Chicken Scratch: David Garrard Edition

The so called "fools" of upper management and Jack Del Rio at the Jacksonville Jaguars thought it was best to sever the ties to David Garrard and put all of their hopes and dreams of a Super Bowl into the hands of  a craptastic QB named "Cool Hands Luke" McCown. Was it over money? Perhaps. Was it over inconsistency of David's health? Hmmmmm.......let's see how they match up:


"Cool Hand Luke":
TD-INT: 9/10
Passing Yds: 1,619
QB Rating: 74.4
Salary: $250,000/yr

David G:
TD-INT: 89/54
Passing Yds: 16,003
QB Rating: 85.8
Salary: $7,975,000/yr

I'm quite sure he will not stay unemployed for long as there are several teams in need of a veteran QB. What's really disgusting is how the Jacksonville staff used him today to sell season tickets and opening season tickets at a Jaguars fans experience and then after the show is done they cut him off the team with less than a week till the first game of the season. CLASSLESS ACT ON THEIR PART. David deserved better!

As for David's autograph let us take a look at what we have:

 

I for one do enjoy the layout and design of the Topps Pristine cards. What I like the most about them is that his autograph is "on card". As for David's signature you can easily make out the first "D" and the last "d" in his first name. It looks as if the "avi" part is a straight line. As with his last name you can clearly again make out the first and last letters in the last name portion of the autograph: the "G" and "d". The "arrar" part seems equivalent to a curved and straight line. David has also added his jersey number to his signature and it is a clearly visible number. For his auto we give him 3 out of 5 sharpies!

Chicken Scratch: 1/1 Edition

I pulled this little ol' thing out of a box of 2010 Topps Supreme a few weeks ago on here. I was very surprised when I did see both auto's and I laughed when I saw that it was a 1/1 edition. Let us take a look at the names that are on the card:


Jermaine Gresham
1/1
Rob Gronkowski

In Jermaine's signature it's very easy to make out the "J" but as for the rest of the name it looks like a big "S" followed by a small "w".

In Rob's signature you can almost make out his full name. You can see how he makes the "K's" stand out in his last name. Good signature flow as well-very fluid! Still his last name looks a little garbled.

For these efforts I give it 3 sharpies!

Chicken Scratch: Ian Krol Edition

How Obtained:
I pulled this lovely autograph from a Bowman Platinum blaster box at the Huntingdon Wal-Mart.

Cost:
19.95 plus PA tax for the blaster box

Comments:
This is the first autographed card that I've really enjoyed pulling based on the layout of the card design. I love the fact that is was touched by the player to sign it since it's an on card autograph. The other reason I like this card is how the layout design was done as the autograph next to the player really stands out even with the white in the background. Of course the refractor background helps it to stick out as well.

Autograph Laziness:
I can't really make out the first name portion of his autograph as it looks like some kind of Hybrid "S". I'm not really sure how you get "Ian" out of that one? As for the last name portion of his autograph you can easily make out the "K" and the "L". The other letters are "missing in action" (somebody call Chuck Norris).

Sharpie Results:

Chicken Scratch: Jordan Shipley Edition

Welcome to another addition of "Chicken Scratch". This week's subject is non other than Cincinnati Bengals rookie Wide Receiver Jordan Shipley. In Jordan's last NFL game against the Falcons, he had 6 receptions for 131 yards which included a beautiful 64 yd TD reception.
His bold signature is almost legible. His "J's" and "S's" are pretty easy to recognize and he does make an effort to sign his last name where as some athletes just write a straight line instead. When you look at his first name you might assume it was "Jim or "Ji" or even "JD". When you look at his last name .......um yeah.......the only thing that I can come up with is "sis". Still his signature is still a far cry better than Chris Johnson's or Amobi Okoye's autograph. For this lovely piece of artwork I give it: 3 sharpies!

