Sports Card Bust #23: Patrik Stefan

Anyone who has collected hockey cards during the late 90's knows the name: Patrik Stefan.

In 1998-99, Stefan averaged over a point per game in the IHL for the Long Beach Ice Dogs when he scored 11 goals and had 24 assists in 33 games. Unfortunately, his season was shortened after suffering a concussion.

This didn't scare away scouts, who still put him up on a pedestal. One coach called him a cross between Mike Modano and Sergei Fedorov.

Looking back at his stats, I'm not sure what all of the hype was behind him... but regardless the Atlanta Thrashers decided to draft Stefan with the number one pick in the 1999 NHL entry draft. He was chosen in front of the Sedin brothers (#2 and #3 picks), Henrik Zetterberg (210th pick), and one of my favorite goalies in the league, Ryan Miller (138th pick).

When I looked at his career stats, the first person I thought of was Alexandre Daigle, because at first glance you might not call him a bust. He played seven seasons and had 64 goals with 124 assists for a total of 188 points. Obviously these are not Hall of Fame stats, but I've seen much worse.

However, when you flash back to 1999 and you think about how many collectors lost out on their Stefan investments... then you realize how big of a bust this guy was. I probably have over 25 of his Chrome, Topps Premier, and Gold Label rookies sitting in soft sleeves and Card Savers. These days any of those can be picked up for $1 to $2 on COMC. My guess is that you probably could get these cards for less if you submitted a best offer.

How much did I lose on my investment? Who knows... but it's safe to say I was paying a lot more than $1 or $2 for them. Don't worry... I'm not complaining. I understand that these are the risks you take when you decide to invest in cards.

These days, I make very few "investment" purchases. I've learned from my mistakes and I mainly buy things for my PC's. And this beautiful Stefan autograph happens to be a part of my continuously growing Sports Card Bust PC.

Which leads me to today's question of the day: Do you ever collect for investment purposes? If so, what's the worst investment you've made? If not, have you at least ever regretted a sports card purchase?

Oh... if you've never seen this clip... here's a highlight from his last season in the NHL with the Dallas Stars. I wonder why Dallas didn't resign him the following season?

Have a happy Friday!

I love the 80's #4: Kristi Yamaguchi & Tamlyn Tomita

Last year, some teachers and I were talking about who our childhood crushes were. The first people who popped into my head were Kristi Yamaguchi and the Japanese girl from Karate Kid II. That's right... I didn't know her name, but I knew that she was my dream girl.

Eventually, I looked her up on IMDB.com and discovered that Kumiko was played by Tamlyn Tomita. She's been on several television shows like Stargate, Monk, Criminal Minds, Heroes, CSI: Miami, and General Hospital. I also learned that she had been in two movies I've watched within the past few years: Only the Brave & The Day After Tomorrow. However, I never put the pieces together and figured out that she was the girl me and Daniel-san fell in love with.

Last week, I bid on her autograph and won (paid $.99 + $2.50 shipping).

Later on down the road, another girl caught my eye. This time it was different because she wasn't only a crush, she was a hero. I've mentioned before that I didn't have a lot of Japanese athletes to look up to while growing up. Well, Kristi Yamaguchi was the diamond in the rough. Whenever I went to Japantown in San Jose, I'd see posters and autographed pictures of her. In fact, a few shops still have her pictures up almost 20 years later.

When she won the gold medal during the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, I remember how excited my family was for Kristi. Now before you accuse me of being a fraud... let me say that I (along with the rest of my family) have been following Kristi since the mid 80's when she was skating with Rudy Galindo. In fact, I hated that guy because I thought he was her boyfriend.

These days Kristi Yamaguchi is married to Bret Hedican, a former NHL player. They still live in the Bay Area where they are raising two kids. A couple of years ago she was crowned the Dancing with the Stars champion... but I wouldn't know anything about that.

It set me back a pretty penny, but earlier this year I added this card to my collection:

Now for today's question of the day: What famous people did you have a childhood crush on?

Have a good evening!

It it Christmas already?

Remember that feeling you had as a kid when you just opened the final present... the big present... the one that your parents saved for last. It's the one you put at the top of you wish list... it's the one that made you the happiest kid in the world.

Well... that's the way I feel right now... because the Cowboys just lost to the Redskins. You're probably asking yourself... what's the big deal. The deal is... I can't stand the Cowboys. I've never liked them... and I never will. And honestly a Cowboys loss is almost as good as a Seahawks or Packers win.

Speaking of the Seahawks and the Packers... to make things even sweeter... both of my teams won today. For the past few months, I've heard over and over how the 49ers are going to win the NFC West. Well... that may be so, but today they had their tails handed to them by my Hawks.

It wasn't only that the Seahawks won... it's the fact that the 49ers lost. Ready for your history lesson of the day? I grew up surrounded by 49er fans. My whole family are Niner fans. As a kid... the 49ers dominated the NFL and that was very frustrating to me, because I had to be different. So much like the Cowboys... I hate the 49ers. With that being said... the Seahawks win was actually a two for one special.

