Counting It Down Again

I have coffee, cards and my laptop out. Guess that means some Cards Over Coffee heading your way.

*takes a sip*

My creativity has been slacking recently as I have been in a slump with so much on my mind. What does this mean for my latest mail day from Oren, well, it means another countdown which doesn't require much thought but covers all of the spots.

So, lets kick it off.

12. 1997 Finest Blue Chips base card of Edgar Renteria which covers all of the upcoming stars.

11.2000 Topps Divisional Highlight. I don't know why I wanted this, I hate Pedro, the Red Sox and seeing them win together. But, I fall victim I guess to unique photography.

10. Topps First Pitch Ben Gibbard. I had to Google who he is, which turns out he lead singer for Death Cab For Cutie.

9. First Pitch Judd Apatow who directed quite a few films I have seen such as The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, and This is 40.

8. I bet this Wrecking Crew insert looks amazing in refractor form.

7. Scott Rolen was that guy in the 90's prospectors would chase. This card simply just brings me back to those days.

6.Upper Deck and Oren continue to want to draw me in to collecting Hockey inserts and parallels.

5.1997 Fleer Team Leader. I have a thing for die cuts with faces. Just like the Wave Of The Futures in 1995 football.

4. Embossed and fun.

3. I miss the Upper Deck hologram days. But, guess from what I hear it costs a lot to run the technology to make the holograms which is why Upper Deck no longer does them.

2.Tommy Franks is an American general who led U.S. forces in the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. A real hero here and is throwing out a pitch for the Yankees, this is an easy Top 3 card.

And drum roll on your coffee mug please........

 

1. Donruss Long Ball Leaders. 90's insert, numbered and shiny. To me this is the easy number one.

Thanks again to Oren for our latest trade!

*takes a final sip before closing up today's post*

One thing that I find fun with these countdown posts is the response from the readers. What do you guys think? Did I nail this top 12? Should some be swapped? If so, which ones? What card do you find the coolest.

Let me know in comments!

Hope everyone has a great night.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

81.2%

It's been a hot week here with temps sitting at 83 and above. Which may not sound warm to most of you, but, for here, it's hot.

But here I am still sitting with a hot coffee and some hot cards with a hot new post.

*takes a sip*

I kept pushing off adding my Rodney Hampton collection on TCDB, then decided it was finally time when I was doing some research on there and saw my rankings in the 600's with a couple of cards I must have added years ago. 

Knowing I am the king of Rodney, I couldn't let that stand.

So, I went to work and input all of the Rodney's I had. Come to find out, Rodney has 962 total cards and I own 81.2% of those. Which is incredible when you really think about it. Think about all of the rare 90's inserts/parallels and the 1/1's that have been added over the years.

However, when it comes to a real total of Rodney cards, my number doesn't match that one as TCDB doesn't cover all of the oddball cards that were out there. Including uncut sheets, proofs, and uncut cards. 

Which I own some of each and here is an example of some,

Rodney mini poster.

A cut autograph from The Bar Hybrid Edition.

Uncut Fleer Ultra Sensations card featuring Rodney Hampton and Jerry Rice.

And probably my favorite one, an uncut 1995 Finest dual refractor of Rodney and Junior Seau. This is a thing of beauty.

I haven't had a chance to count up all of my oddballs to have an exact number of Rodney's yet, but hopefully will soon.

As expected, here is my ranking on TCDB for Rodney,

Pretty far at the top. The second-place person actually has some I need believe it or not. If anyone does any form of trading on there and want to snatch those up for me, let me know. I will trade with you for doing so.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

My next project is to add my Kerry Collins collection to TCDB. I am currently unranked as I only added one card so I could see my rating. It will be interesting if I can make a run at first place there as well. The current person in first has 517 out of the 2,834 total cards Collins has. I believe my last count for Kerry was at 600.

I will do a Collins post at some point when I add mine.

I hope all of you have a great Friday!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Houston, I Am Ready To Launch

*too late for coffee...the only time I don't drink it*

Since I am up late watching the Knicks, playing poorly tonight, and have Knicks cards to post about, only makes sense to do so.

I may be into watching basketball again right now, but it definitely won't be as deep into my blood as it was in the 90's. There was nothing like basketball in the 90's and Knicks in the 90's.

I absolutely loved basketball.

As a kid, not only did I watch every Knicks game on TV, I would also create my own league playing by myself outside and acting out as some of my favorite Knicks players against rest of the league's teams and players. I kept track of stats, scores, etc on paper which some I still have to do this day. I was also honest about the league, the Knicks didn't win every championship or game, though they came close most seasons.

I always had two players I loved acting out as most, John Starks and Allan Houston. These guys will always be my favorite all-time Knicks players.

Especially Houston.

I always felt he came up in the game's most important moments and always loved when you could hear Allaann Houuuuuuuston being called out on TV when he knocked down a big three pointer.

So, I started a small PC of him a few years ago. It's nothing big nor is it anywhere near the top on TCDB, but it's still fun to add to when I can.

