Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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MY BEAR NECESSITY
The Item: Paul "Bear" Bryant autographed & dated/inscribed (Oct. 18, 1976) 8-by-10 photo (BAS authenticated)
The Price: $219 ... high for me but it's the perfect item for me
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This was a jaw-dropper of a find for me during a random search of Mill Creek Sports' superstore for autographed stuff earlier this year and I've saved it for football season, specifically this month, to present it and tell its story. It's personalized and that makes it perfect for me this time ... and to top that, the signed date -- the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach and football icon who won 323 games dated everything signed like this -- might as well be on Buzz's actual birthday. (It's close ... close enough.) The odds of this existing or one being signed on my actual birthday? Well, I'm sure there were a number of things to sign on this Monday and I'm also very sure he wasn't sitting down to sign requests on a gameday when I kicked things off in the world. So, this is perhaps as close as it can get. The quality and condition of the photo are perfect and the ink is perfectly legible, too. Now, is his autograph really rare? Not particularly, but he died in January 1983 well before sit-down and paid signing sessions were en vogue for sports legends and he's still in high, historic demand despite Nick Saban equaling him and/or re-writing the Alabama record book in more recent years. It's the perfect item at a perfect price and it will always be mine.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but football cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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This new department will be an occasional series that will take a quick look at a game our gaming release with card elements -- essentially a breakdown of what's in a box, but not the typical kind of a Buzz Break. (Buzz isn't a gamer so this will just be what's in a box vs. gameplay analysis.) Maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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The Game: AEW - Vs. System Two-Player Card Game (starter set)
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for other gaming -- or for traditional wrestling cards

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery from this one.

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What's Buzzing: A big day of WWE and AEW, readying for a new NFL week, Big Dumper homers again, Topps Holiday and more.

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1 -- Readying for NFL Week 3

2 -- Wrestling chatter after a big Saturday for WWE & AEW

3 -- Big Dumper's homer passes Griffey for Seattle record

4 -- Nothing.

5 -- Reactions to Topps Holiday

6 -- Phillies Karen: The new offer stands

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: Juan Soto, Nick Kurtz, Phillies Karen, Clayton Kershaw, NFL Week 3 and a big day for AEW & WWE.

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1 -- Checking in on the Juan Soto chatter

2 -- Readying for NFL Week 3

3 -- Talking Nick Kurtz

4 -- Wrestling chatter for a big Saturday for WWE & AEW

5 -- Clayton Kershaw is retiring

6 -- Phillies Karen: The new offer stands

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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: 2024 AEW Allure wrestling cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available and for other AEW) 

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery from this one.

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What's Buzzing: Week 2 in the NFL is coming, our offer to Phillies Karen, Allen & Ginter signers, wrestling chatter and more in this Tuesday edition.

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1 -- Readying for NFL Week 2

2 -- Wrestling chatter is here

3 -- Some good hockey threads to see

4 -- Known 2025 Topps Allen & Ginter signers so far

5 -- Talking production calendars vs. season calendars (or something)

6 -- The offer still stands

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: The NFL season is here, non-sports chatter, new pulls and more in this Thursday edition.

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1 -- NFL Week 1 is here

2 -- Plenty of non-sports discussions

3 -- All your new pulls ...

4 -- Check out NFL finds here

5 -- Talking wrestling cards

6 -- More MLB chatter

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

TOP-GRADE VARIATION
The Card: C.J. Stroud 2021-22 Bowman University Chrome Prospects -- image variation
The Reason Graded: If you poke around in the archives for the Buzz Breaks of this release, you'll likely find a break where I missed this one and just simply called it a Refractor despite it being an image variation (all are Refractors on these). It should have been obvious based on the practice photo vs. game action, but I only spotted it well after the fact -- months, if not years, later -- when going through my old boxes. When I stopped to look, this card looked absolutely flawless and since it's somewhat rarer than the others it's also still a bit pricier for a standard card. (It's no monster but it's definitely better than a few types of Refractors.) Since it was so clean and the NFL season is upon us, I put this one into a bulk submission.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: This card checked in at exactly where I thought it would. Fun find and a win -- and it wasn't even tucked away in a box penny sleeved. The divide between mine and the other copies graded is also an interesting one -- perhaps there's a common flaw on copies due to position on the sheet or from machinery? No idea ...

