Night Owl Cards

  The trouble with me and O-Pee-Chee cards of the '60s, '70s, 80s and early '90s is that I am so fascinated with the differences from the Topps sets from the same year that I ignore OPC cards that look the same as the Topps cards. I mean what's the point of collecting another card that looks like the Topps card in every way? This is particularly true for OPC sets that don't note that it is an O-Pee-Chee set on the front. And, yes, I know there are always differences with the backs -- because there is French -- but as much as I emphasize how you must read your card backs, backs are backs. So, I'm in danger of never completing an OPC set as much as I like them because the cards that are different from their Topps counterparts are SO fascinating that it makes everything else boring in comparison. For example, the 1977 O-Pee-Chee set, which I think is the greatest of all the OPC sets because of all of the variations from Topps, is on my radar. But the only cards I e...

I'm sorry, Pete, but you're going to have to put away those packs of 1981 Fleer. I'm glad you're sitting down, because I have some bad news for you. (Deep breath) OK, here it is: You don't exist anymore. That's right. And, what's more, I don't exist either. Neither do all those card bloggers out there, the collectors who post on message boards, the bidders we compete against on eBay, the autograph seekers at ballgames, and the shoppers in the card aisles in the retail stores. We're all extinct. Barry Zito? Sorry, Pete, he doesn't really collect his own cards. It's a sham. How do I know? I read it in an Associated Press story on Saturday. The story was about those soon-to-be-released PopCardz, yet another card issue featuring Hollywood celebrites (yawn!). But this time the cards are officially sanctioned by the celebrities themselves. The article was written in a fawning manner, as AP stories often are, and made PopCardz sound like it was some...