Christmas Eve means it's Secret Santa time!

It's Christmas Eve, and one of the traditions I've come to look forward to, is the opening of my Secret Santa package on that day...or this day, I should say. (Yes, you're actually getting a post written today, not written weeks or months ago and then scheduled!) I've done it on Christmas Eve all four times it's been held, with the first time in 2016, then 2017 and 2018 as well. (Funny weird thing I saw composing this post- I just finished scanning the cards I got last year within the last week! I had somehow missed scanning the Kyle Larson Elite Dominators card from last year!)

This year the Secret Santa was opened up to both bloggers and Database members, and I got Kmack, who, coincidentally, had just sent me a PIF within a couple of weeks of getting my name in the draw. Being a Database member, he knew exactly what I liked and wanted, and targeted the cards specifically to me- three of the non-sports cards from various Allen & Ginter sets, a new to me Elton, and a fatpack of this year's Hoops!

 This was the first card out of the package...

 The second. The PIF he sent me back at the end of October was 2 other cards from this same insert!

Next was this mini of Napoleon. I never think to look for the non-sports cards in Allen & Ginter, so these are very pleasing to me to add.

The last single card was my favorite though, as it just literally glows! Topps Gold Label only appeared in the NBA in 2 seasons, 1999-00 and 2000-01, this card is an insert from the second year. It shows the black alternate jersey, always a plus to get an alternate card, even if these jerseys aren't as nice as the black with red pinstripes worn just a few years before. By the Database's reckoning this is the 590th Elton in my collection, although in actuality it's less as they count league leaders, team cards, multi-subject cards etc. in those totals.

Now, moving onto the pack of Hoops...it's a 30 card pack, and I needed 27 of them (which is kind of crazy because I have only three 8 card packs worth of the set) but I did very, very well with this pack...

 It always is a good start when the first card out is your first card of a person...

And the second card out is one of the brightest young stars of the game, already playing his way into MVP conversation in only his second year in the league.

 The Miami Vice jerseys are always cool. They have worn them for three years now, originally neon pink, then black, this year's are neon blue.

 Drummond pulling down a rebound, his specialty.

Always thrilled to get a new Nets card! Allen is going to lead the league in blocks one of these years...soon! Mark my words.

 Both the Rockets and Thunder wearing alternate jerseys here.

 Don't see many players wear 99.

 Of all the cards in the set, this is the one I wanted the most! Craig is the first player who turned a two-way contract into not only a regular NBA role, but also a starting role, integral to his team! He started 2017-18 on a two-way contract, played so well he got converted to regular, and by the end of the year he was starting. He's not a big time scorer, but he's one of those heart-and-soul guys who make a team work; the Nuggets had the second best record in the West last year and he played a key role in that. It's his first card, I don't believe Panini included him in anything in his first two years...although I have not stayed up on that sort of thing like  I once did.

 Another heart-and-soul guy, Smart plays with a lot of passion.

 Ferguson is in his third year, but I don't know all that much about him, to be honest.

 He missed the entire 2018-19 season due to injury.

 Every year I tend to pull a lot of cards of one or two rookies, and last year Hamidou Diallo was that rookie...going so far to even pull two different cards of him out of the same pack at least once.

 What better than to pull a card of a man sometimes called Jingles as part of a Christmas exchange? He sports a throwback jersey here.

Jimmy Butler wearing one of the worst jerseys ever. It doesn't say it anywhere, but that's the 76ers' alternate from last year.

 Brogdon's career has been forever tainted in my eyes because he was awarded Rookie of the Year for political reasons. I shouldn't hold that against him, because he certainly did nothing wrong, but I'm just having a hard time accepting it.

 Nurkic broke both bones in his leg last year, and will likely end up missing more than an entire calendar year because of it. The injury occurred March 25th in a game against the Nets, which I was watching, and he's not expected back anytime soon.

I wasn't lucky enough to pull either of the Fatpack exclusive parallel colors but at least I got this cool Purple, my second Purple parallel from the set. It also shows their alternate jersey, which I really like. Of the 27 cards I needed in the pack, this is the only one that needed a scan on the Database.

 This insert shows the Kings' stupidly lettered but awesomely colored alternate. Sactown, really? That's the best you could do?

 My first card of the Class of 2019 insert is also my first card of the Knicks' RJ Barrett. This is my 2nd favorite card in the pack, after the Craig. Barrett, from Canada, actually grew up as a Knicks fan and was thrilled to come here...something most players wouldn't say. I like this card as well due to the group photo from the rookie photo shoot on each card.

