Card-Ola: 2010 Topps Pro Debut Series One

Sorry for the lack of updates. When you're in grad school and have two projects and two final exams in the next two weeks, certain things take priority.

With that said, here's a video break of a box of Minor League cards Topps sent me.

Part One



Part Two

Card-Ola: 2010 Finest

The Video



The Pulls

Base Set: 48 of 165 (29.09%)

short set: 47 of 150 (31.33%)
1 Autographed Rookie Letter Patch (15 "cards", 1:2 mini-boxes): A Big Letter "Z" of Dan Runzler.

Parallels

6 Refractors (numbered to 599): J. Santana, M. Kemp, M. Young, N. Swisher, The Flyin' Hawaiian, K. Phillips
3 Blue Refractors (numbered to 299): J. Verlander, R. Porcello, R. Halladay in a poorly airbrushed Phillies uniform
1 Green Refractor (numbered to 99): J. Reyes
1 Gold Refractor (numbered to 50): N. Cruz
1 Autographed Rookie Letter Patch Refractor (numbered to 75) A Big Letter "S" with J. Francisco's autograph (I think) on it.

Inserts

1 Rookie Redemption: #4

The Review

Remember when pulling a Refractor out of a pack of Finest meant something? I say this, because I ripped a box of 1995 Finest a couple of months ago and got only two Refractors. I pulled 11 out of this Master Box of 2010 Finest. I know the kids want the BIG MOJO HITZ!!!!, but sometime less is more.

And speaking of less is more, can this please, finally, be the last year for letter patches in Finest? Even if you actually like the letter patch concept (all nine of you), you have to agree; they just don't belong in a set like Finest. When you think Finest, you think two things: 1) Chrome-stock cards and 2) Refractors. That, and the autographs on these things are barely legible. (You try signing your name over 1500 times on a narrow and uneven surface.)

As for the base set, the gray backgrounds look drab, almost depressing. But, they make the "colored" Refractors stand out and that may have been what Topps was going for.

Product Rating: 2 Gumsticks (out of five)

...and another thing.

Is there really that much of a difference between an autograph on a sticker and one on a letter patch? Neither of them are "on-card," right?

My Unsolicited Topps Hobby Round Table Entry.

Now you'd think that a card company that sends certain cardblogger free samples of their product to review, would have sent an invite to their inaugural "Hobby Blog Round Table." I guess my invite was lost in the mail, so here are my two cents:

1. How long have you been collecting? What are your favorite players, teams, sets, etc. to collect? Which card in your collection means the most to you and why?

I've been collecting baseball cards, and only baseball cards, ever since my mother bought me a wax pack of 1980 Topps Baseball when I was five. I've been addicted to cardboard ever since.

Although I'm a Phillies Phan (and yes, fan is spelled with a "PH"), I don't necessarily collect a specific team or player. I'm a set builder -- Topps, Heritage, A&G, 90s-era Stadium Club, and so forth. Yes, we still exist.

2. In the time that you have been collecting, what is your favorite story, memory, experience, etc?

Buying a waxbox of '93 SP Baseball for $45 and being angry for not pulling one of those way-cool Platinum Power die-cuts. Oh well, I still have two of those three Derek Jeter RCs.

3. What are the effects on the hobby of major card companies moving toward exclusivity deals with sports leagues? Given that this could be the direction that the industry is headed, what should card companies do to continue to provide a quality product to collectors.

I know I'm in the minority here, but something had to be done to stem the tide of lousy products. Yes, I'll miss Upper Deck Baseball, the same way I miss Fleer (not so much Donruss, but that's neither here nor there). But over the last 10-15 years, there was a lot of garbage products being made, most of which had no reason for being (Upper Deck X, Topps TEK, Pinnacle Inside, et al) and most of which have been thankfully forgotten.

The cardboard bubble burst a long time ago. The Hobby can no longer support four licensees and over 90 products, per sport, per year.

With that said, "Scoreboard Abe" and "Yank-akke" notwithstanding, Topps has done a decent job in their first year of exclusivity.

4. Pick a timeframe- 5, 10, or 20 years. In that timeframe, what has been the single best and worst development in the hobby?

