So, back in 2005-06 I opened some Upper Deck Rookie Update hobby packs and was quite impressed. Well now that boxes have come down in price - thanks to everyone who only wants the newest stuff - I decided today to buy a box. Basically, this set contains a stack of rookies that are updates from Upper Deck's high end sets, like Artifacts, Trilogy, SPx, SP Game-Used, and Black Diamond. I believe most of the packs will have a rookie. There's memorabilia, autographs, and the like, but as per normal for UD in 05-06, no odds on the box. But it's pretty stacked.
The big hits, as always for Rookie Update, are the dual autograph cards with one rookie and one established superstar. Seems to me they were one per box, I guess we'll find out. The only exception on this is Sidney Crosby, who only signed by himself with the other window saying "2005 draft pick" or something. UD wanted Gretzky to sign with him, but word is that Crosby refused. Ovechkin is also in the subset, signing with Ilya Kovalchuk.
Well, here we go.
Pack 1 - Hemsky, Turco, Fedorov, Heatley, Steve Bernier Black Diamond RC
Dallas Star in the first pack, and a now-Canuck rookie. Good start.
Pack 2 - Olli Jokinen, Gagne, Marleau, Brad Richardson SPx Auto Jersey RC 1845/1999
Divealanche rookie, but I loooooove the SPx rookie set from this year.
Pack 3 - Tkachuk, Gionta, Hasek, Frolov, Lindros
Yes, commons. But with a small set, at least players most hockey fans have heard of.
Pack 4 - Lecavalier, Dustin Penner SP Game Used RC 389/999, Svatos, Gagne, Morrison, UD "discount" card on overpriced merchandise
So my rookies are from the Avs, Oilers, and Canucks. Ha. Ha.
Pack 5 - Pronger, Fleury, Saku Koivu, Langkow, Satan
The last card.... well, tells the story of this pack. Hopefully this is the stinker of the box.
Pack 6 - Raycroft, Pitkanen, Tanguay, Straka, Robitaille
....... already eclipsed pack 5 in "commonness". Nice.
Pack 7 - Redden, Jagr, Blake, Bertuzzi, Theodore
Looks like I'm set up for a nice few packs. Can I hope now that these are done?
Pack 8 - Brodeur, Lidstrom, Nagy, Nash, Ryan Ready Rookie Update RC 0423/1999
I'm Ready for a good pack.
Pack 9 - Khabibulin, Sakic, Giguere, Tuomo Ruutu, Greg Zanon Rookie Update RC 0821/1999
Not all rookies are created equally.
Pack 10 - Joseph, Gaborik, Lemieux, Cole, Brad Richards
Second Dallas Star of the box.
Pack 11 - Alfredsson, Keith Primeau, Gomez, Olli Jokinen, Ryan Miller
I have now got two doubles in this box. That's just wrong.
Pack 12 - Yzerman, Nabokov, Drury, Roenick, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen Black Diamond RC
I am Ole, he is Sven. This is the halfway point of the box. I will assume the right side will be better........ I hope.
Pack 13 - Lupul, SHAAAAAAAAAANE DOOOOOOOOAN!!!, Shanahan, Naslund, Mike Green SPX RC 595/999
Much better. Green is a good one to pull, big upside. Led NHL defensemen in goals last year.
Pack 14 - Marleau, McCabe, Spezza, Colby Armstrong Black Diamond RC, Michael Wall Artifacts RC 005/750
My third double, but two rookies in a pack is fine with me.
Pack 15 - Doan, Shanahan, Peca/Eaves Rookie Inspirations Dual Jersey 608/999
Yet another Oiler jersey, with a Sens jersey, both white. Yes, it's a jersey, but the worst one to pull. And two more doubles.
Pack 16 - Kovalchuk, Iginla, Khabibulin, St. Louis, Sundin
More doubles.
Pack 17 - Weight, Belfour, Lehtonen, Morrow, Hejduk
Morrow is cool.
Pack 18 - Murray, Maxim Lapierre Artifacts RC 511/750, Jackman, Selanne, Luongo
Not the worst rookie to pull.
Pack 19 - Auld, Vokoun, Horton, Prospal, Kariya, UD "discount" card on overpriced merchandise
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.
Pack 20 - Thornton, Tomas Fleischmann Trilogy RC 495/999, Marian Hossa, Gerber, Niittymaki
Not the Capitals rookie I really wanted, but.....
Pack 21 - Smyth, Allison, Bergeron, Zetterberg, Forsberg
They could have easily put numbered parallels of the base cards in these packs. I suppose that costs money, and we're all at the trough anyway, so UD probably didn't care THAT much.
Pack 22 - Aebischer, Leetch, Elias, Kiprusoff, DiPietro
Let's just move on.
Pack 23 - Yashin, Datsyuk, Kolzig, Ribiero, Vitaly Kolesnik Black Diamond RC
I hear Kolesnik might be a good one. But again, a Divealanche rookie.
Pack 24 - Cheechoo, Fernandez, Eric Staal, Demitra, Brett Lebda Rookie Update RC 0790/1999
A Red Wing rookie that's playing with them. I suppose that's a good thing.
Well.......first off, 5 doubles and I'm missing 3 for the base set. No, not horrible, but would it have been that tough to collate a full set in here? 14 rookies, with two jerseys included in that. Did I do well? Not really. It was a fun break for the most part, but really, the value isn't there. Go figure, an Upper Deck product with limited value. The Green is a decent one, the Oiler/Sens one is a dud, and while the SPx rookie auto jersey is a nice card, it's not exactly going to pay my mortgage.... in fact, buying a Coke might require extra change.
Nonetheless, I still enjoy this product. As I said, some parallels might have at least spiced it up, but the rookies partially make up for it. I could buy another box, but I doubt I will. Yes, the Crosby tops $3000, but.......
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
2008-09 UD Legends Masterpieces
So on the way home from a 10th anniversary getaway with my wife, I stopped in at a card store and picked up a few packs, including one pack of 2008-09 UD Legends Masterpieces. Later on, when running other errands, I stopped by Toys R Us and picked up a retail blaster 8 pack box (why must they say 7 packs with 1 bonus? IT'S 8 PACKS, WE'RE SMARTER THAN THAT!). Coincidence? Not at all. I've been collecting cards for a long time now, and I have not had the chance to say this often - these are absolutely stunning cards. Maybe the best base cards I've seen, in my opinion.
08-09 Masterpieces are cards based on original artwork made for UD. They are on a more or less regular card stock, but the feel of the front of the card is like canvas. Minimal gold foil borders that are done in gaelic writing.... they are just done right. The backs tell us who made the artwork, and a short bio of each player. The only possible complaint about the backs is that the print is very small, and with the light gold background, it should probably be black or something different. In any event, small grumblings from me but no deal breakers, and a much better offering than UD Artistic Impressions from 5 years ago. This also has only retired players by the looks of it, which is another nice touch.
The retail version of this product promises parallel cards 1:9 packs - done like Beehive with matting on top of the card, with 5 levels of parallel (including 1/1). Game used cards 1:24 packs, again with 5 different versions, autos 1:240, and masterpiece sketch cards 1/1, which I will assume is an original drawing of some sort. So with the aforementioned EIGHT packs in the blaster, I have a pretty good chance at one parallel, a 1:3 chance of a game used, and 1:30 chance of an autograph. I've certainly beaten higher odds than that, but I'll be honest, although this might jinx me...... an entire box of base cards wouldn't make me angry. Yes, they are that nice.
So here we go.
Pack 1 - Gretzky (Kings), Neely, Bourque (Divealanche), Clarke brown border parallel
The Gretzky is the same pic as the 88-89 Topps version. I went nuts for a second - I thought the Clarke was a Black border, which would have been a 1/1, but it's the unnumbered brown instead. Still a nice card.
Pack 2 - Messier, Shutt, Ciccarelli Canvas Clippings game used card - brown border, Lafleur, Apps
The Canvas Clippings card is sweet. It pictures Ciccarelli in a North Stars jersey with a Capitals jersey piece, but it's nice anyway. Not sure if the brown border is the norm or a parallel. UD did screw up a little - the memorabilia pack is supposed to have 3 base cards. I don't know if these are searchable or not, I thought it was a decoy in there, as it was significantly fatter than the other packs. The hobby pack had the quintissential UD propoganda card, so that makes it even more difficult. Anyway, something to watch out for.
Pack 3 - Lady Bing, Foster Hewitt, Eddie Shack, Bobby Orr
Sweet cards.
Pack 4 - Kurri (Divealanche), MacTavish (Blues), Hull/Howe, Lester Patrick
A few things of note here. Kurri is standing in front of a gold stick, which from the writing on the back seems to be in honour of his 600th goal. The weird thing? We can see the entire stick in the picture, Kurri is not holding it, and no one else is either. A gold stick is cool, but a levetating gold stick? Nice touch. Cheating Divealanche. Another thing - what's Craig MacTavish doing in this set? Not worthy in the slightest. The Hull/Howe is cool..... I got one in the hobby pack too.
Pack 5 - Esposito, The Sutters, Gretzky (Oilers), Langway
The Sutters card is very well done.
Pack 6 - Bower, Bathgate, McSorley (?!?!?!), Lemieux
Again..... Marty McSorley? What? Why? I'm going to assume there is an auto version of all base cards and that they needed to find 87 players who would sign, and they got to the bottom of the barrel..... at least I'm hoping that.
