Domo Arigato: Captain Canuck & All About Cards

If you walked into my office right now, you'd think it's the middle of hockey season. On my desk I have a couple of Sharks team sets, two huge stacks of hockey cards, a few NHL rookie cards, and a cool National Hockey Card Day set. And they were all free of charge... prizes from contests I entered over at Captain Canucks' blog - Just A Bit Offside and Baseball Nut's blog - All About Cards.

Both of these guys have twice as many followers as I do... so there's no doubt in my mind that you've heard of both of these blogs. However... if you haven't... you'd be wise to head over and check them out.

Okay... onto my winnings. I'll start with the Captain's package... since I received it a few days ago. I apologize for the delay, but today was the first opportunity I had to open it... and it was well worth the wait. He included the following:

1991/92 OPC Inserts Shark Set

These were some of the first San Jose Sharks cards produced during their inaugural season. I only recognize a few of the names, but the Link Gaetz card definitely stands out... since he was a great fighter and one of my favorite Sharks from that first season.

2010/11 UD National Hockey Card Day Set

According to the Captain, these cards were distributed in Canada in packs of three... and you could only get one pack at a time... unless you knew someone. Well... I'm glad I know him... because I now have a sweet set that features a cool rookie card of Taylor Hall and a bunch of other veterans and HOFers.

In addition to those two sets, he also threw in some PC cards and a 1991/92 wax pack of Skybox basketball. I'm excited to add all of these cards to my collection and very much appreciate the generous Stanley Cup contest, Captain Canuck.

Although my San Jose Sharks failed to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals again... I must admit that the NHL playoffs were very good to me in other ways. The second NHL Playoff contest I entered was over at All About Cards.

After he randomized a bunch of names, my name came up third... which meant that I won this huge lot of 2010/11 Donruss Hockey:

Within that stack were these six rookie cards:

And a partial San Jose Sharks team set:

The only card I need is card #20... Joe Pavelski.

Thank you so much to both of these excellent bloggers. I have to admit it's a great feeling to win something in a contest... which is why I'm looking forward to giving away all of my prizes next week. But before I do... it's time for another contest within a contest.

On Sunday, Bert Blylevin, Roberto Alomar, and Pat Gillick will be enshrined in Cooperstown... the same day the Toronto Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers in Arlington. Since Gillick and Alomar won back to back World Series together in Toronto and Blylevin pitched his only MLB no-hitter as a Ranger in 1977, I figured I'd focus on that game for our contest.

Here are the guidelines:

Answer the five questions below. Each correct answer earns you 2 points. Each incorrect answer will cost you 1 point. Just like last time, if you choose to not participate, it will cost you. This time I'm going to deduct 3 points. Why? Because it prevents people from running away from a challenge.

Here are your 5 questions:

#1 - Who will win the game? Blue Jays or Rangers (pick 1 of 2 choices)

#2 - How many times will Nelson Cruz strike out? 0, 1, or 2+ (pick 1 of 3 choices)

#3 - Will Josh Hamilton hit a home run? Yes or No (pick 1 of 2 choices)

#4 - How many people will Alexei Ogando strike out? 0-4, 5-6, or 7+ (pick 1 of 3 choices)

#5 - How many hits will Yunel Escobar get? 0, 1, 2, or 3+ (pick 1 of 4 choices)

Bonus: Predict the final score and earn 3 bonus points.

example:

Blue Jays 7

Rangers 5

Everyone's comments/answers will be hidden until the contest entry deadline... which will be on Sunday @ 4pm (PST). So best of luck!

By the way... it's my 300th post and it's fitting that it's a "thank you" post, since this blog would not exist without all of your support. So... although my original goal was to thank Captain Canuck & Baseball Nut for their generous contest winnings... I also want to thank each and every one of you who's taken the time to read this post or any of my other posts.

The fact is... blogging is awesome. I've made a bunch of friends here... traded with numerous collectors through our blogs... won some awesome prizes... all while doing what I love to do most... collect cards.

But at the same time... and all of you fellow bloggers know this... it's a lot of work to run a blog. Whether it's coming up with new writing material... doing research for articles... scanning photos... or (LOL) running contests... every minute adds up.

And although I've always told myself that I started this blog to document my cardboard adventures and I didn't care if I had any readers... I'm pretty sure I would have stopped a long time ago if nobody bothered to read my posts.

So... here are 300 thank you's to everyone who has ever taken the time to read and/or comment on any of my posts:

Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo Arigato Thank You Domo ArigatoThank You Domo Arigato Thank You

Have a great weekend everyone... and best of luck on the contest within a contest... Sayonara!