Coin Toss's Blog

Steelers-Packers Super Bowl a Winner for the Markets?

Editor's Note: This content was originally published on Capital IQ by Richard Peterson.

In its annual fun, light-hearted look at 44 years of Super Bowl history and stock market returns, the financial data and analytics firm Capital IQ calculated the annualized average returns for the S&P 500 from January 1967 through December 31, 2010. Then they ran that against various aspects of the big game in a six-point analysis looking at teams involved, high-scoring versus low-scoring games, AFC versus NFC, city, home versus away games, and dome or no dome.

All data was compiled and finalized January 17 by Capital IQ. Super Bowl stats were taken from NFL.com.

What We Found

A win-win combo just for showing up: The potentially winning combination for the markets would be a Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers face-off. The average return if the Steelers represent the AFC in the big game is 25% and when the Packers represent the NFC the stock market has returned 24%.

Pittsburgh Steelers, AFC -- With a 6-1 record the Steelers have more Super Bowl victories than any other team. An appearance by Pittsburgh in the big game is good either way. The average return after a Steelers victory is a whopping 26%. When they lost in 1996 at Super Bowl XXX, the market return was 23%.

Green Bay Packers, NFC -- The team won the first two Super Bowls ever played and has a 3-1 overall record. The average return after a Packers victory is 23%, and for the two games when the Packers have lost, the average market return was 29%.

New York Jets, AFC -- Won the team's single appearance in Super Bowl III. The market fell by 8% that year.

Chicago Bears, NFC -- This team has a 1-1 record for its Super Bowl appearances in 1986 and 2007. Following the Bears’ win in Super Bowl XX the market rose by 19%, and even when they lost in Super Bowl XLI the market return gained by 6%.

Forty-Four Years of Super Bowl History and S&P 500 Market Returns Show:

•Returning Champs Are a Win for S&P 500: When a returning champion wins the Super Bowl, the average market return is 13%. Current teams with past Super Bowl wins are the Steelers, Packers, and Jets.

•Investor Outlook Not Sunny for Championship in Dallas: The game is in Dallas this year and the average returns in subsequent years after games played in Texas is negative 8%, which is the worst average of any of the seven states that have hosted the game.

•The Market Favors Higher Scoring Games: For Super Bowl games resulting in a final total combined score of at least 45 points, the stock market return 17% on average (based on 24 years). If the final combined score is less than 45, the average market return is 5%.

Trivia: Seven of the 10 lowest-scoring Super Bowls were won by AFC teams. Eight of the 10 highest-scoring Super Bowls were won by NFC teams. Over the past 44 years, the median combined score has been 45 points.

• Bullish on NFC: The market performs better on average after an NFC win (15%) versus an AFC win (7%). Interestingly, both the best return (38% in 1995) and the worst return (-37% in 2008) occurred after an NFC victory.

•Go Home: When the home team wins the average market return in the subsequent years is 17%.

•Dome Casts Shadow on Outlook: Cowboys Stadium is a domed stadium with a retractable roof. Thirty-one Super Bowl games have been played at a stadium with “no dome” and the average S&P 500 return for those years is 15%. Thirteen Super Bowls were played in a dome stadium; the average market return was 3%.

Disclaimer: This data is not intended to represent a fundamental analysis of market trends or historical data and in no way is intended to be the basis for any investment decisions whatsoever. This also does not represent an endorsement of any specific NFL team or league by Capital IQ

http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets...0/2011/id/32299

Dick Winters, WWII hero of ‘Band of Brothers,’ dies

By Brett Michael Dykes brett Michael Dykes – Mon Jan 10, 11:29 am ET

Dick Winters, a highly decorated World War II hero who became a household name when his heroics were chronicled in a Stephen Ambrose book that later became the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died. He was 92.

A very private and modest man, he died last week but requested that the news be withheld until after the funeral, a family friend told the Associated Press.

After enlisting in the Army on Aug. 25, 1941, the Pennsylvania native enrolled in Officer Candidate School, eventually being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1942. He was assigned to the 506th regiment of the 101st Airborne Division -- known as Easy Company -- and was deployed with his regiment to land by parachute in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

By leading the takeover of a German artillery bunker on Utah Beach, Winters and his company saved countless lives from relentless cannon fire -- an action that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest honor an American soldier can receive. Winters and Easy Company later fought near the Belgian town of Foy during the Battle of the Bulge, liberated the German concentration camp at Dachau, and occupied Hitler's mountainside retreat, Eagle's Nest.