Pack 7 - Roy (Habs), Mr Hockey, Gretzky (Oilers), Fuhr
A double? Seriously? It's an 87 card set (gee.... what's 87 for?), so I guess it's not horrible, and better to have a Gretzky double than...... MacTavish or McSorley.
Pack 8 - Perreault, Vaive, Richard Brodeur, Tony Esposito
Rick Vaive too. Huh.
Well, it seems I beat the odds, getting both the game used and a parallel when the odds say I should have got neither. Aside from some curious player selection, I have no issues at all with what I pulled. Still very impressed with the set, and I will probably go for the full one with such a small set. I would highly recommend buying some of this product, I know I will buy more. Based on my return, maybe I should reduce my expectations on every box. ;)
08-09 Masterpieces are cards based on original artwork made for UD. They are on a more or less regular card stock, but the feel of the front of the card is like canvas. Minimal gold foil borders that are done in gaelic writing.... they are just done right. The backs tell us who made the artwork, and a short bio of each player. The only possible complaint about the backs is that the print is very small, and with the light gold background, it should probably be black or something different. In any event, small grumblings from me but no deal breakers, and a much better offering than UD Artistic Impressions from 5 years ago. This also has only retired players by the looks of it, which is another nice touch.
The retail version of this product promises parallel cards 1:9 packs - done like Beehive with matting on top of the card, with 5 levels of parallel (including 1/1). Game used cards 1:24 packs, again with 5 different versions, autos 1:240, and masterpiece sketch cards 1/1, which I will assume is an original drawing of some sort. So with the aforementioned EIGHT packs in the blaster, I have a pretty good chance at one parallel, a 1:3 chance of a game used, and 1:30 chance of an autograph. I've certainly beaten higher odds than that, but I'll be honest, although this might jinx me...... an entire box of base cards wouldn't make me angry. Yes, they are that nice.
So here we go.
Pack 1 - Gretzky (Kings), Neely, Bourque (Divealanche), Clarke brown border parallel
The Gretzky is the same pic as the 88-89 Topps version. I went nuts for a second - I thought the Clarke was a Black border, which would have been a 1/1, but it's the unnumbered brown instead. Still a nice card.
Pack 2 - Messier, Shutt, Ciccarelli Canvas Clippings game used card - brown border, Lafleur, Apps
The Canvas Clippings card is sweet. It pictures Ciccarelli in a North Stars jersey with a Capitals jersey piece, but it's nice anyway. Not sure if the brown border is the norm or a parallel. UD did screw up a little - the memorabilia pack is supposed to have 3 base cards. I don't know if these are searchable or not, I thought it was a decoy in there, as it was significantly fatter than the other packs. The hobby pack had the quintissential UD propoganda card, so that makes it even more difficult. Anyway, something to watch out for.
Pack 3 - Lady Bing, Foster Hewitt, Eddie Shack, Bobby Orr
Sweet cards.
Pack 4 - Kurri (Divealanche), MacTavish (Blues), Hull/Howe, Lester Patrick
A few things of note here. Kurri is standing in front of a gold stick, which from the writing on the back seems to be in honour of his 600th goal. The weird thing? We can see the entire stick in the picture, Kurri is not holding it, and no one else is either. A gold stick is cool, but a levetating gold stick? Nice touch. Cheating Divealanche. Another thing - what's Craig MacTavish doing in this set? Not worthy in the slightest. The Hull/Howe is cool..... I got one in the hobby pack too.
Pack 5 - Esposito, The Sutters, Gretzky (Oilers), Langway
The Sutters card is very well done.
Pack 6 - Bower, Bathgate, McSorley (?!?!?!), Lemieux
Again..... Marty McSorley? What? Why? I'm going to assume there is an auto version of all base cards and that they needed to find 87 players who would sign, and they got to the bottom of the barrel..... at least I'm hoping that.
Pack 7 - Roy (Habs), Mr Hockey, Gretzky (Oilers), Fuhr
A double? Seriously? It's an 87 card set (gee.... what's 87 for?
Pack 8 - Perreault, Vaive, Richard Brodeur, Tony Esposito
Rick Vaive too. Huh.
Well, it seems I beat the odds, getting both the game used and a parallel when the odds say I should have got neither. Aside from some curious player selection, I have no issues at all with what I pulled. Still very impressed with the set, and I will probably go for the full one with such a small set. I would highly recommend buying some of this product, I know I will buy more. Based on my return, maybe I should reduce my expectations on every box. ;)
Friday, July 18, 2008
Musings of the past in the present
I first started collecting hockey cards at around age 8 (1980). When I bought packs in 1980, they were pennies on the dollar per pack. A box of 48 packs would cost a huge $12. In 80-81, there were team cards, and other subsets within the set, but no autographs, no game used, certainly no foil on the cards, and usually a lot of ridiculous paint-overs of jerseys for players on new teams. Lots of laughs, and just a lot of fun. Value was measured in your favourite team, and how well a card would knock others down against a wall to win more damaged cards.
For better and worse, the hockey card market of today is much, much different. There is a constant demand for bigger and better, and tons more value. I can't imagine looking ahead from 1980 and seeing a $10,000 rookie card, as the Crosby from UD The Cup is. I would be amazed at how far the hobby has come along, but probably a bit disappointed too. It's not a game anymore, it's a business.
So when I walked into my local card shop today and he showed me a box of 06-07 O-Pee-Chee - 36 packs for $40 - the nostalgia of the old days hit me, and I had to buy it. Besides that, when a 11 pack blaster is $25 and you get 44 commons, this certainly couldn't be any worse.
Until 1990, all I knew was O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. Topps existed, but only on trips to the US, and even then, finding it wasn't that easy. And besides that, there was no real reason to get it, as OPC was better. They were not perfect by any means, the quality left a lot to be desired, but they were cheap, fun, and a connection to your heroes. Sure, stickers left a bit of a dent in the wallet too, but finding cards was a big deal. OPC was bought out by Topps, then UD was allowed to take over the NHL market alone, and thus they bought it probably to gain a little nostalgia back.
In both 06-07 and 07-08, UD made OPC into large sets, as they were back in the old days, with inserts, some game used cards, and some autographs. It's certainly not a huge value set, but the price point is still reasonable, and they are clean cards that look good. It would have been nice for UD to go all out and put French on the backs of the cards, but UD going all out simply doesn't happen. They have no need to, they're the only game in town..... yes, so was OPC, and yes, they did some of the same things, but at 25 cents a pack, who cares. At $5 up to $500 per pack, it does matter.
Anyway....... this is one of the square 06-07 OPC boxes, not the typical long rectangular hobby boxes. However, I have been assured that the hobby also came in this format, and that this box will contain one memorabilia card. There IS one subset card per pack - should be rookies 1 in 2 packs - and autographs are one in every ten boxes. Main rookies are Malkin and Kopitar. Of course, as always, I'm looking for Doans and Dallas Star cards, and in a 700 card set with plenty of inserts, I should do fine here.
I've never done a 36 pack live break before, but here goes. I should have more comments than the Hot Prospects box, because I'll get more.
Pack 1 - Van Ryn, Commodore, Arnason, Sundin, Bonk, Dustin Boyd RC
Shiny bronze design, large O-Pee-Chee logo at the bottom, almost no reference to UD.
Pack 2 - Lang, Prucha, Cullen, Sopel, Gaborik, Alexander Ovechkin Capitals checklist
The checklist cards are also a limited subset, kind of the SuperAction cards of today. Oddly, the card list is on the back, and has a lot of extra empty boxes. Can I write my name in there? I may later in the break, but not on an Ovechkin card.
Pack 3 - Thornton, Armstrong, Schultz, Saku Koivu, Boynton, Adam Dennis RC
Decent photography, and the full NHL record on the back. I like that.
Pack 4 - Jason Smith, Ray Whitney, Brad Richards, Eric Staal, Zherdev, UD propaganda card, Marian Gaborik Wild checklist
Four players that I have to spell out in full because there are others with the same last name in the league. This entry will be long enough without that happening again.
Pack 5 - Sakic, Ladd, Wyatt Smith, Kapanen, Auld, Hall Worthy Dominik Hasek
Thankfully, Brian Sakic is no longer in the NHL, or I would have had to type "Joe". Whew. I wish the picture of Hasek was him on his stomach trying in vain to stop Brett Hull in the 99 finals. It's not. But he does look sad in the picture, so maybe he's thinking of that moment.
Pack 6 - Zhitnik, Thomas, Stillman, Fedotenko, Malholtra, Jan Hejda RC
Despite the constant bronze colour, no damage on the cards. A welcome change from other UD products.
Pack 7 - McKee, Ryder, Fahey, Grahame, Johan Holmqvist, Patrice Bergeron Bruins checklist, UD propaganda card
Upperdeckkids.com is a sad, sad website. "Hey kids, go buy $5000 in cards, then you can get an Upper Deck hat!!!!". They should be ashamed. Instead, they laugh like little girls......... no offense to little girls. But grown men should not dance like you unless you're dancing with them.
Pack 8 - Michalek, Gionta, Hedican, Gerber, Robert Lang O-Pee-Chee Swatches jersey, Nate Thompson RC
Well, there's the jersey card. Certainly not the best pull of the lot, but looking at the checklist, I avoided Arron Asham, David Aebischer, Marc Denis, Manny Fernandez, Manny Legace..... I didn't get the worst one, but there are better ones out there.
