The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Looking back at past pulls sold, Zoë Saldana autographs, new arrivals, big pulls and "what's your Black Friday poison?"

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The lot: 2008 Donruss Americana II trading cards (25-pack retail lot)
Where to buy: Click here

Packs per lot: 25
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this lot: 127
Base set completion: 
62 of 100 (62 percent)
Duplicates: 34
Triplicates: 17
Quadruplicates: 3

Notables on base cards – Jackie Chan, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lewis, Goldie Hawn, Quentin Tarantino, Peggy Fleming, Helen Slater, Regis Philbin, Natalie Raitano, Joyce DeWitt, Corey Feldman, Peter Mayhew, Kane Hodder, Martin Kove, Gary Coleman, Jane Russell, Brutus Beefcake, David Prowse, Stephen Toblowsky, Erik Estrada, Ed Asner, Julie Newmar, Martina Navratilova, Lee Meriweather, Mark Hamill, Willie Mays, Vicki Lawrence, George H.W. Bush, Jake LaMotta, Kathie Lee Gifford, Dan Fogler, Elijah Wood

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Have you seen the latest cool cards from a new release? With so many options for collectors of all kinds arriving every week it's possible you haven't. That's where Buzz comes in -- well at least on one brand you'll see here from time to time in what we're calling Buzz's Pick Six. Simply put, here are six cards from a new arrival that seemed interesting to this collector and we think they might interest you, too.

This week's six-pack: Six autographs I'd grab now

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THE RETIRING CHAMP
The Card: Jimmie Johnson 2018 Panini Prizm Patented Penmanship auto
The Price: $69.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Boxes: Click here for all NASCAR stuff
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This 44-year-old announced today that the 2020 NASCAR season will be his final campaign as a full-time Cup driver and, in turn, his final shot at becoming the all-time season championship record-holder. He's presently tied with Richard Petty at seven career NASCAR Cup Series titles and has been that way since 2016 when he last took home the crown. In the three seasons since then, his best finish was 10th so it's debatable whether he might make a run in his final lap, but he will be one who is watched heavily. I met and interviewed him when he was a rookie which was fun back in the day but I'm actually not sure if I've ever pulled one of his autographs in my off-and-on time collecting NASCAR stuff. There's a decent amount of ink for him out there -- more than 800 different cards -- but his autograph has always been relatively minimalist, so that's why I never chased one otherwise. I might make sure to track one down now.

Keep reading for five more items in this week's roundup ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: The most-iconic card for every MLB team, big pulls, a trainwreck thread and chatter about the Houston Astros' cheating scandal.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a mix of pricey and cheaper buys.

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I WAS SEEING GHOSTS FOR A WHILE ... 
The Card: Sam Darnold 2018 Panini Spectra Neon Blue (/75)
The Price: $15.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I'm generally a fan of Spectra despite its funky looks at times and I spotted this one just after his return at a price that seemed lower than the norm so I grabbed it. I was a tad worried in games after that, thinking this was a bad pick-up, but it seems he's rebounded a bit so we'll see whether this was a decent pick-up in the longer term. I like the look of these sequin-looking cards with this particular parallel, so that's probably another reason I went this route.
Grab a box right here: 2018 Panini Spectra football cards

Keep reading for many more interesting items ...

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a surprise or two.

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BIG CHANGE, BIG GAME
The Card: Kenyan Drake 2016 Panini Encased Rookie Notable Signatures (/75)
The Price: $3.25
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This guy had a change of scenery and a big game in his first time suiting up for the Arizona Cardinals ... so that's why he leads off here. (This week's game? Not so big ... I'll admit.) That one big game -- 15 carries for 110 yards and a TD -- shows how short-term showings could help move cardboard in quick-flip scenarios if you're organized enough or use buy-sell on sites that can let you flip stuff fast. I'd think that this card could have doubled that price had I been selling, but I picked this off well before that game because he's one of the names I grab on the cheap when they present themselves. (This price suits that with an on-card auto and it being a high-end brand.) Had he done much this week, there would probably be more interest in him ... but now we just have to wait to see what happens the rest of the season.
Grab a box right here: 2016 Panini Encased

Keep reading for a few more more interesting pick-ups ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Nothing but break highlights in today's edition -- a little bit of everything.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: NBA Hoops arrives, big pulls, an autograph ID test and more in today's edition.

