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 ... 

GOOD AS GOLD ...
The Card: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin 2022 Panini Select WWE Gold Flash (/10)
The Reason Graded: If you recognize this card, well, there's a reason. Just a few weeks ago, I pulled it from a blaster box and thanks to CSG's quick, budget-minded services I turned this around fast and, well, this rarity pays for itself. This retail-only card is rare -- only nine others like it exist -- and it came back with a top mark since even the horizontal centering was clean. (That's not the norm from what I have seen with this release.) This is a pricey card right now so that was my main reason for slabbing, and now it's that much better.
The Grade: CSG 10

Reality Check: It's the only one that has been slabbed so far. How many might still be sitting in packs? Generally speaking, Select is a strong release worth your look in any format -- and I have other stuff here I intend to get graded.

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

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If you hadn't noticed, there are a number of boxes with discounted prices right now right here as Blowout Cards' Black November sales have arrived this year.

The first wave is here and many of the discounts were dramatic enough that Buzz once again had to ponder the possibilities in many of the boxes and cases -- and here are five that caught this collector’s eye ... and there's far more that just might suit your tastes in the big sale.

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PLAYING IT SAFE? NAH ... THERE'S HUGE POTENTIAL HERE
2020 Topps Heritage MLB
Buzz isn't a high-roller for the most part -- even when the big sales hit -- but there are releases where the discounts can make the gamble (and this one, like many, can be a gamble) worth it. This one gets the nod from me this time as it's one that I did very well with -- check out the autograph in this break (or at right) -- that's a win that's not the norm ... but he's also not alone. You get some kind of variation in every box most of the time and a good name there can mean good things. There are also rarer Relics to go with ink here where master set collectors can pay well if it's something they need. This Ryan will end up in a slab for me at some point -- I should have slabbed it long ago no matter what but those black borders have made me push it off -- but other autos here include Bo Bichette (rookie), Austin Riley, Anthony Rizzo, Carl Yastrzemski, Fernando Tatis Jr., Hank Aaron (yep!), Johnny Bench, Mike Trout, Pete Alonso, Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Yordan Alvarez (rookie) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. among others. They won't be in every box or even every case, of course, but they could be in there and when it's cheaper that's when it's time to open.

Keep reading for a few more boxes you should consider (and are likely to end up in Buzz's cart).

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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: 2022 Topps Archives baseball cards (hobby)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (for hobby)

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

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What: 2022 Donruss Optic baseball cards
Arrives: Dec. 2
Box basics: Two autographs per 20-pack hobby box (12 boxes per case)
Order: Click here

What's buzz-worthy: Optic hits the diamond as a postseason release but with plenty of inserts and color to go with a loaded lineup of stars young and old on Optichrome.

Keep reading for a gallery and more info.

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What: 2022 Super Break Super Duper Baseball Edition
Arrives: Sept. 14
Box basics: One buyback card per box (five boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Super Break takes its buyback line to a high-end multi-sport stage and packs only baseball cards inside for this one -- a release that "will pack a serious punch."

Keep reading for more info and a selection of images.

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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: Shohei Ohtani flirts with a no-hitter, Tua Tagovailoa takes another big hit and is out, defining vintage cards, NBA chatter and more.

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What: 2022 Topps X Bobby Witt Jr. Crown Collection baseball cards
Arrives: Live now via Topps
Pack basics: 25 cards per pack (hits every other box)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Via Topps.com; Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Bobby Witt Jr. gets to curate his own baseball card set that has plenty of big-leaguers, some family ties and more inside every box.

Keep reading for more info and a gallery for 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: 2022 Topps Chrome baseball cards (hobby box)
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: Click here (a few formats)

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: 2022 Topps Museum Collection baseball cards
First Buzz preview & checklist: Click here
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

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

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What: 2022 Topps 3D baseball cards
Arrives: Today via Topps.com
Box basics: Eight cards per pack
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: Topps On Demand's annual Topps 3D baseball card set is live today (at the moment) but we have the basics for this popular release that should arrive in collectors' hands soon.

Keep reading for more info when it's avaialable.

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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: Chasing the Triple Crown, Aaron Judge, 50 top MLB prospects, NFL chatter, Chet Holmgren and "is Shohei Ohtani overrated?"

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What: 2022 Panini Three & Two baseball cards
Arrives: Sept. 30
Box basics: One slabbed auto card and one slabbed mem card per five-card box (10 boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: This one is dubbed a "release that aims to deliver numerous autographs and memorabilia from today’s top stars and prospects" by Panini America with "autograph content from the who’s who of the baseball world."