Pack 9 - Cheechoo, Nilson, Michael Holmqvist, Cleary, Vokoun, Patrick Coulombe RC
I'm still mad at Cheechoo for putting out Stu Barnes in last year's playoffs. Without Stuuuuuuu, the Stars just weren't the same team. Speaking of the Stars, we're 9 packs in, and none have appeared aside from Richards and Johan Holmqvist in their Lightning jerseys.
Pack 10 - Kobasew, Thibault, Olli Jokinen, Matt Bradley, Sydor, Letang/Seabrook Rookie Showdown
Sydor is pictured in a Stars jersey. I still have a spot for him because of the Cup run and the Finals run the next year, but this incarnation of Sydor as a Star.... well, I don't acknowledge its existence. The Rookie Showdown card is very nice.
Pack 11 - Kozlov, Gelinas, Ott, Burns, Gomez, Peter Harrold RC
Steve Ott, Stars superpest! I noticed that there's no height, weight, hometown, and handedness on the back of the card, just another large O-Pee-Chee banner. That and the Ott card has stopped me from wondering who Peter Harrold is, and what he's doing in an NHL set.
Pack 12 - Gratton, Brule, Straka, McLean, Shelley, Wade Redden Stat Leaders
The Stat Leaders is an odd card. The font screams "Old Wyoming!", but there is a picture of an obviously drunk or coked-up player on there. Yes, Redden is rumoured to be a fan of the nose candy. Maybe now that he's in New York and Emery is in Russia about to be targeted by the Russian mafia, Redden will straighten up. Then again, he's rich and in New York.
Pack 13 - Alfredsson, Pratt, Wayne Primeau, Nash, Garon, Michael Ryan RC
Michael Ryan is an old draft pick of the Dallas Stars. 8 years ago. I wouldn't bet money on him being around the league long.
Pack 14 - Arnott, Wesley, Pandolfo, Fedoruk, Liles, UD propaganda card, Patrick Marleau Sharks checklist
Marleau is a fellow Saskatchewan-born person, so I hate to say bad things about him..... but why is he captain of the Sharks? Then again, it's him or Slow-Mo-Joe Thornton, so maybe it's a theme.
Pack 15 - Westcott, Morris, Laperriere, Goc, Bochenski, Alexei Mikhnov RC
It's a strange thing, but cards 4 and 5 in every pack are somewhat stuck together. It makes no sense, but it's a fact.
Pack 16 - Turco, Budaj, Jagr, Zubov, Selanne, Hall Worthy Sidney Crosby
Well this is a great pack. Two Dallas Stars, Selanne has been a favourite since the Jet days, and Sidney Crosby to value out the pack. Relish..... relish....... relish...... ok, I'm done.
Pack 17 - Nolan, Visnovsky, LeClair, Marchant, De Vries, Mike Card RC
I do not like Todd Marchant. I just don't. Maybe he is a great guy that saves kittens from burning buildings and recycles like a madman, but I just don't like him. I should meet him one day, and if he turns out to be a jerk, I'll just tell him that. It would be awkward if he cried after that. But somewhat funny too.
Pack 18 - Samuelsson, Halpern, Sturn, Jurcina, Sullivan, Thoresen/Steen Rookie Showdown
Patrick Thoresen...... I can't see that name without wincing. I wonder if he was able to keep his..... ummm..... boy? Loved how Glenn Healy called him out for being a wuss, then we found out Thoresen had an injured testicle. Hey Healy, let's shoot one at your wedding tackle and see if you fall. My money is on you puking and crying for your mommy.
Pack 19 - Hemsky, Bernier, Mellanby, Hordichuk, Sillinger, David Mckee RC
First pack of the left stack of packs nets little. But the 4th and 5th cards were NOT stuck together. Hmm....
Pack 20 - Schaefer, Heward, Tomas Kaberle, Markkanen, Crosby, Ilya Bryzgalov Stat Leaders
Crosby packs are always cool. Saved a really yawn-inducing pack.
Pack 21 - Chara, Lilja, Hasek, Axelsson, Dupuis, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers RC
4th and 5th cards were stuck together again. And why would you saddle your kids with the handle of the guy at the end. Not only is he a "who's that", how will they fit the name on a jersey? I'd say his mom likes him, but that might not be true considering how she let the name happen. Hopefully he has a girlfriend who will make him choose the name. Unless he's already married and his wife made him take her name too. Then he needs his testicles back from her purse. A world of possibilities, I say.
Pack 22 - Bergeron, Miettinen, Daniel Sedin, Ward, Cammalleri, Stastny/Svatos Rookie Showdown
I get cards of the Sedin sisters like you wouldn't believe. Stastny and Svatos are on the Divealanche, but it's a decent card.
Pack 23 - Wellwood, Handzus, Justin Williams, Lapointe, Lukowich, Martin Houle RC
Just realized that you can see through the back of the pack. Squint for the name, and you can avoid pulling Martin Houle cards.
Pack 24 - Olesz, Clemmensen, McCabe, Gleason, Winchester, UD propaganda card, Hall Worthy Eric Lindros
Ok....... much will be made about whether or not Eric Lindros is a hall of famer. Many see him as a bust. However, in terms of hall of fame membership, do we measure what a player did, or what a player didn't do that we thought he should have. 865 points in 760 games. Dominant for a few years. Cam Neely had 694 points in 726 games. Lindros has a Hart trophy, a Pearson trophy, and 6 all star games in 13 seasons. Neely had 5 all star games in 13 years, no trophies. Not necessarily comparing them, but there are many who say Neely is a hall of famer and Lindros absolutely is not. I say there isn't much difference in the two, aside from expectations. Although Lindros is pictured as a Dallas Star in this card, so I may be a little biased. Anyway.......
Pack 25 - Mikko Koivu, Floppa Forsberg, Martin Biron, Dempsey, McClement, Stefan Liv RC
Got both Koivus now. That's a relief. I was getting worried there. Yep. Downright frightened even.
Pack 26 - Yelle, Zidlicky, Taylor, Huselius, Stefan, Hall Worthy Keith Tkachuk
Keith Tkachuk vs Eric Lindros as a hall of famer? Tkachuk is American, so he's in.
Pack 27 - Bell, Zednik, Nieuwendyk, Rucchin, Wideman, Jean-Francois Racine RC
Any Stars Conn Smythe winner is good in my books. But there haven't been any Shane Doans in this box. Now THAT I'm getting concerned about.
Pack 28 - Kuba, Vyborny, Ryan Whitney, Boyle, Guerin, O'Brien/Beauchemin Rookie Showdown
Many teams have signed Bill Guerin to huge contracts expecting miracles. Instead, he contributes disappointments and a willingness to disappear without even being asked! Yet on the back of the card, after a 40 point season, the card back says "Guerin continues to be one of the most feared offensive players in the league". He must have a very good agent and an excellent PR team.
Pack 29 - Morrison, Breezeby, Lebda, Kelly, Lombardi, Alexander Edler RC
A decent rookie that I've heard of. With 100 rookies in the set, I can see how there would be a few commons. But this has been a little crazy.
Pack 30 - Pronger, Sjostrom, Tanguay, Begin, Salo, Ilya Kovalchuk Thrashers checklist
At some point in the near future, Atlanta will lose their hockey team due to the fact that they should not have been given one in the first place. At that point, Kovalchuk will go to a real team and be a force. That's a good thing.
Pack 31 - Stajan, Walker, Kilger, Holmstrom, Ranger, Drew Stafford RC
There's a good rookie. I'm still not thrilled, but......
Pack 32 - Khabibulin, Prospal, Mike Johnson, O'Donnell, Orpik, Bourdon/Phaneuf Rookie Showdown
Very sad about Bourdon's death. He was ready for a breakout season, and threw it away so he could ride a motorcycle. I don't get it. Yes, he was just a kid, but he was a kid with a future most can only dream about.
Pack 33 - Larose, Fisher, Hamrlik, York, Corvo, David Booth RC
I just have nothing to say. I hope there's a Doan in the next 3 packs.
Pack 34 - Hartnell, Kapanen, Carney, Numminen, Conroy, UD propoganda card, Curtis Joseph Hall Worthy
Hey, Larry Murphy and Bernie Federko are in the hall. Any NHL player should take solace in that.
Pack 35 - Eaton, Havelid, Lindros, Ponikarovsky, Sanderson, Michael Blunden RC
A pack full of people who have played in the National Hockey League. How splendid.
Pack 36 - Pettinger, Dandenault, Savard, Jovanovski, Zubrus, Mike Modano Stars checklist
Cool on the Modano! But yet another Doan-less box.
Well, I don't have much to say anymore. I had fun opening it, got a bunch of rookies and inserts, which is more than I can say for most of the stupid retail blasters I open. However, I can say with confidence that if I went back to the store tomorrow and did this with another box, I probably would do better than this. Then again, who knows. I can't say I'm that disappointed, but I'll have to go buy a Doan card on eBay to make things a bit better. Nonetheless, if you're a dedicated pack ripper, a box of 06-07 O-Pee-Chee satisfies the craving. There are worse boxes to open, that I will say. If you need to open packs, give one a try.
For better and worse, the hockey card market of today is much, much different. There is a constant demand for bigger and better, and tons more value. I can't imagine looking ahead from 1980 and seeing a $10,000 rookie card, as the Crosby from UD The Cup is. I would be amazed at how far the hobby has come along, but probably a bit disappointed too. It's not a game anymore, it's a business.
So when I walked into my local card shop today and he showed me a box of 06-07 O-Pee-Chee - 36 packs for $40 - the nostalgia of the old days hit me, and I had to buy it. Besides that, when a 11 pack blaster is $25 and you get 44 commons, this certainly couldn't be any worse.