In 1945, one of Winters' soldiers, Floyd Talbert, wrote a letter to Winters from his hospital bed to express appreciation for his leadership in battle.

"You are loved and will never be forgotten by any soldier that ever served under you," Talbert wrote. "I would follow you into hell."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110110/ts_yblog_thelookout/dick-winters-wwii-hero-chronicled-in-band-of-brothers-dies

Just blogging this for reference

Little Lotto

No winner for December 31st so last night's stats were it for the year:

2010:

150 Jackpots

65 PP   43.33%

131 QP  87.33%

Solo jackpots: 114   76%

Shared jackpots: 36  24%

Highest jackpot:

$1,125,000 Split five ways on Sep 21, 2010

Average jackpot: $231,386

Total jackpot money paid out to date: $34,708,000

____________________________________________________

These are 20008's and 2009's results:

These were the 2008 results:

146 Jackpots

120 QP   82.19%

91 PS      62.32%

(includes shared jackpots)

2008 was a leap year. So in 366 days jackpots were paid out 146 times or every 2.506 days

82.19% of the jackpot winners were QP

62.32% were player's selections, or PS

2009

365 drawings, 157 jackpots, a hit every 2.32 days.

To date:

157 Jackpots

132 QP   84.07%

87 PS      55.41%

Total jackpot money paid out to date: $33,295,000

Here's the results for 2008, 2009, and combined:

Two years combined

731 drawings

303 Jackpots

252 QP  83.16%

178 PS   58.74%

Including 2010, three years combined:

1096 drawings (2008 was a leap year)

453 Jackpots paid

383 QP  84.54%

243 PP   53.6%   

This includes shared jackpots.

Looking at all three years it is pretty consistent, 146 jackpots, 157 jackpots, 150 jackpots. There is a drawing everyday and a jackpot is hit ever 2.42. days.

2008

82.19% QP  58.74% PP

2009

84.07% QP   55.41% PP

2010

87.33% QP   43.33% PP

The stats speak for themselves.

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/206575/15

Lotto:

Well that was it for the year for this game.

2010:

To date:

11 Jackpots

7 QP

4 PP

Solo jackpots: 11

Shared jackpots: 0

Highest jackpot $12,250,000 June 12

Average jackpot: $5,477,272

Total jackpot money paid out to date: $60,250,000

2009

11 Jackpots

7 QP   63.6%

4 PS   36.3%

2009 and 2010 combined:

22 Jackpots

14 QP

8 PP

Kind of strange, both years had 11 jackpots, 7 of them QP and 4 of them Player picks.

https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/206576/3

Here's all the words:

Auld Lang Syne History & Lyrics

Auld Lang Syne (The Good Old Days) is a song traditionally sung at midnight when horns are blown, confetti is thrown, and a general party atmosphere is created to ring in the New Year with happiness and hope for a bright and prosperous year. The outgoing year is often represented by an elderly man known as Father Time and the new year is represented by a baby known as Baby New Year.

Robert Burns wrote the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne in the 1700's.

Auld Lang Syne
Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

(that's the most common, the lines everyone knows....here we go with the rest - must be the scotch and the haggis )

We twa hae run aboot the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine;
we've wander'd mony a weary foot
Sin' auld lang syne

We two hae paidled i' the burn,
Frae mornin' sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne

And here's a hand, my trusty friend,
And gie's a hand o' thine;
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne



I still like this version:

We're here because we're here because
we're here because we're here

We're here because we're here
because we're here because we're here

Happy New Year everyone

Coin Toss

Dec 23

Happy Festivus 2010 everyone!

Fall Classes for Women at

THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER
REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED

By Sat., November 23, 2010
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Class 1

Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat

Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.

Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00 PM..

Class 2

Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Bitching About It for 3 Hours?

Round Table Discussion.

Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3

Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?--Group Debate. Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4

Fundamental Differences Between a Purse and a Suitcase--Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.

Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5

Curling Irons--Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Bathroom Cabinet?

Examples on Video.

Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning

At 7:00 PM

Class 6

How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program

Help Line Support and Support Groups.

Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7

Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos?

Open Forum.

Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8

Health Watch--They Make Medicine for PMS - USE IT!

Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9

I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials.

Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.

Class 10

How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim.

Driving Simulations.

4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 11

Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield .

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12

How to Shop by Yourself.

Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Upon completion of ANY of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Send this to all your guy friends for the best chuckle of their day...

And to all your gal friends who have a sense of humor!

Another piece of wisdom from the late sage, Vernon Howard. Seems quite apropos for any discussion board:

Vernonisms*-SELF-GLORIFIED SELF

SELF-GLORIFIED SELF A very common delusion in which the individual
imagines he is the most wonderful, fascinating, intelligent person
on earth."

