Alabama Coach Nick Saban’s historic title chase could spark new interest in already hot autographs

With a victory tonight, University of Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban would equal a giant not only in the history of college football but a giant in his school’s history.

His Crimson Tide plays in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Paul W. Bryant Drive down the road from the Paul W. Bryant Museum and the Bryant Conference Center — all reminders of Bear Bryant and his NCAA-record six national championships and 323 career victories. (Saban is at 285.)

Tonight’s College Football Playoff National Championship is Saban’s sixth title-game appearance in the last nine years and with a win he’ll have his sixth season title for his career. Saban had his chance at tying Bryant last season when his undefeated team lost in the final seconds on the final play of the game against Clemson, which Alabama knocked off in a rematch this year to advance to tonight’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Both of Alabama’s postseason foes this year are coached by former Tide assistants, Dabo Swinney at Clemson and Kirby Smart at Georgia, but neither has autographs and football card appearances as easily found as the legend of today, Saban.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (Jan. 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: Favorite memorabilia pieces, DeMar DeRozan’s 52 points, an all-SEC title game, fixing the Cleveland Browns, Panini Contenders SPs, a Michael Jordan trade you don’t want to make and plenty more …

Some of Alabama & Georgia’s biggest stars already have football cards thanks to prep bowl games

The college football world got a pair of classic showdowns on Monday night and will get a third next week when the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs face off for the College Football Playoff National Championship.

There were some dominating performances for these two squads in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl and the good news for collectors who might not know is that a number of those stars now set to chase gridiron history already appear on fully licensed football cards thanks to card companies’ deals with prep spotlight games such as the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the Under Armour All-America Game.

In the case of the Bulldogs and their game-winning star Sony Michel — as well as his fellow bruiser RB Nick Chubb and QB Jake Fromm — they can all be found on Army cards from Leaf Trading Cards. Michel’s first of more than 40 cards was made back in 2011 and nearly all of the are autographed. Chubb has around 30 cards from 2014 and beyond, while Fromm has more than both of them with nearly 50 signed. His are all from this year’s set — and this trio is likely not alone for Bulldog cameos as there have been plenty of cards made for the event in past years (some wax is still findable — there’s even a Vault release on the way).

The Crimson Tide guys? There’s a lot more mystery there …

First Buzz: 2017 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets

What: 2017 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets
Arrives: Aug. 30
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box

What’s buzz-worthy: TRISTAR’s Hidden Treasures football brand returns to the field for another season with some new NFL names and some of the biggest names from the past.

SCP Auctions to sell George Blanda memorabilia collection in January

A number of championship rings, awards and game balls from the career of a Hall of Fame quarterback are headed to the auction block in January.

George Blanda‘s 26-year career as a quarterback and kicker included three AFL championships and a league MVP award — and the spoils of those successes will be sold via Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based SCP Auctions. 

Buzz Break: 2016 Panini Black Gold college football cards

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: 2016 Panini Black Gold college football cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com

Packs per box: 2
Cards per pack: 5
Cards in this box: 10
Base set completion: 
0 of 89 (0 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Potential No. 1 pick A.J. Puk appears on plenty of cards before MLB Draft

With the MLB Draft set for Thursday night, we’ll soon have a new crop of prospects attached to their professional teams and new players that collectors can now focus upon.

Thanks to various high school all-star sets and USA Baseball releases from Panini America, many of the players who’ll be tabbed for future greatness already have cardboard.

That includes potential No. 1 overall pick A.J. Puk, a 6-foot-7 left-handed pitcher for the Florida Gators who was previously drafted in the 35th round by the Detroit Tigers out of high school back in 2013.

Buzz Collector Profile: Jeff Cayce, a Tennessee Vols football superfan

Jeff Cayce
Also known as: jcayce or jeffcayce or @CayceJeff or The Big Kat (just a nickname)
Email: jeff_cayce@hotmail.com
Website: Top 10 Needs, Ultimate Want List
Location: Franklin, Tenn.
Work away from cards: Technical sales manager and father of two boys
Collecting since: 1986-1992, 2007-present

Main focus: Tennessee Vols Football (college or senior bowl uniform)

Favorite players/teams: Tennessee Vols football

Current collecting projects: Complete cataloged database of UT uniformed cards (currently at 85 percent complete minus 1/1s, 76 percent if 1/1s are included). Also love finding sample, promos, variations, schedules and oddball cards of the Vols.

First Buzz: 2016 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets

What: 2016 TRISTAR Hidden Treasures Football Mini Helmets
Arrives: March 15
Box basics: One autographed mini helmet per box.

What’s buzz-worthy: After more than a year on the sidelines, TRISTAR’s Hidden Treasures football brand returns to the field with some extra potential twists for collectors.

Chasing “Thunder & Lightning” not as easy as you might think in Panini America’s high-end college brands

Buzz is a collector with varying tastes — one where there’s definitely not one focus but many.

It’s a blessing and a curse.

When one favorite player isn’t playing well or is off the mental radar, the collection doesn’t suffer — the focus turns elsewhere. And then, sometimes, there are just cards that pop up because they are interesting.

Panini America‘s recently released Immaculate Collection College set and the upcoming National Treasures College edition are packed with singles on Buzz’s radar because they show something we haven’t seen before — or at least not a lot of — in the hobby. One example? A Rafael Palmeiro Mississippi State autograph like the one above that’s coming in National Treasures. It’s not that Buzz cares one bit about the Bulldogs or even Palmeiro, but the 1985 season where MSU had Will Clark and Palmeiro, aka “Thunder and Lightning,” is one that’s pretty significant in college baseball lore. And since college baseball is something we haven’t historically seen a lot of on cardboard (other than new prospects awaiting their pro colors) that makes a card like this interesting.