Not to toot my own horn, but the single best thing that to happen to The Hobby over the last decade has been the internet and cardblogging. For the first time since the days of Jefferson Burdick's typewritten newsletters, the collector has a voice, and that voice is finally being heard. If Jefferson Burdick were alive, he'd be one of us.

The worst thing that has happened, and this is more of an extension of question #3, was what I like to call the "Second Wave of Overproduction" that took place starting in the mid-90s and ending only now, and the related escalating price of a pack of trading cards.

I don't think it's a coincidence that as pack prices have increased (from 1989 Upper Deck's $1 packs, to '91 Stadium Club's $2 packs, to '93 Finest's $5 packs, to '96 Leaf Signature's $10 packs, all the way up to the $20, $50, $100, and even $500 packs so common now), total Hobby revenues have inversely declined. In 1991, The Hobby was a $1.2 Billion industry, based largely on $1 and $2 waxpacks. Today, it's about a quarter of that.

5. What are your thoughts on prospecting? Do you do it personally? Why? Has the clamoring to find the next big rookie affected the quality of products, either positively or negatively?

I don't understand how some collectors can get excited over an autograph of a Class-AA backup catcher or a Refractor of a high-round draft pick who'll probably never play an inning in the Majors. I don't get prospecting, and I don't think I ever will.

With that said, I used to like Bowman Baseball. A lot. Up until the rules changed five years ago, it was the only product that combined rookie card selection with base set collectiblity. Sadly, thanks to the MLBPA's rookie card eligibility rules, the bundling of Bowman with Bowman Chrome, and especially the addition of autographs in the base set, this is no longer the case. While Bowman (and for that matter BowChro and Draft Picks & Prospects) can no longer claim to be "The Home of the Rookie Card,"(there were more "true" rookies in Heritage last year than in Bowman, BowChro, or BDP&P) it has been the addition of base set autographs that has done more damage to the brand.

6. We are collecting tangible products in an increasingly intangible world. As our lives move more and more online, what will the effects on the industry be? Will the next generation of kids be as excited about collecting cards as we are? How should the major card companies respond?

This has been a question that has vexed The Hobby for over a decade. I remember The Hobby's first attempts to meld trading cards with "cyberspace," and the results were forgettable (anyone remember Donruss VxP, Upper Deck PowerDeck, or CybrCards?). ThePit.com never really took off; and eTopps, while retaining a very, very, small cult-following, remains exactly that: A very, very, small, cult-like product.

I have no idea how well ToppsTown is doing. But with how well Topps Attax has fared among kids (especially Match Attax in the UK), maybe there is hope for cardboard in the future.

7. How has new media changed the way you collect? How should the major card companies utilize new media to connect with their consumer base? How can new media change and/or revitalize the hobby?

It's not changed the way I collect, per se. But I know that the "new Hobby media" has brought in more and more of what I call "lapsed collectors" -- i.e. people in the 20s and 30s who collected when they were kids and, for whatever reason, stopped. Cardblogs, cardvlogs, and video box breaks have reintroduced card collecting to this generation. Unfortunately, The Hobby has done a poor job in marketing to this demographic.

The Hobby can exploit new media by being more transparent with collectors. Use your corporate websites to post sell-sheets and provisional checklists the day you send them to dealers, and if there are any last minute changes, tell us as soon as possible.

For example, the provisional checklist of 2010 Finest Baseball had 20 Autographed Rookie Letter Patches. It turns out, there are only 15 in the product. But I've yet to see anything on the Topps website explaining why? (Although you can find out that redemption #1 will be good for a Jason Heyward card.)

8. How has the recent rise in counterfeits and scams affected the way you collect? What advice would you give the major card companies to help combat this?

Since I don't really collect "high-end" stuff, I'm not really at liberty to give you advice on this. I do want to comment though on last year's Topps Tribute.

I don't think I'm asking for much, but I think "seat-gate" could have been avoided if Topps simply stated what exactly the "Relic" on the card is. I pulled one of those Babe Ruth "seat" cards (from a box you sent me) and nowhere on the card does it mention what the three relics are. Just the standard disclaimer that "The relics contained in this card are not from any specific game, event, or season."

Well, why not? Why can't you tell us what specific "game, event, or season" those relics are from? If you can't tell us that, then how are we supposed to know if those relics are legit?

9. The poor economy has affected all of us in recent years. In what ways would you like to see card companies respond to provide interesting, affordable products for collectors?

