RATE MY MASK - Al Montoya

With a new season comes a changing of the guard - literally.  It seems that there are some new residences for journeymen goalies, top prospect busts and those looking for that one last shot at glory.

What I love about goalies finding work in a new NHL city is that they immediately need to take care of the important things.  Most notably....a new paint job for the goalie mask.

What I've found odd is that while there are numerous resources for finding good quality mask pics, there aren't too many snapshots of these new (and impressive) lids.

But perseverance pays off in the end and I tracked down some photos of one of my faves this year.

Al Montoya had a bit of a resurgence last year with the Islanders.  But a crammed goalie locker room made Montoya the odd man out.  New York's loss is Winnipeg's gain.

I think he'll fair well playing for the Jets.  I hope he can get about 10-20 starts in this shortened season, prove his worth as a solid "1a" to Pavelec and maybe do some damage next year when they play a full 82 games.

But on to his new look Jets mask.

Known as the "Big Cubano", Montoya went with an Islander/sea motif with his previous club.  Staying with the "team theme" again this season, Al had a pretty aggressive looking cartoon jet take the main focus of his mask.

Painted by Bishop Designs, this mask really finds a nice balance of intricate detail and bold cartoon simplicity.

You can see the mouth and teeth completely envelop the cage of the mask (seems the thing to do these days).  The accentuated teeth really pop off the mask making it far more effective than some of the more subtle but scarier counterparts around the league.

Reminiscent of Brian Hayward's iconic San Jose Sharks mask of the 90's, Montoya's jet comes screaming out with smoking exhaust pipes coming out the side, a Jets logo on the forehead and a pair of very menacing eyes.

The backplate has Al's famous nickname as well as family initials surrounding a full shot of the fighter plane against a nice light blue.  This really contrasts the rest of the mask well.

A closer look at the detail on the mask shows some smoking bullet holes in the chin area mixed in with the rivets on the metal plane "body".  The name "Monty 31" is also on the side of his mask (won't be confusing this with any of the other guys on the team, eh?)

What I love most about Al Montoya's mask is that it is so recognizable - even from a far distance.  Too many masks these days are so intricate that you lose the effect unless you are right up close.  And I'm sure the pesky power forward from the other team could care less about the detail on a guy's mask.

Also, when the mask is being worn....the full effect of the mouth around the cage is seen.  Take a second look at the custom card I made for it.  It looks like Montoya's head is coming right out of the mask.  Very cool.

Hopefully Al gets to keep this mask for a little while.  He needs to find a home.

4 out of 5

Now it's your turn to RATE MY MASK!

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - Best Base Card....EVER!

I was doing my nightly ebay Linden search and came across what might just be the best base card I have ever seen.

I wasn't anticipating a card of his to be in this product, but I can't in the slightest bit be disappointed.

He's never had one of these and I'm really looking forward to chasing one down.

From In The Game's upcoming Heroes & Prospects release comes this DYN-O-MITE Medicine Hat Tigers base card.

I literally gasped when I saw it.  What a gorgeous card.

Funny thing is....I don't think I've ever seen that photo of him.  Pics from his junior days are rare enough as it is, but this just adds to the excitement.

I snagged this pic of the interweb so I am hoping the quality of the photo used in the card is a little better than what is shown here.  Even if it's not...I can't be too disappointed.

Big kudos to ITG!!!

Very exciting.

12 in 12 - January Review

I'm very happy with how January's book went.  I didn't feel rushed to finish it, I found some good quality time to read (and even got my nephew involved) and most importantly....I really enjoyed the book.

For those of you not in the know - I'm reading a book a month this year.  Sports books, biographies, whatever piques my interest.

This month it was a read that was lent to me by a co-worker way back last spring.  Yeah, I need a set-up like this to get things done.  And so I did.

January's book was Tony Dungy's story...

Quiet Strength

Tony Dungy

317 pages

Now I'm not going to go into the big long rambles that my '30 in 30' project  resulted in.  I'm keeping these reviews short and sweet.

For those of you who don't know, Tony Dungy was the coach of the Indianapolis Colts and led the team to the Super Bowl in 2007.  He was also the catylist for the turnaround in Tampa Bay, taking the Bucs from the league laughing stock to serious contender.  Quiet Strength really showcases the person Tony Dungy is both on and off the field.  If you want to read a good, compelling story that doesn't have any of the negative vibes of scandal or controversy - this is your book.

He was never the best football player on his team....but he was always one of the best team players.  He had a vision for how he wanted to do things as a coach....and he succeeded because he stayed the course.  He took inspiration from those he admired and respected and in turn became a person who many found to be a tremendous role model.

