Blog Dog Championship Semifinal:

Sam’s Club vs. White Oak Station

The votes are in as to whether or not I should continue my hot dog tournament.  You have spoken, and I am your humble servant.  I wish I knew who the lone dissenter was who voted for me to stop doing this so I could thank them for trying.  The rest of you don’t know what you are putting me through. 

Sam’s Club- 2^nd Dog

I don’t know why I keep forgetting to take a picture of the outside of Sam’s.  I assume you all know what one looks like?  Sam’s Club put on a scintillating performance in round one, and may have won the overall competition had I not been urged to hold a second round.  I was actually looking forward to my second dog at Sam’s as I handed over my $1.50 +tax and took my huge fountain drink and Nathan’s dog to my seat.  Here was the offering for round two:

Uh….  I guess that’s why we needed to play this out.  This was ok, but not nearly as good as the round 1 dog.  The bread was kind of stale, and the relish had a strange taste to it.  If this had been the round one dog, it would not have beat out the $12 Kobe beef dog at Tusk and Trotter.   Stale buns seem to be the downfall for many of these entrants.   The favorite going into the semifinals is now in big, big trouble.  White Oak Station is going to have to really mess up to lose this one.

White Oak Station- 2^nd Dog

I had to improvise slightly for this contestant, although it was not my fault.  I went in for lunch to White Oak Station, ready to get my dog and wrap up this first semifinal.  However, there were no hot dog holders left, and only two pitiful franks in the warming bin.    I really didn’t want to mess around asking for a container, so I decided to try the smaller White Oak Station nearer my office.  I would have gone to that location for round one as well, but it is smaller and not as nice as the one you saw in round one.  Only the best will do for my hot dog tournament.  I suppose I could have waited another day and tried again at the first White Oak station, but I am travelling again this week, and I need to put this series out your misery.

Here was what I got at the supplemental White Oak Station:

It was pretty good.  Not great, but good enough to beat the substandard offering Sam’s Club gave me this round.    The bun was soft, the meat was just fine, (a bit salty) and the size was about as big as Sam’s Club. 

I sort of expected Sam’s to win this thing in a breeze after their the excellent first round dog, but that’s why you play the games.

White Oak Station goes into the championship against the winner of Five Guys/Chicago Dog. 

Etopps Football!

Etopps starts football offerings today at 1 pm est.  The first week is a strong one with Tom Brady, AJ Green and Titus Young.

The design is sharp!

Not sure what the prices are yet, but the Brady and Green are musts.

I am a little suprised there wasn't a Cam Newton this week though. 

Patches? We Don’t Need No Stinking Patches!

Oh, but I do need some stinking patches, so bought some I did.  The Kinsler is the one I was shooting for on eBay, but the seller of this particular card offered free shipping for additional purchases.  I decided to bid on the Alomar, and got it for only $1 more.  It is for trade if anyone is interested.

GWAG12 Update

My recent travel slowed any momentum I had for my George Will for Allen and Ginter 2012 campaign.  Aside from sending a few cards with trade packages, I hadn't done jack the past week in this endeavor.  However, last night I did set up a GeorgeWill for Allen and Ginter page on Facebook, which will be interesting to watch, along with my own personal profile (Napkin Doon).  I put a post on George Will’s Facebook page, as well as Topps's.  It will be interesting to see if anyone checks it out, or assumes it is some spam garbage.

Hoosier Buddy? Potch at Indianaland that’s Who..

Potch over at Indianaland Picture Cards and I just completed a trade that was seeded by a one for one Bowman Platinum trade.  I was interested in a Jurickson Profar card he picked up (bottom row, right).  He also threw in some additional favorite Rangers of mine:

I love the Opee Chee Moments card of Michael Young, top center.  That expression HAS to be on purpose. 

He also sent some other cards of other players I collect:

I wonder what former Razorback Kevin McReynolds is doing now?  I think he is back in Arkansas.  I bet I could get these autographed.

Anyway, thanks for the nice easy trade Potch, and keep up the great work on a wonderful blog!   I hope you enjoy the cards I sent.

Ho –Ho- Hosmer!

One of the hottest cards in the 2011 Topps Chrome set is the Eric Hosmer rookie, which I guess is his first “true” rookie card, although his eTopps card came out earlier in the year.  I have had no lucking hitting one in the rack packs I’ve picked up so far, and since they are so expensive, I’ll probably knock it off with them for a while.   So when I saw that  Marie from a Cardboard Problem had one and was looking for an Orange parallel card of some nobody named Pujols, which I happened to have, I sent her a quick trade offer. 

Later that day, I went to Cleve’s to check out the upcoming auctions and saw that he had just opened some Chrome himself.   Out of curiosity I asked if he had hit any of the Hosmer cards.  He had, and offered to give me one.  I declined his generous offer, but he assured me it was no big deal, so I was more than happy to accept.    I really would like to dedicate a larger post to just what a great guy Cleve is, and will when my thoughts are more completely formed on the matter.  But for now, let me just say, “Thank You so much Cleve!”

A few hours later, I saw an email from Marie accepting my trade offer.   It was my lucky day!   Two Hosmers are better than one, is what I say, and what I try to instill in others.  So I shipped off the Pujols.  I love trades when both parties are excited about what they are getting.  Thank you for the trade Marie!

I was actually able to see Hosmer play when he was with the Naturals here in NW Arkansas.  I only saw one game (he wasn’t here long), but it was clear pretty quickly that he is a special player.  In fact, let me be so bold as to give you a personal “Napkin Doon Guarantee” that Eric Hosmer will be a perennial All-Star, MVP candidate and first ballot Hall of Famer, and any and all cards you purchase of him will double, nay, triple in value over the next 2-5 years.    

Minor Miscue

After some busy days of traveling to Toronto and getting my head back above water at work, it’s nice to be back to the blog!  I didn’t realize it had been almost a week since my last post.  

I also didn’t realize until the other day that I neglected to show off one of my favorite acquisitions from a recent trade I made with Jeff from Cardboard Catastrophes.  Along with the cool cards he sent here, he also sent a team set of the Oklahoma Red Hawks, the Texas Rangers AAA affiliate.  Even if these weren’t from the Rangers organization, sets from minor league teams are a cool change of pace. 

Thanks for the set Jeff!  I promise, your cards on the way!

Checklist Chipaway: EX Century

The master checklist takes a small hit this week with deliveries of a trio of slick 1999 EX Century Cards:

I am now at 95% complete, with 5 cards left to go!
 

Napkin Doon & Jack Reacher- On a Collision Course of Bad-Assery

There are a few things that send me into tizzies of excitement.  Baseball card collecting is one as you know.  George Will’s genius is another.  And of course, the lovely wife in all her hotness surpasses both of these.

Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child are also on that short list.  And I just found out Child is coming to my town October 28 for a speaking engagement/book promotion.  Tickets are $50 and includes a signed copy of his new book “The Affair” (due Sept. 27) and dinner.   Yes, I already have my ticket.

Lee Child books are just flat-out cool.   Jack Reacher is the constant character in Child’s books, although you do not have to read the books in sequential order.   Reacher  is an ex MP (Military Police) who roams the country, his only possessions being a tooth brush and the clothes on his back.  Every book is about Reacher coming into contact with someone with a problem, and he stays to help.    He likes to kick bad-guy ass and drink coffee and usually scores with a hot chick somewhere in between.  Reacher can be described just as you might imagine Napkin Doon:  a  6’5” mountain of muscle, with a steel trap mind and lethal hand to hand combat skills.  The only difference is that Reacher has blonde hair and mine is brown.