2014 Panini Golden Age Blaster Break

I saw a 2014 Panini Golden Age blaster for sale at K-Mart and it was a no brainer. Panini Golden Age follows the Allen & Ginter formula by having an eclectic mix of cards so it seems like a box break would be a lot fun. Here are my pulls.

This was a really good blaster with two hits. Every blaster is guaranteed an exclusive Legends of Music relic card and I pulled Liberace. Weird. I love the fact Joey Ramone got a card in the set and with a little digging I found out I could have pull of relic of his in the same insert set. I was surprised I actually pulled an autograph out of this blaster too. I am not too familiar with Jorge Velasquez career but he seems to have a storied history. The sticker stamps inserts are seem like a neat idea but it not really something I collect.

Finally there seems like a millions different backs for the mini cards. I think the Smith’s Mello- Mint parallel is one of the rarest of the bunch and I got one with Mark Koenig. The rest of the top row are Hindu backs and the bottom rows are Mono backs.

I wished I knew more about Panini Golden Age when it first came out. I like Panini Americana and this set is way better. It looks like Panini actually put some effort in it. All in all, this set is right up my alley and I would definitely pick up more blasters or boxes if I ever come across it.

Another 2012- 13 Panini Prestige Basketball Blaster Break

So I was back in the bargain bin and I found this blaster of 2012- 13 Panini Prestige Basketball. Cutting to the chase, I pulled a Russell Westbrook jersey card!

Not bad. The rest of the cards in the blaster is just base cards and an insert here and there.

The only other card of note is probably the Klay Thompson rookie card. I can’t be too disappointed with the pulls though especially I got this blaster for sale.

Random Pack Break: 2015-16 Panini Prestige

My scanner is failing me again so this is going to be a quick post. This is a pretty sick pack of 2015-16 Panini Prestige that I got in Target…

That is a Klay Thompson Freshman Flashback Jumbo memorabilia card which is an exclusive of some sort. I also pulled my first Kristaps Porzingis rookie card. Porzingis seems to be the steal of the draft and it is so weird because it is so rare for the Knicks to catch a break…

I also pulled a Frank Kaminsky acetate rookie card, a Trey Lyles rookie card and Timofey Mozgov, Henry Sims, Hassan Whiteside, Norris Cole, Jrue Holiday and Terrence Ross base cards.

2015 Panini Black Friday Packs Break

2015 Panini Black Friday is probably my favorite set of the year nowadays (surpassing Allen & Ginter) and this is just a quick post on my pulls. This year I have 8 packs (it wasn’t cheap).

This year’s Black Friday cards are a lot like last year’s cards and I kind of wish they continued to innovate with this set but they still managed to fit in some quirky cards that feel special and perhaps exclusive to this set (eg both football hits). Also the Jung-Ho Kang 364/599 parallel is a nice addition to my PC and I think the JJ Watt card is a cracked ice, 12/25.

Still a thumbs up for me.

Random Pack Break: 2015 Panini Americana Retail

I was at Target the other day and I saw some loose packs of 2015 Panini Americana retail. Americana was one of my favorite sets back in the day and I didn’t even know Panini came out with a new set. So let’s take a look.

Wow these cards have such a boring, uninspired design. A grey border on cards almost never works. The back is a bit better. The top looks a bit like an American flag which I am sure is no accident. I have to admit though the checklist of actors, actresses, musicans etc is a lot stronger than the Donruss counterpart. There are a lot more names I recognize right off the bat.

As for my pulls, I pulled a Eva Marie red parallel, a Tiffani Thiessen die cut On the Tube insert and a Jerry Bailey & D. Wayne Lukas Winner’s Circle Combos insert. Everything else is just base cards. Of the three, the Eva Marie card is probably my best pull and the red parallel looks like it is just design for her.

Despite the boring design for the base cards, I probably will be looking to pick up a hobby box to see what else is in 2015 Panini Americana.

Random Basketball Packs before the NBA Draft

Today is the big day for the New York Knicks. It is the NBA Draft! I kind of want to open some basketball packs and I could only get my hands on this basketball repack. It has one guaranteed memorabilia card and three basketball packs which happened to be 1 pack of 2012-13 Panini Past & Present and 2 packs of 2012- 13 Panini NBA Hoops.

