2011 Baseball Tournament Contest Closed

With first pitch less than 15 minutes away, the 2011 Tournament is closed.  The Indians and Pirates were not selected, thus will hang their heads in shame.  I'm sure I'll take flack for this, but the Steelers were selected six times and the Penguins were selected five times, yet not one of those fans picked the Pirates.  Hmmm... typical :-)

Here is the final list of entrants.  I will post weekly on Tuesdays to update the standings and bracket.

MLB Team	Contestant	NBA	NFL	NHL
Angels	CL	Heat	Bengals	Devils
A's	Fuji	Lakers	Packers	Sharks
Astros	Dimwit	Rockets	Texans	Wild
Blue Jays	Nathan	Raptors	Bills	Leafs
Braves	MCT	Hawks	Falcons	Thrashers
Brewers	Joe Punman	Thunder	Vikings	Blues
Cardinals	Diamond King	Magic	Patriots	Kings
Cubs	CubsFan731	Grizzlies	Colts
Diamondbacks	Spookymilk	Timberwolves	Vikings	Wild
Dodgers	Greg	Suns	Chargers	Ducks
Giants	Mark	Lakers	Steelers	Penguins
Mariners	Mariner1	Sonics	Seahawks	Sharks
Marlins	dgreen1899	Sixers	Cowboys	Flyers
Mets	BA Benny	Knicks	Jets	Islanders
Nationals	Chris	Sixers	Steelers	Canes
Orioles	MattH	Bullets	Steelers	Penguins
Padres	Rod	Blazers	Chargers	Flyers
Phillies	Dan	Sixers	Eagles	Flyers
Rangers	PatP	Mavericks	Cowboys	Stars
Rays	Dayf	Hawks	Falcons	Blackhawks
Reds	FanofReds	Raptors	Steelers	Penguins
Red Sox	Adam	Celtics	Steelers	Penguins
Rockies	Jon	Bulls	Bears	Blackhawks
Royals	Mad Guru	Grizzlies	Steelers	Penguins
Tigers	RoofGod		Packers
Twins	Rhubarb	Timberwolves	Vikings	Wild
White Sox	WSC	Bulls	Bears	Blackhawks
Yankees	DawgBones	Sixers	Vikings	Flyers

Oh, and thank goodness nobody selected the 49ers, for I have not one, but two of these bad boys hiding at home.

Five Cinderellas Need a Date to the Dance

  Click to enlarge the newly revamped bracket

This is the final day to enter the contest!  The Brewers, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Indians, and Royals need a suitor.  The Brewers are a steal for anyone entering this tournament at the last minute.  Plus, last year the #16 seed Nationals knocked off the #1 seed in the first round and made it to the Elite Eight, so don't be shy to take one of the remaining cellar dwellars.

The tournament functions as follows...  The seeds are based on 2010 regular season records.  Each round is broken into 32 games.  Whichever team wins the most games out of those 32 games advances.  Therefore, the first round consists of which team has the better record from Games 1 through 32.  Second round is Games 33 through 64, etc.  Tie breakers are based on best head to head record, then run differential.

I've added a consolation game this year to the bracket to determine the 3rd place winner.

Grand prize wins all of my non-set cards for their favorite NFL, NHL and NBA teams.  Runner-up wins all of my non-set cards from two of their three teams, and third place gets all of my non-set cards from one of their three picks.  The winners will have to comment on the final tournament standings within 3 days of winning to collect.

Enter if you want free cards!

Last Chance to get in the Dance

I'm closing the contest prior to first pitch this year.  If you'd like a shot at getting all of my cards for your favorite NBA, NFL and NHL teams, enter in the comment section below.

The rules for the contest can be found here.

Remaining teams include:

Angels (CL - Bengals, Devils and Heat)
Blue Jays (Nathan - Bills, Leafs and Raptors)
Brewers (Joe Punman - Vikings, Blues and Thunder)
Diamondbacks (Spookymilk - Wolves, Vikings, Wild)
Indians
Marlins (dgreen1899 - Sixers, Flyers and Cowboys)
Orioles (MattH - Steelers, Penguins and Bullets)
Pirates
Royals (Mad Guru - Steelers, Penguins and Grizzlies)

Missing Like a 1953 Topps #268

Has this ever happened to you?  You're lying in your bed, trying to calm your mind, recounting the day's events and planning for tomorrow.  When all of a sudden, you have a flash of brilliance? 

My mind jumps almost every direction on the compass when I'm trying to fall asleep.  I'll have thoughts as benign as reliving a past vacation or as extreme as imagining myself as a time traveler who single-handedly averts some past world disaster because I have the future solution to a problem that plagued the distant past.  Other times, I just think about baseball cards.

