other than that it's just too bad that they were unable to put a facsimile auto on this one. While the cursive font looks nice, it's just not the same. Click here to see what I'm talking about. This one doesn't look so great compared to the others, does it?

Now I just need to track down the blue, gold, and matte parallels, the last of which is only numbered to 25 and the only copy floating around for sale is graded and way out of my price range. The blue is pretty common, I just don't want to pay a ton for it.

Jimmy Howard: Highlight Video

I was bored last night and got on YouTube to watch some hockey highlights and came across a great Jimmy Howard tribute video. It's got some great saves from the past few seasons, as evident by the different masks, well at least to me. Check it out:

Nothing like a great tribute video set to music like this, am I right? The best of the bunch is probably the breakaway save on Sedin. I'll always remember that one.