I'll admit it, I got a lot of guilty pleasure watching David Stern stumble and fumble his way through that press conference. For years I've been watching that aloof little midget glib his way through interview after interview with that same smug, self-important look on his face It's always been the same, the reporters knowing nothing and Stern having all the answers. Time and again he would take the podium and act like everyone around him was over-reacting or that there was nothing to fear, because Stern was going to make everything OK again. I'd like to see that arrogant, Mussolini style pose now.
Let's review a few factoids and reports here. Tim Donaghy is currently being investigated by the FBI for illegal gambling and fixing basketball games over the last two years. The FBI investigation may include members of organized crime from whom Donaghy allegedly took orders from. During that time the NBA has warned him numerous times about problems in his personal life. Stern also insists they knew about the Federal investigation as much as five months ago. Ooooookay, quick question here Davy, if you knew he was fixing games, why let him continue? Stern contends he didn't want to hamper the investigation. I contend he's a moron.
Consider the following. One of his most senior referees was altering the outcomes of games both in the regular season and potentially the playoffs, had already been warned about off-court issues in his personal life and had been investigated by the NBA on allegations he was frequenting Vegas casinos even before the FBI supposedly told the NBA what they were doing. Even so, Stern allowed Donaghy to continue officiating into the post-season, including several pivotal games.
Donaghy was on the floor for the Raptors/Nets Game 6, where New Jersey won by 1 point, and were awarded more free throws, with Chris Bosh, Mo Peterson and Anthony Parker nearly fouling out for Toronto. A week later he at the Suns/Spurs Game 3, where over 60 free throws were awarded, 36 of them going to the Spurs. The previous game, which Phoenix won by twenty, saw only 35 free throws given out. In a series that was already suspect with Ginobli flopping like a soccer player and Bruce Bowen doing everything short of beating Steve Nash over the head with a chair, Stern let a man under Federal investigation on the floor in what everyone considered the Finals for that year.
To make matters worse, Sterns attempt to prop up the NBA's internal security only made him look worse. Boasting investigators that had worked for the FBI, CIA, Secret Service and Homeland Security, video review teams that look at every call and independent financial auditors Stern vowed this was an isolated case, one man slipping through the cracks. Thing is, even if Donaghy is the exception, which I doubt, the NBA still has egg on it's face. As stated earlier, Donaghy had been involved with incidents with his neighbors, been allegedly seen in Vegas casinos, been suspended from playoff games in 2006 and warned he was about to lose his job should he not straighten up. This man was red flagged for two years but somehow they missed a Federal crime? The man handed out more technical fouls( an even more potent tool these days with Stern making it easier to T up players) then any other ref but that didn't raise any concerns? He was allegedly betting tens of thousands of dollars on games but the much-hyped financial auditors couldn't figure it out? Even the Vegas sports books were starting to catch on that something was going on when Donaghy officiated games, but Stern insists he only recently found out.
This is, in my own small opinion, a flat out lie. Either Sterns teams are the biggest collections of Inspector Clouseaus in history or he was willing to ignore the problem. As the NBA's Commissioner it's his job to know what's going on, especially when it comes to the referees he's been almost violently defending for years as legitimate and un-biased. Yet even when he found out he let Donaghy hang around despite the fact the investigators were going back two years in their search for evidence and had informed Stern that low level mafia members were involved.
Despipte all this, Stern says Donaghy is alone, a "rogue official". Of course, that sounds plausible. Actually it doesn't, just ask Michael Franzese, a former member of the Colombo family in New York City. Franzese was on the Jim Rome Show earlier this week and admitted on air he had gotten refs to influence the outcome of basketball games during his days as the mobs top earner. The fact is officials who gamble on sports(in Donaghys case it is believed he fell into dept betting on football) will almost always do so with bookies to avoid prying eyes makes it all the more simple for the mob to put the fix in. Donaghy reportedly racked up tens of thousands of dollars in dept in NFL games and had to pay it back, one way or another.