Until 1990, all I knew was O-Pee-Chee hockey cards. Topps existed, but only on trips to the US, and even then, finding it wasn't that easy. And besides that, there was no real reason to get it, as OPC was better. They were not perfect by any means, the quality left a lot to be desired, but they were cheap, fun, and a connection to your heroes. Sure, stickers left a bit of a dent in the wallet too, but finding cards was a big deal. OPC was bought out by Topps, then UD was allowed to take over the NHL market alone, and thus they bought it probably to gain a little nostalgia back.
In both 06-07 and 07-08, UD made OPC into large sets, as they were back in the old days, with inserts, some game used cards, and some autographs. It's certainly not a huge value set, but the price point is still reasonable, and they are clean cards that look good. It would have been nice for UD to go all out and put French on the backs of the cards, but UD going all out simply doesn't happen. They have no need to, they're the only game in town..... yes, so was OPC, and yes, they did some of the same things, but at 25 cents a pack, who cares. At $5 up to $500 per pack, it does matter.
Anyway....... this is one of the square 06-07 OPC boxes, not the typical long rectangular hobby boxes. However, I have been assured that the hobby also came in this format, and that this box will contain one memorabilia card. There IS one subset card per pack - should be rookies 1 in 2 packs - and autographs are one in every ten boxes. Main rookies are Malkin and Kopitar. Of course, as always, I'm looking for Doans and Dallas Star cards, and in a 700 card set with plenty of inserts, I should do fine here.
I've never done a 36 pack live break before, but here goes. I should have more comments than the Hot Prospects box, because I'll get more.
Pack 1 - Van Ryn, Commodore, Arnason, Sundin, Bonk, Dustin Boyd RC
Shiny bronze design, large O-Pee-Chee logo at the bottom, almost no reference to UD.
Pack 2 - Lang, Prucha, Cullen, Sopel, Gaborik, Alexander Ovechkin Capitals checklist
The checklist cards are also a limited subset, kind of the SuperAction cards of today. Oddly, the card list is on the back, and has a lot of extra empty boxes. Can I write my name in there? I may later in the break, but not on an Ovechkin card.
Pack 3 - Thornton, Armstrong, Schultz, Saku Koivu, Boynton, Adam Dennis RC
Decent photography, and the full NHL record on the back. I like that.
Pack 4 - Jason Smith, Ray Whitney, Brad Richards, Eric Staal, Zherdev, UD propaganda card, Marian Gaborik Wild checklist
Four players that I have to spell out in full because there are others with the same last name in the league. This entry will be long enough without that happening again.
Pack 5 - Sakic, Ladd, Wyatt Smith, Kapanen, Auld, Hall Worthy Dominik Hasek
Thankfully, Brian Sakic is no longer in the NHL, or I would have had to type "Joe". Whew. I wish the picture of Hasek was him on his stomach trying in vain to stop Brett Hull in the 99 finals. It's not. But he does look sad in the picture, so maybe he's thinking of that moment.
Pack 6 - Zhitnik, Thomas, Stillman, Fedotenko, Malholtra, Jan Hejda RC
Despite the constant bronze colour, no damage on the cards. A welcome change from other UD products.
Pack 7 - McKee, Ryder, Fahey, Grahame, Johan Holmqvist, Patrice Bergeron Bruins checklist, UD propaganda card
Upperdeckkids.com is a sad, sad website. "Hey kids, go buy $5000 in cards, then you can get an Upper Deck hat!!!!". They should be ashamed. Instead, they laugh like little girls......... no offense to little girls. But grown men should not dance like you unless you're dancing with them.
Pack 8 - Michalek, Gionta, Hedican, Gerber, Robert Lang O-Pee-Chee Swatches jersey, Nate Thompson RC
Well, there's the jersey card. Certainly not the best pull of the lot, but looking at the checklist, I avoided Arron Asham, David Aebischer, Marc Denis, Manny Fernandez, Manny Legace..... I didn't get the worst one, but there are better ones out there.
Pack 9 - Cheechoo, Nilson, Michael Holmqvist, Cleary, Vokoun, Patrick Coulombe RC
I'm still mad at Cheechoo for putting out Stu Barnes in last year's playoffs. Without Stuuuuuuu, the Stars just weren't the same team. Speaking of the Stars, we're 9 packs in, and none have appeared aside from Richards and Johan Holmqvist in their Lightning jerseys.
Pack 10 - Kobasew, Thibault, Olli Jokinen, Matt Bradley, Sydor, Letang/Seabrook Rookie Showdown
Sydor is pictured in a Stars jersey. I still have a spot for him because of the Cup run and the Finals run the next year, but this incarnation of Sydor as a Star.... well, I don't acknowledge its existence. The Rookie Showdown card is very nice.
Pack 11 - Kozlov, Gelinas, Ott, Burns, Gomez, Peter Harrold RC
Steve Ott, Stars superpest! I noticed that there's no height, weight, hometown, and handedness on the back of the card, just another large O-Pee-Chee banner. That and the Ott card has stopped me from wondering who Peter Harrold is, and what he's doing in an NHL set.
Pack 12 - Gratton, Brule, Straka, McLean, Shelley, Wade Redden Stat Leaders
The Stat Leaders is an odd card. The font screams "Old Wyoming!", but there is a picture of an obviously drunk or coked-up player on there. Yes, Redden is rumoured to be a fan of the nose candy. Maybe now that he's in New York and Emery is in Russia about to be targeted by the Russian mafia, Redden will straighten up. Then again, he's rich and in New York.
Pack 13 - Alfredsson, Pratt, Wayne Primeau, Nash, Garon, Michael Ryan RC
Michael Ryan is an old draft pick of the Dallas Stars. 8 years ago. I wouldn't bet money on him being around the league long.
Pack 14 - Arnott, Wesley, Pandolfo, Fedoruk, Liles, UD propaganda card, Patrick Marleau Sharks checklist
Marleau is a fellow Saskatchewan-born person, so I hate to say bad things about him..... but why is he captain of the Sharks? Then again, it's him or Slow-Mo-Joe Thornton, so maybe it's a theme.
Pack 15 - Westcott, Morris, Laperriere, Goc, Bochenski, Alexei Mikhnov RC
It's a strange thing, but cards 4 and 5 in every pack are somewhat stuck together. It makes no sense, but it's a fact.
Pack 16 - Turco, Budaj, Jagr, Zubov, Selanne, Hall Worthy Sidney Crosby
Well this is a great pack. Two Dallas Stars, Selanne has been a favourite since the Jet days, and Sidney Crosby to value out the pack. Relish..... relish....... relish...... ok, I'm done.
Pack 17 - Nolan, Visnovsky, LeClair, Marchant, De Vries, Mike Card RC
I do not like Todd Marchant. I just don't. Maybe he is a great guy that saves kittens from burning buildings and recycles like a madman, but I just don't like him. I should meet him one day, and if he turns out to be a jerk, I'll just tell him that. It would be awkward if he cried after that. But somewhat funny too.
Pack 18 - Samuelsson, Halpern, Sturn, Jurcina, Sullivan, Thoresen/Steen Rookie Showdown
Patrick Thoresen...... I can't see that name without wincing. I wonder if he was able to keep his..... ummm..... boy? Loved how Glenn Healy called him out for being a wuss, then we found out Thoresen had an injured testicle. Hey Healy, let's shoot one at your wedding tackle and see if you fall. My money is on you puking and crying for your mommy.
Pack 19 - Hemsky, Bernier, Mellanby, Hordichuk, Sillinger, David Mckee RC
First pack of the left stack of packs nets little. But the 4th and 5th cards were NOT stuck together. Hmm....
Pack 20 - Schaefer, Heward, Tomas Kaberle, Markkanen, Crosby, Ilya Bryzgalov Stat Leaders
Crosby packs are always cool. Saved a really yawn-inducing pack.
Pack 21 - Chara, Lilja, Hasek, Axelsson, Dupuis, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers RC
4th and 5th cards were stuck together again. And why would you saddle your kids with the handle of the guy at the end. Not only is he a "who's that", how will they fit the name on a jersey? I'd say his mom likes him, but that might not be true considering how she let the name happen. Hopefully he has a girlfriend who will make him choose the name. Unless he's already married and his wife made him take her name too. Then he needs his testicles back from her purse. A world of possibilities, I say.
Pack 22 - Bergeron, Miettinen, Daniel Sedin, Ward, Cammalleri, Stastny/Svatos Rookie Showdown
I get cards of the Sedin sisters like you wouldn't believe. Stastny and Svatos are on the Divealanche, but it's a decent card.
Pack 23 - Wellwood, Handzus, Justin Williams, Lapointe, Lukowich, Martin Houle RC
Just realized that you can see through the back of the pack. Squint for the name, and you can avoid pulling Martin Houle cards.
Pack 24 - Olesz, Clemmensen, McCabe, Gleason, Winchester, UD propaganda card, Hall Worthy Eric Lindros
Ok....... much will be made about whether or not Eric Lindros is a hall of famer. Many see him as a bust. However, in terms of hall of fame membership, do we measure what a player did, or what a player didn't do that we thought he should have. 865 points in 760 games. Dominant for a few years. Cam Neely had 694 points in 726 games. Lindros has a Hart trophy, a Pearson trophy, and 6 all star games in 13 seasons. Neely had 5 all star games in 13 years, no trophies. Not necessarily comparing them, but there are many who say Neely is a hall of famer and Lindros absolutely is not. I say there isn't much difference in the two, aside from expectations. Although Lindros is pictured as a Dallas Star in this card, so I may be a little biased. Anyway.......
