Dykstra: Fall Classics

Nothing harder than being given your chance. At least, that's what I hear. -- Uncle Joe from "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens.

I know it will come as a shock to most, but I am not a literary buff. While I may know precious little about literature, however, I do know Uncle Joe was certainly on the money with his statement. With great expectations in mind, here are my picks for the week.

Home Run

PetSmart is the largest specialty retailer of services and products for pets. The company operates more than 760 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada, a growing number of PetsHotels, a large pet supply catalog business, and it's the Internet's leading provider of pet products and information (www.PetSmart.com).

PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and supplies and offers complete pet training, grooming and adoption services. Since 1994, PetSmart Charities, an independent 501(c)3 organization, has donated more than $39 million to animal welfare programs and, through its in-store adoption programs, has saved the lives of more than 2 million pets. Also, PetSmart is recession proof. Yes, "recession proof!" ...