I haven't done one of these in a great long while, but I was stuck in a waiting room today reading EW, Time, and Sports Illustrated. So I thought some of it might make for a good discussion. As in the past, since I don't have the time to list everything going on in sports, feel free to bring up anything sports related you want to talk about.
But in addition to the sports news, I thought I might throw out another topic for discussion. What are the best sports films ever?
So without further ado.....
[When Sports Millionaires Go Broke.....]
One of the articles I spent time with during my odyssey in the waiting room is a fascinating read from Sports Illustrated. It deals with how sports stars handle their money, and the answer is badly. The recent Wall Street meltdown has taken a toll on player wealth, but it's much bigger & more complicated than juts that.
According to SI:
- Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.
- By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.
- Numerous retired MLB players have been similarly ruined, and the current economic crisis is taking a toll on some active players as well. Last month 10 current and former big leaguers—including outfielders Johnny Damon of the Yankees and Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox and pitchers Mike Pelfrey of the Mets and Scott Eyre of the Phillies—discovered that at least some of their money is tied up in the $8 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by Texas financier Robert Allen Stanford. Pelfrey told the New York Post that 99% of his fortune is frozen; Eyre admitted last month that he was broke, and the team quickly agreed to advance a portion of his $2 million salary.
Why do multi-millionaire athletes go broke? It seems to be a combination of bad spending, bad investments, trusting the wrong people.....
"Oh, I've seen it all," says veteran agent Bill Duffy, whose clients include Suns guard Steve Nash and Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony. "A pro athlete's money is supposed to outlive his career. Most players never get that."
[...]Salary aside, the closest analogue to a pro athlete is not a white-collar executive. It's a lottery winner—who's often in his early twenties. "With athletes, there's an extraordinary metamorphosis of financial challenge," says agent Leigh Steinberg, who has represented the NFL's No. 1 pick a record eight times. "Coming off college scholarships, they probably haven't even learned the basics of budgeting or keeping receipts." Which then triggers two fatal mistakes: hiring the wrong people as advisers, and trusting them far too much.
"That's the killer," Magic Johnson says. Johnson started out by admitting he knew nothing about business and seeking counsel from the power brokers who sat courtside at the old L.A. Forum, men such as Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz and Sony Pictures CEO Peter Guber. Now, Johnson says, he gets calls from star players "every day"—Alex Rodriguez, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade, Plaxico Burress—and cuts them short if they propose relying on friends and family. "It won't even be a conversation," says Johnson. "They hire these people not because of expertise but because they're friends. Well, they'll fail." Says Hunter, "They'll say, 'I got this guy, a cousin who's an accountant.' But he's usually an accountant in the 'hood. You hire him, you're doing him a favor."
.....And divorce.
In 1996, when Panthers owner Jerry Richardson—a former NFL flanker turned businessman—addressed his players, one of them asked, What's the most dangerous thing that could happen to us financially? "Without blinking an eye," Ismail recalls, "Mr. Richardson said, 'Divorce.'"...In divorce proceedings, of course, husbands routinely lose half of their net worth. But for athletes there is an aggravating factor: when the divorce happens. Most splits occur in retirement, when the player's peak earnings period is long over and making a comparable living is virtually impossible. Such timing is no accident. "There's this huge lifestyle change," says former NBA center Mark West, a licensed stockbroker who is now the Suns' vice president of player programs. "You and your wife are suddenly always at home, bugging each other. Before, you'd always say, 'I gotta go to practice.' Now you don't have to practice. You have to finish conversations."
Which often involve an incendiary subject: infidelity. "A friend of mine is a football player, and I asked him why he cheated on his wife," says Anita Hawkins, LaTroy's wife of 11 years. "He just said, 'I love her dearly, but I feel like I got married too early and didn't get to do what I wanted to do when I was young.'"
[Which Sport Has The Worst Officials?]
Which sports league has the worst officiating? The refs & umps are just as human as everyone else, and going to make mistakes. There have been times in every sports' fans life, where they were seething with anger because the officials blew the damn call. And there are officials that shouldn't be allowed to call a High-School Homecoming game, let alone a major sporting event. But which league has the biggest problem with mistakes. I'm going to say the NBA, if only for the fact there's been a criminal conviction, and almost every game has fans (from both sides) complaining about the way it was handled by the refs.
I'm a Lakers fan, and still sulking a bit from last night's loss. I don't want to take anything away from the Nuggets (since the Lakers screwed themselves at the end of the 2nd & 4th Quarters), but I must say it was a sight to behold when with about a minute to go & a 2 point game, the three fucking blind men (otherwise known as the refs) didn't see Denver's J.R. Smith's jump ball violation, or Carmelo Anthony's forearm to Trevor Ariza's back.
