Hey, the Knicks beat the worst team in the NBA again. If I’m not mistaken, the Knicks won 3 of the last 4 games and building momentum.

I got/ reviewed Panini Rookies and Stars and Panini Prestige before so it is time for a little Panini base set. Here are two random packs.

Pack 1:
Mo Williams
Lamar Odom
Anthony Parker
Andre Iguodala
Steve Novak
Danilo Gallinari
Al Harrington Sticker
Stephen Curry
Paul Millsap Future Stars
DeSagana Diop
Reggie Evans
Joe Johnson

Pack 2:
Leandro Barbosa
Stephon Marbury- Yuck
Stephen Graham
Darius Songaila
Andrei Kirilenko
Dikembe Mutombo
Kevin Durant Sticker
Phoenix Sun Sticker (Glow in the Dark I think)
Jonas Jerebko
Josh Smith The Franchise
Kurt Thomas
Jarvis Hayes
Randy Foye

I like this design a lot better than Rookies and Stars but Prestige is a bit better. I am an Upper Deck fan so I love full photo cards with no borders. Still the floorboard design is not bad and I have a feeling it will grow on me. The best looking cards from the packs are probably the Al Harrington and Kevin Durant stickers. This is not surprising since stickers are Panini’s specialty. I pulled like 10 Stephen Curry rookies but no Jordan Hills so far. It is still cool. Curry is probably going among the top 5 of players drafted this year.

The CotG (Card of the Game) is easily Danilo Gallinari. He is going to be a star in the NBA. His success is crucial for the Knicks turnaround.

Wow the Knicks didn’t choke in the fourth and actually sealed the win. More surprisingly Chris Duhon actually had a good game. Is it too late for the Knicks to make a playoff run?

I just got three hobby packs of Bowman ’48 Basketball. Might as well open it now. You never know when the Knicks are going to win again.

Pack 1:
Marcus Camby
Spencer Hawes- Weird. It is misprinted with Gerald Wallace on the front.
Gerald Wallace
Nate Robinson
Richard Hamilton 1156/1948
TJ Ford
Kevin Martin
Andre Iguodala

Pack 2:
Allen Iverson
Carlos Boozer
Single Cut Using Post as Screen for Short Shot 1167/1948
Yao Ming 1075/1948 Yes!!!
Deron Williams
Derrick Rose
Andre Miller
Josh Smith

Pack 3:
Chris Bosh
Ben Gordon
Kobe Bryant
Dwyane Wade Auto- OH YEAHHH!!!!!!
Tyreke Evans 946/1948
Andrew Bynum
Rudy Fernandez
Corey Maggette

I probably say this too often but this is the best $10 I ever spent. Also remember when I said I lack a point guard for my NBA all- auto team. Well I think I found him and he is probably one of the best players in game right now, Dwyane Wade. (I know he plays mostly as a shooting guard but he can play point too.) Honestly, I was getting bored with basketball cards until the Wade auto pull. I so rather pull a big hit like this than buying singles. I guess it is the chase that counts. Plus the Yao Ming parallel is going to be a sweet card for my PC.

As nice as the Wade auto and Yao parallel are, the CotG has to be the only Knick in the packs, Nate Robinson. He has potential to be a difference maker but his greatest strengths (his aggression and his energy) are his greatest weaknesses. Personally I like Nate the Great but the coach Mike D’antoni doesn’t seem to like him too much.

I just traded for this autographed Mike Mussina card which would be a Christmas present for a very good friend who I owe a lot to. He is not a collector but he is a huge Yankees fan and his favorite player is Mike Mussina so I think he will love the card.

I hate the Yankees but I always respected Mike Mussina. He comes across as a professional and I can’t think of one bad thing to say about him. I assume the person who I traded with got this TTM. This is a person I trust so I am pretty sure it is legit. The reason why this is stand out auto is Mussina is one of the few autographs that you can read nowaways and it is always a plus that he seems to be willing to sign TTM.

This win against the Suns may be the most entertaining game I watched in a long time. The Knicks dominated the whole game, which admittedly is very surprising. They were doing everything, scoring the paint, getting assists, making their threes etc.

