College football
Gallery: 2016 Panini Immaculate Collection Collegiate football cards
Panini America's latest collegiate brand arrives this week with some high-end touches that offer up the school colors with the big-league feel.The brand is 2016 Panini Immaculate Collection Collegiate and, while these football cards aren't cheap, they do offer top names from the past and present on both autograph and memorabilia fronts.
Buzz Break: 2016 Panini Black Gold college football cards
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: 2016 Panini Black Gold college football cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
Packs per box: 2
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 10
Base set completion: 0 of 89 (0 percent)
Duplicates: 0First Buzz: 2016 Panini Immaculate Collection Collegiate football cards
What: 2016 Panini Immaculate Collection Collegiate football cards
Arrives: Sept. 14
Box basics: Five autographs or memorabilia cards per box (15 boxes per case)What's buzz-worthy: The college gridiron gets its own Immaculate Collection release with the stars of the past (and recent past) with the high-end take we got a taste of with the multi-sport edition last fall.
Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.
Panini ramps up signings before NFL Draft with NFLPA Rookie Debut
This year's NFL Draft begins tomorrow night in Chicago, but Panini America has been busy at work the last couple of days signing plenty of players.And it didn't even have to trade a single pick.
Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (April 16)
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: The Michigan Wolverines, best steals, big breaks in football and a big non-sport break, too.
Panini reveals 2016 Contenders Draft Picks autograph short-prints
The new crop of NFL hopefuls are here and Panini America's first college release with all of those future stars in their school colors can be found in 2016 Panini Contenders Draft Picks.And just like last year's rookie season for this brand -- and the past NFL Contenders releases -- there are plenty of short-prints, which Panini has detailed.
Many Football Hall of Fame finalists represent college powerhouses, but not all have a lot of college cards
We're a day away from the Pro Football Hall of Fame revealing its 2016 class of inductees, and there's been plenty said about a group that includes Brett Favre, Ken Stabler, Terrell Davis, Terrell Owens and other finalists as the hours click down to Saturday night.And that's when there will be even more said.
But Buzz was wondering about college ties for the big names this year and noticed something else -- many of the candidates come from big schools with a number of Hall of Famers already enshrined. That got Buzz thinking about which schools have the most players in Canton -- and whether this year's class might shake things up in the record book.
First Buzz: 2016 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets

What: 2016 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets
Arrives: March 15
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box.
What's buzz-worthy: After more than a year on the sidelines, TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures football brand returns to the field with some extra potential twists for collectors.
Immaculate Collection chin snap cards -- what do you think?
Some collectors who have ripped into boxes of 2015 Panini Immaculate Collection College have found a pretty unusual type of memorabilia card -- chin snaps.Literally almost all parts of the football helmet have made their way into cardboard now -- except maybe the mouthguard, inner padding and optional visor.
First Buzz: 2016 SAGE HIT Low Series football cards
What: 2016 SAGE HIT Low Series football cards
Arrives: Feb. 29
Box basics: 10 autographs per 18-pack hobby box (16 boxes per case; five cards per pack)What's buzz-worthy: The first SAGE football card set of the year comes packing plenty of ink of notable college players and the NFL's next wave of stars -- with no redemptions.
Keep reading for more.
First Buzz: 2016 Panini Contenders Draft Picks football cards

