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

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CROSSING HIM OFF 
The Card: Joe Montana autographed 1988 Topps card (BAS slabbed)
The Price: About $65
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: Rewind the clock to the early/mid 1990s and Montana is the unquestioned top QB on cardboard with perhaps only a small number of RBs or WRs even coming close to competing with him for popularity on cards. Back then, in a new era of certified autographs from brands such as Pro Line and Classic or mail-order autographed items, there was ink to chase but Montana was never, ever on my radar. Why? Look at that auto ... there's still not much going on there that would have sparked me to pay a premium price for a glorified initialgraph with a slight more added on. Fast-forward to now and the Hall of Famer still has all those rings and all those MVP awards, but he's been surpassed on the stat sheets and cards ... it happens. The 68-year-old has done a lot of signing for Leaf for its releases and buyback brands -- I think this was one from there -- in recent years and it had been on my radar for literally months as I really like the look of many of his 1980s Topps cards. A relatively clean copy with an on-card auto is a no-brainer if the price is right and I got this one for about half of the asking price of man identical copy I'd been watching. All these years later, I can cross Montana off my ink-needed list.
Grab a box right here: Nothing for this ... but NFL cards are here.

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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What's Buzzing: New tennis pulls, preseason NFL chatter, a solid NASCAR find, pondering autograph ink, bounties and more in today's edition.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

NASCAR MEETS MiLB
The Cards: Dale Earnhardt 2012 Hickory Crawdads
The Buzz On This: The racing icon's Chevy dealership is actually well-represented on MiLB cardboard from the past with several years of card sets including nods to their corporate sponsor. Sometimes, they're cards of office members, new cars, logos or scenic images that inject some horsepower onto the diamond, but this pair of cards -- pocket change-priced finds -- feature The Intimidator himself signing autographs and standing alongside his legendary No. 3. This is a perfect example of the odd things you might not expect to find in baseball card sets from down on the farm.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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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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I CAN'T LAND THE CARD, BUT ... THIS IS EVEN BETTER
The Item: Paige autographed 2012 FCW Summer Slamarama 12-by-18 promotional poster
The Price: Pricey ... but probably less than your new WWE hobby box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: So, what is this? It's a piece of 2000s WWE history that ultimately would only surface regionally (in Florida) and is one of few collectible options for the company's developmental ranks in the years before NXT was on TV every week. Florida Championship Wrestling was NXT's predecessor with it being broadcast on regional TV only (and sometimes weeks after events happened ... not live). Meanwhile, many of today's current stars got their starts there with different names than you might know -- and the only "stuff" that might be found now for this summer in particular are a single in-demand (and counterfeited) card set, potential programs/magazines, tickets and maybe a calendar ... but FCW wasn't like NXT is now in a lot of ways. It wasn't uncommon for the stars of now to be taking money for tickets or helping the crowd members find their seats before a modest small-venue show. This is a large poster that uses a version of Paige's card from that set of the same name -- a pricey one that's eluded me due to price and the fakes (I'd only buy graded) -- and this auto is an early, full-letter signature unlike her few card autos. It came from a Florida-based collector who went to an FCW show on June 8, 2012, in Punta Gorda, Fla., and landed it at a signing to kick off the regional Summer Slamarama Tour that year ... and that was the first event. Supposedly only 300 fans per stop (while they lasted) got card sets -- that also shows why those are pricey (if they survived). This stop had six FCW stars in the set signing these posters and Paige is the biggest of them by far -- and she had only signed with WWE as an 19-year-old and made her FCW debut that January. How many of these are still around now? I have no idea ... but I've never seen another.
Grab a box right here: Land WWE stuff at BlowoutCards.com