It all depends on what you mean my "interesting" and "affordable." I was disappointed to learn that Topps brought back Opening Day after a one-year hiatus. While I appreciate that fact that Topps is producing an "affordable" product, OD is, for all intents and purposes, a set most of us already have and a product in which little to no effort was made into producing.

A couple of year's ago, Topps did produce a product that was both "interesting" and "affordable." I really wish you'd bring back Topps Total.

10. We’ve done autographs. We’ve done just about every kind of relic/game used product you can think of. What’s next? Where do we go from here?

There's only so many things you can do with a 2-1/2" X 3-1/2" piece of cardboard that hasn't been done already. Cards have been die-cut, foil-stamped, laser-burnt, made out of stuff other than cardboard, covered in fabric swatches, and stuck with autographed stickers. Is there really anything new?

11. If you could say one thing-anything- to Topps and know that the CEO will read it, what would you say?

First of all, I'd like to hand Mr. Eisner a copy of my resume and that I am available as soon as possible. I can fetch anyone a cup of coffee and a copy of the Wall Street Journal like no one's business. That, and I actually know a little something about your product. After that, I have only three things to say:

1) WE ARE YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS

Not only are we your best customers, we are so fanatical in our devotion to The Hobby, that many of us take hours of our lives to write about it -- giving you a TON of free publicity in the process. We collected through The First Wave of Overproduction. We collected through the 1994 Strike. We collected through The Second Wave of Overproduction, and the current Great Licensing Shake Out. We will continue to collect, and we will probably do so until the day we die.

2) DON'T TAKE US FOR GRANTED

Stop insulting our intelligence (and tainting your company's reputation) with gimmicks. Stop making cards of squirrels on foul poles (unless they're in Allen & Ginter, of course). Stop dressing up Chinese-American law students to look like fake Japanese teenagers. Stop Photoshopping Red Sox logos and former Presidents on Derek Jeter's cards, and stop depicting Babe Ruth in the uniform of a team that didn't exist until two decades after his death.

Next year will mark Topps' 60th year in the baseball card business. On name and reputation alone, your products (especially your flagship) should be able to sell themselves. But if you feel the need to resort to gimmickry in order to get us to buy and collect your cards, what does that say about your product? What are you signaling to collectors? That you have no confidence in your own work? And that the only way you think we'll buy it is if you include an unannounced short-print of A-Rod with whipped cream all over his face?

Gimmicks are a sign of weakness. WAKE UP! YOU'RE TOPPS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Start taking yourselves (and us) seriously!

3) GIVE US WHAT WE WANT, NOT WHAT YOU THINK WE WANT.

Let's take your flagship product: Topps Baseball.

There is no reason in the world why the Topps Baseball base set should NOT be, at a minimum, 792 cards (396 in each series). We don't need Photoshopped cards in Series One -- that's what Series Two and Updates & Highlights are for. Tell Winston Smith, or whoever it is you have in the design department, that we can wait for that first card of Roy Halladay in a real Phillies uniform. Ditch the gimmicks and the "Legends Variations." If you want to put Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, et al in the base set, then fine. Put them in the "base set" like you do with Mickey Mantle every year -- none of this hybrid-variation crap. One and only one player per card number, please. Speaking of which: ixnay on the anufacturedmay atchespay. A manufactured patch is NOT a "Relic." Stop treating it as one.

After that, how about bringing back some old favorites?

You want to make an all-painted set? Fine. Ditch National Chicle (a brand that has a pedigree in football, yet has no connection whatsoever to baseball cards) and call it "Topps Gallery." Bring back Stadium Club -- the real Stadium Club, not the $20-worth-of-fail you called "Stadium Club" in '08. You want a set that appeals to kids, cheapskates, AND traditional collectors? Two words: Topps Total.

Make Bowman Baseball relevant again by pushing it back to a mid-Summer release and subtracting the Chrome cards and base set autographs (or at the very least, making them "autograph variations"). Subtract the letter patches in Finest -- they don't belong in a product like Finest.

Keep on doing what your doing with Heritage and Allen & Ginter. TA&G is a product where the inclusion of non-baseball subjects actually works as it goes with the spirit of the original 19th Century A&G cards. Topps 206 was great last year, but I don't think it'll work as an annual release -- maybe once every seven years. It especially won't work if, as I suspect with the addition of non-baseball subjects like the Queensboro Bridge, you're making it into a de facto second series of A&G. The real T-206 set was baseball and only baseball. Topps 206 should be as well.