What: 2016 Panini Contenders Draft Picks football cards
Arrives: March 9
Box basics: Five autographs per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)What's buzz-worthy: This year's top college stars who have declared for the 2016 NFL Draft will have some of their first cards here with the familiar pro look of Contenders while still showcasing their school colors.
Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.
Board Buzz: Five must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Dec. 31)
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: Multi-player cards, player-worn patches, Court Kings, goals and resolutions for 2016, college football and more on the forum that recently joined the 10-Million Post Club.
Best of 2015: The 15 trading cards that helped define a crazy year
It's a time of change, a time of high-end product exploration and a time of options for many collectors in what we call the sports card industry these days.Tastes, products and prices continue to evolve as does the business environment that helps bring us our cardboard. For every super-pricey box being made, there are seemingly just as many buyers ready to rip or pick off singles for not-always-so-super prices (but super bargains).
The Buzz has only been around for part of 2015, but Buzz has been here all along as part of the world of collecting. Here are Buzz's picks for 15 cards that helped define 2015.
2015-16 Upper Deck #201 Connor McDavid RC
The impressive prices being paid for what's just a simple piece of cardboard with just gloss and some foil stamping shows that fundamentals never go out of style when there's a big name involved. This time, it's the No. 1 pick Connor McDavid, a Canadian phenom drafted by the Edmonton Oilers. This photo was selected by collectors and it even has a fun sign of 2015 -- the fan showing off a photo on her phone in the background.Need a fun & affordable football card focus? Try collecting NFL sons
Admit it, you may have overdone things when it comes to buying football cards this year -- maybe past years, too -- and have a big ol' stash of cards you don't know what to do with. What do you keep? What do you jettison? That's where having a collecting focus comes in. If you haven't overdone it on wax, then maybe having a focus for your single-card buys is a need. (That's one even Buzz has struggled with over decades of collecting.)One potential niche that seems prevalent this year in NFL and college sets? Cards showing the kids of former NFL players who have now made their way onto cardboard.
They seem to be everywhere this year. Second-generation players aren't anything new, of course, but they can be a fun way to revisit the past while also collecting the present. Buzz started his collecting days in the 1980s and, back then, a Joe Montana autograph wasn't an easy find -- plus, his handwriting didn't justify the high cost on a small budget. Fast-forward to 2015 and Nick Montana has cardboard. He won't be an NFL star -- he wasn't really even that good in college -- and the handwriting also isn't great, but he's got a certified autograph card.
Buzz wanted it, Buzz got it. Can't say the same thing for a Joe autograph, though, even all these years later.
Get out your time machine to land a Christian McCaffrey football card
Stanford's Christian McCaffrey picked up The Associated Press College Football Player of the Year nod on Tuesday, becoming the first non-Heisman Trophy winner since 2009 to win the award.But if you want his first football cards? Well, you'll have to do some digging -- because six years ago was the same year he made his debut on cardboard.
Minimalist Ballparks & Ballpark Princesses are focus of sports fan and sports artist S. Preston
They're two distinctly different styles of art probably catering to different types of sports fans, but you should have no doubts about one thing -- the works of S. Preston are the work of a sports fan.
"I won piano competitions, art competitions and mathematics competitions, but that didn't matter because all I wanted to do was be in sports," he writes on his website. "But as we all know too well, the dream of being a professional athlete is not for everyone, including me."Working with a broadcasting team led to a lot of time in stadiums and one day an old doodle led to an idea of drawing stadiums in the simplest ways possible -- but noting the details sports fans can Identify with. "Minimalist Ballparks" was born. On the other end of the spectrum are his hand-penciled "Baseball Princesses" sketches of iconic characters little girls love with a simple twist and the simple idea that "girls can be baseball fans, too."
Buzz Poll: Alabama's Derrick Henry or Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott -- which superstar will you collect?

Two of the top Heisman Trophy candidates this year already have cardboard and certified autographs thanks to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl sets from Leaf Trading Cards.
Alabama junior Derrick Henry set the Crimson Tide's single-season rushing record in a dominating 271-yard, 46-carry day against the rival Auburn Tigers on Saturday. Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott also put up a dominating 214-yard day with a pair of touchdowns in a rout of the rival Michigan Wolverines.
Buzz-worthy Bargain Break: 2013 Fleer Retro football cards
From time to time, we'll spotlight a box or case that seems like a buzz-worthy bargain right here from BlowoutCards.com. What: 2013 Fleer Retro football cards
Present Price: $399.95 per 12-box case or $34.95 per box
Original Price: $1,199.99 and $99.99
Manufacturer: Upper Deck
Box Basics: Two autographs per 18-pack boxNotable Rookies: Eddie Lacy, Geno Smith, Montee Ball, Cordarrelle Patterson, Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins, E.J. Manuel, Giovani Bernard, Le'Veon Bell, Tavon Austin
Other Notable Autos: Andrew Luck, Joe Namath, Thurman Thomas, Tim Brown, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, Bo Jackson, John Elway, Eddie George, Tedy Bruschi, Terrell Davis, Ron Dayne, Ozzie Newsome, Eric Dickerson, Roger Craig
































