Mail Days Make It All Better

I knew going into yesterday's basketball game, it was going to be a tough one.

I just didn't know how tough was going to be.

It was painful. Two girls took over the entire game and shut us down. They had more AAU players than us and had more 4th graders playing. Experience will always dominate.

But, through the pain of a loss like that, there are still some highlights.

For one, we made some great defensive plays once we shifted things around, we had a girl make two of her three free throws which was a drastic improvement, and once again most importantly, we had another girl make her first shot early on in the game and another was so close. That now makes 8 out of 10 girls who have made a shot with two games left.

This was the first loss as a coach I felt harder than the other I have. I think it hurt more because of the girls that sat there with glum expressions on their face with more questions than answers that I couldn't even give them. But, what I did offer them was hope. That even though we fell and fell hard today, you can only go up from here. We will rise again. You just have to believe it. I know I believe it. 

We have two practices to turn this around this week before we play a team we already beat in the first game in the year. I know these girls really need a boost and hopefully I can keep practice upbeat this week and that we will have positive momentum moving into the Saturday's game.

But, even though I am feeling kind of glum myself today because I feel how they do, I have a fun mail day to share from the blog Legend Night Owl Cards that makes things better.

 

Greg sent me an incredible variety of items starting out cards from my favorite era, the mid to late 90's. No other cards will ever hit me the way these do.

No card company even comes close to these now-a-days. It's all focus on autographs and jersey cards. Give me these any day.

I may not collect today's baseball cards as much as I once did, but I can never turn down a shiny card especially one with a fun photo as well.

One of my favorite non-sport sets. I am still around 8 away from completion.

I watched a ton of horror growing up. I don't own a single Jaws 2 card so this is awesome. I used to avoid water because I was afraid a shark would snag me.

NEW GRIFFEY ALERT!! 90's throwback and all, it's a beauty.

T'hen came two non-sport relic cards from Allen And Ginter I always welcome regardless of who they are.

Stand up comic Brody Stevens who I guess starred in the first two Hangover movies and passed away a few years ago. RIP.

Malcolm Gladwell is an author, something I always dreamed of being so this is a really cool addition.

This was a great mail day. One that takes away some of the glum.

Thanks Greg! I have more Dodgers to send your way soon!

As always I will keep you all updated on how our next game goes. This is a busy week ahead, I have family up from Nashville who still haven't gotten their power back from that storm, I have basketball of some form every night, and I will be in week 2 of college second semester and still trying to navigate my way around the new classes that require more. I am hoping for at least one more post this week but I will see what time will allow.

Thanks for reading! Have a great rest of your Sunday and week!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Never Forget To Say Thanks

I don't know how the rest of you were raised, but I was raised to always say thank you.

I say thank you after any compliment. I say thank you after any gift big, small and sometimes unwanted. I say thank you for anyone holding the door open. I say thank you for someone who just serviced my car I say thank you to nurses, teachers, doctors and people working at a grocery store. I say thank you to anyone offering me coffee. I say thank you to the mail man who delivered a fun pwe to my door and now I am going to say thank you to the person who sent it.

Thanks Jon From A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts.

Thank you for the Victor Cruz Topps Tek that is numbered to 50.

Thank you for Eli Manning #1,152.

Thank you for this Russell Wilson that bleeds Giants colors in the background.

Thanks for this really nice Frank Gifford card.

 

 

And thanks for the set help.

Also, thanks for being a good friend Jon.

I sure hope most of you say thank you for as often as you can. Two simple words can mean a lot to someone as it lets them know you appreciate what they just did. Think about how you feel when someone tells you that. Let that sink in.

As always, thank you for coming to read this blog...with coffee hopefully. Thanks for trying to offer me some through the computer screen too.

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Unfinished Cup:1995-96 Flair Hardwood Leaders

I was 12 years old when I fell in love with Fleer 1995, a product hated by most collectors.

I collected baseball, football and basketball that included one of my favorite inserts of the three, Flair Hardwood Leaders.