To make matters worse for Stern, Donaghy has reportedly hired a lawyer who specializes in cutting deals based on information his clients posses, and in Donaghys case, it is supposedly names of other officials who have been fixing games. Receiving death threats in the mail, Donaghy is now under surveillance by the local Sheriffs Department. Stern obviously waited until the middle of summer to drop this into the medias lap hoping it would go away before the season started, but his ignorance(deliberate or not) to the whole story could lead to a crushing blow to the sport. TV ratings are down, fans are become more embittered each year and now their worst fears have been made reality. The games weren't on the level. They weren't called down the middle. The ref(refs?) really did have it in for their team. And like it or not, this problem begins and ends with David Sterns and his arrogance, and in this case fained obliviousness, to the one unforgivable crime in sports. An un-even playing field.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Back Peddling as Fast as They Can
OK, sorry I'm late this week, had some household repairs to tend to all weekend. I'm also going to apologize for bringing up Michael Vick. Frankly we've all heard enough of Vick this week, so instead of dwelling on him, I'm going to use my weekly soapbox to talk about the reaction of the fans and more importantly, the head honchos of the NFL. I'm surprised Roger Goodell isn't out of breath every time he's interviewed lately with all the back peddling he's had to do. Granted to root of all this isn't Goodells fault, but he shouldn't act so shocked that something as heinous as a dog fighting ring would be associated with an NFL player. There's a reason it's often referred to as the National Felon League, which is the focus of my rant this week.
First off, just do a web search with the title "NFL criminal" and see how many web sites you find. From All Criminal Teams(http://www.thephatphree.com/features.asp?StoryID=850&SectionID=2&LayoutT), to web sites tracking players and their crimes(http://profootballtalk.com/), one thing is perfectly clear, the NFL not only drafts and breeds criminals, it pays them quite handsomely. For years it has been willing to turn a blind eye to the transgressions of players off the field, so long as they showed up on Sunday and played. Deals have even been worked out with local courts to allow players to serve their sentences after the regular season should their jail time interfere with playing time.
Under Paul Taggliabue players were literally getting away with murder(check out Leonard Littles criminal record if you don't believe me) and still getting to play and collect their paychecks. Teams forgave any number of criminal acts, from cocaine trafficking(see Jamal Lewis), to frequent abuse of that very product(Michael Irvin), you can be forgiven just about anything so long as you can keep playing. Now the second highest paid player in NFL history and one of it's biggest marketing weapons is charged with conspiracy counts relating to dog fighting and suddenly everyone seems shocked.
Get this straight, a person with the money and fame of a Michael Vick doesn't get involved(allegedly) with something as despicable as dog fighting unless he A) Doesn't think he'll get caught, or B)Thinks/Knows he won't be severely punished if he is. You don't develop either mentality unless something within the league itself is culturing it, whether directly or indirectly through indifference. And the NFL has for years done both by allowing players to get away with crimes while continuing to draft and sign players with checkered pasts. It has often been joked that should the NFL stop drafting players with criminal records the entire first round could get washed out.
After all this, it's infuriating to see Roger Goodell now stand in the spotlight and say "Enough is enough". Sure the roots of the problem weren't planted during his watch, but he is the representative of the owners and as such represents their own faults. By suddenly turning around and handing out a harsh suspension to Pac-Man Jones(although he still gets to attend training camp) and helping to lobby Vick to take a leave of absence until the charges are cleared up smacks of hypocrisy and spin. Would Tank Johnson have been released by the Bears had Goodell not suspended Jones? Doubtful when you look at the players who currently play in the NFL. Johnson was a lamb tossed up by Bears ownership to try and give the impression they are in line with the Commissioners new hard-line stance when they have been a part of the problem all along.
First off, just do a web search with the title "NFL criminal" and see how many web sites you find. From All Criminal Teams(http://www.thephatphree.com/features.asp?StoryID=850&SectionID=2&LayoutT), to web sites tracking players and their crimes(http://profootballtalk.com/), one thing is perfectly clear, the NFL not only drafts and breeds criminals, it pays them quite handsomely. For years it has been willing to turn a blind eye to the transgressions of players off the field, so long as they showed up on Sunday and played. Deals have even been worked out with local courts to allow players to serve their sentences after the regular season should their jail time interfere with playing time.
Under Paul Taggliabue players were literally getting away with murder(check out Leonard Littles criminal record if you don't believe me) and still getting to play and collect their paychecks. Teams forgave any number of criminal acts, from cocaine trafficking(see Jamal Lewis), to frequent abuse of that very product(Michael Irvin), you can be forgiven just about anything so long as you can keep playing. Now the second highest paid player in NFL history and one of it's biggest marketing weapons is charged with conspiracy counts relating to dog fighting and suddenly everyone seems shocked.
