Wednesday 29 November 2017

2 Returns

David Backes
c/o Bruins
09/08 - 11/27
4/4



Marian Gaborik
c/o Home
09/08 - 11/29
4/4



Tuesday 28 November 2017

Birthday Box Breaks

2014-15 Upper Deck Series One
Cost: $65
Cards Per Pack: 8
Packs Per Box: 24

Young Guns 1:4 - 6

Chris Tierney
Christian Folin
Ryan Sproul
Calle Jarnkrok
Greg McKegg (With a leg for an arm, and an arm for a leg!)
Jake McCabe

Canvas 1:6 - 4

Matt Stajan
Jakub Voracek
Brayden Schenn
Morgan Reilly

Shining Stars - 3

Jonathan Toews 1:16
Patrick Kane 1:24
Phil Esposito 1:48

Shining Stars Blue: 2

Patrick Sharp
John Tavares

Exclusives #/100: 1

Jaden Schwartz (Use the Schwartz Lone Star!)

Hockey Heroes 1:12 - 2

Steve Yzerman
Jarome Iginla

Game Jersey 1:13 - 2

Kari Lehtonen
Nicklas Backstrom

Signature Sensations 1:288 - 1

Ron Francis

Thoughts:  The price was right so I thought I'd take a chance on this and hope for a Drasaitil or a Gaudreau Young Guns, but to no avail.  No real household names for the Young Guns, or 25th anniversary buybacks.  The Francis auto kind of saved the box.






2017-18 Team Canada Juniors
Cost: $95
Cards Per Pack:5
Packs Per Box:15

Exclusives #/199 1:3 - 4

Jake Bean
Owen Tippett
Theoren Fleury
Marcel Dionne

High Gloss #/25 - 1

MacKenzie Entwistle

Program of Excellence 1:5 - 3

Pierre-Luc Dubois
Noah Juulsen
Matthew Strome

Program of Excellence Retro 1:25 - 1

Taylor Raddysh

Local Legends 1:9 - 2

Marcel Dionne
Nick Suzuki

Base Set Jerseys 1:10 - 1

Ty Dellandrea

Autograph/Patch Mix 1:6 - 3

Meghan Agosta Auto Patch #/199
Stelio Mattheos Auto Patch #/199
Mario Lemieux Manufactured Patch (1:45)

Thoughts:  I always like to buy these boxes since they come in handy when I try to get autographs from the Junior teams.  Getting three patches in one box was a nice surprise as well.  Too bad they keep downsizing the size of the boxes.  Overall, a good birthday present!





Thursday 23 November 2017

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Thursday 16 November 2017

Throw Back Thursday - Niagara Comic-Con 2016

In June 2016, I went to my first, and so far only, Comic-Con in Niagara Falls.  I arrived early for a good spot in line, only to realize I forgot to print off my tickets from my phone.  So I had to lose my place, and google the nearest library so I could print them off.  When I got back, the line-up was huge!

After I got in, I went and looked for the line up for Carroll Spinney, the long time performer of Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.  To my surprise, there wasn't much of a line up.  I got a photo signed and a picture taken with him as well.  He was nice to talk to, as we spoke about the early days and how he met Jim Henson.

Afterwards, I looked around some more.  After a while, I saw something I hadn't seen in years.  If you grew up in Canada as a kid in the 1980s, you would know the show Today's Special that aired on TVOntario.  What I saw the original puppet used of Sam Crenshaw, the night watchman, from the show.  Sitting there beside him was his performer, and well known Canadian voice actor, Bob Dermer.  I got my picture taken with him and we spoke about his work as well as the show itself.  I then asked if he could record a video with Sam for my Ottawa Senators Fan group, and he obliged.

It was a fun weekend.  I had never driven to Niagara Falls before, and as a bonus, didn't get lost.  I also got to see somethings that reminded me of my childhood and made me feel old!


Me with Carroll Spinney


A Pound Puppy.  I still have the ones I got as a kid.  I used to make stupid little movies with them with my PXL 2000 Camera.


The Sam Crenshaw puppet I mentioned earlier.


Said puppet, his performer Bob Dermer, and me.

Here is a link to the video that I asked him to do as well:

Sunday 12 November 2017

Rogers Hometown Hockey - Kingston

"Baby, it's cold outside!"  Nothing gets you in the winter spirit than a Christmas song about Dean Martin trying to drug Doris Day.  Well that and day trips for autographs in the freezing cold!

I drove from Ottawa to Kingston, taking Highway 15 as I try to avoid the 401 like the plague.  After a couple of missed turns, I arrived at the festival and stood in line for HOFer Paul Coffey, and he signed a couple of items for me.

I then went inside the Rogers Fan Hub to warm up and ran into Tara Sloan,  We took a picture and she signed a puck for me.  I told her how much I liked Joydrop when I was in High School, and she appreciated someone actually remembering her music.

I watched the Sens game on the big screen while standing in line for Bernie Nicholls and we both questioned why Mike Condon was pulled (it seemed to work since Ottawa came back to win).

I then went back to the Fan Hub where Dave Reid, Brad May, and Wayne Primeau were signing.  It was fun talking to Brad May, who is now working for the Vegas Golden Knights.  He flew to Kingston right after the game and didn't have time to pack, so all he had was what was on him.  As soon as I left the line, Al Iafrate came in and took his seat, so I went back in line to get him too.

Later on, they had a ball hockey game with some of the Military Alumni.  Al Iafrate said he was thrilled when he saw the size of the little rink since he hasn't run in 20 years.  It was 4 on 4 so he didn't have to move much.  It was so cold that half of the orange balls they were using spilt in half when shot with!

It was fun.  I was debating whether or not to go there or Montreal for the Sabres.  Since it was Remembrance Day, and the Sabres played the night before, I went with the safe bet.

Thank you to those who gave their life so I could live mine.















Thursday 9 November 2017

Here's to end of a long dry spell!!

Mathieu Darche
c/o RDS (see below)
09/26 - 11/09
5/5


Reseau Des Sports
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Montreal QC
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