They were issued one-per-pack but were some of the coolest cards I had seen at the time with its court floor background, thick cardstock and high gloss. It was like no other insert I had seen at the time.

I remember specifically going into Ames, buying a few packs every few weeks just to try and chase the set. I especially wanted the Jordan but didn't have any good luck. That had to wait until I was an adult.

With that being said, I am only four away from finally completing what I had started. I need the following cards,

12, 20, 21, 23

The final four will help me finish this set I have been chasing all of these years.

Do you have what I need? Comment below or send me an email at sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com

Thanks and hope everyone has a magnificent Monday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Jammin' To The NBA Again

It's the afternoon I know, but it's never too late to have a cup of coffee.

I have been so busy as of recent that I have spread out my three to four cups a day throughout my day to fit them in so I can survive.

Life only gets busier after May, so I better cram in what time for posts I have now and what cups of coffee I can fit in as well.

*takes a sip*

*takes another sip*

It has been years (since late 90's very early 2000's) since I have been into watching the NBA, but the last couple of years I have been watching a few more games and this year I found myself watching my beloved Knicks anytime they were on TV.

Including last night when they took down the Indiana Pacers 121-117 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Knicks playoff run this year has been a fun watch so far. Every game has come down to the final minutes which makes for the best games...and a few heart stopping moments.

It's probably a good thing I am not holding a coffee mug at those times, or I may have a few stained shirts. Not that I don't already find a way to stain every white shirt I own, just ask my wife. I can have nothing in my hand, and it will still be stained.

*takes a steady holding sip*

My latest mail day from blog reader Oren included a lot of basketball cards, but nothing from the new era of collecting. Which is fine with me, even though I have enjoyed watching the Knicks recently, 90's cards will always prevail.

To kick off this mail day were a couple of 1994-95 Fleer Sharp Shooters that were randomly inserted into packs. I don't remember a lot about the Spreewell Warriors years other than the choking incident, but he played well for the Knicks helping them go all the way to the NBA Finals losing to the Spurs.

1998-99 Topps Coast To Coast of Michael Finley. I felt that he never got enough respect for his play.

These inserts fell 1:36 packs.

Beautiful die-cut inserts with a space appeal, Stardate 2001 fell 1:12 packs from eX2001.

At 1:24 packs, Whiz Kids is actually an insert I haven't seen before. But, I love it!

1995-96 fleer came out with these unique foil etched Franchise Futures that fell 1:37 packs.

I was a big fan of Stephon back in the 90's, he was a pretty solid player for many years. A buddy of mine at the time was actually a collector of him at the time so we did a big trade off. I traded him some Stephs and he traded me a 2000 Ultra Brady rookie. We both were pleased with the trade. I am not sure if he has his collection anymore, but I still have that Brady.

Side note, Steph became a Knick later in his career. Seems like a lot of players did that.

These inserts were easy pulls at 1:4 packs.

Any insert that is pleasing on the eyes regardless of player, is an easy addition to my collection. New School fell 1:36 packs of 1997-98 Topps.

1997-98 Ultra All-Rookies fell 1:4 packs. This was one of the better designed All-Rookies during the run.

 

The next card dives into newer basketball but has that 90's Metal feel.

And that does it for the basketball portion of the trade.

He also sent along a cool

90's relic card (not game used) of Curtis Martin. I believe these fell 1:97 packs.

And the final card of our trade is Oren's attempt to still get me into hockey cards and maybe even watching hockey again. I am a long-distance NY Rangers fan but I haven't watched a game since the 90's but still cheer them on to win. However, when he keeps sending cards that are fire like this, he may get me soon. This card is even more astonishing in person.

Thanks again to Oren for our latest trade.

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

I will be again in front of the TV tomorrow night to watch the Knicks/Pacers Game 2. Hopefully the Knicks can play like they did towards the end of the first game. Going up 2-0 would be huge like they did against the 76ers.

Let me know if you have gotten into watching any sports that you haven't in a while or any comments on the cards from today's post.

