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Does Texas deserve a piece?
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…but will the Longhorns have the last word?
There’s no doubt that the matchup selected by the BCS will be an interesting one. Oklahoma and Florida have been laying waste to its opponents over the last few weeks. The anticipation is similar to that of a Kimbo Slice match and may not be decided until the last seconds wind down. The last such bout should be fresh in our minds when USC and Texas met in 2005.
So, Texas beat OU. Yeah. We know.
Regardless of this redundant claim, the result (45-35) plays into the equation going into the bowl season. Regardless of who the BCS National Championship Game winner may be, perhaps the AP voters would view a Texas beating of Ohio State as deserving of a #1 spot.
The last time this happened was in 2003 when USC and LSU shared the national champion spotlight. USC finished #1 in both the AP and Coaches’ Polls, but the computers punished USC for having the weakest schedule giving LSU and Oklahoma a shot at the BCS title. Despite LSU’s defeat of OU in the Sugar Bowl, the AP poll stood firm in its decision to crown USC its National Champion.
The difference this year is that Texas is ranked third in the human polls going into the Fiesta Bowl. Both place the Longhorns in the #3 slot. However, the computer polls give Texas a .1500 margin over Florida. The result is a tiny .018 margin in the BCS poll between the Gators and the ‘Horns.
1. Oklahoma, 0.976
2. Florida, 0.948
3. Texas, 0.930
4. Alabama, 0.844
5. USC, 0.821
6. Utah, 0.785
USC and Utah will have to settle.
PLAYOFFS? Regardless of all the arguments that exist for or against a playoff system, the most salient factor has to be which teams are chosen. Maybe the BCS is good for one thing after all. Is it fair to select the 8 teams with the BCS poll? What about conference champs? Although some teams may be left out, those teams that feel they should vie for the title will have their day.
No matter what system is chosen, there will be some degree of unfairness. So, once President Obama figures out how to repair our economy, next on the agenda should be the college playoff proposal. I’m all ears.
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How does $846 million sound?
Cyber Monday is thought by some to be an indicator of the holiday shopping season to come. This day happened to be the second highest online spending day on record. According to comScore, this gain was driven by a 22-percent increase in the number of buyers, while the average dollars spent per buyer declined by 5 percent versus year ago.
The increase in traffic represents approximately 2 million buyers half of whom did their shopping at the office. Sinners.
Traffic on BestBuy.com increased by 131% (average daily unique traffic during the month of November 2008 compared to December 1, 2008). The site was 6th of all online retailers unique traffic measured by comScore. Buy.com, not listed on comScore’s Top 20 list of online retailers, reported that it set a company sales record on Black Friday, which was then broken again on Cyber Monday. Both days realized about 40% greater revenues. Prior to Black Friday, Buy.com announced that shoppers using PayPal to make purchases on Buy.com would receive up to $20 off purchases in addition to free shipping.
So, what was once the 12th biggest online shopping day of the year once thought to be merely an overhyped marketing whimsy is now #1. And with unnecessary tragedies occurring year after year on Black Friday, Cyber Monday revenues should continue to uptrend.
BY FOOT. ShopperTrak.com, which analyses the movement of shoppers in retail environments, reported a slight retail sales increase while posting a rather large drop in total U.S. foot traffic for the Black Friday weekend. The company’s National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) and Retail Traffic Index (SRTI) showed a 0.9 percent increase and 19.3 percent decrease respectively for the three-day period as compared to 2007.
CostCo Wholesale Corporation reported its November sales results (for the four-week period ended November 30, 2008) today. Sales in the U.S. were down 2% while International sales were down 15% resulting in an aggregate decline of 5%. More detailed results provided by Bob Nelson via a pre-recorded telephone message suggested that the negative impact of gas deflation and unfavorable foreign exchange rates were to blame for the negative results. International sales comparisons (Nov 2007 vs. Nov 2008) were actually up 6.5% based on local currencies, but when converted to US$ resulted in the 15% detriment.
Nelson also added that “…foods, fresh foods, and consumables [remained favorable] while our non-foods business continues to be down from last year.” Gasoline alone negatively impacted comparable sales by 3.7%. Price per gallon of gas in November 2007 was $3.01 versus $2.02 per gallon in November 2008.
The “bright spot” in November for non-foods is TV sales, which result from an increase in unit sales of approximately 50%. After shopping at CostCo myself on Black Friday, every check out line included someone buying a new TV…and an oversized tub of whipping cream (don’t ask, don’t tell). There were even a couple of customers hauling two out the door.
