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.

2007-08 Chicago Blackhawks Team Set

Ten bucks usually does not go far in hockey card collecting these days, but in 2007-08 it could get you a complete team-issued set of Chicago Blackhawks trading cards. These were the first cards to show Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in 'Hawks sweaters. Sold in the lobby at Blackhawks home games during the 2007-08 campaign, a $10 charitable donation would net you this set of oversized trading cards.(Full story)

Wolves Sign Chelios!

The Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) have signed Chris Chelios today. He will make his debut with the team on Friday. The full story can be seen on the Chicago Wolves' website.

As many of you know, Chelios is my favorite player. Way back when he was with the Montreal Canadiens, I enjoyed his rough-and-tumble style of play. When he became a Chicago Blackhawks player in 1990, he also became my favorite player. He was our top defenseman on the team, but also contributed a lot of offense. In fact, he led the team in scoring during the 1995-96 season.

Virtually all of the players I grew up watching have retired--but not Chelios. He kept soldiering on over all these years. My joke all along has been that I will still be a kid until Chelios retires. And it looks like Chelios will stave off retirement a little while longer.

Above is Chris Chelios' rookie card, from the 1984-85 season. Below is a custom card I made of Chelios--based on the '84-85 design--but wearing a Chicago Wolves uniform (well, practice jersey anyway).

1963-64 Parkhurst #81 - Jean-Guy Talbot

Jena-Guy Talbot was featured on two cards in the 1963-64 Parkhurst set, and I now have both. This is my eleventh card, bringing me up to...11% of a complete set. A slow march. Snails pace, sure, but I am trying to build this set on a shoestring budget. After all, collecting is a waiting game.

Card of the Week: I Got a Rock

The 2008-09 Champ's Hockey set was one of the strangest releases in recent memory. The cards had a design harkening back to the original Champ's set from the 1924; they came in both standard and smaller, "cigarette" sizes; and had an odd, 192-card "Natural History Collection" subset, featuring animals like the Great White Shark and the Carrier Pigeon. But hands down, the weirdest thing about Champ's was the one-per-case "Fossil Cards."

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get one of these. (Full Story)

War Room - Oct. 14, 2009

In my "inaugural" weekly spot on "The War Room", Mick, Peter and I discussed the 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee set. Here is the audio from the "collectibles" segment--it is about five minutes long.

If you don't see any buttons and such above, try this link here.

Thanks to the guys at XM 204 for providing me with the mp3 file.

Now, I gotta start thinking about what to discuss for next week's segment...

Sal on XM Radio this Wednesday

This Wednesday, I will be guest on the XM Radio show "The War Room", hosted by Mick Kern and Peter Berce. I was a guest on their fine program way back in January, but now I will be a regular guest every Wednesday, talking about hockey cards and collectibles, new and old. Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, October 14
Time: 11 am Eastern / 10 am Central
Channel: NHL Home Ice - Xm 204

I should be on towards the end, probably around 11:45 am ET.

While I'll be on "The War Room" every Wednesday during the season (knock on wood), I encourage you all to listen to their show every day.

Update: You can listen to the clip here.

So, I wrote a letter to Upper Deck...

Way back in March 2008, I got this card in a pack of 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee Hockey:



As you can see, it is a Quad Jerseys card of four Minnesota Wild players: Marian Gaborik, Pierre Marc-Bouchard, Adam Hall and Pavol Demitra. I instantly hated this card because it features a purple swatch next to Demitra. Why would you put four Minnesota players on a card, feature four swatches swatches of their jerseys, but use a Kings jersey for one of the players? It doesn't make sense, and it ruins what would otherwise be a fantastic card.

Would you make a game-used card that featured a game-used swatch of a Kings jersey worn by Wayne Gretzky, but use a photograph of Gretz with the Oilers? No, that would be stupid, and kill what could otherwise be a nice presentation. Yet, each year Upper Deck gives us cards of showing a player wearing the jersey from his "new" team, but using a swatch from a jersey from his "old" team. I once got a card of Marc Savard that pictured him as a Thrasher, colored the card in Bruins colors (and said "Boston Bruins" at the bottom) and used a swatch from a Flames jersey. That was one messed up card.

So, I've decided that I will no longer accept this. On September 15, I sent the Minnesota Wild Quad Jerseys card back to Upper Deck with a letter explaining that I did not want this "defective" piece of merchandise.

Dear Customer Service,

I recently pulled this “Quad Jerseys” authentic game-used memorabilia card from a pack of O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards. Naturally, I was excited to get it, as these cards are hard to come by – one in about every 288 packs.

However, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment and frustration because there is a defect on this otherwise great card. This Quad Jerseys card features four players from the Minnesota Wild Hockey team – but the swatch in the lower right-hand corner is purple. Never in the team’s ten-year history have they ever worn jerseys containing purple. So, I am not sure why a purple swatch was placed on this otherwise wonderful card.

