Tag: Panini

Tim’s Take: Fanatics Strikes Back

If you recall in my article where we first discussed the Panini vs. Fanatics lawsuit, we asked if Fanatics was a monopoly, as Panini accused them of being. In that article, we said the short answer was no, and the long answer was also probably no.

But let’s flip the script and turn the attention to the accuser, Panini. Is Panini a monopoly in the hobby space?

I think the conclusion ultimately ends up being the same. But fortunately for all of us captivated by this drama, if both parties have their way, we may now eventually find out. Let’s break down a simple timeline of what has transpired to get us here, shall we?

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The 15 Best Hockey Cards from 1989-90

Hockey card collecting was on a precipice during the 1989-90 season. It hadn’t yet taken the plunge into the abyss of overproduction, inflated prices and rookie cards of practically anyone who got within 10 feet of an NHL uniform — succinctly known as the “Junk Wax Era.”  Hockey cards were rapidly becoming more and more popular, accelerated by the trade of Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.

Yet, only two companies issued mainstream sets that season. The 198-card Topps set was sold in the U.S. and its near-identical, though slightly larger, cousin O-Pee-Chee sold a 330-card set in Canada.

But if you dig a little deeper, you will find that there were many other cards issued that year that stray from the beaten path — from team-issue cards to minor and junior league trading card sets, to cards printed on the side of food boxes. 

Here is a look at the 15 best hockey cards from the 1989-90 season. Keep in mind that most of these cards aren’t particularly valuable, with most ranging from $2 to $5 each — and even that might be pushing it. Anyone with a love of hockey cards and hockey history should consider having these in their cardboard collection. 

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Puck Junk Podcast: February 28, 2020

EBUG Sensation David Ayres, Plus YOUR Questions!

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about Emergency Backup Goalie sensation David Ayres, who played for the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday and was the first EBUG to record a win. Plus, it’s the debut of the Puck Junk Listener Mailbag! And we might have overdone it with the mailbag questions this week, as this episode is now 1 hour and 54 minutes long. But that’s OK, because it’s awesome. Don’t believe us? Well, click that “Play” button and find out!

Show Notes and Links:
Poll: “Your Hockey Team’s So Bad…” (Twitter)
Dave Ayres, 42, EBUG gets win in NHL debut (CNN)
The first time Sal saw Slap Shot (Puck Junk)
Upper Deck’s 2019 Sibling Sensations Hockey Set (Upper Deck)
Trading Card Database (link)
Last Sticker (link)
National Hockey Card Day – Trade Group (Facebook)
Puddy: “Gotta support the team.” (YouTube)
2015-16 Panini Anthology Hockey Box Break (Puck Junk)
2015-16 Upper Deck Full Force Hockey Box Break (Puck Junk)
The Inside Story on the Eric Semborski Hockey Card (Puck Junk)
Tom Fenton to Get an ITG Hockey Card (Puck Junk)
Here’s that awesome custom Tom Fenton hockey card Sal made:

Sal’s attempt to remove gum that was stuck to a hockey card (YouTube)
Sal eats 24-year old O-Pee-Chee gum and lives to regret it (YouTube)
1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Bill Ranford rookie card with gum stuck to it:

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

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Puck Junk Podcast: February 14, 2020

1989-90 Panini Hockey Stickers

In the latest episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish take a look back 30 years ago at the 1989-90 Panini Hockey Sticker set. They also talk about the upcoming National Hockey Card Day, NBC firing Jeremy Roenick and more. Run time for this episode is a super-sized 107 minutes. Scroll down for show notes, links and images of the Panini set.

Show Notes and Links: 
Jay Bouwmeester collapses at Blues’ bench (YouTube)
Jeremy Roenick’s video apology (Twitter)
National Hockey Card Day website (Upper Deck)
National Hockey Card Day – Trade Group (Facebook)
That time Bailey sent Sal some hockey cards in the mail (Puck Junk)
2019-20 Panini Select Hockey Cards (Panini America)
Review: 1988-89 Panini Hockey Sticker set (Puck Junk)
Ed Belfour Originally Wore  Number 1 (Puck Junk)
Sal Finding 1989-90 Panini NHL Stickers at the Wisconsin Dells (Puck Junk)
Some images from the 1989-90 Panini NHL Sticker set:

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro and ending music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

 

Review: Panini Missing Sticker Service

If you ever collected a Panini sticker set than you’d probably understand the frustration of getting close to completing a set but falling a few stickers short. With an apparent ever- expanding checklist each season and introduction of more foil stickers created plenty of headaches for set builders.

The usual choices for set completion would include binge buying packs, which would prove to be a costly endeavor and leave you with plenty of extras, trying to find a trading partner via websites such as laststicker.com or a similar site.

Maybe the easiest solution for completing a set was right at our fingertips at Panini’s Online Store.

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Puck Junk Podcast: October 15, 2019

2019-20 Artifacts Hockey Cards

In today’s episode of the Puck Junk Podcast, Sal and Tim discuss the new 2019-20 Artifacts Hockey set. Tim also talks about his failed attempt to buy the new Score Hockey cards. Plus, Sal speaks with Tony Siriani, a product manager for Upper Deck who works on the annual Artifacts set.

Did you enjoy this podcast? Is there a topic you would like us to talk about in an upcoming episode of the Puck Junk Podcast? Leave a comment and let us know!

Follow Sal on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
Like this podcast? Support the site and buy a shirt. ■

Puck Junk Podcast: September 30, 2019

2019-20 Upper Deck MVP Hockey Cards

(Player not working? Listen to the Puck Junk Podcast on SoundCloud.)

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK! OK, maybe you can call it a comeback. It’s the long-awaited return of the Puck Junk Podcast, with your hosts Sal Barry and Tim Parish. In this episode, Sal and Tim talk about the 2019-20 Upper Deck MVP Hockey Card Set, the end of Panini Hockey Stickers, the upcoming Topps Hockey Sticker Set, and more. Play time is 1 hour 5 minutes, so get comfy before pressing that play button.

And if you enjoyed this podcast, leave a comment and let us know!

Follow Sal on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
Like this podcast? Support the site and buy a shirt. ■

The 10 Best Hockey Cards from 1988-89

Thirty years ago, the 1988-89 hockey season was winding down. Wayne Gretzky was in his first season with the Los Angeles Kings, while the Calgary Flames would go on to win their first Stanley Cup Championship. Hockey legends Marcel Dionne and Lanny McDonald retired at the end of the season, while Guy Lafleur successfully started his three-year comeback.

It was also a simpler time for hockey card collectors. There were only two mainstream hockey sets to collect — Topps and O-Pee-Chee — and there were not yet any Eric Lindros cards for speculators to hoard. In fact, the word “hockey cards” and “investments” weren’t even uttered in the same sentence back then.

The 1988-89 season was also when I first discovered hockey — and thus started collecting hockey cards. So, here is a look at the 10 best hockey cards from the 1988-89 season. These are not necessarily the most valuable or most-rare hockey cards from that year; rather, these are cards that have significance and should be in any serious hockey card collection.

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2018-19 Panini NHL Sticker Collection Box Break #2

Last month, I purchased two full boxes of 2018-19 Panini NHL Stickers. My first box had quite a few foil stickers, and very few duplicates. So I was excited to open the second box of Panini stickers, and hoped that the collation would be as good as the first box. 

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