 I've now opened 5 packs of the set and pulled three Arriving Now. inserts, and all three were my first card of each person. I just wish they hadn't made the player's skin color graytone. In case you are keeping track, that's 4 new players...

 Make that 5 new people for my collection...

 and six! I don't know anything about either of these guys yet, but that's changed now, or will, once I read the backs of the cards.

 Monk with the alternate jersey.

 7th new person

 I really dislike the Tribute subset. There are 525 players in the NBA, but Panini can't be bothered to make any sets larger than 300 cards. And now they are taking away 20 of those slots to make another card of somebody in the set, or of somebody who retired long ago. I wish we could either get rid of these subsets (in it's second year), or just make the sets larger and do it right. I don't know why they refuse to make a proper set.

8th new person added to my collection! This pack did a great job in helping my project of getting at least one card of everyone who's ever gotten one!

Kyle Anderson rounds out the pack. I don't even know which jersey is the alternate or the base for Memphis anymore, because they seem to rotate them every game. This might be the alternate or this might be the base...based on the floor color this photo was taken in Houston. You can't tell based on jersey color anymore, which is fine with me other than the fact it makes it a little harder to "place" a photo now. A truly minor concern.

Well, that's my Secret Santa haul! I think I did very, very well, adding 8 new people, a new Elton, and some cards I would never have gotten otherwise! I will have another post up sometime tomorrow, where I will show, if nothing else, my Christmas tree. Merry Christmas!

Anniversary Cards

First off, thank you everyone for commenting on my last post and entering the contest. I don't want to reply to each of you like I normally do so I don't miss anyone when I am putting together the list of entrants. Even though I'm putting out more posts, you have until midnight on Thanksgiving to enter. I forgot to include that in the actual post, duh.

Now, knowing my anniversary was coming up, my mom decided to get me a small anniversary present...two packs of this year's Hoops and a fatpack of this year's MVP! I did very, very well...I got 6 new NBA players and one new NHL player out of the packs, and the very first card out of the very first Hoops pack was probably the most important of them all...

Because it was none other than wunderkind Zion Williamson, who is considered by many the most gifted player to enter the sport since LeBron James. He has two cards in the set- his base rookie card, and this Tribute subset that's based on the Supreme Court design in 1991-92. (the only apparent nod to Hoops' 30th anniversary). I hoped to get at least one of them when current, because I don't want to have to pay more for it later...so, forever more, 2019-20 Hoops #296 will be known as my first Zion card. (How many other rookies come in and are already known by their first name before they ever actually play a game?) I don't know what my first card of LeBron was, or Elton Brand, or any of the other players from my first time collecting the sport. I did keep track of it, but it was lost when my Excel file corrupted in either 2004 or 2005. Unfortunately Zion got hurt during Pre-Season, and won't play until mid-December. From what I saw of him in pre-season action, he's the real deal.

Here are some other cards that came out of these 2 Hoops packs:

 This is the base card design. I like it. I wish Panini would bother to give us a real set, instead of 280 players in a 525 man league, but that is it. Hoops is the only set I actually try to complete every year. By the way, this is my first AD Lakers card. I would pull the Tribute subset of him in pack #2.

I knew I got five new players out of the two packs, but it turns out I actually got six. I was sure I had a card of Derrick Jones Jr. already, considering it's his 4th year in the league...but no, this was actually my first card of him. (Panini didn't bother to create even a single card of him last year) Another reason I was sure I had a card of him is that he was in the Slam Dunk Contest in 2017, finishing runner up....and the NBA pushes that contest far more than it needs to. I was wrong though. I didn't have any cards of him, but now I do!

 Jokic is the most unlikely superstar. A second round pick, a draft-and-stash player, and he rarely ever jumps. Yet, he gets the job done and is mostly responsible for the Nuggets vast improvement last year. It's just fun to watch him play because he's so deceptively good.

 Markelle Fultz is the second most maligned player in my time period watching the NBA. The former #1 pick didn't really do much in Philadelphia, who drafted him. So, they gave up and traded him to Orlando. He's finally healthy this season and is usually the best player on the Magic every night. For some reason, the media refused to believe he had a real injury and kept saying it was all in his head. I can't wait for him to prove them wrong all season long. (in case you are wondering, the most maligned player is Carmelo Anthony). This is my first Magic card of Markelle, by the way.