                 Your Power of Natural Knowing, p. 125

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf

Could 'Goldilocks' planet be just right for life?

George Blanda, the legendary quarterback and kicker for four differentNFL teams, died at the age of 83. George Blanda played a record 26seasons.

George Blanda, the Hall of Fame quarterback and kickerwho played a record 26 seasons of professional football and once almostsingle-handedly won five consecutive games for the Oakland Raiders, hasdied. He was 83.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Blanda diedMonday after a brief illness, and the Raiders issued a statementcalling him "a brave Raider and a close personal friend of Raidersowner Al Davis."

Blanda, who career dated to an era when players routinely manned two positions, scored a then-record 2,002 points.

Hescored those by throwing for 236 touchdowns and running for nine, aswell as kicking 335 field goals and 943 extra points. He retired beforethe 1976 season, a month shy of his 49th birthday, having spent 10seasons with the Chicago Bears, part of one with the Baltimore Colts,seven with the Houston Oilers and his last nine with the Raiders.

Ifyou put him in a group of most-competitive, biggest-clutch players, Ithink he'd have to be the guy who would win it all," his Raiders coach,John Madden, said in a phone interview Monday. "He was the mostcompetitive guy that I ever knew."

Never was that more evidentthan during a five-game stretch in 1970 when the 43-year-old Blanda,his chiseled jaw framed by salt-and-pepper sideburns, led the Raidersto four victories and one tie with late touchdown throws or field goals.

"Itgot to the point where when he'd come in [the game], the whole teamwould go, 'Here comes George. We're going to do it now,' " Madden said."Then pretty soon all the fans started believing, and they'd all gonuts. And then the topper is when the opponents knew it. It was like,'Oh no, here he comes.' "

That remarkable stretch began on Oct.25, 1970, when Blanda replaced an injured Daryle Lamonica and threwthree touchdown passes in a 31-14 victory over Pittsburgh.

In the four games that followed, he:

Kicked a 48-yard field goal in the final seconds to forge a 17-17 tie at Kansas City.

Threwa tying touchdown pass with one minute, 34 seconds remaining, thenkicked the game-winning 52-yard field goal in the final seconds of a23-20 victory over Cleveland.

Threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Fred Biletnikoff in a 24-19 victory over Denver.

Kicked a 16-yard field goal in the final seconds for a 20-17 victory over San Diego.

SaidDavis in an interview with NFL Films: "Whenever we were in trouble,John just went to the bullpen, waved his hand, and George came in andstarted throwing those miraculous touchdown passes and kicking thosemiraculous field goals."

In looking at that incredible streak,NFL Films called Blanda "football's King Tut exhibit," noting that eventhough people initially thought the quarterback was too old to be aplayer, "He was just the right age to become a legend."

Blandawas born Sept. 17, 1927, in Youngwood, Pa., one of 11 children of acoalminer and his homemaker wife. When Blanda entered the NFL as a12th-round draft pick out of the University of Kentucky in 1949, heshowed even more versatility by playing linebacker for George Halas'Bears. That was out of necessity, considering he was the thirdquarterback behind Johnny Lujack and future Hall of Famer Sid Luckman.

Blandawon the starting quarterback job in 1953 but lost it the followingseason because of injury. His playing time dwindled after that, and heretired in 1959 when it became clear the Bears wanted him as afull-time kicker.

But he didn't sit around long. In 1960, hejoined the Oilers of the new American Football League, and wound upplaying a total of 16 more seasons in Houston and Oakland beforecalling it quits after the 1975 season. Among his many NFL records,he's in the books as the only player whose career spanned four decades.

Blandamade an immediate splash in the upstart AFL, earning player-of-the-yearhonors in 1961 after throwing for 3,330 yards and setting a profootball record with 36 touchdown passes. That stood until 1986, whenit was broken by Miami's Dan Marino.

Also in 1961, Blanda tied apro football record with seven touchdown passes in a game, a mark henow shares with Joe Kapp, Y.A. Tittle, Adrian Burk and Luckman.

"Whatpeople don't know is when we look at the film, Blanda probably couldhave topped that number," said Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films."They were routing the [New York] Titans, and Blanda came out of thegame early in the second half. He had seven touchdown passes midwaythrough the third quarter when they took him out."

