With these Ticket Stud or Ticket Dud stories I'm turning just a tiny bit of that energy just a few degrees away from cards (we'll still have plenty of them here) for a different kind of cardboard. What am I doing? Simple ... this is an occasional dip into some random ticket lots -- a show and tell showing something small with a story.

This time? A decade ago in college football.

Keep reading to see the details this time ... and tell me if you think it's a Ticket Stud or a Ticket Dud.

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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: 2023 Panini Chronicles Draft Picks football cards (blaster)
First Buzz preview: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for a few formats)

Keep reading for a breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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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: The Phillies rout 'em, NFL chatter, new pulls, TacoFractors and more in today's edition.

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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: MLB postseason chatter continues, NFL chatter, new pulls, TacoFractors and more in today's edition.

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What: 2023 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmets Platinum Edition Series 2
Arrives: Dec. 15
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (eight boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: A new batch of Hidden Treasures autographed minis arrives soon from TRISTAR as their final release of the year with every box including either a Hall of Famer or an active player.

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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: 2021 Wild Card Alumination Collegiate Edition football cards (premium blaster)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Keep reading to see a full breakdown and gallery of everything that was in this one.

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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: Connor Bedard arrives, MLB and NFL chatter, TacoFractors, Bowman U Chrome and what's next for Mac Jones?

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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: Michael Harris, NFL Week 6, "playoff integrity," Brock Purdy, college football, TacoFractors and more.

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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: Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and other NFL Week 5 reactions as well as Clayton Kershaw, TacoFractors and more in this Monday edition.

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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 pack: 2021 Onyx Vintage College Football cards
First Buzz preview/checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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What: 2023 Wild Card MATTE Football Premium Edition football cards
Arrives: Oct. 20
Box basics: Five autographs per box (12 boxes per case -- five Black, five White -- via a mini-case for each color)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Wild Card is back with nothing but autographs in this one with two top names guaranteed as part of a case that delivers 60 signed cards every time.

Keep reading for more info and 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 pack: 2021 Onyx Vintage College Football cards
First Buzz preview/checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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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: 2023 SAGE Artistry football cards
First Buzz preview & Checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery for what was in this one.

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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: 2023 Bowman University Alabama Football cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/odds: Click here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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THANKS TO OLD EL PASO ... 
The Card: Shotzi Blackheart autographed 2021 Topps Chrome WWE card (Fanatics witnessed)
The Price: $18.13 shipped (after $50 off promo)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you hit that link above and follow the instructions on the can when you hit a grocery store, you should be able to land a code for $50 off your order over yonder and it should be good on anything. While I pondered using this on some other things, I went back to my collecting well for a simple item that I would probably not buy at its original price as it's an aftermarket signed card but one that was witnessed and then slabbed and it says so right there on the label, which I like. It's not the best card per se for an added auto and her certified auto from this set can probably be found for less than this card's original price ... but for the delivery price here I didn't mind it. Plus, I made some tacos. I opted to stick closer to one of my collection cores with more Shotzi ink ... and as you'll see in the rest of this edition I'm still all over the place -- this is a Buzz Buys with some oddball and interesting pick-ups for this collector these days.
Grab a box right here: Chase the certified version in packs here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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 pack: 2021 Onyx Vintage College Football cards
First Buzz preview/checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Continue reading →

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: Matt Olson makes some MLB history, awaiting Bowman U Chrome, NFL Week 2, NBA cards, licensing and more.

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What: 2023 Bowman Chrome University football cards
Arrives: Sept. 27
Box basics: Two autographs in every 24-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' second Chrome release for the NCAA prospect ranks in pack form and with school colors and logos arrives with some of this season's biggest names inside, too.

Keep reading for more and a full 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 pack: 2021 Onyx Vintage College Football cards
First Buzz preview/checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (when available)

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

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What: 2023 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Mini Helmets In-season Edition
Arrives: Oct. 27
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line drops for a second time this year with a new assortment of NFL and college helmets in the mix and some of the biggest names in the history of the game among them.

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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 ...

