Football Picks, Week 2

There's soooo much to pick from in week 2! We're starting at 4 up, 5 down from week 1. Fortunately, there were a couple of late adds to the investment portfolio to avert a week one financial crash.



South Carolina -9 1/2 @ Vanderbilt
We had winners on each of these last week, and now they're matched up against one another. South Carolina was quite convincing, they're the pick in this matchup.

Akron Zips @ Syracuse -5
The Zips beat the spread in week 1 against Big10 pretender Wisconsin, while Syracuse was slapped around by Northwestern. I follow Akron 'cause I like the name, and I like them to take Syracuse.

Northwestern -6 1/2 @ Duke
Both winners in week 1, NU is looking to avenge a loss to Duke last year in Evanston. They may be playing in the blow by of a hurricane down there. I like the 'Cats.

Miami OH @ Michigan -14 1/2
Miami lost to Vandy last week and Michigan lost its home opener to Utah. Miami will be inside of the spread. Michigan was pathetic last week.

Miami FL @ Florida -21
A fun intrastate brawl in the Swamp, this is must see TV. Floriday will pile it up.

Central Michigan @ Georgia -23.5
Downers Grove's own Chuck Lefevour, the CMU QB, gets the big stage as his team takes on national title contender Georgia. I think that CMU raises a national eyebrow by staying close.

Stanford @ Arizona State -14 1/2
Jim Harbaugh's Cardinal used up their current ration of overachieve last week. ASU is gonna put a beatdown on them this week.

10 Worst Corporate Reputations

Yesterday we had the 10 Best Corporate Reputations. Today, the other side of the mountain, Harris Poll's 10 Worst Corporate Reputations.
10. Daimler Chrysler
A year after Daimler bought Chrysler, the combined companies' market value was the same as before the purchase. That meant Chrysler had no value. It has since been spun off and is apparently teetering on the verge of bankruptcy...again. They've made some great vehicles over the years, invented the minivan (and sold millions of them), the Viper, the Prowler. I had 2 Chryslers, beautiful cars, but junk.
9. General Motors
Their market share appears to finally be done shrinking, and there's a handful of GM cars that are world class. Why don't folks love 'em anymore? I had a few...including a Chevy V7.
8. Chevron Texaco
Imagine, an oil company that people don't like...
7. Ford
The worst marketer of the Big 3 American auto makers. Ford F-150, the most popular vehicle over the last zillion years. It must be fashionable to say you hate American car companies.
6. Sprint
Bought NEXTEL and messed it up, dumbasses. We switched to Verizon. A lot of others switched, too.
5. Comcast
Comcast is the reason people subscribe to Direct TV.
4. Exxon
I instinctively want to put "Valdez" after Exxon, or "announces record profits".
3. Northwest Airlines
I thought they were out of business already.
2. Citgo
Another oil company that people don't like.
1. Halliburton
These guys are an oil company and more, they've done business in countries they're not allowed to be in, bribed government officials, received no-bid contracts 'cause they're hooked up in Washington, and more. They're the poster boys for screw everybody big business.

Let's review: the Big Bad 10 has the three American automakers, three oil companies, the cable TV company, a cellphone company, an airline and a grand corporate pirate. The Good 10 has three computer/internet companies, three food/beverage companies, Honda, Google, a conglomerate and Johnson & Johnson.

On personal experience, it's hard to argue.

10 Best Corporate Reputations

I came across a Harris poll list showing the 10 Best Corporate Reputations in the USA. Here's the 10.

10. Microsoft
Part of our daily lives, and Bill Gates is fun to watch. Bill is a modern Rockefeller, as in "more money than Bill Gates".
9. Honda
They run and run, two wheels, four wheels, outboards, generators, race cars. I love Honda.
8. Coca-Cola
A real marketing success, 'cause it doesn't do anything that's actually good for you. Even so, just thinking of the old commercial with Mean Joe Greene and the little kid makes you want to pop the cap off a bottle of Coke. I'd like to teach the world to sing...

7. 3M
Scotch Tape and Post It Notes and a million other cool things. I like 3M.
6. Berkshire Hathaway
They are Fruit of the Loom, GEICO and Helzeberg Diamonds, and a lot of other stuff. Warren Buffet, too. The talking fruit and the gecko, gotta love 'em.
5. Kraft
Mac 'n Cheese. How can you not feel good about that?

4. General Mills
The Pillsbury Dough Boy, Cheerios, Chex and lots more. I'm getting hungry.

3. Intel
Look at your computer, there's probably a sticker that says "Intel Inside".

2. Johnson & Johnson
Baby products, skin care products and Band Aids.

1. Google
The world's answer machine and lots more.

I'm not sure how they assembled the grades for this poll, but the brands that these companies own have earned a very important place in our lives. The brands are personal, reliable, predictable, and generally connote a good value. We interact with these companies throught their brands every day, and they generally do a good job of not letting us down.

Thursday, the 10 Worst Corporate Reputations.

The Labor Day Telethon

I continue to be amazed by the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on Labor Day. It is a reflection of its host, that is, I find it unusual, entertaining, bizarre, corny and it does a lot of good things for people.

