Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Sometimes when things go wrong, changes need to be constantly made, money becomes an issue and you sometimes think the real problem is split personality syndrome; you decide to make a change.

After several outages, failed restores, fixing failed restores, paying good money for less than stellar results and looking for ways to become more “focused” I am taking my talents and blogging to WordPress.com and LEAVING my current service provider.

The reliability, stability and next to nothing cost of wordpress.com is an attractive proposition. The only downside is that I will no longer have 100% control of the platform and inner workings of the code and server. But, that might not be a bad thing. For I am not above admitting that perhaps some of the fixes I had to make, were a result of something I either did or did not do properly.

So for the cost of “nearly free” I am giving up the risk of making mistakes that adversely affect the innards of web publishing, get just as good if not better performance that I currently have and I get to save a ton of money too! That makes the decision to go to WordPress.com a win win.

As for resolving the split personality syndrome, the jury is still out on that one.

The decision I have to make is if I want to go in a new direction with my sports blog or keep Fumbled Returns. While spending hours upon hours of mind numbing editing of broken links I quickly came to two conclusions.

1. I would often start to feel overwhelming urges to scream, or pull my hair, or poke my eyes out with long skinny instruments of destruction. Yes, it is that painful. It seems somewhere, somehow, all my historical image links grew an extra character – usually in the form of a “1” in the file path name. This meant none of my older posts displayed pictures.
2. I did not want to lose years of work.

So this is what I have done and am doing with Fumbled Returns.

• Moving to WordPress.com starting tomorrow, Monday March 31^st.
• Starting a new blog called “Bear With The Bull” which is dedicated to Stocks and Finance.
• Keeping Fumbled Returns at least for historical and nostalgic reasons -while deciding if I want a new dedicated sports blog like this one – Passing Perfection.
• (comments and suggestions welcomed)

So until next time, where ever that may be . . .

Be good , Do well, and Have fun

And be sure to come back and update your bookmarks!   

I Love Any Team That Beats Duke

Or sacks Tom Brady

Or intercepts a Tony Romo TD pass.

March Madness Predictions

Just to put it out there, here are my March Madness Predictions as well as the new NCAA National Champions:

 

If you want to see my entire bracket, here it is:  And yes there are some upsets.

 

 

Think you can do better?

Your chances of picking a perfect bracket are astronomical!

Funny

I’m disappointed that cornerback Corey Graham is not joining the Redskins. He is decent tallent, at a decent price, and can help on Special Teams too. I wish him luck with the Bills.
But that is not what is funny.
On NFL site, in the same Corey Graham article, another FA pick up – Chris Williams – is mentioned.

He is a Guard.

A position that the Bills also needed to bolster up.
Funny thing is, when you click on the hyper-link for Williams, you get . . .

Chris Williams, WR, with da Bears – weighing in at a bulky 5ft 8in and 175 pounds.

And would you just look at his stats!  It is stats like those, that give people like me, hope.  Hey, I could do that.

Anyway, I’d actually like to see him try and play that guard position, with anybody, for at least one play . . .

I’m sure it would make the highlight reels.
At least they got the blizzard picture right.

Check it out (until they fix it).

 

Watch Out Dan Snyder, The NFL Wants To Penalize Offensive Names

The idea of referees penalizing a player or team 15 yards for the “N” word is stupid. And not for the reason you may think. Actually, there are several. But lets start with this one.

The rule is way to specific. It’s borderline offensive, in it’s own way, almost profiling or targeting certain individuals, or teams. People should be worried, including Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins and while we are at it how about any other professional sports team with a potentially offensive or derogatory name. This new rule is catering to a certain population and singling out a specific word. Yes, Roger Goodell will now be able to say, “look, we are taking action against politically incorrect and derogatory and offensive actions and words”. “We are a more carrying and inclusive organization”. But because of its specificity, it opens the door for future action against even more specific terms, and names. There is a reason behind all this as to why the rule is so specific and what ever it may be, whether it is to pressure others to change their team names or just more “PR” to avoid more law suites, it is just plain dumb and stupid.

Want another reason?

Here’s a hint Roger, you already have this rule. You just have to expand upon it a little bit. It’s called unsportsmanlike conduct. The ruling should include any offensive or derogatory word. If any such word is said, a 15 yard penalty will be made against the offending players team as unsportsmanlike conduct.