Unlike the numbers reported by ShopperTrak.com, CostCo’s average transaction in November was down 7.5% (including gas and foreign exchange effects). However, warehouse traffic is up 2.8% (year-over-year) and up 2.5% from October 2008. Goes to show how relatively recession proof CostCo’s product mix may be.
Looks like you’ve got a new plan for 2009. Buy a new Acer laptop
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In case you missed Sunday night’s NFL matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, you missed one sloppy game. We found out what happens when Matt Cassel encounters the best defense in The League…so did Wes Welker. Lil Weezy had 4 catches for 30 yards, and took 1 hit for the ages..courtesy of Ryan Clark. See the video.
It was announced that Rickey Henderson would be included on the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. His records include 2,295 runs and 1,406 steals. What might be more amazing than his accomplishments are his personality…and the collection of hilarious stories that represent it. Check out the 25 Best Stories of ‘Rickey Being Rickey’..
Black Friday spending was up 1% over 2007. Cyber Monday featured a ton of deals, but more importantly has gained acclaim as one the lead indicators of the upcoming holiday shopping season. So while retailers count their money and analysts sit by and wait for the numbers, I present to you Mobile Tuesday. Seriously? Enough already!
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Speaking of mobile, Nokia World kicked off in Barcelona today where the company unveiled it’s latest creation: the Nokia N97. It looks like an iPhone, probably smells like an iPhone…but it’s no iPhone. Nokia’s ultimate goal with this device is to give users the ultimate real-time social networking capability with its concept of ‘social location’. With integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass, the Nokia N97 makes it easy to update social networks automatically with real-time information, giving approved friends the ability to update their ‘status’ and share their ‘social location’ as well as related pictures or videos. Aesthetically, it differs from the iPhone by combining a large 3.5” touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard. “The world’s most advanced mobile computer” will run you about US$700 when it’s released in the first half of 2009. I’ll stick to my BlackBerry Bold, although if Nokia wants to hook me up…
If you can’t afford the GPS-enabled Nokia N97, today’s Amazon Deal of the Day is the TomTom ONE XL 4.3-Inch GPS Navigator
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This year, Black Friday sales were better than anyone expected not to mention better than last year. According to a press release from comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, spending on Thanksgiving was up 6%, or $16 million…and up 1%, or $3 million, for Black Friday. Based on the information tracked by comScore, Cyber Monday has been within a few percentage points of the final holiday season growth rate during the past few years.
“With so much volatility right now in the variables that influence consumer spending, predicting where this online holiday season will end up has been far more challenging than in previous years,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. “That said, Cyber Monday may well prove to be an important indicator of whether the decline in spending that we’ve seen during the first few weeks of the online holiday season will continue for the balance of the year.”
A Shop.org survey conducted by BIGresearch found that 55.8% of workers with Internet access, or 72.8 million people, will shop for holiday gifts from work. The trend of employees with internet access shopping from the office has continued to increase: in 2005, only 44.7 percent said they shopped online from work.
I’ll be joining the fun. We’ve already picked out the perfect stocking stuffer for me our son: Kung Fu Panda 2-Pack with Secrets of the Furious Five DVD
The Hot Spots. Last year, I took advantage of deals on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2007, BestBuy.com experienced the most growth of any of the Top 10 online retailers in 2007. That list includes:
Amazon.com
Dell.com
Yahoo.com
Walmart.com
JCPenney.com
Ticketmaster.com
Apple.com
VictoriasSecret.com
BestBuy.com
CircuitCity.com
Amazon.com is at the top of the list because of the variety of products it offers. But like last year, shoppers will likely hunt down electronics deals like a new mobile phone — there’s the new BlackBerry Bold
Buyer Beware. Greater online traffic can also mean greater opportunities for thieves. Taking precautionary steps is obviously a necessity. Avoid using public computers, and try to resist using public WiFi. Shop from the websites you’re used to, and make sure the domain is legit (i.e., CircuitCity.com not CircuitCiti.com). Stick with credit cards rather than using debit cards — don’t give thieves a direct link to your bank account. Don’t use your usual passwords; pick something unique for your Cyber Monday purchases. And, of course, update your firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
And don’t forget, Cyber Monday is only the beginning of the holiday shopping season. So, stay on your toes…and happy shopping!
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