Tag Archives: NCAA

Sports Card Hot List for January 7th 2013

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It’s National Championship day and my Crimson Tide (whom you are probably tired of me talking about) are up for a back to back national title.  As I write they are murdering Notre Dame just before the half in such a way that ND might not get another shot at a big championship game without some sort of miracle.  Hail Mary mother of grace will be repeated over and over during the half by casual Catholics every where.  It also might be worth noting that @Pontifex has been mysteriously quiet the entire game.  That’s ok because TJ Yeldon and Eddie Lacy are providing me with plenty of chuckles as they tear through what was supposed to be an excellent defensive front 7.

And now for hobby news.  Richard McWilliams passed away today at the age of 59.  It’s a sad day when any one leaves family behind prematurely, and this case is no different.  Yes there were people in this industry that hated him.  With his passing let’s put all that behind us and see what lies ahead for an Upper Deck company who at least publicly can claim a fresh start and maybe recover from an image stand point to produce some of the great cards that we all loved before their license was pulled.  If they worked as hard on a MLB brand (with proper licencing) the payoff for collectors and hobby stores would be large.  I for one am pulling for fresh new start for Jason Masherah, Chris Carlin, Gregg Kohn and everyone else at UD.

The new FCB Mobile App has released on Android.  You can pick it up here. At least one reviewer had it right when he said that “Gilmo is a stud muffin”.  You are correct sir and your check is also in the mail.  Speaking of in the mail, this week also saw a huge volume of our hot list champion of the week.

 

Russell Wilson#1 Russell Wilson Rookie Cards

Hot across the board is anything with Russell Wilson’s name on it.  Writers across the country are praising his toughness and leadership.  This isn’t normal for a pro athlete in Seattle as they are more often regulated to regional coverage.  Even the Boston based NESN was quick to feature Wilson in articles after his big win vs RGII and the Washington Redskins.

His cards have been popping all week and in playoff week 1 they hit another all time high as his Topps Chrome autograph went from $90 to $150.  Even his base cards are taking off as a base strata can sell for about $8.  Not to be overlooked is his baseball rookie card in 2010 bowman chrome.  At $12 for a base rookie that could be bought for 50 cents even late in the football season you have to take that to the bank at this point.

Mark Montgomery#2 Mark Montgomery Contenders Autos

The AFL will always have a huge influence on prospect card prices.  Prospectors have nothing else to view during this time.  No minor league stat lines to follow, and unless there is a trade in the works it’s a very slow season for prospecting.

He has dominated the AFL though, holding hitters to a .143 average.  His cards are just as dominant.  It’s now the most expensive non SP card in the set as he has no other cards.  The cards went from $3 box to almost $30 as Yankee collectors start to stock up.  Javier Baez is still the steal from this set but then again he is the steal in every 2011 prospect auto set.

 

boomo

#3 An incredible rant by group case breaker “boomo”

I’m not really sure exactly what got in his crawl but man did he get angry.  You can watch the video here.  My guess is that it’s a breaking point due to blowout moderating a few threads of his and users addressing complaints that he views to be trivial.  At any rate he’s fun to watch  Poor Joe Adams, he is innocent in all this.

mike zunino#4 Mike Zunino Bowman Draft Autographs

The market has dried up and there are about half the copies of this card traded online than were available shortly after release.  The current precieved “best” autograph in 2012 Bowman Draft gets it’s natural January price bump and will probably get another one during spring training as he will get a non roster invite and some playing time.

In the meantime a $60 card moves close to $80 as supply gets short.

 

 

 

AJ McCarron#5 2009 Razor US Army AJ McCarron

This is a complete and total homer call.  Although it was hot for a few hours.  Copies that were previously unsold started selling in the $2-$4 range.

As an Alabama fan we kinda have this whole love hate relationship with our quarterbacks.  We recognize that we need them to play well, but we also understand that the game plan is to win by running the football, controlling the clock and playing defense.  As Bama thumped Notre Dame in the title game AJ was able to force ND to respect the pass enough to open up the run.

 

TJ Yeldon#6 TJ Yeldon Leaf US Army Metal Autographs

This isn’t a traditional BCS Title Game bump.  Normally those wait for stellar performances after the game.  This is a result of all the hype leading up to the game.

These refractors that used to sell for $50 can now bring $70.  It does not appear that people are willing to sell them at that price as buy it nows are still really high and the cards are selling at a really low volume.  It’s only a matter of time before someone starts throwing down big money on these so hold them if you got em.

 

ncaa-football-logo#7 Anyone calling for a BCS Playoff System

With the current landscape Notre Dame absolutely deserved to be in the title game.  With a playoff in place they would probably have never been in position to make the biggest game of the year a complete snooze fest.  Personally I would love to see a +1 solution where 1 plays 4, 2 plays 3.  Then we would have a fully vetted national champion worthy of any scrutiny.

Panini#8 2012-13 Panini Prizim Hobby Boxes

People are still chasing the high end content in this product and boxes are well above MAP.  It’s about time one basketball product holds it’s value and does not rot on shelves.

