Second place ain't that bad

I have to give major props to John from Old School Breaks. He had a quick "What's wrong with this card" trivia question on his page and I answered 4 minutes too late to Night Owl. I was kinda screwing around with my answer to make it a bit more interesting which in turn cost me first place. Even those I answered too late John decided to give me a runner-up prize due to style points. Well, I was pleasantly surprised when this baby showed up:

Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to the first Devils Autograph card I have ever owned. I'm not a hockey card collector but I would never refuse a Devils card. Kim pulled a Marty game used swatch from a pack of Artifacts from Target and I begged her for it. After a few minutes of sweet talk and the promise of many A-Rod cards, the card was mine.

But this is one of the coolest cards I've ever owned. An on-card auto of Scott Nedermayer! Nedermayer was one of my favorite Devils from the Cup years. I was really sad to learn that he went to play for the Ducks. But I always liked him and I was happy when he was able to win the Stanley Cup again with the Ducks. He helped NJ to three Stanley Cups so I was glad he was able to find success with another team. Saddened by it, but glad for him.

I also received a 1995 Don Mattingly Donruss Studio Gold Card and a 2001 Donruss Classics Phil Rizzuto card numbered 1342/1755. I love getting cards like the Phil Rizzuto one because I missed out on a lot of these old sets. It's nice to see the card designs and what I could've expected to pull if I had been collecting back then.





But that Nedermayer card is by far one of the coolest cards I've ever received via trade or winnings. I thank him from the bottom of my NJ Devil loving heart and I hope to someday find something to send him to show my appreciation for his generosity. Thank you again John, I really love the card.

Trade Props 2

On top of the massive eBay purchases I've made this month, I've made a few trades. I sent a package to Marie from Cardboard Problem, I just sent out one to Daniel of Saints of the Cheap Seats and I've yet to send out my package to Chris from Nachos Grande (but that will probably work in his favor when I pull more cards for him).

Marie sent me some Goudey short print cards to help chip away some of that. That set has proven to be a very tough one to complete. She also sent me some 2008 Masterpieces cards to help out with that one. And a few Updates and Highlights. I'm pretty close with Masterpieces and I will savor in completing that set. I really like the 2007 and 2008 Masterpieces cards and vowed to complete both sets. It's a shame they will not be bringing that set back in 2009. I think that's one of the most anticipated sets each year.

Daniel from Cheap Seats sent me an Allen and Ginter card that Kimaloo needs for her set, a few Updates and Highlights cards, and some Phil Hughes cards. His package went out Saturday afternoon and I hope he enjoys the cards I sent.






Chris from Nachos Grande sent me some much needed Timelines cards. Most of them were the very shiny 1993 SP design that I love so much. I haven't sent his package out yet but I think I have some things he'll be interested in. Hopefully I can finish packing his cards together and ship them out so they'll get there by midweek.



I trade often with Daniel and Chris. So often that I get the two of them confused when trying to remember what I'm trading to them. Seems like I'm always trading with both of them at the same time. We're all set builders so I think we naturally help each other out. It's tough being a set builder sometimes. I mean, it's hard enough with all the damn short prints these companies shove down our throats but if you're collecting a set that no one else is collecting it's hard to put a set together. Now if you have someone else buying the same boxes you're buying, then you can trade cards back and forth and help each other out.