Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
A little light reading for a Friday:
Thumbs up to American Airlines for having eight on-time departures in a row! Maybe this travel thing is easy after all.
- Thumbs down to Hank Steinbrenner who after a week on the job inserted his foot into his mouth at least three times!
- Thumbs down to the person working behind the counter at the Marriott Hotel in Atlanta and not walking around to help me find chocolate milk. Instead she made me feel like an idiot for not finding it and of course they don’t sell it. Don’t worry Bill, I am very brand loyal.
- Thumbs up to my son Riley for finishing his first soccer season
- Thumbs not sure to IIR for moving The Market Research Event to Anaheim, CA. They had a few successful years in LA and have decided to go a little further south. Only time will tell if they are right. My sense is this was a risky move and has more downside risk than upside potential.
- Thumbs up to Taco Bell for ALWAYS delivering great quality in a very timely fashion each and every time I go through the drive thru.
- Thumbs down to AROD not for opting out of his contract but for not telling the truth on why he did it. Pure and simple — it’s all about the money!
I look forward to hearing from you and having you add your thumbs up and down comments.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:31 am
THUMBS UP to online Christmas shopping. My wife and I are locked and loaded already!!!
November 30th, 2007 at 10:33 am
I am sure the Yankee fans are excited that AROD crawled back to them!
Congrads may the AROD curse continue!
November 30th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Thumbs Up to the FedEx Delivery Guy who delivered my package from Napastyle with a smile and a “have a great day”.
Thumbs Down to the Staples Delivery Guy who had his cell phone glued to his ear the entire time he was delivering our office supplies and didn’t give anyone anything but a head nod. (for the record, it was not our normal Staples driver, Lamar, who we LOVE because he always remembers our names and a little something about us - like he always talks to me about UNC sports, but isn’t long winded about it. THUMBS UP TO LAMAR!)
November 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am
AROD, Johan (would be a wonderful Christmas gift) Joba, Mariano, Jeter. etc.
Bring it on RSN!
November 30th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Thumbs up to the Cowboys over the Cheeseheads. Thumbs up to my mom (at 92) still recognizes me when I visit her (however she is bedridden) Thumbs down to the dreary day we are having in Dallas, I want some snow, hey send me some.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
John,
Not sure you really what any part of RSN anymore! Not with that pitching staff.
Enjoy the holiday’s.
Merrill
November 30th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
B J,
Good luck with your Mom. Having moved from Boston I hope I never see snow again - least of all in Dallas.
I am sure it shuts the entire city down.
Enjoy the holidays.
Merrill
November 30th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Thumbs-down to American Airlines for not even offering a snack on a 3,000 miles flight. If discount airlines can spare a couple peanuts, how come a ‘premier’ carrier cannot? Thumbs-up to the stranger in Philadelphia who let me know that I had dropped my Treo in a puddle when I got out of a cab. Double thumbs-up to Palm — the Treo still worked! All thumbs, fingers and toes up in the air to little kids around the holidays — their enthusiasm is so genuine, and it often (though understandably not always) goes beyond the gifts they hope to receive…
November 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Thumbs up (and way up) for Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Kyle Turley. This Tuesday, he announced that he would be donating his December 23rd game check, worth $25,000, to helped retired NFL players.
Thumbs down (and way down, miles below Hank Steinbrenner & AROD) to the NFL owners and Players Association (especially the owners). They have more money than any other professional athletic organization, but they cannot create a system for taking care of the people who made them billionaires. Leading into last night’s Dallas/Green Bay game, the NFL was making a power play to force the cable companies to carrying their TV channel as a “free” basic channel. The same league that is asking every cable subscriber (whether they are football fans or not) to pay an additional $.017 a month for their struggling TV venture, refuses to pony up one additional cent to aid their ailing retired veterans. As of this date not one NFL player or team official has stepped up and matched Turley’s donation.
In a word - shameful.
November 30th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Ed,
I COULDN’T agree with you more. Too many times we see veteran NFL players struggling financially - many of them were “warriors” on the field and have trouble walking.
This is very hard to see - I hope the NFL can help all of their fraternity members.
Merrill
November 30th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
2 Thumbs up for Apple!
Their products make me happy; clean design, easy to use and
their packaging makes me giddy.
I
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:42 am
Thumbs up to Kenny Rogers the 43-year-old left-hander ended his free agency Friday and will return to the Detroit Tigers for a third season. Rogers agreed to a one-year deal, representing himself in contract negotiations.
I for one am very tired of agents like Scott Boras and Drew Rosenhaus - they clearly have contributed to escalating salaries and tickets prices which has forced the average fan to go to far less games then they want to.
December 4th, 2007 at 6:09 am
Thumbs up to all those who reach deep down during the holiday season to give to someone in need - DON’T FORGOT THOSE LESS FORTUNATE THEN YOU!
December 4th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Thumbs up to Jersey Mikes in Irving Texas for not only making outstanding subs but for moving the line very quickly, efficiently while being very friendly. Thumbs down to Jersey Mikes in Marietta, Georgia for having a very slow and disorganized process.
Sounds like a training opportunity to me!
Merrill
December 10th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
You sure did not have too good an experience in Atlanta lately between the Marriott and Jersey Mike’s. Sorry to hear that. I don’t like it when people have a bad experience in my city. Hope all your experiences in the future are a “10.”
December 10th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Thumbs up to the Boston Celtics who are 17-2 and destroying their opponents. WOW - Keep it up!
Thumbs up also go out to the Dallas Cowboys who scored the winning touchdown with 18 seconds to go!
Merrill
December 11th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
ED I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU SAW THIS…………Since it was appropriate to what you had mentioned:
Ditka to Dissolve Assistance Fund After Critical Report
Dec 11, 3:00 PM (ET)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Mike Ditka will dissolve his Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund in the wake of a report that the charity had given only a small amount of money to needy former NFL players.
USA Today reported last week that Ditka’s fund had collected $1.3 million since it was formed in 2004, but netted only about $315,000 after expenses and distributed just $57,000 to former players.
Ditka disputed part of the report, saying the trust has actually given away $159,000.
Ditka said Tuesday the fund’s balance of more than $600,000 would be divided equally between Misericordia, a residential facility for developmentally disabled youth, and Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, another fund that helps former professional football players in need.
Ditka appeared in Minneapolis with several former Vikings stars to publicize the Gridiron Greats fund. Ditka, a board member for that charity, said he would focus his future efforts on that fund. He made a personal donation of $25,000 on Tuesday.
Ditka is among retired players who have feuded with the NFL Players Association over how disability benefits are distributed to former players.
Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for Gridiron Greats, said the infusion from Ditka’s fund would “make a major impact” on her group’s efforts.