Get this straight, a person with the money and fame of a Michael Vick doesn't get involved(allegedly) with something as despicable as dog fighting unless he A) Doesn't think he'll get caught, or B)Thinks/Knows he won't be severely punished if he is. You don't develop either mentality unless something within the league itself is culturing it, whether directly or indirectly through indifference. And the NFL has for years done both by allowing players to get away with crimes while continuing to draft and sign players with checkered pasts. It has often been joked that should the NFL stop drafting players with criminal records the entire first round could get washed out.
After all this, it's infuriating to see Roger Goodell now stand in the spotlight and say "Enough is enough". Sure the roots of the problem weren't planted during his watch, but he is the representative of the owners and as such represents their own faults. By suddenly turning around and handing out a harsh suspension to Pac-Man Jones(although he still gets to attend training camp) and helping to lobby Vick to take a leave of absence until the charges are cleared up smacks of hypocrisy and spin. Would Tank Johnson have been released by the Bears had Goodell not suspended Jones? Doubtful when you look at the players who currently play in the NFL. Johnson was a lamb tossed up by Bears ownership to try and give the impression they are in line with the Commissioners new hard-line stance when they have been a part of the problem all along.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
The March of the Domes Moves North
I borrow the title of this weeks entry from sports author Dave Zirins newest book "Welcome to the Terrordome". If you've never heard of him, pick up that book and his first publication "What's My Name Fool?", they're well worth the read. "Terrordome" opens with a chapter about sports teams getting the city and state to pay for sports stadiums that cost hundreds of millions of dollars(most notably the Superdome in New Orleans that cost the public 500 million that could have gone to schools, clinics or perhaps levees) and how billionaire owners continue to use the publics money to get free accommodations while gouging their fans with high ticket and concession prices. Sadly, this practice is now heading north.
This week the city of Montreal, Quebec approved its share in the financing of a 30 million dollar expansion of McGill University's Percival Molson Stadium, home the the CFLs Montreal Alouetes. Team President Larry Smith announced Wednesday that he would also begin requesting funding approval from both the Province of Quebec and the federal government. All this to add, drum roll please, 5000 seats to the stadium. Say what now?
Since when does it cost thirty million dollars to add 5000 seats? Unless these chairs are Laz-E Boy recliners with a built in beer fridge I don't see how the numbers work out. OK, that's a lie, I do see how the numbers work out, problem is it isn't in the way team owner Robert Wetenhall says. No, this deal smacks of a long standing tradition in Montreal and it's amazing the public isn't outraged.
Thirty years ago the fair city of Montreal bore witness to one of the greatest swindles ever. I speak of course of Olympic Stadium, the Big O which to this day still stands(barely) as a monument to spending excess, corporate graft, political kick-backs and bureaucratic corruption. Three decades after it's last piece of shoddy concrete was put in place the residents of Montreal are still paying for that collapsing eye-sore, a 1 billion dollar piece of ruble that will likely never see it's century mark. Now of course Percival Molson Park will not be another Big O, but this whole deal stinks of the same problems that turned Olympic Stadium from a crown jewel to a toilet bowl floater.
Does it really take 30 million to install 5000 seats? Hell no, let's look at this seriously. Some money will obviously go to installing more seating, but let's get real. Most of that money is going towards luxury boxes, plain and simple. Big, fancy seating for Quebec politicians, Quebec Hydro executives, local and provincial money men and of course, the local politicians who approved the spending of tax payers money so Wetenhall can pocket an estimated 2.5 million in extra revenues annually, on top of any cash that may(and very well will) go "missing" during the upgrades. Wetenhall insists this in necessary to keep the team in Montreal past 2010. Gee, where have we heard this before?
Look, the stadium is the smallest in the CFL and does need a face lift. More seats would mean more fans and better revenues, but this much? That the Alouettes would dare petition both the Province and the Federal government for additional cash speaks to how far owners have gone past the line of decency. That money is not theirs, and it never should be. If a team builds a new stadium and wants a break on property taxes, that's one thing, but no franchise has the right to take money out of the publics pockets so the owners don't have to spend any of their own dime.
