When I was growing up, after a fun-filled Saturday morning playing football, my friends would gather around a television to watch the first round of the NFL draft. We’d skip the Sunday broadcast in favor of more football with friends, preferring to get the details on Sports Center later that evening.

Those seem like old fashion memories compared to today’s NFL Draft extravaganza. First, in recent years the NFL Channel has produced unprecedented new shows giving fans an insider’s ticket to the NFL Combine. According to NFL.com, this helped draw a “record 39 million viewers on NFL Network, ESPN and ESPN2. Total NFL Draft viewership increased 66 percent from 2001 to 2009 (from 23.5 million to 39 million).” Also, “the first round of last year’s draft on ESPN and NFL Network drew a combined average of 6.3 million viewers, topping all basketball, hockey and baseball games that weekend.”

Now, the NFL is attempting to turn the draft into a major national past time by turning the event into a three-day spectacle of talking heads and hard-hitting highlights. The first round of the 2010 NFL Draft will start tonight at 7:30 p.m. The second and third rounds are on Friday at 6 p.m. Rounds 4-7 are on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.

In addition to NFL fans, Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Papa John’s (PZZA) and Pepsi (PEP) — among many others — are all looking forward to another extension of the most powerful brand in sports.

2010 is in the red, more people watched the Super Bowl than ever before (i.e. unemployment still must be high), the Saints finished with a story book ending to the post-Katrina rollercoaster that New Orleans faced, and the DOW recently cracked below 10,000 for the 1st time in 3 months.

Today, I’m going to dig a little deeper into the Battle of the Beverage Behemoths: Coke (KO) vs. Pepsi (PEP):

Coca-Cola (KO): Still the Real Thing

Earnings: $.66 cents per share compared to $.43 cents per share in the same period a year ago. The consensus analyst estimate was $.66 per share, in-line with expectations.

Revenue increased 5.6% to $7.5 billion from $7.1 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $7.2 billion, an upside surprise for KO.

On the conference call, CEO Muhtar Kent said, “”Compared to this time last year, there’s a lot more clarity in terms of what the consumer is seeing. Not all good, but there’s a lot more clarity.”

Comment: Coca-Cola said it gained market share globally in the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage category for the 10th straight quarter. KO sold 5% more beverages worldwide in its 4th quarter, with stronger sales in China and India. North America saw a 1% decline in case volume, an evident sign the U.S. consumer is still less willing to spend than once before. Coca-Cola is focused on its international growth, as international sales now consist of 75% of total company revenue. KO seems more focused on ‘opening happiness’ in other parts of the world, since North American happiness has experienced a plateau over the past couple years.

PepsiCo (PEP): Super Bowl Dorito Domination

Earnings: $.90 cents per share compared to $.46 cents per share in the same period a year ago. The consensus analyst estimate was $.91 per share, a minor expectation miss for PEP.

Net revenue increased 4.5% to $13.3 billion from $12.7 billion. PepsiCo positively nudged analyst expectations of $13.26 billion.

Comment: The true winner of cheers and laughter during the Super Bowl commercial showdown clearly goes to ‘Keep Yo Hands off my Momma and my Doritos.’ The post-game commercial buzz is still lingering the Doritos commercial, and the sign of a true win for PEP’s Super Bowl investment. Today’s quarterly earnings release proved PepsiCo’s snacks business to be a major catalyst for growth. Like Coca-Cola, the reiterated theme from PEP management was a focus on accelerating growth in developing, overseas markets since PepsiCo’s North American beverage revenue also declined. On a bright note, PepsiCo forecasted an 11-13% growth rate for core constant currency Earnings per Share for fiscal 2010. As PepsiCo hopes to complete the $7.8 billion acquisition of its two largest bottlers by the end of the month, patience will pay you with more clarity into PEP’s future numbers.

The markets are displaying heavy volume down days, an ominous sign that the recent ‘Great Recession’ bear market rally is no longer dancing, but wobbling with shaky legs. Capital preservation is never a losing a proposition during turbulent times like these.

Coke (KO) or Pepsi (PEP)? Who do you think won the battle of Super Bowl Ads?

Disclosure: No positions in the stocks mentioned.

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Rule #1 in business is living the path of trustworthiness to those who support you (there are obviously many people not worth trusting in business). Honesty, integrity and the relationships we have with our friends and family display our true character.

In the case of a global superstar athlete like Tiger Woods, his powerful image and talents move the products and services for Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Nike (NYSE: NKE), PepsiCo’s Gatorade (NYSE: PEP), Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), and P&G’s Gillette (NYSE: PG).

At the moment, I suggest you consider thinking twice about putting your hard earned investment dollars in companies that endorse Tiger Woods. We live in a society where people tend to forgive and forget, but the short term backlash can be strong. So, I would just be cautious with the aforementioned equities in the short-to-intermediate term until the dust settles and the Tiger clouds clear.

After the 33-year old professional golfer’s reports of marital affairs surfaced on November 27th, Tiger’s TV Ads disappeared off the tube into thin air. Like Sprite commercials say, “Image is Everything.” Global brands do not want to be associated with a man who cheated on his wife and kids.

In reaction to Tiger’s car crash and affair allegations, Tiger Woods wrote on his site, “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.” In Tiger’s statement, just substitute ‘family’ for fans, product supporters, shareholders and Tiger Woods enthusiasts and you have one disappointed crowd … until his publicity team renews his image.

But time will pass and all will be mostly forgiven in a few years. Martha Stewart is back running her brands and on TV. Michael Jordan survived his gambling scandal. Stay tuned to see how things play out …

Disclosure: No positions in the stocks mentioned.

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