I found an error in one of my previous facts within a minute of so of Jerry's arrival onstage. This was the 43rd telethon--and it is real weird Americana.

We began locally with Dean Richards, who is a very likable guy, Dina Bair, who creeps me out, and Bart Connor and Nadia Comaneche. Nadia is pretty scary, and Bart is one of those lucky people who appears to not age. Dean promised 24 hours of telethon, Bart promised us 20, and the website said 20 1/2. Whatever.

Then the coverage headed to Vegas, yeah, baby, Vegas, and to...South Point? It looks like a nice place, it's a couple-three miles south from the airport, in an area that I've never visited. Their website starts by advertising $49 rooms and an equestrian center. Nice looking, but this ain't Bellagio.

The show opened with the Cactus Cuties singing the national anthem. I did not make this up. They were four little girls who sang really nicely, if you ignored that they sound just like the Chipmunks. The Cactus Cuties were followed by a big tap dance production number, with a few dozen dancers tapping and flailing away to Stars and Stripes Forever. This was apparently a leftover from someone's Fourth of July show, with Sousa blaring as the dancers stomped away with all the false endings that every tap number gets and the crowd waving flags and how this landed here in Vegas on Labor Day is a mystery.

Jerry came out then, but he was having a lot of trouble catching his breath. They cut away to one of those public service announcements for MDA, this particular one by a smiling blond with big knockers, and who doesn't like that. Then, back to Jerry, now seated and breathing better, but before he could speak there came a disembodied voice, a female voice. Jerry looked flummoxed, the voice began to laugh about having screwed up so early in the broadcast, and Jerry introduced the owner of the voice, a used-to-be-a-hottie announcer chick named Jan Karl. Jan did that phony Vegas shtick, laughing off her mistake with feigned embarassment, and then interviewed an MDA family who her as "Jerry". The firefighters came to the rescue, dropping off a check for five million smackers and giving Jerry and some old firefighter guy a few minutes to kibbitz on stage. Classic telethon.

Celine Dionne was next, with a taped spot that was testimony to Jerry's ability to hit up the big stars. I'm not a Celine fan, but it was a fine performance. After Celine, Ed McMahon was introduced once again as official sidekick. Ed, as you may know, was about to be evicted from his Bel Aire home when Donald Trump stepped in just a few weeks ago with a personal bailout. Pretty cool move by Donny T. Ed looks and moves like an 88 year old guy, which is how old I think he is. Jerry, on the other hand, looks really, really good. For a while, Jerry needed steroids for some ailment he suffered, and his head ballooned up, creating some bizarre telethon images for a few years, like the Charlie Brown balloon from the Macy's parade had commandeered my tv. His head is normal sized again, so there's no telethon fright night. He's 82 years old, and he's still fun to watch. Jerry trots out some ancient comedy stuff, like spitting out his candy when the camera "surprises" him, and doing weird old man stuff at other times, contorting his old Jewish guy face for who knows what, maybe he's got gas or something, and his dentures must slide around, 'cause he starts sh-sh-shing words in the middle of sentences.

So all this weird stuff hits us in the first 40 minutes. Then I look up the numbers, and (insert drum roll) this man has raised nearly $1.5 BILLION for Muscular Dystrophy. Billion. So I think that even if the telethon isn't the star studded must see event that it used to be, there is no one single person who's done as much as this 82 year old guy has done for many, many people, and I'm feeling as if I shouldn't be so nasty.

Then comes the weird Chinese arm waving act, and the return of Nadia Comaneche, who looks like Boris Badenov in drag and reads just the donation amounts but not the name of the donors ("I have ten dollars, and fifty dollars, and twenty dollars and ten dollars and back to you Bart"), then starts hollering at someone to anwer a phone that's started ringing.

I love the telethon.

Lazy Labor Day

I'm not working today, other than rendering my scorecard for the weekend games.

Vanderbilt @ Miami Ohio -3, I took Vandy +3

Vanderbilt 34, Miami Ohio 13 "W"

NC State @ South Carolina Gamecocks -12, I took SC and gave 12.

South Carolina 34, NC State -0- "W"

Oregon State Beavers -3 @ Stanford, I picked Stanford +3

Stanford 36, Oregon State 28 "W"

Syracuse @ Northwestern -12, I said 'Cats but no cover.

NU 30, S'cuse 10. I never win on the 'Cats, no matter which side I take. "L"

Utah @ Michigan -4, I picked the Wolverines.

My Cousin Vinny says "two utes...radder, Utes by 2". "L"

Akron Zips @ Wisconsin -27, I took the Badgers.

Wisconsin won by 21. Jerks. "L"

Northern Illinois @ Minnesota -8.5, I took the Gophers.

What a stupid name for a team, Golden Gophers. NIU lost 31-27 and had a chance to win up to the very last play of the game. "L"

Illinois @ Missouri -8.5, I took MO.

I fell asleep. The morning Sun Times says I called it right, but who expected a 52-42 shootout?

"W"

USC -20 @ Virginia, I took the points.

HAHAHAHHAHHHAAAHHAAA, Mr. KnowItAll, dumbass... USC 52-7. "L"

Week 1: Won 4, Lost 5.