'DID YOU KNOW' - Not So Mellow Yellow

I'm gearing up for the biggest week of the year at work.  And while I'm excited to see it come (as it is one of the busiest and most intense work atmospheres......which I like), I'm very much looking forward to Monday, September 10th - the official start of the "homestretch to Christmas".  I can't believe I just said that.

The end of the 'summer lull' didn't come as abruptly as I thought it would have (thanks to my guy not being in Panini's high-end product Prime) but I'm in no rush to jump back in the deep end.  There's still some good chases I'd like to land before then.

Anyways, onto the topic at hand.  Another 'Did You Know' post.

What I like about these are the discoveries (through the hockey cards sitting in boxes in my closet) that I might never have unearthed if not for this blog.  Sometimes it's the photo on the front, other times it's the write-up on the back.

I remember this card catching my eye back in the day and it always stuck out in my mind.  It's easy to have that happen when it shows something that you just never see in the game.

'DID YOU KNOW': Kyle McLaren (then of the San Jose Sharks) ended up wearing his trademark yellow visor as a result of a prank.

There's been a handful of players who have skated with a tinted visor during their time in the NHL.  Eric Weinrich (wore yellow throughout his career), Marian Hossa, Nikolai Zherdev and I think most famously Alex Ovechkin (with the ultra-tinted visor.....later banned).

But Kyle McLaren's story has some uniqueness to it.  With the other guys, the tinted visor was a choice, for Kyle it was due to his crafty teammates.

note: in doing some research on this, there are some slight discrepancies from story to story.  I will do my best to go with what I found the most often and by the most reliable sources (especially interviews with McLaren himself).


Back in the 2003/04 season, the big, hard-hitting defenceman was injured when a Sami Salo slapshot caught Kyle right in the noggin.  While the front of his helmet took the brunt of the force, it still left him with a deep cut across his forehead.  He was not wearing a visor at the time.

Before his return to the ice, his teammates thought it would be fun to swap his newly fastened clear visor with a tinted yellow one.  Kyle went out and played the game not knowing the difference.

Turns out - he's colorblind.

McLaren ended up scoring the game-winning goal and quickly decided to keep the lucky visor.

Kyle noted after wearing the yellow visor for a while that the tint takes the glare off the ice from the lights.  Regardless of the on-ice benefits or off-ice enjoyment by his teammates, McLaren's unique look made him instantly stand out in a crowd.

That is until the 2007/08 season.  The Sharks, heading into the playoffs.....and having had little success in past years, decided to switch back to a conventional clear visor in hopes of changing the fortunes of his team in the postseason.

While the Sharks finished first in the Pacific with 108 points, the were ousted in the second round by Dallas 4 games to 2.

Maybe that yellow visor is the curse the Sharks have dangling over their head.

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - A Very Special Addition

Storytime!  And this one might just be one of my favorites this year.

For the past year or so, I've been noticing more 'show' cards or 'expo' cards of Linden's being released than I have in a long time.  Many collectors don't chase these cards as they are not true pack-inserted pieces of cardboard.

Fair enough.  But to me, these cards sit right in the wantlist with all the others.

Coming across a show card didn't have the excitement like it once did.  A little oversaturation will do that (even if the cards are 1/1's).  But a month or so ago, I came across a show card on ebay that made me jump.

2003/04 Be A Player

In The Game Action

#583 Montreal Expo SHOW /10

A show card from almost 10 years ago is virtually impossible to find these days.  They rarely pop up.  When they do, I've got my radar set to 10.

So I keep tabs on this ebay auction and for the next week I am literally counting down the days before auction end.

I knew the precise time that the auction would finish up and set my alarm for 5 minutes beforehand so I could casually place my bid.  The buzzer rang and I made my way up to the computer.  I fired it up and double-clicked on the internet icon.

No connection!  Something was up with my network signal.

So I start cursing.  I restart my computer and by the time I get the ebay page up on my screen - the auction was over.

I was beside myself.  Sick to my stomach.  Not only would the card be going to another person, it went for a fraction of what I was willing to spend.

For the next while, that miss was all I could think of.

But rather than give up on the card (which I would have done if it were pretty much any other card), I decided to keep pursuing it.

I found out who the winning bidder was and decided to contact him out of the blue.  I asked if he would consider selling the card as I would gladly pay over and above what he shelled out.  Of course I did it respectfully and without trying to be invasive.

Not long after, I received a reply from the winner of the card.  It turned out that he was a Linden collector.  He didn't really have a huge attachment to the card and said that he would be happy to work something out.  I was thrilled.

Over the next few days, my new Linden collecting friend and I worked out a trade that I think was a win-win.  He was able to pick up some nice parallels and I was able to snag a card that would probably never be seen again.

The cards were mailed off and I sat back and thought about the whole chain of events.  A huge smile on my face appeared.

The card arrived today and it's a real fave of mine.  If it hadn't been for that computer glitch, I might never have met this generous Linden collector.  As much as I will be enjoying this show card, I have no doubt that I will enjoy the friendly banter that the two of us will shoot back and forth over the days, months and hopefully years to come.

