Eddie Lampert loves the ancient art of letter writing. Today, with the announcement of Sears Holdings' fourth-quarter earnings, Lampert, the retailer's chairman and majority holder, starts his missive off with a surprising foray into sports commentary. He praises Eli Manning and the New York Giants.

"The Giants' story reminds me of what we went through a few years ago with Kmart," he writes, and Sears Holdings is like the unlikely Super Bowl champs. The clear implication: Eddie Lampert is like Eli Manning.

Is he?

Well, both Eddie and Eli are exceedingly bright. Manning scored an impressive 39 out of 40 on the Wonderlic, an exam given to N.F.L. players to test their smarts. Lampert went to Yale and Goldman Sachs. Both had dominant mentors: Lampert with Robert Rubin; Eli with his dad, Archie.

But that's where the similarities end. Everything has been handed to Eli. To the manor born was Eli, a golden-child whose path was paved by the successes of his father and older brother. Lampert, however, has an up-from-his-bootstraps story. He was a wunderkind. Eli, though, grew to be worthy of the mantle of greatness. By contrast, as soon as Eddie became known as the next Warren Buffett, he started to blow it.

Lampert lacks the stoicism-under-fire of Manning. When Eli Manning had his disastrous four-interception day against the Minnesota Vikings this past season, he didn't let it get to him. Sure, this infuriated New York sportswriters. But he shrugged, "Since I've been here, I've done a better job of trying not to take it so hard and let it affect my personality and let other people see me down." The No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft added. "That's just part of growing as a quarterback in the N.F.L., especially in New York."

Lampert is prone, on the other hand, to whining, even as he assiduously avoids the press. After reporting a dismal third quarter last year, Lampert complained that the media has given him and Sears a hard time, especially compared with other retailers, which were, according to Lampert, sucking just as much wind. "When other companies manage expenses carefully, it is often characterized as a sign of good management and prudence. In the case of Sears Holdings, meanwhile, expense controls are often cited as a root cause of poor performance."

Eli is a rising star, but Eddie is rehashing the old glory days. In his letter today, he waxes on about his successes with Kmart. When he took Kmart out of bankruptcy, "Kmart was like an undrafted free agent who nobody thought had a chance to play in the big leagues," Lampert writes nostalgically. But by late 2004, he says, "Kmart was on its way to earning almost $1 billion in Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (ebitda), had built up almost $4 billion in cash, and had virtually no debt."

Yes, but now Kmart and Sears have been merged for about three years. The market is right to ask: Is this all there is? Which brings us to the real sports comparison.

There is one team that sports fans are vaguely aware has a glorious past, but they haven't been close to a top-tier team for years. Football fans will bring this team into their homes once a year at Thanksgiving.

But it's really more out of ritual obligation, kind of like customers who might pop into Sears annually to grab a Craftsman tool or check out a Kenmore washer and dryer. This team loses Hall of Fame talent to premature retirements, just as Sears hemorrhages excellent merchandising executives.

And just as you watch with bafflement as this team loaded up on wide receivers with top draft picks, neglecting the blocking and tackling that is essential to winning football games, you see Lampert pulling in top managers like Aylwin Lewis, who came from the fast-food industry and didn't have a great retailing feel, while going cheap instead of spending money on the stores.

Yes, Sears isn't the New York Giants. It's the Detroit Lions.