Filed under: Beckett Media, college basketball, Upper Deck | Tags: 2011 Upper Deck World of Sports, Bob Hugguns, David Beckham, Joe Canseco, Tiger Woods, Upper Deck, World of Sports
By Chris Olds | Editor
In the college ranks, there’s typically one man who stands above the rest.
The head coach.
While countless coaching legends have appeared on cards through the years, it’s in Collegiate Licensing Company-approved and draft pick products where the legends are often found. The likes of Bobby Knight, John Wooden, Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne and many more have made their way into packs.
But there are still more to be found — and that’s where the latest effort from Upper Deck comes in.
Filed under: Beckett Media, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: Autographed Helmet, Boston Bruins, Hockey Helmet, Tyler Seguin, UDA, Uper Deck Authenticated, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Pack Attacks
By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor
Upper Deck and Sports Images have teamed up to bring an expansive Pack Attack event to the New England area this month.
Beginning with pre-qualifying Upper Deck Pack Attacks at eight different hobby shops in the area (listed below), the promotion will culminate with the winners from each location competing in one final event on March 3, 2011 at the Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning game. There, winners will receive premium prizes like player-signed mini sticks, Tyler Seguin-autographed gloves and a Rookie Showcase helmet featuring penmanship from this season’s top newcomers. Continue reading
Filed under: Golf, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: Bubba Watson, Goodwin Champions, PGA, Tiger Woods, Upper Deck
By Chris Olds | Editor
Upper Deck has its sights set on a return to the golf world sometime soon and a pair of future products will include a golf card first and a big batch of Tiger Woods.
Those are things that golf fans — who have been without a set of their own since 2005 — will undoubtedly appreciate.
Up first, is a first — Bubba Watson‘s first Upper Deck golf card. It will appear in 2011 Goodwin Champions, which will arrive later this year.
Upper Deck’s Sports Marketing and Social Media Manager Chris Carlin had additional details.
“We’ve reached a deal with the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open winner for image rights and autographs,” he said. “That’s kind of big news as many were wondering if we would ever produce Goodwin Champions again. The last Goodwin Champions set had a lot of very unique and innovative trading card inserts sets, so we are very excited to bring that product back with even more bells and whistles that will be announced in the coming months.
“Watson’s first autograph cards will appear in 2011 Upper Deck Ultimate Champions, a cross-sport product with a high-end look and feel.”
The second item — a whole lot of Tiger — can be seen after the jump.
Filed under: NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2011 nhl all-star game, NHL All-Star Game, stickkid, UD, ud stick kid, Upper Deck, upper deck stick kid
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
During Saturday’s rookie skills competition at the NHL All-Star Game weekend, 8-year-old Devin Ybarra will be up close to one his favorite hockey players.
Ybarra was selected as Upper Deck’s ‘Stick Kid’ for the competition. The North Raleigh resident will get to walk through the locker room and meet some of hockey’s best players while having the best seat at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C.
“I can’t wait to walk into the Hurricanes locker room and meet all the All-Stars,” said Ybarra, a third-grader. “Going in the locker room, I want to see all the Hurricanes lockers and then just being able to sit on the bench because I’ll get to see (Hurricanes team captain) Eric Staal up close.”
Filed under: Beckett Media, Card gallery, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-11 nhl ultimate, 2010-2011 nhl ultimate, alex ovechkin, hockey cards, Mark Messier, NHL, Taylor Hall, UD, Upper Deck, upper deck ultimate
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
With the NHL All-Star Game in less than a week, it’s never a bad time to look at hockey cards.
2010-2011 NHL Ultimate is gearing up to be a very impressive product on Upper Deck’s calendar, which is currently scheduled for mid-April.
We know how Ultimate works. You get one pack per box, and the hits can be worthwhile. Collectors can snag rare cards of players such as Alex Ovechkin, Mark Messier or Taylor Hall.
There are just four cards in a pack, but collectors get one autograph, one memorabilia and one rookie card in each pack. A 15-box case will yield one autographed-memorabilia card, three to four patch cards and three “A” Level autos on average.
Many of the best past and present players are included.
The NHL shield patch cards already seem to be favorite for some collectors.
Look for more pictures after the jump.
