Top 3 Interesting Card Investments Right Now

Sports cards have been going crazy and with the new audience coming in over the last year, the prices have increased drastically for the highest end sports cards. There has also been an influx in sports card investors. Personally, I am not a huge investor but I do always keep up with the market and am always on the lookout for good deals on players who I believe may be under valued. Today I am going to be writing about 3 cards that could definitely be good investments going forward

Miro Heiskanen PSA 10 Young Guns

The First card is the Miro Heiskanen young guns graded at a PSA 10. Heiskanen is the number one defenseman for the Dallas Stars and is coming off a season that saw him go to the Stanley Cup Finals at the bright young age of 21. This card will cost you about 130-150 dollars as of right now. This seems like a steal if you look at what Cale Makar’s young guns and Quinn Hughes’ Young guns ar going for (Cale: 500+ Hughes: 300+). I believe Heiskanen has just as much defensive skill as these other two and all three of them will be perrenial Norris Trophy competitiors. In a couple of years he will definitely be talked about as one of the top defenseman in the league and some already have given that praise.

Donovan Mitchell PSA 10 Prizm Rookie

So, this one is a little different that Heiskanen. The price difference is not all that huge between Donovan and those I am going to compare him to but in reality I think there should be no difference. Donovan Mitchell is an established young star in the NBA and just recently earned his second All Star Selection. He is currently the best player on the NBAs best team (in terms of record) and his PSA 10 Prizm Rookie is currently selling for around 500 dollars. Now this is not exactly cheap but Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, 2 other young emerging stars have their same rookie in same condition selling for 550-650 dollars more. Neither of those two have accomplished more than Donovan and I think after this season people will respect donovan alot more especially if the Jazz make a nice playoff run. Hopefully, this season will lead to a price increase and some respect for Donovan Mitchell.

Deshaun Watson PSA 10 Optic Rated Rookie

The final card that I have been watching is Deshaun Watson’s 2017 Rated Rookie from optic. Currently, this card is selling for around 500 dollars but it is undeniable that he is one of the best young quarterback talents in the NFL. For context Patrick Mahomes’ version of the card is selling for 2000 dollars. Now, Mahomes is definitely better right now than Watson and has accomplished more. However, Mahomes is definitely on a better team. If Watson was in a better situation maybe he would be able to have more team success and more individual success as well. I believe that we will definitely see a rise in Deshaun Watson cards in the next few years and I would view the price of Mahomes’ cards as the cieling that Watson’s cards could reach.

The Path Is Alive And Well

Alright, the Patriots currently are sitting at 5-6 and have an opportunity to get to .500 for the first time since week 4. Most people have written the Patriots off but there is a PATH to the playoffs for the New England Patriots. This PATH may also hinge on the New York Giants of all teams. Now lets explain:

So, the Patriots as of now have head to head against 3 AFC teams that are currently ahead of them. Those teams are the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Baltimore Ravens. Those teams are 7-4, 6-5, and 6-5 respectively. The Patriots are currently sitting at 5-6, and at the least the Patriots would need a final record of 9-7 to be able to make the playoffs. Lets take a look at the Patriots schedule and get them to that desired 9-7.

Patriots @ Chargers: Win, the Chargers have a propensity for choking this year and cannot finish off teams, I have 0 faith in the Chargers to win the game.

Patriots @ Rams: Loss, Patriots could definitely win this game if Bill coaches his ass off, but I doubt being in LA two weeks against a team that is significantly better than you. If they can somehow pull this off then it will provide more leeway for the road ahead.

Patriots @ Dolphins: Win, they could lose this game for sure but if they are making the playoffs this game is undoubtedly a must win game.

Patriots VS. Bills: Win, at home we should be able to beat the Bills, I have no real faith in the Bills and the Patriots had an opportunity to win or tie the game in Buffalo (Thanks Cam Newton for fumbling *Rolls Eyes Sarcastically*).

Patriots VS. Jets: Win, I don’t have to tell you why.

So, there you go that is the road to 9-7 for the patriots. If they win out and go 10-6 they are in but let’s be real that is not happening. So now we need to get 3/5 teams that are head of the Patriots down to 9-7. The three teams that I would focus on are the Browns, Dolphins, and Raiders. Obviously, as I said earlier are 6-5 and the Patriots have the tie breaker against them, so that leaves them as an option as well. The colts are a good team and will probably at worst finish 10-6.

Raiders are 6-5 right now so from their remaining games we need 2 losses. To me those losses will come against the Dolphins and Colts. If the Broncos or can somehow beat them, that would be ideal because then the raiders can beat the Dolphins but lets stick with the first scenario and have the raiders beat the Broncos, Jets, and Chargers. Then they lose to the dolphins and Colts, thats all we need.