Pack 25 - Mikko Koivu, Floppa Forsberg, Martin Biron, Dempsey, McClement, Stefan Liv RC
Got both Koivus now. That's a relief. I was getting worried there. Yep. Downright frightened even.
Pack 26 - Yelle, Zidlicky, Taylor, Huselius, Stefan, Hall Worthy Keith Tkachuk
Keith Tkachuk vs Eric Lindros as a hall of famer? Tkachuk is American, so he's in.
Pack 27 - Bell, Zednik, Nieuwendyk, Rucchin, Wideman, Jean-Francois Racine RC
Any Stars Conn Smythe winner is good in my books. But there haven't been any Shane Doans in this box. Now THAT I'm getting concerned about.
Pack 28 - Kuba, Vyborny, Ryan Whitney, Boyle, Guerin, O'Brien/Beauchemin Rookie Showdown
Many teams have signed Bill Guerin to huge contracts expecting miracles. Instead, he contributes disappointments and a willingness to disappear without even being asked! Yet on the back of the card, after a 40 point season, the card back says "Guerin continues to be one of the most feared offensive players in the league". He must have a very good agent and an excellent PR team.
Pack 29 - Morrison, Breezeby, Lebda, Kelly, Lombardi, Alexander Edler RC
A decent rookie that I've heard of. With 100 rookies in the set, I can see how there would be a few commons. But this has been a little crazy.
Pack 30 - Pronger, Sjostrom, Tanguay, Begin, Salo, Ilya Kovalchuk Thrashers checklist
At some point in the near future, Atlanta will lose their hockey team due to the fact that they should not have been given one in the first place. At that point, Kovalchuk will go to a real team and be a force. That's a good thing.
Pack 31 - Stajan, Walker, Kilger, Holmstrom, Ranger, Drew Stafford RC
There's a good rookie. I'm still not thrilled, but......
Pack 32 - Khabibulin, Prospal, Mike Johnson, O'Donnell, Orpik, Bourdon/Phaneuf Rookie Showdown
Very sad about Bourdon's death. He was ready for a breakout season, and threw it away so he could ride a motorcycle. I don't get it. Yes, he was just a kid, but he was a kid with a future most can only dream about.
Pack 33 - Larose, Fisher, Hamrlik, York, Corvo, David Booth RC
I just have nothing to say. I hope there's a Doan in the next 3 packs.
Pack 34 - Hartnell, Kapanen, Carney, Numminen, Conroy, UD propoganda card, Curtis Joseph Hall Worthy
Hey, Larry Murphy and Bernie Federko are in the hall. Any NHL player should take solace in that.
Pack 35 - Eaton, Havelid, Lindros, Ponikarovsky, Sanderson, Michael Blunden RC
A pack full of people who have played in the National Hockey League. How splendid.
Pack 36 - Pettinger, Dandenault, Savard, Jovanovski, Zubrus, Mike Modano Stars checklist
Cool on the Modano! But yet another Doan-less box.
Well, I don't have much to say anymore. I had fun opening it, got a bunch of rookies and inserts, which is more than I can say for most of the stupid retail blasters I open. However, I can say with confidence that if I went back to the store tomorrow and did this with another box, I probably would do better than this. Then again, who knows. I can't say I'm that disappointed, but I'll have to go buy a Doan card on eBay to make things a bit better. Nonetheless, if you're a dedicated pack ripper, a box of 06-07 O-Pee-Chee satisfies the craving. There are worse boxes to open, that I will say. If you need to open packs, give one a try.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Packs and packs and packs
So last time I bought packs, it was a 12 pack of random retail with "one game worn jersey or autograph" per plastic pack. Got pretty much nothing, and upon seeing the ones at my local Toys R Us tonight that were messed around so you could see the jersey/auto...... well, I wasn't going that route again. Instead, another 11 pack blaster of 07-08 Fleer Hot Prospects, two retail packs of 07-08 MVP, and one retail pack of 07-08 Artifacts. Not expecting much from the packs, and I've already reviewed the Hot Prospects, so it's time to open!
Artifacts pack - Tucker, Kariya, Vanek, Frolov, Latendresse
I guess it was $1.98 for a reason. Still, very nice LOOKING cards.
MVP pack 1 - Arnason, Campbell, Spezza, Kessel, Pronger, Biron, Vlasic, Matt Ellis RC, UD propoganda card
.......... it's best we move on from this.
MVP pack 2 - Jagr, Sillinger, Jackman, Boyle, Marleau, Huet, Rookie Redemption Card!!!!!, UD propoganda, Zach Stortini RC
The redemption card is good for a 3 card pack of rookies from the 07-08 season. There are 30 cards in the set, and some good ones.
On to the Hot Prospects packs......
Pack 1 - Fedorov, Stafford, Vokoun, Marleau
Stafford is an ex-UND Sioux player and Marleau is a fellow Saskatchewanite, so that's cool. I'm reaching. Far.
Pack 2 - Kopitar, Zetterberg, Lehtonen, Perry
Moving right along......
Pack 3 - Blake, Hejduk, Bernier, Latendresse
Bernier is the newest Vancouver Canuck............. uhhhh.......
Pack 4 - Emery, Brodeur, Alfredsson, Lundqvist
Alfredsson..... every time I think of him, I think of Mike Richards from the Fan 960 radio station in Calgary. They get someone to do a mock Steve Armitage from CBC that's absolute gold. To fake Armitage, Alfredsson is just "Alfred". Bad story on my part, but worth a listen.
And the first four packs have been crap.
Pack 5 - Luongo, Giguere, Briere, Toskala
3 goalies! We're almost halfway, and that's not a good thing.
Pack 6 - Tucker, Fleury, Jagr, Ovechkin
Ovechkin is the best card I've pulled so far. I've also not fallen down the stairs today. I'm equally excited about both.
Pack 7 - Radulov, Lecavalier, Gagne, Pronger
I'm starting to sweat.
Pack 8 - Turco, Horton, Savard, DiPietro
The first Dallas Star of the packs!!!
Pack 9 - Spezza, Staal, Samsonov, Drury
No comment.
Pack 10 - Huet, Sakic, Naslund, Satan
One more left.
Pack 11 - Miller, Sedin, Getzlaf, Phaneuf
Anger.
Far and away, that is the WORST blaster I have ever opened. And that is saying something, because I have opened some duds in my time. In fact, the "one game worn/auto guaranteed" per plastic pack would have been a far better choice. The only thing that saves me anger is the rookie redemption card, and that's not exactly huge.
I like the blaster boxes because they're relatively inexpensive. But increasingly, they are providing little to no value, or big value - you get a home run, or absolutely nothing. And more often then not, it's nothing. In this one, there isn't even an insert card. Just 44 commons. And I suppose if you look at it as 50 cents per common, it's not as bad. But it's still not worth the money I paid for it, because these commons mean nothing to me.
I have to take my own advice - I have to stick to eBay, and instead of buying blasters, buy hobby boxes, and sometimes, the prices are similar......
Artifacts pack - Tucker, Kariya, Vanek, Frolov, Latendresse
I guess it was $1.98 for a reason. Still, very nice LOOKING cards.
MVP pack 1 - Arnason, Campbell, Spezza, Kessel, Pronger, Biron, Vlasic, Matt Ellis RC, UD propoganda card
.......... it's best we move on from this.
MVP pack 2 - Jagr, Sillinger, Jackman, Boyle, Marleau, Huet, Rookie Redemption Card!!!!!, UD propoganda, Zach Stortini RC
The redemption card is good for a 3 card pack of rookies from the 07-08 season. There are 30 cards in the set, and some good ones.
On to the Hot Prospects packs......
Pack 1 - Fedorov, Stafford, Vokoun, Marleau
Stafford is an ex-UND Sioux player and Marleau is a fellow Saskatchewanite, so that's cool. I'm reaching. Far.
Pack 2 - Kopitar, Zetterberg, Lehtonen, Perry
Moving right along......
Pack 3 - Blake, Hejduk, Bernier, Latendresse
Bernier is the newest Vancouver Canuck............. uhhhh.......
Pack 4 - Emery, Brodeur, Alfredsson, Lundqvist
Alfredsson..... every time I think of him, I think of Mike Richards from the Fan 960 radio station in Calgary. They get someone to do a mock Steve Armitage from CBC that's absolute gold. To fake Armitage, Alfredsson is just "Alfred". Bad story on my part, but worth a listen.
And the first four packs have been crap.
Pack 5 - Luongo, Giguere, Briere, Toskala
3 goalies! We're almost halfway, and that's not a good thing.
Pack 6 - Tucker, Fleury, Jagr, Ovechkin
Ovechkin is the best card I've pulled so far. I've also not fallen down the stairs today. I'm equally excited about both.
Pack 7 - Radulov, Lecavalier, Gagne, Pronger
I'm starting to sweat.
Pack 8 - Turco, Horton, Savard, DiPietro
The first Dallas Star of the packs!!!
Pack 9 - Spezza, Staal, Samsonov, Drury
No comment.
Pack 10 - Huet, Sakic, Naslund, Satan
One more left.
Pack 11 - Miller, Sedin, Getzlaf, Phaneuf
Anger.
