Brandon Kennedy’s Stunning Stash of Super Bowl Tickets one for the History Books
The first time I met 14-year-old Brandon Kennedy, he was quietly working behind the counter at Scott Pierce's SMP Sports Cards in Grapevine, Texas, during a special NBA Finals appearance by former Dallas Mavericks star Derek Harper. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend a lot of time talking to Kennedy that day. If I had, I would've discovered that the…
Gold Rush: The Breathtaking First Glimpses of 2010-11 Gold Standard Basketball
Some might say I missed a golden opportunity yesterday morning by not taking in the packout and quality-control processes for 2010-11 Gold Standard Basketball. I would normally tend to agree with that assessment, but there's something to be said for the mandatory 80-minute marketing meeting I attended instead. Besides, when you've got fellow card-loving comrades (and Panini America product development professionals) Mike Payne,…
The UPDATED Debut of the 2010-11 Playoff Contenders Hockey Golden Ticket Tracker
First things first: We offer our sincere apologies for just now bringing you this first installment of the eagerly awaited 2010-11 Playoff Contenders Hockey Golden Ticket Tracker. It's been a wild few months around these parts but we've finally devoted our full attention to chronicling the 20 pieces of precious 14-karat gold metal randomly buried inside packs of 2010-11 Playoff Contenders Hockey. To…
Score Keepers: A Comprehensive Gallery of Every RC Variation in 2011 Score Football
Panini America NFL Brand Manager Carlos Torrez hand-delivered two heaping handfuls of 2011 Score Football cards to me this morning. What at first glance appeared to be dupes of several of the top rookies from the 2011 Draft Class turned out to be something much, much more. In all, there were 86 different cards -- 36 base Rookie Cards from those players who attended…
Panini America Adds to the Curious Legend of Taro Tsujimoto with Historic Rookie Card
Eleven years before baseball had fictitious fireballer Sidd Finch, hockey gave birth to the legend of Taro Tsujimoto. What hockey has never had until now – 36 years after the mysterious prospect was curiously drafted by the Buffalo Sabres – is a Tsujimoto trading card. That changed in a big, collectible way this week when Panini America released its 2010-11 Score…
Panini Unwrapped Called-Shot Booklet-Card Prize Edition: 2011 Donrus Elite Football
On a day when most of the Panini America marketing team was out of the office on business, what would arrive but the department's boxes of 2011 Donruss Elite Football, one of which was just begging to be busted for another can't-miss episode of Panini Unwrapped. All alone with no one to hold the camera, I cranked on my trusty laptop webcam for…
2011 Stanley Cup Coaches Go the Extra Mile for Special Insert in 2010-11 Zenith Hockey
"No prob." That simple two-word email from Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien to Panini America NHL acquisitions manager Alex Carbajal will likely do more to endear Julien to hockey collectors than anything his Stanley Cup-winning Bruins did on the ice this season. (more…)
Your First Look at the Complete Checklist for 2011 Donruss Elite Football
2011 Donruss Elite Football releases to the masses next week. In advance of that glorious occasion, we thought collectors might appreciate a sneak peek at the complete checklist. So we've included it after the jump. If you missed our Elite quality control gallery from earlier this week, do yourself a favor and give it a look. You won't be disappointed.…
The Quality Control Gallery: 24 Must-See Images from 2011 Donruss Elite Football
I stumbled into Panini America NFL Brand Manager Carlos Torrez in the hall yesterday as he attempted to sneak to his desk lugging an unopened case of 2011 Donruss Elite Football under his right arm. Nothing gets past me. (more…)
Panini America Announces Last Three SPs from 2010-11 Playoff Contenders Hockey
After more than two weeks of gradually revealing the identity of the short-printed Rookie Ticket Autographs RCs that have kept collectors guessing -- and buzzing -- since 2010-11 Playoff Contenders Hockey released on May 18, we've reached the final reveal. Since we felt that releasing all of those Rookie Card SPs at once would kind of remove all the mystery, we leaked them gradually over…