Buzz Break: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team cards (hobby box)

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls cards (hobby box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 181
Base US set completion: 
48 of 48 (100 percent)
Base USA set completion: 
45 of 45 (100 percent)
Duplicates (both sets): 36

Winter Olympics arrival means it’s time to watch Topps cards heat up

Imagine a world where New York Yankees star Aaron Judge had just a single product where you could find his one Rookie Card and one rookie autograph — okay, okay, throw in some parallels of them and maybe a variation or two to make it a more realistic scenario.

What might those sell for? How tough would that wax become over time? It’s something to ponder.

That hypothetical is much, much closer to reality for Olympic athletes and the heavy focus on the few cards they do have gets amplified a million times over during the Olympic Games, no matter whether they are of the summer or winter variety. While we’re still on the cusp of this year’s Winter Olympics, some of the notable first-time autographs already are selling very well — but there’s clearly room for more as they become true household names. One of those likely names belongs to 17-year-old snowboarder Chloe Kim, who’ll appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine‘s Olympics Issue dropping on Friday when the Winter Games open in South Korea.

The Kim 2018 Topps U.S. Winter Olympic Team & Hopefuls Gold autograph (/25) you see here already sold for $199, which seems low compared to the hype that already comes before she takes to the halfpipe and her dominating success in the Winter X Games. It’s also impressive considering it comes from a box guaranteeing ink that’s presently less than $75.

But it’s not alone.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Feb. 6)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Nothing but big pulls from around the collecting world — and even a Christian Slater rainbow — in today’s edition.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Feb. 2)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Nothing but big pulls from MLB, WWE, NFL, NBA and the Olympics.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Feb. 1)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Long-term projects completed, storing oversized hits and big pulls from around the collecting world.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 27)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Nothing but big pulls in this weekend edition.

Katie Uhlaender should bring some baseball to Winter Olympics

You might not find Katie Uhlaender in the newest Topps Winter Olympics card set that officially arrives in stores beginning today, but there’s still plenty to collect for those who remember her story from last time around and are looking forward to a new chapter soon.

In the 2014 Winter Games, she came up four-hundredths of a second short of winning a bronze medal in skeleton, but that story isn’t yet final even all these years later. Why? Russia’s Elena Nikitina was stripped of her bronze after doping violations late last year — and it’s quite possible that an adjustment of results will be done soon. Plus, just last week Uhlaender was named to this year’s squad, making her the first four-time Olympian in her sport.

But when it comes to Uhlaender cardboard, it’s actually not all about her, and there’s a pretty good chance we’ll soon see a 1969 Topps baseball card of her father, Ted Uhlaender, on her sled and his 1972 Cincinnati Reds National League Championship ring as part of a necklace she wears while competing around her neck during the action in South Korea.

Chloe Kim’s new Topps cards and autographs should be in big demand

When Topps‘ new Winter Olympics card set arrives next Friday, it will feature one new athlete who’ll likely become a household name with her autographs in big demand once the action begins.

She’s Chloe Kim and she’s a 17-year-old already being called the “new face of American snowboarding” who is “poised to become the most-famous Korean-American female athlete in history” according to Bleacher Report writer Joon Lee.

But don’t take his word for it.

“Watching her at a young age was like watching Shaun White,” said Tommy Czeschin, a former coach with U.S. Snowboarding, in the story. “She was leaps and bounds better than anyone her age, her height, anyone she would ride with.”

Buzz Break: 2008 Donruss Americana II cards (blaster box)

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2008 Donruss Americana II trading cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 41
Base set completion: 
38 of 100 (38 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Ray Park, Martin Kove, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Bai Ling, Greg Grunberg, Ricardo Montalban, Jake LaMotta, Peter Mayhew, Vicki Lawrence, Connie Britton, Jane Russell, Peggy Fleming, Lee Meriwether, Jonathan Winters, Ed Asner, Regis Philbin, Kane Hodder, Lindsay Wagner, Corey Feldman, Martina Navratilova, Laraine Newman

First Buzz: 2017 TRISTAR Signature Series

What: 2017 TRISTAR Signature Series
Arrives: Dec. 13
Box basics: One autographed item per envelope (10 envelopes per case).

What’s buzz-worthy: TRISTAR’s Signature Series is the final product of the year with just 75 10-pack cases of authenticated autographed memorabilia inside.

First Buzz: 2017 TRISTAR Signature Series National Edition

What: 2017 TRISTAR Signature Series National Edition
Arrives: July 26
Box basics: One autographed item per envelope (10 envelopes per case).

What’s buzz-worthy: TRISTAR’s Signature Series returns with just 100 10-pack cases of authenticated autographed memorabilia just in time for the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago.

Buzz Poll: What do you collect?

What do you collect when it comes to cardboard? It’s a simple question … tell us in our latest Buzz Poll below or in the comments here or on Twitter. (You can select multiple answers.)

