Goodbye, Kevin Youkilis.

What an emotional day today has been for me as a Red Sox fan. Today, Red Sox Nation witnessed the end of the Youk Era in Boston. Kevin Youkilis started today for the Red Sox during their 1 PM showdown against Atlanta. The story, though, is that he was about to go to the on-deck circle when he was told by manager Bobby Valentine that Ben Cherrington (GM of the Red Sox) had informed him that a "situation" was pending, obviously referring to a trade. Youkilis followed that by telling his teammates. The Sox did his sendoff right. Youkilis came up to bat, and I honestly feel that by the Grace of God the Boston fans knew it was quite possibly his last at-bat in the Red Sox uniform. He tipped his helmet to a standing ovation, and in usual Youk-style he found an obscure way to get on base: a triple. He was relieved for a pinch-runner, and this is where the tears started. The BEST standing ovation I have ever seen at Fenway Park ensued. He waved to the crowd, cried, blew kisses, everything you could think of. He went down the dugout tunnel, and then came back out AGAIN (teammates pleading) to a louder standing ovation. And that was it. After the game, his locker was empty. Chicago, the White Sox just aquired a fine teammate, man, and athlete: give him the respect and love he deserves.

NHL Awards

Hey guys, I don't usually post too much hockey, but after watching the NHL Awards last night I had to post this.  Many of you have seen Brendan Shanahan's player safety videos over the course of the season.  Anyways, you should check out his newest videos.

Hope you enjoyed that, and congrats to Patrice Bergeron for winning the Selke Trophy!

-20youksox

Epic Mail Week Part 5: "K"

Okay, this card cost me about a hundred bucks and it was definately worth it.  It is my new favorite card (behind my Naismith cut obviously) and I have been waiting for one of these to surface since the release of series one.  I love the design of all of the all star cards from the 2011 All Star Game, and I have plenty of them, but this one is the best.



Definately a sweet card.  I also think it is cool that I got the K.  I know it isn't the first letter or anything significant, but I think that K is the "most interesting" letter in Youkilis.  This wraps up the epic mail week series.  I do have some new maildays, and I hope to post scans of all my patches maybe on Saturday.

-20youksox

Epic Mail Week Part 4: "This could get SKETCHy"

Hey, here is the fourth package from my epic mail week.  I am going to be very busy over the next couple of weeks, so my posts will be less often, and probably shorter.  Anyways, here is my newest sketch card.

Youkilis sketch cards don't show up too often, so I scooped this up as soon as I saw it.  It is by Brian Kong who is one of the more well know artists featurede in the set.  This is only my second Youkilis sketch card, but I do have another one of Josh Beckett.  There is only one post left from this mail week, and it is my new favorite card, so be sure to check that out.

-20youksox

My Top 5: Best Video Game Athletes Ever

Hey, everyone. This is, obviously, a list composed by me that highlights my personal top 5 video game athletes ever. Keep in mind that this list only includes athletes I've personally played as.

5. Damon Jones- ESPN NBA 2k5
This one is an interesting inclusion, to say the least. For starters, he's only ranked as around a 70 overall, and he's the Miami Heat's back up point guard. But man, he could drop 50 on you in a heartbeat. He had this absolutely nasty pull-up jumper, and he hit some rediculous 3's that for some reason if you shot them somewhere near the middle of the three-point-line they almost always went in . Not to mention some devastating fall away jumpers.

4. USC HB #25 (Reggie Bush)-  NCAA Football 2006
Since it would violate NCAA regulations to release the games with the players names on them, sometimes the gamer is left to guess as to who they're playing as. Seeing this animal at HB for USC took no guessing as to who this was. Heck, 20youksox and I constantly used to fight over who got to play as USC, because having Bush on your team meant having a dominant weapon. His spin moves and jukes were ankle-breaking. I remember once I took a kickoff to the house using nothing but Speed and the spin move button. He could not be stopped.

3. Pablo Sanchez- Backyard Baseball
I've got to believe that everyone growing up in the 90's played this gem of a PC game at least once. The orginal version featured your typical and not-so-typical neighborhood kids squaring off on the diamond, and later versions went on to include licensed versions of the "pros as kids". Pablo Sanchez, however, was a boy in his own league. This pint-sized spanish speaker had the kind of swagger (with that menacing spanish AB music, and his flat-brimmed cap) that made you think twice about even pitching to him. The series ranked players in hitting, speed, defense, and pitching; this was done on a (insert skill level)/4 basis. He was 4/4 in every category except pitching, where he was 3/4. Aptly named "the secret weapon", he could hit anything thrown at him somewhere where the fielders simply weren't. And a lot of times, that somewhere was over trees, two lanes of trafic, and a stack of shipping crates. He was better than many of the pros in the later editions; but even then, the nostalgia of playing as Pablo in the original game is just a great feeling

2. Shaq- ESPN NBA 2k5
Another dominant force from this game, Shaq had more moves in the low-post than any other player.ever. Playing as a part of the Heat for his first year, Shaq earned an amazing 95 overall rating. He had this move where he backed you down towards the low block on either side of the basket, and once he reached that block he had a shimmy shake where he spun to the left or right of his defender, switched hands, and dropped it in for an easy 2. He would score on you, it was just a question as to how many points over 25 would he have. His baby hook, oh sweet mercy he dropped that like it was a hot piece of coal. He simply was a beast, and with D-Wade as his point guard, you saw plenty of alley-oops.

