Welcome back to the show! In Episode 29, we're taking a deep dive into the legendary players worth collecting of the City of Angels: Los Angeles!

🔥 Hobby Headlines & Record Sales

We kick things off with major hobby news, including the massive acquisition of Beckett by Collectors (the parent company of PSA) and what it means for the grading landscape. Then, we break down the Top 5 Non-Sports Card Sales of 2025, featuring a record-smashing 1977 Star Wars Luke Skywalker card, a half-million dollar 1999 Prerelease Raichu Pokémon card, and the explosion of the One Piece TCG market! Plus, the immediate surfacing of the Nick Kurtz 1/1 Topps Chrome Update Rookie Debut Patch after last year's month long Paul Skenes chase.

📆 New Releases

Get your wallets ready! We run through a packed release schedule from December 15th to the 19th, including:

• 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball
• 2025 Panini Impeccable WNBA
• 2025 Topps Cosmic Chrome Baseball
• 2025 Panini Flawless Baseball
• ...and many more!

✨ City Spotlight: Los Angeles - The Card Kings

In our main segment, we profile the collecting Mount Rushmore of Los Angeles sports! We look at the must-have cards for some of the greatest athletes to ever grace the city:

• Kobe Bryant (Lakers): Targeting his iconic Rookie Card and high-end memorabilia.
• LeBron James (Lakers): Highlighting his modern Lakers-era Panini Prizm cards and Topps certified sets.
• Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers): Covering his historic move to the Dodgers and the value of his 2024 graded cards.
• Mookie Betts (Dodgers): Discussing his elite, low-numbered Topps Chrome parallels.
• We also shout out legends like Magic Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Trout, and Sandy Koufax!

Stick around for Crack That Pack, What Ya Got In The Stack, and the Card Pull of the Week! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and let us know your favorite player from LA in the comments!

#️⃣ Hashtags

#SportsCards #CardCollecting #HobbyNews #KobeBryant #LeBronJames #ShoheiOhtani #Lakers #Dodgers #TradingCards #Beckett #PSA #NonSportsCards #PokemonCards #OnePieceTCG #ToppsChrome #Panini #LosAngeles

Is it time to move on from PSA? We tackle the biggest controversy in the hobby, breaking down the mounting accusations against PSA—from backlogs and inconsistent grading to conflicts of interest and the SGC acquisition. Don't submit another card until you hear our take on why collectors are now considering alternatives like Beckett, CGC, and the new AI-graders!

💥 Hobby Headlines & Major Sales

• The $1.2 Million Man: Shohei Ohtani sets a new record with a jaw-dropping $1.2M bid on his 1/1 Gold Logoman! 🔥
• A Comic Book Icon: An historic Batman #1 (1940), featuring the first appearance of The Joker and Catwoman, hits the block.
• Charity Win: Logan Paul gets sniped in the final seconds of Kabuto King’s Pokémon charity auction!
• The Legend Surfaces: The lost 2005 Tom Brady SuperFractor 1/1 finally appears after nearly two decades!

🗓️ Release Calendar Hot Takes (12/05/2025 - 12/12/2025)

• We dive into the details on 2025 National Treasures (NASCAR & Collegiate Football), Topps Chrome Update Series (hello, Hideo Nomo auto!), Topps Archives, and more!

Tune in for our card pull of the week, what special item Bird has in the stack, and our full deep dive into the grading world!

This week on the show, the guys are back to break down a wild week of six-figure sales and unexpected hobby crossovers. We kick things off with Hobby Headlines, looking at a massive auction result for a rare Kobe Bryant "All-Time Buckets" diamond autograph set that hammered for nearly $400k, plus a Shohei Ohtani Bowman Chrome that proves the Japanese superstar is still king of the market.

Also in the news: Is "Toyotathon" the new Hobby Holiday? We discuss the bizarre but brilliant collaboration between Toyota, Panini, and Jordan Love that has collectors in Wisconsin hunting for sweater relics. Plus, we preview the upcoming 2025 Topps Heritage High Number set, featuring the 1976 design and a stacked rookie class including Roki Sasaki and Dylan Crews.

In our Main Topic, things get serious as we discuss the dark side of the industry. We’re diving deep into reports of inappropriate behavior at retail stores and breaking down the latest controversy surrounding a grading company with a major conflict of interest. When does a "service" become a "scam"?

Finally, we wrap up with the Release Calendar (The Cup is here!) and reveal what we’ve added to our personal collections in What Ya Got In The Stack.