Posts Tagged ‘Gallery’

Topps 2011 Under Armour All-American Card Gallery: White Team

By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor

Perhaps outdone by the Red Team in the 2011 Under Armour All-American game, White Team players are nevertheless prospects for the hobby’s future.

Here’s a comprehensive look at Topps‘ exclusive autographs from these young stars:

Box Busters Preview Gallery: 2011 Topps Baseball

By Chris Olds | Editor

Today’s the day that many had marked on their calendars — well, after Topps pushed up the release date — as it marked the arrival of the annual baseball card-collecting staple.

You know, the annual Topps Baseball set.

While our Box Busters review boxes are somewhere in an iced-over UPS truck likely stuck in a snow drift and the Beckett Media offices are closed for a second consecutive day, a little lot of snow ice wasn’t going to stop your idiot intrepid editor from journeying through the tundra to a Target store.

After a blaster box, jumbo pack and way-too-many loose packs to mention, here’s a selection of cards from this year’s set … after the jump.

Also be sure to take our poll — on whether you think 2011 Topps is a winner or a loser.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Photo Gallery: Inside the NFL Experience

By Andrew Tolentino | Assistant Editor

Braving the second evening of a three-day North Texas ice apocalypse, I put on my warmest clothes and ventured to the Dallas Convention Center for the Super Bowl XLV NFL Experience.

Despite the freezing temperatures, I  arrived without incident and with childlike glee when I saw the epic Super Bowl XLV letters standing in the iced-over convention center lawn. As visitors – some locals, some tourists, some brandishing terrible towels, some sporting cheese heads – poured inside the building, I couldn’t help but momentarily absorb the spectacle from afar.

However, I have seen the movie “Alive,” and I know what prolonged exposure can do to a man.

After making my way inside the traveling NFL theme park and eating a protein bar (just to make sure),  I confirmed the glorious magnitude foreshadowed by that dramatic entrance. I was greeted with the hustle and bustle of show-goers, a light show and an enormous Drew Brees cut-out hanging from the ceiling. At the epicenter of the experience, the Topps and Panini-sponsored Memorabilia Show lured me in immediately. Bringing their best host-city wares and cream-of-the-crop football collectibles, dealers set up shop, hoping to make hobbyists out of every attendee. Offering reasonably-priced merchandise and promotions to a crowd of awestruck football fanatics, most of these merchants didn’t have to do much convincing. 

Beyond gridiron collectibles, the event was packed with engaging exhibits and photo ops. I watched as attendees posed with their heads atop life-sized mannequins from various teams, placed their hands in player-casted molds and stood in line for autographs from Will Witherspoon and Chinedum Ndukwe. Surrounded by locker room display cases, visitors could even use computers to search for and watch specific plays from the season.

Marked by interactive displays, free autograph sessions and other activities throughout, the event is more than just a sight to behold. Appropriately labeled, the spectacle is all about the experience.

With that being said, below are some of the visual highlights from my frigid, but rewarding night. Stay tuned for an upcoming NFL Experience video.