Yes, I did say ANY. And yes that is way to subjective. But don’t worry, it will not be abused in anyway, honestly. After all, it’s not like referees see or catch every hold or illegal hit that is made in plain sight in every game. They are not going to catch or hear every curse or derogatory word spoken. Instead, they will pick an opportune time to make up for a blown call they made, or missed, earlier in the game – just to even everything out – just like they do now.

Expanding the unsportsmanlike conduct rule would be the best of both worlds.   Roger would get the “PR” he desires by saying they expanded the ruling to “clean up” the game and protect people’s feelings while at the same time preserve the game, as much as possible, as it is currently played. This is how the ruling should be made and interpreted, but for some reason it will not be enacted as unsportsmanlike conduct. It will be enacted with a long term goal of catering to special interest groups and their lawyers. And that is a shame.

Exemplary Behavior

Congress now says the Redskin’s name is offensive and derogatory.

• Isn’t that kind of like the pot calling the kettle black?

And will start looking into the NFL’s tax exempt status.

• Isn’t that called Blackmail?

 

One Billion Dollars Is The New Million

Lately two rival companies have come up with two very different yet brilliant advertising campaigns that just happen to mention the same “Big Number”.

One Billion Dollars.

When I was growing up, nobody ever even heard of a Billion.  One Million was the mark of success.  People wrote songs about it.  Dreamed about it.  Yearned for it.  Now, One Million is phffft – so not thought of.  Now the magic number is:

One Billion.

That gets your attention.

H&R Block – Get your Billion Back America.

The H&R Block advertising campaign stating tax paying Americans left $1 Billion Tax Dollars on the table last year is a great commercial.

They state a specific amount of money, One Billion Dollars.

They break it down into easily identifiable chunks – Five Hundred Dollars – everyone can relate to.

They then proceed to place that money on an empty seat in a football stadium just waiting for you to come and claim it.

It’s almost like they are saying, here is your money, pull up a chair – we saved one just for you.

With January being the height of football season this commercial is a great move on their part and works on so many levels.  It gets your interest and makes you want the money and it is all so simple to get! Just go to H & R Block.

As a customer, or potential customer, at no point in the commercial or your internal thought process is any mention of how much H&R fees cost or exactly how much you will get back – if any (read the fine print on their web site and print ads).  You are just presented with the idea that there is money, your money, out there in the tax system that is going someplace else.  And all you have to do is go to H&R Block to get it.

INUIT, Berkshire Hathaway – March Madness – Win $1 Billion Dollars With A Perfect Bracket.

INTUIT, and Berkshire Hathaway have an equally brilliant advertising campaign with a much different sport and approach.

All you have to do is enter their free contest and fill out a Perfect March Madness Bracket.

Easy.

Also astronomically improbable.

They too are using the Billion Dollar key word but this time they are putting their money where their mouth is. If you can fill out a Perfect March Madness Bracket, you win $1 Billion Dollars. Free!

With the March Madness advertising campaign it is never mentioned that this one billion is your money America. It’s theirs. But it could be yours.  And it does not cost you anything to except time to enter and win.

This, plain and simple, is gambling.

INTUIT and Berkshire Hathaway are gambling that nobody will win.  At 9.2 Quintillion to 1, that seems like a pretty safe bet.

You are just entering a free contest with no obligation to buy anything.

Of course, INTUIT and Berkshire Hathaway want you to ultimately buy something from them, whether it is tax and financial products and services or investment plans, they are hoping to attract new business and make money.

This contest helps make that process fun and instills a sense, at first, of no risk.

The Payoff.

Both Intuit and H&R Block are hoping the real payoff is new revenue and profits for them.  In order for this to happen, the revenue has to exceed the cost.

And that my friend is the One Billion Dollar question.

How much are these advertising campaigns costing them? (Hint, it is no where near 1 billion)

INTUIT and Berkshire Hathaway are backing their One Billion Dollar payout with an insurance bond. But, how do you put a number, a dollar amount, to a policy like this?  It has never been done before.  The cost of insurance policies and bonds is directly related to the risk of that particular event, or trigger, happening.  In this case, it is 9.2 Quintillion to 1. You stand a better chance of being struck by lightning in your life time.  And I bet lightning strike insurance is not very expensive.

I bet this INTUIT insurance bond, and the added cost of setting up this contest, isn’t very expensive either.  If I had to guess, probably several hundred thousand dollars.