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Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com

Steven Holcomb’s life story included vision issues, Olympic gold & cards

Not that long ago, Steven Holcomb‘s Olympic dreams were challenged by failing vision and depression, but a surgery to correct his keratoconus — a disorder that had him seeing with 20/500 vision — helped make him one of the United States’ most-successful bobsledders in years.

His successes included three Olympic medals and it was was one that had been documented in a book — his autobiography, But Now I See: My Journey from Blindness to Olympic Gold — but there won’t be new chapters. He was found dead Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y., at age 37.

“The entire Olympic family is shocked and saddened by the incredibly tragic loss today of Steven Holcomb,” U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun told The Associated Press. “Steve was a tremendous athlete and even better person, and his perseverance and achievements were an inspiration to us all. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve’s family and the entire bobsledding community.”

First Buzz: 2017 TRISTAR Signature Series

What: 2017 TRISTAR Signature Series
Arrives: Feb. 8
Box basics: One autographed item per envelope (10 boxes per case).

What’s buzz-worthy: TRISTAR’s Signature Series returns with just 100 10-box cases of authenticated autographed memorabilia.

Buzz Break: 2011 Panini Americana trading cards (blaster box)

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The box: 2011 Panini Americana trading cards (blaster box)
Where to buy: Shop around online.

Packs per box: 8
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 41
Base set completion: 
38 of 100 (38 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – David Carradine, Linda Hamilton, Corey Haim, Ralph Macchio, Ric Flair, Christina Applegate, Jeffrey Tambor, Leslie Nielsen, Burt Reynolds, Michael Madsen, Michelle Beadle, Pamela Anderson, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Selma Blair

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Aug. 23)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Big finds and big rips … and a Rip Card debate.

A Michael Conforto collector needs this 1996 Upper Deck Olympicard

Michael Conforto hasn’t had the best sophomore season but playing in New York City means there are plenty of collectors who has sought out his cardboard.

But there’s a chance many of them have missed a different Conforto that should be found along with their collection of New York Mets cardboard.

It’s a 1996 Upper Deck Olympicard of Tracie Ruiz-Conforto — his mother.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Aug. 16)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Aaron Judge & Tyler Austin, 2016 Donruss football breaks, Olympic cards & more.

Michael Phelps, Simone Biles & Katie Ledecky share newest SI cover

Today is Sports Illustrated‘s birthday — the first issue arrived today back in 1954 with baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews on the cover — but since we’re in the here and now there’s still a relatively collectable news nugget today.

Katie Ledecky, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles share the latest cover along wth their medal haul as of a few days ago, giving Olympic collectors something new to chase.

In case you missed it here on The Buzz, we’ve recapped how Ledecky has little cardboard, how Phelps has plenty of certified autographs and how Biles and her “Final Five” teammates have been heating up on cardboard.

The SI cover will be one of note for autograph collectors wanting something beyond a card or photo and it’s an affordable option for a simple piece of Olympic memorabilia highlighting three of the nation’s biggest stars so far in the Rio Olympics. It’s Phelps’ 13th SI cover appearance.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com.

Katie Ledecky’s dominance isn’t seen on much official cardboard

Katie Ledecky has five Olympic medals in the Rio Games and four of them are gold — it’s a pretty good haul for a 19-year-old.

The one thing she doesn’t have, though? A bonafide pack-inserted trading card.

Instead, collectors have a trio of Sports Illustrated for Kids cards — a staple for the non-traditional sports or young stars not yet professionals found in the pages of the kids magazine as a perforated-sheet bonus. It’s a place where LeBron James, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods have made their marks in the past along with many others before traditional card appearances.

First Buzz: 2016-17 Panini USA Soccer cards

What: 2016-17 Panini USA Soccer cards
Arrives: Oct. 12
Box basics: One autograph and one memorabilia card per 75-card box set (10 boxes per case).

What’s buzz-worthy: Panini America spotlights the stars of the USA Soccer squads — b0th the men’s and the women’s National Teams — in this annual box set that’s jam-packed with inserts atop the standard cards.

Keep reading for more info and a full gallery.

Michael Phelps’ medal count won’t near his certified autograph total

After another ridiculously dominating run in the pool last night, Michael Phelps claimed the 22nd Olympic gold medal of his career and ran up his medal collection to 26.

It’s a mark that’s not likely to be touched — but it’s also a mark that can’t compare to his number of certified autographs.

Although he’s a pricey signature, he’s one of the most-prolific Olympians when it comes to autographed cards.

U.S. Olympic gymnasts heat up Topps cards after gold-medal win

This 2016 Topps Olympics Relic of Simone Biles is limited to only 50 copies and sold for $350 on eBay.

The Rio Olympics are well underway and, so far, many of the stars in the field of play have been either those we have seen before and have plenty of cards (Michael Phelps) or newcomers without anything (Lilly King).

But the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team has claimed gold and that has helped collectors and dealers claim green when it comes to their cardboard.

Now, of course, some of the demand has been there all along — regardless of outcome — but three of the “Final Five” appear in this year’s Topps Olympics release.