Boxes are up from $100 to $130 proving that the chrome formula works even when products are done halfway like this one is.

 

COLLECTOR’S CAMPUS: Press Pass Having All the Luck

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Since you last heard from me, the collegiate football card market has been pretty stagnant. Leaf and Sage were joined by Press Pass as the only three companies with 2012 cards currently on the open market. As far as secondary market value goes, Leaf Metal is still at the top of the charts overall, but Press Pass has made a big bang with their Andrew Luck autograph cards (being that he is signed to an exclusive predraft deal with Press Pass).

Despite what some may call mediocre sales, there is still a market for Press Pass—as they have a loyal following for their on card autographs, red ink variations, and unique inscription cards. The official list of print runs for red ink and inscriptions hasn’t released yet. However, I’ll be sure to come back and leave a link in the comments of this article when they do and most likely include it in my next entry.

There have been variant autographs of the lesser known players of the draft class all the way to the expected #1 and #2 picks of the 2012 NFL Draft. To date Robert Griffin III holds the record for highest selling variant autograph bringing in $350 for a Bronze /25 Red Ink, which should have a very small print run and very well may be a 1/1. Proving further that Press Pass still has a place on the market, Ryan Tannehill has brought in $82 for a Silver Red Ink (110846570111); though the silver base autograph doesn’t even have a print run to gauge how many variants may be available.

Even with the possibility of hitting a variant autograph, there’s really only one thing going through each person’s mind when they grab a pack of Press Pass out of a box: They’re hoping to get Lucky! With Press Pass having an exclusive predraft contract with Andrew Luck (the projected #1 overall pick out of Stanford) Press Pass has been able to keep their product relevant to those who might overlook them if Luck were available through new powerhouse Leaf or even the low priced Sage. Completed sales have shown that licensed or not collectors will pay nicely for anything Andrew Luck has scrawled his name on.

The bank breaker to date is this Gold /25 autograph that recently ended for $325 at auction. When they first released, the base autographs of Luck were bringing in $130 plus. The new product smell has worn off, and base Luck autos are still able to bring in $90 on a consistent basis. Even the nonauto base card is able to sell for $1 plus shipping—a respectable feat for a single Press Pass rookie.

The success of Leaf Draft retail is also worth mentioning. As additional products are opened, more gems are making their way into collector’s hands. Autographs range from DII linemen to arguably the best player that Leaf is able to have product in, Robert Griffin III. You’ll find players not available in the Metal release (such as top ranked linebacker Sean Spence of Miami), and there is a full base card set to put together if that’s your style. The Robert Griffin and Andrew Luck Army base cards are still selling on eBay. For $20 a box these blasters are quite possibly the best thing on the shelves at your local retail store.

UPPER DECK : BOLD STEP WITH 2011 UD COLLEGIATE LEGENDS

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As I’m sure you’re well aware, Upper Deck has been limited to producing collegiate football cards since 2011 when they gained the exclusive NCAA license but no longer held an NFL license. In this time we’ve seen Upper Deck produce some of the same brands we were used to—just with players pictured in their collegiate gear. This included the same typical checklists; you had your big name rookies, the scrub rookies to fill a checklist, your current NFL stars, and then a few NFL legends.

Upper Deck has decided to break the mold and do something relatively unheard of to this point: Build a checklist set catering to the collegiate game exclusively. In the upcoming UD Collegiate Legends set you will still have your traditional mix of NFL rookies and stars in their collegiate uniforms, but you will also get an unprecedented checklist filled with collegiate stars the NFL has long forgotten. Perhaps the fact that the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners sets were so well received by fans of those respective schools had something to do with UD focusing more on college collectors.

If you ask an NFL fan who Ron Dayne was, they’ll say some mediocre guy from the Giants. If you ask an NCAA fan, they’ll recall how Dayne used to ram the red W helmet of the Wisconsin Badgers through opposing linebackers on the way to winning the Heisman. Jason White? Oh, that guy who had weak knees and couldn’t stick with a team? No, I mean the best football player in the nation (circa 2003) as the Heisman Award winner of the Oklahoma Sooners. I could go on and on.

The set’s checklist is littered with names like these, and college collectors are going to eat up every bit of cardboard they can get their hands on. Players also included in this release are Gino Torretta, Todd Marinovich, Brian Bosworth, Ty Detmer, Danny Wuerrfel, and many other “gods” of the college gridiron. You’ll also get the legends and stars of the NFL who also shined in college like Aaron Rodgers, Steve Young, Earl Campbell, and Adrian Peterson. Of course, there are the big rookies like Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, and Julio Jones.

It will be interesting to see how this set is received once it hits shelves and how singles do on the secondary market. Upper Deck has proven that collegiate cards can establish and maintain value with 2010’s Exquisite XRCs and 2011 SP Authentic. It’s also been proven that collegiate uniform cards can stand the test of time for those “NFL scrubs.” A great example is a 1993 Classic Four Sport Rick Mirer autograph, which recently sold for $100. Not too shabby for a guy who many would label an NFL draft bust from almost two decades ago. .