He is a very private person and has a very deep faith.  These tones are throughout the book and gives the reader insight to his decisions throughout his NFL career as well as his personal life.

He has had to deal with some very difficult times and he is pretty open and candid in this book.  As a person who doesn't do many interviews, he really peels the layers back and reveals that which is most important to him.

This is a very easy read and I found myself hearing Tony's voice in the words.  The only downside to this book is that it ends after his retirement from NFL coaching.  The book does not dip into his involvement with NBC's Sunday Night Football.  A very minor downside if you ask me.

4.5 out of 5  (a real strong start)


February's book...

Open

Andre Agassi

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - This One Is White Hot

On the same day that my struggle ended with one of the most frustrating transactions ever - EVER, I received a bubble mailer with a card that I wasn't sure I'd ever see come my way.

Not because it's a 1/1.....but because it's from a product that was rarely cracked.

A couple of years ago Panini released its Zenith product.  While it didn't get broken heavily, it did create some buzz to us player collectors for its super-tough "White Hot" parallel.

Numbered to just 25 copies, these cards were case hits I believe.  And when not too many cases are being sold, it makes for a tough find.

In fact, in the two seasons since the product came out, I've seen just one copy of this card.  And I unfortunately jacked up the price on another Linden collector (we had a malfunction in the ol' communication department).  I thought I'd be able to snag another one pretty quick - after all, the card is out of 25 (believe it or not....that's a big number these days).

Nope.  Nuthin'.  Dry as a desert.  Until earlier this month.  A copy popped up on ebay and I was stunned.  I put in a huge snipe and held my breath as the auction ended.  Not because I was hoping I would win the card, but because I didn't want to pay the top end price I bid.

Thankfully, I didn't.  In fact, I think I got it for a great price.

2010/11 Panini Zenith

#138 White Hot  /25

Note: These cards scan like crap.  They look a heck of a lot nicer in person.

This card was up there with the infamous MVP ProSign that I'll never find or the Topps Red parallel I'm destined never to obtain.  But it's one of the nicest "cross offs" I've had in a very long time.

What I really like about these cards is that Trev's donning the Montreal jersey.  He's got tons of Canucks love (obviously) but his insertion recent products as a Hab only has me wanting more.  Put him in the Fisherman jersey.  Put him in that ugly Washington 3rd jersey.

Just don't make any ultra high-end jersey/patch cards with that kind of stuff.  I want.....but not that bad.

IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!

It's been exactly two months since I won an auction for (what should have been) one of the nicest Linden cards to hit the pc in 2012.  And for the past two months I have been struggling with trying to get proper compensation for the damaged card that was delivered to me.

For those of you who don't remember.

Well, tonight was the night it ended.  Finally!!!

Earlier in the month I received a cheque from UPS refunding my brokerage fee.  I still need to get the government fees back from Revenue Canada (the forms are on my desk).  But the big chunk of money would be coming from the seller (or the insurance reimbursement....however you want to look at it).

From day one, the seller kept saying "Return the card and I'll give you a full refund".  That's all fine and dandy if there were other cards like this one out there that I could go buy.  But with this being a 1/1....I was looking for compensation.

Nope.  For a month and a half the seller either ignored my questions or just responded with the "Return the card and I'll give you a full refund".  It came to the point where I had to open a Paypal dispute.

Nothing.  No response for 10 days from the seller.  Then....all of the sudden he decides to escalate it to a claim (meaning Paypal will rule on the case.  He knew (as did I) that Paypal would say "Return the card and you'll get a full refund".

I was prepared to walk away out my money, but I would not relinquish the card.  The seller earlier this week finally offered a partial refund - a glimmer of light.  I made a counter-proposal that I felt accurately valued the damaged card.  No response.

So I woke up this morning bound and determined to finally put an end to it.  I issued an ultimatum.

I made one last proposal.  I felt it was fair for both parties.  I added that I would not barter and that it was a take it or leave it offer....that he had to agree to by the end of the month.

He agreed to it and tonight I received my partial refund.

While it's not exactly what I was hoping for, I can now look at the card and not be disgusted by it.

I just want to say that over the span of the past two months there have been numerous times where I have had to look at myself and ask "Have I done my part?"  There is nothing more important in resolving a dispute than communication.  And while it was a struggle (a HUGE struggle), I remained steadfast about being the one to communicate in an open, honest and respectful manner.

I have no doubt that it is for this reason that a mutual agreement was made today.

And with that......this chapter is OVER!

LINDEN CARD(s) OF THE WEEK - A Nice Way To Wrap Up A Week

Man this month is going by quick.