Filed under: NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: All-Star Game, jeff skinner, NHL All-Star, Taylor Hall, UDA, Upper Deck, Upper Deck Hockey
By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor
For the past two decades, Upper Deck has made an effort to promote hockey-card collecting at various NHL All-Star festivities. This year, the major manufacturer will make a three-day appearance at the 2011 NHL All-Star Fan Fair in Raleigh, N.C.
“We’re anticipating a great turnout, so we’ve come up with a highly sought-after lineup of All-Star redemption card sets to hand out each day of the show,” said Jodi Wasserman, Upper Deck’s Director of Marketing.
From Friday, Jan. 28 through Sunday, Jan. 30, thousands of fans can enjoy various programs organized by Upper Deck and other hockey advocates.
Bringing its wrapper redemption program to the booth, Upper Deck will offer one commemorative 2011 three-card All-Star pack to fans who open three packs of any 2010-11 Upper Deck hockey product (excluding Victory). These tribute packs come in three different versions, as listed below: Continue reading
Filed under: NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-11 SP Game-used, Hockey, hockey cards, NHL, Upper Deck
Join Beckett Media’s Andrew Tolentino and Tim Trout as they rip into a pair of 2010-11 SP Game-used hockey boxes from Upper Deck in this latest episode of Box Busters.
What will they find inside? Watch and find out …
Filed under: Checklists, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2011 national hockey card day, Bobby Orr, Canada, dion phaneuf, Gordie Howe, hockey cards, Jarome Iginla, Jason Spezza, jeff skinner, Jonathan Toews, Jordan Eberle, Mario Lemieux, National Hockey Card Day, P.K. Subban, Roberto Luongo, Sidney Crosby, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Upper Deck, upper deck cards, upper deck hockey cards, Wayne Gretzky
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
Canadians can rejoice on National Hockey Card Day.
Upper Deck will be featuring another promotion dedicated to some of Canada’s best hockey players. On Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011, Upper Deck is giving away one free pack of cards just for visiting participating hobby shops in Canada.
The 16-card set focuses strictly on Canadian-born players and will feature athletes such as Taylor Hall, Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe.
See the complete checklist after the jump. Continue reading
Filed under: NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee, Hockey, hockey cards, NHL, O-Pee-Chee, Upper Deck
Join Beckett Media’s Tim Trout and Andrew Tolentino as they rip into a box of 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards from Upper Deck in this latest edition of Box Busters.
What will they find inside? Watch and find out …
Filed under: Beckett Media, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: Be A Player, Hockey, hockey redemptions, NHL, rookie exchange, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Upper Deck
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
Hockey rules are slightly different when it comes to Rookie Cards, although they’re still simple.
Once you skate, you get a card.
This hampers companies slightly, but there are ways to work around it. Upper Deck created a rookie card exchange program with 2009-10 Be-A-Player, which allowed it to release the product, but also add value by having leverage to create cards for players who have to skate.
Upper Deck released the final checklist from the 60-card rookie exchange subset. It’s a solid checklist, which includes players such as Edmonton’s Taylor Hall and Boston’s Tylor Seguin.
All cards are numbered to /99. Upper Deck stated it has just started to create the cards and will take about three months to complete. They expect to be finished around February.
See the checklist after the jump.
Filed under: NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: Black Diamond, Hockey, hockey cards, NHL, Upper Deck
Join Beckett Hockey’s Tim Trout and Andrew Tolentino as they rip into a box of 2010-11 Upper Deck Black Diamond hockey cards in this latest edition of Box Busters.
What will they find inside? Watch and find out …
Filed under: Beckett Media, Hall of Fame, just for fun, MLB | Tags: Barry Larkin, baseball, baseball cards, Baseball Hall of Fame, Bert Blyleven, Bret Boone, Carlos Baerga, Cooperstown, Don Mattingly, Donruss, Edgar Martinez, Fleer, Fred McGriff, Hall of Fame voting, Harold Baines, Jeff Bagwell, John Franco, Kevin Brown, Larry Walker, Mark McGwire, Marquis Grissom, MLB, Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, Topps, Upper Deck, Vince McMahon
By Chris Olds | Editor | Commentary
The Baseball Writers Association of America released the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot this week, a list of eligible players that includes some likely Hall of Famers, some guys still waiting their turn and some guys who’ll get the Vince McMahon Entrance Music Award as they’ve got “No chance … ”
While we have to wait until Jan. 5 to see who was picked on 75 percent of all ballots, here’s my rundown — with an emphasis on the player’s place in cardboard.