Before I added some new ones recently, I started at 13th place on TCDB. I am well behind the leader but when your username is AHoustonCollector it's expected to be. That would be like anyone chasing me on a lot of my collections on there. I dominate a lot of spots.

So, I don't worry about numbers when it comes to my Houston collection. I just add fun cards when I can and build a collection that way.

This Luxury Box card I thought was a nice looking/designed card.

Any insert, especially a shiny one is always an add.

But, base are cool too.

But not as cool as one of my new favorite Houston's now. I have wanted this refractor for some time, now I have it.

Speaking of refractors...another nice 90's one here. I can't decide if I like the Chrome or Finest one more.

Houston relic cards are pretty much free. You can find them for next to nothing. I like to add some when I can.

I own a few autographs so far, this one was a cheap add.

And my final new add was probably my favorite one. This autograph card doesn't sparkle, doesn't shine, but it simply looks great. 

Not a lot of movement with the new adds above and a few others, but I am up to 11th. Maybe someone reading this today can help me move up further.

If you have some or are curious what my needs are, you can check out my want list collection HERE.

If you indeed have some I need, just drop me an email to sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com.

*looks up at the Knicks score again, looks back down*

Looks like by the Knicks game tonight, I will be spending Sunday afternoon watching a Game 7. I just hope the Knicks can pull it off, this franchise has been through too much and I would actually like to see one of my New York teams win.

If they don't, I will have my Houston cards to focus on at least and remember the good times.

Have a great sleep.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

90's On The 9th:1996-97 Finest Foundations Silver Refractor Patrick Ewing

*takes a sip, gets ready for a new post on Cards Over Coffee*

Welcome back to a NEW 90's On The 9th right here on Cards Over Coffee. I know this segment is very up and down in terms of views and comments on here but I have recently picked up some cheap and cool looking cards from my favorite era of collecting to you are stuck seeing them.

So, if this doesn't interest you, don't read on but make sure you at least have your coffee ready.

1996-97 Finest had different levels of base cards. There was the base bronze, Silver 1:4 packs and Gold which fell 1:24 packs. A fun and challenging set to build which is what I like.

Each level also had their own refractor levels as well. Today's card is a Silver Refractor which fell 1:48 packs which may not seem like much today, but was tough back then.

Which is why I was surprised to had landed it for under $5 from one of my favorite Knicks of the 90's.

The card looks superb especially in the light. This is actually the first one of these I own.

 

Back of the card.

It's by far one of my favorite Patrick Ewing cards in my collection now. I may have to see what other refractor cards of him are out there from the 90's.

Thoughts on my latest add, this segment as a whole or if you own any of these and of who welcomed in the comments.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

The Finest Times

 

*coffee is ready, sunny day is here and we are off running for another new #CardsOverCoffee post!*

*takes out CD player, yes those still exist, and turns on Green Day's Good Riddance Time Of Your Life for today's background music for the post*

*takes another sip, starts to reminisce to simpler times*

The 90's were great. I was young, I was outside with my friends, I was watching Saturday Morning cartoons with my mom while eating a bowl of Rice Krispie Treats cereal, I was jamming to the best decade of music, I was writing tons of nonfiction stories, and I was enjoying the hobby of sport cards like no other time. 

Life was good. I had no complaints.

Compare that to today, where I am older wondering which side of my back I will wake up to aching, mainly inside working, watching nighttime television if I am lucky while trying to limit my eating, almost passing out from gas prices, writing a sports card blog, still in the hobby, dealing with a pandemic, watching everyone's morals fall apart and the world crumble.

That's a shortened up list as well.

The 90's you can say were the finest of times in my life. Which is why I still collect a lot of "stuff" from that era.

Childhood toys, magazines and comics, and sport cards all make up a good portion of what I chase to bring back those finest memories.

So, when my buddy Shane from Cheap Wax Wednesday found some Topps Finest Refractors from the 90's at his recent card show trip, it was a definite want for me.

*takes a sip, sits momentarily to listen to the lyrics of the song. sure was the time of my life*

Shane sent me a variety of years and players with these refractors. I didn't care who they were. I remember a lot of the players and how excited I used to get when I opened a pack of Finest and saw something shiny in the middle of the pack. I would slowly look at the cards in front and behind the shiny card before fulling revealing it.

I couldn't do that with my mail day from Shane as all of the refractors were in a stack.

*takes a breath, slowly scrolls through the uploaded pictures remembering opening up packs of Finest with my father*

 

*smiles after reaching the bottom. takes another sip*

Those cards were such a great memory and trip back in time. For those of you reading today and remember those times, I hope these brought you back as well.

I must also note, see how I left the Finest Protection on, that will always stay on in my house.

Thanks to Shane for picking these up for me.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

Even though today's times are not as much fun, it's still a blessing to wake up every day and make the most of it. I am also glad I was able to "take the photographs and still frames in my mind" from the 90's and remember them. Cards help bring those memories alive a lot of the time.

Thoughts on today's cards, song choice, the 90's and your favorite part of them welcomed in comments.

Have a terrific Thursday.

*song ends, post ends, CD player put away for another time*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*