Commissioner Update

The boxes are showing up, packs are getting ripped. Gint-A-Cuffs is on.

I have added one more contestant. Think of it like the 65th team in the NCAA Mens Basketball Tourney. An eager, but late comer to the Battle of the Blogs is Dan of Saints of the Cheap Seats.

His player is Brian McCann and his team is the Indians. I'll add McCann to the player's list.

Dan is the last blogger to join this round of Gint-A-Cuffs.

I will allow Negro League Players to the points list. Thanks, Dayf for bringing this to my attention. For too long they have been ignored. Points will not set things right, but perhaps will shed some light on some fine players.

Also, thanks to Dayf, we have hi-res scans of the official checklist.

Beardy brought up a point about silk cards being a tough pull, yet he only assigned them the same points as an autograph. This will be corrected.

I'm sure that many of you are wondering why I, as commissioner, don't just toss some number out there for points assigning. The scoring system is a delicate and intricate mechanism. One doesn't just pull their Ferrari up to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. Spreadsheets are being tweaked, opinions asked and numbers slept on.

From what I've seen posted on the blogs and on ebay this is one nice looking set. I'm not really keen on all of the choices for subjects and I think that the variations would kill a completist, but they look nice.

Some of you might be asking, "Hey, how did that nut case get the sweet job as commissioner?"

In the spirit of transparency, I will share the relevant portions of the emails exchanged by myself and Beardy. Wait, there isn't much there that is relevant. Here are the whole of the emails...

Greg,

I was wondering if a commissioner has been appointed for the upcoming Gint-A-Cuffs?

I would be willing to be appointed. I can be impartial (unless payoffs are involved) and can be slightly witty.

Both attributes are necessary for an event of this magnitude. Please consider me for this position.

My requirements would be an apartment in New York, a driver and a weekly stipend of a few packs.

Regards,
Mark

And his reply:

Well, aside from the stipend, that sounds great. If you're interested in doing it for free, you got the job.

To which I answered:

Greg,

You're a tough negotiator. Here's my final offer.

1. A day to myself in the Topps archive, with a small briefcase that will not be searched when the day ends.
2. A fried egg sandwich upon request. Bacon optional.
3. My name in lights above Broadway.

Should these demands, err, requests not be possible, I would be forced to accept the position 'pro bono' (not to be confused with Sonny Bono).

Regards,

Mark

He caved in:

I can meet demand #2 as long as you don't mind McDonalds.

The announcement has already been made, so it looks like Sonny Bono it might have to be.

Thanks for volunteering to oversee this fiasco, there are so many rules I'm sure some sort of authority will be needed.

Since the questions have been rolling in, I have increased my demand for the egg sandwich up to three. He has laughed at me and I don't think that he takes me seriously. When he's crying on the beach next week, looking for hidden shells, he'll rue the day that he accepted my offer or took any of my advice.

Me too.