The city of Montreal made a grave error in giving in to Wetenhall, the Province of Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper must correct it by refusing any funding for the team. The CFL is a small league unique to Canada, but it has no more right to ask for local and federal money then the NFL or MLB. Canadians often pride themselves in saying "We're not Americans", and we'd damn well better remember that before we start closing libraries and cutting services to accommodate a football team.
This week the city of Montreal, Quebec approved its share in the financing of a 30 million dollar expansion of McGill University's Percival Molson Stadium, home the the CFLs Montreal Alouetes. Team President Larry Smith announced Wednesday that he would also begin requesting funding approval from both the Province of Quebec and the federal government. All this to add, drum roll please, 5000 seats to the stadium. Say what now?
Since when does it cost thirty million dollars to add 5000 seats? Unless these chairs are Laz-E Boy recliners with a built in beer fridge I don't see how the numbers work out. OK, that's a lie, I do see how the numbers work out, problem is it isn't in the way team owner Robert Wetenhall says. No, this deal smacks of a long standing tradition in Montreal and it's amazing the public isn't outraged.
Thirty years ago the fair city of Montreal bore witness to one of the greatest swindles ever. I speak of course of Olympic Stadium, the Big O which to this day still stands(barely) as a monument to spending excess, corporate graft, political kick-backs and bureaucratic corruption. Three decades after it's last piece of shoddy concrete was put in place the residents of Montreal are still paying for that collapsing eye-sore, a 1 billion dollar piece of ruble that will likely never see it's century mark. Now of course Percival Molson Park will not be another Big O, but this whole deal stinks of the same problems that turned Olympic Stadium from a crown jewel to a toilet bowl floater.
Does it really take 30 million to install 5000 seats? Hell no, let's look at this seriously. Some money will obviously go to installing more seating, but let's get real. Most of that money is going towards luxury boxes, plain and simple. Big, fancy seating for Quebec politicians, Quebec Hydro executives, local and provincial money men and of course, the local politicians who approved the spending of tax payers money so Wetenhall can pocket an estimated 2.5 million in extra revenues annually, on top of any cash that may(and very well will) go "missing" during the upgrades. Wetenhall insists this in necessary to keep the team in Montreal past 2010. Gee, where have we heard this before?
Look, the stadium is the smallest in the CFL and does need a face lift. More seats would mean more fans and better revenues, but this much? That the Alouettes would dare petition both the Province and the Federal government for additional cash speaks to how far owners have gone past the line of decency. That money is not theirs, and it never should be. If a team builds a new stadium and wants a break on property taxes, that's one thing, but no franchise has the right to take money out of the publics pockets so the owners don't have to spend any of their own dime.
The city of Montreal made a grave error in giving in to Wetenhall, the Province of Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper must correct it by refusing any funding for the team. The CFL is a small league unique to Canada, but it has no more right to ask for local and federal money then the NFL or MLB. Canadians often pride themselves in saying "We're not Americans", and we'd damn well better remember that before we start closing libraries and cutting services to accommodate a football team.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
They Never Learn
Well it's been almost a full week of free agency in the NHL and one thing is painfully clear, the owners still haven't learned a damn thing. They lost a year of hockey, did irreparable damage to the sports credibility and popularity in the United States, lost a large chunk of their fan base in the markets they had set up south of the Mason Dixon Line and implemented a low salary cap designed to curb the spending of large markets teams like Toronto, New York and Detroit and for what? For nothing.
Two years after starting off with a hard cap at 39 million the NHL raised the cap to 50 million. A league that had told everyone that would listen it was hemorrhaging money and could not support huge salaries anymore has suddenly begun to turn a profit despite no national television contract and limited exposure outside of the core markets. Yet last week the owners got together and somehow figured that raising the cap 11 million dollars in two years despite no new revenue streams is good business.
Actually, there is a new revenue stream in the NHL, just not the type Garry Bettman would have you believe. Part of the CBA is it's so-called revenue sharing system. I say so-called because in reality, it isn't. It is, in fact, something more akin of MLBs luxury tax, only in this case teams are punished for making money, not spending it. Yeah, you heard me.
