30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Mental Health Break

March has legitimately been crazy.  Even though my days of being a basketball fan are in the rearview mirror, I'll still fill out a bracket during March Madness and follow the scores.


Unfortunately my mind has been on other things lately, so I'll be going bracket-less this year.  Back in November, I purchased a box of 2015 Panini Contenders Draft Picks during my Black Friday haul.  The original plan was to use the contents of this box to help me make my selections.

Instead, I used it as part of a mental health break earlier in the week.  Without any March Madness motivation, I honestly didn't focus on anything other than the five autographs that were promised to me.




Sadly, I didn't recognize any of these guys or the girl... but like I said... it helped me take my mind off of things for about fifteen minutes as I mindlessly ripped open packs.  So in a sense... it was well worth the $32.95 purchase price.

The only other college basketball related item that I recently purchased was this Mike Krzyzewski rookie card

1991 Hoops #588

When I was a big North Carolina Tar Heels fan when it came to college basketball, so I couldn't stand Duke.  However when I saw this card on eBay back in December for $8.75 (free shipping), I grabbed it.  Figured it was a cool card of the all-time winningest college basketball coach.

It looks like Duke is favorite to win the National Championship... but I'll be rooting for the rest of the field.

Well that's it for me.  What about you?


Are you following March Madness?

If so...


Who are you rooting for?

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

20 comments:

SumoMenkoMan said...

Nice looking card. Unfortunately, I am not following it this year since Wichita State isn't in. Cool cards and glad to see the women representing on the box break!

Adam said...

I'm not really following the tournament but I did watch a little bit with my uncle today .... our local teams (Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky) are already out. The Dayton Flyers card is really cool, didn't know they were represented in that product!

I hope things are getting somewhat back to normal for you Fuji.

bbcardz said...

I'm not a college basketball guy either but I did do a half-dozen brackets. None of them are among the top brackets but oh well. It would be great to see UC Irvine advance deep into the tournament since they did win their first game of the tournament.

Jon said...

Hey, I actually recognized two out of your five autographs! No tournament or brackets for me, I don't care about it, and I have other things to do (allegedly).

Jafronius said...

I do fill out a bracket or two but I'm not a college basketball guy - going to Illinois didn't help matters. I'm not a college basketball-card guy either, so I couldn't tell you if paying $33 for the box was a huge deal or not.

The Lost Collector said...

I LOVE college hoops! If baseball is #1 for me, college basketball is #1A.

The Cauly-Stein and Harrell autos are pretty good! They are solid NBA players. If you pulled any Syracuse base cards, would you be open to trading them?

Billy Kingsley said...

Cliff Alexander played a total of 8 games in the NBA. Now playing professionally in Germany. Tyler Harvey did not make the NBA but is currently in the G-League, also played in Europe. Montrezl Harrell is currently on the Clippers and is in the discussion for 6th man of the year award (best non-starting player in the NBA). Willie Cauley-Stein is a big reason why the Kings are about twice as good as they were last year. He's really coming into his own. Ally Mallott played one year in the WNBA then went overseas. Currently playing professionally in Australia.

I don't do college basketball. I will not support the NCAA in any way, shape or form. At some point I'll probably do a blog about it but I expect I might lose some readers when I do.

Jeremya1um said...

I followed college hoops for a little bit in the late ‘90’s and early ‘00’s, but now not so much. I probably won’t pay too much attention, but as with all college sports, will be rooting for Auburn. And since ‘Bama lost in the NIT, I won’t have to also root for whoever is playing ‘Bama.
Glad you were able to bust some packs to take a break from real life. Sometimes we all need a little vacation. I hope you can relax some in the coming weeks and that the end of the year comes quickly for you and that you get a ton of card packages.

Commishbob said...

Yes and no....I support the Houston Cougars as I've been close to the program since I worked in it in 1972. I've related the story many times about the '68 Game of the Century and how it changed the course of my life. Been a season ticket holder since I graduated, thru good times and bad. And this year's team has had a remarkable ride.

But I really haven't followed the rest of the tournament very closely this year. There doesn't seem to be as many compelling story lines this year. Other than my Coogs, of course.

night owl said...

Drifting more and more away from the NCAA tournament. I was never much of a college basketball fan (although it's far better than college football), but I'd always pay attention to the tournament. I was your typical rabid bracket fan, helped along by those tournaments between 1983-85 (never better than those 3 years). I absolutely HAD to be watching the games, all of them. But now? It just doesn't matter. Too many years of North Carolina and Kansas and Duke and Kentucky winning, I guess. It really doesn't matter anymore. Except: I was ELATED when Syracuse lost in the first round.

Collecting Cutch said...

I have zero rooting interest in March Madness this year. My bracket is busted and all the "stars" are one and done for NBA now. You used to see the kids make multiple title runs before which sucks now.

Dion's IP Autos only said...

Harrell & Cauley-Stein are solid autos.......

RAZ said...

I usually fill out a bracket and follow along with the scores as something to pass the time, but I don't really have more than a passing interest in anything NCAA-related. This year I picked UNC to win on my brackets.

Matt said...

Go Duke!!!

Need to get myself that Coach K someday too.

Chris said...

I almost never watch any March Madness games but I watched all of Duke-UCF yesterday...what a game! I was rooting for UCF to pull off the upset, and it was a tough way to end the game but it sure was exciting.

That Coach K card is underrated. Nice find!

Fuji said...

sumomenkoman - wichita state? is that your alma mater?

adam sanders - thanks adam. work, family, friends, and card blogs keep me distracted. there are moments here and there... which i assume will be there for the rest of my life.

bbcardz - half dozen? wow. are they all very similar with one or two changes?

jon - two out of five is more than me. never heard of any of these people.

jafronius - according to closed listings, i didn't break even. but when you factor in the entertainment value, i'm not complaining.

the lost collector - are you a syracuse fan? nice. one of my former students goes there. she's converted me into a fan for the next two and a half years. don't worry... i'm not collecting them though, so if i have any base, it's all yours.

billy kingsley - thanks for the run down. was hoping a basketball guy would comment and leave me feedback. can't wait to hear why you don't support the ncaa. sounds juicy.

jeremya1um -good luck against unc this friday. that should be a great game. i grew up cheering for the tar heels, so i'll be silently rooting for them.

commishbob - good luck against kentucky this friday. they've been putting up the points during the first two rounds. hope the run continues

night owl - lol. i was actually rooting for syracuse. one of my former students goes there. were they your college's rival or something?

collecting cutch - yeah... money rules the world. can't blame the athletes though. if i had the opportunity to make millions after one year of college, i would have jumped at the opportunity.

dion's ip autos only - nice. second person to say that, so that's a good sign

raz - i wouldn't have any problems with unc winning it all. they'll have to get past auburn first though

parts of my past - i won't be cheering for duke... but if they do win, i'll be happy for coach k

chris - i didn't see the game, but they were talking on both sports radio stations yesterday morning.

The Snorting Bull said...

It's sac-religious to live in central North Carolina and not watch the tournament. Since there is no NC State this year, I go with the ABC system of fandom.

Anybody
But
Carolina

Fuji said...

Looks like Auburn granted you your wish ;)

acrackedbat said...

I'm not into hoops at all, college or professional. I barely follow my Sooners football team. I also fend off the urge to enjoy hockey because it opens a door to dangerous collecting temptations.

Fuji said...

julie - i completely understand. 90% of my purchases are baseball related, but every now and then I pick up something for my other pc's