 Grant Williams is one of the new players added to my collection. He got a college card in SI for Kids over a year ago, which I have, but college cards don't count. This is the first real card of him.

 Bruno Fernando is also a new player for me.

And Jaylen Hands of the Nets is the last new player from the base cards. He is on a two-way contract with the team, but this is a Summer League photo...a rarity, most of the rookies are the Rookie Photo Shoot photos like the two players shown above him. Personally, I like the Summer League shots.

Now, each 8-card pack of Hoops guarantees you either an insert, a parallel, or both, and I did well, getting two inserts and a parallel. I did very, very well...

 My first card of him.

 My first Nets card of Kevin Durant!! I still can't believe he chose to come to my favorite team. The first time ever we've gotten a major superstar as a free agent, and he brought along another with him in Kyrie Irving. He's going to miss the entire season due to injury, but he's one of us now...and I can't be hapier. This card is really nice in hand, too. It's the holofoil parallel, and has a rainbow sheen in hand, even though it scans purple. Visually, it's the most stunning card of any that I got for the Annversary.

My parallel was also Nets! In fact, the base and Purple Hands were in the same pack, a fun coincidence that always makes me chuckle. I'm a big fan of colored parallels and I've now done 4 packs of 2019-20 Hoops and gotten two different colors- I also pulled a Teal, numbered to 49 copies no less, of Evan Turner.

Moving to the NHL, the MVP fatpack was a little tougher. Since I got a blaster for my birthday I already hand a handful of the cards so not all 34 were new. However, most of them were, and I've selected a few to show now, not all of them of course.

 Henrique was the first card out of the pack and sports a throwback uniform, or perhaps this is the history-inspired alternate. I am not sure yet, even though I've been collecting rabidly now since 2016, I'm still learning.

 Jake Gardiner is the king of silly faces on hockey cards, but nothing funny here.

 I didn't get any Rangers cards, but I did get Trouba, who is now a Ranger! The MVP set does not reflect any of the player movement of the offseason, so players who were traded, like Trouba was, are still listed as a member of their previous team.

 Now this I am SURE is a throwback! I am also sure the Blues will want to throw back to the 2018-19 season quite often, considering they won the Stanley Cup!

 I may not have gotten any Rangers (or Golden Knights), but at least I did get an Islander.

 Toews shows the 21 Stan Mikita Memorial patch on his chest. I wonder if this was taken at the same game as the Pietrangelo photo?

 Brannstrom is new to my collection, my very first card of him. He was one of the key pieces that the Golden Knights gave up to get Mark Stone. I saw the game this photo was taken during, I believe! That's also Ottawa's alternate/throwback inspired uniform, as well.

 I don't know why, as I have not been able to figure it out, but I find that I really tend to root for Calgary quite a bit. I have no connection to the area, their uniforms are fine but not spectacular, and it was when they beat the Rangers and I realized I was disappointed that I knew the Rangers were my team...yet I root for Calgary anyway. Go figure? This is one of the very, very few cards to show a player's tongue. For some reason, it's banned by the CBA. Not sure if they snuck this one through or the Collective Bargaining Agreement changed.

 Localish Jonathan Quick wears the Kings' alternate uniform, which is so much nicer than the standard all black they wear. I have not really researched it yet, but I think he may actually be the closest-born NHL player...certainly the closest active player. The Hudson Valley has never put a player into the NHL that I am aware of...I'm not even sure if we have an ice rink.

 I was sure the Bruins were going to win the title last year...I'm still kind of surprised they didn't. I have a lot of friends and even some family that are Bruins backers.

I enjoy seeing cards of players with teams they are not really going to be known for being a member of. Some people call them short term stops, I prefer to call them "He played for who?" based on Charles Barkley's hilarious "Who he play for" skit. Ryan Dzingel played only 21 games with Columbus (not counting the playoffs, where he added 9 more) after being traded there by Ottawa at the trade deadline. When Free Agency came around, he was one of a mass exodus of players who left, joining the Hurricanes, where he's already scored more assists and an equal number of goals this season as he did in Ohio.

I did manage to pull one parallel out of the pack, but it was a puzzle back. I didn't scan it yet. It's Matt Niskanen of the Capitals if anyone is curious.

So, thanks for the cards Mom, and thanks for anyone who reads along. Even though I mostly complained about Panini, I did enjoy the cards and I am thrilled to have them, and I'm thrilled to have the MVP cards as well.