SHOW PICKUPS - Small Sampling

The recently past Bossa Card Show might go down as one of the most productive when it comes to some of my various collections. Over the next couple weeks, I hope to share in more detail some of my pickups.

You've already seen the four cards snagged for my 1 vs. 100 project, so I won't dwell on them anymore. Instead, I'll give you a quick preview of the rest of the haul.

First off, the swag. Gotta love free stuff. And the Panini bags handed out on the Sunday were a nice extra. My bag had a couple nice goodies in it.

Larry Robinson 8x10 autograph

They must have had some extra signed pics from the day before. This was a nice treat (although the photo is little to be desired). Great signature!


In the swag bag was 5 packs of Panini Adrenalyne XL. I've never seen this product before, but apparently it's built like a game (Pokemon, Bakugan, etc.). The Brodeur looks to be a tougher parallel to get. A nice bonus.


Some high end base cards were a bit of a surprise to pick up. Anytime I can get Cup base for a buck a piece - I'm in. I also snagged some Enshrined base and some sharp looking Topps from the late 80's. Will make for some fun 'One Sheet, One Set' show & tells.


One seller had blaster boxes of 05/06 MVP on for half price - you NEVER see this stuff on sale. I had the delusional thought of pulling the much needed Linden Prosign (only 1:480 packs for the Prosigns).

Didn't get one, but found a Crosby RC in the mix. A nice consolation.


I actually found a couple Linden cards at the show. None that I actually needed, but this beauty is a definite upgrade to my current copy. It's by far the best copy of this card I have seen.


BTP Masked Men III was on the top of the radar this weekend. I wanted to put a dent in the wantlist. By the end of the weekend - I did. And for a decent price too. These are some nice looking cards (and they scan nicely too).


These do not scan well. Panini's attempt at a mask set. This one looks to be a colossal flop. Out of the 19 cards in the checklist, it appears 6 were not produced - LAME. I will give points for using a photo of Tim Thomas in his new mask (ahem ITG!) as well as using Jonathan Quick's Retro mask (the Vachon tribute).


I also had the opportunity to find a couple cards for other collectors. This Bourque has already been spoken for and is on its way out of the city. Glad to see a rare parallel find its proper home.


This one was a 'must have'. I love the design of this set - completely set up for autographs. The hard signed sig of Wensink just adds to the coolness of the card.

Not sure if I'll try to build the set. Right now, I'm just trying to get a 9-page sheet filled (sans autos). Maybe this card will be used as a trader instead. :)

Overall, a great time was had at the card show. Thus ending a season of shows. If you have a chance to go to a show in your area - do so! Supporting local card shows ensures that they will continue in the future. While they are dwindling in quantity over a season, they can still attain quality.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I cringe the day that card shows become extinct. As much as I love ebay and online trading, local card shows offer so much more than one would think.

1 vs. 100 - Bossa Show Pickups

This weekend was the Bossa Spring Sports Collectibles Show here in Calgary and I have had these past two days marked on my calendar for months.

It's a great chance to pickup some new pieces for my various collections. With dealers coming in from out of town, there's some fresh cardboard out on the tables and a number of locals bring out just a little more than normal.

To top it off, in-person signings from hockey greats. This year it was Larry Robinson on the Saturday and Jean Beliveau today. Was it ever cool to see those two guys. With all the health problems Beliveau has had over the past few years, I gotta say - he looks great. And is without a doubt one of the nicest guys I've ever met.

They say he's the classiest.....that's an understatement.

Now on to some pickups.

One of the projects that has been slowly progressing has been my 1 vs. 100 set. This show may have produced one of the single biggest hauls towards completion. Some great additions if I do say so myself.

2009/10 The Cup
Honorable Numbers
#HN-MG Mike Green /52

I paid a little more than I wanted to for this card, but ever since seeing these cards - I've wanted one for my project. The patches are really nice and I like Green's autograph. Hard signed - you can't beat that.

2005/06 SP Game Used
Significant Numbers
#SN-HO Marian Hossa /18

Another card that I hummed and hawed at. It was priced quite high for what I was looking to pay, and we almost made a trade, but it was early Sunday when my look of disinterest turned into a sudden drop in price. I jumped at it and was glad I did.

2005/06 The Cup
Rookie Gold
#182 Jay McClement /9

This was a late purchase on the Saturday. The guy had TWO of these cards. Having never purchased a Gold Rookie from this year, I wasn't sure what the going rate on them were. He had it priced at $125. I knew I wasn't going to pay that price, but after talking to him for a bit realized that this guy was bang on when it comes to bartering. He basically said that he wanted a fair price. I can respect that.

I told him that I had no clue what a card like this might barter down to so rather than make an offer that might come off as insulting, I'd pass. He then said that this card would normally go cheap. He fired off a number that was within a few bucks of what I had in mind.

And with that, I was the new owner of a nice rare card for the project. I'm really excited to have landed this one.

