Roast Duck

Classic Games put out a few nice cards in the early-to-mid 1990s. This isn't one of them. Supposedly, the illustration of the hockey player on fire is Anaheim Mighty Ducks draft pick Paul Kariya. At least that's what the name at the bottom of the card says. (Full story)

Completed - 2008-09 Artifacts

Or, perhaps more accurately I should state that I completed the 100-card base set of 2008-09 Artifacts Hockey.

Many of the cards from this set I got in a mega-lot I purchased back in March. A good number were also "donated" by Brandon of Cardboard Hockey, Etc.. The rest I picked up in trades here and there, including the last three I acquired this week: Dominik Hasek, Alexander Steen and Jonathan Toews.

War Room - Nov. 18, 2009

I was not on "The War Room" last week, but was back with a vengeance in this week's installment of Need Em! Got Em!. This week's topic is the 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee set (and Smith Brothers brand cough drops).

The clip is just under 7 1/2 minutes long.


If you don't see a play button above, right click on this link and either "Save As..." or open in a new tab or new window.

Thanks to Mick, Pete and XM Home Ice 204.

2008-09 Blackhawks Intro Video

The past few years, I have thoroughly enjoyed the intro video shown before each Chicago Blackhawks home game. Though it changes somewhat each season, the story is basically the same: a villainous, black-clad hockey team is taken on by the Chicago Blackhawks on the frozen streets of Chicago. The 2008-09 video was, hands-down, my favorite.



Is that awesome or what? Here are some things to notice if you watch it again:

- The evil team defacing the 'Hawks banner (0:15)
- Captain Jonathan Toews casting a watchful eye over "his" city (0:20)
- Brent Sopel totally blindsiding that guy (0:30)
- Adam Burish dropping the gloves to protect Brian Campbell (0:44)
- Dustin Byfuglien charging across the Michigan Ave. bridge (0:55)
- Toews smashing the sign at Wrigley Field (1:18)
- Martin Havlat jumping over the tracks as a train approaches (1:59)

Ironically, the low point of the video are the actual game highlights (1:32 to 1:53) spiced in towards the end. Hockey is so much cooler when you play on frozen streets and have to avoid being hit by cars and trains.

FYI, there is a slightly different version of this video that shows soon-to-be-replaced coach Denis Savard towards the end, as well as Patrick Kane celebrating his goal at the very end.

EDIT: I just now realized why I like this 'Hawks intro video so much. In many ways, it is reminiscent of the intro for Batman: The Animated Series. Watch it and you'll see what I mean.

Cost of building a 2009-10 OPC set

I recently won a complete set of 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards, including all short-printed Rookies and Legends cards.

I also bought some packs--specifically one rack pack and one blaster box. It may seem pointless to buy packs if you already have a complete set. But if I want to be the world's best hockey card blogger (dare to dream!), then I have to experience all aspects of the hobby...including the Sisyphean task of buying and opening packs.

Dave at Waxaholic recently wrote a 2009-10 box breakdown, so I'll skip doing that too and talk about a related topic: the cost of building a 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee set. Please note that my examples do not account for sales tax, since it varies from state to state / province to province.

Option One: Rack Packs
This is the way to go if you only want to build the 500-card base set. A rack pack contains 31 base cards and 1 short-print--either a Marquee Rookies or Legends card. Your cost per card boils down to 15.6 cents each.

You'd need to buy 17 rack packs (17 x 31 = 527 base cards) to get enough cards to make a complete set. Of course, a few of those might end up being other inserts, like team checklists or Canadian Heroes. Most likely, you will not get all 500 cards you need for a base set; you'll probably end up with some double or triples, falling short of a complete base set.

The good news is that you will easily be able to trade those 17 short prints that you end up with. Collectors trying to get cards 501-600 will gladly trade you 5 or more base cards for one of your short-prints.



Option Two: Blaster Boxes

These are the types of boxes you find at Target, Toys R Us and Wal-mart. A $20 blaster box has 14 six-card packs. 14 x 6 = 84 cards - a cost of 23.8 cents per card. A blaster box will net you 62 base cards, 7 short-prints and 15 inserts--give or take.

At a cost of $20 each, 9 blaster boxes gets you 558 base cards, 63 short-prints and 135 inserts. You'll spend $180, will fall short of getting all of the short-prints, and again most likely won't get one copy of each base card. At the same time, you'll have a lot of inserts that you could probably trade away for the rest of the base or short-prints you need.