Dolphins need to go 2-3. Those losses can come from the Chiefs, Patriots, and Bills. Simple as that Pats need to win that game and the other two are better teams. They can beat the Raiders (Hopefully) and Bengals.

Browns, we need them to wet their pants. It is very possible tho. I am penciling them in for losses against the Steelers, Titans, and the Ravens, but that only gets them to 6 losses. We need the Giants who will ideally be fighting for their Division to upset the Browns. I mean this is a team that has been a joke for the better part of the last two decades. Its not incredibly plausible but it is incredibly possible.

If the Ravens end up Losing to the Browns then we have a couple other permutations. So, this week on Tuesday the Ravens will be playing the Dallas Cowboys, which is a game with a lot of implications. If the Ravens are once again short handed and manage to lose then that means the Ravens could also be overtaken by the Patriots. With a cowboys win we could be looking for a Browns win next week or we may also be able to lean on the Giants in the final weeks of the season. I think the Ravens are very likely to to go 10-6, but if they get down to 9-7 then they will be overtaken by the Patriots due to the tie breaker.

We need the Dolphins, Raiders, and then either the Browns or the Ravens to fall down to 9-7 and that would allow the Patriots to make the playoffs as things stand right now. They could also make the playoffs due to a “COVID” week. This would be a week 18 for cancelled games due to COVID. Due to the deal with the league to play this season, Week 18 would trigger a clause in which an 8th Playoff team will be added. I do not believe it will happen but if by some chance it does then the Patriots would only need 2 teams to fall to 9-7.

The Patriots need to take care of business going 4-1 for the rest of their schedule. None of this means anything if they cannot go 4-1. There is a shot at the playoffs and it is alive and well.

Why Do I Dislike Mike Vrabel?

To be completely fair last year Mike Vrabel was easily one of my favorite coaches and I felt as if he was underrated through almost all of last year. He has brought the best out of Derrick Henry and has made Ryan Tannehill look at times like a true NFL franchise quarterback. He was able to help the Titans to an AFC Championship game where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. He was showing off some superb coaching ability and currently has a very exciting Tennessee Titans team vying for an AFC South Title.

Those are the things that i really like about Mike Vrabel, now let’s see why I do not like him. I HATE his attitude. He lets his team act and say in any way they want and he acts as If he is a top tier NFL coach when he really has not done anything. Congratulations, you have been to an AFC Championship game. You know who else has been to an AFC Championship game? It is his AFC South counterpart Doug Marrone! Vrabel is a better coach than Marrone, but he has accomplished about as much as Marrone has. However, there are currently about 11 NFL Head coaches who have accomplished more than he has in their coaching careers so far.

He lets his team walk around like they are undefeated on their way to the Super Bowl, even though they aren’t even winning their division currently. When you are winning championships or playing like the best team in the NFL then no-one can talk about how you act. I look back to the Panthers in 2015 which was a team that had not won anything but talked shit and celebrated in everyone’s face. They could do this because they went 15-1 and stopped once they lost the Super Bowl. Even the Seahawks in 2013 or 2014, some of the biggest shit talkers, but they backed it up by winning a Super Bowl and then going to another.

I am trying to think when the Titans last went to a Super Bowl? Oh, yes that’s right it was back in 2000 when Mike Vrabel was still on his rookie contract playing for the Steelers. Since Vrabel has started coaching the Titans have 0 AFC South Titles, 1 AFC Championship Appearance, and a whopping 0 Super Bowl appearances or wins. So forget about even winning championships this is currently a Titans team that under Mike Vrabel has yet to even win a division title. Yet, they talk and act as if they are reigning NFL Champions who are well on their way to the one seed.

Primarily I just hate the way Vrabel controls the team. Teams are going to want to beat you so much more when the Coach and Players talk like they are the best in the NFL especially when that is so far from the truth.

On another aside that ties into this slightly and his loose reigns on the team. The Titans had the biggest COVID outbreak so far this season and it seems to be traced back to an illegal practice that was held by the titans at a local high school with a coach that knowingly wa exposed to COVID and had COVID at the time.

His game planning is fantastic, but Vrabel needs to understand he has not accomplished anything yet. Instead he acts as if he is the best coach in the NFL and allows his team to act as if they are on the same caliber as the 2013 Seahawks.

Should Danny Ainge Be Done In Boston?

