Just Some Business

Normally I wouldn't post about a trade like this, but when these cards came in I was so excited that I just can't not post about it. The trade which is my biggest, and best ever for sports related business cards took out some serious wants.

Things started while doing the good old famous search for sports related business cards on e-bay. During this search the name of a fellow member or the business card collectors club I'm a member of popped up. Normally these searches will come up with cards from the wantlist, but nothing from the level that this batch had. Usually containing only a couple cards I've never felt it was worth it to pay the price only for two or three cards. Jeff's batch had a good amount though, and was worth trying to contact him in hopes that there might be more.

Luck was on my side as Jeff got back to me with the news that he did have more of a few of the cards in the batch. Thinking I would do something I'm not normally willing to do with a blind trade. We exchanged e-mails a couple times a week for one month to hash out what I would be sending his direction. Jeff wanted some other hard to find categories that weren't sports related for his. In the end this blind trade worked out better than I ever imagined.

I might not be the biggest basketball fan, but getting these was an awesome start. Being able to cross two more NBA teams off the shrinking wants is always good. Now all that is remaining to finish off the NBA is Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, and Toronto Raptors. If you either have one, or can get a business card from any of these teams I'd love to hear from you.

Ironically I have been thinking about artelope ideas for the Hawks, and just never sent one out. As for the Cavaliers I did send out an artelope which I've given up on, and consider a member of the 'Lost Files'. So why not just make it official, and show it off now while I'm talking Cavaliers.

Why the Cavaliers never responded will remain a mystery. Their business card shows the Lake Erie Monsters logo, and they have always been great to me. No loss as thanks to Jeff their is a Cavaliers business card residing in the collection.

From there two more wants from Major League Soccer joined into the fold.

Soccer cards were the reason I made this contact. The good news is he still had these two cards, the bad news is I think there was another two in the batch that he sold. No complaints though as adding these two works for me. As for the MLS there are 14 teams still missing, two are franchises that will be in their inaugural season in 2015. That is if they have a season due to the players, and owners currently having contract issues. Hopefully they work it out as I'm in the camp that believes no play could be devistating to the league.

Not to be left out the sport that rules the roost right now got some much needed attention. Thrown in was two cards for NFL teams that were missing in the collection, and one that is a new design.

Indianapolis is one of those teams I've thought about writing a few times, and for some weird reason just never did. Maybe the reason is one day this card would make its way into the collection without writing the team. Denver is a new design for a card that I'm beaming to add into the collection. As a fan of the Broncos it's always nice to add a new card from your favorite team into the mix. Jacksonville is another of those I didn't think I'd ever acquire. One of the first teams that I'd ever done an artelope for, I've been kind of shy about attempting again being they didn't return anything.

Closing out the showing off is some odds, and end that have never crossed my mind.

These are just four fun cards that will find some form of home in a binder. Adding cards that you've never even given a thought about is always a cool thing. Believe it, or not I have an area in a binder where these will fit perfectly.

Included was baseball, college, and some other sports that didn't get shown here. Inside was so much good stuff I had to do something I don't normally do, and share one of my business card trades.

Artelopes- Clearwater and Daytona

With baseball not far away some teams have already started putting out schedules. Currently among the list is Clearwater, and Daytona who both play in the Florida League.

The Threshers are one of two teams in the league that I collect schedules from. Finding out that the team had put out a schedule this early in the year I had to write the team.

With Clearwater using a shark as their logo the idea of doing sharks in the water only seemed natural. Originally the plan was to just do a couple fins, but the daughter injected her opinion. She said that there needed to be a little more shark than just a couple fins. So going with her idea what you see above is the end result.

Clearwater is one of the few teams that I don't mind just getting schedules, and no business card from. They have been so good to me in the past in sending business cards. Since getting all those cards the team hasn't gone through any sort of changes so everything is good.

Daytona went through two big changes this off-season. First the team went through an affiliation change from the Cubs to the Reds. Second is due to this huge change the team went from the Cubs to the Tortugas. What this did is left a huge hole in my Florida State League business card collection. While affiliated with the Cubs, Daytona was always good to me.

Attempting to do the full logo had me feeling a little out of my league. I could have probably pulled it off, but thought why not go with the partial design? Sometimes its better to go with something that you feel more confident about rather than forcing something you just aren't feeling. In the end it was a wise choice.

As a collector that has contacted Daytona in the past one thing about this schedule sticks out. Across the bottom it says early bird. Whenever you see this one a schedule another edition is sure to follow in a couple months.

A Lost Opportunity?

The great Fuji did a few of these style posts long ago, and those have inspired this very post. On Sunday the 15th the wife, and myself went to the monthly collector's market. This is an event held most the month's during winter, and is a fun event the two times that I have went.

September 2013 was the last time going to this show, and I have no good reason on why I don't go more often. With finds like the bag of football helmets that I found last time for the great price of one dollar. I can't help, but wonder how many other amazing finds have been missed out on by not going more often.

This time we did fairly well as the wife picked up some old Disney comics on the cheap, and I completed a project I've had going for a few years now. Results like that just added to me wondering why we don't do this show every month.

Despite all the great finds it is the one purchase that I didn't make that I keep thinking about. Sitting on one of the first tables when you enter, but one of the last two we hit was one of these.

The one there was in much better shape, and priced much cheaper than the one in this picture. It was a beautiful sight that looked just as pristine inside. Why I turned it down I am honestly still on the fence about.

The dealer was asking only ten dollars, but I tried to talk him down with no results. He was at a solid ten, and I wasn't going to pay that amount. Maybe it was that my plan was to frame it, and hang it on the wall. With that as my plan ten dollars just seemed to much for a team I'm not a fan of.

Looking back at things I still can't decide if this was a lost opportunity, or if I'm fine with not getting it. Odds are I'll be wondering the answer for a little longer.

Over Before It Even Started

 

Here at the cat house for the last week we have been walking in the clouds. Pitchers, and catchers report which means baseball is right around the corner. College basketball is closing in on its tournament with two of the teams I root for doing quite well. Then there was the Daytona 500 being ran today. The excitement on all this build up was mind-blowing.

Suddenly all that was sucked right out of the house during the Xfinity race yesterday. With Kyle wrecking into the inside wall, and breaking his right leg, and left foot. From there he was rushed to the hospital, and into surgery for hours on the right leg.

All this leaves us here wondering who do we root for now, and how much racing will we watch? Currently I feel like a fan that just got told his team won't be playing any games for awhile. When they will start playing is unknown, and won't be known for awhile. Will we find some new driver to root for during this time, or just watch because we enjoy racing? Those are questions that might take weeks to figure out. The wife is already talking about rooting for the driver who fills in for Kyle. Myself I might go that route, or maybe take on a new driver until my guy returns.

Who knows, maybe this could lead into joining the Jeff Gordon group as he runs his last season before retiring. A chance to sit back, and enjoy watching one of NASCAR's all time greats in his last run. I was wishing him to do well, but not beat our guy in races.

More than anything Kyle. Know that we will be missing you, and you will be in our prayers for a safe recovery.