Autograph Collecting
Fanatics show includes some extra memories with Anthony Rizzo
https://youtube.com/watch?v=CPtF-sDJUBg%3Flist%3DPL1Lhsp8U_jGpPaKtFHgAD5QXWlKNBpPxM
Sometimes a memorabilia show can be memorable for reasons besides the memorabilia.
The Fanatics show in Chicago this weekend was just that for Steve Millsap during a photo opp with Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Check out the video above and hear more from Millsap here in the Blowout forum.
Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.
NFLPA releases roster for 2016 NFLPA Rookie Premiere
The biggest event of the year in terms of creating new football cards takes place this week as the 22nd annual NFLPA Rookie Premiere kicks off Thursday and runs though Saturday.It's there where players will don their uniforms for the first time for photos for upcoming Panini America football cards.
“NFLPA Rookie Premiere is one of the most important events that we participate in annually, as it helps us set the stage for our entire football trading card products that we will release over the next 15 months," said Mark Warsop, Panini America CEO. “Serving for the first time as the NFLPA's exclusive trading card partner and presenting sponsor provides us with more opportunities than ever to execute a series of unique activations throughout the event, and create our best-ever product assortment for the new season.”
Today, the NFLPA released who'll be in attendance.
Board Buzz Gallery: Impressive and favorite non-sports autographs

Is there one non-sports autograph you'd want to own? If you're a fan of anything beyond the sports world, there's probably one name that comes to mind first.In some cases -- Star Wars and Star Trek, for example -- a personality may have plenty of autographs, but in others there may be just one.
Or none at all.
Stipe Miocic & Cris Cyborg give UFC collectors something to chase
Stipe Miocic and Cris Cyborg were two of the headline-grabbers after Saturday night's UFC 198 card and there is good news for MMA fans who want to collect.They've both got readily available cardboard.
Miocic, the new UFC heavyweight champ, took down Fabricio Werdum with a single punch in the first round. He can be found on more than 200 different MMA trading cards with more than 80 of those featuring a certified autograph. His earliest autographs can be found in Topps' UFC releases from 2012, while his newest are in 2016 Topps UFC Top of the Class, which arrived last week.
First Buzz: 2016 Leaf Autographed Mini-helmet Football
What: 2016 Leaf Autographed Mini-helmet Football
Arrives: Aug. 26
Box basics: One autographed mini-helmet per box (eight boxes per case)What's buzz-worthy: Leaf offers "one of the single most popular packaged memorabilia products in the marketplace" with every box yielding a Hall of Famer, current NFL star, retired star or player with potential.
Keep reading for more.
A sign that the NFLPA Rookie Premiere is coming
This year's NFLPA Rookie Premiere is coming -- next week -- and it will have a new look to it as Panini America takes over as the exclusive trading card licensee for the NFL.The company has been at work preparing for the event for months and it offered a teaser of what one product will include.
Max Scherzer's historic game prompts key hobby question
Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer did something last night that had only happened three other times in MLB history.He struck out 20 batters in a game.
It's a feat that only Roger Clemens, who did it twice, and Kerry Wood have done before, but in both of those pitchers' cases there's an iconic early baseball card to chase. For Clemens, his 1984 Fleer Update card is the one to own. For Wood, it's his 1997 Bowman Chrome.
For Scherzer?
First Buzz: 2016 Historic Autographs Friends-N-Foes Dual Cut Edition
What: 2016 Historic Autographs Friends-N-Foes Baseball Dual Cut Card Edition
Arrives: June 10
Box basics: One dual-autograph cut booklet per box (12 boxes per case)
What's buzz-worthy: Historic Autographs tries its first regular-size release with these booklets pairing players with common ties or with opposing ones. The Friends cards will include family members, teammates and memorable pairings, while rivalries and literal fights will be found on the Foes cards.
See a gallery and more ... below.
Steph Curry makes history -- but hobby expectations remain high
Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, LeBron James and Steph Curry.Those are the players who have taken home the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award in back-to-back seasons -- and none of them have done it in unanimous fashion except for Curry, who made history on Tuesday.
It's an elite club for sure.
Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (May 8)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What's Buzzing Today: Showing off your Top 10 cards, 1990s NBA box breaks, Bartolo Colon's historic homer, 2015 Topps Diamond & Tim Duncan's cardboard.
On Friday night, Metallica played "Happy Birthday" for Willie Mays -- tonight their guitars can be yours
A pair of guitars are heating things up on the auction block -- but not where you might expect.They can be found on MLB Auctions.
One of the headlines from Friday read, "Metallica serenades Willie Mays during San Francisco Giants' 4th-annual Metallica Night" -- an event where members of the Bay Area band played "Happy Birthday" for Mays (he turned 85 yesterday) and played the national anthem before the game. Their equipment from that night is being auctioned for charity.
Gallery: 2016 Leaf Signature Series wrestling cards

