Sucker Punch: Ray Rice

I'm not much for the Ravens, or the Pats for that matter, but that was one of the very best suckerpunches I have ever seen in playoff football. Imean, Ray's not even that fast...pats got played on the first play. guh. suckerpunch.

Craftsmen:Brian Bixler, The Brian Bannister of 2009

Even the shortest, most truncated versions are near masterpieces, and fit in many of my "recurring themes" categories. The UDX is the most detailed and has a perfectly executed "B repeat". The Sterling version has a very tag-like feel to it, as the bend of the second "B" is irregular snd possibly accidental. At the very least, his consistency is nothing less than admirable.

Before they go to eBay...

I Love Paul, except for all that Twins unpleasantness. On-card auto...my favorite right? alas, this is not one of Mollie's best scripts, and I need a little cash so I plan on Upgrading at a later date. Plus that whole "Jetes says" thing, authentic though it may be, is distracting and annoying.

Simply one of the best Simple Signatures I own. Great lines, reminds me of one of my dad's old ad-men buddies.

Wish I didn't have to give this one up. I am a huge sucker for Bowman Sterling and got this for a song. ("...unfortunately that song was "White Christmas" and I lost millions".)

Oh, also I wish I cared at all about basketball anymore.

Killer AUTO, with consistent line thickness and great use of space on the sticker*. I have seen a few more legible Yount autos, but they are hard to come by on cards.

It always feels odd to have to sell out of one of your personal collections, but when you have one great signature of one of your favorite players AND a mortgage, you gotta count yourself lucky.