I must have overlooked these sets when they came out since these are the first packs of them I have opened. But I wasn’t really missing anything as both are the boring side. And my guaranteed memorabilia card is

of Shawn Marion. One thing I hate is when cards are clearly designed to have two maybe more swatches of game used materials and instead they cover up these spots with awkward logos or what not. They look awful and if you are like me, you feel like you are missing out.

So I didn’t really pull anything. Anyways back to the Knicks. I have a bad feeling about the NY Knicks’ future and I have little faith in Phil Jackson’s ability to build a competitive team. I also have a feeling it will be another Stephen Curry situation. The Knicks were one pick away from picking Curry and instead we had to settled for Jordan Hill. Ugh. I wish I have more reasons to be optimistic about the Knicks. I guess you need a wait and see approach as a fan and I hope Phil Jackson proves all his doubters wrong.

2014-15 Panini Prestige Basketball Retail Hanger Pack Break

I have noticed that Panini has been playing around with high end products in the retail market with boxes going for $200+. I find this very interesting and wondering if they are trying to cut out (for the lack of the better word) card stores. Anyways I don’t have $200 to drop on cards so I picked up this hanger pack of 2014-15 Panini Prestige basketball instead. It wasn’t cheap though. It is still just 10 cards for $10 and it is packed a rather large box for just one pack.

Pulled a Josh Smith parallel, numbered 79/199 and the exclusive mystery rookie cards is PJ Hairston. Honestly I wished I pulled someone else but the rookie card is quite impressive and it definitely stands out. Actually as a whole all the cards look really good.

I looked up the product on Google and this product is actually a Target exclusive and comes in different price points from $4 pack to $200 premium boxes. Also very interesting.

A Rack Pack of 2014-15 Panini Prizm Basketball

If you like shiny basketball cards then Panini Prizm Basketball is your set. I like shiny basketball cards so I picked up a rack pack of 2014-15 Panini Prizm Basketball.

This is actually not a bad pack of Prizm. I got an Andrew Wiggins rookie card, a red, white and blue pulsar Anthony Davis card and some kind of weird parallel of Paul George. Googling it and it is some sort of photo variation parallel. I wonder how rare it is. Finally, I also got Patrick Ewing and Yao Ming base cards for my PC

All in all, you really can’t ask for more from a retail rack pack.

Random Pack Break: 2014-15 Panini Prizm Basketball Hobby

I don’t really buy scratch off lottery tickets. I buy loose packs of baseball, basketball and MMA cards instead! I was picking up some comics for the week and I had some loose change so I picked up a hobby pack of 2014-15 Panini Prizm Basketball too. It has only 5 cards per pack.

I didn’t really pull anyone I collect. The card that stands out is definitely the Rick Barry Blue/Green Prizm parallel. Hopefully I can trade this for someone I collect…

I picked up this pack to take a look at this year’s cards and see if they are worth buying a box. The cards are definitely shiny and there are like a billion different parallels in this set. This year design though is also A LOT like last year design. The parallels are similar and in the base design, you just move the textured pattern from the sides to the middle and take out the white bar switch the font color from black to white and bingo you have this year’s design. Am I buying a box of 2014-15 Panin Prizm Basketball? Probably not but I am itching to open some basketball packs soon than later so I hope something interesting comes out the next few weeks.

Guaranteed Autograph Basketball Repack Break

I was at Target the other day and a box of Leaf Cut Signatures caught me eye. But it was $40 and I have been burned by similar products in the past. So I talked myself out of it and instead I settled on a basketball repack with 4 packs and 1 guaranteed autograph. My four packs were 2 retail packs of 2013-14 Panini NBA Hoops and 2 retail packs of 2013-14 Panini Prizm.

I basically just pulled a bunch of rookies cards. It seems I never pulled anything good from Prizm packs and I opened a hobby box of NBA Hoops and the cards are still so boring to me. Anyways that leaves the guaranteed autograph

and the auto is of Loren Woods. Never heard of him which is never a good sign.

Maybe I should have bought the Leaf Cut Signatures box instead…