Night Owl Cards

Dayf pretty much obliterated my 2010 Topps want list today. If I can believe that want list, I am down to needing just two cards to finish series 1 of the base set. One card, No.183, which features the very low-key Jonathan Papelbon, is being sent to me. That would leave one card left. No. 120. That card happens to be Jorge Posada. Arrrrrgh. I can't tell you how many times the last card I needed to complete a set has been a Yankee. I'll have to do the research and get back to you on it. But I do know this: they're doing it on purpose. The Yankees don't like the fact that I live in New York and I'm not a Yankee fan. Sorry, Yankees, it's my obligation to stay as close to you as possible to keep updated on all of your nefarious activity, so I can remind everyone just how evil you are. But that's no reason to withhold cards of your whiniest players from me. Anyway. Posada. Anybody got (gasp, wheez, guuuuhhh!) one to spare? Emphasis on one. Meanwhile, in...

(I'm tired, it's late. This is Cardboard Appreciation. The 53rd in a series): Everyone knows this card, right? It's an airbrushed masterpiece. And by masterpiece, I mean something so ineptly awful that it is worthy of a standing ovation. There have been many odes to this card. There's not much more I can add. But in an attempt to properly measure just how horribly wonderful the '75 Rudy May card is, here are some other "so-bad-it's-good moments" in other walks of life: The 1975 Topps Rudy May of film: "Plan 9 From Outer Space." The 1975 Topps Rudy May of music videos: Anything by the Spice Girls The 1975 Topps Rudy May of food: Either bacon or Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries. The 1975 Topps Rudy May of restaurants: "Hot Dog on a Stick." (purely for comic value) The 1975 Topps Rudy May of fashion: 1970's jumpsuits (see above). The 1975 Topps Rudy May of music: The Final Countdown," by Europe (the...

I realize this will annoy avid followers of football, just as it does college basketball folks when someone who doesn't know a Cameron Crazy from a Zag wins the March Madness pool: I recently won a football card contest. Twice. Let me clarify something first, though. By "not following football" I mean that I'm not a fan and I don't sit and watch games. But I DO know what's going on in the sport most of the time. It's a requirement of my job. Every day I pour through story after story featuring sports that could disappear this instant without a word of regret from me (I'm looking at you, golf). So, information is bound to sneak into the ol' noggin. There is a reason why I know just about every NASCAR name without ever watching a single NASCAR race. So, yeah, I know football. Just don't ask me to enter a fantasy league. That little bit of knowledge enabled me to win Cobb and Halladay' s Super Bowl contest last month. I beat out a bunc...

This is a pre-emptive strike to anyone who asks: No, I am not collecting 2010 Heritage. I'll take your Dodgers, but that's it. This is not a new concept around here. I  said last year that I've had it with Heritage. And I re-emphasized the point when I said I'm sick of retro sets not named Allen or Ginter. But since Heritage is officially back on the scene , I thought I'd mention it again. It's weird actually. I don't broadcast all the other sets I'm not collecting. It's understood that I have no intention of staring at a full binder of SP or Topps Attax. But Heritage is different. Someone like me -- a set builder who is totally interested in baseball and card-collecting history -- is supposed to be into this set. And I was. But not anymore. At least not until around 2021 when the tribute to the 1971 set comes out. And definitely 2024 when the '75 tribute set goes live. (Yes, I'm assuming a lot there). Like I mentioned before, Her...

Thanks to the Wax Wombat and I Don't Know , I am very close to finishing off series 1 of the 2010 Topps set, which is pretty good considering I decided to complete the set less than two weeks ago. WW and IDK brought my set wants to 16 cards, if you can believe my want list, which I wouldn't recommend. I think I have enough of the set to do a review of what I believe are the best cards, at least prior to series 2 hitting the streets. I know you all have seen these before. But have you seen them in a tidy, top 10 countdown with sparkling Night Owl commentary? No, you haven't. Context is everything, people. And I'm bringing the context. To come up with the list, I used a tried-and-true method: lay 10 cards out on a table, and then slide them down when you come across a card that should be on the list. Trust me. It works. It's worked since I was 9. Do not question the card-sliding method. It's better than science. In the event that one of the missing 16 is ...

Even though I am a word person, that doesn't mean I don't get along with numbers. I was one of the better students in math through much of school and even got through calculus until they started talking about imaginary numbers. Then things got shaky. I'm a reality kind of guy. Numbers continue to interest me, although not to the degree of a lot of people out there. I tend to zone out when people get deep into baseball statistics or start going into any type of "formula." But collecting cards based on a single number? That's fascinating. If you haven't been following Spike Glidden's No. 5 Type Collection blog, in which he documents his wide variety of cards featuring "5" on the back (or sometimes the front), please do. It's always interesting. About my only complaint is every time I go to the blog, I come away humming this . And that's not really his fault. Besides, Mr. Glidden recently sent me some way cool Dodger cards. Full o...