Thanks very much Glenn for your generosity.  It was a blast to meet another Linden collector.

30 in 30 - Oh Thank You Internets!

In my quest to come up with a list of 30 documentaries before my launch date (tentatively set for Oct. 1), I have scoured a number of different resources to ensure I actually have 30 films in hand to watch.

Obviously, the internet will play a huge role in accomplishing this goal.  Not only will I be able to track down where some of these movies live, with some, I'll be able to actually watch them online.

Here's a few that I'm adding because I know they have a place in the world wide web where I can go to watch.

First up, Sonicsgate: Requiem For A Team.

This film is about how the Sonics were torn away from Seattle in 2008 after 41 years in the NBA and were moved to Oklahoma and became the Thunder.  The film was created by Sonics fans in order to educate the public on what really happened.

It won a Webby Award for Best Sports Film in 2010.

Looks interesting.


Next up, a classic from the glory days (at least for me) of the NHL.  Never Say Die: The Story of the New York Islanders is just that.  The building and pinnacle of the Isles franchise.

It's an old doc, but I'm looking forward to seeing it.


The Game Of Their Lives is a 2002 film about the 1966 World Cup and focuses on the North Korean team who were 1000:1 longshots and yet made the quarterfinals.  For this documentary, a BBC producer was given unprecedented access to North Korea.

I have a feeling this will be more than just a soccer story.


More Than A Game is a 2009 documentary film that follows NBA star LeBron James and four of his teammates through their high school years in Akron, Ohio.  I remember hearing about James before he went to the NBA and how his team's high school games were out-drawing a lot of college matches.

Not expecting it to be as good as Hoop Dreams, but should still be an interesting watch.


Fire In Babylon is a critically acclaimed film about the West Indies cricket team of the late 70's/early 80's in the turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa.  It's a sport I know little of and am excited to see this film.


With the 2012 London Olympics now in the books, there was a lot of talk about the 2012 "Dream Team" and comparisons to the 1992 "Dream Team".  The Dream Team is about that 1992 team.  One for the ages.


Finally, TT3D: Closer To The Edge is about The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, the greatest motorcycle race in the world.  Here's the trailer.

OK, I'll bite.

Getting closer.

'30 in 30' - LIST OF MOVIES

1. Hoop Dreams

2. Murderball

3. The Endless Summer

4. Pumping Iron

5. Undefeated

6. Michael Jordan: To The Max

7. Bobby Fischer Against The World

8. Jim Brown: All American

9. Tyson
10. Knuckleball
11. Magic and Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals
12. Touching The Void
13. The Curious Case Of Curt Flood
14. The Last Gladiators

New additions.....

15. Sonicsgate: Requiem For A Team

16. Never Say Die: The Story of the New York Islanders

17. The Game Of Their Lives

18. More Than A Game

19. Fire In Babylon

20. The Dream Team

21. TT3D: Closer To The Edge

TO THE BIKE SPOKES!! - Petr Nedved........AGAIN!

Poor Petr Nedved.  He's getting more hobby love for all the wrong reasons.

This is the third time he's appeared here on this blog and the first two times were not pretty.

1990/91 Pro Set Series II

#643 Petr Nedved

Granted, it is a Pro Set card, but man you've got some bad luck going when it comes to hockey cards Petr.

Is it some sort of 'mini-me' theme they tried?  You look like you're about 3 feet tall.  Add to that, I get more of the guys in the crowd than I do you.

Cropping must not have been a high priority when it came to card production back in the day.

And look at Nedved's face.  I'd be pretty ticked too if I had this kind of card.

Oh and by the way, all the cool guys tuck their shirts in the back.  Didn't you get the memo?  I guess not.  You were probably prancing around in your pyjamas.

I'm seriously considering changing the name of these posts to "The Petr Nedved Award".  He's definitely earned it.

Because you just won't go away...

PPPPPPPFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!

TO THE BIKE SPOKES!!!

1 vs. 100 - This PC Is Still Alive!

It has been months since I've had any sort of update on my 1 vs. 100 project.  Two reasons for that.  First - I just haven't been pursuing it too much.  Second - I only have 14 cards left to track down.....tougher than it sounds.

But the most recent traders night yielded me not one, not two, but three new cards for the collection.  An amazing feat if you ask me.

More so since they all came from the same person.

2005/06 The Cup

Honorable Numbers

#HN-DG Doug Gilmour  /93

A sweet auto/patch card from Killer to start things off.  The patch may be blah, but that serial number is what shines for me.

And check out that auto.  Not bad.  You definitely know what number he wore.

2011/12 Titanium

#113 Alexei Emelin  /84

When I saw these odd numbered parallels in this year's Titanium product, I knew that it would help my cause.

Emelin has this card numbered to 84 as it was his draft position.  He also has a card numbered to 74 which is his jersey number.

I love the fact that I'm adding unique cards to this project and that these new finds are getting me closer to the finish line.

