In the wake of the big commercial fest Super Bowl yesterday (wait, there was a game yesterday??), I thought it would be interesting to put together a team of the Web’s best financial analysts, talking heads, and pundits. An all star team of sorts for online finance.
Offense
Quarterback: The Big Picture, Barry Ritholtz. Barry’s the go-to guy, calling the shots — the plays, as you will — of what’s happening as it’s happening. With the eye of an on-field general, Barry’s commentary pulls no punches and provides a certain vision.
Wide receiver: Zero Hedge. With all the flair, bling, and panache of an OchoCinco or Terrell Owens. When he hits it big, he hits it, but when he’s off, well, he’s still a personality…
Running Back: The Pragmatic Capitalist. Being a good back requires strength, grit, patience and explosiveness. TPC’s coverage of core issues and broad/narrow analysis has upped it a notch this past year.
Offensive Line: Abnormal Returns, The Reformed Broker, Here, we’re looking for people who produce — day in and day out — without getting a lot of the headlines but contributing to the success of the rest of their teams.
Strength Coach: Gregor.us. You want to understand energy policy, technologies, and energy market dynamics — he’ll pump you up.
Kicker: Anal_yst. Kicking is about coming in when it matters and producing under a lot of stress. The Atlantic’s Anal_yst doesn’t post often, but when he does, it’s worth reading.
Offensive Coaches: David Merkel (The Aleph Blog), Felix Salmon. Offensive coaching is about teaching technique, hawkish understanding of the plays and assimilating what the defense is giving you. It’s about being smarter than the other guys and finding the best way to exploit weaknesses.
Statistician: Bespoke Investment Group. Wanna know anything about anything? Bespoke consistently provides food/analysis for thought by slicing and dicing the data to help investors make better decisions.
Defense
Defensive line: BaselineScenario, Paul Kedrosky, Capital Spectator. These guys make sure that nothing gets through, picking up and tackling anyone that attempts to go through or around and putting pressure on the offense.
Defensive Coaches: Farnam Street, CrossingWallStreet, Jeff Miller, MarketSci. These guys are hawks, looking for any inefficiencies in the market, and trying to find ways to exploit them
Linebacking crew: Naked Capitalism, Calculated Risk, Leigh Drogan.These are the guys you DON’T want chaperoning your daughters. They’re aggressive, quick, and really strong. Always bringing the heat.
Defensive backs: Vix and More, Meb Faber, James Altucher. These guys are quick, some of the best athletes on the field. Most importantly, they need to be able to cover the offense deep over the air while being strong/aggressive enough to step up and make a play on the ground.
All purpose player/Utility: Howard Lindzon, This athlete can do a little of everything, contributing all over the field (and off).
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Referee: IR Web Report. Dominique has been on the front lines, calling it as he sees it for all issues surrounding financial reporting, for investors, analysts and firms themselves.
Cheerleader: DealBreaker, with coverage of the uh, underbelly of the ‘real’ finance world, this game is a better place with DB.
So, there it is. Who do you think would win in a smackdown? You make the call.
