To clarify my analogy, I think the football prediction scam is relevant to say, Warren Buffett. That is, instead of one guy sending out thousands of predictions, you have thousands of guys making predictions. It's not surprising that some of them have an incredibly good track record.
I found this news story interesting:
Berkshire has worst year; Buffett still optimistic - MSNBC Wire Services - msnbc.com
To summarize: Buffett did really badly last year, and admits to making major financial mistakes. And now here's the latest predictions from the Oracle of Omaha...