Option Three: Hobby Boxes
Hobby boxes have 36 six-card packs. My local shop sells them for $70, and the best price I can find online (including shipping) is $60. Without checking every single online store, card shop and eBay auction, let's just say a hobby box sells for $65.

The only upside to buying hobby boxes is that you vastly increase your chances of getting a jersey or autograph card. In fact, you are three times more likely to get such a card from a hobby pack vs. a retail pack.

Should the allure of the possibility of getting one of these cards be enough to sway you to go the hobby box route, you would need to buy three boxes to get 486 base cards (plus 54 short-prints and 108 inserts). Four boxes gets you 648 base, 72 short-prints and 144 inserts--hopefully, one of them is an autograph.

Option Four: Buy a Complete Set
OK, technically this is not "building a set", but it is by far the cheapest method. I got my set for $91 shipped. Looking at eBay auctions during the last two weeks, a base set sells for around $60 shipped, and a full set (1-600) for $110. Some dealers have even put together "master sets" that contain all base, short-printed and insert cards.

No, you don't get to open pack after pack. You don't get the glimmer of hope for a game used or autograph card. But you also don't end up trying to track down the last 26 cards you need, or with figuring out with what to do with your duplicates (I hear some bike spokes calling...)

On a related note, I plan on posting a review of this set in about a week or so. I have a final paper and a final presentation--both about cyborgs--due in a week for one of my grad school classes. So the hockey card talk will be at a minimum the next few days until I get all my schoolwork behind me :)

1963-64 Parkhurst #25 - William Hicke

This card of William Lawrence (Bill) Hicke cost me $2.97, including shipping. This is the 15th card in my Parkhurst set. Only 84 more cards to go...

Completed - 2006-07 Upper Deck

Yesterday, I received a few packages in the mail. Some were trades, and some were eBay purchases, including this card here:

This Young Guns checklist depicting Phil Kessel was the last card I needed to complete my 2006-07 Upper Deck set.

A few other things I got today:

- 60 base cards, 6 Marquee Rookies and 5 Legends for my 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee set

- 7 cards for my 2008-09 Masterpieces set

- 25 base cards and 8 Young Guns for my 2008-09 Upper Deck set

- 29 Natural History Collection cards for my 2008-09 Champ's set

- 1 card for my 2008-09 Artifacts set

- A few random 1990s inserts that fill holes here and there

As you can see, I'm in no rush to finish last year's sets. Heck, I was in no rush to complete the 2006-07 UD set--it took me 3 years, but what's my hurry? I've said it all along: collecting is a waiting game.

Also, there will be no "Need Em! Got Em!" segment for November 11. But I'll be back on "The War Room" on November 18.

War Room - Nov. 4, 2009

In this installment of Need Em! Got Em! on "The War Room", we discuss The 10 Best Hockey Card Set Designs of all time. The clip is about 7 1/2 minutes long.


If you don't see a play button above, right click on this link and either "Save As..." or open in a new tab or new window.

One great thing about being a recurring guest on "The War Room" is that it forces me to think about hockey cards at least once a week. That's not a bad thing. I have been so busy, between teaching college classes at one school and taking college classes at another, that I just don't have much free time to enjoy this hobby. But now I have to think about it, at least a little bit each week.

So, thanks Mick! Thanks Pete! Thanks XM Radio!

1963-64 Parkhurst #37 - Marc-Avellin Reaume

OK, this card has a slight crease, but for $2.49 shipped I feel that I got a great deal. I mean, in ten years from now, I'll probably have a few "slight creases" of my own. Reaume is the 14th card for this set. Is it too soon to start looking ahead to card 20?

The Goalie Mask is 50

Yesterday was Halloween, and today is the 50th anniversary of when Jacques Plante first wore a goalie mask in a game--November 1, 1959.

What is ironic about these two days being back-to-back is that the classic, "Jason-style" goalie mask will forever be associated with Halloween (the holiday, not the movie).

"Really, are we all that different...?"
The fiberglass goalie masks worn by guys like Plante, Tony Esposito and Gerry Cheevers was phased out during the 1980s, and pretty much gone by 1990. Sam St. Laurent was the final guy in the NHL to wear the fiberglass "face" mask, last appearing for the Red Wings in 14 games during the 1989-90 season.

Yet, the very same classic goalie mask still "means" hockey--even though it was last used in the NHL 20 years ago. Most goalies started to change over to helmets during the early-to-mid 1980s, after Bernie Parent sustained a career-ending eye-injury in 1979.

