2011 Card-vent Calendar: December 1

This year's manufacturer of the Card-vent Calendar went positively elementary school in his approach to the design. This thing looks like it was sopping wet with glue, as if constructed by a first grader bold enough to eschew the "Little Dab'll Do Ya" mantra. Glitter, construction paper, and the overwhelming desire to be the first one finished, no matter what the cost, were what went into this year's calendar.

Well, that and love.

Let's pry open that first envelope, see what's inside.

1997-98 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #354 Gheorghe Muresan

Basketball??? On the first day of Card-vent???
Professionals aren't even playing basketball yet. Card-vent will technically be over by the time players aside from those at Ohio State are playing basketball for money. (Although this year's calendar comes with a rare 25th door. Screw that noise, by that time I'd have already opened up my requisite one-on-Christmas-Eve present, and Card-vent was OVER. I wonder what's in #25?)

Anyways, good ol' Georgie Muresan isn't a bad specimen. My Giant, anyone? Also, I never knew Muresan sported a John Waters 'stache. I guess I need to keep up better on all things Muresan, like this Gheorghe Muresan Super Collector. Although for my money, Manute Bol was my all-time favorite freakishly tall player. When I was maybe seven or eight and went to my fist Bucks game, they were playing the Bullets. At that time, I was flabbergasted by Bol's height. My the time Muresan came along, Shawn Bradley had already arrived on the scene, and skyscraper big men had become a dime a dozen.

Yet, I'm still holding out hope that they can find a way to work Rik Smits into an episode of Parks and Recreation. Detlef Schrempf has already appeared in a cameo, and now I'd like to see Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford hire him to do something around the office. Entertainment 720 is no more, but my fingers are still crossed.