War Room - Season 3, Episode 2

Hopefully, I should be appearing on The War Room every other week now. Here is the audio from last week's "Got Em! Need 'Em!" segment.

Got 'Em! Need 'Em!

Season 3, Episode 2

Broadcast Date: February 23, 2012

Time: 15 minutes 30 seconds

Topics:

• My lack of enthusiasm for this year's Panini sets
• Purchasing whole sets vs. buying packs
• Georges Laraque's protest of the Enforcers set
• National Hockey Card Day 2012
• 1960-61 Topps Hockey cards
• Geeking out on team-issued postcards and regional sets
• Card shows in Canada vs. card shows in the U.S.
  

Player not working? Click here to download an MP3 of the audio file.

Thanks to Mick Kern and XM Radio for the audio clip.

War Room - Season 3, Episode 1

Up until this week, I haven't been on XM Radio's The War Room since December. Now things are back on track, and I hope to make semi-regular appearances on the talk show in 2012. Below is the audio for Season 3, Episode 1 of "Got 'Em! Need 'Em!".

Got 'Em! Need 'Em!

Season 3, Episode 1

Broadcast Date: December 7, 2011

Time: 20 minutes and 4 seconds.

Topics:

• Writing for The Hockey News
• 2011-12 O-Pee-Chee hockey set
• Upper Deck's new policy regarding online retailers
• 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions set
• The single biggest card purchase I ever made
  

Player not working? Click here to download an MP3 of the audio file.

Thanks to Mick Kern and XM Radio for the audio clip.

2011-12 Parkhurst Champions box break #4

I bought a few hockey boxes last month, opened them up over All-Star weekend, then got busy with work, but am finally getting around to posting my breaks.

One of the boxes I bought was a 2011-12 Parkhurst Champions box.  I really want to complete this set, but not at the expense of $5 per insert, which is around what the Wire Photo and Renditions inserts are selling for.

So I decided to get just one more box. If I score a bunch of inserts I need--plus some good autographs--then it would totally be worth it, right?

70 Base Cards

Of the 70 base cards I got in this box, none of them were the one card that I need--Ron Sutter (card number 76). You think that in 4 boxes--roughly 280 cards--I would get at least one Ron Sutter card. 

2 Autographs

Ironically, in this box I got a Ron Sutter autographed card. Apparently, I have better luck getting the signed than unsigned version of this card--I also got a Ron Sutter autograph in my second box break. So, in 4 boxes, I got two autographed versions of this card, but not one regular version.

I also got this autographed card of Bernie Federko.

5 Wire Photo Cards

Three were needed for my set, but the other 2 were duplicates.

2 Rendition Color Cards

I needed one of them (Patrick Roy) but not the other one (Darryl Sittler).

1 Renditions Black & White

Fortunately, I needed the Black & White Renditions card of Guy Lafleur.

20 Champ's Minis

Four of the minis were the "Green Back" variants, which I do not use for my set. Of the 16 "Black Back" versions pulled, I needed 9 for my set.

The Hockey Gods frowned upon me
I ended up needing 5 inserts and 9 of the mini inserts. I did not get the one base card I  needed, and I ended up with a duplicate autographed card. In retrospect, I would have been better off buying the 14 cards instead of gambling with a box.

Help me finish my base set
I need this one card to finish my base set:

76 - Ron Sutter

I also need these cards to complete a second base set:

25 - Joe Sakic
29 - Cam Neely
42 - Johnnie Bower
71 - Duane Sutter
76 - Ron Sutter
92 - Al Iafrate

I also need numerous mini cards, Wire Photos and Renditions. My full Want List can be viewed here.

Likewise, I have many cards from this set (base, minis, Wire Photos and Renditions) on my Singles & Inserts Trade Page.

