Straight Outta the Burbs

I've never met famed blogger Tony Burbs in person, but I imagine he looks something like this. I hope his neighbors are a little better, though.  Or at the very least, better neighbors than I am a blogger.  As I was going through my blog pics, searching for my next post topic, I found these cards that Tony sent me a few weeks ago and I never posted.  I may not post too often, but I usually try to stay on top of things when fellow bloggers send me things.  I want to give credit where credit is due.  Well, here is some belated credit for a nice little PWE from the Burbs.

Here are a couple Update Series that Tony posted on his own blog and I asked if they were for trade.  He set them aside for me, and here they are.  That Hosmer is the perfect card for my All-Star MVP collection.  Holding the MVP trophy with his new ride in the background, parked at second base. 

Now for some Cubs.  Strain, Borowski, and Happ are all new players to my collection, so they are much appreciated.  If you would have told me 2 years ago that I would be more excited about Albert Almora than Jorge Soler, I would have thought you were crazy.  But here we are and only one of them is still a Cub--and I'm glad it's Albert.  Best of luck to Soler in KC, though.  I hope he gets through those injuries and fulfills the enormous potential all of us Chicago fans saw.  This Heyward was on my list of most coveted cards when it was released earlier in the year.  After a season watching Heyward's struggles, I'm far less enthusiastic about the signing, but his defense is still incredible.  Even more incredible is the fact that he is still only 27 and has years to bounce back.  It seems like he has been around forever.  Even the grizzled vets of this Cubs team are still youngsters.

A couple of mini here, from two different products.  I may be in the minority here, but I think I consistently like Gypsy Queen more than A&G.  Allen & Ginter's designs have gotten a little stale, and while they look nice, they tend to be difficult to distinguish from year to year.  Both of these minis are nice looking cards, though.

We'll wrap it up with some Packers.  Ken Ruettgers started for more than half a decade in Green Bay and was pretty underrated.  His last season in the NFL was the year the Pack beat the Pats in the Super Bowl, so he got a ring for his years of service.  Ironically, it was also the only year Ruettgers wasn't a full-time starter.  Then there is the legendary Bart Starr...horribly off-center with perforated edges!  It's a perfect oddball!  This one comes from Sports Illustrated for Kids.  Confession time: back when my school (the one I where I teach, not when I was a kid) had a subscription to SI for Kids in the library, I would take back issues and remove the cards if they were still there.  Most of the time they were, but sometimes somebody would beat me to it.  The final two cards are two great Antonio Freemans.  I've never seen this eX set, and I think it looks really good.  The 2000 Topps, though, is especially awesome because it features a snowy Lambeau field.  That is football at its best.

I may late in posting this, but thanks for the cards, Tony!