From Russia with Stickers

Here are the contents from a couple of packs of Panini Futbol Stickers I picked up while in Russia last fall.

I honestly don't know much about soccer but wanted to pick these up just to check them out.

For more information on these packs check out my posting over at A Pack to be Named Later.

SuperSomething of Russia (Shiny Foily sticker)

Mashir Chukarov
Sergei Skoblakov
Valery Klemov
Renat Yebaev

Names are translated to the best of my meager ability

Boris Rotenberg
Tomas Vehodl
Alexander Salugen
Chede Odea
Alexander Ryzantsev 


Over at APTBNL I also had a pack break for some stickers from Munich's FC Bayern Muchen team.

KHL plane crash

As you likely know yesterday there was a plane crash in Russia that killed dozens of passengers including what is believed to be the bulk of the Lokmotiv Team of the Russian KHL Hockey League.

Among the dead is 80s era Philadelphia Flyer Brad McCrimmon - I didn't discover Hockey until the early 90s when I moved to the Philadelphia area, so McCrimmon is before my time - He was on a couple of Flyers teams that went to the Finals and He won a cup with the Calgary Flames. 

Hockey like any sports fraternity  is not that large of a community and I am sure that many people who are involved in the sport at it's highest level are familiar with someone whose life was taken in the crash.  Our sympathies and condolsences to all involved.

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Last year while in Moscow, I was able to attend a KHL game - For some background on Hockey in Russia and a game report click here.  It is a much more upbeat post this one. 

Phungo Game Report - 2010 12 12 CSKA Moscow 2 @ Dynamo Moscow 3: Kontinental Hockey League

Do not adjust your internet.  The above names in the title are Correct and are real Professional Hockey Teams - In Russia.

Dynamo Moscow Hockey Banner
 
If my recent posts have seemed distant it is because they are - For those of you that don't know I have been living and studying in Moscow the last few months.  My fiancee, Jo, has been interning here since the summer and I have been fortunate enough to spend the last few months with her.  If you have been watching your blog stats you may have seen several hits from Moscow and wondered what the heck is that all about.  Well that was me, as I have had a bit of free time while Jo is working.

I will have a travelblog and some interesting card and sports (that means futbol not football) related posts up eventually, but I wanted to start by filing a game report in a semi-timely manner. 

My Apologies - I like Hockey however, my knowledge of the Rules, Players and History of the game is amateur at best. 

The KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) is the Russian professional Hockey League.  for the 2010-11 season the League consists of 23 Teams many of which represent Moscow.  Dynamo is the top team in the league, while CSKA is one of the cellar dwellers.

Neither team in the game we saw featured any players that I knew well from the NHL.  Former Rangers goalie Steve Valiquette was in Goal for CSKA.   

The league has several other noteworthies:  Alexei Yashin, Marcel Hossa, Chris Simon , Former Flyers Robert Esche, Josh Gratton, and Patrick Thoreson, and Alexander Radulov - the one time Nashville Predator who was involved in a contract squabble between the NHL and KHL.  Former Dynamo players of note include Yashin, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Nabokov.    

The Dynamo won the game 3-2 and were clearly a better team.  The entire first period was spent in the CSKA end, although the Dynamo were unable to score.  The Dynamo then scored all 3 of their goals in the 2nd period while attacking our end - so we got to see a lot of the scoring action.    


There were no fights and relatively few penalties.  I think they allow the two line pass (as with current NHL rules).  Dynamo scored all 3 of their goals in the 2nd period, into the net on our end, so we got to see a lot of the scoring action.    

They Dynamo also have Cheerleaders or Dancers.  Unfortunately Team Phungo was screened from the Dancers as they were in a blind spot to our left.   There was a pregame concert as well.  Some Male Russian artist who sort of looked like Howard Stern in his 20s. 

The Game has a very collegiate atmosphere - Check photo of Giant Dynamo Flag above- we originally sat in a section containing many enthusiastic CSKA faithful.  They had several chants and bantered with a similar Dynamo cheering section seated on the other side of the arena.  The CSKA fans had a giant drum that Chief Wahoo would envy.

Tickets to our section a few rows from the top of the arena were likely among the cheapest in the stadium at 300 rubles ($10) which is less then I pay for parking at a Flyers game.  You can buy snacks and beer at the stadium, but you are prohibited from bringing drinks into the seating area.  So most people run out to grab a beer and chug it in the consourse during the intermission.

Snapshots

Minor Arena at the Luzhniki Sports Complex

The Luzhniki Sports Complex was host to the 1980 Summer Olympics (the ones boycotted by the US and several other countries) as several other international sporting events.  There is a Futbol Stadium and at least two Hockey Arenas.  The Minor Arena above is the smaller (capacity 8700) of the two rinks.  The Larger Arena is referred to as the Luzhniki Palace of Sports.

CSKA Defender

I have no idea who this guy is, there is no #26 on the CSKA roster.  But it was one of my better photos.

Face Off

Check it out a Face Off with the puck resting on the ice prior to being hit by either player. 

I had a great time at the game, and Glad we were able to go.  I am interested in many sports and to experience a Hockey Game played at the professional level in Mosow was a very memorable experience.

We will be back home soon and hopefully get to some more regular postings.