I may have spoken too soon about not finding any Panini products in the stores near me. Of all the Panini basketball products so far, I was the most curious about the generic sounding Rookies and Stars. The product is definitely going for a more urban, edgier design and I knew I had to see the cards in person, thus I bought six packs.

Pack 1:
JR Smith
Brook Lopez
DeMar DeRozan
LaMarcus Aldridge
Eric Gordon

Pack 2:
Rafer Alston
Andrea Bargnani
Greg Oden Gold Parallel
Al Jefferson
Josh Howard

Pack 3:
Boris Diaw
Amare Stoudemire
Goran Suton
Corey Maggette
John Salmons

Pack 4:
Rudy Gay
Bill Cartwright Gold Rainbow Foil
Dwight Howard Gold
Channing Frye
TJ Ford

Pack 5:
Gerald Wallace
Thaddeus Young
Team Leaders Orlando Magic
OJ Mayo
David West

Pack 6:
Udonis Haslem
David West Gold Rainbow Foil
Karl Malone
Al Jefferson
Josh Howard

This was kind of a waste. I didn’t really get any players I collect and there are no Knicks. The best card of the bunch is probably the Dwight Howard parallel. The parallels are sometimes hard to tell apart and it seems like an afterthought. For example one of these rookie cards is serialed to 500. Can you tell which one?

Anyways, in the end I decided I don’t really like the card design for a basketball product but it does seem to be more suitable for a football product. I really try to give a chance since it is something a little different. But the pictures are kind of boring and making it worst the backgrounds seems to draw more attention than players’ photos.

For the CotG (Card of the Game) I have to go with Rafer Alston since he is a streetball legend from New York City.

DeMar DeRozan is serialed 383/500.

I had to run some errands which happened to be by my local card shop and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to stop by. Of course I had to pick up some cards and I got a Jumbo pack of 2009 Topps Baseball Updates and Highlights. I am hoping to pull my first propaganda card and I think a jumbo pack is guaranteed one. Below are the best cards of the pack.

So I got a propaganda card of Grady Sizemore, not a player I collect, but it is still awesome. The best card of the pack is probably this black (?) parallel of Tim Lincecum 12/58 and of course, I had to drop it. Now there is a slight dent which you can only see in certain angles.

I also got these singles, cheap from the card store and I got a slight discount because I am a regular customer. The Luc Mbah a Moute autograph was only $2 and I don’t remember how much the Chin Lung Lo jersey card but it can’t be too much.

This is one of my several Black Friday purchases today. It is a hobby pack of 2009 Sweet Sport Baseball which I got in my local hobby shop, Chameleon Comics and Cards, right after all the early morning shopping.

The pack:
Lance Berkman
Alex Rodriguez
Josh Hamilton
Clay Buchholz Jersey
Tiger Woods 20th Anniversary
Gerovany Soto
Ryan Howard
Adam Dunn

It is not the worst hit in the world but I admit I was kind of disappointed. Plus the jersey window seems small especially for an expensive product like Sweet Spot. Luckily I trade with a lot of Red Sox fans so maybe I can get something for it. I kind of like the design of the base cards but it looks like a regular Upper Deck base set design with the baseball thing of the bottom. But I know no one really buys Sweet Spot for the base cards, right?

O, I also got this David Lee jersey card (046/299) for free with my purchase. The guys at Chameleon are so awesome. It is from the new Donruss Elite product and I echo that the jersey placement is very poor. Donruss/ Panini needs to take out the Elite series words in the bottom and lower the jersey window.

Note: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, if the Knicks win today against the Kings (it is something to be thankful for) I will have a Thanksgiving giveaway/ contest tomorrow.

I am not sure if I mention it before but I am a huge Doctor Who fan and I have been dying to get some Doctor Who cards which are hard to find in the states. Previously the only cards I could find are from Top Trumps which is a card game similar to War. There are a little weird because they are taller than regular cards, making hard to keep in anything other than the box in came it which takes up a lot of space for what it is. Anyways, I got four packs of Doctor Who Alien Armies made by Panini free from the Doctor Who magazine. Other than that I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere in NYC.

