My $0.02 – 2010-11 Score Hockey

2010-11 Score - Tyler Bozak (Base set)

Now, this blog isn’t about being the first to review new products.  In fact, its focus is almost entirely on old, arguably shitty products.  However, I feel the need to talk about 2010-11 Score Hockey, as I am having more fun with this set than I’ve had collecting a set in years.

Upper Deck doesn’t have a card monopoly with the NHL anymore, as Panini has jumped in, and in doing so revived the Score name which has been out of action in hockey for a while.  I’m not into full reviews, box breakdowns and that kind of stuff, but let’s go through some highlights:

The price: It’s $1 or less a pack.  You get seven cards in a pack.

The feel: I’ve bought other value brands like UD Victory in the past, but with this set I feel like I’m actually getting something.  The base set has a retro look and feel, much like the original 1990-91 Score set, and honestly, if you don’t feel some nostalgia for that set, there’s something wrong with you.

2010-11 Score - Andy Greene (Glossy parallel - but you can't tell in the scan! HA!)

The photography: The photography is pretty good and features some unique shots you don’t see every day.  Also, there is a good selection of teams wearing their alternate and retro jerseys, which is always good to see.

2010-11 Score - Sudden Death - Sidney Crosby

2010-11 Score - Net Cam - Henrik Lundqvist

The inserts: The “inserts” are more like the classic Score subsets of yesteryear, and there are some fun ones.  There are parallels – glossy, French back and 20th Anniversary.  Not a huge fan of excessive parallels, but a couple isn’t bad.

The set size: 550 cards in the base set, and fun as hell to sort by teams.  It’s what the blog is called, it’s what I do.

2010-11 Score - Season Highlight - Jonathan Toews

As for the “big hits,” there are some buyback 90-91 autographs thrown in, but the odds on those are pretty steep.  This set isn’t about relics, it’s not about autographs, and it doesn’t have to be.  It’s about having fun collecting hockey cards, and 2010-11 Score comes through on that one.

My $0.02 – The Topps Million Card Giveaway

1966 Topps - Ted Abernathy

I know, I’m late to the party on this one.  But this is a new blog, so I’m allowed to play catch-up.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about – click here first: www.toppsmillion.com.  Say what you want, it’s a cool concept and a great thing for Topps to do in the first year of their exclusivity deal with Major League Baseball.  Whether that turns out to be good or bad is a whole other issue… but we’re talking about the Million Card promotion here.

Some of my code cards have been brutal.  But some haven’t been bad, and others were downright good.  I got a 1966 Ted Abernathy, who was no star by any stretch, but he was coming off a 1965 season where he’d led the league in games pitched and saves – before leading the league in saves was cool.  Speaking of that, was it Goose Gossage that made saves cool?  Rollie Fingers?  Comments welcome.  In any case, getting a card for free from the 60’s is pretty groovy.

1978 Topps - Rance Mulliniks (RC)

The part that has been the most fun for me has been the trading.  I’m not trading for a lot of monetary value, but I’m trading for cards that I want to collect.  For example, I was able to trade a 2006 Daniel Cabrera for a 1978 Rance Mulliniks rookie card.  You see, this card means something to me because he was my grandfather’s favourite player when I was young and first getting hooked on baseball, watching and listening to the great Blue Jays teams from the late 80’s and early 90’s.  My grandfather spent time every summer with family in the US, and a big part of it was traveling to places like Tiger Stadium and Wrigley Field to watch games.  The man saw Babe Ruth play in person, so I respected the fact that he liked the way Mulliniks played the game.

1978 Topps - Doug Ault

I also managed to swap a 1981 Butch Hobson to someone for a 1978 Doug Ault card.  1977 had been Ault’s rookie card, but he had the great Topps All-Star Rookie trophy on that 1978 card after a solid rookie season with the Blue Jays.  He is something of a Blue Jay legend for hitting two home runs in the first ever game the Jays played, on a snowy afternoon in April 1977.  For every Doug Ault fan out there, there’s a Butch Hobson fan.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

I’m not sure what Topps could have done better with this promotion.  I think they should be commended for helping us have some extra fun with the hobby and maybe relive a memory or two along the way.  Where else can you make offbeat trades like this?

If you get a trade offer for some obscure Blue Jays legend from the 1980’s, it’s probably me trying to steal it from you.