Auction Buzz is a monthly look at some of the variety found out there on the auction block via for Dallas-based Heritage Auctions ... check 'em out.

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A MONSTER HITS THE AUCTION BLOCK
The Item: Honus Wagner 1909 T206 Sweet Caporal back -- "The Garagiola Wagner" (SGC Authentic)
The Price: $1,625,000 after 35 bids (ends Feb. 28)
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: I’ll spare you the historic lore of this card -- hit the link for Heritage’s full recap of this one’s place in history -- but you should know that this one is already over halfway to its estimated $3M sale price in the wake of some modern cards making big headlines with big prices last year. Sure, this one is a low-grade copy -- but it’s real -- and this particular card was once owned by former MLB player. It was "the prized possession of baseball icon Joe Garagiola, whose nine seasons of Major League play was followed by decades of elite achievement as a broadcaster.” How did he get it? "Garagiola's son informed us that his dad's 1954 Giants uniform was part of the package he traded for this holiest of hobby grails,” Heritage said.

Keep reading for more interesting pieces up for grabs right now.

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What: 2025-26 Topps Chrome Cactus Jack NBA basketball cards
Arrives: Feb. 13 -- only at NBA Crossover event during All-Star Weekend
Box basics: Unrevealed beyond a $700 starting price
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here (when live)

What's buzz-worthy: The Cactus Jack crossover hits the NBA hardwood for a release that starts at $700 a box with online reservations and pick-up in person at the All-Star event next weekend in Los Angeles.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of what's to come. Continue reading →

What: 2025-26 Topps Three basketball cards
Arrives: Feb. 19
Box basics: Three autographs or autographed Relics per four-card box (four boxes per case)
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps has teased an upcoming new NBA line, Three, with nothing but images to reveal the possibilities at the moment.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: Living Set and NBA chatter, the NFL postseason is here, legal challenges and collectors' thoughts.

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1 -- Talking the Topps Living Set for NBA

2 -- Even more NBA chatter

3 -- NBA breaks are here

4 -- All your NFL chatter for this weekend's action

5 -- More thoughts from collectors 

6 -- An interesting legal challenge

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

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What's Buzzing: Nothing but name-dropping in this Saturday edition.

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1 -- Shohei Ohtani

2 -- Nick Kurtz

3 -- Tom Brady ... Drake Maye

4 -- Jalen Hurts

5 -- Wemby 

6 -- Cooper Flagg or Kon Knueppel?

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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: Several links that are worth a look on the final day of 2025.

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1 -- Inside a case of Marvel Studios Chrome

2 -- New NFL pulls

3 -- Still talking Cooper Flagg

4 -- Busting a bunch of NBA hanger boxes ... and more basketball

5 -- New non-sports breaks ... and even more

6 -- Plenty of spicy baseball 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.

What: 2025-26 Topps Midnight basketball cards
Arrives: Jan. 29, 2026
Box basics: Three autographs per seven-card box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: TBD
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps Midnight hits the officially licensed NBA hardwood for the first time with a mix of past stars, the top rookies and other intergalactic visions.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: NFL and NFL Draft thoughts, trends from the show floor, Cooper Flagg, fake autographs and more.

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1 -- NFL Week 17

2 -- Pondering NFL Draft possibilities 

3 -- Spotting trends from the card show floor?

4 -- Cooper Flagg

5 -- One to see

6 -- Still a good question from the baseball section

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

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What's Buzzing: John Cena's final match and more on collectors' minds this weekend.

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1 -- John Cena's final match & all your WWE chatter is here

2 -- Heritage High Number checklist reactions & more

3 -- Talking college football

4 -- Cooper Flagg

5 -- Thoughts from an NBA collector at a show

6 -- Talking NFL Week 15

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

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What's Buzzing: NFL Week 15, best NBA insert card designs, Cooper Flagg, Pete Alonso, new pulls and more.

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1 -- Awaiting NFL Week 15

2 -- Not that first one ... I know that

3 -- One worth a look

4 -- Cooper Flagg chatter

5 -- Pete Alonso heads to Baltimore 

6 -- New MLB pulls

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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: NFL Week 13 and plenty more is on collectors' minds as we recover from Black Friday.

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1 -- Ripping into a new NFL box

2 -- NFL Week 13 chatter continues

3 -- Two WWE stars who collect

4 -- All your college football chatter

5 -- Debating the Duke rookies

6 -- Check out all the new MLB breaks ... talking QC

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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: NFL Week 13, caring about defense, a Duke rookies debate, NBA pulls and more.

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1 -- NFL Week 13 chatter

2 -- Will this make collectors care about defense? (Probably not.)

3 -- Debating the Duke rookies

4 -- Ripping NBA boxes

5 -- Talking comics

6 -- Check out all the new MLB breaks

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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: Shohei Ohtani puts on a show (again), Cooper Flagg, Wemby, NFL Week 8, showing off Ohtani cards and more.

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1 -- Shohei Ohtani puts on a show in World Series

2 -- NFL Week 8 reactions

3 -- Showing off Ohtani cards

4 -- Cooper Flagg ... Victor Wembanyama

5 -- "Priced out"

6 -- Topps NBA continues to spark discussion

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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.