I understand that you may not have another copy of this card available to exchange for this defective one. I would gladly accept any other jersey card in lieu of this one, as long as it has the proper-colored swatches on it. It can be of any hockey team (though I am particularly fond of the Chicago Blackhawks).

Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter.

Your customer,

Sal J. Barry

To make sure this letter did not get "lost", I sent it via Signature Confirmation, so that someone would have to sign when the Post Office delivered it. On September 18, it was delivered and signed for by someone named "Ventura".

On September 30, I received a padded envelope from Upper Deck. It contained a letter--mostly the typical "form letter," but the bottom is actually personalized to my particular case...

Sal

Thank you for your recent replacement request. The Upper Deck Company strives to produce the highest quality trading cards on the market and we apologize that the card(s) you recently purchased did not meed these standards.

We are however more than happy to replace any damaged cards from our replacement stock and hope you will enjoy the enclosed replacements.

We offer product replacements for our valued customers for 8 months or while supplies last, which ever occurs first. Factory stamped cards will be replaced with factor stamped cards. However, laser printed cards are replaced with hand-numbered replacements.

Thank you again for your continued support and we look forward to assisting you in the future.

Unfortunately, some of the cards you have submitted that are noted as "Not Replaced" are either past our product replacement period or we have depleted stock on them. We replace cards for 8 months from the product release date or until stock is depleted.

Hello Sal,
The Pavol Demitra swatch is purple because we used inventory for when he played with the Kings. Even though it isn't his Minnesota jersey, it is still game-used and authentic Enjoy yourcard.
CS

Sincerely,

The Upper Deck Company

(The typo "yourcard" is theirs, not mine. *I* use spell-check.)

Upper Deck returned the Quad Jerseys card, explaining that the card was not defective--they just knowingly used a swatch from the wrong team. But it's cool, because Demitra was a King at one time, just not when he was pictured on this card. Their fuzzy logic is frustrating.

Perhaps as a means to placate me, UD's customer service also enclosed this 2007-08 Upper Deck Black Diamond "Gemography" card of Patrice Bergeron.



So, I gained an autographed card--which is always nice--but still have the same lousy Minnesota Wild jersey card with a swatch from a Kings jersey. Plus, I just now realized that the gray swatch used for Adam Hall is from his days with the Nashville Predators, making this card an even bigger piece of crap. Had I noticed that before, I would have mentioned that in my letter too.

I did not do this as a means to "extort" an autographed card from Upper Deck. While I did ask for a replacement card, I told Upper Deck that I did not care what it was so long as the jersey was "right".

As we collectors, we should not accept "defective" memorabilia cards, where the swatch is not from the same team as the player pictured. Seriously, who wants that in their collection?

So here is what I propose: if you get such a card in a pack of 2009-10 hockey cards, where the jersey swatch is not from the same team as the photographed player, send it back to Upper Deck. Let them know that you will not accept such a defective card. And it is a defect--not in the manufacturing process, but in their thought process. Remember, these game-used memorabilia cards are what drives up the cost of hockey cards--if we are paying for something, we should be paying for something we want.

Who is with me on this?

Puck Junk is 2 years old...

Puck Junk is two years old.

Yes, the terrible twos.

I should be more happy about this, but I'm not.

I'm a web designer. I make websites.

Sites come and go.

Some of the best websites I've done have since gone to website heaven.

My previous "passion project", which was based on "The Matrix" movies, lasted six years until I got tired of it and took it offline.

Too many hobbies, not enough time to create websites for all of them (though I try).

Conventional logic should dictate that in order for a website to succeed, new content should be added every day. Well, I guess the reason why I'm a bit disappointed is that I don't update this site every day or every other day.

Instead, I tend to be streaky. I go through some weeks where--BAM!--I update the site five days a week. And then there are other times where I can't even find the time to update in two weeks. My last post was my tribute to Patrick Swayze...and that was 20 days ago!

For those who are still reading and not bored yet, here are some numbers--who doesn't love stats?

In Puck Junk's first season, I've updated the site 142 times--67 in-depth articles and 75 "off the cuff" blog posts.

During Puck Junk's second season, I've updated only 85 times--25 full articles and 60 shorter blog posts.

In total, I've updated 227 times out of 730 days. Even if I omit Saturdays and Sundays, that would be 227/522, or approximately 43% of the time.

So, that's adds up to a little less than every other day.

Lately, I've been swamped with school work. Grad school has been kicking my butt. I'm doing okay in my "Writing for Magazines" class, but I'm falling behind in my "New Media and Culture" class. One is a lot of writing, the other is a lot of reading. Both are time-consuming, leaving me little time for this site, my autograph blog or my custom card blog.

Hopefully, this week I'll be able to squeeze a little time out to write here and there. I've got a Card of the Week to post that's been a thousand years in the making. I've got an interesting Chicago Blackhawks collectible to show off too. Finally, I conducted a hockey card-related "experiment" to see what would happen. I plan on getting these three little gems up on this site this week.