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Crocs in TV walk-on

Crocs, the Niwot shoemaker best known for its funky, multicolored footwear, is headed to the small screen.

The holey, rubberized clogs will appear early next year on NBC’s “Scrubs,” a sitcom about hospital workers.

The shoes could also show up on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” a hospital-room drama, as well as a yet-to-be announced show staring Alicia Silverstone, best known for the 1995 hit movie “Clueless.”

Crocs, initially developed as deck shoes for boaters, have attained a cult following for many medical-industry workers, said Amanda Shannahan, a company spokeswoman.

Doctors and nurses often wear Crocs because they are made from a proprietary closed-cell resin material that resists bacterial growth, she said.

Beating the seat dash

Local travelers who use Southwest Airlines after the discount carrier begins flying to Denver on Jan. 3 may be interested – or at least amused – by a website some passengers use to get better seats.

Southwest does not have reserved seating, and that policy spawned BoardFirst.com , a website started earlier this year that is not affiliated with Southwest but allows Southwest passengers to secure an “A Group” boarding pass – for $5.

Southwest boards by groups based on how early passengers check in.

“A Group” passengers get first dibs on seats and overhead bin space.

BoardFirst works through a Southwest policy allowing 24-hour advance online check-in.

BoardFirst says it processes all requests for boarding passes exactly 24 hours before each customer’s flight. The $5 fee is waived if BoardFirst doesn’t secure an “A Group” pass for the passenger.

Coloradan savers

The national savings rate plummeted to a negative 0.7 percent in October, its worst showing since the 1930s.

But residents along the Front Range are doing a respectable job of building up their nest eggs, according to a new index compiled by A.G. Edwards, the St. Louis broker-dealer.

The index looked at 12 factors, including savings, participation in retirement plans, mortgage levels and personal debt.

Denver finished 30th among U.S. cities. Boulder was 16th, Fort Collins 43rd and Colorado Springs 89th.

San Jose in the Silicon Valley finished first, which seems to support a connection between being an egghead and building a nest egg.

Coors toots nostalgia

The Coors Light Silver Bullet Train is taking a nostalgia trip through Super Bowl history in the company’s latest TV advertisement.

The spot, which was to make its debut during the Tampa Bay/ New England matchup Saturday, opens with fans witnessing a handshake between Kansas City Chiefs coach Hank Stram and Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi just before the kickoff of Super Bowl I in 1967. (A bad day for the Chiefs – the Packers won 35-10.)

The ad features a montage of Super Bowl moments from dominant teams of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

“As the official beer sponsor of the NFL, we sent our Silver Bullet Train on a retrospective journey we think will excite fans and get them talking,” said Jim Sabia, vice president of marketing for Coors Brewing Co.

Gifting behavior

Remember the line “You’d better be good for goodness’ sake”? Turns out, it doesn’t apply to 40 percent of children.

The results of a holiday poll issued earlier this month by Denver-based eToys Direct showed that 40 percent of parents said their child’s behavior has no effect on what he or she receives for Christmas.

The poll also revealed that most children will receive five or more gifts this year.

Other findings from the poll:

Ninety-two percent of survey respondents say they typically buy one “big” gift costing $50 to $100 plus several smaller gifts for each child.

Nearly half of respondents set a holiday spending limit each year but exceed it anyway. Only 19 percent stick to their limits.

To achieve fairness, most parents give each child an equal number of gifts, regardless of the amount spent on the gifts.

Fifty-nine percent of parents said their children create their own wish lists each year and that children 3 and younger often request specific items.

Eating up food chains

To be sure, doughnuts and toasted subs are tasty treats.

But when it comes to business, is there a private-equity firm out there with an appetite for both?

That’s the question for three private-equity firms, Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital, which last week together paid $2.4 billion for the parent of Dunkin’ Donuts.

Likewise, large private-equity firms are the likely bidders for Quiznos, the Denver-based toasted-submarine-sandwich chain that went on the auction block last week.

“They can eat a doughnut and then a toasty sub,” said Greenwood Village money manager Jerry Paul of the three private-equity firms. “They wouldn’t find that their appetite is full yet.”

One food-industry analyst had a different take on the three firms’ collective stomach size.

“I think they’ve got their plate pretty full right now,” said Ivan Feinseth, an analyst with Matrix USA in Boston.