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The Ultimate Allen & Ginter Mini Bracket: Sweet Sixteen Voting Starts Now (Sport Ball Region and Dogs & Cats Region)

We've made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of our Ultimate Allen & Ginter Mini Bracket!  The voting will keep getting more and more difficult from here on out - but to help make your life a bit easier I'll also try and give a bit more information about each set from here on out!  

As before, I'll give a brief rundown of each of the various match-ups and then solicit your votes for the winner of each match-up down at the bottom of the post.  


2008 Baseball Icons vs. 2009 National Heroes

The 2008 Baseball Icons is the #1 seed in the bracket and so far has looked the part.  The set beat potential bracket buster 2010 World's Biggest by a 16-1 vote in the Round of 64 and then vanquished the 2015 Hoist the Black Flag set by an 11-4 tally.  

The 2009 National Heroes set came in as the #17 seed and has been just as impressive so far with wins over the 2012 Fashionable Ladies by a 12-5 vote in the Round of 64 and then more recently a 13-2 thrashing of the 2012 Musical Masters set in the Round of 32.

Personally, I think that the Baseball Icons set will be tough to beat here but the one chance that the National Heroes set has is that some people (myself included) are kind of tired of seeing the same "legends" in set after set.  I do like the fact that the Baseball Icons set has the same card design as the regular 2008 A&G set (one of my all-time favorite A&G designs by the way) but I also dig the design of the National Heroes set.  Like I said at the outset of this post:  We've made it to the Sweet Sixteen, nothing will be easy from here on out!

2018 Baseball Superstitions vs. 2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles


The 2018 Baseball Superstitions began the tournament as the #8 seed and cruised through its first match-up against the 2013 Codes, Ciphers, and Cryptographs by a 14-3 vote.  Things got a little bit tougher in the Round of 32 though when the set squared off against the 2008 World's Deadliest Sharks.  The Superstitions outlasted the upstart Sharks by a final vote of 9-6 but for awhile there I thought the Sharks might pull the upset!

The 2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles set is the highest remaining seed in the Sport Ball Region with the #24 seed.  The set took care of business easily in the Round of 64 against the baseball themed Celestial Stars (a 13-4 trouncing) and the continued to win in the Round of 32 against the Cinderella of the bracket:  the #73 seed 2013 Famous Finds by a final tally of 9-6.

I'm already on record with saying that for whatever reason I don't love the Baseball Superstitions set.  I honestly don't know why that is since it's an interesting subject matter and the cards are fairly well designed.  Like I said, I can't explain it but I know what I like (and what I don't like) even if words fail me.  On the other hand, I love the concept of the Hoaxes set but I could do without the rather yellow card fronts.  I do think the card backs for the Hoaxes are nicer than the Baseball Superstitions in case that's a deciding element for you.  No matter which set wins this particular match-up, I have a feeling the Sport Ball Region representative is going to be the winner of the first pairing!


To keep things moving along, we will also vote for the two match-ups in the Cats & Dogs Region.

2012 Man's Best Friend vs. 2017 Magicians and Illusionists

The 2012 Man's Best Friend earned the #4 seed in the bracket and has looked like a true contender throughout the bracket contest so far.  In the Round of 64, the doggies knocked off the 2019 In Bloom set by a whopping 12-2 vote and then continued their run of dominance in the Round of 32 winning 11-3 over the upstart 2012 People of the Bible set.

The 2017 Magicians and Illusionists set, on the other hand, is the true Cinderella of the upper half of the bracket.  The set had an extremely weak #84 seed (out of 93 sets) and yet has gone on an improbable run throughout the bracket.  In the play-in game, the set beat the 2011 Flora of the World by a 12-4 vote, then in the Round of 64 the set won a tie-breaker against the cat-themed 2014 Little Lions, and most recently the set squeaked by the 2010 Lords of Olympus via a 8-6 vote.  