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

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What's Buzzing: Big Dumper closes in on record, Rafael Devers, NFL chatter, one card from every sketch card set ever, wrestling cards and ... a licensing development?

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1 -- Big Dumper is nearing a record and 50 homers

2 -- A licensing development?

3 -- Rafael Devers ... "so last month"

4 -- "Looking for one of EVERY licensed sketch card ever"

5 -- Talking wrestling cards

6 -- All your NFL chatter as the season nears

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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PARALLEL POWER?
The Card: National League Wins Leaders (Spencer Strider, Zac Gallen, Justin Steele) 2024 Topps True Photo variant & Gold Foil parallel
The Price: About $11 total
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: The concept of this one is simple and it's striking -- knock off the border of a base card completely, using just its photo -- and I think it works. But there's also one thing here that's striking -- and not in the best way. These are arguably too rare to make that big of an impact with me and I think perhaps other collectors who might not bother to grab their players or even think about a team set or full set. How rare? They are one in 677 hobby packs and I'm confident they'd be more popular if people could reasonably collect a team run or set. Why? Because they're something dramatically different and you can compare the regular card and this version side by side. I also grabbed a Gold Foil parallel for this one this time after I bit on the variant ... just to say I had one. Even paying $10 for this was a stretch for me ... and those odds and that price might say that these aren't as popular as they could/should be. These are one in basically every third hobby case.
Grab a box right here: MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

NINES ARE FINE
The Card: Aaron Judge 2017 Topps Archives -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: The unique 1960 Topps design always stands out to me. Why? Because one of my first clean vintage cards as a kid was a Gus Bell form the set, which I got since I knew he was a big-leaguer's dad. (Yay, trivia!) So that's perhaps one reason I held this Judge RC instead of letting it go. (Plus, I didn't rip as much of this brand ... so it was the only copy I pulled.) Judge's dominating 2025 season should make you stop and wonder about slabbing any RCs or early/rare stuff you have now ... just because. He and Shohei Ohtani are all-timers playing right in front of our faces now and are as safe as it gets when it comes to grab and slab or buy and hold -- even with plenty of their cards being graded.
The Grade: CGC 9

Reality Check: I knew this wouldn't be a 10 contender with the finicky stock here and the centering being a smidge off by my typical standards for a slab, but, like I said, it was my only copy. Most check in at this grade, so the nine makes sense, too, and the volume below it also shows this card isn't the easiest to grade.

Keep reading for more of this month's 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: 2004 BenchWarmer Series 1 (Canadian box) trading cards
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... See newer BenchWarmer boxes here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of everything in this box.

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What's Buzzing: A QB question, The National, new pulls, Ichiro Suzuki and the Hall of Fame and more in this Monday edition.

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1 -- A QB question 

2 -- The National is days away

3 -- Wrestling chatter

4 -- New MLB pulls are here

5 -- Ichiro Suzuki and new Hall of Famers get their moments

6 -- Nick Kurtz

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

For years now, autographed books coming direct from the publishers -- or direct from the authors themselves -- have been an affordable way to collect ink from notable names in all realms of pop culture.

It's not a perfect system with stamped autos, fakes and autopens sometimes in the mix -- a problem for publishers to catch as they are not authenticators -- but thanks to dedicated collectors on the Blowout Cards Forum and elsewhere, those problems often get caught and fixed ... or at least become well-known enough to avoid if it's an issue that goes uncorrected.

Getting ink in-person is always best -- book tours still happen, of course -- but landing autographed editions from publishers, online sellers or celebs themselves via their websites or other appearances are common.

Our latest subject and autograph in this ongoing series? Former AEW and WWE champion Saraya. 

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What's Buzzing: More reactions to an alleged large-scale autographed memorabilia forgery operation, The National, Juan Soto and plenty more in this Friday edition.

