Patriots Troubles

I wanted to say a couple of things about the Patriots' Super Choke before it was really too late:

1. Belichick is a jackass for walking off the field early. This probably isn't a news flash. You're telling me a guy as detail oriented as Belichick didn't notice there was time left on the clock? You can't believe a word this guy says. When he tells you he didn't know if was against the rules to tape - lie. All you hear about is how smart this guy is, but he supposedly didn't understand a simple rule that the NFL notified every coach in the league about? And I don't understand why people are saying now that walkthroughs don't tell you much. I've never been in a football walkthrough, but I have been through walkthroughs in other sports. In my opinion, you can learn a lot from watching a walkthrough. Is it just me, or do you only walkthrough plays and situations you think you're going to use/see during the game? You can get a pretty good idea of a team's gameplan and strategy by looking at the walkthrough. Now Mike Golic on ESPN said you can't get much from a walkthrough, and for a player that knows the system inside and out and has had it beaten into them, that's probably true. You've run all of those plays all year and at full speed. But what better tool for the other team to have than a a tape of a team going slowly through the motions of the plays it is going to use during the game? I don't know why people are giving Belichick the benefit of the doubt on this one. Nothing he has said has convinced me he is even somewhat honest. Every excuse and explanation he has given is exactly what you would say if you were lying. We'll see if anything else comes from this, but just like Bonds and Clemens, I don't believe a word Belichick says.

2. I am really excited to see how the Patriots do this year. There are a lot of forces working against them. First, trying to rebound from and 18-1 season is harder than you think. They basically worked their asses off to achieve something great a failed. This is going to be a recovery season. Anything athlete knows that when you push yourself to the limit like they did, you need time to relax and recover after it is over. It's pretty hard to motivate yourself to start another win streak, especially after how hard it obviously was on them. Also, I am anxious to see how their players react if they do start losing. It is the easiest thing in the word to be all about the team and each other when you're winning. As soon as the winning stops, people starting thinking about themselves again. There are a lof of classy guys on that team and a lot of guys that know they would be nothing if they weren't on the Patriots, but there are also a lot of guys that leave at the first chance at money. These guys, as well as Moss, could start problems if the winning doesn't continue. Luckily for them, they only play 4 teams in 2008 that had winning records in 2007. So regardless, they should still be a good team, record wise. But I am still excited to see how they all perform after the huge let down last season, which is what it was.

3. Brady's season was great, but not as good as Manning's when he broke the record. Just look at the stats (it took Brady significantly more passes to break the record and Peyton and Brady's passer ratings were pretty similar). Everyone got so caught up with the Patriots scoring that they just assumed Brady had the best season of all time. Not true.

Prediction for Pat's season: 11-5, lose in the first round.

Global Market Potential

With the way the dollar has been I have been performing, I have been trying to find companies to invest in that will be less affected by a falling dollar. One of these companies could be NCR. NCR is the leading provider of ATM and self-service check out machines. NCR is well positioned internationally to take advantage of the growing middle-class in the former USSR and third world countries. As the citizens of these countries begin to accumulate wealth, they are going to demand the ATM’s that make our life so convenient. Also, developed countries in Europe and Asia still have a small amount of ATM’s per capita compared to the US, presenting a growth opportunity in these areas. NCR’s positioning abroad will be especially beneficial should the dollar continue to fall.

In addition to these opportunities abroad, NCR has done an excellent job of bringing the leading products to market before its competitors. NCR offers the largest capacity Teller Cash Recycler in the market place. This gives it an advantage over its competitors in a high margin business. NCR also offers several options for retailers that want to offer more self-service options for their customers. In addition to the usual self-check out lanes we all see at the grocer, NCR offers similar options at deli's and bakery's to improve these processes. This looks like a move in the right direction as a survey by Opinion Research Corp. showed that customers are increasingly choosing self-service lines for check-out, especially during peak shopping times. This bodes very well for NCR, now and in the future.

NCR is the leading provider of ATM and self-service check-out terminals. Its positioning in the global market, as well as its ability to offer the best products before its competitors, give it great future growth opportunities. Further, this stock has gotten little attention from investors, possibly offering a great buying opportunity for you and me. I have been watching this stock since early January, and its performance has done little to impress. However, considering the performance of the US stock market so far this year, and NCR’s strength globally, I think this will be a high performing stock in 2008 and beyond.

The Market is Un-Dude...

Stranger: "How you doing there, Dude?"
Dude: "Not too good, man."
Stranger: "One of those days, huh?"
Dude: "Yeah."
Stranger: "Well, a wiser fella than myself once said, 'Sometimes you eat the bar, and'—(Much obliged)—'sometimes the bar, well, he eats you.'"
Dude: "Hmm. That some kinda Eastern thing?"
Stranger: "Far from it."

— The Big Lebowski