Hope you have a great rest of your day and remember, coffee is good for anytime in the day.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Before I close, I also wanted to remind you of the Coffee Card Hall Of Fame voting and that it needs you guys to nominate cards in. 

Details on the Coffee Card Hall Of Fame can be found HERE. I may add this to every post from here on out for a reminder as I will forget about this too! Haha!

Unfinished Cup:1995-96 Flair Hardwood Leader

I have my coffee, my cards and my laptop fired up.

You know what to do...repeat as me and let's do some Cards Over Coffee!!!

*takes a sip*

I have found these Unfinished Cups to be helpful for my set chases over the years. Not everyone of these has led to me some help, but some have.

And every little help counts. I know I don't like leaving anything unfinished, coffee or cards.

So, I plan on posting these to see if any of you can help me finish these sets up. It also helps give me some posts on here as well though I don't always like doing post fillers.

Today's set I am ever-so close on finishing with only four cards remaining of the twenty-seven needed.

 

1995-96 Fleer basketball had a one-per-pack insert called Flair Hardwood Leader. 1995 Fleer included one-per-pack Flair inserts into their base products across multiple sports that year. I think it was a way to fully introduce the Flair product line.

The Hardwood Leader design was my favorite one. Especially since it felt like a high-end card product at the time with thick glossy cardstock.

I have been chasing this set ever since and have narrowed it down to just needing 12, 20, 21 and 23 for a full set completion.

If any of you have them, please let me know! Either comment below or drop me an email to sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com.

Thanks and hope everyone has a great Sunday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Chasing The PMG's

*sits down, has a cup of coffee ready and gets ready for a new post on cards over coffee*

As I have stated on here a couple of times now, I have fallen in love with Marvel movies this year and have found myself chasing the cards whenever I can.

This love runs as deep as coffee in my veins.

*looks at veins that still look blue, but really should be brown*

*takes a sip*

With Upper Deck pumping out products for almost every movie, TV show and cartoon, there is plenty to chase. But my main focus is mainly on the movies.

When searching the eBay universe, which is almost like the Marvel universe with plenty of multiverse options, I stumbled upon some impressive looking purple Precious Metal Gems that spread across multiple movies.

After acquiring one in hand for next to nothing, I fell for them. Being a 90's card fanatic, seeing PMG's and my love of Marvel movies, it only made sense that I had to chase.

All in all, from my research, there are 36 of the Purple PMG's to chase. They are not numbered but were special cards for unlocking achievements on Upper Deck's e-pack platform. 

I have a long way to go, but I am roughly 1/3rd of the way done. I don't have all of the ones in-hand yet as I have an ongoing massive trade working out, but I have crossed off the ones I do have in hand.

Here are what the cards look like and what I have in-hand so far and what I need,

 

Doctor Strange

DPMG1Doctor Strange

DPMG2Ancient One
DPMG3Wong
DPMG4Kaecilius
DPMG5Mordo
DPMG6Christine Palmer

Thor Ragnarok

TPMG1Thor
TPMG2Hulk
TPMG3Grandmaster
TPMG4Hela
TPMG5Valkyrie
TPMG6Skurge

Spider-Man Home Coming
PMG1Ned Leeds
PMG2Liz Allan
PMG3Michelle
PMG4Shocker
PMG5Vulture
PMG6Spider-Man

The Avengers: Infinity Wars
IPMG1Iron Man
IPMG2Captain America
IPMG3Doctor Strange
IPMG4Spider-Man
IPMG5Star-Lord
IPMG6Thanos

Guardians Of The Galaxy 2
GPMG1Star-Lord
GPMG2Gamora
GPMG3Drax
GPMG4Rocket
GPMG5Groot
GPMG6Yondu

Black Panther

BPMG1Okoye
BPMG2Nakia
BPMG3Killmonger
BPMG4Everett K. Ross
BPMG5Ulysses Klaue
BPMG6Black Panther

As I said above, not all of the ones I have are crossed off yet.