2007/08 The Cup

#170 Stefan Meyer (gold)  /64

Another patch/auto to end things off.  This one is courtesy of Stefan Meyer.  I was really excited to land this one as it has a gorgeous patch but was slightly bummed when I saw that there was a bit of a ding on the right hand side.

On the flip side, there is a Stefan Meyer hoarder who has almost half the print run of these cards so far.  I'm hoping to trade him for a different card /64.  Win-win for both of us then....right?

Anyways, this was a hugs find for me and brings me just that much closer to finishing one of my most daunting projects ever.

87 out of 100  (87%)

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - NYI Panini Photo Card

This past week has been vacation week for me.  Work gives us a small windows for time off during the summer and so August becomes a bit of a quiet work environment.  Nice and relaxing.

Even more relaxing was the week-long golf trip I took to British Columbia. That is if you call a 3-night, 4-day trip to BC playing 6 rounds of golf relaxing.  My brother-in-law, a couple high school buddies and myself did nothing but drive, golf, sleep and maybe had one or two beverages in between.  And I loved it.  I look forward to this trip every year (this was our seventh) and it didn't disappoint.

I'm fourth on the depth chart when it comes to our golf game, but I hold my own.  I'm pretty competitive and I like that it's a challenge to try and beat the other guys.  Well, the last round of the trip was the first time I finished a round on top.  It was a pretty cool feeling.  A great way to end the week.

But now it's back to work on Monday and back to some blogging.  There's a bit of a backlog with some stuff I want to show off so I'll try to do my best to get caught up.


This item was a nice surprise in the mailbox.  One that I actually had no clue was in my possession.

1998/99 Panini

Photocard (large)

This card came from Brad over at Cards From The Crease.  He saw it and thought I might like it (which I do).  I had no idea he was mailing it off as it was a generous gift from him.

He e-mailed me a little while back asking if I received it.  I thought he meant another shipment that arrived a couple months ago.  He indicated that he sent off an envelope and that I should have received it by now.

I did a little rummaging and sure enough I found it.  It was tucked in between some flyers in my recycling bin.  Thankfully he mentioned it to me or it would have been forever lost in the world of the recycled.

This card is the size of a postcard and was a unique product from Panini back at a time when my Linden collecting had taken a completely different look (Linden as an Islander was weird to see at the time).

I liked this set as it had some neat photos.  It's a shame that odd-sized cards just don't get the same hobby love as their 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 counterparts.

Thanks very much for the gift Brad.  I really appreciate it.  While I do have a copy already, I will continue my trend of replacing the one in my collection with the one you sent.

RAISE THE CUP - New, New And More New

Had a few nice successes over the past month.  Cards for a few different projects have found their way to me and it's giving me a nice boost of motivation as the new hockey card season is gearing up.

While there are still a few major releases left for the 2011/12 season, the first product of 2012/13 (O-Pee-Chee) came out this past week.  I opened a few packs so stay tuned for my thoughts.

But first, I thought I'd share some new Raise The Cup cards.  A couple were from trades, one was a nice gift and a couple were just sitting in the binder.

So let's go.

2005/06 Upper Deck The Cup

#41 Scotty Bowman /249

This base card of Scotty Bowman was picked up at a trade night at the start of the month.  I gave up a little more than I should have and now that I think about it I would have been better to walk away from the transaction.

I was pretty frustrated by the guy who I dealt with as he kept playing the "my cards are gold, your cards are crap" game.  Some of his dollar figures just downright insulted me.  He should be happy he got what he got.

Moving on.

2011/12 Panini Contenders

Contenders Legacies

#151 Steve Yzerman /999

This card was included in a package that had a couple Linden cards coming my way.  It was a nice surprise as I didn't even know he had the card.

Both the Yzerman and the Bowman cards cut the Stanley Cup in half.  Terrible cropping if you ask me.  Why couldn't they just include the whole photo?

1997/98 Score

#228 Vladimir Konstantinov

This card might be one of the nicest all-time Raise The Cup cards.  The expression on Vlad's face, the entire photo is included and his teammates are all behind him.

Truly a cherished moment in time.

Love it!

1991/92 Score

#315 Mario Lemieux

A trifecta of Lemieux cards to finish off the show & tell today.

This one is a great looking photo that is enhanced by a nice soft glow filter on the pic.  You can see it in the white of the Penguins logo and around the edge of the Cup.

A nice card from 20 years ago.

1991/92 Pro Set

#318 Mario Lemieux

Another nice card for different reasons.  This one is cluttered with just the one logo in the top left corner.  It also has a little more action in the shot.

Who can tell me the name of the assistant captain?

1991/92 Upper Deck

#436 Mario Lemieux

This last card is not quite as nice.  The shadow over Mario's face and the fact that the card is focusing on his playoff MVP win as opposed to his Cup win makes this third in the Lemieux race today.

Rare since it's an Upper Deck card and they normally lead the charge.

Anyways, it's a nice bunch and I'm happy to add them to the binder.

Current Collection - 89 cards