The Shallow End

Collector Kevin M. Cormier once called it the "paralysis of indecision." It's those moments when you have too many cards that you want, the funds to get some, and the decision and contemplation becomes so much that you end up doing nothing. On this episode, we consider it from a slightly different perspective—from the unhelpful point of view of "What If …"

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz ⁠@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards⁠

Read the Kevin Cormier interview from June 6, 2023, ⁠here⁠.

Collector Kevin M. Cormier once called it the "paralysis of indecision." It's those moments when you have too many cards that you want, the funds to get some, and the decision and contemplation becomes so much that you end up doing nothing. On this episode, we consider it from a slightly different perspective—from the unhelpful point of view of "What If …"

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Read the Kevin Cormier interview from June 6, 2023, here.

Sports-card influencers have power not because of some cosmic or mystic force. They have power because we give them power. Who are the most powerful influencers in the sports-card hobby? That's an easy answer: Look in the mirror.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Referenced in this episode: "Hodinkee Radio episode 21: Matt Jacobson" (aired Nov 26, 2018)

Clark, curator of @fivecardguys and host of the Cards to the Moon podcast, recently committed to attending his first National. Then he changed his mind and will instead go to the first Fanatics Fest a month later in New York. Here's why. Plus, we talked about Cards to the Moon recently celebrating its third anniversary, how he keeps it fresh, and we close by playing some sports-card related games.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

Welcome to an experiment. A new monthly series, "The Shallow End: Total Content," works to shine a light on some of the best, most interesting, and notable recent episodes in sports-card podcasting. If you'd like to leave feedback, host Dave Schwartz can be reached on Instagram at @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards.

When you spend a good chunk of your week sitting inside unmoving airplanes at one of the world's largest airports, the mind wanders. Mine wandered to sports cards. Please enjoy this abbreviated, hopefully entertaining, O'Hare-inspired episode.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_Sportscards

The sports-card hobby is an ecosystem. It has apex predators, parasites and everything in between. If you're among the 99 percent of collectors who fall somewhere between the two ends of the hobby spectrum, how do you survive it?

A funny thing happened on the road to The National 2023: previously absent or scarce cards suddenly became available in droves. With the 2024 National about two months out, Austin Carlson (@carlson_cards) visits to talk about how last year's trend is informing this year's collecting.

The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

In this episode, it's three stories in 15 minutes.

1. A card negotiation in the shallow end of the collecting pool

2. Dave once again gets tripped up by his hobby nemesis

3. A new, surprising experience that could have ended badly, but didn't

- The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz (@Iowa_Dave_Sportscards)

The biggest U.S. sports figure over the last year has been basketball player Caitlin Clark. Now, armed with a fresh Panini contract as her WNBA career is set to begin with the Indiana Fever, the former University of Iowa star is beginning a new chapter in her remarkable run. To commemorate the moment, Dave welcomes three guests into The Shallow End:

• Keith Murphy, WHO-TV Des Moines broadcaster who has covered Clark since her freshman year of high school (4:32)

• Brett McGrath, the Stacking Slabs Podcast host and Indiana native who's now directly in the path of the Caitlin Clark Experience (33:20)

• Carter aka @MCBasketballPC, a WNBA fan and card collector with unique insights into how Clark's soon-to-be-released Panini cards might affect the hobby (57:13)

- The Shallow End is hosted by Dave Schwartz @Iowa_Dave_SportsCards