On the other hand, the Packers almost let one slip away. Michael Vick single handedly brought the Eagles back to life... but came up 1 yard short. Whatever... I'm not going to let the Packers' defensive breakdown bring me down. A win is a win. The Packers & Aaron Rodgers are 1 and 0 and the Vikings & Brett Favre are 0 and 1.

Which brings up Mr. Favre. Anyone who knows me... knows that Brett Favre is my favorite player of all time. However... currently he's a Viking... and I'm a Packer Backer first.. and a Favre Fan second... so currently he's the enemy and I hope he throws plenty of 4th quarter interceptions.

After writing this post... I realize that there's a lot of negativity in it... and I apologize to my readers for showing you my dark side. If I could flip a switch and be rid of my hate for the Niners and Cowboys... I probably would. I'm not proud of it... but I am what I am.

So... let's go ahead and sum things up. I feel like a kid in a candy store, because:

a. The Vikings lost (on Thursday).

b. The Seahawks manhandled the 49ers.

c. The 49ers were spanked by the Hawks.

d. The Packers lucked out in Philly... but came away with a W.

e. The Cowboys made major mistakes that cost them big time... and in the end they lost.

In fact... I'm so happy... that I'm not even sad about the Padres loss to the Giants.

So here's today's question of the day (I actually think I've asked this before... but I'm on cloud 9 right now... so who cares): Are there any sports teams that you hate? If so, why?

When I say "hate"... I mean that you actually are happy when they lose.

A New Project: Sports Jambalaya!

Who: A bunch of bloggers you already know:

Charles @ Hoopography

Gmoses @ The Basketball Card Blog

Tony Mc @ Collector From Across The Pond

Cameron @ Reds and more...

The Ranter @ The Rant

Martyn @ Steal Second

82Redbirds @ WAY OFF BASE

sanjosefuji @ The Chronicles of Fuji

What: We've come together to discuss cricket, hobby issues, and just about anything else that's sports related. Each week there will be a different topic... where we'll each throw out our opinions, so that you can see a variety of point of views. We encourage you to come over, check it out, and throw in your own 2 cents.

Why: Because eight heads are better than one.

Where: http://www.sportsjambalaya.blogspot.com/

When: Head over there right now. This week's topic... NFL playoff predictions.

Hobby Hero #4: Mario @ Wax Heaven

A couple of years ago, I was browsing the internet looking for articles on sports cards when I strolled across Wax Heaven, a blog dedicated to my favorite hobby... collecting sports cards. I can't remember for sure... but it's probably safe to say that he was the first blog I ever read. In fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't know what a blog was until I started reading Wax Heaven.

If you've never checked it out, I encourage you to head over there right now. He doesn't post new stuff very often, however it's worth it to go back and read his past posts. Every once in awhile, I'll head over there and read about his Jose Canseco collection or his love for Pinnacle products. Wax Heaven has just about something for everyone... non sports posts, interviews, product reviews, videos, hobby news, 80's stuff, 90's stuff, and even modern stuff like this:

In fact... I first saw this video on his site around a year ago and knew I needed to pick up one of these for my collection.

Well... I received a package from COMC (a while back... before the contest) and inside was this:

Mario was right... these cards are sweet looking and if you don't have one yet... I encourage you to pick one up. The card is made up of five layers: back ground picture w/ x's on it (bottom), card board (to add depth), acetate picture (white jersey), card board (to add depth), and finally another layer of acetate on top (purple jersey).

These cards aren't serial numbered, but Upper Deck lists the print runs on their website. Reed is one of the most common ones with 100 copies being produced. I obviously wanted a Brett Favre, but there are only 10 copies out there and these can get pretty pricey. I placed a bid for $60 once and was outbid. Unfortunately, I can't find the final price... but it was out of my league.

So I settled for Ed Reed, because I was able to pick him up for a bargain price... plus he's one of the most dominant safeties in the history of the NFL. The guy can hit, catch, run, tackle, return punts, block punts... and just about anything else you ask him to do.

Here's a video of Ed making history:

By the way... today's Ed's birthday... so Happy Birthday Mr. Ed!

One last thing I want to share before I end this post... Some of you guys know about and even participated in my contest last month. What you might not know is that the contest was partially inspired by Mario. A little over a year earlier, he had an amazing contest where he was giving away autographs from UD's Spectrum of Stars set. He had people respond to questions... and if he liked your response... you won autographs.

I just went back and read the post where I won these two autographs and it cracked me up. If you're bored and would like to check it out... click here and scroll down. Ah... the memories of growing up Asian.

So here's today's question of the day: Have you ever checked out Wax Heaven? If so, what's your favorite post? If not, what's your problem?... get over there now!

So... thanks Mario for your contributions to our hobby. You're one of the reasons I started this blog.