Pack 1:
General Staal
Lilith
Mother Bloodtide
Mother Doomfinger
Thomas Kincade Brannigan
Valerie Brannigan

Pack 2:
Heavenly Host Glitter Foil
Donna Noble
Empress of the Racnoss
Lance Bennett
The Doctor
Florence Finnegan

Pack 3:
Cybershade Glitter Foil
Judoon Trooper
Francine Jones
Clive Jones
Slab
William Shakespeare

Pack 4:
Extrapolator
Tardis Key
Laser Screwdriver
The Doctor
Rose Tyler
Jackie Tyler

I also got a limited edition promo card of the Doctor from the magazine. It seems to be one of the better cards attack and defense wise.

The game mechanic seems to be similar to Top Trumps which is a little too simple for me. But the card design is a lot better but the card stock is noticeably thin (but I’m comparing that with sports cards not trading card games). The chase in this product is different levels of foil and glitter variations which is boring but understandable for the price point (50p in the UK so that is what about $1?). Overall I love the cards and would be keeping an eye out for them.

Hey, the Knicks won back to back games. Still it is against the only winless team in the NBA and overall the Knicks season is pretty dismal. The fact is it all about 2010, the year of LeBron and here is what I think they Knicks should do.

A little awhile ago, I had a couple of bucks left over from lunch so I spent it at my local card store. Topps Signature Basketball was marked down to $12. A guarantee auto for only $12, yes please! I also got a pack of 2009-10 Topps Basketball with what’s left.

Topps Signature
Derrick Rose 128/2325
Baron Davis Facsimile Auto Parallel 110/289
Sam Perkins Auto 708/1189
Gerald Wallace 2039/2325

2009-10 Topps Basketball Pack
Mike Conley
Joakim Noah
LaMarcus Aldridge
Gerald Wallace
Dirk Nowitzki
Randy Foye
Jermaine O’Neal
Stephon Marbury- So glad he is no longer with the Knicks
Rodney Stuckey
Spencer Hawes Gold 1191/2009

I got nothing from the base set but the Derrick Rose rookie is pretty sweet. Sam Perkins sounds vaguely familiar but I don’t quite remember what he’s known for. From his Wikipedia page, he is in New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and his nicknames include Sleepy Sam and Big Smooth (which again sounds familiar). All in all, not bad but not great.

The CotG is the Sam Perkin auto because the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame has to count for something, right?

Wow, I was watching MMA all night and I didn’t realize the Knicks finally won a game.

This is the first pack of anything Panini that I opened but I expect I’ll be buying a lot more Panini products in the future. According to the site, this product should have been released early October but I can’t find it in most of the places where I buy my cards (Target and the two hobby stores near me). The K-mart near where I work just got the rack packs (Panini spells it Rak Pak) for sale. I really don’t know too much about 2009 Panini Prestige but I’m willing to give it a shot.

The top:
Udonis Haslem
Derrick Rose
David Lee
Danny Green
Hasheem Thabeet
Brandon Jennings
Nate Thurmond
Sidney Moncrief

The bottom:
Elton Brand
Marquis Daniels
Richard Jefferson
Dwyane Wade
Emeka Okafor
Ben Gordon Hardcourt Heroes
Clyde Drexler
Dennis Rodman

This product definitely feels like something Donruss would do and it doesn’t really excite me. I don’t know if Prestige is a low tier (base) or mid tier product but I much rather spend $5 and get 36 cards rather than just 16. Still I got a nice collection of stars, legends and rookies. Of all the rookies this year I have been getting Hasheem Thabeet the most. I hope this is a good thing. But I also believe I also got my first Brandon Jennings rookie card. Jennings has looked great so far and it is looking like the Knicks made a mistake passing him for Jordan Hill but it is far too early to say that for sure.

Anyways, the Card of the Game (CotG) is easily David Lee. Lee seems to be always looking to improve and he would be a good complement to any star player the Knicks sign in 2010. But it is unclear whether he has a future with the Knicks after this year and this is unfortunate.

I just got a package from lonestarr of Behind These Hazel Eyes and wow, I got a ton of cards I need for my PC (Asian baseball/ basketball players). It is going to take me all night to sort through them and see what I have and I don’t have. (It doesn’t help that my collection is a mess.) Still it is a good problem to have.

Below is just a few of my favorite cards.

I love the Nate Robinson rookie refractor and love the BBM cards. Thanks a lot.