Card of the Day: Willie O’Ree 2006-07 ITG Heroes & Prospects #6

Luongo 13-14 BTP Auto Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Roberto Luongo 2013-14 ITG Between The Pipes Stars of the Game Goaliegraph Auto.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, May 2, 2014 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2013-14 ITG Between The Pipes Box Break & Review

Design: 

One thing I notice with ITG products is that they barely change certain parts of a set from year to year.  What they do tweak are the more popular areas that I think they want collectors to pay attention to.  Among all the autographs and relics what the Between The Pipes brand is known for are the Masked Men inserts.  I have nothing negative to say about these as they combine an artistic look with chrome technology.  And they keep getting better looking each year.

Price: 

Boxes are currently selling for $87.00.

“Hit” Quality: 

Every box promises at least (2) autographs, (2) relics, and (3) Masked Men inserts.  ITG seems to deliver more than the stated odds most of the time.

I pulled the following:

Autos

• Roberto Luongo Stars Of The Game Goaliegraph
• Ben Bishop Stars Of The Game Goaliegraph
• Dominic Roussel Greats Of The Game Goaliegraph

Relics

• Olaf Kolzig Big League Debut 3-Color Patch Silver Version
• Tim Cheveldae Jersey Silver Version
• Daniel Altshuller Jersey Silver Version

Inserts

• Hal Winkler Immortals #11
• Terry Sawchuk Immortals #34
• Tiny Thompson Immortals #12
• Austin Lotz Masked Men 6 #19 Silver
• John Garrett Masked Men 6 #28
• Nikolai Khabibulin Masked Men 6 #8

Overall: 

Overall, I give 2013-14 ITG Between The Pipes an average 3 goalie masks out of 5 (1=poor & 5=perfect).  Nothing too drastically different, but the Masked Men inserts continue to look great.   The goalie mask is probably one of the most decorated pieces of sports equipment, and its fun to see all of the creative designs.  My personal favorite Masked Men 6 insert has to be Eric Comrie as his mask features a Captain America paint scheme.

ITG Used Quad Jersey Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to mrhockeycard on being the lucky winner of the Joe Sakic/Joe Thornton/Theoren Fleury/Martin St. Louis 13-14 ITG Used International Influence Quad Jersey Silver Version.  Once mrhockeycard sends me their mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!

ITG Used Quad Jersey Contest! – NOW CLOSED

This contest is for a Joe Sakic/Joe Thornton/Theoren Fleury/Martin St. Louis 2013-14 ITG Used International Influence Silver Version Quad Jersey.  Good luck!!!

Contest Details:

• This contest will end Friday, April 11, 2014 @ 8:00 p.m. EST.
• To enter, please leave a comment in this post.
• You can enter once per day.
• The winner will be selected at random.
• Please provide a valid e-mail address when entering.
• The winner will receive an e-mail when the contest is over.
• The winner has one week to send me their contact information or the contest will be held again.
• Once the contest is over, I will need the winner’s mailing address so I can ship them this card for FREE!!!

2013-14 In The Game Used Box Break & Review

Design: 

From a design standpoint, there really isn’t anything new.  The design is pretty much the standard, nothing too innovating.

Price: 

Boxes are currently selling for $125.00.

“Hit” Quality: 

This product is all about the “hits” and ITG delivers.  No extra base cards, just the goods.

I pulled the following:

Single Relic

• Mike Modano Autothread Auto/Jersey

Double Relic

• Dan Maloney/Tiger Williams Classic Scraps Silver Version Jersey

Triple Relic

• Patrick Roy Goalie Gear Jersey/Pad/Glove Silver Version

Quad Relic

• Joe Sakic/Joe Thornton/Theoren Fleury/Martin St. Louis International Influence Silver Version Jersey

Overall: 

Overall, I give 2013-14 In The Game Used 3.5 zambonis out of 5 (1=poor & 5=perfect).  The design isn’t anything new, but the “hits” pack a quick punch.  Its one of the better ITG products I’ve opened.

