Football Sunday: Le'Veon Bell 1/1 Nike Swoosh

How crazy was the ending to that Steelers/Bengals last Saturday?  My emotions during that game went from high to really high to very low to very high.  Wow!!!!  The Bengals proved that they are their own worse enemies as they lost the game due to terrible penalties in the closing minute. 

I'll take the W!!!

I've been showing off some amazing Killer Bees cards in recent football days.
Unfortunately since showing them off, the players (Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown) have both gotten injured.

To not doom Martavis Bryant, I will show off my favorite current member of the Steelers who is already injured. 

Much like the MLB logoman for baseball cards, the Nike or (formerly) Reebok symbols are some of the most sought after football cards.  When I saw this pop up for sale, I knew that I must add it to my collection.  It's such a beauty!!!!

This is by far my favorite football card in my collection besides the Troy Polamalu Museum Frame I showed off earlier in the 2015 season.

Football Satuday: Antonio Brown Bumblebee Relic

Last Sunday was an incredible day for football for me.

I got to see the Jets lose and the Steelers win within minutes of one another.

Antonio Brown has proven that he is the best Wide Receiver in the game year after year.  He came up with a huge catch against Cleveland last week to ensure the Steelers would go on to have playoff football again this year. 

I said last week that I wanted to get a hit of each of the Killer Bs wearing their "Bumblebee Prison" uniforms.  Nothing will top the Big Ben Auto /10, but this Antonio Brown jersey relic depicting the NFL's top wideout making a sensational catch is a good start to continue the theme.

Football Sunday: Markus Wheaton Auto

We are in the 11th month of the year already so here's my only certified autograph of #11.

The Steelers loss to the Bengals today and suffered another devastating injury that will affect their season success when Le'Veon Bell left with a gruesome knee injury.

Football Sunday: LT Auto

Terrible signature

Good Athlete

Football Monday: Time to be Great!!!!

My favorite moment of Santonio Holmes Steelers career occurred during Super Bowl XLIIIV when he took home MVP honors for the tip toe catch he made against the Arizona Cardinals in the final minutes of the game.  During the second half, you would hear him say "Time to be Great!!!" and after the catch "That's How You Be Great!"

I don't have a large Steelers or Penguins PC, but the cards that I do have are more meaningful to me than just pieces of cardboard.  I knew I wanted to bolster the Steelers PC this year and one of the main guys I wanted was Santonio Holmes.  This on card autograph rookie was a no brainer for under $10 delivered.

Football Sunday: Going Green with Troy

I bought a total of 4 blasters and rack packs of football product in 2014.  One pack of Valor yielded me this awesome numbered green parallel of Troy Polamalu.

Troy is getting up in age, but his presence on the field is still incredibly strong for the Steelers defense.  He's a natural leader and when he isn't on the field for a game they have had a losing record since he came into the league.

I'd like to add an autograph card of his to my collection one day, but in the meantime I'll be happy with my autographed 8x10 plaque I got as a Christmas gift many years ago.

There's been a lot of talk about Troy retiring this season and if he likely doesn't retire, he will most certainly be cut for the 2015 season.

Super Bowl Sunday: 6 Time Super Bowl Champs DUAL AUTO!!!

One of my 2015 Collecting Goals was to add a pair of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famers to my collection.  With this card, I am now half way there.  When I was looking to upgrade my Steelers collection, I knew that I wanted to go Quality over Quantity.  Getting a dual autograph of the two quarterbacks who have brought the Steelers 6 Super Bowl Championships seemed like a no brainer.

Hailing from 2005 Donruss Elite, this Passing the Torch dual auto numbered 25/50 features 4 time Super Bowl Champion Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw on the front

and

2 time Super Bowl champion (and potential future Hall of Famer) Ben Roethlisberger on the back.

With the Patriots and Seahawks playing today, it is a guarantee that one of them will tie the number of Super Bowl rings with someone on this card.  Could it be Tom Brady as he attempts to get the elusive number 4 tying him with Bradshaw and Montana for most all-time or will it be the young Russell Wilson tying Ben Roethlisberger and 10 others in the list of 2x Super Bowl champions?

Personally I'm pulling for the Seahawks because quite frankly, I hate Tom Brady and the Patriots.

GO HAWKS!!!!

Football Sunday: The Final Chapter (for now)

Well, as far as I'm concerned football season is over and I have 44 days of watching hockey until pitchers and catchers report.  The Steelers lost in disappointing fashion yesterday at home to the Ravens eliminating them from further playoff appearances.

A lot of people I work with know that Le'veon Bell is my favorite current Steeler and his absence was greatly missed yesterday.  However, when I got asked if I thought Bell could have given the Steelers a win, I had to say "probably not".  There's no doubt that the Steelers offense would have been better suited against the Ravens with Bell in the lineup instead of being on the sidelines. However, the Ravens rushing defense was downright filthy this year limiting opponents to less than 4 yards per carry.  Bell wasn't the reason the Steelers lost yesterday.