Welp! Danny Ainge has given the middle finger to the entire Celtics fanbase and I love it. I have said for almost a year now that “Trader Danny” is the most overrated General Manager in all of sports. Maybe that is slightly harsh but I don’t care Ainge messed up really bad this time. Instead of signing and trading Hayward to the Pacers for Myles Turner and Dougie “Buckets” Mcdermott, he decided it would be better to dick around and ask the pacers for their entire team pretty much (Myles Turner, TJ Warren, and Vic Oladipo). While Ainge was content waiting for an overpay from the Pacers the Hornets were working behind the scenes to poach Gordon Hayward fright out from under the Celtics and the Pacers.

Ahhhh got to love Danny Ainge’s ego. He just can’t make a traide that would have a fair return for both sides. He needs to fleece a team so that he can stroke his ego. The only things he ever does is hoard draft picks and attempt to fleece teams in trades. Some of the trades he has made have contributed more to flash and big news, but has not amounted to anything signifigant outside of their 2008 Championship. The Brooklyn Nets trade where we got a plethora of first rounders was good and set up the celtics for success down the road. What has he done since then? There was the Kyrie Irving trade which has yielded a net loss for the Celtics. Since then all he has done is hoard late 1st round garbage picks from the Grizzlies, Bucks, 76ers and other teams. He seems like he wants to draft a bench with random late first rounders who he has never really hit on in his career.

This mismanagement of Gordon Hayward should be considered a Cardinal Sin to Celtics fans and ownership. Firing him may be too harsh. He should either step down or the ownership should tighten his leas a little bit and put the pressure on. If he does not provide something substantitive within the next year or two at the most he should absolutely be fired. The Lakers are gettign better after they just tied the Celtics in Championships. If he does not step own the pressure better be on him and he has to produce or else he has to be fired. There are a bunch of IVY League analytics nerds who would love to have his job. Maybe it is almost time for a change.

Why Are Sports Cards So Fun?

Sports Cards is an industry that has blown up recently. What has been a great hobby for most and a reminder of most people’s youths. Why is it collecting little rectangles of cardboard fun tho?

For investors it is complex. When you invest into a card itcould easily be compared to investing in a stock. Except when you invest in a card you invest in that particular player rather than a company. You have a small stake in the performance of the player. If he/she performs well on the field the price will go up and if the player performs well/wins a championship. Some buy players that they like or have a personal connection with and others just buy players because they know they are good. Personally, I like to buy players that are up and comers that would be cheap (around 25 – 50 dollars) with high upside. Some other investors like to buy sure thing players that would most likely continue to go up. An example of that would be Lebron James who will go up more if he wins another championship and when he getes into the hall of fame or Luka Doncic, every year he continues to play well his rookie card will go up. For the most part investors will stick to rookies cards with the rare exception of the top players who will still have a market from year to year.

The other people who like to buy sports cares are collectors. Collectors are more of the hobbyists that have been collecting cards since their youth and have more of a personal attatchment. You might want to collect a certain player and get all of his colorways/refracotrs of a certain card. FOr example I collect Donovan Peoples-Jones crads and I have been trying to collect all of his Prizms. He is not the best player out there but he has been my favorite player from Michigan for a couple years now. You can collect anyone you want to.

I think the personal connection with the players is waht makes it great. Whether you are trying to invest or just collect you always buy a card because you like a player. To hear that certain player is doing well is very special becasue you are either happy your investment is panni out or oyu are happy on a personal level that your favorite player is doing well.

Gambling definitely has a part in sports cards. It is very obvious that opening packs of cards is gambling. However, every once and a while opening packs is so fun. Trying to get that big hit or that elusive rookie card that you want so badly. It has a certain rush and is just so fun for some reason. Even if you get nothing opening packs is so fun becasuse of what you could get.

I love collecting cards and I bleive that it is incredibly fun. I am so excited of what it is becoming and hope that as sports grow, the sports card industry will continue to forw as well. for me there is nothing more fun than investing in a player you belive in and watching him/her play. I hope more people will continue to do that as well and experience the same joy.

Red Sox Should Pursue George Springer

George Springer is easily one of the biggest name free agents this MLB offseason. He will normally demand a huge deal but this year Covid will undoubtedly affect contract sizes in free agency. However, as a 31 year old center fielder Springer does not have a ton of time to cash in on a huge deal. 5 years and about 25 mil per year should be able to be a competitive offer.

He is a local guy and he has expressed that he does not want to return the Astros. Maybe he hopes to go to either a New York team or Boston in an effort to stay close to his home in Connecticut.