FROM THE BARGAIN BIN TO ...
The Card: Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Topps Traded -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I picked up this at the last minute -- literally at closing time -- at a past National Sports Collectors Convention after some digging through a bargain bin where cards were literally bouncing around inside cases in a plastic tub. For just $5 this card (as a raw copy) was mine after one thing jumped out at me -- its back with all that black ink was perfectly cut and its front was super-close to centered. It's not that I needed this card, really, as I picked up about three or four sets from the 1989 JCPenney Christmas catalog -- just $12.99 apiece -- back in the day, but I found the rough back edges to be an issue when revisiting all my copies with the the stars that survived past purges. This one made it into one of my bulk grading subs earlier this year as it was past time to grade one. Yes, it's got a very slight rough spot on the front left -- some extra fuzz as it's some light cardboard -- but everything else here (especially the back) was too clean to not send it in.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: That's definitely the kind of grade I was going for here, though a lot of them seem to check in at that mark -- about 17 percent of the current population -- which seems high for the era, but, at the same time, these were released as boxed sets and not in packs so they perhaps didn't get handled as much during packaging. Plus, inner cards in the boxes got protected pretty well. I'll take it. This one has always been one of my favorite RCs for this icon ... because I could afford this one and not the other big one that many love. I have them all now, of course (I think), but I'm pretty sure few or even none of my copies from back then would grade like this one did. Not bad for a $5 find and then $10 more to grade it.

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

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What: 2023 Wild Card Five Card Draw football cards
Arrives: Sept. 29
Box basics: Five encased autographed cards per box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Wild Card's once again on a very numbers-based presentation for college football stars' autographs with five serial-numbered cards inside numbered packs that add some certainty to the chase -- every card is numbered to no more than five copies across the entire release and every box includes a 1/1 card.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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 What: 2023 Panini National Treasures college football cards
Arrives: Oct. 6
Box basics: Seven autographs or memorabilia cards per eight-card box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: National Treasures goes back to school for another fall with new draft picks in their school colors in a release that's once again nearly all hits.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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Buzz buys and busts a lot of boxes right here for Buzz Breaks, but one of my goals is to rip a little less 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.

So, with all that said, here are a few Buzz Buys ...

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IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON ... 
The Item: Paul "Bear" Bryant cut autograph (BAS authenticated)
The Price: Less than a lot of new hobby boxes.
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: This pricier (for me) pick-up actually came in the last week of last year but I decided to hold onto posting it here until it's the right time -- and since football season is upon us, well, that means now's the time. In the fall of 2019, I bought a starter auto of this legendary Alabama Crimson Tide coach who before Nick Saban was easily the greatest in school history (right now, it's perhaps a toss-up) -- that one was an inscribed nickname-only auto -- for a lot less as it was a cut from a paperback book. This one? It's signed on thick, red paper (almost a light cardboard stock) and I know exactly where it came from -- a 1975 copy of his autobiography, Bear: The Hard Life and Good Times of Alabama's Coach Bryant. I have a clean-but-ratty copy of that book somewhere in my stash from an antiques store find 20-some years ago, but when this popped up from a West Coast mega-dealer of vintage (and selected modern-player) autographed stuff and plenty more I bit. I actually prefer the cut auto feel here in its case vs. the full book as it can be viewed when you find it vs. tucked behind a cover. A lot of Bryant autographs are found these days -- 40 years after his death -- are on signed copies of this book or on a style of autographed photo or two that is nearly always found inscribed and dated to fans or boosters from back in the day. While a photo (preferably slabbed) would be nice, this is a better, simpler item. Authenticated photos can cost less but look iffier depending on condition. I like this one -- and it's card-like feel -- and, heck, I might even do more. They are out there and findable.
Grab a box right here: College football boxes

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What: 2023 Panini Flawless College Football cards
Arrives: Oct. 27
Box basics: Six autographs and two memorabilia cards per 10-card box (two boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Flawless' ode to college football drops for another year showcasing legends of the past and recently drafted stars all in one high-end spot.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery of images.

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