After that, I'd shake Mr. Eisner's hand, thank him for his time, and wish him a good day.

Crimes of Bip War.

I declare Bip War, and what does sruchris do? Just watch.



That's 1354, 1987 Topps Andres Galarraga cards.

The Hobby Rumor Mill, with Tracy-Chris Hackolds.

Hi there! I'm Stale Gum "Special Correspondent" Tracy-Chris Hackolds, and here’s a little something that should get The Hobby abuzz … a little something I'll throw out there from time to time called The Hobby Rumor Mill.

- Rumor has it ... That a certain card company CEO hasn't been seen around the office for the last couple of weeks. Maybe spending a little extra time at the penthouse, hmmm?

- Rumor has it ... This same CEO is scheduled to return to the office THIS MORNING to address the troops -- or what remains of them. The CFO quit last week, and much of the rest of upper management has already walked out.

- Rumor has it ... The KFC Double-Down will replace the Ben's Chili Bowl Half-Smoke as "Food of the Gods." Zeus was unavailable for comment.

- Rumor has it ... A major sports organization that recently granted an exclusive trading card license, has already pulled the license BEFORE a single product was ever issued by the licensee! Looks like someone got "schooled!"

- Rumor has it ... That an anonymous entrant into the Stale Gum Upper Deck Death Pool is about to pick...

... hey wait a minute that can't be right? This Friday? April 23rd? 2010? And this anonymous entrant is putting up 10 packs of 1990s era SP Baseball?

I'm not so sure I believe that one. But, we shall see!

We’ll bring you more from The Hobby Rumor Mill soon.

Tracy-Chris Hackolds is the "Special Correspondent" of stalegum.com. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at tchackolds@stalegum.com.

Blog Bat Around: $50-large on eBay?

How I'd blow $50K on eBay? Simple.

I'll take 5000 of these.

That is all.

---

OK, not really.

Here's how I'd spend $50-grr on eBay:

I'd start with this unopened '72 Topps waxbox for $4,995. Not a bad return on a $2.40 investment in '72, eh? I don't particularly "get" the professional grading of wax boxes, but hey, EVEN MORE TO RIP!

Here's another five-grand: A case of 1968 Fleer Baseball Iron-ons. I have no idea what these are, but what the hell. Now I know how Monty Brewster felt.

$40-grand to go. Let's see...

How about a 1992 Derek Jeter Little Sun Autograph (Graded Mint "9" by PSA) for the low, low, price of $39,900! And, "also included is a copy of God’s Simple Plan of Salvation Gospel tract."

Wow! What a deal! And I still have $106 left over to blow on all that junk wax!

UPDATED: The Upper Deck Death Pool.

NOTE: Lest I be accused of running a sham contest for the purpose of collecting cheap game-jersey cards, please DO NOT SEND ME ANY CARDS AND DO NOT ASK FOR MY MAILING ADDRESS! (Unless, of course, you just want to send me free stuff, or make a trade offer. That I have no problem with.)

After the contest is over, and a winner declared, I will e-mail the winner's mailing address to everyone who entered. You can then send them your UD cards directly.

In the meantime, YOU MUST DECLARE YOUR PRIZE POOL CONTRIBUTION ALONG WITH YOUR ENTRY! Any entries that do not follow BOTH steps 1 AND 2 below, WILL BE IGNORED!


The handwriting is on the wall.

The fat lady is warming up her vocal chords.

Keyboard Cat is about ready to play 'em off.

Select your favorite cliche, but with the news that Upper Deck has fallen behind on royalty payments with the MLBPA, combined with their loss of an NFL license, and their twin courtroom defeats at the hands of Konami and MLB Properties, things ain't looking so great at Sea Otter Place.

So, whaddaya say we have a little fun at a doomed card company's expense, huh? Introducing the "Stale Gum Upper Deck Death Pool." Here's how to play..

1) Note in the comments below the exact date Upper Deck will formally cease to exist, or get bought out by a competitor. (Filing for bankruptcy doesn't count, we're talking a total Pinnacle Brands/Fleer-style liquidation or merger, folks.)