George Springer is a top of the line center fielder that the Red Sox should pursue. They will be able to move on from Jackie Bradley Jr who cannot hit but provides fantasitc defense. The team will take a small step back defensively but will add a fantastic hitter in place of Bradley. The Red Sox have been seen as cheap ever since trading away dynamic talent Mookie Betts. The truth is Betts did not want to be here. However, you can prove that you are not cheap by spending this year after resetting the luxury tax this season. If you really want to spend big you can add Ozuna and Springer to create waht will probably be the best or one of the best outfields in the MLB. That is unlikely tho.

Springer should be the marquee free agent signing for the red sox will adding at other places, especially pitcher but at minimum cost. I hope as a fan that the Red Sox can secure Springer but we will see how much the Red Sox want to spend or if the Red Sox are even somewhere that interests springer. I beleive that it would mutually benefit both sides, Springer can be close to home and the Red Sox can probably be the highest bidders, while the Red Sox could use the big name buzz and spending money to recoup their image.

Where in the World is Tuukka Rask?

On Saturday august 15th news came down that Tuukka Rask would be opting out of the remainder of the NHL playoffs (after already playing in 2 playoff games). This news came as a surprise to many fans but not to Bruins executives Don Sweeney and Cam Neely. Rask’s decision was met with a lot of pushback by Bruins fans and was forgiven by others. Some say that he just wanted to go home and others say that it was a family emergency. Whatever the reason, it is his decision and we may never know why he decided to go home. Yesterday, it was reported that Tuukka may be playing golf at a golf course in Newton, Ma.

There is no real evidence that he was there outside of his name on a tee sheet. However, there are multiple “witnesses” that have claimed to see him there and others that have said that he was not there. It seems that this is another Tuukka Rask mystery that we may never know. It is not that fun to just dismiss this as a “maybe he did, maybe he didn’t” type of case so let’s operate under the assumption that he was there as that would be the worst case for Tuukka Rask.

So, if he was there then what does that mean for Tuukka if he was there? Well, I know that most people like to go golfing to just escape and kind of get away from their families and work. Well he has already gotten away from work to be with his family. So…. that would mean that he would go golfing to escape his family. Well… that would mean that he left the bubble and abandoned his teammates so he could go golfing rather than spend time with his family. Well… let’s hope for his sake that he was not golfing and if he was he is so unbelievably lucky that no one got an actual picture because he would be run out of town.

Obviously, there is not much evidence to support the claims that Tuukka was golfing, but that will not stop people from talking about it or accusing him of going. It is obvious that Tuukka leaving the bubble has left a very sour taste in the mouths of Bruins fans. I don’t know if Tuukka will be able to bounce back from this and be the goalie for the Bruins this next year. He may not even want to come back. He may just retire, he seems fine with not winning a Stanley Cup on his own and is very content with just retiring and spending time with his family. To that I say great, he will be missed and will be known as one of the best Bruins goalies of all time but there will always be that empty spot on the trophy case of what could have been. If he is ok with that then great but a lot of Bruins fans will continue to put the likes of Cheevers or Tim Thomas ahead of Tuukka Rask, due to the fact that Rask could not take them to the promised land.

In all honesty I am ready to move on from Tuukka the guy doesn’t care about winning and just wants to have fun. Which personally for him is fine, But as a Bruins fan I am sick and tired of seeing playoff failure after playoff failure for almost the last ten years. I want a goalie who will play his all and do everything he has to, to secure the cup. If Rask wants to come back that is great he is a fantastic player but it should not be for the Bruins. I want someone in the net who not only wants to win but NEEDS to win and Tuukka is not that guy.

“Run it Back” a Terrible Motto

Running it back in the NFL is the worst thing that a team can do. So many teams win or get to a championship and believe that it will be enough to bring the same team back and do the same thing again or better. The Chiefs will be the latest team to attempt to “run it back” after wining a championship. The last team to attempt to run it back was the Eagles in 2018 – 2018 or the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 – 2014. Neither of these teams were able to win the championship in their second go around.

The way I look at it is by winning the championship the year before you set the bar for the next year. Everyone will aim to reach and improve to that same level if not surpass it. While the Chiefs or any other team that has attempted to “run it back” believe that their team was good enough to win last year so it should be this year. No, that is a terrible mind set to have and just does not seem to work. in the last 20 years there has only been one team to ever repeat championships and that was the STACKED New England Patriots roster that dominated 2003-04. If you believe that this Chiefs team is on the level of that Patriots team or even the Seahawks team from 2013-14 that failed to repeat, then you are stupid.