Far and away, that is the WORST blaster I have ever opened. And that is saying something, because I have opened some duds in my time. In fact, the "one game worn/auto guaranteed" per plastic pack would have been a far better choice. The only thing that saves me anger is the rookie redemption card, and that's not exactly huge.
I like the blaster boxes because they're relatively inexpensive. But increasingly, they are providing little to no value, or big value - you get a home run, or absolutely nothing. And more often then not, it's nothing. In this one, there isn't even an insert card. Just 44 commons. And I suppose if you look at it as 50 cents per common, it's not as bad. But it's still not worth the money I paid for it, because these commons mean nothing to me.
I have to take my own advice - I have to stick to eBay, and instead of buying blasters, buy hobby boxes, and sometimes, the prices are similar......
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
2002-03 Pacific Quest for the Cup hobby box
There are times when the latest and greatest just gets........ old, if only for a moment. Sometimes one years for something just a few years back, for "new" variety.
Pacific Trading Cards manufactured hockey cards from 1997-98 to 2004-05. Throughout their history, they were known as the company who were bold enough to try new things. Cards with strange die-cuts, parallel sets, cards with netting inserts...... you name it, they tried it. Some things failed, some things were....... well, really cool. They were also willing to be wide open enough to admit when they were wrong. Michael Cramer, Pacific's founder, railed against Upper Deck's idea to insert game used hockey jersey pieces into hockey cards, saying it was a fad that wouldn't last. Then, he realized something - people really, really liked it.
So sure enough, in 1999-00 Omega, a late surprising addition was a jersey card - one in every 5 boxes (1:180 packs). Not only was this the first jersey cards for Pacific, but the pack insertion rate was better than UD's (1:288)! After that, Pacific broke out the first jersey-in-every-pack set with Private Stock, and the hobby has never been the same. So while their efforts were often panned - many people HATED the parallel cards they used to do - one cannot say that they were boring. Upper Deck? Boring. In The Game? Less boring, but product prices that were crazy for the offering.
When you opened a pack of Pacific cards, you knew that you were likely to get something. A parallel, a neat insert, and memorabilia cards that were attainable at a decent pack price. Yes, the aftermarket prices were rarely high, but for pack rippers like myself, the rewards were almost always high with Pacific. The only possible knock was a lack of autographed cards. You didn't hit home runs, but you rarely got shut out. I really do wish they were still around. Upper Deck cards are simply boring. They use the same concepts every year with subtle changes. They could do revolutionary things never seen before. But why do that when you can do the same thing over and over again and violate the card collectors of the world? In The Game does a few different things - they have to without an NHL license, but their cards all look the same to me, and always have.
With this in mind, when I saw a box of 2002-03 Pacific Quest for the Cup hobby on eBay for a decent price, I decided to get it. Rookies 1:5 packs, gold parallels 1:5 packs, jerseys 1:9, Pacific Complete subset 1:1, Calder Contenders 1:13, Chasing the Cup 1:5, ITECH Masks 1:25, and Raising the Cup 1:9. So really...... with 24 packs, there's something in every pack. There should be 3 jerseys in 2 out of every 3 boxes. Ooooooooh......... and Marty Turco autographs numbered out of 500 randomly inserted. For a Stars fan like myself, this is the big hit.
So even though it's 24 packs...... I'm doing a pack by pack! Here we go. (player - C means the Pacific Complete card)
Pack 1 - Leetch C, Ronning, Brent Johnson, Spezza Calder Contenders, Zhamnov, Vokoun
All names I know. Shiny cards. I really do like them.
Pack 2 - Boughner C, Gaborik, Demitra, Heatley Chasing the Cup, Thibault, Biron
...... ok, an Atlanta Thrashers Chasing the Cup card? Odd. Kind of like a Vancouver (ok, Memphis) Grizzles NBA Championship Hopefuls card.
Pack 3 - Holmstrom C, Fernandez, Lidstrom, Gagne Gold 091/325, Fleury, O'Neill
The gold card is sweet. Fleury's card drunkenly tried to swing its stick at me when I opened the pack. Then it mooned me. Weird. Actually, looking at it, it IS an odd one. He's got a "You got a problem with me?" look on his face. That, or he just soiled himself and is too embarrassed to say so.
Pack 4 - Yelle C, Dupuis, Joseph, Eric Godard RC 053/950, Daze, Kovalchuk
I'm looking for the Spezza, Nash, or Zetterberg rookies. Eric Godard's mom might be looking for him, but I'm certainly not.
Pack 5 - Marshall C, Potvin, Hull, Shanahan Raising the Cup, Havlat, Heatley
For foil cards, the base cards have far less chipping than I expected, but the insert cards are a little banged up. Just something I noticed.
Pack 6 - Fedoruk C, Roy, Kapanen, Mark Messier jersey card (blue swatch), Burke, Hossa
I'm far from a Messier fan, but pulling a jersey card of a hall of famer is never a bad thing. And not nearly as easy to pick out of packs as UD packs.
Pack 7 - Kraft C, Shanahan, Fedorov, Kovalchuk Chasing the Cup, Bonk, Ozolinsh
Ok..... seriously..... TWO Atlanta Thrasher Chasing the Cup inserts????? Yes, I suppose they wanted as many Heatley and Kovalchuk cards as possible, but come on..... the Thrashers are due to win the Cup in NEVER years. Anyway.....
Pack 8 - Wallin C, Cloutier, Turgeon, Langenbrunner gold 079/325, Alfredsson, Kariya
The first Dallas Star I pull is Pierre Turgeon. Nice. And by that I mean "thanks for the kick in the junk". That being said, the gold card of Langenbrunner - who should STILL be a Dallas Star - kind of makes up for it.
Pack 9 - Richardson C, Bertuzzi, St Louis, Rick Nash RC 394/950, Messier, Giguere
One of the big RC hits of the box. I'm a big Nash fan, so this is a great pull. Between the Nash and the Messier, the value paid for the box has been hit. Upper Deck, are you reading this???????
Pack 10 - Holik C, Sundin, Lecavalier, Forsberg Raising the Cup, Lindros, Legwand...... and a small piece of card
Thinking of the Avs raising the Cup is nauseating. Not Oilers raising the Cup nauseating, but I would turn the channel. The note in this pack is the 1/18 size piece of card. Looks like it belongs on the end of the Legwand, but my card is full size, so...... hmmm..... next pack?
Pack 11 - Perrault C, Lehtinen, Roenick, Joe Thornton jersey (white, with slight puck stain?), Hedberg, Cechmanek
Two notable things - first current Dallas Star, and the Thornton jersey (I pulled a black Thornton jersey piece out of this product in 2003). This likely means this is a 3 jersey box.
Pack 12 - Pronger C, Mogilny, Khabibulin, Thornton Chasing the Cup, Denis, Zednik
Two Thrasher Chasing the Cup cards, and one Bruin. Wow. Really, if I collected Joe Thornton cards, I would rarely have to buy them on the secondary market. For some reason, I pull his cards out of packs constantly - patches included.
Pack 13 - Sanderson C, Palffy, Nabokov, Ronning Gold 264/325, Francis, Perrault
Pack 1 of the right side of the box is easily the worst of the box. Oh well, 11 more to go!
Pack 14 - Hlavac C, Allison, Salo, Dennis Seidenberg RC 361/950, Turek, Koivu
Pack 2 isn't much better.
Pack 15 - Demitra C, Luongo, Comrie, Ales Kotalik Calder Contenders, Iginla, Satan
The Calder Contenders cards are well done.
Pack 16 - Chelios C, Jokinen, Carter, Naslund Chasing the Cup, Drury, Thornton
Ok, in 2002-03, with the NOTABLE exception of Dan Cloutier, the Canucks could have been considered Cup contenders. Certainly far more than the Bruins or Thrashers.
Pack 17 - Turgeon C, Lemieux, Gagne, Olaf Kolzig jersey (white, with slight puck stain again?), Forsberg, Lalime
So likely no Stars jersey, but you won't find me complaining much more than that. 3 nice looking memorabilia cards. And the Turco auto is still possible!
Pack 18 - Khabibulin C, Smyth, Yzerman, Naslund Gold 220/325, Kovalev, Murray
The Khabibulin is the first damaged card of the box. Upper Deck, again, are you reading this????
Pack 19 - Sean Pronger C, Nylander, Guerin, Jim Fahey RC 933/950, Bure, Hackett
Hmmm. I think we'll just move on from here.
Pack 20 - Shanahan C, Kolzig, Whitney, Jagr Raising the Cup, Yashin, Langenbrunner
Jagr won't be raising the Cup anytime soon.
Pack 21 - Bierk C, Jagr, Weight, Kariya Chasing the Cup, Peca, Friesen
Finally a Chasing the Cup that is worthy of the card.
Pack 22 - Blake C, Naslund, Tkachuk, Radovan Somik RC Gold 046/325, DiPietro, Elias
Gold RC? Glad the Nash wasn't.
Pack 23 - Daze C, Modano (yeehaw), Amonte, Chistov Calder Contenders, Hejduk, Turco (......... non-auto)
Two Dallas Stars in a pack is a good thing. Was a little excited when I saw the Turco....... no auto is disappointing, but a Turco card is good.
Pack 24 - Gill C, Morrison, Stillman, Jay Bouwmeester RC 151/950, Blake, Brodeur
Solid final pack. Bouwmeester is a mid-range rookie in the set, certainly not the worst one you could get.
