I'll Buy That For A Dollar!

Do you have kids,specifically In the 7 to 9 year old age  range?If yes,then you've probably traversed your local strip mall at least twice a week  to hit up his/her favorite store ever,  Dollar Tree.Junior Griffey and Matt from Bob Walk The Plank will soon  be attesting to this.The other day my daughter and I stopped In our local Dollar Tree for some last minute movie snacks.Dollar Tree Is the  dollar snack mecca ,with everything from big bags of chips down to knock off  ,over sized candy bars.Everything a toothache could ever ask for. After raiding the candy aisle,It was off to the check out line.A small,wooden baseball game caught my daughters attention and she quickly gave me the old yank on the coat sleeve ,accompanied by the  obligatory "Look , Dad!".I was more excited about her excitement towards a game related to baseball,then I was about the game itself.I shrugged It off and followed up her obligatory "Look,Dad!" with an  obligatory " Maybe next time".The next day,while running some solo errands ,I decided to pick up the game and surprise her with It .She played her first season of Little League Softball last year  and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Mets in the World Series.Those two things combined with the fact that her eyes lit up after spotting a dinky  $1 ,wooden baseball game tell me that I may be witnessing the beginning stages of  a die hard.Needless to say she lost It when I showed her the game ,and told her we'd play only after she completed her homework.

The game Is pretty straight forward.Not complicated at all.Roll the dice,and follow the directions of the corresponding number. It's all about luck.I drew up a couple of makeshift scoreboards  and we were able to get two games In before bed time.At one point  I rolled so many 7's ,I was beginning to think my daughter had Nolan Ryan on the mound.The games go by pretty quick and for a dollar,I couldn't think of a better way to spend time with your kid and/or significant other. I'm thinking about making some scorecard  copies  to factor In real players and keep better track of things.My daughter hit a bunch of triples and  It would have been cool to put a name and face  to those in game accomplishments. Seeing how much she liked the game makes me want to pick up the old Cadaco board games.I used to have a ball playing my 1989 version as a kid. Below are the results of the first game.or should I say bludgeoning.   

New Thurman Thomas Pick Ups Part 2

I still have  a few more Thurman Thomas posts to go as these were part of a small lot I won on eBay.Player lots Is the way to go If you want to put a dent in your PC .Lets go to the caaad's!  I loved the 1,000 yard club cards as a kid and still admire them today. 

Here's a sharp 91 Bowman  LL, with the little gold foil  logo of a football player pointing to the sky. 

Bargain Bin Border liners - Bernie Williams

I don't know If Williams can even be considered a borderline HOFer. He's definitely a borderline,borderline HOFer,If that makes any sense.Williams was about 700 hits shy of 3,000 before retiring In 2006. Lets look at the numbers - Career OBP .381/ AVG .297 ,HR 287 , RBI 1,257 , 449 Doubles,1,366 Runs, and a total of 2,336 Hits.  If we're talking about consistency,Bernie was the shining example.Over a 16 year career Williams 162 game average looks something like this-  AVG .297,OBP .381,HR 22 , RBI 98, 35 Doubles ,107 Runs, 182 Hits. Another attractive footnote Is the fact that he did all this while playing out his entire career with one team,the New York Yankees.Now I know there's no written rule that says you have to be a  good guy to be Hall worthy ,but lets face It, few were better than Bernie In that department. The guy played out season after season with a smile on his face ,delivering big hit after big hit. The one knock Is that while clutch In the playoffs,his numbers dipped In World Series play.Still,when averaged  out ,his postseason numbers look like this-  AVG .275 , OBP .371 , HR 22 , RBI 80 , 29 Doubles  with 128 Hits . Throw In  5 time All Star , 4 Gold Gloves  and a Silver Slugger award,and at the very least an argument has to be made.Even with the solid resume ,Williams rookie cards can be had for a little under 2 bucks a piece.Of course, most guys who debuted in 89 and 90 suffer from card overproduction.I say  overproduction - shmoverproduction, this guy Is a stud , and If you can get away with paying under 5 bucks for a plethora of Bernie Williams rookie cards  ,like I did recently,then I suggest you pull that trigger.

The seller was nice enough to add this Williams non rookie to the bunch!

Singles Only (Hey Yo Bo Knows This,And Bo Knows That....)

I had a ton of 1988 and 1989  Topps Football cards growing up,and one of my favorite cards  was this Bo Jackson.I always thought this was his rookie card back then,never knowing he had an 88 Topps Super Rookie.It's nice to be able to hop online and cherry pick iconic cards from my childhood ,especially when most are dirt cheap.Granted ,It's not the same as the instant gratification of finding that childhood favorite in the display case of a card shop and being able to bring It home with you that same day.Unfortunately I don't get out to those shops anymore,so in the end,It's eBay that fuels these "Singles Only" posts.While It's Jackson's RC that I really want,this one has more  significance.The ball tucked nicely In his right arm,left arm about to come down and secure It and a "I'm not gonna find an opening,I'm just gonna run right through you.." look  on Jackson's  face   make this card a Fav 9 contender.

New Thurman Thomas Pick Ups

These are a few of a lot of about 30 Thomas cards I recently won  on eBay.Nothing flashy,just a bunch of 90's goodness :)I don't have a scanner like most of you guys out there,and taking individual pics of cards can be tedious,so Thurman Thomas posts will be sparsely published.I recently set a goal of filling up a small album with  Thurman Thomas cards before the summer of 2016,but since I don't double up cards in the pocket ,my goal Is pretty much complete.Only a few cards short of filling her up.

The first two are a couple of nice second year Thomas cards.Many hate the 1990 Topps design but I love It!

The red,white and blue pop on both of these awesome   portraits of  Therminator.

I Think I'm A Bills Fan

I was never a huge fan of a football team.I could appreciate a good team,but I never clung onto any of them .I'm from upstate ,NY, so naturally I lived and still live among chattering and lamenting Bills fans.I saw Scott Norwood miss the infamous field goal and the Titans miracle play In the 4th quarter of the playoffs In 2000.I wasn't a Bills fan then,but It angered me whenever they lost,especially In key games.It's happening again. I've found myself  getting mad every time the Bills lose.Over the years and more so this year,I've developed a soft spot for them.They've got a nice bunch of young players but still suffer from the lack of a real QB.They can run the crap out of the ball but apparently there Is a no fly zone In effect as far as their passing game goes.Needless to say,I've declared myself a Bills fan .I'm no die hard,but I think that fire Is starting grow.This year has pretty much come to an end but I like what I've seen from rookie back Karlos Williams and I'm pulling for Watkins to get  1,000 yards receiving for the season.