Sabolremembers going to Blanda's home and interviewing the recently-retiredquarterback. When they were finished, Blanda proudly showed him ahomemade Christmas card drawn by his wife, who had been an art major incollege. It was a cartoon of Blanda standing with Santa, who told him,"You're the only little boy I gave a uniform to that's still using it."

Blanda,who split time between homes in Chicago and La Quinta, is survived byhis wife, Betty, and two children. Services are pending.

Copyright 2010 Los Angeles Times
On the go? Take the Chicago Tribune's iPhone app with you >>

Copyright © 2010, Tribune Interactive
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-b...0,5384243.story

Does your cat look like Adolf Hitler? Doyou wake up in a cold sweat every night wondering if he's going to upand invade Poland? Does he keep putting his right paw in the air while making a noise that sounds suspiciously like "Sieg Miaow"? If so, this is the website for you.

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl

Die Fahne Hoch....

"Tin hat", or ?

A nearly 40-year-old board game is getting a lot of new attentionbecause of eerie similarities between the scenarios of its play and the78-day-old BP Gulf oil disaster.

The game BP Offshore Oil Strike, which came out in the 1970s and isadorned with an old BP logo, revolves around four players exploring foroil, building platforms and constructing pipelines – all in the name of being the first to make $120 million.

But like the real-life oil game there are some big hazards, too.Players have to deal with the possibility of large-scale oil spills andcover cleanup costs. You struggle with "hazard cards" that includephrases now part of our daily vernacular, including: "Blow-out! Rigdamaged. Oil slick cleanup costs. Pay $1 million."

Sound a little familiar? The similarity has led to discussions allover the Web. It's prompted people to dig in their attics and put theirold games up on eBay – many of which have promptly been snatched up.

One copy of the game was donated to the largest toy museum in England, the House on the Hill Toy Museum in Stansted, Essex.

The museum's owner, Alan Goldsmith, told CNN he was shocked when he saw the donated game.

"It was sort of uncanny how it was similar to what's happeningreally," Goldsmith said. "I thought it was odd that it was a game inthe '70s, which has basically now come true. The interesting thing isthat it was in dollars, even though it was a European game. The cleanupbill was $1 million, which we now know isn't nearly enough, but it is aweird colorful circle."

The game came out during the oil crisis of the '70s – and perhaps it was an attempt to drum up support for U.S.-based drilling.

Goldsmith said as a part of the game, players work to amass adrilling empire. But the game comes with all of the scenarios of thepresent Gulf disaster. Even the game board and cover resemble imagesfrom the Gulf these days – with rigs attempting to reach far into the ocean depths.

The game has many people online remarking about whether it eerily foreshadowed the current BP disaster.

"It's strange, you've got this fictitious board game with fictitious drama – but it couldn't be any closer to the reality of what's happening now," Goldsmith said.

The world of video games, meanwhile, appears to have a more direct link to the Gulf oil disaster.

In "Crisis in the Gulf," which an independent producer released last month for the Xbox, gamers use weapons to zap blobs of oil.

The game is available for purchase through Xbox's online marketplace.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/06/70s-board-game-contains-eerie-bp-oil-spill-scenarios/?hpt=T2

This is from a book called 11:11 The Time Prompt Phenomenon
by Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman

The History Repeats Itself Every 49 Years is by Jim Snell:

1812: Percival, the prime minister of great Britain is "assassinated" and War of 1812
Then 49 years later...
1861: Beginning of the Civil War, and assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Then, 49 years after 1865...
1914: Assassination of the Arch Duke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, which triggers beginning of World War I.
Then, 49 years after 1914...

1963: Assassination of John F. Kennedy, and we were in the very beginning of Viet Nam at the time.
Then 49 years after 1963...

2012:Will we have another assasination of a "World Leader", and maybe thebeginning of World War III? Will the "49 year cycle" be broken, or arewe going to witness the beginning of the "Mother of All Wars"? We shallsee!

Also note that every other assassination was an American President

Ducks Quack - Eagles Soar
No one can make you serve customers well....that's because great service is a choice.
Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine.. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey .

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken  aback, Harvey read the card.. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment....

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee?I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' My friend said jokingly,'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. Ihave a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice..' Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today..'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card,'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts...

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's onlybeen in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then Iheard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself.. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talkingabout me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it.You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cab stands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get areliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wallywas phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducksand told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.
How about us? Smile, and the whole world smiles with you.... The ball is in our hands!
A man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up... let us do good to all people.
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar.

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.

SORROW looks back, WORRY looks around, and FAITH looks UP... BECAUSE OF FATHER'S LOVE, I AM CHANGED!!!
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Ducks Quack - Eagles Soar