Sunday, December 16, 2012

PANDA WATCH 2012 UPDATE

So back in October I wrote a post about Pablo Sandoval and if my Lineage Auto would see an increased value after he was awarded the 2012 World Series MVP.

Let us check out the cover of this months Beckett Baseball!



Previously my card was valued at $15.

Today it is valued at $25

Pardon my math, but I believe this to be at least a 60% increase in value.  Not bad Panda!


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Can I get some help!?!

So I'm in the second round of my Fantasy Football Playoffs and if I win this weekend I'm back in the championship for a second year in a row.  Unlike last year our runner up will at least get $100 but the winner takes home $500.

If I'm the runner up i'll likely take the wife out to a nice dinner or something like that, but if I win it all i'll be splitting it down the middle with the wife to allow her to buy whatever she wants with her half so that I can buy whatever baseball products I want.

So here is the question I pose to all my loyal readers...

You've got a budget of $250 and you can buy anything you want...

WHAT DO YOU BUY!?

I could get a couple boxes of some mid range product like Gypsy Queen or Heritage.

I could spring for a higher end box of cards like Triple Threads Baseball or Topps Sterling.

OR....

I could hit the electronic bay and buy a hit and avoid a let down box.

Like...


OR....

 
OR...


All for $250 or less.  So with all of that being said... What do you guys (and girls) think?

I'll let you know in a couple of weeks if I hit the Fantasy Football lottery.

Till Next Time...

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Man Cave

If my blog was a television show I would consider this first year to be season 1 and this post to be my Season Finale. 

It's taken over a year to get the actual project completed and to be honest it's still only 95% complete, but it was done enough to finally have people over and show it off to family and friends.

My brother and I celebrated our 28th birthday this past Monday and had family over Sunday as we celebrated a day early when everyone could get together.  It also marked the occasion for the grand opening of a place we jokingly refer to as Dewskies Pub, because we like the slogan "Get your Brewskies at Dewskies!".

So with out further delay...

Welcome to Dewskies

 
 For those of you who read or follow me on the reg, you'll remember this post about the Saloon Doors.  Before we take the tour through pictures I thought it would be a good idea to show you the lay out of Dewskies.  Being the annoyingly detailed guy that I am I of course had the lay out of the cave down on paper with a scaled down version in order to asses how all my furniture would fit down there.

Here's the lay out.


Sooo you see what I mean.  At least I knew everything would fit!

Moving on... through the doors.

 
As you enter Dewskies you'll be greeted by 2 time Gold Glove Catcher Matt Weiters on your left and the bar will be to your immediate right. 

 
We've got the "Bar Tender View" here. 

 
You'll also notice when you first enter this old ass rail road sign that was left by the previous owners.  Put a Batman Mask in the middle of it and it becomes a kick ass wall piece.  Above and along that whole wall is a pennant for every MLB team with the AL East prominently displayed first.

 
Here is shot of the bar and the extra Oriole Logos I got to put on it from my Fathead.

 
Here is a better shot of both stools I picked up for the Bar as well as some of the photos I've got next to the bar.  The far left shot is of my rugby days from college followed by a photo of Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx.  The old time football player is my wife's Grandfather who was a helluva athlete.  Lastly is a cool gift from my wife and a shot of Ripken on the night of 2131.

 
As you turn the corner from the bar you'll see the shuffle board table to your left and the card catalog up on the right.  Check out how I put baseball cards up on the weird little drop in the ceiling.  I think it added a lot of pop.

 
Here is a great shot of the Shuffle board table in all it's glory.  I know its a little close to the dart board, but I don't really have enough friends to play both games at the same time.  Crisis averted!

 
Here is a shot of the old Remco game board that I use to display some game used cards and autos.

 
I've got a small window that I've turned in to a mini Gotham city.  Really its a few 3D city puzzles and a Kenner Super Powers Batmobile with Batman, Robin, and Joker.  (The greatest super hero toyline ever.  period.)

 
Above the catalog I have the painting of the 206 Honus Wagner card (perhaps the most famous card ever) to the left of the painting is a fake glove ad for a Lou Gehrig model glove and below is that sweet photo of Babe Ruth swinging away while smoking a stogie.  Dude could party!

 
Next is a chair and a half with a great photo plaque of Brooks Robinson.  Above is a bat display with a Brooks Robinson auto'd bat with some cool baseball on display.  The ball all the way to the left is signed by Richie Ashburn as well as the Catfish Hunter auto I pulled from the National.  The mask hanging up was my fathers umpire mask from when he used to ump my little league games.

 
The roaring fire place.

 
This is a shot of the couch with an uncut sheet of 1933 Goudey cards (an obvious reprint) with a signed photo of Rick Dempsey and Scott McGregor from the 83 World Series Orioles.

 
Further down is the poker table my wife and I felted along with the rest of my collection on display.

 
It wouldn't be a Baltimore man cave if I didn't have a shot of Ray Lewis putting Ben on his ass.  Oh yeah... it's signed also!


I got this poster last year in honor of the Ravens Superbowl team.  It was the same day as my Anniversary and I took my wife to the game.  It was also the first game back for Ed Reed from an injury and we watched him get 2 interceptions!

 
You may have seen this one earlier.  I love the Reggie cover.  You rarely see him portrayed as an Oriole.

 
1 reason the cave is only 95% done.  This TV needs an upgrade.  Does the trick for now though...

 
I have 4 out of 6 statues from the past season.  I need Ripken and Brooks if anyone happens to have them.  I also have 3 sweet mini helmets on display.  The one to the far left is Terrell Suggs, with Lewis in the middle, and Ed Reed to the right.
All 3 Defensive Players of the Year.  No big deal!

I've had that Ripken Wheaties box since I was about 8 or 9.  No logos on it makes it more valuable.  Still has the cereal!
 
This mirror came from my Father in law from his time in the Air force.


This was probably one of the best moments... my first draft beer at Dewskies!


 
As for my birthday I got this great print of the first ever football club for the NFL.  Looks a helluva lot like Rugby.  I love it!


 
And lastly my parents got me a set of four chairs for the poker table!  An excellent birthday present!
 
Well folks... that's the Man Cave.  Aka Dewskies!
 
I know it was a long read, but season finales are usually an hour long as opposed to 30 minutes.  I'll be back after Christmas to show off what I got!
 
Till then...
 
GO RAVENS.
 
Thanks for reading!