Wanted: Canadian NHCD set; For Trade: US NHCD sets

Attention Canadian Collectors
I need a complete set of the Canadian National Hockey Card Day set, including the Crosby card, two checklists and a wrapper. I will gladly send you the American NHCD set in exchange (1-15 plus the Tim Thomas card plus 2 checklists plus a wrapper).

Also, I was able to purchase 20 additional packs of NHCD and 5 more Tim Thomas cards, and have almost completed 6 more sets. If anyone (Canadian or American) would like to trade for a set--or purchase one outright for just my cost on the set ($10 plus shipping) let me know.

Attention American Collectors
I need the following US NHCD Cards to make complete sets:

3- Henrik Lundqvist x2
4 - Pekka Rinne x 3 2
5 - Jaromir Jagr x 4
6 - Zdeno Chara
7 - Ryan Kesler x 6 4
12 - Willie O'Ree x3
Also looking for extras of Patrick Kane

I have the following for trade:

1 - Gabriel Landeskog
2 - Alex Ovechkin
9 - Ryan Miller
10 - Zach Parise
11 - Andy Miele
13 - Mike Modano
14 - Brett Hull
16 - Tim Thomas

If anyone can help me out--either with a Canadian NHCD set, or some of the US NHCD cards I need to make complete sets--please email me at sjbATpuckjunkDOTcom

And if you didn't see my (week late) recap of NHCD in America, check it out here.

My week-late recap of National Hockey Card Day

Last week was perhaps my busiest week in the past 4 years. In addition to teaching 5 college classes and a class at a grammar school, I curated an art show that opened on Wednesday, finished a grueling application for a full-time teaching job, and finished another grueling application for a teaching award that I was nominated for.

So, yes, I did get my free hockey cards on National Hockey Card Day. But I didn't get the chance to blog about it...until now.  Here is my long-overdue recap of National Hockey Card Day.

The Plan
Shellie and I went to 5 different card shops. She drove (her car is stick shift, which I can't drive...but I haven't driven in about a billion years, anyway) so that we could hit some shops in the suburbs too. And, by having someone with me, it would double the amount of free NHCD packs I'd get.

Stop #1
Elite Sports Cards
2028 W. Montrose Ave. 
(773) 784-1396
http://elitesportscards.net/

The guy at Elite Sports card is nice. I had to buy a pack of cards made by Upper Deck to get the "free" pack of NHCD cards. Shellie and I each bought a pack, and he also gave us each a Tim Thomas card. He also gave me the Panini "Player of the Day" sign on his counter top, as that promo was over and he was going to throw it out anyway.

My only complaint about Elite Sports cards is that they don't really have much of anything when it comes to hockey cards. He carries the new packs...and that's about it.

Stop #2
Sports Harvest
6031 W. Irving Park Rd. in Chicago
(773) 283-4350
No website

I have never been to this store before. It is in the Portage Park neighborhood in Chicago. My old stomping grounds--a few doors down from my old karate school, and across the street from a theater I used to frequent.

Chuck is the owner, and he gave Shellie and I each a pack of NHCD cards, and each of us a Tim Thomas card. His store has cards, but Sports Harvest really specializes in toys and McFarlane SportsPicks figures.
 
So, I bought a few random single hockey cards that I needed and a Marty Turco Blackhawks figure.

Stop #3
Chicago All-Stars
5754 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago
(773) 631-5566
http://chicagoallstars.com/

This place was CLOSED when I got there. They are supposed to be open until 3pm on a Saturday. We got there at 1:55pm, and it was locked up and the lights were off. No note or explanation as to why they were closed over an hour early. I even called and left my number, and they never called me back.

Stop #4   
Sports & Gaming Cards
205 Golf Mill Center in Niles
(847) 795-9355
No website

The owner was very friendly and loved hockey. I forgot his name, but his second cousin is former NHLer Bates Battaglia.

The shop had a moderate amount of hockey cards, and I picked up a few random Young Guns, including one of Magnus Paajarvi.