Wrap this around your head. The CBA states that the teams that turn the most profit must give a percentage of it to the teams that are losing money. As a result, successful teams like the Maple Leafs and Red Wings not only risk losing players to free agency each year, but also cover the expense of their contracts should a team like Florida, Columbus or Atlanta sign the player. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, the Nashville Predators receive somewhere between 4-6 million per year from the Toronto Maple Leafs, ensuring that the Predators can re-sign players despite not being able to truly afford them. The Edmonton Oilers are turning a good profit each year, but have to hand the money over to teams that are robbing them of talent.
As a result of this phony revenue sharing system owners in the United States continue to raise the salary cap knowing full well they don't have to cover all the expenses anymore. It's been an incredible black comedy lately with small market teams complaining about the spending habits of New York, Colorado and Detroit in the recent free agent frenzy. These are the same owners and GMs who voted to raise the cap yet again and allow the bigger markets to start out-spending their rivals yet again.
Perhaps even more damaging then the return of the 50 million dollar contract in the stipulation that the minimum spending level must also rise with the cap. The spending floor in the NHL currently sits at 34 million. This seems only fair, as it keeps teams from gutting payrolls then leeching off the bigger markets, but keep in mind prior to the lock out several teams like Columbus, Minnesota, Atlanta and Florida had self-imposed spending limits tanging between 25 to 30 million. Even then those teams lost money, and now they are forced to spend more.
This is an enormous mess in the making but no one seems to be noticing. Just as it was when owners began forking out 8 to 10 million dollar contracts at the turn of the century, this practice of spending money teams don't have while forcing others continuously raise their payrolls, the whole time stealing money from the markets that turn a profit, will drive the NHLs finances into ruin. Money that does not exist is being spent while profits that aren't even their own are being added to the books by teams and owners who just a few years ago canceled a season on the premise that they were going broke. And just think, Bettman is a certified accountant.
Two years after starting off with a hard cap at 39 million the NHL raised the cap to 50 million. A league that had told everyone that would listen it was hemorrhaging money and could not support huge salaries anymore has suddenly begun to turn a profit despite no national television contract and limited exposure outside of the core markets. Yet last week the owners got together and somehow figured that raising the cap 11 million dollars in two years despite no new revenue streams is good business.
Actually, there is a new revenue stream in the NHL, just not the type Garry Bettman would have you believe. Part of the CBA is it's so-called revenue sharing system. I say so-called because in reality, it isn't. It is, in fact, something more akin of MLBs luxury tax, only in this case teams are punished for making money, not spending it. Yeah, you heard me.
Wrap this around your head. The CBA states that the teams that turn the most profit must give a percentage of it to the teams that are losing money. As a result, successful teams like the Maple Leafs and Red Wings not only risk losing players to free agency each year, but also cover the expense of their contracts should a team like Florida, Columbus or Atlanta sign the player. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, the Nashville Predators receive somewhere between 4-6 million per year from the Toronto Maple Leafs, ensuring that the Predators can re-sign players despite not being able to truly afford them. The Edmonton Oilers are turning a good profit each year, but have to hand the money over to teams that are robbing them of talent.
As a result of this phony revenue sharing system owners in the United States continue to raise the salary cap knowing full well they don't have to cover all the expenses anymore. It's been an incredible black comedy lately with small market teams complaining about the spending habits of New York, Colorado and Detroit in the recent free agent frenzy. These are the same owners and GMs who voted to raise the cap yet again and allow the bigger markets to start out-spending their rivals yet again.
Perhaps even more damaging then the return of the 50 million dollar contract in the stipulation that the minimum spending level must also rise with the cap. The spending floor in the NHL currently sits at 34 million. This seems only fair, as it keeps teams from gutting payrolls then leeching off the bigger markets, but keep in mind prior to the lock out several teams like Columbus, Minnesota, Atlanta and Florida had self-imposed spending limits tanging between 25 to 30 million. Even then those teams lost money, and now they are forced to spend more.
This is an enormous mess in the making but no one seems to be noticing. Just as it was when owners began forking out 8 to 10 million dollar contracts at the turn of the century, this practice of spending money teams don't have while forcing others continuously raise their payrolls, the whole time stealing money from the markets that turn a profit, will drive the NHLs finances into ruin. Money that does not exist is being spent while profits that aren't even their own are being added to the books by teams and owners who just a few years ago canceled a season on the premise that they were going broke. And just think, Bettman is a certified accountant.
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