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1 -- Reactions to an alleged autograph forgery ring

2 -- The National nears

3 -- Talking Juan Soto

4 -- Wrestling cards are on their minds

5 -- Collectors' new pulls

6 -- Inside some new Star Trek boxes

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

What's Buzzing: Showing off Michael Jordan cards, new NFL and NBA pulls, The National, a big wrestling weekend and more 2025 Score chatter.

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1 -- Showing off Michael Jordan cards

2 -- Inside a new NFL box

3 -- Mosaic NBA delivers some ink

4 -- All your wrestling chatter heading into a big weekend

5 -- Talking 2025 Score NFL

6 -- The National is on their minds

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ...

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RETRO RECORD-HOLDER
The Card: Roger Maris 2014 Panini Classics Home Run Heroes Jerseys (/25)
The Price: $30
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I ponied up a little bit for this one vs. my typical range for Maris mem cards since it's a rarer card, has a material (jersey/pants) swatch vs. a bat and is from a brand that packed a lot of potential for big names back in the day. Yet, at the same time, that price was a bargain. Yes, its centering is just slightly off, but otherwise it's clean -- that errant spot on the right side is part of the printed design on all cards here. It was an easy addition for a player I collect and pick off stuff for a few times a year. Those top corners are really clean on this one, which might not always be the case with those bold colors.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but MLB cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

AS GOOD AS IT GETS
The Card: Caitlin Clark 2024-25 Panini Instant WNBA (/26,980) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I watched and waited for the most part with Caitlin Clark cards as Panini Instant stuff arrived regularly and her in-pack WNBA Rookie Cards arrived later in the year. But, when this award-winner card popped up with a clean and iconic studio photo? Well, I pretty much instantly (pun not intended as it's simply true) grabbed a 10-pack with an eye for a slab. It's in a past Buzz Buys (hit the archives) and this is the result a few months later.
The Grade: CGC 10 (Pristine)

Reality Check: This one is heavily made and should be heavily slabbed -- the number of Pristines has at least doubled just in the few weeks since I got these back from CGC -- but many won't be checking in at this top mark. I didn't slab to expect a perfect 10 but I thought this one had potential after going through my stack. Three of my 10 had solid centering and this one was first to make that cut ... with this mark I may not need to send in the other two. It's my lone Clark slab ... and it's strong enough it might stay that way just so I can say I went 1-for-1 grading here. We'll see.

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

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For years now, I've said that every card has a story ... but, every once in a while, a celebrity's meandering tale has chapters you might not even know about and, in a few really rare instances, there might even be some cardboard to go with it.

That's the case for me with this card this time -- I'm a grizzled veteran collector who's seen plenty, forgotten even more and collected all kinds of directions as players come and go in the traditional sports realm. TV shows and movies come and go on other cardboard, too, and times just sometimes change for collectibles ... just like my sometimes-meandering tastes. But this one? It was something that's right in my wheelhouse as a Shotzi Blackheart collector and it's totally new to me so here we are. She's a pro wrestler and a unique, self-made character if you don't know -- find her in WWE boxes here.

Not that long ago, I spotted a set that had me doing a spit-take, then a double-take -- and all of that was followed up by picking up my jaw off the floor, a click to buy and then hoping that the stuff would actually arrive. In short, it was something I'd never, ever seen before -- or even seen in a photo anywhere at any time. It's a card set for Creepy KOFY Movie Time, a watch-along late-night TV series that ran several years on KOFY Channel 20 in San Francisco that celebrated the retro horror movie genre with a surf music-serving house band called The Deadlies, as well as regular characters for bits, guests for other segments and then a regular go-go dancer ensemble on stage at all times called the Cave Girls, which marked Blackheart's TV debut. The series came to an end just as her indy wrestling career was taking off and eventually took her around the world with WWE.

The card set is from 2013 -- the year before Blackheart's pro wrestling debut in the indies with Oakland-based edgy and irreverent promotion Hoodslam where she was aligned with the Stoner Brothers (a parody of a famous team) under a Missy Hyatt-inspired moniker for a debut match on ... April 20. (Get it?) This name, though, which she has used otherwise for the rest of her wrestling career and to this day post-WWE, originated before that -- "Shotzi" comes from a nickname based off a character in a musical called Starmites (and her role in a high-school production) and "Blackheart" was an ode to Joan Jett and her band, The Blackhearts.