Now I don't believe all the crap about conspiracies or David Stern rigging games for big market teams, but the problem with officiating in the NBA is what's a foul is very subjective (to say the least). All you can hope for is consistency. I generally like it when the refs let the teams play (e.g. not blowing the whistle over ticky tacky bullshit), and they treat both teams the same on both ends of the court. However, there are times when a guy can get hammered on one end, and the ref won't call a damn thing, but they'll call a "touch foul" on the other end.
And then there are other times when the refs just totally lose their minds.
The thing about officiating in the NFL that's always funny is that it's a multi-billion dollar operation, with all sorts of technical equipment & cameras, and yet we have to rely on the 70-year-old side judge with 20/40 vision to spot the damn ball after a play.
With MLB, there's always the strike zone and the subjective nature of it. What one umpire calls a strike is different from how another ump defines it.
I'm not much of an NHL fan, so I can't think of a controversy that's systemic with hockey (other than Gary Bettman trying his best to run the sport into the ground). Although, someone will have to explain to me how the suspension policy works in the NHL. Sean Avery acts like his usual a--hole self by talking about Elisha Cuthbert as "sloppy seconds" and gets an indefinite suspension. Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker just saunters up to Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward and slugs him, and there's no suspension? Also, I remember the legendary screw-ups, like Brett Hull's skate in the crease.
In a play that will live in Buffalo infamy, Brett Hull gives the Stars the Stanley Cup when he beats Dominik Hasek for the series-clinching goal in the third overtime of Game 6 of the 1999 finals. Of course, every Sabres fan in the universe has been screaming ever since about how Hull's skate was in the crease before the puck, but the refs fail to make the call or ask for a replay.
[The Best & Worst Owners In Pro Sports?]
I know a Washington Redskins fan who despises what he sees as owner Daniel Snyder's constant "nickel & diming" of fans. Snyder is infamous for once trying to charge fans for training camp admission. He bought the team in 1999, and in the 10 years since the Redskins have had 6 head coaches.
SI has put together a list of the "Best & Worst Owners" in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the NHL. What makes someone a bad owner? Sometimes it's the fact they won't spend any money to get players. Other times it could be they know "dick" about sports, and yet want to meddle on personnel decisions.
The method was not scientific but based on numerous factors, some of which are indisputable and some of which are intangible. Among the criteria used to evaluate owners was the willingness to spend money to improve the team; the stability and capabilities of the front office and management; the amenities at the team's venue; and the club's culture and interactivity with fans. Of course, weighing heavily in the decision was the team's success or failure on the field.
► Major League Baseball
Best
- Stuart Sternberg - Tampa Bay Rays
- Steinbrenner Family - New York Yankees
- William DeWitt - St. Louis Cardinals
- Arturo Moreno - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- John Henry, and minority owners Tom Werner & Larry Lucchino - Boston Red Sox
Worst
- Ted Lerner - Washington Nationals
- Jeffrey Loria - Florida Marlins
- David Glass - Kansas City Royals
- Tom Hicks - Texas Rangers
- Peter Angelos - Baltimore Orioles
When the Baltimore lawyer took control of the team in 1993, it was a year removed from its Camden Yards debut with a stacked roster Angelos allowed former GM Pat Gillick to build. The O's went on to make the first of two consecutive ALCS appearances just three years later. Then Angelos began his notorious meddling, firing popular manager Davey Johnson, burning through another five managers, killing trades proposed by his GMs and stripping down one of baseball's proudest franchises. The O's haven't finished above .500 in 11 seasons since their last playoff appearance.
► National Football League
Best
- Steve Bisciotti - Baltimore Ravens
- Jeffrey Lurie - Philadelphia Eagles
- Mara & Tisch Families - New York Giants
- Robert Kraft - New England Patriots
- Rooney Family - Pittsburgh Steelers
Worst
- Denise DeBartolo York - San Francisco 49ers
- Mike Brown - Cincinnati Bengals
- Dan Snyder - Washington Redskins
- William Clay Ford - Detroit Lions
- Al Davis - Oakland Raiders
It's hard to knock three Super Bowl titles, one AFL championship and 21 postseason appearances since Davis bought into the former AFL franchise. Problem is, the game has passed the Hall of Famer by and he seems to be the only one who doesn't know it. Since the Raiders were blown out in Super Bowl XXVII, they've gone a league-worst 24-72 and have blazed through five head coaches since '01, including the fiasco over is-he-or-isn't-he-fired Lane Kiffin this past season. All this ignores the real problem: that Davis is out of touch, refuses to adapt and continues to be infatuated with speedsters (this year the team inexplicably drafted Darrius Heyward-Bey with the No. 7-overall pick) instead of building a deep roster that can compete.
