Yup. Barry Bonds*
(Please note the asterisk)
Rose didnt cheat the game like the steroid guys did. Rose deserves the HOF, imo.
Depends on what you believe to be the extent of his gambling. As a player/coach he could definitely help change the outcomes of games. He was definitely a degenerate gambler so I believe he bet on his games too.
As for Bonds, asterisks or not, his name is still all over the record books. He was the best player in the game but his ego couldn’t take guys like Sosa and McGwire upstaging him with the longball. The best player in the game just became even better with the use of PEDs. I think if he was one of only a handful of cheaters I could join the lynch mob. In my opinion, he was just one of the majority, so I am more desensitized to the he was just a cheat. Anyhoo, my PSA 10 collection, that includes many cheaters sure hasn’t lost secondary market steam. High grade cards of rare releases like Tiffany sets and refractors for example have an insatiable market. Asterisks or not. 
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The steroid era / HOF debate is one for the ages. There are definitely two distinct camps on the subject.
I dont collect cards, but I have enjoyed and closely followed the 4 NA pro sports leagues for most of my 40 years on this planet. Ive very much enjoyed the sports talk with you guys.
To me, the extent of the gambling has no affect on how I feel about Roses’ situation. Even if he was trying to manipulate the games he managed, in order to benefit his opponent, if he bet against the Reds, then that doesnt reflect the numbers he put up as a player. Which is what the HOF is about. Career impact. The steroid guys messed with the stats. Hank didnt take roids to get his HR record. Bonds did. Rose didnt.
I do understand that Rose could have very slightly affected the numbers by benching a player that may not have deserved to be benched, but I can guarantee no Reds player, on Roses team, ever struck out because Rose told him to. The players still played. Sorry if that is convoluted.
Ditto. Opinions, we all have them , and seldom can you get everyone to agree on a particular topic.
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With the NFL draft coming up, I see a lot of potential in a few of these guys coming out of college. I haven’t bought cards since 1991, so I know nothing about the modern market. If I wanted to pick up some rookie cards, which brand would have the biggest potential upside? Also, when do they go on sale? Appreciate the feedback if anyone has any.
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Same, it’s been since the mid/late 90’s since a bought into any sports cards.
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Thanks for responding. I’m hoping someone with some knowledge on the subject can kind of get us up to date. All I can remember as far as football cards are concerned is Pro Set and Topps. I have no idea what’s going on now. Let’s see if anyone can help us out here.
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Listen, I’m no expert so this is not advice. I’m just going go say I am steering suuuper clear of Caleb Williams. He’s got Johnny Manziel written all over him.
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Pro Set is still around, but not as you remember it. The Pro Set brand was sold/licensed to Leaf. Leaf cannot produce sports cards with any official team logos. All logos are air brushed away.
Topps is still around but only has the MLB license as an exclusive. They also do non sports trading cards too, like Star Wars, WWE, Stranger Things, etc.
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I was buying cards up until this year. Prices for blasters, megas, etc have gotten out of hand. Not to mention Topps & Panini charging $$$ for 1, 2,3 etc card packs on their websites. Absolute greed
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I’ve commented on how I actually got into hockey cards late last year. I’ve enjoyed collecting them and have dabbled in the Marvel trading cards too. I know little of baseball cards, but that is the BIG market for sports cards for sure.
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Buy singles, buy inserts, and stay away from college cards… so basically buy Panini. People like the regular Panini Prizm and then Mosaic. The panini 2023 product came out in January this year. Panini currently has the NFL license, but they might lose it to Topps (owned by Fanatics) some time between now and 2026. Panini does not give you guaranteed “game-worn” jersey cards anymore. Honestly, all of the products suck for the price. I bought a Panini One on card RPA for $100 and the hobby box costs ~$350. I bought 6 inserts of a rookie QB for $7 and the Blaster Box alone costs ~$30.
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Back in the 90s when I was a 12 year old, a buddy and I decided to get a table at a local card show. Card shows were huge back then in my city especially hockey cards. I was really into sports/hockey cards just like every other kid back then. I remember buying all the hot rookie cards at that time for 5 to 10 cents each. Back before the days of the internet I would buy the newspapers and back then they would have a statistics section where you could look up all the players stats. Hockey is huge in Canada so I would buy the papers everyday and focus on the rookies. I would get a heads up on who the hot upcoming rookie were and would go to my shop or buy them from friends, bought them in bulk for cheap.
Next thing you know a month or 2 later a rookie would blow up and I’ll have 50-100 of them. I remember one card shop owner where every time he sees me walk in he’ll be like “oh no, this kid again” 
The show we did was a major success for us. People kept coming to our table and buying stuff from us, both my buddy and I did great. Don’t know if it was because people saw that we were kids so they bought a lot of stuff. Also we had a lot of the hot rookie cards that we sold for $5-$10 which I got for 5-10 cents each. I also sold a Pat Lafontaine rookie card for $150, I think I got it for less than $10. The table cost us $35 and we made hundreds which was a lot of money back then (comics cost $1 or less). It was a great time.
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I just started 2 years ago on buying them. I dont buy as often as I should, I buy them to give them away to my little league when they do good. I havent bought any Baseball cards this year, but I like the Panini cards better. I got 2 Basketball booster packs as well, but since I haven’t watches Basketball since the 2000s, I have no idea who they are lol. I just wanted a signed card…
Panini is the way to go in my opinion.
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Great feedback, guys. I appreciate the tips and it was cool hearing about your experiences buying and selling. Looks like Panini is the way to go for modern football cards. Once the draft is complete, I’ll start prepping my wallet.
Let me know which booster packs you get. Maybe I’ll get 1 or 2 of them lol.
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I used to work at a local Highs. Every time the new card boxes would come in I’d open and stock them on the shelf (after taking them to the deli scale and weighing each pack). Would buy all the packs that weighed more and would sell the inserts to the local sports card dealer. Had a good thing going for the time I worked there.
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