This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

When it comes to multi-bladed disposable razors, how many blades is enough? In the long-standing rivalry between the two biggest brands of disposable razors, the current answer seems to be five. For now.

The Gillette company, which in 2005 became part of Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), invented the safety razor in 1895, as well as the first razor marketed to women in 1916. They started the current arms race in multi-bladed disposable razors by introducing a twin-blade razor in 1971, and then the triple-bladed Mach 3 in 1998. Schick responded with the four-blade Quattro in 2003, then in 2005, Gillette introduced the five-blade Fusion. Of course, each of these models includes a version for women, and versions with various bells and whistles.

St. Louis-based Energizer Holdings (NYSE: ENR), a U.S. manufacturer of batteries, purchased the Schick brand of razors from Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) in 2003. Outside the North America and Australia, the same products are sold under the Wilkinson Sword brand. Either way, Schick remains a distant second to Gillette in global sales, though some analysts saw patent infringement lawsuits filed against Schick by Gillette as evidence that Gillette recognized a potential threat. Combined, these two brands account for nearly all razor sales in America.

English soccer star David Beckham came to America earlier this year, joining the Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy with a base salary of $5.5 million and guaranteed compensation of $6,5 million, making him by far the highest paid soccer player in the United States. Throw in some marketing opportunities and profit-sharing options offered by team investor Anschutz Entertainment Group, and he's in a league of his own: Nearly 30 percent of MLS players are paid either $17,700 or $12,900.

Beckham's former team, Real Madrid, had paid him nearly $32 million annually. So, why the move for less money? Beckham is not just an athlete, but a fairly successful pitchman. His biggest endorsement, Gillette, pays him an estimated $9 million for three years, and he also lends his image to Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) products, Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), Adidas and -- yep -- Brylcream. Playing around the United States will give him a higher profile in the only market he hasn't conquered yet: ours.

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.

Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2007.

Tiger Woods has been a staple on money lists for over a decade now, so I doubt anyone is unaware of the magnitude of his income. This past year, though, has been a great one even by his standards.

He had an outstanding year on the golf course, with seven tour victories, including a PGA championship and the overall Tour Championship. Along the way, he led the tour with winnings of over $10 million.

This was only the beginning of his cash flow, though. Endorsement money well exceeded his on-course winnings. In addition to his standing affiliations with Nike (NYSE: NKE), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and others, Procter & Gamble's (NYSE: PG) Gillette signed him to a new deal for $10-20 million as part of its "Gillette Champions" campaign. In the fall, PepsiCo's (NYSE: PEP) Gatorade agreed to pay him up to $100 million to license a Tiger Woods brand of sports drink, due out next spring. He also moved forward on his newest venture, golf course design, announcing plans for his first U.S. design, The Cliffs at High Carolina.

Tiger continues to dominate his sport and keep his image positive. Young, vastly talented, and a shrewd businessman, in 2007 he not only drove the green, he raked it in, too.

Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2007.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) currently owns dozens of brands, many of which are household names. From Pampers to Pringles, Crest to Cover Girl, the consumer-products giant has a foothold in many industries, and its 2005 purchase of Gillette merely added to this list. (For a summary of the company's current product lines, click here.)

Now, there is some speculation on Wall Street as to whether Procter & Gamble will sell off some of its brands in an effort to streamline operations and return cash back to company shareholders. While it is pure conjecture at this point -- company officials have not said publicly that they are considering spinning off any brands -- Lehman Brothers analyst Lauren Lieberman told The New York Times that she suspects "there has been an active dialogue within P&G about if, when, and what pieces of its portfolio should be pruned via sale or spin."

Ms. Lieberman ran the numbers, and it appears as though the most likely brands for sale consideration are Duracell, Braun, Folgers (and other coffee), and Pringles (along with other snack lines). The company's pet-food business (which includes the Iams brand) could also be put on the auction block.

Duracell could fetch as much as $4.1 billion (in after-tax proceeds) at auction, while Braun could attract up to $1.5 billion. The snacks and coffee units are both valued around $4.1 billion, while the pet-food business could be sold for $2 billion, Ms. Lieberman said.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), which today reported better-than-expected fiscal third quarter quarter results, owes no small part of its success to Tide detergent. It's easy to see why.

Like many consumers, I am a loyal Tide user. In my unscientific opinion, it's orders of magnitude better than other brands. Plus, the Cincinnati-based company continues to amaze me with how many variations of this stuff it can dream up. My laundry room now has Mountain Spring Tide. That's sounds great, even though I am not quite sure that that means since it's been years since I've smelled an actual mountain spring.