Like last night.  I was settling into bed, getting the pillow just right, when I thought of an awesome idea for a blog post.  This idea was a fantastic conversation piece and I must of dwelt on it for another 30 minutes as a thunderstorm rolled through our area.  I finally fell asleep, woke up this morning and the brilliant idea was GONE.

Vanished.  Missing like a 1953 Topps #268. 

I really do hope that I remember what this epiphany was about because I'd truly like to share it.  But, in the meantime, I'll bore you with this little subjective question that I honestly do need an answer to.

What do you consider to be the Junk Wax Era?  I'm looking for a range in years and whether or not you'd exclude any brands from that range.  Is there any other criteria you use, such as low "book" price?

For me, I'd say all major brands from 1986 to 1993 with the exception of '89 Upper Deck.

What is your Junk Wax Era?

Re-Defining the Design - 1987 Topps Jose Canseco

I must say that I quite enjoyed my little tinkering with the 1981 Topps design, and I thought I'd give it another go.  

Next stop for the Delorean Time Machine is the fall of 1986 during a Topps design meeting for the upcoming '87 release.  I won't bore you with made up dialogue about how the 87 set was designed, but I imagine (obviously) it was an homage to the 1962 release.  A 25th anniversary homage.  And that can only mean two words, wood grain.  

The 1962 set is okay in my book.  Not terribly exciting, but I do like the peeled back photo look.  Makes it feel like a scrapbook to me.

Anyways, 1987 rolls around and we are bombarded with what must be the most overproduced set in the history of humanity.  There were even 17 cards per pack, instead of the standard 15 at the time.  Which meant each wax box doled out 612 cards, a 72 card increase per boxes from years past.  

I for one am dead tired of the 87 wood grain.  I have a 5,000 count box full of these cards, plus an unopened wax box (612), two sets in boxes (1,584) and another set in a binder (792) for a whopping approximate of 8,000 1987 Topps.  Ugh.  As my wife would say, it would make good kindling.

After staring at a mind numbing 8,000 1987 Topps, I needed to change the design.  First off would be sending that wood grain pattern to the lumber mill.  Good riddance.  Next up was expanding the picture to be more like a 1991 Topps.  Photos to the border, or balls to the wall for you Little John fans.  Move the Topps logo to the upper right, add a thicker boarder, and voila.  A new cleaner take on a super stale design. 

BEFORE

AFTER

Re-Defining the Design - 1981 Topps Ron Cey

One thing that has always bothered me as a collector is how the card manufacturers literally drop the ball on some of their designs.  I've heard plenty of grumblings about 2010 Topps, and the similarities between early Upper Deck sets.

With the power of photoshop and the ability to jump into my way-back machine, I've decided to pay a visit to Duryea, Pennsylvania circa late 1980.

For the life of me, I have never understood the color choices selected for Topps sets.  One year it will be spot on to team colors, then maybe it's a design like '71, '75 or even (gasp) '87 that has different colors or abstract designs.  However, I cannot understand what they were thinking when they designed 1981 Topps.

The concept was great, put the team hat on the lower left corner.  Brilliant, save for the fact nobody wears a hat the actually says "Dodgers" then their position.  Cute thought, but failed the big picture.  Perhaps Topps was limited by the MLBPA from placing hat logos on cards, but doubtful.

And finally, what in the world was up with the color choices?  Green for the Reds, White Sox and Blue Jays?  Red for the Yanks?  The only ones that were remotely right were the Red Sox (Red), Mariners (Yellow) and Mets (Orange).  Although, being a Padres fan, I take great joy in seeing the Dodgers and Giants adorned in a pink silouette.  Quite fitting.

Anyways, after altering history, a new 1981 Topps card has emerged.  Behold!  A new 1981 Topps Ron Cey (The Penguin was only chosen because the Dodger colors are easy to simulate and their logo is simple).

BEFORE

AFTER

Moving the position to the baseball (ala 75 Topps) and moving the Topps logo to the upper right enabled the actual hat logo to be placed on the hat (of all places).  And, Ron Cey is no longer shrouded in Hello Kitty and has a fitting frame of Dodger Blue.

So, what do you think?

The Little General was a Private First Class

The Mojo Beard did a post the other day about how baseball was before you were born.  It was an interesting post, and I'm glad that I finally got sucked into the Beard.  For some reason that blog always evaded my radar, but now I'm there everyday with the rest of my Starting Nine blogs.