2) Contribute something of value (preferably Upper Deck related) to the "prize pool" as your entry fee.

3) Profit!

Closest to the actual date of corporate death without going over (Price is Right style) wins!

Let me kick off the competition with a guess of July 12th, 2010. And...


... this stack of 93, count 'em, 93! different Upper Deck 20th Anniversary inserts.

Well, what are you waiting for?

At one time, this was a $100 card.

Fast forward ten years, and now it's just dollar-box fodder.

Formal Declaration of Bip War.

In accordance with The Third Hague Convention of 1907, and Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution; my formal rescinding of Declaration of Bip War against the Federal Republic of Cardboardjunkistan, has itself, been rescinded.

In addition, I am declaring Bip War against the "Axis Powers" of The Kingdom of Thorzullia, The Soozo-Marian Empire, The Peoples' Front of Judea, The Judean People's Front, The Judean Popular People's Front, The Campaign for a Free Galilee, The Popular Front of Judea, and all other affiliated allies.

This ain't over yet.

Oh, you may have thought it was all over.

And you would be wrong.



The latest salvos have already been fired. Damn the torpedoes! Hide the women & children! And full-steam ahead!

Tournament of Gimmicks: We Have A Winnah!

It a shocking upset, the 2007 Topps Derek Jeter base card (with photos of George W. Bush and Mickey Mantle airbrushed in, for no apparent reason) has been crowned the worst Hobby gimmick of all time following a 63-56 victory in the Championship Game over Upper Deck's Yankee Stadium Legacy.



Despite getting a #4 seed in the tough Olbermann region, Jeter was able to defeat the #13-seed 2008 Topps Red Sox Rudy Giuliani gimmick in the first round, then punched their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen over an upset-minded #12-seed: the 2000 Pacific Invincible ManRam corked bat card.

In the Olbermann Regional Semi-Final, Derek Jeter was up against a true dark horse, a card picked by some to make it to the Final Four: The 2008 Upper Deck Hillary Clinton/Morgana card. Both sides went back-and-forth in a gimmick match-up for the ages. But when the final buzzer sounded, it was Jeter moving on to meet 2008 UD Documentary in the Regional Final.

The Regional Final was no contest. Although Crockumentary had a strong profile, and was despised by all in The Hobby, it was no match for Jeter/Bush/Mantle.

In the Final Four, in what some called "The Real Title Game" the Derek Jeter with paired with the #1-seeded Kazuo Uzuki. The card of the fake player versus the card with the fake backgound! The roof of Lucas Oil Stadium wasn't able to contain all the bullshit. But after a close match, it would be the Jeter playing for the Championship, and Kazuo Uzuki going back to law school.

After that epic Semi-Final, The Championship itself was a bit anti-climatic. Yankee Tedium Lunacy was a deserving opponent, and had this been any other year, might have been the one to cut down the nets. But on this night, and in this year, the 2007 Derek Jeter/George W. Bush/Mickey Mantle card was too much bullshit for even YSL to handle.

THE 2007 TOPPS #40 OF DEREK JETER/GEORGE W. BUSH/MICKEY MANTLE HAS BEEN CROWNED THE DUMBEST GIMMICK IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL CARD COLLECTING!

Tournament of Gimmicks Championship Game

Who will get to cut down the nets and have "One Shining Moment" played in their honor? IT'S UP TO YOU!

Tournament of Gimmicks Final
2007 Topps #40 Jeter/Bush/Mantle
2008-09 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy
See Results

Tournament of Gimmicks: THE MATCH-UP OF THE CENTURY HAS BEEN SET!!!!

The results of the T.O.G. Semi-Finals are in!

Semi-Final #1

#1 2008 Topps #FS1 Kazuo Uzuki: 58
#4 2007 Topps #40 Jeter/Bush/Mantle 70

Semi-Final #2

#3 "Franken-Cuts" 43
#1 2008/09 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy 69

The Championship Match-Up to crown the worst gimmick of all time is now set. Will the upstart Jeter/Bush/Mantle card from 2007 Topps be crowned the dumbest gimmick in Hobby history? Or, will it be Yankee Tedium Lunacy? WHO WILL CUT DOWN THE NETS? Stay tuned to this, and many other fine cardblogs, TOMORROW!

vs

Tournament of Gimmicks: A Correction.

