Topps Trading Cards Sure Know How To Celebrate A 25th Anniversary... Check Out The 'Major League' 25th Anniversary Wax Packs!!!

Baseball card collecting was at an all time high during the early 80s when I was a kid, and I certainly was no stranger to the whole phenomenon. There was something special about buying packs of cards and hoping that you had one of the special ones among your haul. The Topps trading card company was always a leader in the industry, and they also were the company behind the trading card bonanza that was Garbage Pail Kids. So its no surprise that they are the perfect company to help fans celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite sports movies ever, 'Major League'. The movie starred Corbin Bersen, Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Renee Russo, Dennis Heysberth, Wesley Snipes, and many more... and it is widely considered one of the best baseball movies ever. Topps is offering a special wax pack of cards (5 total cards) featuring the films most famous characters. As an added bonus, there is a special 'Jobu the voodoo doll' additional insert card. The price may seem a bit steep at $12.99, but with 6 total cards that is just over 2 bucks a piece. Not so bad when you considered how custom these are. If you love the film, this is a great form of memorabilia to have in your collection. You can order them here, and check out all the pics of them after the jump...

Gameboy Turns 25.... Wow, I'm Getting Old!!!

I remember the time of year vividly. It was closing in on Spring of 1989.... I was just passed my 10th bday, and was still obsessing over my Christmas gifts. I was starting to drift away from toys (I remember getting my last toy gifts being of the TMNT and Batman the Movie variety) and more towards video games totally. Sega Genesis was on the horizon, and Nintendo was at its peak stride. There were so many games... and all were better than the other. Improvements were coming rapidly, and I remember vividly wearing out my NES Max & NES Advantage controllers playing for hours on end. But that was when the video game market was about to get turned on its ear. Commercials started to fill the Saturday morning airwaves for a new video game system.... not another console system, but something quite different. A hand-held game system that promised 8 bit graphics (the same as your home NES system) and a way to play a friend head to head on your own separate systems. It was to be called GameBoy... and I wanted one terribly.

Read more after the jump:

'Get To The Chopper'... We Got Toys To Buy!!!!

NECA, or National Entertainment Collectibles Association, have no problem bringing the heat when they release a new wave of action figures. They are known to produce the most articulate and realistic recreations of your favorite movies, TV shows, and cartoons for years. So when they revealed the upcoming 25th Anniversary 'Predators' toy line, I expected nothing but amazing figures. When the toys premiered at Toy Fare 2013 a few weeks back, NECA proved that they are the best of the best. There are 6 figures in the line, including four Dutch figures and two Predator figures that are amazing. You gotta love Jungle Encounter Dutch, covered in mud from head to toe. And the Water Emergence Predator has to be one of the most amazing figures I have ever seen. The electric lightning detailing around the body of the figure is just amazing, and I can't remember another toy that has shown such detail and depth in comparison to the source material. The toys should be rolling into stores soon, so make sure you are on the lookout for these if you are as big of a Predator fan as I am. I know my man Joe Fletch will be contemplating a purchase!!! Check out the pics after the jump...  

Family Time by Chris Murray

Pop culture artists face the challenge of trying to portray popular characters in new & interesting environments. That is what makes for a truly memorable piece. Chris Murray did just that with his entry into the I Am 8Bit Gallery's upcoming Street Fighter 25th anniversary art show. He chose two mainstays of the Street Fighter franchise, Chun Li & Guile, but portrayed them as proud parents watching their child rattle the joystick of a coin op game. Gotta love the originality of it all... You can see more of the upcoming stuff from teh gallery by clicking here, more of Chad Murray's work here, and catch the Family Time piece as well as an early sketch of the product after the jump...

The 'Home Bulls' Collection Celebrates 25 Years Of Jordans...

