1998 General Mills Canadian Olympic Games Cards

And we're back to sports cards. I picked up this set of seven holofoil cards for 499 credits at Listia. I think that I did okay.

These were issued for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games held in Nagano, Japan.  I'm assuming that they were packaged with General Mills food products, but I haven't found much info on the unnumbered set.

1998 General Mills Canadian Olympic Games
Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz

1998 General Mills Canadian Olympic Games
Elvis Stojko

1998 General Mills Canadian Olympic Games
Vicky Sunohara

Here's the checklist:

• Cassie Campbell 
• Marc Gagnon 
• Geraldine Heany 
• Brendan Shanahan 
• Elvis Stojko 
• Vicky Sunohara 
• Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kratz

See, I've got some love for Canada.

Catching that Olympic Fever

I enjoy watching the Olympics, both the Summer and Winter games.

I like track and field, archery, swimming, boxing, weightlifting, gymnastics.  Well, I guess I like all of it.

I've enjoyed the Olympic trials.  The drama of a dead heat, the beauty of the athletes.  One thing I haven't cared for is NBC's audio mix during the women's gymnastics trials.  I could never clearly hear the commentators.

I found a few (new to me) Olympic cards on ebay and I'd like to share them with you.

They are from the 1910 T218 set "Champion Athletes and Prizefighters" distributed with the Hassan and Mecca tobacco brands. Apparently there were 153 subjects in this set, not all of them Olympians.

Robert Cloughen won the silver medal in the 200 meter race at the 1908 Summer Olympic Games in London.

Frank Riley was also a member of the US team in London in 1908.  He ran in the 1500 meter race but did not do well enough to advance to the finals.

Yes, I snagged the images from ebay auctions.  Cloughen and Riley.

1991 US Olympic Cards Hall of Fame Series

I went to the local flea market with Caroline on Saturday. Found one good card dealer. I picked this pack up for a buck from another dealer who didn't seem to interested in talking with any of his potential customers.

 I don't know anything about these cards, but I like them and will feature a few more of them in the coming weeks. Heck, I might even go back and pick up a few more packs. Maybe the dealer will say "Hi".

1991 US Olympic Cards Hall of Fame Series
Jesse Owens (card # 1)

1991 US Olympic Cards Hall of Fame Series
Wilma Rudolph (card # 7)

1991 US Olympic Cards Hall of Fame Series
1980 U.S. Olympic Team - Ice Hockey (card # 64)

Olympics, baby!

I was quite moved by the Opening Ceremonies last evening. The technical aspects (rigging and projectors) were fantastic. The choreography and backing music was nice. I wasn't crazy about k.d. lang or the Olympic hymn, but overall, I really liked it. Sure, one of the columns didn't rise out of the floor at the end, but, hey, stuff happens. I really thought (and was hoping) that Gretzky would use his torch as a hockey stick and send a fiery puck into the cauldron.

I was saddened by the death of Georgian Olympian Nodar Kumaritashvili. He should (and will) be remembered and honored for representing his country.

I got a good draw over at JD's Wild Cardz. He's hosting the Olympicspalooza contest.

Norway

All time leader in Medals won at the Winter Olympics. They've faded a bit at the last Olympics, but they're still a good team.

In a Last Second Special plea to fill the slots, I was able to get one more country. Or two, depending how you view B&H.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

They've got five athletes. Average age is about 20. All skiers. One with a gun. I don't think that she's got enough experience to make it to the NBA. As far as I know, they have never won a medal at a Winter Olympics, although 26 years ago they did host the XIV Winter Olympic Games.

I was poking around the official Olympics website and found that they are selling some signed memorabilia on ebay. Here are some of the signed cards.

Lyndon Rush signed Bobsleigh card

Hayley Wickenheiser signed Ice Hockey card

Melissa Hollingsworth signed Skeleton card

Ben Hebert signed Curling card

Check out the Official Vancouver 2010 Auction ebay store. The starting prices on these cards are less than $1, US. I was already to bid on some and then I started to think about shipping. Hold on to your tuques. Shipping is $19.90 to the States. I didn't see anything about combining shipping. Also, no PayPal allowed. Because the Olympics have a partnership with Visa, that is the only payment option.

Go Norway. Go Bosnia and Herzegovina. Go Olympians.