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022 Topps Finest Flashbacks baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 22 (582 Montgomery Club presale) via Topps.com
Box basics: One Refractor per box
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: This one arrives once again with a throwback look but today's players with ink and more to be found for a number of veterans and newcomers, too.

Keep reading for more and a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022 Topps Diamond Icons baseball cards
Arrives: Aug. 17
Box basics: Seven auto cards, two auto-Relic cards and one Relic per 10-card box (four boxes per case)
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: "One of the Crown Jewels in the Topps trading card collection" is back once again with the same format as previous years but with new players and plenty of hits -- in fact, nothing but hits.

Keep reading for more as well as a full gallery of images.

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What: 2022 Topps Derek Jeter Call Of The Captain baseball cards
Arrives: Now via Topps.com
Box basics: One autograph or Relic per 15-card pack
Checklist: Click here
Order: Click here (when available)

What's buzz-worthy: The New York Yankees icon teams up with Topps once again for a 50-card set that includes nods to players of the past as well as the present with Jeter hits also in the chase.

Keep reading to learn more and see 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 ... and this time around it's a little heavier on football as that season is here.

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AEW ORIGINALS ... AS IN ORIGINAL ARTWORK 
The Cards: Gummy Arts original T206-style drawings (1/1s) for Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, MJF, Powerhouse Hobbs & Sting
The Price: Less than an AEW hobby box
Why it’s Buzz-worthy: If you don't know the work of artist Mike Noren -- aka Gummy Arts -- he's been drawing athletes or memorable pop culture characters in penciled cartoon-style reproductions of past cards or on new creations for years now. You can find constantly updating feeds of his work in timely posts over on Instagram or Twitter and then sometimes those get reproduced and sold as cards in packs. In other instances, he's let the original artwork go, too. Those vanish fast and can be pricey -- actually, his packs can vanish fast, too -- and for years now I've eyed the section of his site for original art (typically $50-80 depending on subject) that made it into cards. I had never found one that was must-have for me -- or at least found a must-have one in stock -- but one day after seeing a tweet of his I did my regular ritual and checked the site to find this set of five T206/Honus Wagner homages in one slightly pricier lot but had to grab them. I had remembered seeing the Rosa online but didn't remember any of these being made into actual cards. It turns out they weren't, so the only thing that exists f0r now (at least when I recently grabbed them) are these originals. Four are top AEW stars while one is an all-time great who has worked for every company ... really a no-brainer for me and I might have paid the typical full price for one or two of these. The Rosa card in a Tijuana jersey and others in their own Wagner-style threads made me laugh, while that Cassidy is not far from spot-on even in Noren's style. Poke around here on The Buzz and you'll see more of these ... just not in 1/1 original art form.
Grab a box right here: AEW cards are here

Keep reading for more interesting items ...

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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: Vin Scully, gloss issues, The National, "Tank for Tua," pondering prospects and a huge pull.

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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: 2018 Topps Update baseball cards (retail)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com (several formats)

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

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What: 2022 Leaf Decadence sports cards
Arrives: Sept. 30
Box basics: Three framed autographed cards per box (three boxes per case)
Order: Click here (live soon)

What's buzz-worthy: Leaf's meshes chromium-stock autographs with a framed presentation for legends from all around the sports world in a high-end autographs-only release that it calls "one of our greatest items ever."

Keep reading for more info 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 boxes: 2022 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (two hangers)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/SPs/more: Click here

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

Continue reading →

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 boxes: 2022 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (two hangers)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/SPs/more: Click here

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

Continue reading →

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: 2022 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/SPs/more: Click here

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

Continue reading →

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: 2022 Topps Series 1 baseball cards (hanger box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com
First Buzz preview with checklist/SPs/more: Click here

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

Continue reading →

TRISTAR will have plenty going on at The National this year with all of the autograph signers, but that's not all -- the company also will have bonus bags for collectors who buy boxes from dealers at the show and bring them to its booth to open them.

Selected retailers will have your shot at getting a TRISTAR bonus bag at the show.

Three TRISTAR Hidden Treasures products are eligible for this one and bonus bags will include shots at autographed memorabilia pieces from Ken Griffey Jr., Ben Affleck, Mike Trout, Ted Williams and Shohei Ohtani for starters.

And that's not all.

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CLICK HERE FOR THE CHECKLIST

National Baseball Card Day is going global ... and it's going beyond baseball.

Topps revealed on Wednesday that Aug. 6 will be International Trading Card Day in hobby shops around the world with Major League Baseball stars in play along with UEFA Champions League soccer stars and even the Garbage Pail Kids on tap.

What will it mean? Keep reading ...

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