That was a good box of cards. Something to look at in every pack, and very good value. I do rant on and on about Upper Deck. And boxes like this strengthen my distaste for them. Why can they not offer a decent product loaded with inserts and memorabilia at a decent price? The only result I can come up with is that they simply don't have to. If you want NHL cards, you will buy Upper Deck cards, even if they are too expensive.
The more I see this, the more I realize that I might just buy my packs on eBay. The blasters I buy are in the $24.99 range. This box was $40 with shipping from Quebec. Take a look at the H&P blaster above, and compare it to this box. I didn't get near the $24.99 for the H&P. I eclipsed the $40 easily. When I open this, I get the urge to stop feeding the UD propaganda box machine and go with these, buying the current cards online.
Nonetheless, this is not about Upper Deck. This is about celebrating an old company that was a good one for my collecting years. Much maligned by many, but a great one in my mind. I will again buy a Pacific box somewhere, and let the memories - and value! - live again.
Pacific Trading Cards manufactured hockey cards from 1997-98 to 2004-05. Throughout their history, they were known as the company who were bold enough to try new things. Cards with strange die-cuts, parallel sets, cards with netting inserts...... you name it, they tried it. Some things failed, some things were....... well, really cool. They were also willing to be wide open enough to admit when they were wrong. Michael Cramer, Pacific's founder, railed against Upper Deck's idea to insert game used hockey jersey pieces into hockey cards, saying it was a fad that wouldn't last. Then, he realized something - people really, really liked it.
So sure enough, in 1999-00 Omega, a late surprising addition was a jersey card - one in every 5 boxes (1:180 packs). Not only was this the first jersey cards for Pacific, but the pack insertion rate was better than UD's (1:288)! After that, Pacific broke out the first jersey-in-every-pack set with Private Stock, and the hobby has never been the same. So while their efforts were often panned - many people HATED the parallel cards they used to do - one cannot say that they were boring. Upper Deck? Boring. In The Game? Less boring, but product prices that were crazy for the offering.
When you opened a pack of Pacific cards, you knew that you were likely to get something. A parallel, a neat insert, and memorabilia cards that were attainable at a decent pack price. Yes, the aftermarket prices were rarely high, but for pack rippers like myself, the rewards were almost always high with Pacific. The only possible knock was a lack of autographed cards. You didn't hit home runs, but you rarely got shut out. I really do wish they were still around. Upper Deck cards are simply boring. They use the same concepts every year with subtle changes. They could do revolutionary things never seen before. But why do that when you can do the same thing over and over again and violate the card collectors of the world? In The Game does a few different things - they have to without an NHL license, but their cards all look the same to me, and always have.
With this in mind, when I saw a box of 2002-03 Pacific Quest for the Cup hobby on eBay for a decent price, I decided to get it. Rookies 1:5 packs, gold parallels 1:5 packs, jerseys 1:9, Pacific Complete subset 1:1, Calder Contenders 1:13, Chasing the Cup 1:5, ITECH Masks 1:25, and Raising the Cup 1:9. So really...... with 24 packs, there's something in every pack. There should be 3 jerseys in 2 out of every 3 boxes. Ooooooooh......... and Marty Turco autographs numbered out of 500 randomly inserted. For a Stars fan like myself, this is the big hit.
So even though it's 24 packs...... I'm doing a pack by pack! Here we go. (player - C means the Pacific Complete card)
Pack 1 - Leetch C, Ronning, Brent Johnson, Spezza Calder Contenders, Zhamnov, Vokoun
All names I know. Shiny cards. I really do like them.
Pack 2 - Boughner C, Gaborik, Demitra, Heatley Chasing the Cup, Thibault, Biron
...... ok, an Atlanta Thrashers Chasing the Cup card? Odd. Kind of like a Vancouver (ok, Memphis) Grizzles NBA Championship Hopefuls card.
Pack 3 - Holmstrom C, Fernandez, Lidstrom, Gagne Gold 091/325, Fleury, O'Neill
The gold card is sweet. Fleury's card drunkenly tried to swing its stick at me when I opened the pack. Then it mooned me. Weird. Actually, looking at it, it IS an odd one. He's got a "You got a problem with me?" look on his face. That, or he just soiled himself and is too embarrassed to say so.
Pack 4 - Yelle C, Dupuis, Joseph, Eric Godard RC 053/950, Daze, Kovalchuk
I'm looking for the Spezza, Nash, or Zetterberg rookies. Eric Godard's mom might be looking for him, but I'm certainly not.
Pack 5 - Marshall C, Potvin, Hull, Shanahan Raising the Cup, Havlat, Heatley
For foil cards, the base cards have far less chipping than I expected, but the insert cards are a little banged up. Just something I noticed.
Pack 6 - Fedoruk C, Roy, Kapanen, Mark Messier jersey card (blue swatch), Burke, Hossa
I'm far from a Messier fan, but pulling a jersey card of a hall of famer is never a bad thing. And not nearly as easy to pick out of packs as UD packs.
Pack 7 - Kraft C, Shanahan, Fedorov, Kovalchuk Chasing the Cup, Bonk, Ozolinsh
Ok..... seriously..... TWO Atlanta Thrasher Chasing the Cup inserts????? Yes, I suppose they wanted as many Heatley and Kovalchuk cards as possible, but come on..... the Thrashers are due to win the Cup in NEVER years. Anyway.....
Pack 8 - Wallin C, Cloutier, Turgeon, Langenbrunner gold 079/325, Alfredsson, Kariya
The first Dallas Star I pull is Pierre Turgeon. Nice. And by that I mean "thanks for the kick in the junk". That being said, the gold card of Langenbrunner - who should STILL be a Dallas Star - kind of makes up for it.
Pack 9 - Richardson C, Bertuzzi, St Louis, Rick Nash RC 394/950, Messier, Giguere
One of the big RC hits of the box. I'm a big Nash fan, so this is a great pull. Between the Nash and the Messier, the value paid for the box has been hit. Upper Deck, are you reading this???????
Pack 10 - Holik C, Sundin, Lecavalier, Forsberg Raising the Cup, Lindros, Legwand...... and a small piece of card
Thinking of the Avs raising the Cup is nauseating. Not Oilers raising the Cup nauseating, but I would turn the channel. The note in this pack is the 1/18 size piece of card. Looks like it belongs on the end of the Legwand, but my card is full size, so...... hmmm..... next pack?
Pack 11 - Perrault C, Lehtinen, Roenick, Joe Thornton jersey (white, with slight puck stain?), Hedberg, Cechmanek
Two notable things - first current Dallas Star, and the Thornton jersey (I pulled a black Thornton jersey piece out of this product in 2003). This likely means this is a 3 jersey box.
Pack 12 - Pronger C, Mogilny, Khabibulin, Thornton Chasing the Cup, Denis, Zednik
Two Thrasher Chasing the Cup cards, and one Bruin. Wow. Really, if I collected Joe Thornton cards, I would rarely have to buy them on the secondary market. For some reason, I pull his cards out of packs constantly - patches included.
Pack 13 - Sanderson C, Palffy, Nabokov, Ronning Gold 264/325, Francis, Perrault
Pack 1 of the right side of the box is easily the worst of the box. Oh well, 11 more to go!
Pack 14 - Hlavac C, Allison, Salo, Dennis Seidenberg RC 361/950, Turek, Koivu
Pack 2 isn't much better.
Pack 15 - Demitra C, Luongo, Comrie, Ales Kotalik Calder Contenders, Iginla, Satan
The Calder Contenders cards are well done.
Pack 16 - Chelios C, Jokinen, Carter, Naslund Chasing the Cup, Drury, Thornton
Ok, in 2002-03, with the NOTABLE exception of Dan Cloutier, the Canucks could have been considered Cup contenders. Certainly far more than the Bruins or Thrashers.
Pack 17 - Turgeon C, Lemieux, Gagne, Olaf Kolzig jersey (white, with slight puck stain again?), Forsberg, Lalime
So likely no Stars jersey, but you won't find me complaining much more than that. 3 nice looking memorabilia cards. And the Turco auto is still possible!
Pack 18 - Khabibulin C, Smyth, Yzerman, Naslund Gold 220/325, Kovalev, Murray
The Khabibulin is the first damaged card of the box. Upper Deck, again, are you reading this????
Pack 19 - Sean Pronger C, Nylander, Guerin, Jim Fahey RC 933/950, Bure, Hackett
Hmmm. I think we'll just move on from here.
Pack 20 - Shanahan C, Kolzig, Whitney, Jagr Raising the Cup, Yashin, Langenbrunner
Jagr won't be raising the Cup anytime soon.
Pack 21 - Bierk C, Jagr, Weight, Kariya Chasing the Cup, Peca, Friesen
Finally a Chasing the Cup that is worthy of the card.
Pack 22 - Blake C, Naslund, Tkachuk, Radovan Somik RC Gold 046/325, DiPietro, Elias
Gold RC? Glad the Nash wasn't.
Pack 23 - Daze C, Modano (yeehaw), Amonte, Chistov Calder Contenders, Hejduk, Turco (......... non-auto)
Two Dallas Stars in a pack is a good thing. Was a little excited when I saw the Turco....... no auto is disappointing, but a Turco card is good.
Pack 24 - Gill C, Morrison, Stillman, Jay Bouwmeester RC 151/950, Blake, Brodeur
Solid final pack. Bouwmeester is a mid-range rookie in the set, certainly not the worst one you could get.
That was a good box of cards. Something to look at in every pack, and very good value. I do rant on and on about Upper Deck. And boxes like this strengthen my distaste for them. Why can they not offer a decent product loaded with inserts and memorabilia at a decent price? The only result I can come up with is that they simply don't have to. If you want NHL cards, you will buy Upper Deck cards, even if they are too expensive.