Luckily for Procter & Gamble shareholders, there are plenty of Tide devotees like me. Net income in the quarter that ended in March rose to $2.51 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared with $2.21 billion, or 63 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 8.4% to $18.69 billion. Analysts had expected profit of 74 cents on revenue of $18.56 billion, according to Thomson Financial

Procter & Gamble also raised its guidance for the year from $3.01 to $3.03 per share compared with $2.99 to $3.03. Analysts are forecasting profit of $3.03. Sales are expected to rise 11 % to 12% this year and 5% on an organic basis.

That's quite a bit of Tide.

Still, I guess investors were expecting better. Shares of the company are trading down in pre-market trading. Maybe the company needs to work harder to come up with even more variations.

How early summer morning?

Better yet, why don't you send me your ideas for new Tides and I'll forward them to the company.

For years as a financial reporter in the 1990s, I heard mutual fund managers crow about the benefits of investing in "consumables" -- companies that make products that people buy, use up, and discard or recycle. Customers of such companies have to go out and buy more quite regularly, which keeps sales afloat even in rough economic times.

Gillette, with its razors and batteries, was usually the poster child for this investment theme. Printer maker Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK) was another fave.

But then Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) bought Gillette in 2005. And Lexmark ran into tough times with ever more heated competition from the likes of Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) and Canon Inc. (NASDAQ: CAJ). Lexmark's stock was doing better for a while last year, but in the past month alone it has fallen from about $71 to $61 and UBS just downgraded it to "reduce" a week ago -- ouch!

A new crop of pureplay favorites on the consumables theme hasn't surfaced yet. But a recent feature from SmartMoney.com on when to replace common household items, suggests some new stocks to consider as possible consumables plays:

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) posted strong fourth-quarter results thanks to Fusion razors and Tide detergent. It also raised its forecast for the year.

Net income was $2.86 billion, or 84 cents a share compared with $2.55 billion, or 72 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 7.6 percent to $19.7 billion in the three months through December, the slowest pace in five quarters, according to Bloomberg News. This beat the consensus views of 83 cents profit and revenue of $19.57 billion.

The company increased its 2007 profit forecast to $2.99 to $3.03 a share from its earlier projection0n of $2.97 to $3.02. Analysts were predicting $3.02 per share, according to Thomson Financial. Shares fell in pre-market trading,

Clearly, 2005's acquisition of Gillette Co. is paying off for Procter & Gamble as is the cost-cutting undertaken by the management team. Sales of razors rose 11 percent to $1.28 billion. Fabric care and home care net revenue soared 11 percent to $4.68 billion .Baby Care and Family Care rose five percent to $3.12 billion, while Snacks, Coffee and Pet Care rose 3 percent to $1.25 billion.

Another positive for the company is the growing confidence of U.S. consumers. Lower energy prices helped push up consumer sentiment in January to higher levels than economists had expected.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

My breastfeeding email lists are buzzing this morning with news of a sweet-looking New Mexico mother, Emily Gillette. She was flying on Freedom Airlines, a Delta Connection provider, and she was breastfeeding her 22-month-old daughter. Do you know about breastfeeding on airplanes? Many mamas like me swear by it; the sucking action keeps babies' ears from popping and there's nothing better to keep a fussy child from crying.

But the flight attendant on Emily's airplane wasn't so pleased, and asked the mom to cover up, notwithstanding the Public Accommodations Act which protects public breastfeeding in Vermont, where the airplane was parked (most U.S. states have similar statutes). When she wouldn't cover the baby's head with a blanket, as the flight attendant insisted, Emily and her husband and daughter were escorted off the airplane by a Delta ticket agent. While Delta did find an alternate flight for the Gillettes and paid for their hotel that night, it's worth noting that the flight from Burlington to New York had already been delayed three hours -- so in one small act, a family was transformed from slightly frustrated customers to the lead on tomorrow's Good Morning America.

Mamas everywhere are incensed. "I wrote a letter to Delta and canceled my flight!" said one working mom. Another said she was "so mad." The buzz at Blogging Baby is intense with many commenters indicating that they're avoiding Delta or airplanes altogether.

You can argue extended breastfeeding all you like but the ramifications for Delta Air Lines, Inc. (OTC:DALRQ) could be interesting, especially given the unsolicited bid by US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC). Could the breastfeeding brouhaha put Delta over the edge?