I recently purchased this 2012 Tennessee Titans game-used jersey of Taylor Thompson, who was a tight end and special teams player.

This jersey is extremely jacked up, as it features multiple repairs, rips, and paint transfers. I’ve photomatched this jersey to 5 games from that season but what drew me to this jersey is that Thompson wore it in his NFL debut, and I love collecting jerseys that were meaningful in a player’s career.

Thompson played three seasons in the NFL, got a master’s degree, then started a home remodeling business. Not too shabby.

Week 1 vs Patriots

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Week 3 vs Titans

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Week 4 at Texans

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Week 7 at Bills

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Week 14 at Colts

Usage determined by visible stitch marks from Hall of Fame patch worn that week.

Flying into Fall.

I recently snagged a handful of 1995 Topps Power Boosters parallels of the 1000/3000 yard club subset. At 1:36 hobby packs, these were box hits. I appreciate these cards because when I was a kid, throwing for 3,000 yards or catching for 1,000 yards was a really big deal. In 1994, only 13 QBs threw for 3k and 19 wide receivers caught 1k; compare that to 25 years later in the 2019 season, when the count was 25 QBs and 29 WRs.

Major League Baseball wants us to believe that there were 2 pitchers named Jeff D’Amico playing in the 2000 season. I contend that what began as a simple bookkeeping error was seized upon by Commissioner Bud Selig as a way to test the loyalty and pliability of baseball fans. I mean, isn’t it a little too convenient that the “second Jeff D’Amico” only logged 13 innings in the Majors and was optioned to AAA Omaha on July 15, 2000 - one day after the “first Jeff D’Amico” pitched against the Royals - and that he never again pitched in the Majors? Or that “both” Jeff D’Amicos were drafted in 1993? Or that the “second Jeff D’Amico” transitioned from an infielder to a pitcher in the minor leagues (a switch that almost never happens)? Sorry, but I’m not a sheep.

During the dog days of the 1991 season, a slumping Jerry Browne was tired of hearing people say that his previous two seasons were a fluke. He was also tired of hearing people talk about “Griffey this” and “Griffey that”. During a game against the Mariners, he decided to step into the box behind Griffey to show The Kid a thing or two about how they play ball down in the Virgin Islands. He promptly lined out to right field and took a seat on the end of the bench.