1. Tom Brady/Randy Moss- Madden 08.
Yes, I am aware that the Patriots blew their chance for an undefeated season while losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl. However, another thing I'm aware of is that you could singlehandedly beat any team in the game with just these two beasts. In real life, Brady threw 50 TD's that season, 23 of which he threw to Moss. In the game, not much changed. If you had Moss run a fly pattern through double-coverage and Brady threw the ball anywhere near him, he would catch it and he would score. It's simple math, my friends: Brady + Moss = 6 Points.

Epic Mail Week Part 3: "Diamond Giveaway"

The next part of this mail week is the arrival of my Diamond Giveway Account.  I did get the set which gave me free shipping as well.  I pulled the 2 Kevin Youkilis cards out of the set, and I am working on putting the rest in order.  Here are some of the singles from my account.  I will start off with some vintage.  Condition is terrible, but it isn't great either.  Nothing too notable here.



 Next is my worst Die Cut, Aaron Hill which is available if anyone wants it.



 Now for my Red Sox Die Cuts.  I am only one shy of the team set (Wade Boggs), but I was able to get 2 Kevin Youkilis die cuts.

After this, there will be two more parts to this series.  I will try to scan my patches, and I have also completed another rainbow (including 1/1) but am just waiting on the package.  Be on the lookout for these posts!

-20youksox

Epic Mail Week Part 2: "Its Rainbow Time!"

All packages are in, so I will continue posting the rest, saving the best for last.  Part two is especially exciting for me because I was able to complete my fisrt rainbow.  This rainbow is "old school", so there were no 1/1s involved.  However, there is a low numbered card that was quite difficult to track down.  Anyways, it is the 2003 Topps Kevin Youkilis ROOKIE Rainbow.

Its only three cards, but it still looks really cool.  The gold is /2003 and the black /52.  This is my fist completed rainbow, but hopefully it won't be my last.  Surprisingly, the last card I got for this rainbow was the gold.  I was inspired to complete this after obtaining the black.  I bought the first one I could find at a decent price.

I still have three more parts to this mail week coming up, and remember I am saving the best for last.  Also, I will try to get some scans of my patch cards up after I am done with this series.

-20youksox

Patches!

Hey, everyone. Just because I'm curious, I'd like to see readers comment below (if possible with pictures) to show us their best, favorite, most unique, etc, patch cards! 20youk and I will post our personal favorites soon!

Epic Mail Week Part 1

I am expecting several packages this week, mostly high end stuff, so I am going to do an Epic Mail Week series.  This first edition starts off with a bang.  This card cost me a little more than a Benjamin, but it was well worth it.  Although I overpaid, it was the only one I have seen surface since the release of the product it was inserted in, 2011 Topps Series 2.  I couldn't risk not seeing another ever surface.  With my luck, five more will surface tommorrow and sell for like five bucks each.  Here is a scan of my newest Kevin Youkilis Jumbo Patch card.

It looks great in person, but unfortunately this isn't the best scan.  It is 20/20, so it is a "double" eBay 1/1.  Last one made, and his jersey number.  This patch is from the old Red Sox away uniforms, probably part of the number.  I like this card because I am a huge fan of patches, and it is of my PC player.

Like I said, this will be a series with this being part one.  I know I am getting at least one of five packages tommorrow, but the rest are a crap shoot.  I think I will save the best card for last (yes, it gets better then this), but I might not be able to wait because it is definately my new favorite card.  I won't wreck anymore surprises though.

-20youksox

Series 2 Wrapper Redemption

First, let me start off by saying that my mailman must hate me. I am waiting on several packages, and none of them are coming. This is why I haven't been able to post in a while. However, I saw some interesting news from Topps today. Topps will be extending the Gold Rush wrapper redemption program into series two. This edition includes 50 new players with autographed versions. Highlights include Bryce Harper, Yu Darvish, and Ken Griffey Jr.

This time, Topps will be accepting hobby, jumbo, and retail wrappers. You need 50 retail/ hobby, or 14 jumbo wrappers per pack. Packages must be marked hobby or retail, and will not be accepted without the apropriate marking. Wrappers should be sent to...

Gold Rush
P.O. Box 2008
Duryea, PA 18642


There is a limited supply of packs this time with only 10,000 hobby and 10,000 retail. Topps hasn't really mantioned the difference between the two, but I am assuming that hobby packs will have more autos than retail packs. Finally, all packages must be postmarked AFTER June 6th. Packages postmarked prior to this date will not be fulfilled. If these are anything like the wrapper redemptions from this year's release of Bowman, they will run out quick. So, be sure to send in your wrappers right away. Good luck to anyone ripping Series Two!

-20youksox