2(sday) x 3 Heroes Mailday

It seems like every time I get complacent in not blogging, JediJeff of 2x3 Heroes fame manages to lure me back in. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but he's one of the good ones.

Last summer, I noticed that the Cubs were featured on a regional cover of Sports Illustrated. In the good ol' Land of Lincoln, and probably a slightly larger area, fans were treated to this fantastic shot of Kris Bryant's walk off home run.

And don't forget Pedro Strop!

I think in my neck of the woods, we had a Serena Williams (tennis?!) cover.

I couldn't make up the following story if I tried.

The issue date of this magazine was August 31, 2015. The walk off depicted (#12 of last season's incredible 13) was Monday, August 24, 2015. Less than a week later, while this issue was probably still on newsstands, Jake Arrieta no-hit a playoff bound Los Angeles Dodgers team.

When I heard such a regional issue existed, I shot Jeff an email asking if he could procure such a treasure for me if he happened to see one in his area. A few weeks later, I fall off the planet again.

Fast forward to about two weeks ago and all a sudden two copies of this magazine have become a "burden" and possibly a "curse" to his home (despite his Pale Hose also owning a fine start and division lead). A little on the dramatic side if you ask me.

He confirms my address hasn't changed and a week later, they show up in my mailbox. What happens next? That's right. Jake Arrieta promptly throws another no hitter.

Jeff, when the Cubs land the cover again, I think you know what to do....

But JenerousJediJeff doesn't just stop at gifting me an awesome collectible magazine and a pair of no hitters. He throws in a some cards like he's Billy Freakin' Mays.

We've got some great horizontals:

2003 Topps #252 Joe Randa

2012 Topps #461 Victor Martinez

2015 Topps Stadium Club #282 Fred McGriff

2007 Upper Deck #418 Khalil Greene

Is this Khali Greene an Ivy card too? Hmmmm.....

Speaking of Ivy cards, we've got those too:

And even some interleague Ivy cards:

I see you sneaking a South Sider into my collection...

Aaaaaaaand North Siders! My Cubs collection is a bit of a mess right now because of storage situations but I was using Zistle prior to my hiatus. And according to that record, some of these are new and some of them are upgrades.



2006 Topps Chrome #261 Greg Maddux Award Winners



If any body ever figured out how to scan chrome cards nicely while I was gone, let me know.

2012 Bowman Prospects Silver Ice #BP75 Dillon Maples

2013 Panini Pinnacle Looking Back #LB2 Starlin Castro

And pretty much everything 2015 was going to be new to me.

These Cubs were dupes, but I haven't even started looking at the Cubs portion of my horizontal collection so they'll slide over for the time being.

1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #284 Jose Vizcaino



2010 Upper Deck #545 Wrigley Field



And for that extra extra extra bonus, Jeff threw in one of my first 2016 cards. And its a numbered relic to boot!

2016 Topps 100 Years at Wrigley Relic #WRIGR-RP Rafael Palmeiro

With a mailing like that, no wonder I came back just to show it off!

Thanks, Jeff! By the time this posts, there should be something going back your way.