Please note that I made a minor mistake when setting up the Tournament of Gimmicks Semi-Final #1 poll. The winner of the Jefferson Burdick Regional was Kazuo Uzuki, but when I set up the poll, I accidentally entered the Billy Ripken Fuck Face card. I was able to change the HTML code for my blog (and the Cardboard Junkie's), but was unable to correct it with the poll host.

Therefore, if you voted for Kazuo Uzuki, it will be recorded as a vote for Billy Ripken. If Billy Ripken "wins," it means Kazuo Uzuki will advance to the Championship Game.

With that said, voting for the Semi-Final Round ends at Midnight tonight.

The Tickets to the Gimmick Final Four Are Being Punched

Result from the Burdick Regional Final

1) 2008 Topps #FS1 Kazuo Uzuki - 15
3) 1989 Fleer #616 Billy Ripken "Fuck Face" - 12

Result from the Olbermann Regional Final

2) 2008 Upper Deck Documentary - 24
4) 2007 Topps #40 Jeter/Bush/Mantle - 43

Result from the Beckett Regional Final

4) 2006 Topps #297 Alex Gordon - 5
3) "Franken-Cuts" - 7

Result from the Berger Regional Final

1) 2008/09 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy - 22
3) 2001 Donruss Elite Extra Edition $5.99 Redemption Cards - 9

Tournament of Gimmicks: Regional Finals

BURDICK REGIONAL FINAL



1) 2008 Topps #FS1 Kazuo Uzuki

vs

3) 1989 Fleer #616 Billy Ripken "Fuck Face"

Click here to vote in this regional final.

OLBERMANN REGIONAL FINAL



4) 2007 Topps #40 Jeter/Bush/Mantle

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2) 2008 Upper Deck Documentary

Click here to vote in this regional final.

BECKETT REGIONAL FINAL



4) 2006 Topps #297 Alex Gordon

vs

3) "Franken-Cuts"

Click here to vote in this regional final.

BERGER REGIONAL FINAL



1) 2008/09 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy

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3) 2001 Donruss Elite Extra Edition $5.99 Redemption Cards

Click here to vote in this regional final.

Tournament of Gimmicks: Regional Semi-Final Results

"Hi everyone, I'm Gus Johnson, and welcome to the Regional Semi-Finals of the Tournament of Gimmicks."



"In the Jefferson Burdick Region, Kazuo Uzuki easily defeated the 2008 upside down gimmicks 26-7. OOOOHHHHHHH MY!!!!!!! THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS!!!!!

And in the other game OOHHHHH WHAT AN UPSET!!!! As the Billy Ripken Fuck Face card WITH ENGLISH!!!!! took down Manufactured Letter Patches 20 to 13."

"Now, let's go to the Olbermann region, where in an INSTANT CLASSIC!!!!!! the #4 seeded Derek Jeter/Mickey Mantle/George W. Bush card BURIED IT!!!! on the the #1 seeded Johan Santana fake no-no. And in the other half of the region, UD Documentary CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN!!!! and eeked out the win on a last second three-pointer over the Hillary/Morgana gimmick. WHAT A GAME!!!!!"

"Moving on to the Jim Beckett Bracket, in an MAJOR UPSET!!!! Alex Gordon had GET AWAY FROM THE COPS SPEED!!!!! as the #4 seed took out the #1 seeded "Jon" Smoltz card from last year's Heritage. Meanwhile Franken-Cuts, the cut signatures that everyone loves to hate, went all RISE AND FIRE!!!!! (count it) on Poley Walnuts.

Finally, in the Sy Berger Regional, as expected Yankee Stadium Legacy is through to the Elite Eight with a 16-9 win over Topps Moments & Milestones. It was HEART!!!! BREAK!!!! CITY!!!! for TM&M, who put up a strong fight, but in the end it was YSL that was the stupider gimmick. Finally, for the last ticket into the Regional Final, we had what many would call a Final Four-type match-up as #2 seeded Scoreboard Abe went DOWN TO THE WIRE!!!! with the #3 seed DEEE $5.99 Redemptions. It was an INSTANT CLASSIC!!!! but the $5.99 redemptions BROUGHT THE PAIN!!! and beat Scoreboard Abe by a single point."