One of the more comprehensive autograph sets in wrestling card history arrived in hobby shops on Friday packing plenty of power from the past for the WWE, TNA, ECW, NWA, AWA and beyond.
The set is 2016 Leaf Signature Series and it includes eight autographed cards in every box with an array of parallels that help add to the chase that's already pretty intensive.
Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (May 7)
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.What's Buzzing Today: Ginter Woods, political autographs, Game of Thrones, WWE and Devers vs. Moncada.
Cory Hahn revisits play that changed his life in piece for Players Tribune
Not long ago, Cory Hahn was a USA Baseball player and a promising prep star who joined the Arizona State Sun Devils -- the program that's produced Dustin Pedroia, Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson -- with some big-league dreams of his own.Now, though, he works for an MLB team -- in the front office because he can't walk, let alone take the outfield like he used to.
You might know Hahn's story if you're a prospector, but he recapped his story in a piece published today on The Players Tribune -- one that looks back at a fluke play in just his third college game that changed his life forever. It's worth a read.
"These days, I’m not much of a ballplayer," he wrote, "although in my heart I always will be."
CM Punk's UFC debut comes on a Topps card in 2016 Top of the Class
When will former WWE star CM Punk make his UFC debut?Next week -- in Topps' new 2016 UFC Top of the Class MMA trading card set.
Monica Abbott's softball dominance hasn't spawned much cardboard
Most collectors may not know Monica Abbott's name, but if you're a fan of softball you certainly do.She was dominant at the University of Tennessee where she set NCAA records for strikeouts (2,440), shutouts (112) and victories (189) -- and she also had 23 no-hitters and six perfect games. She was a member of the 2008 Olympic squad that won silver and she threw the Olympics' first perfect game.
But today she reached a new plateau in the world of sports.
Gallery: 2016 Upper Deck Captain America: Civil War autographs & memorabilia cards
Captain America: Civil War arrives in theaters tomorrow, but Marvel fans don't have to wait to see more of the blockbuster film thanks to the newest trading card release from Upper Deck.Each box of 2016 Upper Deck Captain America: Civil War includes one autograph, sketch or "premium insert" as well as two memorabilia cards.
First Buzz: 2016 TRISTAR Quest Discovery autographs

What: 2016 TRISTAR Quest Discovery autographs
Arrives: May 25
Box basics: Five envelopes per box -- each with an autographed flat or memorabilia redemption inside (three boxes per case)What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR is creating this one solely for breakers, giving online collectors a shot at some of the biggest autographs possible in the sports world and beyond.
Keep reading for more.
Gallery: 2016 Topps Star Wars Evolution autograph signers

The next Star Wars release from Topps is slated to arrive on June 1 in the form of 2016 Topps Star Wars Evolution, which will include characters from the entire universe for the franchise.
While a final checklist has not yet been released, a signer list has been teased and there will be more than 60 signers for this one. Each of them will have a Purple (/25), Gold (/10) and 1/1 Red parallels as well as printing plates. There also will be dual- and triple-auto cards in the mix.
Gallery: 2015-16 O-Pee-Chee Platinum hockey cards
It's retro, but it's not -- and it's arriving in hobby shops tomorrow.It's 2015-16 O-Pee-Chee Platinum and the hockey cards will have several colors and textures in a rainbow of autographs found one per hobby as well as a checklist that includes some of the biggest names in the game today.
Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (May 3)
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.What's Buzzing Today: 2016 Bowman breaks, Leaf Q, Space Jam 2, bad certified autos and Kate Upton.
First Buzz: 2016 Leaf Pop Century Signed Photograph Edition
What: 2016 Leaf Pop Century Signed Photograph Edition
Arrives: Late June
Box basics: One autographed 8-by-10 photo per box (12 boxes per case)What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's latest buyback product for pop culture arrives with certified autographed photos from the biggest names in Hollywood as well as big names from elsewhere.
WWE star Enzo Amore's cardboard scarce as injury puts him in spotlight

He's one of the WWE's newest performers on its main roster and is already easily among the most-colorful and most-energetic stars of the bunch.But after a scary injury during the Payback pay-per-view on Sunday night, Enzo Amore might be one of its luckiest stars -- that his injury wasn't worse -- and the one with the highest-profiles on social media as footage of his injury continues to trend.
Norman Reedus & Andrew Lincoln lead The Walking Dead Season 4 autograph lineup revealed so far
Who'll be signing for the two series of The Walking Dead cards coming this month and next month from Cryptozoic?Well that question has been partially answered.
Gallery: 2015 Leaf Q sports cards
The latest Leaf sports card brand arrived on Friday in the form of the high-end 2015 Leaf Q, which packs a few sports-related surprises inside along with some of the biggest names in all of sports history.Among the surprises? Chevy Chase's first certified autographs -- the first of a few to come, actually -- with this one remembering his time as an NBA player in Fletch.






