Over the past 25 years, Nike and Michael Jordan have paired up to make some of the greatest sneakers ever created. The shoes they have produced are not only technically sound, they are some of the flyest creations to ever be worn on peoples feet. In celebration of 25 years of making pure fire, Nike has announced a 'Home Bulls' collection of sneakers, featuring one model from each of the 25 years in similar colorways. All of the sneakers in the collection have a white upper base with red soles/liners and black laces. I own at least one pair of each of the 25 models (yeah, I have a problem buying shoes), but I have to admit that seeing all of these like this is really cool. Click after the jump for more detailed pics...

The 25th Anniversary Super Mario Bros Chuck Taylors: Round 2!!!

A few months back we brought you pics of the 25th anniversary Super Mario Bros Chuck Taylor sneakers to be released by Converse in July. Albotas has some new pics of additional models featuring actual gameplay, and these may be even cooler then the first ones. To the pics:

These kicks are action packed, with the blue ones featuring world 1-1 and the black ones featuring the infamous dungeon scenes where Mario battles King Koopa. These even fold down to reveal some cool cut scenes. These will probably be out in July as well. What do you think? Would you cop these? I know I am definitely getting a pair of these for my son Mikey. He may be 8.... but that cat is old school!

The '3 Amigos' Reunite In Empire Magazine

This month's issue of Empire Magazine features an article about the 25th anniversary of 'The 3 Amigos'. For those of you who live under some sort of a rock this is one of the funniest movies of my childhood (my opinion of course) and features Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short when they were in their primes. It was also directed by John Landis (we love him here at CCD!!!), so I had to bring this article to everyones attention. The bit in the movie about the meaning of the word "plethora" has always been one of my favorites. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:



Here are the pics that were included in the mag as well as a quick video from the photo shoot. Did you love the 3 Amigos back in the day? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!

Has It Really Been 25 Years???

I can not believe that it has been 25 years since The Goonies hit theaters and changed 80's babies lives forever. The kids of the 80's had to be able to find someone to identify with in the diverse cast... whether it was the fat kid Chunk, the wise ass Mouth, the Asian kid Data, the jock Brand, the doofy kid Mikey, the cheerleader Andy, her ugly friend Stef... there was something for everybody. Toss in a mutant monster, a couple of gangsters, a dead body, some absentee parents, and a pirate ship... and well, the rest is history. Directed by the great Richard Donner, the story was written by then unknown Chris Columbus (Future director of Home Alone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) who got the idea from producer Steven Spielberg. While its hard to believe now, the movie was a financial bust even though it placed in the top 10 for 1985. But over the years the movie has attained a cult like status amongst children of the 80's, and we love this movie more then life itself. It has been chosen to represent us as a generation, and we pass it on to our children now. My son Mikey absolutely adores the flick, and its not like its a surprise why.

The cast of the film has gone on to have considerable success given the fact that the children were all relatively unknown. Mikey (Sean Astin) grew up to be Sam in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Mouth (Corey Feldman) starred in dozens of 80's mainstay movies like Lost Boys and License to Drive and continues to make movies today. Stef (Martha Plimpton) is still that quirky actress that she was 25 years ago and is now featured on HBO's How To Make It In America. But the biggest star of the cast has got to be Brand (Josh Brolin) who has grown up to be quite the critically acclaimed movie star in films like No Country For Old Men and W,  as well as this summers soon to be blockbuster Jonah Hex. It's awesome to see so many of these guys grow up and continue contributing to the acting profession. There has been much talk of a sequel over the years, but nothing has ever gotten done.

Now, on the 25th anniversary, tons of stuff is being planned in honor of one of the 80's greatest movies. A new Blu Ray version of the movie will be coming out soon that will come with a board game, still photos and a remastered version of the film. Also, this past weekend, the town of Astoria, Oregon (where the movie was shot) had a celebration that included dinner with the cast and touring the shooting locations. You can check out the site for that here. All in all, I can't believe its been 25 years. But thanks for the memories, and I assure you my grand kids will grow up to Cyndi Lauper jamming out and Sloth screaming "Hey.... U.... Guys!!!!" See you in another 25 years for the 50th anniversary.