Of this year’s new crop, I have several I’d vote for but I don’t see too many getting in. I’d vote for the likes of Fred McGriff, Larry Walker, Jeff Bagwell and Barry Larkin while marveling at those who cast their votes for the likes of Mark McGwire and first-timer Rafael Palmeiro.
See my full rundown after the jump.
Filed under: college basketball, College Football, NBA, NFL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-11 SP Authentic, basketball cards, CLC, College Football, Collegiate Licensing Company, football cards, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Football, NFL, Ultimate Collection, Ultimate Collection canceled, Upper Deck
By Chris Olds | Editor
Upper Deck released a pair of statements to distributors about two forthcoming products on Monday, with one product getting the red light and the other one getting a green light for some higher-end autograph additions.
First, the company has decided to scrap its plans for a 2010 Ultimate Collection Football set, which would have been a college release under its exclusive deal with the Collegiate Licensing Company. The company cited the present state of the industry, which is crowded with many slow-moving, perhaps overproduced products at this time.
Filed under: NFL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010-111 Upper Deck Series 1, Beckett Hockey, Hockey, hockey cards, NHL, Upper Deck, Young Guns
Join Beckett Hockey‘s Andrew Tolentino and Tim Trout as they rip into a box of 2010-11 Upper Deck Series 1 hockey cards in this latest edition of Box Busters.
What will they find inside? Watch and find out …
Filed under: NFL, Upper Deck | Tags: 2010 SPx Football, College Football, football cards, NCAA, Upper Deck
Join Beckett Football‘s Dan Hitt and Andrew Tolentino as they rip into a box of 2010 SPx Football from Upper Deck in this latest edition of Box Busters.
What will they find inside? Watch and find out…
Filed under: Beckett Media, NHL, Upper Deck | Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Hockey, NHL, Upper Deck, upper deck the cup
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
For regular collectors, getting a tin of 2009-2010 Upper Deck’s The Cup might give you a thrilling rush to open. Each box, which contains one pack, costs about $400.
For a man making a little more than $9 million a year, that surge is a little tempered.
Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin ripped a pack of Upper Deck’s 2009-2010 The Cup (Ovechkin signed a 13-year $124 million contract extension in 2008) at a private party recently and there’s video proof.
He also ripped a $100 box of 2009-2010 Ultimate Hockey.
See the autographs and patches he gets.
Spoiler: He didn’t get any of his own cards.
Filed under: NBA, Press Pass, Rippin Retail, Topps, Upper Deck | Tags: Basketball, basketball cards, NBA, Press Pass, Topps, Upper Deck
Join Beckett Media’s Chris Olds as he rips into a repackage box of random basketball card packs as found at a retail store in this Rippin’ Retail video.
What will he find inside? Watch and find out …
Filed under: Beckett Media, NBA, Pro Sports, Upper Deck | Tags: Basketball, card chase, Michael Jordan, michael jordan legacy collection, michael jordon cards, NBA, NBA cards, Upper Deck, upper deck michael jordan
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor
Josh Rosen has always loved Michael Jordan – even though he never saw him play.
Jordan has that effect on people even long after he retired from the Chicago Bulls in 1998, the year before Josh was born. Jordan came back and played for the Washington Wizards from 2001-03, but he was never the player he was while in Chicago.
That doesn’t matter to basketball fans. We all remember Jordan shooting over defenders, scoring whenever he wanted and celebrating with a cigar in his mouth.
That’s No. 23. That’s what Josh knows about — arguably the greatest basketball player ever.
Josh is a huge basketball fan and began heavily collecting Jordan’s cards five years ago when he was 7 years old. His mother, Karen, picked up different Jordan pieces for him here and there, but the two decided to go after the ultimate Jordan collection almost two years ago.
They chased the 2008-09 Upper Deck Michael Jordan Legacy Collection, which chronicles every game Jordan played with the Chicago Bulls including the postseason.
The Rosens began their card hunt almost two years ago and finally completed the set last week. Josh found the last card he needed after he made a post on Upper Deck’s Facebook wall.
The Beckett Blog 