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

If any of you have any of these that I don't, please let me know in comments or at sportcardcollectors@hotmail.com and I will confirm if I need them. I will trade for any I don't have!! I want to chase them all or as many as I can. I do know there are some I will never be able to touch since the prices are crazy, but I would like to own what I can.

Stay tuned for further updates and pictures on this chase.

In comments, let me know your thoughts on my latest chase and if you have ever attempted anything like this.

In the meantime, have a great Wednesday.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Finished Cup:1995 Fleer NFL Prospects

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

Coffee and Cards, any better way to start the day? You better say there isn't. Because there isn't.

I finally have been putting a focus on finishing up some of my sets or at least adding to them. The more I see prices of today's cards continuing to rise, the more I look back on cards from my past and knowing it's time to put more of my focus back onto them.

Which is why I was able to finish picking up the final card, yes I waited this long to add one card, to my 1995 Fleer NFL Prospects set.

I know you saw the words 1995 Fleer and probably gagged some, but, I loved that product. Especially the inserts which is why I am chasing everything from the 1995 product including the base.

*takes a sip*

John Walsh from the Cincinatti Bengals was the final card I needed to finish up the 20-card set and was found for under $2. NFL Prospects fell 1:6 packs and featured a funtastic (is this really a word?) background with a mix of rough and gloss feel.

The set featured some of the top picks of the 1995 NFL Draft. (yes that's my boy Kerry Collins above)

These cards that scream 90's look even better in a binder side by side.

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

It's such a relief to finish up this long time set chase and I recently just finished up another just as long. Soon, I will be posting that one along with some other Unfinished Cups that maybe some of you can help with. Who likes to have an unfinished cup????

Thoughts on this set welcomed in comments below.

Have a great Monday!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

The Griffey Stack

*sits down with a huge stack of cards nearby, gets up, makes coffee and sits back down for a new Cards Over Coffee post*

Before I collected NY Giants cards, before I collected 90's inserts, before I collected non-sport cards, before I became known as the Rodney Hampton Super Collector, I was known as the Ken Griffey Jr guy. 

Well, at least locally when the hobby was alive here.

I used to trade for Ken, add any item that featured him on it (still have an Easy Cheese canister from 2000) and search for his cards at Card Shows.

But, since I joined the online game with collecting, my Griffey days went to the side. There are so many Griffey collectors online with such massive collections and so many bidding wars on his cards, that a little guy like myself wouldn't match up.

So, I don't really fully collect him anymore but that doesn't mean if a Junior card is offered in a trade to me, that I won't trade for it. Just ask Shane from Cheap Wax Wednesday fame whose latest mail day was loaded with Junior.

*takes a sip before moving onto today's cards*

There were so many Griffey's in this mail day that I can't show them all. It would take a miniseries on here to do it. Instead, I had the trouble of narrowing down the stack into my Top 5 favorites from it.

5. 2000 Fleer Mystique High Praise. Cool sky background with some shiny appeal has my attention.

4.1997 Fleer Team Leader. Die Cut, check. Griffey swing. Check. A smiley face. Check on me and him.

3. 1996 Ultra Power Plus. This insert line kicked around a long time for Ultra with a cool unique design every year. This one is condition sensitive and has micro etching technology.

2.2008 Upper Deck UD Premier Premier Remnants. Triple jersey card of the Hall Of Famer, which marks only my 6th jersey card of him.

 

1.2007 UD Masterpieces Stroke Of Genius. It has been years since I added a Junior autograph, mostly because there was never one for trade and the outrageous prices the pandemic drove them up to, but here is a new one. On Card autograph as well. Griffey autos are as sweet as his swing.

Thanks again to Shane for the Griffey's and our massive trade again.

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

I guess you can use the term, closet Griffey Collector when you talk about me collecting him. I don't advertise myself as one, but I don't deny it either.

It was nice to add all of these to my collection and hopefully at some point I can add up how many I have again. I know it's over 1,000 different, just not sure how many. For now, I will take Griffey's anytime I can and trade off my dupes for more.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

In comments, let me know if you collect Griffey in any form

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*