The team made a lot of costly stupid penalties that Joe Flacco capitalized on.  That's the reality.

Above is my latest Le'Veon Bell purchase that cost me a winning bid of $4.99.  I considered making an all green month for March to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but didn't know if it would be as well received as my Save Second Base, Save the Boobies month.  Would you guys like to see me Go Green for St. Patty's Month?  I've got a lot of emerald/green type cards I can show off.

Football Sunday: My 1st Antonio Brown Autograph

The Steelers season has been much better than I had anticipated.  The offense has really been a sparkplug in the team's sucess since midseason.  The Killer Bs might be best known in baseball as Bonds/Bonilla for the Pirates in the 90s or Bagwell, Biggio, Berkman for the Astros, but the Bs are setting all kinds of franchise records this year offensively led by Big Ben (2 Bs in that...LOL), Brown, and Bell.

I've been showing off a lot of Le'Veon Bell cards this season as he has emerged as my favorite player to watch.  Of the Steelers 16 games a quarter of them featured autographed of the league's top fantasy back this year.

Last month I showed off a gorgeous relic of Antonio Brown which marked my first and now I am going to show off my 1st Antonio Brown auto.  I'd like to add an on card auto to my collection sometime, but the prices for his stuff have skyrocketed in recent weeks.  For now, I am happy with the AB84 signature which still cost me nearly $20 delivered.

Football Sunday: Fantasy Focused!!!

For the second straight year, my fantasy football team is going to the Championship game.  Strong seasons by Aaron Rodgers (1st Round), Le'Veon Bell (2nd Round), TY Hilton (4th Round), Odell Beckham (12th Round), and Justin Forsett (Waiver wire) have really helped get my team to the Championship Game.  I'm currently sitting 8 points ahead of my opponent but he still has Emmanuel Sanders and the Broncos defense left while I only have a kicker left.

Last year we played for an autographed football (player's choice) and I lost by less than 2 points in the big game.  This year we are playing for an autographed jersey (player's choice).  I'm hoping that Cincinnati loses and Denver kicks about 10 field goals while giving up 4 TDs.  That should help secure my marginal lead.  

Regardless of what happens in fantasy football, the STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!!!!!

The above card was part of a Pittsburgh lot I recently purchased for $3 delivered.  The lot also included Pirates McCutchen and Polanco and Steelers Polamalu and Bryant.

Football Sunday: Go Steelers!!!!!

Just a quickie for today so that I can show off a super sweet Antonio Brown patch card I grabbed for $30.

Numbered to only 25 copies from National Treasure this card features three colors spelling out Steelers. Shortly after purchasing this card it was revealed that Panini was using event worn patches on game used described cards. This doesn't really bother me too much because ultimately I value the card at what it looks like, if it will stand out in my collection, and how much I collect the player. Since I don't have any Antonio Brown patches despite being an elite receiver and one of my favorite players, I thought $30 for this card was fair value.

Football Sunday: Another Sweet Le'veon Bell Auto/Patch

I don't have a huge football collection, but it's starting to grow more and more each month.  Prior to this season, I only had 1 Le'veon Bell card in my collection, a base card from Topps.  Recently I have stated that I am trying to get more quality over quantity with my Steelers and Penguins collections and the focus of my Steelers additions has been Le'Veon Bell.  I drafted him in the 2nd round of my fantasy football league this year and he has been a monster nearly every week putting up 20 points for me consistently.  Last week he reached 38 points with his 204 rushing yards and 18 receiving yards, touchdown, and several receptions.

My newest Bell addition is from 2013 Inception and features a nice patch along with a sticker auto that I won for $25 delivered.

Nothing will likely beat my first Bell auto because it was on card and a booklet, however this was purchased for only a fraction of the price and I think I will make Le'Veon one of my collecting goals for next year.  And for those that forgot I posted a pink towel relic of one of the leagues top rushers during my Save Second Base event in October.

Football Sunday: It was a Good Time to be a Steelers Fan!!!

The Steelers were steamrolling through the NFL putting up ridiculous offensive numbers being lead by 2 time Super Bowl Winner Ben Roethlisberger.  Big Ben has a number of offensive weapons in Antonio Brown, Le'veon Bell, Martavis Bryant, Heath Miller, and Markus Wheaton.

Then last week happened in which the Steelers were embarassed by the 1-8 New Jersey NY Jets.  I chose not to go to the game and am glad that I didn't see that disgrace in person.

For years, it was always the Steelers defense and running game that kept the Steelers as top contenders.  It's so nice for the black and yellow to be putting up monster numbers this year.

