We are the Champions

Although I've been on a hockey kick lately, the NBA is still what my day revolves around. This past NBA season saw one of the most amazing teams ever...when 4 of my 5 favorite players in the league came together to pretty much destroy the rest of the league. When Panini put out a special team set for the Warrior's championship, I had to get it...it arrived on Monday. Without further ado, here are the fronts of all 24 cards, in numerical order.

The great thing is, if this team stays together, we could see them win a lot more. A Bill Russell Celtics era run is not impossible. I hope it happens...and if Panini does another championship set next year, I will try and get it...even if, for some reason, the Warriors don't win. Yeah, I don't see that being an issue.

A major milestone

I'll start off by saying that my numbers are surely not accurate...I keep them in multiple places and not a single one matches. But I have a working number that I go off of and even though I'm sure it's not right, it's probably as close as I can ever get. I treat it as if it was correct.

Last night, I hit a major milestone with my collection....I hit 150,000 different cards. That's a grand total of all sports and non-sports...everything. I began collecting in 1988 and have never truly stopped, although 2007 and 2008 were pretty lean years, I got documented new cards in both of them. (Documented meaning I listed them with a date in my paper listing).

I didn't actually have a working total number until January of this year, when I finished listing and counting the cards that came with 1/64 diecast cars. I know I have others, but no idea where. I hope to find them some day. But I counted what I had, and it was the last section of my collection that did not have even a rudimentary count. I'm running with it as a grand total even though I don't think I ever counted the oversize cards, or even the 1996-97 Collector's Choice mini-cards...which I did separate.

After the package from Adam I showed in my last post I was 8 cards away, and a trip to Target yielded some packs...
this is card #150,000.

I hadn't opened any 2016-17 Complete since Christmas, when I got a blaster. For a set I really like I have not chased it as much as I normally would. At 400 cards this year it's still 50 players away from being actually complete, but it's the largest crop of players Panini has ever given us.

I also picked up two packs of 2015-16 Excalibur and one each of 2016-17 Threads and Prestige, and some hockey packs- 2014-15 O-Pee-Chee Platinum, 2015-16 UD Series 2 and 2016-17 MVP and Artifacts, which I thought at the time was the first pack I'd ever opened of the set, but I was wrong, it was my second. I now sit at 150,031 cards...and the number will always keep going up, as I don't plan to ever stop collecting for as long as I live.

Since I've got this Westbrook card posted, I will say also that I'm thrilled he won MVP this season. He earned it with one of the most amazing performances in NBA history, averaging a Triple Double for the entire season, something only ever done once before in the NBA's 70 years. The amazing thing is that if they don't bring in some help this off season, he might be doing it again next year, too!

I would not have hit this milestone without the help of my fellow collectors. I've added literally thousands of cards as gifts from fellow bloggers/collectors just in the last 12 months alone, and I treasure every one of them. Thank you to everyone who has ever sent me a card.

Box Break Review: 2016-17 Ice

Yesterday, May 1st, is the date I celebrate the fact that I didn't die in 2013. As you may recall, in April 2013, I came literally 5 minutes short of dying. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least. On May 1st, 2013, I began to reclaim my life (not that I really do much with it, LOL) and each year on the 1st of May my family and I celebrate the fact that I'm still here.

Usually, I get a card gift. This year is no exception, I got a box of the new 2016-17 Ice set! It's only the second hockey box I've opened, and I have not typed up the Box Break Review of the first one yet- I'm getting a little backlogged, I have opened several boxes that I have not properly reviewed...I'll get there!




But this box, since it only had 24 cards, should be an easy one to type up, and I think, for fun, I'll show all 24 cards. they aren't in the order I pulled them, but they are in numerical order. I have no idea how to get this text back where it should be, sorry!

Some thoughts on the box: the scans do NOT do these cards justice! Except the Exquisite, they are all printed on clear plastic. I pulled the autograph in my first pack, it was my first card of Copp, one of seven people added to my collection. This is only my 3rd NHL autograph in my collection, it's actually going to be shown before my second, the first one I pulled, actually. The SubZero insert is really neat in hand but the holographic effect in the plastic was not captured in the scan. I'll see what I can do about getting a photo of them. You only get 24 cards in a box which is not a whole lot, but the cards are nothing short of spectacular.

 They are on my scanner here

 Layed over a NASCAR card to show how clear it is, even with the blue backdrop

 Here are two photos of the Sub Zero card to try and show the holographic pattern. I like the second picture because you can see how the camera flash made the holographic design transfer onto my computer screen!

With these cards, posting them to the Trading Card Database put me over 1000 hockey contributions, and also this final photo of the Shea Weber card is the 1000th photo I've taken in 2017. Yes, I keep track of that, LOL.

Ironically, May 1st was the first night I missed watching any hockey since February. With only one game on the schedule, and with the NHL not repeating, I missed it because I went to my model car club meeting instead, by time I got home it was done.