2023 Favorite Cards

Annual Favorite Cards:  Huge challenge for me this year as I look at my favorite cards from the year.  Cards shown today are from any blog post in 2023 no matter the year the card is from.  I'll show off my favorites from each sport as well as a non-sport entry.  Speaking of, this Stranger Things Upside Down insert is my favorite card of the year.  I know it doesn't scan well but I really like it. That combined with the fact Eddie is a character I really like from the show and this is maybe his shining moment in the series.  As such it gets the nod as #1 from 2023.  This one was appropriately posted in October.

I went back and forth between this one and Eddie for tops on the year.  This is from an April post of 2020-2021 Hoops.  I love the emotion and the photo.  There were other good cards to choose from but this card made it an easy choice as the best basketball card of the year.

This one barely edged two others competing for the top football card.  I really like the photo.  This is from 2021 Score which I posted in May.  In contrast to Saquon's athletic play, the player and coach in the background have no interest in what is going on.

Another card with great emotion, this Asuka card from a post in August is pretty cool.  The photo and emotion paint a great picture.  Not a surprise it is the #1 WWE card from the year.

In March I took a second look at 2021 Donruss NASCAR hobby box.  In the post I showcased this nice-looking Dominators insert of Brad Keselowski.  For winning the race, drivers receive a lobster which he shows off in the photo.  The mask he's wearing also takes us back to 2020 and the infamous look.  I like the look on this card and the lobster helping it be the #1 NASCAR card from the blog this year.

From a July post is this 2022 Juan Soto which has a nicely timed photo.  He's already celebrating with the bat flip while the fans and players watch the ball fly.

This '90-'91 Score Hockey card posted in October gets the top sport for the year in hockey.  I hope to post more hockey in 2024.  This card has cool photography magic going on.

Cards and the blog has been good to me this year.  Lots of fun.  I've gotten a little more organized and will continue to work on that in 2024.  I also hit 51 followers.  Not a lot to some but I'm very happy and very thankful for those who take the time.  Be safe tonight and have a Happy New Year!   

Denver Nuggets Win the 2022-2023 NBA Championship

 Your 2022-2023 NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets!  Denver wins their first championship, winning the NBA Finals 4-1 and it was appropriate.  The Nuggets are a great team and have one of the best players on the planet in The Joker.  Loved seeing the celebration afterwards and I don't think anyone left the arena until way after the post-game presentations were over.  Looking over stats it's easy to say they were close and that Denver may not have "dominated" but in the end they were the better team and it showed on the court.  Miami played tough but in the end even Jimmy Butler couldn't will them to a series victory.  Denver played good defense overall and they had Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.  Jokic was amazing putting up stats in this playoff run and Finals that haven't been seen before.  30/14/7 in the NBA Finals as a center while shooting 58/42/83%.  Amazing.  Murray played great averaging 10 assists a game next to the 21 per game he poured in.  Congratulations to Denver and their fans.  Getting that first championship must be the best feeling a sports fan can have.  The Heat should be congratulated as well for a great run.  Too bad it's over.  It's been fun.

Denver up 1-0 in the NBA Finals

 The NBA Finals have started and game two is tonight.  As the playoffs played out this is the matchup I wanted.  Denver hasn't won a championship and have one of the greatest players in the sport today.  Miami has Jimmy Butler who has willed his team to the Finals.  I love it.  Denver is the better team on paper and I think that is pretty much agreed upon.  Miami though has proven us doubters wrong series after series. I love watching Jokic and Butler play.  They are amazing in their own ways.  I've been able to see The Joker more over the last two seasons and am firmly in the camp that says he's the best player after Kevin Durant (when healthy) in the league today.  And I just love Butler and have since he was with the Bulls.  To the series.  The Nuggets showed us who we thought they were in game one but like Mike Malone stated, they haven't done anything yet.  I always thought Denver wins this series but it's hard to count out Miami.  Still the Nuggets have so much talent in that starting lineup to throw at them.  Would be happy with either team winning though I lean towards the Nuggets whose fans and players deserve that first championship.