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

HIS FIRST FIRST
The Card: Justin Turner 2006 Grandstand Billings Mustangs
The Buzz On This: This MLB veteran, All-Star and World Series winner has played for four teams in 15 years but it all started off with a different franchise as he was a seventh-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2006 -- and other than the basic bio stuff that's about all this first card even says. I had this one bouncing around in my small stash of MiLB sets for some time as the Mustangs were about the only team I knew about as a kid in the real world -- in the reel world the Durham Bulls, of course, were big in the early 1990s after Bull Durham. I recently flipped back through some of my old sets and was surprised that I knew this name and it was him. Turner never actually played for the Reds in an MLB game and he's well-known for that big crazy beard but that's not here. His first Bowman Chrome card came two years later -- his only Reds card (I think) -- and his RCs are in 2010 releases when he was a Met. This one is an easy first ... and I'm not even sure he has much more MiLB cardboard. Turner is perhaps not as high-profile on cards as he was as a Dodger, but this card being a first makes it a lot more interesting to me than even his RCs. It's also so clean I might even slab it at some point, too.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can find in MiLB.

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

SAME SET, SECOND STAR ...
The Cards: Spencer Strider 2021 Choice Rome Braves (five copies)
The Buzz On This One: This month's item leads off just like last time with a key single from a team set that has a current big-leaguer who had a heck of a rookie year in Atlanta last season. Unlike Michael Harris, Strider had a number of Rookie Cards in big-league sets last year and he also had a lot of prospect cards (also unlike Harris) so cards like these have a lot of competition. But, I like this one as he looks like a big-leaguer other than that cap and the set was relatively cheap, too, vs. a lot of in-pack stuff by the pack or box right now. The print run on sets like this where there are multiple stars might not be on the low side for MiLB sets but in comparison to packed-out MLB cards there's no chance that the print run is in the same galaxy. I like that.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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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 ...

BAD IN BLACK!
The Card: Julio Rodriguez 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter X
The Reason Graded: I ripped a pair of these boxes and haven't even sniffed at the regular stuff -- a first for me in its run since 2006 when I used to clear everything I saw on every shelf -- but instead I opted to grade a couple of key pulls from this and other postseason releases with notable newcomers in play. Why this one? It just looked perfect even vs. others I pulled -- and since I only pulled one and have really no plans at this moment to even dabble with regular Ginter I put it into my bulk sub.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: CSG may have a flub in its system as this didn't even show in the pop report (perhaps it was tagged as a regular card) but I'll present it here* with what I know ... and that's that I know at least this one exists. He's the face of 2023 Topps, so he's on the minds of a few fans right now -- and that's why he's batting lead-off despite this pop report anomaly.

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

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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 ...

WILD THING!
The Card: Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) 2014 Topps Archives Major League 
The Reason Graded: As you can tell by the green label, this one is an older submission of mine ... but since spring training will be upon us soon I figured I'd lead off with an oddball classic and a card that has been pretty pricey in recent years despite being from a set where they showed up one per blaster box (if I remember correctly). The challenge here? Now even finding blasters is not easy ... they got ripped. Why? There weren't just basic inserts for some of the stars of Major League who got carded ... they signed, too. (Roughly one auto per hobby case.)
The Grade: CSG 9.5 (now 10)

Reality Check: This one was clean so I knew I wanted to slab it -- the backs here have black borders that can be an issue -- and as it turns out this is the only 10 of a small bunch graded. That's a win for me.

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

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Minor league baseball cards from the past can include some weird stuff ... stuff you wouldn't imagine to be found on a baseball card. Here are some some new oddities in this latest edition of MiLB Madness. 

FACES OF FOLEY
The Cards: Chris Mudd 2009 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #28 & Reading Phillies Update #34
The Buzz On This One: Between all of his personas -- Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love -- pro wrestler Mick Foley has a lot of cardboard appearances but there are others out there that, well, might surprise you. These surprised me as they're from nowhere near a wrestling ring and they're more than a decade old -- and yet I had never seen them before. This card of a minor-league team trainer has a cameo for Foley who was at the Reading game for a guest appearance with his TNA championship that year -- April 22, 2009, to be exact -- and it's actually not even the only Phillies card to show wrestlers or others of note. Why are there two versions? One is from early in the year and toward the end of the season the team opted to release an update set with more players (hence the card number changes) and to change the typography. So, really, there were two Mick Foley baseball cards I didn't know about. You'll see more of Mudd here next month.

Keep reading for more examples of some weird or fun baseball cards you can (almost) only find in MiLB.

