Second thoughts

Mattress man picks poorly, customers win

The Denver Broncos weren’t the only losers on Sunday.

Houston furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale made a bet with his customers at Gallery Furniture. If the Seattle Seahawks beat the Broncos, McIngvale would reimburse everyone who spent at least $6,000 in the two weeks before the Super Bowl and had the furniture delivered by 5 p.m. Central on Sunday.

The Seahawks routed the Broncos 43-8, costing McIngvale $7 million.

McIngvale lost the bet, but was still positive Sunday night.

“It’s great, he told the Houston Chronicle. “It’s the perfect outcome for our customers.”

McIngvale said that he did not take out any insurance to cover the bet. Despite the money he lost, McIngvale preferred to consider the bet an investment.

“That’s what it’s all about: building customers for life,” he said.

Give credit to McIngvale. He did something the Houston Texans couldn’t do: Make the customers happy.

Jones to Hall?

Columnist Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram believes Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones deserves to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Love him or hate him, Jerry has been good for the business of the National Football League.

He improved the NFL for future generations,” Engel wrote.

“In a discussion with venerable Houston Chronicle NFL writer John McClain, who has considerable influence among Pro Football Hall of Fame voters, he said he would put Jerry in.

“There are, however, a few things working against him:

No. 1. He’s still working. Normally, a candidate must wait five years after he retires before being considered. That’s the rule for players. The time away provides a vital “cooling-off” period so a player’s legacy can be properly evaluated.

“As a member of the “contributor” category, Jerry could potentially go in while he is still working as a GM, which leads us to…

“No. 2. His record since 1998 - .500 overall, one playoff win.

Every voter remembers what is most recent, and right now anyone would have a hard time weighing the many positives of his tenure against this current long stretch of mediocrity.

“No. 3. He is a contributor, not a player. There is no “contributor” category, meaning there is a logjam of worthy candidates, from late Browns/Ravens owner Art Modell to Bills owner Ralph Wilson to Bob Kraft, the owner of the Patriots.

“A case can be made for all three, but Jerry should be either ahead of, or right next to, Modell.

“It will be wrong if Jerry is never inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a shame if he is not there to enjoy it.”He said it

From Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote:

“As spring training nears, a friend of Jeffrey Loria’s said the [Miami] Marlins’ owner has adopted a less meddling, more laid-back management style.

An angry Loria immediately demoted the man from friend to acquaintance.”

“NASCAR has made its fourth change to its Chase for the Cup format since 2004. Popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have won the 2013 season title under the new format. So they finally got it right!”

Miami men’s and women’s basketball both had lost three in a row and were around .500 entering [the] weekend. If I were to forecast the best each could hope for in the postseason, I’d be NIT-picking.”

“An Omaha, Neb., woman, Molly Schuyler, ate 363 chicken wings in 30 minutes to break the world record. In an interview immediately afterward, she said, “BELLLCH !”Quote of the day “Sometimes life throws

salt on a wound and you’ve just got to deal with it and move on.” Arkansas guard Kikko Haydar on getting stuck

for five hours Saturday in Baton Rouge after losing 88-74 to LSU

Sports, Pages 18 on 02/04/2014

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