STS 2008-12-14 Spotted - Kevin Kouzmanoff

2007 Topps Chrome Auto Kevin Kouzmanoff

Mark from "Stats on the Back" correctly identified Kevin Kouzmanoff as this weeks Spot the Sig! subject, and Mark also correctly guessed that my girlfriend, Jo, works in Russian.

Kevin Kouzmanoff, which as Sooz from "A Cardboard Problem" has pointed out, is not really Russian. He is Macedonian. Kouzmanoff was called "the Crushin Russian” early in is his career, perhaps to correct this misrepresentation he has more recently been dubbed "the Mashin Macedonian".

We do make note of all things Russian in our home so Kouzmanoff quickly became a house favorite, despite not really being Russian - there really aren't any Russian ballplayers, Eastern Europe is more of a hockey hot bed than baseball.

It really isn’t clear what Kouzmanoff’s career ceiling is going to be - Hitting a Grand Slam versus your first career pitch is certainly a mixed blessing. It has made Kouzmanoff an instant baseball celebrity, but has set high expectations. While the man has considerable power, His 23 homers in 2008 is pretty darn good considering he played half his games in PETCO park. On the other hand he is a bit high in the strikeout area and finished the season with an OBP below .300. Kouzmanoff is 26, and I tend to believe that he can cut down on the strikeouts and gain even more power over the next couple of years. For more Kevin Kouzmanoff information keep your eyes on A Cardboard Problem - there is a rumor of a feature on today's hero at some point in the near future.

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Stats on the Back has stretched a double into a triple on the bonus and driven in a run to tie PTBNL and Cardboard Junkie for the STS! lead.

Here are the current STS! standings

PTBNL - repsresentin those Fightin Phillies - 1 Run in - Man on Third
Stats on the Back - Mets - 1 Run in - Man on 3rd
Cardboard Junkie - Braves - 1 Run in - Man on First
Cardboard Addiction - Bosox - Man on First
Night Owl - Dodgers - Man on 2nd
A Cardboard Problem - Yankees - on Deck

Thanks all for your participation, Next Spot the Sig! will be up on Sunday Night.

For further information regarding the Phungo Spot the Sig! contest click here and join the party - you just may find yourself with a stack of cards come spring training!

2008 Allen Ginter Blaster

The crack research staff at Dinged Corners had theorized that the blasters for A+G may be frontloaded with hits and good pulls. I was interested in testing this Hypothesis and in the name of research, I picked up a blaster of 2008 Allen & Ginter at Walmart. This, as I said, is strictly research and definitely not due to a card collecting addiction. Yes strictly research - first some pretty pictures:

#212 Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Composer
#AGR-MYMichael Young Game Used Relic
#242 Ngwenya Takudzwa
TWGV17 - Worlds Greatest Victories Brown vs Board of Education

Obviously, the Michael Young Relic is notable and pushes the blaster into the Win Category - or at least it would if the card was not damaged - It is difficult to see in the scan but the protective plastic covering is bent forward in the bottom center of the card.

The first of the other notables is Tchaikovsky, My girlfriend is pursuing a degree related to Russian Language so whenever we run into anything in this realm it's a bonus - nice historical and cultural card. I found it a little disconcerting that Topps used an important historical moment like Brown v Board of education to hock their crack the code game, regardless I am glad to have drawn this card. Finally, the most Rugby player Ngwenya Takudzwa just to show you the toughness of this Allen & Ginter product.

Here are the details on the rest of the box:

Hit - Michael Young Damaged
Base 39/350
SP 4/50 (#324 Kotchman, #335 Phillip Hughes, #336 Allen Fischer - arm wrestling champ, #343 Bengie Molina)
mini base 3 (Jose Reyes, Lincecum, Teixeira)
mini A&G back 3 (1:5) (Miguel Tejada, Adam Laroche, Josh Willingham)
Checklists 2

Other Inserts
TWGV17 - Greatest Victories Brown vs Board of Education
US 18 - Louisiana - Papelbon
US 39 - Rhode Island - Konerko
US 46 - Virginia - David Wright
WDS5 - Mako Shark
WL12 - (1:12) Finland - Tarja Halojen (Conan O'Brien)

Base Highlights - A-Rod, Vlad, Former Phil Aaron Rowand, Maddux, Wild Bill Hickock, Grand Canyon, Chpper, Iditarod champ and former Pirates Shortstop Jeff King, Dickens, and Olympian Mark Spitz.

The Damage - $21.19

The inserts were pretty good. Looks like I may have gotten the GU Michael Young instead of a state card. The three state cards I received in this blaster were also present within a blaster break by Cardboard Junkie. There was a world leader rather than a base mini and I also came out slightly ahead on the mini A&G backs. Also one of the mini's was the Mako Shark for which I have not seen pack ratios. The A&G LaRoche mini overlapped a base card in the blaster. As far as raw numbers I came out with 52 cards (+2 checklists) which is 4 more than the 48 expected.

I had only picked up a single hobby pack of Allen Ginter prior to the blaster, this did result in a single duplicate of the Serena Williams base card. The mini from that pack was Lance Berkman - His base card was present in the blaster.

The big minus was that I didn't get one Phillies card. 39 base cards 6 minis 4 states and no Phils.

Despite this omission I am happy with the box - and based on the results I would have to agree with Dinged Corners. The relic puts the blaster above average - also the other inserts tended to run slightly better than expected.