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It's a good thing they can't talk, otherwise they might not work in the toy aisle.

Two of the stars from Major League will be hitting collectors' hands in a new way soon as Funko unveiled its plans for three Funko Pop! toys for the classic 1989 film coming soon.

The toys don't appear to be carrying MLB licensing, but that's not a problem with some of the figures.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Topps Holiday boxes are hot -- and Winter Olympics cases are, too -- and that's just the start of today's links worth a look.

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If you ever wanted a piece of one of Star Wars' most-dynamic ships, then you now have your chance.

Seriously.

Topps revealed its plans for Millennium Falcon Relics planned to arrive in two upcoming Star Wars card sets for the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Prop and wardrobe cards have not been extensively used in trading card sets for the film franchise, which has had trading cards since 1977.

So, what's the plan?

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: Dak Prescott 2016 Donruss #362 Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: It takes a pretty good deal for one of my buys to lead off here instead of one of my newly submitted grades, but this one was just that. This is one of those cards that is relatively available if you want to chase one down and slab it for some fun or profit. My cost? About $22, which might seem high generally speaking but isn't for its grade -- this was about half the price of the other cards in the same grade where I was looking at the time. They are even higher now.
The Grade: BGS 10

Reality Check: This one is just a half-grade away from a perfect BGS Black slab and the percentage of cards to get this mark is pretty low vs. the overall total. That's what surprised me here more and prompted the pick-up. It's a relatively heavily graded card, too, which you'd think would have resulted in more 10s. (Paper stock can be more pesky than Optic stuff when it comes to grading, though.)

Keep reading for more of this month's big selection of pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2019 Topps The Art of TMNT trading cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Cards per box: 106
Base set completion: 
100 of 100 (100 percent)
Duplicates: 0

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Have you seen the latest cool or interesting items on eBay? If not, you just might see some of those here every week as we're launching a weekly version of our eBay Buzz pieces that pop up from time to time. We’ll spotlight some items that have a story or just wow us with how much interest it might have — and we’re not just talking baseball cards, either.

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ONE FOR CHARITY 
The Item: Zion Williamson & R.J. Barrett 2019-20 Panini Prizm Draft Picks College Ties Black Mosaic (1/1) (BGS 9.5/10)
The Price: $15,401 after 63 bids (eight days remaining)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card has taken on a life of its own on social media as it was pulled in a video and then taken to Texas for grading -- but then the story took another turn when its owner decided there needed to be a different finish to this card's story ... an auction where 100 percent of the money raised goes to charity. Listen to him make his decision public right here. The Zion prices have been crazy but this one could get even more dramatic before it ends -- it was at five-figures within the first day of its listing, despite Williamson being out (for now) with an injury.
Similar Pieces: Zion Williamson autos on eBay
The BlowoutCards.com Hunt: Click here for 2019-20 NBA boxes 

Keep reading for four more interesting items in this week's roundup ...

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: World Series chatter, big Mike Trout pulls, "investment projections" and big breaks in a few sports as well as a run of Star Trek boxes.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals just might be to rip fewer blasters this year and talk more about cardboard that I -- and you -- might like. One way to do that? Simple show and tell -- present a few pick-ups and say why they captured my attention. Would they capture yours? I'd be interested to know -- sometimes they might, sometimes they won't and that's fine. It's a buyer's market out there with plenty of options and bargains as well as high-end gems to chase.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ... and this time around there's a mix of everything but mostly on the affordable side.

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WAIT, WHAT?
The Card: Brock Lesnar 2004 Leaf Rookies & Stars NFL RC (SGC 9)
The Price: $20
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't argue with one interesting and unique fact about Brock Lesnar when it comes to cardboard -- he's got Rookie Cards in wrestling, MMA and pro football and that's something that's just not that common. I can think of a lot of two-sport players on cards between various combinations for MLB, NFL, NBA and WWE but, three? Sure, Lesnar never actually played in a real NFL game -- the Vikings cut him before the season started -- but it got him a few cards that do remain popular and a tad pricey these days due to their novelty and relative scarcity. He had 15 cards in three brands -- Rookies & Stars, Playoff Honors and Sweet Spot -- and some can sell for more than this. I grabbed it since I'd never found one and it was slabbed for not much more than a raw copy -- and also purely for the novelty. Some raw copies of this have higher asking prices than this over on eBay, too, while his cards for the other two sports are easy finds.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for NFL, but WWE boxes are here

Keep reading for five more interesting items ...