It's a new era -- or at least the return of one -- as Topps' first NBA release under its new deal with the league license dropped this week with the arrival of 2025-26 Topps.

It's the first Topps release since its abbreviated 2009-10 campaign when Panini America took over the league license on an exclusive basis, ending a non-exclusive Topps run that had began in 1992-93. Before that, Topps NBA cardboard happened for a 1957-58 set and then continuously from the 1969-70 edition to the 1981-82 release before it bowed out. While there have been plenty of stops and starts for basketball and a number of players on the cardboard court, this run appears to be a long-term deal as Fanatics is amassing licenses with the major leagues when it comes to collecting -- MLB and the NBA now as well as the NFL beginning next year. So far, big rollouts have included NBA Debut patches worn by rookies in their first games as well as gold Logoman patches for award-winners to go from their unis and later into cardboard -- but both of those are too new to be an in-pack reality for this release.

The company's slogan for its turn with the ball is "it's our game now" -- as subtle as a Shaquille O'Neal rebounding elbow -- but the people are, so far, showing that it's their game and their cardboard world -- and Topps is living in it (while making their cardboard). The auction action is heavy after just one day with big asking prices, big pulls, some big sales and some big demand for some names from this release with a big print run that's helping make sure everybody gets a little piece of the action if they want some.

There have been release parties with VIP guest appearances, corporate SWAG and other prizes -- all one would and should expect for a new-license rollout -- and there's also been a little bit of cardboard controversy so far, too, that's really just more of a head's up scenario for collectors to know about more than anything truly salacious as people tear into packs looking for the first Lakers autographs of LeBron James (he had been an Upper Deck exclusive with no NBA-licensed ink since it bowed out with the Panini deal), the first Spurs autographs of Victor Wembanyama and, of course, the new No. 1 pick on the box, Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg.

Keep reading for that and a look at some of the big finds so far.

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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? An NBA battle from not that long ago.

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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What's Buzzing: The World Series, awaiting Topps NBA, Shohei Ohtani, Vladdy Jr., Labubu and more in today's edition.

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1 -- The World Series is set: Blue Jays vs. Dodgers

2 -- NFL Week 8

3 -- All the Labubu Chrome chatter is here

4 -- Talking Vladdy Jr.

5 -- Still talking Shohei Ohtani

6 -- Topps NBA formally arrives tomorrow

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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: 2025 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketballs Season Edition
Arrives: Dec. 17
Box basics: One autographed basketball per box (four boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures brand hits the hardwood for a new season with some top newcomer ink to be found and a number of past greats in there, too.

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What: 2025-26 Topps NBA basketball cards
Arrives: Oct. 23
Box basics: One autograph or Relic per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case); One auto and one Relic per 10-pack jumbo box (eight per case) with other formats noted below.
Odds: Click here
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps returns to the NBA hardwood for the first time since 2009-10 as it tips off a lengthy new deal with the league that it first made cards for back in the 1950s. "It's our game now," read a company tease and reveal of the inclusions this time around.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of what's to come. Continue reading →

What: 2025-26 Topps Holiday basketball cards
Arrives: Oct. 30
Box basics: 10 packs per mega box (20 boxes per case) or 24 packs per advent calendar (eight per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2025 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Autographed Basketball Jerseys Season Edition
Arrives: Nov. 14
Box basics: One autographed basketball jersey per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: TRISTAR's Hidden Treasures line hits the court for the new season with some of the biggest stars in the history of the game involved and a notable trio of Texas No. 1 picks as its Grand Treasure prize.

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What's Buzzing: MLB and NBA chatter, Cooper Flagg, new MLB pulls, inside NFL packs and more.

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1 -- NBA Postseason reactions

2 -- All your MLB chatter is here

3 -- Cooper Flagg thoughts in advance of the NBA Draft 

4 -- New MLB pulls are here

5 -- Opening NFL packs -- new and old

6 -- Still talking modern-day MLB overproduction ... talking NBA

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

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What: 2024-25 Bowman University Best basketball cards
Arrives: May 29
Box basics: Four autos per four-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: The third year of Bowman U Best will arrive with top college stars from the women's and men's ranks with an array of inclusions that once again are colorful and varied in their scarcity.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What's Buzzing: Talking Ichiro Suzuki cards, Topps Chrome, 1990s NFL inserts, nervously holding Mike Trout cards and more.

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1 -- Talking Ichiro Suzuki cardboard

2 -- They have their thoughts on Topps Chrome football 

3 -- Showing off 1990s and 2000s NFL inserts 

4 -- Giddy!

5  -- Chatter about the state of the hobby?

6 -- Nervously holding Mike Trout cards?

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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: 2024-25 Bowman University Chrome basketball cards
Arrives: April 3, 2025
Box basics: Two autographs per 24-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Odds: Click here
Order: Click here (when live)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' newest round of college basketball cards for active college players once again will showcase college stars from men's and women's basketball all in one spot with a rainbow of potential among everything found in colorful, shiny Chrome.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2024 Topps Chrome McDonald's All-American basketball cards
Arrives: Feb. 13, 2025
Box basics: At least three autographs per four-pack box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Topps' presence on McDonald's All-American cardboard is back for another Chrome run with a number of new inclusions and colorful surprises as it showcases future stars of the hardwood on both the men's and women's side of the sport.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery of images.

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