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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 ...

FEELING SUPER
The Card: Nick Swisher 2015 Bowman Chrome Superfractor #129 (1/1)
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up off of a collector friend who grabbed it for me, making this just my second Superfractor for my retired favorite player and my third Super overall (I once pulled one from a Heritage blaster) in years of collecting. There's not a whole lot of grading drama to be had on either the grade or the pop report, but I figured I'd lead things off with the rarest card of the bunch for this edition.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This is the only one that exists and it had been on the market for literally years online -- I got it for about $3 more than an offer I made for it when it first arrived and was declined. I've never been all that enamored enough to chase any of them, but this one I'm comfortable with since it was not much more than a basic Bowman box typically goes for at suggested retail price even after landing a top grade.

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

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Some of the biggest sports stars of the past and some of NASCAR and MLB's biggest names of today will all be appearing on Funko Pop! toys this year.

Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali get things going in a legends line, while Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt lead the pack for new NASCAR toys revealed just as the Daytona 500 and a new racing season starts today.

Joining them will be a huge lineup of MLB stars and mascots -- and for NFL fans a two-pack for Shaquem and Shaquille Griffin of the Seattle Seahawks.

Keep reading for a rundown of them all.

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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: 2018 Championship Collection NASCAR repack (MJ Holding)
Where to buy: Walmart ($19.98) Click here for NASCAR cards

Packs per box: 9 plus one bonus item and eight extra cards
Cards per pack: Varies by brand

Notables on base cards – See gallery for highlights

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Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 12 in 12 -- a series of a dozen breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We'll post one every hour all day long ... this is Hour 7.

The box: 2006 Press Pass Legends NASCAR (retail blister packs box)
The cost: Will vary (click here for hobby when available)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

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For just the second time ever, the No. 3 Chevy is in Victory Lane after the Daytona 500.

Austin Dillon's second career victory in NASCAR's top series came at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday night after he bumped Aric Almirola into the wall on the final lap, winning on the only lap he led of the evening.

The last time the No. 3 was a winner at the track in the top series was when Dale Earnhardt won the race for the first and only time in his legendary career driving for owner Richard Childress, who is Dillon's grandfather.

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Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson.

Those are the three most-successful drivers in NASCAR history when it comes to season championships and Johnson joined the other legends on Sunday when he won his seventh Sprint Cup at age 41.

Simply put, he's easily the best driver of the here and now -- and his cardboard is among the most-overlooked when it comes to value vs. performance. There are others who have done far less who sell just as well or better.

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When Jeffrey Earnhardt hits the track at Darlington in September, he'll be driving the No. 32 ford with a paint scheme that long-time Earnhardt fans should recognize.

Dale Earnhardt fans, that is.

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What: 2016 Panini Prizm NASCAR cards
Arrives: July 27
Box basics:  One autograph and two memorabilia cards per 20-pack box (12 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: NASCAR trading cards are back for the first time since 2014 with the first of four Panini America releases this year -- and this one starts off with a dazzling array of inserts and a Prizm rainbow perfect for auto racing.

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

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It was 15 years ago today that the NASCAR world changed dramatically as its biggest star died during the last lap of its biggest race.

Dale Earnhardt's final Daytona 500 was one that put the spotlight of both the media and collectors on the racing ranks like never before as The Intimidator's life and his famous No. 3 Chevy were celebrated for all they had accomplished.

Countless diecasts, trading cards and other items were scooped up by collectors and new fans like never before back then. Today? The legend is still strong though the collectibles world has changed dramatically.

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If you've watched any NFL games this season, you've likely heard the word "concussion" many times as the league has implemented new tests on players to help prevent future problems by assessing the here and now immediately following a hard hit.

On Christmas Day, a film about the issue of concussions in football called Concussion opens in theaters. You've probably seen the commercials for the film during NFL games.

Will Smith stars as Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovered the degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It's a real-life issue that has affected more than 80 former players -- many you've seen on football cards and might have collected. The movie is an important one and Sports Illustrated has Smith on its cover this week to discuss the movie.

Is it the first time a celebrity has appeared on the cover of the highly collectable sports magazine?

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