Anyways, the aforementioned post got me thinking about how baseball has changed, and while searching for a Johnny Bench photo for a 1984 Topps Card That Should Have Been, I stumbled across the picture above at the Cincinnati Enquirer.  I do believe that most likely in my lifetime, there will NEVER EVER be another picture of two (should be) HOFers sporting green BDUs.  I know many baseball players served in WWI, WWII and the Korean War, but I was taken aback seeing the Little General as a Private First Class.  Plus, I couldn't imagine being Charlie Hustles drill sergeant.  Phew, imagine the battles that happened there. 

Could you imagine today's superstars actually being in the military during a time of war?  I don't see anyone of them enlisting now, and I doubt we ever will.

Which makes that picture awesome beyond words!

The photo essay can be viewed here.  Some pretty sweet Play at the Plate photos, too!

Better or Worse?

I think the white table background works good, but I still cannot figure out how to get rid of the drop shadow on the cell spacings.  Does anyone know html well enough to just have simple lines between the numbers and not padded borders?

I know, thoroughly exciting, but I appreciate the input!

Doc T

1	1	51	1	101	1	151	1	201	1	251	1	301	1	351	1	401	1	451	1	501	1	551	1	601	1	651	1	701	1	751	1
2	1	52	1	102	1	152	1	202	1	252	1	302	1	352	1	402	1	452	1	502	1	552	1	602	1	652	1	702	1	752	1
3	1	53	1	103	1	153	1	203	1	253	1	303	1	353	1	403	1	453	1	503	1	553	1	603	1	653	1	703	1	753	1
4	1	54	1	104	1	154	1	204	1	254	1	304	1	354	1	404	1	454	1	504	1	554	1	604	1	654	1	704	1	754	1
5	1	55	1	105	1	155	1	205	1	255	1	305	1	355	1	405	1	455	1	505	1	555	1	605	1	655	1	705	1	755	1
6	1	56	1	106	1	156	1	206	1	256	1	306	1	356	1	406	1	456	1	506	1	556	1	606	1	656	1	706	1	756	1
7	1	57	1	107	1	157	1	207	1	257	1	307	1	357	1	407	1	457	1	507	1	557	1	607	1	657	1	707	1	757	1
8	1	58	1	108	1	158	1	208	1	258	1	308	1	358	1	408	1	458	1	508	1	558	1	608	1	658	1	708	1	758	1
9	1	59	1	109	1	159	1	209	1	259	1	309	1	359	1	409	1	459	1	509	1	559	1	609	1	659	1	709	1	759	1
10	1	60	1	110	1	160	1	210	1	260	1	310	1	360	1	410	1	460	1	510	1	560	1	610	1	660	1	710	1	760	1
11	1	61	1	111	1	161	1	211	1	261	1	311	1	361	1	411	1	461	1	511	1	561	1	611	1	661	1	711	1	761	1
12	1	62	1	112	1	162	1	212	1	262	1	312	1	362	1	412	1	462	1	512	1	562	1	612	1	662	1	712	1	762	1
13	1	63	1	113	1	163	1	213	1	263	1	313	1	363	1	413	1	463	1	513	1	563	1	613	1	663	1	713	1	763	1
14	1	64	1	114	1	164	1	214	1	264	1	314	1	364	1	414	1	464	1	514	1	564	1	614	1	664	1	714	1	764	1
15	1	65	1	115	1	165	1	215	1	265	1	315	1	365	1	415	1	465	1	515	1	565	1	615	1	665	1	715	1	765	1
16	1	66	1	116	1	166	1	216	1	266	1	316	1	366	1	416	1	466	1	516	1	566	1	616	1	666	1	716	1	766	1
17	1	67	1	117	1	167	1	217	1	267	1	317	1	367	1	417	1	467	1	517	1	567	1	617	1	667	1	717	1	767	1
18	1	68	1	118	1	168	1	218	1	268	1	318	1	368	1	418	1	468	1	518	1	568	1	618	1	668	1	718	1	768	1