Shellie and I were each given a pack of NHCD cards, but the owner would only give me the Tim Thomas card, even though he had a bunch of them. Shellie did buy some WarCraft cards, and I spent $50, so I think he probably could have given us a second TT card. Oh well. 

Stop #5
AU Sports Memorabilia
5629 W. Touhy Ave. in Niles
(847) 647-8311
Facebook Page

AU Sports has quickly become tied for my favorite card shop. Store co-owners Scott and Frank are two of the nicest, most well-adjusted card guys you will ever do business with. Plus, Frank is way into hockey, so he and I geek out and talk about old O-Pee-Chee cards and stuff like that.

When Shellie and I walked through the door, Scott immediately gave us each 2 packs of NHCD cards. He also offered to give us each a Tim Thomas card, but he only had 4 left, so we only took one so other customers could get a chance to get one. I bought some pages, a few large toploaders, some random cards from the 1990s and early 2000s to fill some sets and a 1961-62 Topps Wayne Hillman.

I opened the 4 packs that AU Sports gave us, and still did not have one complete set. So Frank kept opening packs and gave me cards that I needed. After about 10 packs, he gave up trying to get me a Pekka Rinne, but that still helped me almost complete 3 sets.

And the verdict
National Hockey Card Day was fun. I ended up with some free cards, and the NHCD promotion prompted me to visit some shops that I never would normally have gone to. Other than the less-than-spectacular collation of the cards, I think National Hockey Card Day was a success. I look forward to it again next year.

Help me complete my Hockey Card Day set

Yesterday, I visited 5 card shops (recap here) so that I could get as many packs of National Hockey Card Day cards as possible. I wanted to complete a set for myself, and a few more sets for my Canadian friends.

Unfortunately, the collation was horrible on these cards. I ended up with eight cards of Zach Parise, eight cards of Mike Modano,  and zero cards of Pekka Rinne. Some cards I only got because the great guys at AU Sports kept opening packs to try to help me complete at least one set.

Nonetheless, all that effort and not even one complete set.

I am asking my fellow American collectors for help. Let's trade some NHCD cards:

Here is what I need:

Click here for updated list.

Here are the U.S. NHCD cards I have for trade:

Click here for updated list.

I'd also be willing to trade low-end cards or commons from my Trade List.

Got extras of the cards I need? Email me at...

sjb AT puckjunk DOT com

...and we can work something out.

National Hockey Card Day is Saturday

This Saturday (tomorrow!) is National Hockey Card Day. And as all of you know by now, this year it will be held in both Canada and the U.S.

Participating stores will be giving away 5-card packs of Upper Deck Hockey cards containing an exclusive "National Hockey Card Day" set. Each country will get its own distinct set:

USA: List of participating American retailers

Canada: List of participating Canadian retailers

While the giveaway packs are free, a special 16th card (Sidney Crosby in Canada; Tim Thomas in America) will only be available if you make a purchase.

Canadian collectors who visit London Drugs or Toys R Us will get an oversized "blow up" card when they purchase an Upper Deck product. 

I'm excited, and am going to visit a few stores and try to build a few sets to trade to my fellow collectors north of the border.

A Few Magazine Mentions

I've been pretty scarce this past week or so, as the college semester is in full swing and I am teaching five--count 'em five!--classes between two different schools.

However, I wanted to quickly point out two "blink and you'll miss 'em" magazine articles that mention Puck Junk.

The February 13, 2012 issue of The Hockey News features my fourth "In The Cards" article (the third one was printed back in December). The short article talks about the trading card of Todd Ewen nomming on a hockey puck. Delicious!

Meanwhile, the January/February 2012 issue of The Want List has an article entitled "The Scott and Tracy Show...plus five other collector stories we wanted to share" (pages 16-19). The article talks about KSA Grading Services, Panini America, Bleacher Creatures,  KSKS Collectibles, Clouts N' Chara and Puck Junk.

In other news, I bought six boxes of hockey cards. Expect some breaks--including some video breaks--soon.