Like with most bracket Cinderella stories, the run by the 2017 Magicians set hasn't been the prettiest or the most convincing but at the end of the day the goal is to win your match-up.  Winning by one, by twelve, or even by a tie-breaker is all that it takes to move on.  That all said, I think the Magicians are finally out of tricks up their sleeves...I can't see the awesome 2012 Man's Best Friend losing this particular pairing.  Then again, I figured the Magicians would be out each of the other rounds of the bracket so what do I know?!


2019 Collectible Canines vs. 2019 Chugging Along

Finally, we find the #37 seed Collectible Canines as the second remaining dog themed set in this particular region.  The Collectible Canines cruised through the Round of 64 match-up against the 2012 Culinary Curiosities via a 12-4 margin and then beat up on the 2017 glow-in-the-dark Constellations set via a 9-5 vote.  

The 2019 Chugging Along set began the tournament as the #19 seed and took care of business in the Round of 64 with a 12-4 trouncing of the quirky 2013 People on Bicycles set.  The Round of 32 proved to be much more challenging though as the Chugging Along set won on a tie-breaker against the #21 seed and personal favorite 2014 Deadliest Predators.  

This particular region of our bracket seems primed for a dog set vs. dog set in the Elite Eight, doesn't it?  With the other two non-dog themed sets both needing a tie-breaker to move on in previous rounds, I'm thinking there isn't enough support to knock off either dog set.  We'll see though...and if an all dog Elite Eight match-up does come true it'll be a lot of fun to see which set is *ahem* top dog.

That does it for today's pairings.  

To vote, please copy the text below and then delete the set you don't want to win.  This will make it a lot easier for me to quickly tally the winners of each match-up.  I also encourage you to stump for your favorite sets (remember, there is a bracket prediction contest going on here as well).
  • 2008 Baseball Icons vs. 2009 National Heroes
  • 2018 Baseball Superstitions vs. 2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
  • 2012 Man's Best Friend vs. 2017 Magicians and Illusionists
  • 2019 Collectible Canines vs. 2019 Chugging Along
Copy and paste the above text into the comment section and then simply delete the set you don't want to win each of the match-ups.  That should make voting quick and easy for both you and me!  Remember that comments, votes, and general contest participation will potentially earn you chances to win additional prizes in the contest (along with the bracket challenge of course)!  Vote now!

Want more information about a specific insert set including the full checklist?  Here are my yearly breakdowns all in one spot for you.

Comments

  1. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2017 Magicians and Illusionists
    2019 Chugging Along

    ReplyDelete
  2. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  3. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  4. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    Regarding your "too many legends" comment on the Baseball Icons: I think what makes this particular baseball legends theme special is that we weren't being hit over the head with legends yet and pulling those cards was still exciting.

    On the other hand, I keep waiting for an excuse to vote against Baseball Superstitions. It has had the easiest route through the tournament.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 2008 Baseball Icons

    2018 Baseball Superstitions

    2017 Magicians and Illusionists

    2019 Chugging Along

    Baseball and Trains, together through the vintage days. Probably a little magic going on as well, as teams steamed their way through the night to their next ballpark destination.

    Happy 4th of July!

    ReplyDelete
  6. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    Can't go wrong with baseball and man's best friend. Love your wooden "Region" signage too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 01. 2008 Baseball Icons
    02. 2018 Baseball Superstitions
    03. 2012 Man's Best Friend
    04. 2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  8. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2017 Magicians and Illusionists
    2019 Chugging Along

    ReplyDelete
  9. 2009 National Heroes
    2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  10. 2009 National Heroes
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  11. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Chugging Along

    ReplyDelete
  12. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    Baseball and dogs for the win.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Chugging Along

    ReplyDelete
  14. 2009 National Heroes
    2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
    2017 Magicians and Illusionists
    2019 Chugging Along

    ReplyDelete
  15. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2018 Baseball Superstitions
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Collectible Canines

    ReplyDelete
  16. 2008 Baseball Icons
    2009 World's Biggest Hoaxes, Hoodwinks, & Bamboozles
    2012 Man's Best Friend
    2019 Chugging Along

    ReplyDelete

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