The above black border parallel from 2011 Topps was part of my recent ebay steals and I won this for $1.75 delivered.  Not a bad price for such a great photo of a Steelers celebration .

Football Sunday: Le'veon Bell Book with On Card Auto and patches!!!!

The Steelers are rolling lately with Big Ben leading the charge.  Ben is the first QB in NFL history to throw back to back 6 TD games.  Think about that for a second...

2013 Topps Five Star Booklet 8/15

One of the Steelers best offensive weapons this year is running back Le'veon Bell.  Bell is a dual threat to both run and receive the football.  So far this season, Bell has 1 rushing touchdown and 2 receiving touchdowns.  He's already got 711 rushing yards and 433 receiving yards.  In recent weeks, Bell has been used more as a receiver while on the field and you've seen the results of the Steelers offense exploding because of the dual threat.

The above 2013 Topps Five Star Booklet is the nicest football card I own.  Bell is my current favorite player, just slightly above Antonio Brown, and I really wanted to get 1 nice card of him.  I've decided that for my Steelers and Penguins collections that I would go with the less is more way of collecting.  Less quantity, but better quality.  The above Bell card is what can be expected going forward for my Steelers collection.

The Steelers got the Jets today and I'm hoping to score some tickets to go to the game.  If not, it's looking like another day at the pub cheering on the black n yellow.

Football Sunday: Fear the Beard!!!!

It's Football Sunday and the Steelers are facing the division rivals and much hated Baltimore Ravens.  November is NoShaveNovember so what person to show off on this 1st week of November Football than The Beard himself, Brett Keisel.

Keisel's career is coming to an end as the 36 year old has been relegated to backup and practice squad mostly at this stage.

I just got my first Keisel card and it's a boring old score card worth less than a half dollar.

Football Sunday: Troy Polamalu dons the Pink

It's Sunday and that means....FOOTBALL!!!!

Since this will be my final Save Second Base Football post, I figured I should show off one of my favorite NFL players ever, Troy Polamalu.

I bought this pink parallel off COMC a long time ago for only around $1.50 if I remember correctly.  It's numbered to 399 unlike the baseball pink refractors.
And now to show off women with his hair and of course...boobs

Football Sunday: Landry Jones Breast Cancer Ribbon

I'm very short for words today so here's a quick Landry Jones Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon from 2013 Topps Platinum.

 And here's the boobs...

Football Sunday: Le'veon Bell Towel Relic

There is no single card that defines what I am trying to accomplish this month by making every card post PINK than this card right here.  NFL has really brought a lot of awareness towards breast cancer by fully allowing their players for the month of October to wear pink on their uniforms.  Panini decided to make relic cards of photoshoots wearing a pink Breast Cancer Awareness towel and randomly insert them into their products.

Numbered BCA7 and costing me $8 delivered is this really awesome Le'Veon Bell towel relic.

I drafted Le'veon Bell in the 2nd round of my fantasy football team this year and he has been an absolute stud for me so far.  Anybody else draft him?

Now for some Steelers boobs...

Football Sunday: Antonio Brown Topps Chrome Pink Parallel

Saving boobies isn't just for baseball cards, I am expanding my pink parallel Save Second Base charity event into my football card collection too.

Every year I join a Fantasy Football team with some family members and some of our close friends.  Last year, the winner got an autographed football of an active player of their choice.  I finished in second place losing the final week to the eventual champ by only 4 points.  Drew Brees had some monster weeks for me, but a large reason I was successful was because of my 7th round pick Antonio Brown.  Being a Steelers fan, I knew that he would be #1 on the depth chart for wideouts with Mike Wallace departing for Miami.  Week after week Brown was consistent grabbing me nearly 20 points a week.

Had I won the league, I would have chosen my autographed football to be of Antonio Brown.

2012 Topps Chrome Pink Parallel 217/399

Instead, I ended up with this 2012 Topps Chrome pink parallel I purchased for just under a buck and a half.

Football Sunday: Landry Jones Event Gloves

It's Sunday and that means one thing: FOOTBALL!!!!  The Steelers are playing the Buccaneers in week 4 and they should be able to improve their record to 3-1 on the young season.

One player who will not impact the game at all is sophmore player and 3rd string quarterback Landry Jones.  Jones was selected in the 4th round of the 2013 draft class.  He has struggled in his preseason opportunities with the team and has yet to dress for an official NFL game.

When the Steelers drafted Jones, they thought that he may one day succeed Big Ben as the Steelers QB of the future. He hasn't lived up to that hype and remains most likely a 4th round lottery ticket bust.

All that said, I really hope that Landry can catch on somehow and be given the opportunity to play in the NFL.  He's a devoted Christian and has a great video detailing his life and religious beliefs on the site iamsecond.com.

The card pictured above ran me a cool $8 delivered and is my first event worn glove card I own.  The stitching and three colors were too much to pass up for the price.