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What: 2020 Topps Women of Star Wars trading cards
Arrives: March 25
Box basics: One autograph per seven-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps focuses on the female stars of the legendary science fiction franchise in a release that packs an autograph in every box and a sketch card in every sixth one.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2019 Topps Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (mini blaster)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: Initially at Walmart for these -- BlowoutCards.com for hobby

Packs per box: 6 (five standard one three-card Battle Lines pack)
Cards per pack: 6
Cards in this box: 33
Base set completion: 
20 of 110 (18 percent)
Duplicates: 0

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: MLB postseason chatter, new Star Wars breaks and other big pulls as Buzz waits for his caffeine to kick in on this Monday morning.

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2019 Topps Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Black & White trading cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 7
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 56
Base set completion: 
41 of 150 (27 percent)
Duplicates: 0

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What: Star Trek Inflexions Starfleet's Finest trading cards
Arrives: Dec. 18
Box basics: Three autographs per three-pack box (20 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Star Trek gets a high-end release with an autograph in every pack and plenty of potential from throughout the legendary franchise -- both TV and film all in one place ... and sometimes on the same card.

Keep reading for more info and images.

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Chrome Update #HMT25 Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I only opened a couple of mega boxes for this brand but did land this guy -- and, man, do I wish this card had used the bat-down photo. (What could have been?) I recently revisited a few of my boxes holding the finds of my buys last year and this one struck me as a clean example worth a slab, especially with him having had an elite season coming up just short of being the youngest member of the elite 40-40 Club.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Turns out I was right, though this is a card that's heavily graded with a growing pop report since I submitted this one. There was a 10 grade right after mine in the serial-numbering line and there have been plenty of 9.5s graded since -- and even the 10s aren't all that rare for this one. There's plenty here to feed the demand for a guy who should be on collector radars for years. You'll see more of Acuña here.

Keep reading for more of this month's new slabs for Buzz.

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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What's Buzzing Today: Highlights from 54 boxes of one brand and a number of other breaks from around the collecting world in today's edition.

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Have you seen the latest cool cards from a new release? With so many options for collectors of all kinds arriving every week it's possible you haven't. That's where Buzz comes in -- well at least on one brand you'll see here from time to time in what we're calling Buzz's Pick Six. Simply put, here are six cards from a new arrival that seemed interesting to this collector and we think they might interest you, too.

This week's six-pack: Iconic autographs to own ... I'll make my signer choices and show six examples from recent releases. (This is by no means a catch-all or top-of-them-all list ... just six on Buzz's mind.)

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PAST MEETS PRESENT 
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. & Hank Aaron 2019 Topps Tribute Tandem Autograph Booklets Red (/10)
The Price: $1,999.99 Buy-It-Now (or best offer)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: OK, maybe this is a Pick Seven this week, but this card is a perfect example of get it while you can when it comes to autographs. This card is super-rare and from a high-end brand and it includes autographs of one guy who you should have these days and one guy you need to have in your collection if you do baseball. Acuña is the autograph you should have as he's an emerging MVP-caliber talent -- a guy who came up just short of being the youngest member of the super-elite 40-40 Club at age 21 ... while mostly batting leadoff. The other is an MLB legend you need to own in some fashion, the former home run king who hit more home runs than anyone in history* (save for That One Guy*). This is the elite past meeting the elite future. Aaron is 85 and his handwriting has gotten rougher over time, while Acuña will have plenty of reasons to potentially not sign new autograph deals if he becomes more and more successful on the field. Aaron was the auto that came to mind first for me, but Acuña is perhaps the autograph to own for this season. Thankfully, I've pulled both of these guys' autos out of packs in the past, so I haven't had to chase them -- but they should both be in an MLB collection.

Keep reading for five more items in this week's roundup ...

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What: 2020 Topps Star Wars: Return of The Jedi Black & White trading cards
Arrives: Jan. 22
Box basics: One autograph or sketch card per seven-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps brings its black-and-white brand to Jedi, for its latest release with the familiar oldschool format taking on the tale with Ewoks and (spoiler!) the end of the Death Star all included.

Keep reading for more as well as a gallery of images.

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