Chicken Scratch David Freese or "Dil Fssssn"

David Freese has a legible signature for the most part. The "D" and "F" are clear and large and recognizable. However it almost looks like his first name is "Dil". I can see those conversations and boy that has a nice ring to it: Hey Dil, nice game Dil, what a home run Dil, way to steal Dil, or What the Dil-Li-O kind of catch was that! As for the second part of his name it looks like, "Fssssn". Heck of a name for ya.....who's pitching- Dil Fssssn! However despite these little things his name is very presentable and can be made out for the most part. David receives 3 sharpies for his efforts.


To bid on this refractor or any more of my cards here's the link. David Freese refractor

Chicken Scratch "Crosby Style"

Sidney Crosby took the time to sign his name so that it's presentable, legible, and even added his jersey number which looks crisp and clean. It is truly a wonderful and clear signature and so far he has maintained the same signature throughout his career thus far. This Gold Medal/Stanley Cup winner gets the "5 SHARPIES" award.

2005-06 UD The Cup Rookie Sidney Crosby Patch autograph card #180

Chicken Scratch

Ryan Alexander Gordon Smyth is a Left Winger who currently plays for the L.A. Kings. Smyth was selected in the 94'draft by the Edmonton Oilers where he played 12 seasons. He then played for NY Islanders and the Colorado Avalanche before playing with the LA Kings. He is also known as "Captain Canada" due to his participation in the Olympics/World Championships.

Ryan's autograph looks like the result of getting slapped upside the head by Todd Bertuzzi's hockey stick. The only legible letter in this autograph is apparently the "R". You can also identify his jersey number "94" as well. As for the last name signature portion...I have no clue. Over the years he's had the same consistent signature so there's really no chance of him making it any more legible apparently. I'd say this signature was slapped off the goal post.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Joe Mauer was the 2009 American League's MVP. Joe was the best catcher in all of baseball for 2009 in my opinion. Joe has a MVP style signature as well.

Chicken Scratch

Markus Naslund. This Swedish born hockey player was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and played for 3 seasons in Pittsburgh. Markus then played for the Vancouver Canucks for 12 years and then spent a season with the New York Rangers and retired in May 2009 after 16 seasons in the NHL. He is the Vancouver Canucks Franchise leader in goals and points scored. He was also a member of the "West Coast Express" (fellow NHLers and Canadians will know who that was).

While his talents on the ice proved to be excellent, his skills with a pen seem to be a slap shot boinking off of the goal post. I don't know if he received to many concussions or if he was "checked" into the boards too many times but that signature does not look like a goal buzzer beater to me.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Tashard Choice is the 3rd option for running back with the Dallas Cowboys. He has seen some sporadic playing time this year and has been a reliable running back when called upon.
While his signature seems a bit classy at first glance, Tashard does not sign his full name. It seems like he just initials it as T.CO. One upstroke is that Tashard has no fumbles on the field this year. Unfortunately, he does have a fumble for his lovely signature effort. For this he receives "one sharpie".

Stats Overview	Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
SPLIT	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
2009	58	330	5.7	66	3	15	132	8.8	28	0	0	0

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Ricky Romero: Left Handed Pitcher (2nd rotation)

Wins: 13
Losses: 9
ERA: 4.30
SO: 141

Ricky has a very nice clean signature where you can actually make out his name. His signature does seem to be consistent with other signings he has done. Ricky is also a candidate for the 2009 MLB Rookie of the Year award.

For the effort he puts into his autograph he receives four sharpies.

Chicken Scratch of the Day

Greg Smith is a pitcher currently on the inactive roster for the Colorado Rockies. Greg's auto looks like he signed it, "grizzly" or something along those lines.

Here we have Mike Minor who is a left-handed starting pitcher selected 7th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. As for Mike's auto... well it looks like he enjoys M&M's (USA edition of those crunchy chocolate flavored candies).

I give them both 2 out of 5 Sharpies for their signature efforts.