H&R Block probably does not have any added insurance cost associated with their get your billion back campaign. But, they may have increased their advertising budget.  And this could impact their bottom line. I’m sure they always allocate more to their advertising budget during tax season.  The question is, how much more are they spending this year?  Their commercials are running during prime time football broadcasts.  I’m willing to bet that extended commercial time is more expensive than a 9.2 Quintillion to 1 insurance bond. So their gamble is probably a bit riskier than Buffett’s.

By the numbers.

For those of you who think the Get Your Million Back is a scam and false advertising . . .

$500 left on every seat in every NFL Stadium = 1,080,745,500.

Stadium	Capacity	Team(s)
FedExField	85,000	Washington Redskins
MetLife Stadium	82,566	New York Giants AND Jets
Lambeau Field	80,750	Green Bay Packers
AT&T Stadium	80,000	Dallas Cowboys
Arrowhead Stadium	76,416	Kansas City Chiefs
Sports Authority Field at Mile High	76,125	Denver Broncos
Sun Life Stadium	75,540	Miami Dolphins
Bank of America Stadium	73,778	Carolina Panthers
Mercedes-Benz Superdome	73,208	New Orleans Saints
FirstEnergy Stadium	73,200	Cleveland Browns
Ralph Wilson Stadium	73,079	Buffalo Bills
Georgia Dome	71,228	Atlanta Falcons
Reliant Stadium	71,054	Houston Texans
M&T Bank Stadium	71,008	Baltimore Ravens
Qualcomm Stadium	70,561	San Diego Chargers
LP Field	69,143	Tennessee Titans
Gillette Stadium	68,756	New England Patriots
Lincoln Financial Field	68,532	Philadelphia Eagles
Levi’s Stadium	68,500	San Francisco 49ers
EverBank Field	67,246	Jacksonville Jaguars
CenturyLink Field	67,000	Seattle Seahawks
Edward Jones Dome	66,000	St. Louis Rams
Raymond James Stadium	65,890	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Paul Brown Stadium	65,535	Cincinnati Bengals
Heinz Field	65,050	Pittsburgh Steelers
Ford Field	65,000	Detroit Lions
University of Phoenix Stadium	63,400	Arizona Cardinals
Lucas Oil Stadium	62,421	Indianapolis Colts
Soldier Field	61,500	Chicago Bears
O.co Coliseum	53,200	Oakland Raiders
TCF Bank Stadium	50,805	Minnesota Vikings
(Seats * $500) =	2,161,491	500	=	1,080,745,500.00

OK, so it is not exactly 1 billion but it is at least in the ball park stadium.

They never say you will get $500 dollars back. (again, read the fine print) “Results may vary”.  It is just beautifully subliminal advertising.

Statistically, and they state this on their website; approximately 11 million people will make errors on their returns. 1 in 5 results in missed refund money, which averages $460 dollars. (11,000,000 / 5) * 460 = 1,012,000,000.  Again, not exactly but in the ball park.

NY Fans get jipped. MetLife Stadium is a shared venue between the New York Giants and New York Jets.  Every other NFL franchise fanbase get $500 per seat / per fan. NY fans have to split the money.

But hey, they get the SuperBowl this year so that more than make up for it – Right?

Oh wait, most of that revenue does not go to the fans. . .

Mechanical Fish, Bud Light, MLK And Religious Education

By The Ref

 

…read more    

I Feel Sorry For Jim Caldwell And The Detroit Lions Fans

Seriously, here is a guy (Jim Caldwell) who has helped coach one of the best QB’s in all of NFL history (Peyton Manning); led the Colts to a Superbowl; and helped turn around a Baltimore season slipping away into another Superbowl appearance AND ultimate victory.

He has also led the Peytonless Colts to a dismal record immediately after going to the Superbowl AND coordinated the Superbowl Ravens to a less than average ranked offense and no playoff appearance.

The question Detroit Lions fans are asking is: which Jim Caldwell are we going to get?

And yet the answer to that question really does not matter.

He will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t – and in the case of many Detroit Lion fans; he is already damned before he does anything at all.

If he turns the Lions around and takes that team and organization to the next level, they will say “see I told you so – the QB is great” all his success will be because the talent was “already there”. Just like in Indy.

If he fails, they will say “see I told you so” he can’t lead. Just like in Indy.

But Caldwell now has the chance to do what many have failed to do in the past and that is not only take the Lions to a Superbowl but to take three different teams to the Superbowl.

To bad many Lions fans will never see, or realize, that Jim Caldwell had the talent all along.

If You Ever Think That It Is You Against Everyone Else . . .

It probably is.

Take a look at these fan based maps for this weekends NFL playoffs.