NCAA baseball has always been a bit of the odd one out when it comes to the major sports' cardboard as the best MLB players are often drafted out of high school.

Unlike football and basketball, where we have seen college teams on cards en masse for years, college baseball wasn't really at the forefront for baseball brands.

The arrival of 2015 Panini Contenders from Panini America changes that a bit as it's a prospect brand loaded with college colors. Sure, there are MLB prospects found inside who are already in the minors or guys who were signed internationally or out of high school, but there are many NCAA logos we haven't seen a lot of on baseball cards as draft picks sets have exploded in the hobby since the 1990s.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

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What: 2015 Panini Black Gold football cards
Arrives: Jan. 20, 2016
Hobby box basics: Five cards per pack (two packs per box, eight boxes per case) with one autograph or autographed memorabilia card, one additional hit or gold disc, one metal logo, one base card and one shadowbox insert in each one.

What's buzz-worthy: Black Gold returns for a sophomore season of high-end acetate- and metal-enhanced fun. This high-end brand will showcase premium memorabilia pieces with, according to the company "even more on-card autograph content" than in its rookie year.

See a gallery and more ... below.

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What: 2015-16 Panini Revolution basketball cards
Arrives: Jan. 20, 2016
Hobby box basics: Eight packs per box, five cards per pack and 16 boxes per case (two mini cases inside).

What's buzz-worthy: This foilboard-centric release will deliver "an old school pack-opening experience with eye-dropping inserts and parallels," according to the company. We think it's a brand that might be best summed up as "stunning simplicity." Collectors can expect to find one autograph in each eight-box inner case, while each box will include seven parallel cards, four rookies, three inserts and one card numbered to less than 100 copies.

See a gallery and more ... below.

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Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns is off to a historic start after his first five games as an NBA rookie.

On Saturday, the No. 1 overall pick scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against the Chicago Bulls, putting him in some elite company.

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As one of our five players to watch this weekend, we told you to keep an eye on Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota in his return to the starting lineup.

He delivered, throwing for 371 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-28 win over the New Orleans Saints -- his best performance in six games this season. In fact, that upped his touchdown total for the year to 12, which is tied for the most for a rookie QB in franchise history. (Vince Young's mark will fall this week unless the undefeated Panthers throw a shutout.)

We all know that Mariota's cardboard was going to remain expensive no matter what happened as he's one of the premiere players in this year's rookie class. With a game like that, though, any jitters people had about digging in on his cardboard likely vanished.

>> Click here to shop for 2015 football boxes on BlowoutCards.com.

Keep reading for more players who generated some buzz on the field -- and why -- this week.

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There are several new products on tap for this coming week with some brands that had experienced some delays finally getting the nod along with some memorabilia-based and cut autograph releases.

The biggest arrivals will be 2015 Panini Prizm football cards and 2015 Panini Contenders baseball cards.

For Prizm, it's the return of the rainbow of parallels with plenty of new touches and inclusions sure to get football fans going. Standard Prizm boxes will include two autographs per, while jumbo boxes will double that.

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Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota will have plenty of eyes on him on Sunday when he returns as the starter after suffering an injured knee ligament that had him out of action since Oct. 18. A good game could spark more interest and that might happen if his team's game against the Saints turns into some type of shootout. A bad one could have people starting to wonder about the guy who went No. 2 overall in this year's draft. (We all know QBs get a longer shelf life than other spots, though, right?)

Keep reading for four more guys to watch on Sunday.

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Josh Norman is a cornerback for the 7-0 Carolina Panthers and in his fourth season after being drafted 143rd overall to of Coastal Carolina back in 2012.

And if he's anything like most other defensive players in the NFL he's not on the minds of that many collectors.

Champ Bailey knows a bit about playing cornerback in the NFL, though, as a 12-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of the Hall of Fame's All-2000s team. He sees big money in Norman -- enough for us to wonder if he might be a football card collector.

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What: 2015-16 Absolute basketball cards
Arrives: Dec. 16
Hobby box basics: Four packs per box -- one autograph or memorabilia card per pack (five cards per pack, 10 boxes per case)

What's buzz-worthy: Absolute returns to the basketball court after two seasons on the bench and is back with a suggested retail price of only $25 a pack as well as a focus on rookies that "will quench your thirst," according to the company.

See a gallery and more ... below.

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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 five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

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What: 2015 Panini National Treasures Multi-sport college cards
Arrives: Jan. 8, 2016
Hobby box basics: Six autograph or memorabilia cards with one being a booklet plus two base/parallel cards. Four boxes per case.

What's buzz-worthy: National Treasures arrives for the college ranks "with something for every college fan," according to the company. More than 500 players will appear in this hit-driven high-end brand all in their college colors. There will be a mix of players from the past and present from baseball, football, basketball and notable college coaches, too.

See a gallery and more ... below.

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Here are some facts touting Panini America's latest baseball set, 2015 Panini Contenders, which arrives on Wednesday, Nov. 11, packing some prospect debuts and plenty of international, prep and college talents in their teams' colors.

54 -- There will be 54 players who are appearing on their first autographs in this one, according to the company, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Victor Robles among them. Guerrero is the son of the former big-leaguer and will aim to begin his MLB career in Canada as a Blue Jays signee. (His dad, of course, began as an Expo nearly 20 years ago back in 1996.) Robles is a highly touted Nationals outfielder.