19	1	69	1	119	1	169	1	219	1	269	1	319	1	369	1	419	1	469	1	519	1	569	1	619	1	669	1	719	1	769	1
20	1	70	1	120	1	170	1	220	1	270	1	320	1	370	1	420	1	470	1	520	1	570	1	620	1	670	1	720	1	770	1
21	1	71	1	121	1	171	1	221	1	271	1	321	1	371	1	421	1	471	1	521	1	571	1	621	1	671	1	721	1	771	1
22	1	72	1	122	1	172	1	222	1	272	1	322	1	372	1	422	1	472	1	522	1	572	1	622	1	672	1	722	1	772	1
23	1	73	1	123	1	173	1	223	1	273	1	323	1	373	1	423	1	473	1	523	1	573	1	623	1	673	1	723	1	773	1
24	1	74	1	124	1	174	1	224	1	274	1	324	1	374	1	424	1	474	1	524	1	574	1	624	1	674	1	724	1	774	1
25	1	75	1	125	1	175	1	225	1	275	1	325	1	375	1	425	1	475	1	525	1	575	1	625	1	675	1	725	1	775	1
26	1	76	1	126	1	176	1	226	1	276	1	326	1	376	1	426	1	476	1	526	1	576	1	626	1	676	1	726	1	776	1
27	1	77	1	127	1	177	1	227	1	277	1	327	1	377	1	427	1	477	1	527	1	577	1	627	1	677	1	727	1	777	1
28	1	78	1	128	1	178	1	228	1	278	1	328	1	378	1	428	1	478	1	528	1	578	1	628	1	678	1	728	1	778	1
29	1	79	1	129	1	179	1	229	1	279	1	329	1	379	1	429	1	479	1	529	1	579	1	629	1	679	1	729	1	779	1
30	1	80	1	130	1	180	1	230	1	280	1	330	1	380	1	430	1	480	1	530	1	580	1	630	1	680	1	730	1	780	1
31	1	81	1	131	1	181	1	231	1	281	1	331	1	381	1	431	1	481	1	531	1	581	1	631	1	681	1	731	1	781	1
32	1	82	1	132	1	182	1	232	1	282	1	332	1	382	1	432	1	482	1	532	1	582	1	632	1	682	1	732	1	782	1
33	1	83	1	133	1	183	1	233	1	283	1	333	1	383	1	433	1	483	1	533	1	583	1	633	1	683	1	733	1	783	1
34	1	84	1	134	1	184	1	234	1	284	1	334	1	384	1	434	1	484	1	534	1	584	1	634	1	684	1	734	1	784	1
35	1	85	1	135	1	185	1	235	1	285	1	335	1	385	1	435	1	485	1	535	1	585	1	635	1	685	1	735	1	785	1
36	1	86	1	136	1	186	1	236	1	286	1	336	1	386	1	436	1	486	1	536	1	586	1	636	1	686	1	736	1	786	1
37	1	87	1	137	1	187	1	237	1	287	1	337	1	387	1	437	1	487	1	537	1	587	1	637	1	687	1	737	1	787	1
38	1	88	1	138	1	188	1	238	1	288	1	338	1	388	1	438	1	488	1	538	1	588	1	638	1	688	1	738	1	788	1
39	1	89	1	139	1	189	1	239	1	289	1	339	1	389	1	439	1	489	1	539	1	589	1	639	1	689	1	739	1	789	1
40	1	90	1	140	1	190	1	240	1	290	1	340	1	390	1	440	1	490	1	540	1	590	1	640	1	690	1	740	1	790	1
41	1	91	1	141	1	191	1	241	1	291	1	341	1	391	1	441	1	491	1	541	1	591	1	641	1	691	1	741	1	791	1
42	1	92	1	142	1	192	1	242	1	292	1	342	1	392	1	442	1	492	1	542	1	592	1	642	1	692	1	742	1	792	1
43	1	93	1	143	1	193	1	243	1	293	1	343	1	393	1	443	1	493	1	543	1	593	1	643	1	693	1	743	1	793	1
44	1	94	1	144	1	194	1	244	1	294	1	344	1	394	1	444	1	494	1	544	1	594	1	644	1	694	1	744	1	794	1
45	1	95	1	145	1	195	1	245	1	295	1	345	1	395	1	445	1	495	1	545	1	595	1	645	1	695	1	745	1	795	1
46	1	96	1	146	1	196	1	246	1	296	1	346	1	396	1	446	1	496	1	546	1	596	1	646	1	696	1	746	1	796	1
47	1	97	1	147	1	197	1	247	1	297	1	347	1	397	1	447	1	497	1	547	1	597	1	647	1	697	1	747	1	797	1
48	1	98	1	148	1	198	1	248	1	298	1	348	1	398	1	448	1	498	1	548	1	598	1	648	1	698	1	748	1	798	1
49	1	99	1	149	1	199	1	249	1	299	1	349	1	399	1	449	1	499	1	549	1	599	1	649	1	699	1	749	1	799	1
50	1	100	1	150	1	200	1	250	1	300	1	350	1	400	1	450	1	500	1	550	1	600	1	650	1	700	1	750	1	800	1