Though no longer used in hockey, the classic goalie mask continues to be a symbol of Halloween. Worn by Jason Vorhees in the "Friday the 13th" series of movies, the plain white goalie mask remains a staple for people who don't want to put a lot of thought into dressing up once a year--never mind the fact that those films, like the mask itself, have not been relevant since the 1980s.

Get some black clothes, a $5 toy mask and a machete (prop or otherwise) and you've got the lazy man's Halloween costume. 97 out of 100 people will get it (the other 3 will think you're a zombie Pelle Lindbergh).

Fitting to both Halloween and the anniversary of the goalie mask, the Chicago Blackhawks gave out a Halloween-inspired mask to fans who attended their game on October 30. I think Wayne and Garth would approve.

No, not that Wayne and Garth.

"Game on!"

1963-64 Parkhurst #11 - William Harris

Card 13 in my Parkhurst set. That's...13%! A lucky 13%. Harris is the third Maple Leaf card that I've added in my slow march to a complete '63-64 Parkhurst set.

War Room - Oct. 28, 2009

In the October 28, 2009 segment of Need 'Em! Got 'Em! on "The War Room," Peter, Mick and I discuss collecting hockey cards for beginners. The clip is just under 8 minutes long.


If you don't see a play button above, try this link here.

As always, thanks to the guys at XM 204 for providing me with the clip.

Plagiarism is NOT flattery

You know your website is gaining popularity when others start ripping it off. The other day, the webmaster of a relatively-new hockey card website sent an email inviting me to check out his site. I did, and found that one of his site's articles--though short--was plagiarized from an article I wrote back in July about the 2003-04 Topps C55 set.

Here's a screen shot of my article, with the content in question highlighted...


...and here's a screen shot of his article, highlighting the "borrowed content".


1. Retro-themed sets based on early 20th century design
Of course, when I use this sentence as my lead, I am talking about multiple sets, including Topps C55, Champ's and Alan & Ginther. The guy who copy-and-pasted was too lazy to change "sets" to "set", even though he is only talking about one set of cards. Of course, he was too lazy to write his own article in the first place.

2. The 2003-04 Topps C55 Hockey set was released in December of 2003.
OK, it's a boring sentence...but it's my boring sentence. Why would someone copy this?

3. ...were distributed with cigarettes during the 1911-12 season.
This was the tip-off to the rip-off. Normal people would say "sold with cigarettes" or "came in packs of cigarettes". Only a complete nerd like me would use the word "distributed" when talking about hockey cards.

4. ...featured line-art drawings of hockey players from the early 20th century.
In this sentence, I am discussing the original C55 set, which used line art drawings. The C55 set from 2003-04 uses photographs that are doctored to look like drawings. The person who copied my words failed to make this distinction, which makes his "article" a bit misleading.

5. 165 card set, (etc).
This also tipped me off, because I use dashes (-) instead of bullet points when listing out the breakdown of a set. This is more just factual stuff--number of short-prints, variants, etc.--but at least change the dashes to asterisks or the wording a little bit so that it does not say "I copied this from Puck Junk."

Coincidentally, the non-highlighted stuff in the paragraph is paraphrased, which still counts as plagiarism according to Dictionary.com.

I know that Puck Junk is not going to win me a Pulitzer Prizes anytime soon, but I work really hard to write content that is informative, entertaining and original. Sometimes, I spend several hours on an article. It really pisses me off that someone would rip one off like this, even if it is just 40 or 50 words. Try using 50 words from a popular song's lyrics in your own song, and see where that gets you.

Maybe I am overreacting and being a bit harsh...but it's a blog-eat-blog world out there.

UPDATE: (10/28) The webmaster of the site in question emailed me and apologized.

War Room - Oct. 21, 2009

In this week's collectibles segment--called Got 'Em! Need 'Em!--Mick Kern, Peter Berce and I discussed jersey cards. While uber-collectors like us know all about jersey cards, many listeners of "The War Room" are not familiar with them. We talked about the pros and cons of such cards. The clip is about 14 minutes long


If you don't see a play button above, try this link here.

Thanks to Mick, Pete and XM 204 for providing me with the mp3 file.

1963-64 Parkhurst #95 - Claude Provost

Another Friday, another Parkhurst card. Claude Provost here is my 12th card in my slowly-growing '63-64 Parkhurst set. Sure, we all dig the flags seen on the backgrounds of the Toronto and Detroit cards, but there's something so cool about the horizontal stripes on the Montreal cards. This one is particularly striking because the green and yellow stripes contrast so sharply with the red and blue of Provost's uniform.