The more I see this, the more I realize that I might just buy my packs on eBay. The blasters I buy are in the $24.99 range. This box was $40 with shipping from Quebec. Take a look at the H&P blaster above, and compare it to this box. I didn't get near the $24.99 for the H&P. I eclipsed the $40 easily. When I open this, I get the urge to stop feeding the UD propaganda box machine and go with these, buying the current cards online.
Nonetheless, this is not about Upper Deck. This is about celebrating an old company that was a good one for my collecting years. Much maligned by many, but a great one in my mind. I will again buy a Pacific box somewhere, and let the memories - and value! - live again.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
It's been a while
So I haven't given up collecting, but it's certainly a little more sparse. Upper Deck is again flooding the market, and using almost the same things as last year with different designs. Still overpriced. I've been collecting O-Pee-Chee (the bastardized UD version, of course) because it's relatively cheap, and the buyback cards are cool - they bought cards from previous O-Pee-Chee releases back to..... well, who knows when, but I've pulled a couple from the 80's, including one that was autographed! Nice product, very recommended for the price point. My local dealer actually refuses to let me buy several of the UD products. They are THAT bad.
But I'm a collector, and I like to try new things. 2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects hockey just came out. Nice looking set, and it seems like there are a lot of hits. I have a blaster retail box sitting here (10 packs plus 1 BONUS pack!!! Why they can't just say 11 packs I don't know.....), and those that collect know the drill on these. You might hit a long shot, you might get nothing. Thankfully, you don't pay much.
HP's major attraction every year are autographed rookie patch cards and a load of memorabilia and inserts. One might call it a poor man's SPx, but one would be generous in saying that. It's one of those sets that has its fans, but many ignore it completely. I like the set myself - but again, like other UD offerings, it's too expensive for what you get.
Anyway, time for the pack by pack. Will I get gold, or golden bladder water? We'll find out.
(First thing I notice on opening the box? Packs in these are usually pretty unruffled and evenly set. Not this one. Looks like it was packed by a monkey. Anyway.......)
Pack 1 - Satan, Naslund, Koivu, Hasek
A friend of mine is a Naslund collector. He'll have a new card. Kind of disconcerting for the first card to be the player whose last name is the same as..... well, you know.
Pack 2 - Kariya, Parise, Getzlaf, Phaneuf
Nice clean design on the cards. Limited use of foil, done very well. 3 good young players in the pack. Could be worse. And if I was a betting man, I would say there WILL be worse.
Pack 3 - Hemsky, Carter, Roloson, Jokinen
Wow. Already. If I were a betting man, I would be rich. With these 4 cards INCLUDING two Edmonton Coiler players, this is the bottom of the barrel for me.
Pack 4 - Shanahan, Williams, Weight, Gaborik
Shanahan, Weight, and Gaborik would probably be a devastating line.
They are also provide devastatingly low value for this pack.
Pack 5 - Nash, Jarret Stoll 2 colour Hot Materials jersey, Gionta
.........ok. Clearly someone is playing collecting tricks on me. I HATE the Edmonton Oilers almost as much as I like any other sports team. But if I am to pull an autograph or game used memorabilia card, there is seriously a 50% chance it's an Oiler. Stoll is from my old home town, and eventually he will leave Edmonton for a place that doesn't suck so badly, so I'll let this one slide. Nice looking card anyway.
Pack 6 - Khabibulin, Mason, Vyborny, Arnott
Huh.
Pack 7 - Hossa, Guerin, Cheechoo, Tanguay
No Shane Doan or Dallas Star cards yet. That would make me upset.
Pack 8 - Sakic, Miller, Ovechkin, Gagne
Ovechkin is cool.
Pack 9 - Daniel Sedin, Gionta, Pronger, Savard
A double (Gionta) already???????? Upper Deck still has no idea how to collate cards.
Pack 10 - Mikko Koivu, SHAAAAAAAANE DOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!, DiPietro, Samsonov
A Shane Doan card that I don't have redeems almost any box. At least that's what I tell myself.
Pack 11 - Cheechoo Hot Commodities insert #841/999, Drury, Kiprusoff, Pitkanen
Wow, even gone to cheap dot matrix style inkjet printing of serial numbers rather than gold foil. Shame shame, UD.
So what is there to say? 10% of the box was Oilers, which sucks most of all. 1 jersey, 1 insert, and one Doan. No Dallas Stars. No rookies. I would call it a dud, but then again, there's no odds on the box, which probably means that I struck....... oh crap, I didn't even think of this........ oil! I did strike Oil, didn't I. Hardeeharhar. Anyway, when UD puts no odds on the box this year, it means "good luck finding anything in here". Since jerseys/patches in the hobby box version are 1:5 packs, this is probably somewhere, oh I don't know, 1:144 or something. The UD series 2 blaster, instead of hobby's 1:12 pack jersey run, was 1:240!!!! I'm hoping that's a typo......
Anyway, certainly not the worst box I've ever had. Considering that a hobby box of this is running $65 on eBay - which with shipping is about 2 or 3 of these blasters.... - I would be better off spending the extra cash and getting that instead of another one of these. In fact, I just might. Then again, the new UD Ice looks nice...... but that sucked last time. I'm not that bright nor perceptive though.
I do have a retro box coming my way which should be fun to open........
But I'm a collector, and I like to try new things. 2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects hockey just came out. Nice looking set, and it seems like there are a lot of hits. I have a blaster retail box sitting here (10 packs plus 1 BONUS pack!!! Why they can't just say 11 packs I don't know.....), and those that collect know the drill on these. You might hit a long shot, you might get nothing. Thankfully, you don't pay much.
HP's major attraction every year are autographed rookie patch cards and a load of memorabilia and inserts. One might call it a poor man's SPx, but one would be generous in saying that. It's one of those sets that has its fans, but many ignore it completely. I like the set myself - but again, like other UD offerings, it's too expensive for what you get.
Anyway, time for the pack by pack. Will I get gold, or golden bladder water? We'll find out.
(First thing I notice on opening the box? Packs in these are usually pretty unruffled and evenly set. Not this one. Looks like it was packed by a monkey. Anyway.......)
Pack 1 - Satan, Naslund, Koivu, Hasek
A friend of mine is a Naslund collector. He'll have a new card. Kind of disconcerting for the first card to be the player whose last name is the same as..... well, you know.
Pack 2 - Kariya, Parise, Getzlaf, Phaneuf
Nice clean design on the cards. Limited use of foil, done very well. 3 good young players in the pack. Could be worse. And if I was a betting man, I would say there WILL be worse.
Pack 3 - Hemsky, Carter, Roloson, Jokinen
Wow. Already. If I were a betting man, I would be rich. With these 4 cards INCLUDING two Edmonton Coiler players, this is the bottom of the barrel for me.
Pack 4 - Shanahan, Williams, Weight, Gaborik
Shanahan, Weight, and Gaborik would probably be a devastating line.
They are also provide devastatingly low value for this pack.
Pack 5 - Nash, Jarret Stoll 2 colour Hot Materials jersey, Gionta
.........ok. Clearly someone is playing collecting tricks on me. I HATE the Edmonton Oilers almost as much as I like any other sports team. But if I am to pull an autograph or game used memorabilia card, there is seriously a 50% chance it's an Oiler. Stoll is from my old home town, and eventually he will leave Edmonton for a place that doesn't suck so badly, so I'll let this one slide. Nice looking card anyway.
Pack 6 - Khabibulin, Mason, Vyborny, Arnott
Huh.
Pack 7 - Hossa, Guerin, Cheechoo, Tanguay
No Shane Doan or Dallas Star cards yet. That would make me upset.
Pack 8 - Sakic, Miller, Ovechkin, Gagne
Ovechkin is cool.
Pack 9 - Daniel Sedin, Gionta, Pronger, Savard
A double (Gionta) already???????? Upper Deck still has no idea how to collate cards.
Pack 10 - Mikko Koivu, SHAAAAAAAANE DOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!, DiPietro, Samsonov
A Shane Doan card that I don't have redeems almost any box. At least that's what I tell myself.
Pack 11 - Cheechoo Hot Commodities insert #841/999, Drury, Kiprusoff, Pitkanen
Wow, even gone to cheap dot matrix style inkjet printing of serial numbers rather than gold foil. Shame shame, UD.
So what is there to say? 10% of the box was Oilers, which sucks most of all. 1 jersey, 1 insert, and one Doan. No Dallas Stars. No rookies. I would call it a dud, but then again, there's no odds on the box, which probably means that I struck....... oh crap, I didn't even think of this........ oil! I did strike Oil, didn't I. Hardeeharhar. Anyway, when UD puts no odds on the box this year, it means "good luck finding anything in here". Since jerseys/patches in the hobby box version are 1:5 packs, this is probably somewhere, oh I don't know, 1:144 or something. The UD series 2 blaster, instead of hobby's 1:12 pack jersey run, was 1:240!!!! I'm hoping that's a typo......
Anyway, certainly not the worst box I've ever had. Considering that a hobby box of this is running $65 on eBay - which with shipping is about 2 or 3 of these blasters.... - I would be better off spending the extra cash and getting that instead of another one of these. In fact, I just might. Then again, the new UD Ice looks nice...... but that sucked last time. I'm not that bright nor perceptive though.
I do have a retro box coming my way which should be fun to open........
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