2010/11 SP Game Used
Career Legacy
#CL4P-CD Chris Drury /4

Last, but not least is this gorgeous piece. This card fits perfectly into what I'm looking for with this project. Drury is not a big name, the card is unique to anything else I own and the price was right.

This card was just recently pulled bu the dealer and he was not looking for a ton of dough. He asked what a fair price would be and we quickly came to a deal. Again, really happy to add this one.

So that's 4 more cards to the collection. And a pair of them numbered to under 10. Just a small portion of the pickups I made at this fantastic show.

Only 12 more months to go before the next one.

78 out of 100 (78%)

WHO AM I? - A Trio Of Chokers

Time to reveal the names behind these sloppy signatures. Out of the four guesses I received, only one person got all three players right.

Congrats to Jess for guessing the names, and yes they all have a last name starting with 'B', but the main connection is that they all had pitiful playoff performances.

NOTE: Thanks for your guess Dave. Next time I'll forward you the answers. It'll give you a better shot at getting them right. :)

Ilya Bryzgalov

"Don't send me to Winnipeg"! Don't worry, they wouldn't want you anyways now.

And I actually had Phoenix knocking off the Wings in the first round.

Nicklas Backstrom

Hoo boy. This guy disappeared in the post season. As much as you can place some blame on Ovechkin, it was the sudden dissapearance of Backstrom (and Semin) that led to the Caps demise.

Brian Boucher

In one of the most 'ugly-to-watch' train wrecks in post season goaltending history, Boucher was the guy who crapped the bed the most.

If his 'performance' doesn't get him kicked off that team for next season, then nothing will.

Give Bobrovsky the ball and let him run with it. There may be growing pains, but it would pale in comparison the comedy show the Flyers put on in the playoffs.

Who else would be in the running for 'Choker of the Year' when it comes to the 2011 playoffs?

DESIGNING - Behind The Scenes Video

It's not often a card company opens its doors and allows a person in to see just how some of their favorite cards are made.

With the launch of the Panini blog last year, some of my favorite videos they've posted have been of just that.

Normally they have no dialogue or interesting editing, instead it's more of a 'fly-on-the-wall' feel presented.

This recent video really caught my eye as I've never really seen much of the design process at work.

NOTE: It's not the most exciting video, but I think it's a neat glimpse into something that I'd jump at if I had the chance.

RAISE THE CUP - The Ideal Card

This little gem was an unexpected addition to the bulk lot that came in last week.

While the Bossy was clearly the highlight of the lot (and one can never go wrong with a Linden RC), this simple subset snapshot caught my eye and has quickly become one of my favorite cards in this project.

2006/07 Power Play
Cup Celebrations
#CC4 Mike Modano

For a while, I thought I had discovered a brand new set to chase. Funny thing is, I had already posted a card from the set way back in the day (granted, it was from the 05/06 set).

Sadly, Mr. Messier didn't make the cut with that one. Ha ha ha.

What I did find out about this insert set is that it consists of 7 cards. Guys like Martin St. Louis, Mario Lemieux, Eric Staal and Patrick Roy make for a cool list of cards to search for.

Take a second and look at the photo. When I said 'ideal card', this is what I meant. The pure jubilation and sense of accomplishment is etched all over his face. What a fantastic photo.

I wish more hockey cards had photos that had as much impact as this one. What a great set that would be.

Current Collection - 35 cards

MAILDAY: Bulk Lot Goodness

A couple weeks ago, I stumbled across an ebay auction during my daily......err, hourly Trevor Linden card searches. Mixed in a lot of 50 cards was a Trevor Linden RC.

Nothing to write home about since I already have a copy of the massively overproduced piece of cardboard, but nonetheless I kept tabs on the auction.

Why? Well, buried well withing the list of cards was a nice little gem. I thought if the price was right, I'd go for it.

A $10 bid and the cards were mine. They arrived today.

2006/07 SPx
Flashback Fabrics
#132 Mike Bossy
Spectrum Jersey/Auto /25

I'd say it was worth it. This card books for $60 alone. And I've got 49 other cards to sift through. Granted, some of them are junk base, but there are a few neat inserts some rookie cards and a couple jersey cards.

The Bossy though is by far my favorite. A great looking autograph and a nice piece of jersey. A solid photo from his prime and this card alone exceeds the price of purchase.

In addition, I landed a great card for my 'Raise The Cup' project. Stay tuned.

It just goes to show that if you do a little digging, sometimes you hit some treasure.

WHO AM I? - Adios Amigos!

Who Am I???? Should be more like WHERE Am I?

It's been a crazy week at work. There are just not enough hours in the day it seems. That said, I made it a point to watch a couple of my niece's softball games. It was a nice escape from everything else.

Still hoping to get a good review of Between The Pipes in this weekend, and I've had a couple cards for my projects trickle in. But for the most part, it's been a quiet past couple weeks card-wise. Which is ok since the big card show is coming up in a little over a week. The last one of the season.

With that out of the way, here's another group of sigs for you to figure out.






As always, I'm looking for the names of all three players as well as their connection to one another. This time, there are two connections (but the one is sheer coincidence).

Good luck!