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Bob D’Angelo

Bob is a longtime member of the Florida sports media, having served as a reporter and copy editor for more than 30 years. His true sports passion, however, is the history of the various games, exhibited by his in-depth book reviews and hobby of collecting cards and other sports memorabilia. He blogs for TBO.com on both subjects, transferring his work for the Tampa Tribune to the realm of cyberspace.

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Panini puts out special cards for Winter Classic

Posted Jan 3, 2012 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Jan 3, 2012 at 01:15 AM

Fans who attended the Winter Classic on Monday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia got more than a close, exciting game. They also got a special five-card pack of Panini America cards inserted into their commemorative seat cushions.

The 20-card set was created by Panini to coincide with the made-for-TV outdoor hockey game, played by the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. NBC aired the game and HBO had 12 camera crews filming it, along with some behind-the-scenes action for its “24/7” series.

Former Lightning star Brad Richards scored what proved to be the winning goal in the Rangers’ 3-2 victory, but it was a save by Henrik Lundqvist on a penalty shot with 19.6 seconds left in regulation that preserved the win. It was a cold day in Philly, in the 30s, but the game still attracted 46,967 fans — and some of them paid up to $1,000 for a seat on the secondary market.

I really liked the overhead shot of Lundqvist used by Panini in the Winter Classic set, which made me think of his stop of Danny Briere’s penalty shot. Nice card.

In addition to the 20-card set, there are 1/1 variations of each card. Somebody got lucky, I am sure.