Weekend Reading: NFL Is Back Edition

It’s my favourite time of year – the start of a new football season. Outside of being crazy busy at work and juggling numerous side projects in the evening and on weekends, I’ll still find time to watch football on Sundays (and, much to my wife’s chagrin, also on Mondays and Thursdays).

It’s tough being a Cleveland Browns fan, especially when they haven’t had a winning record in seven years and haven’t made the playoffs in 12 years. This season doesn’t look any more promising for my favourite team, but I will offer some predictions for the rest of the league in terms of playoffs and a Super Bowl winner:

  • AFC East winner: Patriots
  • AFC North winner: Ravens
  • AFC West winner: Broncos
  • AFC South winner: Colts
  • Wildcard #1: Chiefs
  • Wildcard #2: Bills

AFC champion: Colts

  • NFC East winner: Cowboys
  • NFC North winner: Packers
  • NFC West winner: Seahawks
  • NFC South winner: Panthers
  • Wildcard #1: Eagles
  • Wildcard #2: Cardinals

NFC champion: Packers

Super Bowl: Packers over Colts

As for the Browns, let’s just say I’d be an ecstatic fan with a repeat of last year’s 7-9 record.

This week’s recap:

On Monday I attempted to unlock the mysteries around disability insurance and critical illness insurance.

On Wednesday Marie shared some great money saving tips for families.

On Friday I wrote about the best credit cards in Canada.

Over on Rate Hub I explained how GICs can play an important role in your portfolio.

Finally, on Rewards Cards Canada I wrote about the mobile payment revolution that’s coming to Canada.

Weekend Reading:

Rob Carrick has put together The Globe and Mail’s guide to online advisors. Useful information here for those who are thinking of investing with a robo-advisor, or just want to know more about this new phenomena. It answers important questions such as, “who exactly holds my money?”

Downtown Josh Brown, aka The Reformed Broker, doesn’t hold back when it comes to the investment industry. This rant about historical evaluation is no exception:

“You know what your retirement plan was a hundred years ago? You f***ing died.”

Tim Cestnick has been killing it lately with his insightful articles on The Globe and Mail. Here he looks at your retirement income and what the government will provide. It may contain a reference to Japanese Yakuza gangsters.

A former hedge fund manager explains why fund managers are far more likely to drive Porsches than their clients.

Dan Wesley shares four gifts that keep on taking.

The Young and Thrifty blog got an awesome new facelift – check it out!

If you like reading retirement stories then check out this inspiring article from Canadian Money Forum regular RBull.

Should you take out a variable rate mortgage? Michael James weighs-in on the risks.

Mark Goodfield (aka, The Blunt Bean Counter) wrote a book called, Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs. I can’t wait to read it and write a review here.

Tim Cestnick is back with another gem, this one on the five ways to pay for post-secondary education.

Adam Mayers interviews a pair of authors who argue that an arts degree can still land you a great job.

How to manage money when there is none? Ben Carlson has some money advice for young people.

It started as a tiny website with an office above a pizza joint. Now TripAdvisor has 900 employees and a staggering 250 million online reviews. Here’s how TripAdvisor changed the vacation planning universe.

Finally, in a head-scratcher of a report, Aimia, which operates the much reviled Aeroplan loyalty program, says businesses are failing to reward customers for sharing their personal data.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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12 Comments

  1. My Own Advisor on September 13, 2015 at 5:04 am

    Thanks for the mention Robb. Another rainy day in Ottawa, a great day to be indoors and watch some football!
    Mark

  2. Bill on September 13, 2015 at 6:07 am

    It’s a great day to watch the Jays. Football can wait till the Jay’s complete their run.

    • Echo on September 13, 2015 at 9:06 am

      Hey Bill, I’m enjoying the Jays run too but the way I see it, 1 out of 16 football games is much more important than 1 out of 162 baseball games. Once they get to the playoffs, well that’s a different story.

  3. Brian on September 13, 2015 at 9:05 am

    The CFL has already been going since July. It’s much more exciting that the NFL. I went down to a Bills game last year and it was one of the most tedious live sporting events I’ve seen. Tailgating before the game was excellent though. For people who like gambling and fantasy football the NFL is much superior.

    • Echo on September 13, 2015 at 9:12 am

      Hi Brian, we’ll have to agree to disagree here. CFL is fine, but can quickly turn into a punting contest with the 3-down system. NFL talent is far superior, and when it’s a good match-up, like in the playoffs, there’s no better game.

      I’ve only been to one game live, in Chicago, and I agree the tailgating is awesome but the game action is drawn out by too many commercial breaks. In some respect, baseball is a better live event, even though the game appears to be much slower.

      Anyway, I’m not much of a gambler, but I’m in three fantasy football leagues and love having the Sunday Ticket to flip through all the games every Sunday.

      • Paul on September 13, 2015 at 2:34 pm

        I happen to agree with Brian too… the CFL is much more exciting with the bigger field which allows more unique plays than the NFL despite the superior talent. Fair catch, teams killing the clock with minutes left in the game… boring. Sure there’s more punting in the CFL, but there’s returns and it’s all a strategic part of the field position game – it is called ‘Foot’ball after all.

        • Echo on September 13, 2015 at 8:29 pm

          Hi Paul, my point about the punting is that all it takes is two quick incompletions and the punt team has to come out.

          You’d be hard-pressed to find a more exciting final quarter (and overtime) as last year’s Packers-Seahawks NFC Championship game. The Super Bowl also ended in dramatic fashion.

          The most dramatic moments of the Grey Cup in recent years have been last-second penalties that cost their team the game.

          I will say that I’d love to see NFL talent and rules played on a CFL field with the big end-zones. That could be wild!

      • Brian on September 13, 2015 at 5:10 pm

        Hi, Thanks for your thoughtful reply. The players in the NFL probably are superior, but only by a little. About the same difference as between the MER of VXC and XAW. (about 0.05%) In the 60s, before the AFL and the NFL merged, the best American players came to play in the CFL because it paid better. Warren Moon had to come to play in Canada because the NFL wouldn’t allow black quarterbacks. Good luck with your fantasy picks.

        • Echo on September 13, 2015 at 8:49 pm

          Hi Brian, the fact is the best CFL players that go down to try and make it in the NFL usually fail to even latch on to a practice squad. There are a few exceptions, like Flutie and Moon, but for the most part they don’t make the cut. See Duron Carter this year.

          Don Blair is another great example. My brother played one year with him at U of C (when they won the Vanier Cup) and had to cover him in practice. He said Blair was the best player he’d ever played against, impossible to cover, and he was certainly the best player in Canada that year. But when Blair tried out for the Bears he only lasted three preseason games before getting cut.

  4. Dan @ Our Big Fat Wallet on September 13, 2015 at 11:53 am

    Thanks for the mention Robb, hope your Browns can do better this year. Rainy Sunday here and a great day for football

  5. Michael James on September 14, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Thanks for the mention, Robb. Variable mortgage rates have been covered in many places, but I think I’ve got the formula for making a sensible choice.

  6. Brian on September 14, 2015 at 2:29 pm

    Hi, Don Blair had a nice CFL career. But the comparable players might be Eric Crouch and Troy Smith. Both former Heisman trophy winners who couldn’t cut it in the CFL.
    I do agree that the players in the NFL are slightly better. The NFL takes the best 1800 players each year. Numbers 1801 – 1900 try out and can sometimes make a CFL team. I too would love to see Aaron Rodgers play CFL rules. The NFL is becoming more exciting in the last few years because it is becoming more like the CFL in their offensive strategies.
    But enough football. Back to finance and investing.

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