2 -- That's the number of boxes in a case that will pack an autograph from either Cubs catcher Kyle Schwarber, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager or Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada. Schwarber will be seen in his Indiana Hoosiers gear but is already on the minds of many collectors as is Seager, who will be found as part of the product's USA Baseball contingent. Moncada is a new international signee who has very little cardboard so far.

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Panini America's perennial power called its Black Friday pack promotion is coming soon and the company teased a few more of its planned cardboard on Tuesday.

A pair of sets will be found in collectors' premium packs awarded for hobby shop and online purchases during Black Friday -- one being College Legends and the other spotlighting Rated Rookies.

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We knew the big hits from 2015 Panini Playbook would be buzz-worthy when we first saw them, but a quick search of eBay takes that notion and amps it up a little more as we've seen plenty of cards pulled by collectors since the product's release last week.

From the Down & Dirty to the autograph books, the Armory cards and the mandatory rookie showcases, there's plenty of drool-worthy material in this one.

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LeBron James became just the 20th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points for his career, and he's done it faster than any other player -- at age 31. Including ABA stats, just 25 players in history have reached that mark.

We all know James' cards are among the priciest in the hobby but we should consider that he'll potentially be in the Top 10 by season's end. It makes one wonder if James under-appreciated when it comes to his value on cardboard.

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Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum scorched the New Orleans Pelicans for a career-high 37 points Wednesday night in Portland's home-opener.

The third-year player out of Lehigh University was the 10th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, but he has averaged just 6.6 points a game in limited time during the past two seasons. In five playoff games last season, though, he averaged 17 points a game.

>> Click here to buy 2013-14 NBA wax boxes

His start Wednesday was just the fifth of his career -- including the postseason -- but it shows there's big potential for the guy who bears a resemblance to the famed Steve Urkel.

There's especially big potential for his cardboard.

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This in from the Philadelphia Daily News after the NBA debut of Jahlil Okafor Wednesday night in Boston ...

It is impossible to overstate the significance of Jahlil Okafor . . . though the Philadelphia region seemed mystifyingly indifferent. Think about it: The Sixers finally added a complete player.  This is Eric Lindros, Jim Thome, Donovan McNabb and Allen Iverson.

With apologies to Sir Charles, Okafor is the best real big man to hit town since Moses [Malone], rest his soul, except Moses wasn't a savior. Jahlil Okafor brings salvation in short pants.

Okafor scored 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots in his debut. Said his coach later in the story about his ability to work on the court: "That's a hint of Tim Duncan."

We'll have to wait a while to see if he's the next Timmahhh, but we can start by looking at Okafor's early cardboard.

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The early buzz surrounding this year's Panini America Black Friday packs includes a first for the  hobby for a season that just began last night.

The packs will include the first memorabilia cards of players from this year's class of NBA rookies. They'll also include, as always, autographs and memorabilia cards from Panini's sports.

There also will be rookie cards for newcomers in all sports each numbered to 599. That group will include Marcus Mariota and other NFL rookies, Kris Bryant and other top baseball prospects as well as top picks from the NBA.

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What: 2015 Panini National Treasures baseball cards
Arrives: January 2016
Hobby box basics: Eight autograph or memorabilia cards with one being a booklet.

What's buzz-worthy: National Treasures' third edition for baseball will up the ante on game-used memorabilia cards with oversized jumbo swatches for pieces not normally found in cards. Among them? Stirrup socks. Sock cards will be limited to five copies or less and showcase players such as Lou Gehrig, Bob Feller, Elson Howard, Gabby Hartnett, Herb Pennock, Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose. Also to be found? Fielding gloves, batting gloves and sweatband cards. This will include current and past stars such as Kris Bryant, Byron Buxton, Kyle Schwarber, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn, Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell, according to the company.

See a gallery and more ... below.

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There are seven new products on tap for this week with a new addition to the Topps Heritage baseball line and the debut of Panini Contenders Draft on the hardcourt notables along with the latest football releases for Panini Playbook and Topps Finest.

Topps celebrates the 65th anniversary of its first baseball card set with 2015 Topps Heritage '51 Collection, which is a boxed set of 104 cards created in the style of the company's simple 1951 release with every set including 21 parallel cards and a certified autograph.

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Among next week's arrivals is the newest edition of Panini America's Playbook, which is a product loaded, as the name suggests, with booklet cards that have pushed the envelope pretty well in the last couple of years.

This year will be no different with a new assortment of Armory and logo-centric patch books that one could easily argue are helping change the game when it comes to memorabilia cards.

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Jameis Winston's stats through six weeks of the NFL season might not overwhelm you -- 1,174 yards passing seven touchdowns and a 77.6 rating -- but one statistic might surprise you.

He's the only rookie (so far) to win the NFL Rookie of the Week award more than once.

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Autographed chin strap cards -- they've never been done before, but they're coming in 2015 Immaculate Collection College, which was revealed this week and is coming in December from Panini America.

Packing just seven cards per box -- five of those being autographs or memorabilia -- this brand will include stars from several sports on cards that might not have been seen before and all are done using NCAA team logos and colors. One cool example? A memorabilia card of Tony Gwynn the basketball star at San Diego State.

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