That's here captured in this set with some eccentric characters that you'd expect to find with the genre. It was a show broadcast from a "cave" under the TV studio with a demon (Balrok) and a zombie (No Name) as its hosts. This card set came two years before her attempt at WWE fame as part of its Tough Enough reality show -- she made it but then didn't when they found she had a health issue -- and then seven years before her eventual arrival on WWE cards (2020) as an NXT star. In between was a busy indy wrestling run where "The Ballsy Badass" left her red hair behind in favor of her trademark neon green and crafted her horned-helmet, tank-driving ways that she rode right into WWE unchanged.

Now, what's my convoluted headline and that Tom Cruise cameo all about?

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What's Buzzing: Jac Caglianone debuts, Mariah May and R-Truth reactions, NBA Finals, new pulls, The National and more.

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1 -- Jac Caglianone debuts (0-for-5)

2 -- The National chatter is here

3 -- WWE roster changes have 'em talking

4 -- Talking MLB

5 -- NBA Finals thoughts ... and more here

6 -- All their new pulls are found here

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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Here's this month's roundup of items that have recently caught my eye as a buyer ... 

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TIFFY TIMES TWO
The Cards: Tiffany Stratton 2024 Panini Three Count WWE Prime Memorabilia Autographs Purple parallel (/25) & standard version (/99)
The Price: About half of a Three Count box these days
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This card was immediately on my radar back when it first was revealed among the mock-ups for this high-end WWE brand and, I've said it before, if this set hadn't used sticker autos it would be perfect. The end of the Panini WWE run combined with a logjam of releases and then the collector (and definitely flipper) focus perhaps shining more on Chrome actually made secondary market prices on a lot of stuff here a bit softer than I had expected, allowing me to pony up on two of these at prices I could handle. (I had initially figured I wouldn't land one of these, let alone one and a parallel.) I was picky with these and wanted to make sure I landed one with a clean auto -- full name, not the abbreviated and half-empty-sticker "Tiff" that shows up sometimes. Both of these hit the spot on both auto quality and price ... and if they ever dip more, I'll do more. Why? It's a Tiffy Time world and we're just collecting in it.
Grab a box right here: WWE cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading ... so here's this month's grading diary.

TOUGH ONE?
The Card: Bo Bichette 2022 Topps Heritage image variation (found in Heritage High Number packs)
The Reason Graded: Some of you might wonder why this card is in the lead slot this month since it's a simple image variation -- but a great one -- from a brand that's not quite as pricey as it used to be. (At least for singles ... you can find this for about $2 or less.) But, finding one of these that will get a high (real) grade? Not so much. The centering can always be a bear here but that's not the constant problem spot. It's the backs of these that use full-bleed black ink where cards that may look flawless on the fronts are often demolished when it comes to those those back edges.
The Grade: CGC 10

Reality Check: This one? It still has a some minor spotting -- that's why it's not a perfect 10 -- but it's way better than every other one I've seen and that's why I subbed this after I found it raw. Why? That front is pretty much a perfectly crafted design and I definitely don't mind retro-styled sets like this one -- I call it the old-guy flagship set as it is for me vs. basic Topps. The stuff feels more sturdy with its stock and printing -- I'm not sure I trust foilboard to age that well, either -- but the trade-off is that Heritage is harder to grade and land those higher marks. In all ways, this one is a win for me, a Bichette collector, and that's why he's batting lead-off. (It also doesn't hurt he's starting to warm up on the field this season.)

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

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From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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: 2022 AEW Allure wrestling cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby) 

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery from this one.

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What's Buzzing: New AEW & WWE pulls, Aaron Judge, 2025 Bowman and more in this Thursday edition.

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1 -- That's a win

2 -- New NFL pulls are here

3 -- All your MLB chatter

4 -- Inside an AEW Black Diamond case

5 -- Checking in on the Aaron Judge chatter

6 -- 2025 Bowman breaks and more

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Have you spotted a hot thread? Tell us about it in a comment or on Twitter.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and break down 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 boxes: 2022 AEW Allure wrestling cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available) 

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery from this one.

Continue reading →