Now for some items only I care about ...

 

Card blogs are for showing off your own, very personal card interests. If nobody else cares about them it doesn't matter. That's why it's your blog.

But I've made a blog living out of trying to make those very personal card interests about something with wider appeal. I consider it a challenge.

Today, I'm all challenged-out.

I have the rest of my COMC haul to show off, the non-Kershaw part. It's a variety. I can't wrap up all the items into one tidy subject, at least nothing I haven't written about before. So you're going to see them with no theme, no deep thoughts. It'll be just cards ... except the things that aren't cards ... that only I care about.

Like so:

These are a couple of cheap items in a modest attempt to boost my collection of Martina Hingis. She's my favorite tennis player, I should have at least a full page of her cards.

Not cards but stickers, and only the greatest stickers ever made. I'm mostly talking to a wall when I show off Wacky Packages stickers from the '70s. But to give you an idea how much these mean to me, this was what I was buying in packs along with 1975 Topps baseball cards in 1975. They mean almost as much to me as that two-tone baseball cardboard does.

All of the above come from some of the series issued in 1974 (there were so many series). As I've said before, packs of '74 Wackys were still on store shelves in '75, which is why I saw these in '75.

These two 2020 A&G minis arrived along with the Kershaw from the same set. I actually had ALL of the 2020 Dodgers minis in my cart at one point because I was distressed with how my acquisition of Dodgers A&G minis has fallen off drastically since 2017. But then I lightened the cart load and these guys were all that were left.

Glorious. Three more '75 buybacks to add to the so-called completion quest! That brings me to 457 buybacks of the 660 cards in the set.

The Crawford is the 17th Dodger buyback I've acquired. Of those I don't have (yet), I know there is a Garvey and a Yeager out there (The Yeager is selling for a stupid price on COMC right now). Among the puzzling ones I haven't seen yet are Von Joshua, Al Downing and Bill Russell. The quest continues!

 

Finally a heavy-hitting duo from the '81 Coke card sets. These are not the last two I need, but I thought they would be. I actually got each pretty cheap.

The rest of the '81 Cokes I need will be in the next sportslot order. That will be a great day. I won't celebrate with a round of Cokes. Probably a round of beers instead. Healthier.

So, as you can see by those, I think they say "night owl" very well without having all that much in common.

My interests are what make me as a collector different from any one else. I may not have the built-in fan base of someone who espouses of the joys of collecting junk wax era cards as some do, but that's good. It means I'm somewhat unique in my pursuits.

I welcome all you head-scratchers. It means you won't be chasing what I like.

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Let's do a two-for on this post! If only to explain the Duke Snider card way up at the top.

I recently received a yellow envelope from Crocodile Sports Cards. I had sent him a few things awhile back and certainly didn't expect anything in return.

But he came at me with some 2021 Update action:

Truth be told, I have completed this team set already. I would've knocked over a granny in the card aisle for the Corey Knebel about six months ago though. What a persnickety card that was.

Same goes for these 2021 Heritage High Dodgers, I'm just too damn impatient sometimes.

In a way, this made me a little bit pleased as in my older-brain state I briefly thought these were 2020 Heritage Highs, which I know were pulled for me in the Nachos Grande Breaker's Club. I haven't ordered my shipment of those yet, but, heck, I HAVE paid for them already. Have you ever been grateful you received cards that are already in your collection rather than cards that aren't?? This is one time when I can say I was relieved. Stupid demented collector mind.

Anyway, these cards can go toward that time when I lose it and decide to complete the 2021 Heritage High set.

Here is the second Duke that showed up on the envelope. It's a "patch," Topps claims, and I will repeat myself: when is stamped plastic considered a patch?

This is headed for the "I don't know what to do with these" box, which is where all those thick patch and non-patch things go. However, I might have to consider a place of honor because I now have three of the Dodgers from this set.

I think I might have to think about completing a manupatch team set for the first time. Just Betts and Piazza are left. Of course, the Robinson is the black parallel, and like hell am I gonna try to complete a parallel manupatch team set.

Crocodile even threw in some Sabre ... er, Predators????

I thought that was way too much yellow for my Buffalos. The bottom three guys are from Nashville where apparently wearing yellow uniforms are OK.

Many thanks to Crocodile for sending those along, he didn't need to perplex me so. But I do appreciate it.