Patty Mahomes is without a doubt the best Quarterback in the league and the offense is fantastic and well coached. The reason that they won last year was not totally because of their high flying offense. Like 98% of other championship winning teams the Chiefs caught some breaks and them getting “lucky” in some ways should not take away from their championship run last year in any way. But luck is not something that can be repeated or duplicated. The Chiefs weren’t going to even have a bye last year until the Patriots choked in the last week (also they owned the tie breaker over the Patriots due to some lucky breaks in their head to head). They were also fortunate enough to play the 6 seed in the AFC Championship game. Again this should not take away from their championship, but it would be hard to replicate any of this in another year.

Moving past luck their defense still kind of sucks outside of Clark, Mathieu, or Jones. Their corners are absolutely terrible and their best one Breshaud Breeland may get suspended at some point due to his arrest early in the season. Their linebackers are really bad and saying they are really bad is kind of generous to them. If they want to repeat they should have focused on bolstering that defense that caught fire towards the end of last year. Just looking at the talent I cannot see that defense being fully effective again and think the defense started to overachieve on the back of stellar play from Chris Jones.

For these reasons I have strong doubts about the “run it back” plan that the chiefs currently have. They will not be able to replicate some of their lucky breaks and not to even mention that talent wise their defense is terrible and they have no talented defensive minded coach that could make up for the talent deficiencies. I am not saying they cannot win it but I firmly believe that just bringing everyone back and going for it again with the same guys almost never goes well NFL teams.

Westbrook and Harden NBA’s Best Covid Duo

Well it seems like both Russel Westbrook and James Harden have tested positive for coronavirus as confirmed by Shams:

A source tells our NBA Insider @ShamsCharania that Rockets star James Harden is feeling fine, working out and may travel with Russell Westbrook to Orlando when Westbrook clears from coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/O8CsLBxGJK

— Stadium (@Stadium) July 14, 2020

Obviously it’s great to see that both of them are doing well and they are hopeful that both will fly out to be with their teammates for the playoffs. It is very possible that these two contracted the virus randomly like so many other people have, but I am worried about dome of these professional athletes.

If we find out that these two contracted the virus because they HAD to go to the bar or HAD to go to the strip club during a pandemic I am going to be pissed and so should their teammates and the fans. I am not just talking about these two but I worry about other athletes in any of the major sports lacking the self control to stay inside or if they go outside to wear a mask and social distance like responsible adults.

Even inside the NBA bubble players are showing their lack of self control:

we got our first bubble bound fly out ✈️✈️ 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/6VqBPl4DPW

— NBA Bubble Life (@NBABubbleLife) July 12, 2020

An anonymous player has decided invite an Instagram model to the bubble. Will she be tested? Is this for in a couple weeks when family is supposed to go down to Florida? Can these players just not control themselves for a couple of months during a pandemic while they are at work? Do they want to jeopardize everything they worked for just to fly an Instagram model into the bubble because you have no self control?

It is things like this why I question how Russ and Harden contracted the disease. I don’t want to crucify them for something that they very possibly did not do but I am skeptical, because it would not surprise me in the least if these two decided to go out and have some fun in Texas. There are a lot of athletes who think they are invincible or they put their “fun” in front of their job and their craft. Normally this isn’t a bad thing and is more of a precaution when choosing what players you would want or not want on your team. However, this is different, there is a PANDEMIC and these players just as other people need to be more careful so that they do not compromise their health or the health of others. They need to do their job just as we need to do our jobs and they need to be healthy to do so.

Once again players in any sport need police themselves so that they play and also so that they do not put others in danger because they want to go have some “fun

Richaun Holmes puts the NBA at risk

It was reported yesterday that Sacramento Kings player Richaun Holmes decided to leave the NBA bubble in Orlando for a very good reason…. oh wait nevermind he wanted to just get some takeout.

Kings center Richaun Holmes crossed the the Disney campus line to pick up delivery food and must quarantine for 10 days (eight days remaining).

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 13, 2020

Hey I get it these NBA players are not totally accustomed to the average food they are being given inside of the bubble. However, how dumb are you? I believe that you are able to get takeout food but it has to be delivered inside of the bubble as other players have alluded to in previous tweets. Even without that I get the bubble food is not that great but you need to know the boundaries of the bubble.

By going outside of the bubble you put not only yourself at risk but the entire NBA. I understand that it is tempting to want to venture out and get food that still somehow looks better than the food that I can get at my schools dining hall, but you need take more responsibilities for your actions. Which is worse, having to eat the average food that you get in the bubble or having the entire NBA season cancelled again? That answer should be obvious, but if NBA players cannot understand that then this is going to fail. The NBA players need to hold themselves and their teammates accountable so that they can play and we can enjoy basketball once again.

So let’s hope these players can control themselves and stay inside of the bubble, so that we can have an NBA season.