From a hobby standpoint it has been a pretty solid one.  Not too busy...not too slow.  I've picked up some nice items for my Linden pc including some beauties I'll be showing off in a moment.  One card was such a surprise to find - it might just be the nicest one I've found locally.

I've been in the habit of going to the library once a week to do some reading (for my '12 in 12' project).  I've even got my niece and nephew involved.....very cool.  I'm right on track to finish the book next week.

I've been working on some of the customs that have been on the plate for far too long.  I'm looking to keep on that this weekend and hopefully can get one or two requests completed 100% over the next couple days.

I've also been scanning my traders - something that has been in dire need of updating.  I've come up with a pretty good routine that makes it not so tedious and not so difficult.  Even more boring than the scanning will be the documenting (I'm not really looking forward to that).

A pretty good start to the year if you ask me.

Now....on to the Lindens.

Three items to show off tonight.  The first comes from a trade - I love getting pc cards this way.  So much more fun than buying them.  It's tougher to trade for a few reasons.  Some Linden cards are very sought after so I can understand when people want to maximize their profit.  Lower-end Lindens are better for trading...but there aren't too many of them out there.

What I've done is purposefully hold off in buying some of these low-end items in the hopes of working out a trade down the road.  Score one for the good guys tonight.

2012/13 Panini Classics

#45 Classics Signatures

This base parallel auto completes the four card Classics pursuit.  Fun, fairly quick and not too expensive.  Exactly what I'm looking for in a pc chase.

The signature versions of this base card are exactly like their unsigned counterpart say for two things.  The auto (of course) which is hard-signed by the way and the card surface.  The signed cards have a glossier finish to them.

So be sure to check your auto cards from this set before you go buy one.  Having the player sign in person can lead to some unauthentic issues out there.  There is also a line on the back indicating the signed versions.

2011/12 Upper Deck SP Authentic

#49 Limited Auto/Patch  /25

This was a card on the wantlist for a little while.  I had passed over a few copies because of the single color patch (cards this limited should not have a one-color piece of jersey or especially patch in it....period).  I balked on a couple as well because the price was a little higher than I wanted to spend.

Well, my patience had me panicking a bit.  With only 25 copies of the card, the "supply" dried up while my "demand" grew.

When I saw this copy hit ebay, I thought about it for a bit.  The price was right around what I was looking to spend and even better....I knew the seller - a fellow Linden collector.

I contacted him and asked what his rock bottom price was and he shared what he paid for the item.  He said he'd be happy to sell it to me for about that price.  I paused slightly but knew that it was a good pickup.

It didn't take long for the card to arrive and I was pumped to see it.  And let me take a moment to say that it was one of the nicest packing jobs I've seen in a while.  Well protected, well packaged, even the name and address were protected by clear packing tape.  Thanks very much for that.

But it gets better.

This in-person autographed Esso Olympics card was included as a gift.  Man is it ever nice.  In fact, it's one of the nicest Linden autos I have.

A large surface to sign on and a solid sharpie swirl made this signature tops on the list.

Not much more to say other thank thank you very much Elliot for the kind gift.  It definitely made my day.

ARTICLES: Upper Deck Announces 2012/13 Cuts

Last week I posted some information about the NHLPA's decision to not include rookies debuting in the 2012/13 shortened season into this year's products.  Instead they will be part of a double rookie class for the 2013/14 product season.

Link to blog post

Well, today Upper Deck shared their plans for the remainder of the 2012/13 season.....well at least some of the plans.

Link to Upper Deck blog post

Gone are the following products for this year...

2012/13 NHL SPx
2012/13 NHL Upper Deck Series II
2012/13 NHL Ultimate Collection

I was surprised to see UD Series II take a hit, but I guess their Young Guns inserts would have been too depleted.  I was hoping for maybe some retro YG's or something.

Ultimate Collection is a hard-signed product so the turnaround to get that release together might have led to that decision.

What I am interested to see is how some of the content from those products is received by collectors when they act as inserts in other products.  Or will they be bonuses?

I'm also predicting that the Fleer Retro release will be a hit.  I don't know why...just a gut feeling.  I think the Jambalaya inserts will be a huge chase and a real throwback to old-style, long-odds insert collecting.  Curious too to see how the Metal Universe cards will be incorporated.

Fans of those 90's products will love the flashback I'm sure.

The one area that wasn't addressed by Upper Deck is the status of The Cup.  Normally a very late release (August/September), it will be curious to see how this product is taken to with the limited rookie inclusion.

I can't see UD canceling the release for the 2012/13 season....it's just too big of a product to halt.  But it will be a different beast for sure.

If I hear anything else, I'll be sure to update.

What are your thoughts on the "shortened" 2012/13 NHL hockey card season?  Has it affected your collecting?  If so - how?