Card of the Day: Babe Ruth 2014 ITG Past, Present, and Future Cut Signature

Upper Deck Unveils 2014 Industry Summit Promos Among All The Drama

The Industry Summit has been getting a lot of attention this year, and not for the right reasons.  Apparently In The Game and Leaf aren’t members of the cool club at school since they won’t be allowed to attend.  This has resulted in a law suit from Leaf, and Dr. Price of ITG has openly expressed his opinions to the world on this matter.  What do I think of this?  I think its garbage.  Every manufacturer involved within this hobby should be allowed to attend and voice their opinions.  Brian Gray of Leaf did take some shots at other companies during his speech last year, but that’s no reason to block him out.  If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.  Why ITG isn’t allowed to attend is a complete mystery to me.  Both licensed and non-licensed manufacturers have the right to be there.  Don’t change the rules mid-game and say non-licensed manufacturers can’t go.  Onyx Authenticated and Press Pass are on the list of attendees, and they issue non-licensed products all the time.  Its all just excuses covering up the truth.  Bullies afraid they might lose something.

Whatever your opinion is on the whole Industry Summit thing, you have to admit what manufacturers are allowed to come give away some great stuff.  I’d go as far to say that their promos are better than the stuff you’d get during the National Sports Collectors Convention.  They should be considering all the money these dealers spend on their products each year.  Plus they can help offset the costs of attending.  With the Industry Summit just a few weeks away, I thought we’d be seeing more promo previews of what attendees might find.  But so far we haven’t see too much.

With Upper Deck celebrating their 25th anniversary, you can expect them to be giving away all types of promos throughout the year.  Especially during the Industry Summit and NSCC.  Upper Deck plans to give out 25th anniversary autograph, dual autograph, and quad autograph cards randomly to Upper Deck Certified Diamond Dealers during the 2014 Industry Summit.  What else is coming has yet to be seen.  If you get your hands on one of the above cards, there is a good chance you might forget all the drama surrounding this year’s Industry Summit.  I know I would.  Hopefully we get to see some more promos before the Industry Summit starts.

ITG Attempting To Bridge The Gap Between Sticker and On-Card Autographs

Ah!  The classic battle between sticker and on-card autographs.  It will go down as one of the biggest debates among collectors for centuries.  Both sides have their positives and negatives.  On-card autographs may be more eye appealing, but you may have to send away for it via redemption and who knows when or if you’ll ever see it.  Sticker autographs might not look quite as nice, but its better to have something in hand versus sitting back and waiting for it to show up.  Finding a happy medium hasn’t been easy.

In The Game is taking another stab at baseball with Past, Present, and Future slated to be released in late March.  At the present time, not too much is known about the product’s configuration, but Dr. Price does give collectors a little glimpse of what you’ll be able to pull.

With Past, Present, and Future, Dr. Price is trying to settle the whole sticker vs. on-card autograph battle.  When looking at these pictures, the autographs seem to be on giant clear stickers.  In reality that’s not the case.  The signatures are directly on the card.  It looks as if In The Game is getting the signers to autograph a portion of the card (about the size of a sticker) and then inserting that missing piece into the rest of the card.  Works just like a puzzle.  They kinda remind me of a camouflaged cut signature.

Collectors have sorta seen this done before.  Upper Deck tried this with 2005 UD Exquisite Football, but the signed pieces don’t blend into the rest of the card like ITG’s do.  Its refreshing to see someone at least trying to bridge the gap between sticker and on-card autographs.

I wonder if anyone has ever gotten players to sign blank stock and then designed the card around the signature?

13-14 ITG Heroes & Prospects Jersey Contest Winner Announced

Congrats to Jamie Baldwin on being the lucky winner of the Jaedon Descheneau 13-14 ITG Heroes & Prospects Subway Super Series Black Version Jersey.  Once Jamie Baldwin sends me his mailing address, I will ship this card ASAP.  Thanks!