► National Basketball Association
Best
- Dan Gilbert - Cleveland Cavaliers
- Les Alexander - Houston Rockets
- Mark Cuban - Dallas Mavericks
- Peter Holt - San Antonio Spurs
- Jerry Buss - Los Angeles Lakers
Worst
- Robert Johnson & Michael Jordan - Charlotte Bobcats
- Chris Cohan - Golden State Warriors
- Michael Heisley - Memphis Grizzlies
- Cablevision/James Dolan - New York Knicks
- Donald Sterling - Los Angeles Clippers
There is no American sports franchise more associated with futility than the Clippers, who have posted only two winning seasons under Sterling's ownership. Marquee players have come and gone -- including Danny Manning, Dominique Wilkins, Lamar Odom, Elton Brand and Baron Davis -- and none has been able to turn around the losing tradition. Though they've achieved some level of stability in the past few years -- notoriously cheap Sterling has cracked his checkbook a tiny bit, and Mike Dunleavy is now the longest-tenured coach in franchise history -- the team is mired in its old losing ways, eclipsing 60 losses for the eighth time under Sterling.
► National Hockey League
Best
- Peter Karmanos - Carolina Hurricanes
- Silicon Valley Sports & Ent. - San Jose Sharks
- Mario Lemieux & Ron Burkle - Pittsburgh Penguins
- Jeffrey Vanderbeek - New Jersey Devils
- Mike Ilitch - Detroit Red Wings
Worst
- Predator Holdings LLC - Nashville Predators
- Atlanta Spirit - Atlanta Thrashers
- Charles Wang - New York Islanders
- Alan Cohen - Florida Panthers
- MLSE - Toronto Maple Leafs
How can the $1.75 billion owners of the most valuable franchise in hockey continue to so mismanage one of the NHL's most storied teams? The Leafs still haven't won a Stanley Cup in 42 years, and the deep pockets of its parent organization have done little to reverse that trend. But it's not some fat-cat collective running the team from its penthouse suite -- since 1994, MLSE's primary investor has been the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Unfortunately, the dysfunctional relationship between the two principals -- Richard Peddie and Larry Tannenbaum -- continues to trickle down to the on-ice product, as MLSE is too busy running too many sports properties and breaking ground on too many real estate projects to pay enough attention to the Leafs.
[Clippers Win The NBA Draft Lottery... And Donald Sterling Is Still An Idiot]
The Los Angeles Clippers won the number one pick in this year's NBA Draft this week. I send my sympathies to Blake Griffin, but you will be able to escape in three years.
However, ESPN The Magazine (via Deadspin) got their hands on depositions from a discrimination lawsuit brought in 2003 against Clippers owner Donald Sterling. This suit predates former Clippers GM Elgin Baylor's recent suit that alleged employment discrimination.
"JUST EVICT THE BITCH." It was 2002, and Donald Sterling was talking to Sumner Davenport, one of his four top property supervisors, about a tenant at the Ardmore Apartments. Already the largest landowner in Beverly Hills, Sterling had recently acquired the Ardmore as part of his move to extend his real estate empire eastward toward Koreatown and downtown LA. As he did, Sterling "wanted tenants that fit his image," according to testimony Davenport gave in a discrimination lawsuit brought against Sterling in 2003 by 19 tenants and the nonprofit Housing Rights Center.
Cultivating his image, Davenport said, meant no blacks, no Mexican-Americans, no children (whom Sterling called "brats") and no government-housing-subsidy recipients as tenants. So according to the testimony of tenants, Sterling employees made life difficult for residents in some of his new buildings. They refused rent checks, then accused renters of nonpayment. They refused to do repairs for black tenants and harassed them with surprise inspections, threatening residents with eviction for alleged violations of building rules.
When Sterling first bought the Ardmore, he remarked on its odor to Davenport. "That's because of all the blacks in this building, they smell, they're not clean," he said, according to Davenport's testimony. "And it's because of all of the Mexicans that just sit around and smoke and drink all day." He added: "So we have to get them out of here."
[The Best Sports Films..... EVER?]
My list.....
- White Men Can't Jump
"Look man, you can listen to Jimi but you can't hear him. There's a difference man. Just because you're listening to him doesn't mean you're hearing him."
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- Caddyshack
"Hey everybody, we're all gonna get laid."
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- Slap Shot
"The fans are standing up to them! The security guards are standing up to them! The peanut vendors are standing up to them! And by golly, if I could get down there, I'd be standing up to them!"
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- Brian's Song
"I love Brian Piccolo. And I'd like all of you to love him too. And so tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him."
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- Hoosiers
(Just before the big game)
"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen."
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- The Longest Yard (1974)
"Alright men, now here's the play we're gonna use. I don't think the guards know this formation. It's called 'incidental punishment after the ball is blown dead.' Remember, any man you tackle gets an elbow, knee, or kick in the mouth."
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- The Natural
"You've got a gift Roy... but it's not enough - you've got to develop yourself. If you rely too much on your own gift... then... you'll fail."
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- The Bad News Bears (1976)
"Hey Yankees... you can take your apology and your trophy and shove 'em straight up your ass!"
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- Field Of Dreams
"Hey Dad, you wanna have a catch?"
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- Major League