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2002-03 Upper Deck SPx

Packs per Box: 18
Cards per Pack: 4
Cards per Box: 72
Regular Set Completion: 62.7% (47 of 75)
SPxcitement Subset Completion: 72.0% (18 of 25)
Total (Non-SP) Base Set Completion: 65.0% (65 of 100)
SPs in box: 5
RCs in box: 2
Duplicates: 0

The exact contents of the pack scanned in and used to find insert odds:

1. Chris Osgood #47
2. Alexander Mogilny #69
3. Paul Kariya SPxcitement Subset #76
4. Roman Turek #9

First Pack Comments: If you've read these all, you are starting to understand why I prefer buying box. I can't pull anything on the first pack!
First Pack Rating: 2 / 10

Total: 7
SPx Prospects (#'d to 999) -- 2: Marcel Hossa (831/999), Martin Prusek (36/999)
SPx Career Achievements (1:16) -- 1: Pavel Bure (728/749)
SPx Rookie Stars Jersey (#'d to 999) -- 1: Patrick Sharp (582/999)
SPx Rookie Stars Auto Jersey (#'d to 1250) -- 1: Alexei Smirnov (320/1250)
SPx Rookie Stars Auto Jersey (#'d to 500) -- 0

01-02 Season Milestones Jersey (#'d to 99) -- 0
01-02 Season Milestones Jersey Silver (#'d to 50) -- 1: Martin Brodeur (4/50)
01-02 Season Milestones Jersey Gold (#'d to 15) -- 0
NHL Smooth Skaters Jersey (#'d to 99) -- 0
NHL Smooth Skaters Jersey Silver (#'d to 50) -- 0
NHL Smooth Skaters Jersey Gold (#'d to 15) -- 0
Xtreme Talents Jersey (#'d to 99) -- 0
Xtreme Talents Jersey Silver (#'d to 50) -- 0
Xtreme Talents Jersey Gold (#'d to 15) -- 0
SPx Winning Materials (#'d to 99) -- 0
SPx Winning Materials Silver (#'d to 50) -- 0
SPx Winning Materials Gold (#'d to 15) -- 0
Silver Spectrum Parallel (#'d to 199) -- 1: Jeff O'Neill (148/199)
Gold Spectrum Parallel (#'d to 10) -- 0

Box Rating: 8.0 / 10
Product Rating: 7.5 / 10

This was a pretty decent box and a nice product.

The first strength of SPx is clearly apparent, and that's the base card design. The base cards are well designed: simple but dramatic, subtle and bold. The card backs look equally nice and are just as well done.

The big problem with these types of box breaks are that there aren't that many inserts. value for sure, but it's usually condensed into one part of the box. Again, this is the case with SPx, most of the value is contained in a two or three packs buried somewhere in the 18 present in each box. Single pack purchases can be quite tough, but also box breaks can be rather dull as well.

SPx fixes this problem by adding in the SPxcitement subset. In general, the SPxcitement cards came about one per pack, and they are simply stunning. Wonderful design, they capture the player with flair and brilliance. They really bring a full box break together quite nicely.

And then, once you get to the value SPx delivers big time. You get one jersey card, numbered to no more than 99. Additionally you get two rookie "jerseys". I put that in quotes because it should be emphazied that these are photo shoot worn jerseys. They are tied to the player, but VERY loosely. This is SPx's biggest drawback and the biggest hit on value you'll find. However, SPx covers for this a bit. Remember these are still RCs. The Rookie Stars has a monstrous swatch that even photo shoot used stuff can be appreciated in, and the autographed rookie stars boasts an autograph to go along with it's RC status, making these cards passable.

I was a bit disappointed with the SPx Prospects subset. I frankly think that SPx should have made these RCs as well ... it's wouldn't have been that tough and I really don't think they'd have detracted from the other RCs. But still, they are SPs of youngsters, and despite not being RCs, they should still please. The other SP, Career Achievements, is a nice idea as well: the cards are well done and I am a sucker for things serial numbered to stats!

Now onto my box. It was a pretty nice one indeed. My one non-rookie jersey card is a gem, a silver Broduer numbered to only 50, definately a nice pull. The rookies are a bit obscure, Sharp I've briefly heard of but again it's a huge swatch so I really like that one regardless (hey, if can praise a Grant Marshall super-swatch, this one should garner lots of love right?). Smirnov is a bit more prominent (just a bit) but that one is auto'd and it is two colors (just barely!) which really makes that one nice as well.

My main qualms with this product were just the value. I was a bit disappointed to see photo-worn jerseys in this, although I do realize that gamers from these rookies would be tough (since many have only played a handful of games). Still, it seems SPx did a lot to "cover" up the photo worn problem, and photo-worn is better than nothing (marginally). I also really wish the SPx Prospects had been RCs, as I feel the rookie coverage in this is a bit lacking: most of the big RC guys were SPs in the Rookie Auto set (#'d to 500 instead of 1250) making it very difficult to obtain a quality RC.

I know these are selling fast, so telling you to wait for the price to drop isn't all that great. I split the cost of a box as a Christmas present, so I only paid half and I feel real happy with what I got. But if I had gone in for the full retail price, I think I'd have felt that I came up short. At full retail price, it seems to me you must hit a sweet rookie auto jersey to win.

If money isn't a big issue, pick one up ... you'll enjoy the results. But if money is a bit tight, you may wish to opt for a couple of mid-range boxes instead. Ahh, but isn't that pretty much how all these high-end releases go?

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Index	------	Drury Wantlist	Williams Wantlist	Stuart Wantlist	Cheechoo Wantlist	Lupul Wantlist	Hossa Wantlist	LeCavalier Wantlist	Gonchar Wantlist	Krajicek Wantlist	Robidas Wantlist