Where did Jeff go?
He’s moved to a new location. Check him out on the new blogging platform and let him know what you think.
Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > December > 11 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMcDavid’s fight would’ve been nice to see
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As the Hawks steadily drift back to the pack and the Thrashers reaffirm their place among the worst run franchises in sports, do you wonder what it would’ve been like with an owner who spent more time, money and brainpower on the actual product than, say, attorney’s fees?
I do. David McDavid doesn’t. He knows he would’ve done better.
“Do you know what a camel is? It’s a horse designed by a committee,” McDavid said Thursday when asked about the Atlanta Spirit ownership group. “Those franchises are being run by a committee. They’re a camel. If I had taken over, nobody would be fighting, unless I was fighting with myself.
“Does that guarantee anything? No. But I will always believe I would have done a better job. Look at their history. None of them had run a business like that in their life.
“If you look at sports, you’ll find a lot teams that have been run by automotive people. They’re similar businesses. You have a product to sell. You try to make it as pretty as you can. You deal with people. You make it a good experience. I mean, you can buy a Honda anywhere.”
A jury ruled Thursday that McDavid should have been allowed to purchase the Hawks, Thrashers and the operating rights to Philips Arena in 2003 from Turner Broadcasting. He was awarded $281 million. All that money - and, as a bonus, he’s not mocked for his power play.
McDavid called the trial and the years leading up to it a “phenomenal burden.” He believes he has lost his desire to own a team. What he hasn’t lost is his wit, his opinions or his Texas-twang, blast-furnace delivery.
In a wide-ranging phone interview Thursday from Fort Worth, McDavid unloaded on Turner and the Atlanta Spirit, the dysfunctional group that owns the Hawks and Thrashers. He also disclosed some of his original plans for the teams, including:
• To bring in partners, claiming “six to 10” interested parties. “I would’ve kept controlling interest,” he said. “That’s one of the problems with the Spirit deal. I’ve never seen a palace coup be a success against someone who owns 51 percent of the stock. You listen to input from partners, but at the end of the day you say, ‘Thank you very much’ and make your decision.”
• To consider an offer from an undisclosed party who wanted to buy the Thrashers for “what we were paying for everything” and keep the team in Atlanta. “I don’t know if we would’ve done it but it would’ve immediately wiped out all of our debt.”
• To hire Doc Rivers or Mike Dunleavy as Hawks coach. He had conversations with both, and counts Dunleavy as a friend.
McDavid also believes the franchises and arena are worth “far more than [the Spirit] paid for it,” adding, “Our verdict validates that.”
He said Turner put in a “[Fool] Clause” in the original sale contract. “It said after the deal, we couldn’t sell the teams for 12 months,” McDavid said. “The reason we referred to it ‘The [Fool] Clause’ was because they didn’t want to look like [fools] if we bought the teams for $96 million and then turned around and sold them for $500 million. I thought it was kind of funny.”
He doesn’t know estranged team owner Steve Belkin personally, but said, “It’s clear from what he’s asking for his 30 percent that he also thinks the teams are worth a lot.”
And while he is not taking sides in the battle between the feuding owners, the lawsuit makes for an amusing spectator sport.
“Any time you have insiders not getting along, you can’t run a business,” he said. “It goes further than just trying to make it a successful team. If I was the head of a corporation and people wanted to talk to me about sponsorships, and then they saw us all fighting with each other, why would I want to be a part of that? Nobody wants to get into that mess.”
Would Belkin be a better owner than the non-Belkins?
“My personal view is that those teams would be better off with anybody except those guys,” he said. “Anytime you have all this crap going on … they just don’t seem to get it.”
He says he felt a connection with Atlanta. His daughter nearly enrolled at Georgia. His best friend owns an auto dealership in Athens. He remembers receiving a phone call from his friend after the 1984 Cotton Bowl when Georgia rallied to defeat Texas, 10-9.
McDavid laughed. “He called and said, ‘Kiss my behind, 10 to 9.’ “
He loves sports. He’s no fan of corporate ownership.
“A team is such a personal item for [fans], they want a face to go with it,” he said. “They want to know there’s somebody who cares. They want somebody they can walk up to and say, ‘Are you a moron or something?’ “
We can’t be sure he would’ve won championships. But look what he just did to Turner in court?
“They were not pleasant to deal with,” he said. “It was the world according to Turner. Whatever they say the truth is, the truth is. That’s not the way the world works. The jury foreman said, ‘All of McDavid’s witnesses were on the same page, and none of the Turner witnesses were.’ My response is, it’s real easy to be on the same page when you’re telling the truth.”
He claimed Turner representatives told him before the trial, “We’ll embarrass you. We’ll make you look like a pretender.”
McDavid paused after that recollection.
“I’m not going to say the money’s not important,” he said. “But what we really wanted was to not let them get away with it. Vindication is sweet. I don’t take well to threats.”
An owner who fights. An owner who wins.
It would’ve been nice.
Permalink | Comments (47) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks/NBA, Thrashers/NHL
Services »
Comments
By baloney
December 11, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this
The Atlanta Spitit Group is an idiotic name for anything.Then you have the actual buffoons that are a part of it.They have allowed Atlanta to be the laughing stock of sports.They couldn’t give the franchises away now. There isn’t any law firm in the world that could untangle the mess created by those idiots.
By leland
December 11, 2008 3:48 PM | Link to this
JS—who was that masked man, anyway? YP, Leland
By joe
December 11, 2008 3:49 PM | Link to this
I already like the fact, that McDavid would have brought in a REAL coach for the Hawks, Woody doesnt have clue and I am sure most of the players think so also. We deserve a better team on the court. They have dropped 4 straight!!!! That team is much too talented…
By CRobinson
December 11, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this
His net worth was 128 Million. Hell, Vick’s contract was worth almost that much. haha.
By LAC
December 11, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this
Should read Atlanta STUPID Group, or ALG, Atlanta LIARS Group.
These clowns are destroying both teams and the sooner they sell out the better we ALL are.
Lastly rutherford snydel, you are a LYING LITTLE PANTY WASTE. Do you run around at home in childrens cloth’s, namely GIRLS ?
You are a GUTLESS COWARD who would not stand up for a good even FIGHT if offered, you are, simply put rutherford, HUMAN SCUM of The Highest Order, you lied to ALL of us last season and your Filthy Lying Mouth continues and I hope & pray you A-holes lose to Bilkin and you Idiots are run out of town.
Nobody in this town has one bit or respect for you only CONTEMPT for your dishonest ways, so rutherford you slimy dick, put up or SHUT UP either be a MAN or come out of the closet in the little girl clothes and show up ALL what a true FREAK really looks like !
Anytime YOU want a FIGHT just let me know I will rearrange your already STUPID looking face once and for ALL !
By Astro Joe
December 11, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this
Dunleavy?… frightening. McDavid sounds like the kind of owner we need, as long as he lets someone else (not named Dunleavy) hire his head coach. With ties to Dallas, I wonder if he would jump on Avery Johnson or Del Harris if he had the team now? Dunleavy? YUCK!!!
By Broke free employee
December 11, 2008 4:00 PM | Link to this
As a former Turner employee, David McDavid could not be more right when describing the intimidation at Turner. I don’t know about the specifics of this case, but in my 10 years there that was the sentiment across the board. If was Turner’s way of you were ostracized.
Congrats McDavid, please do not rule out purchasing the Hawks and Thrashers though. We still need your help!
By Phoneguy
December 11, 2008 4:02 PM | Link to this
Please Lord… Please. Get rid of these IDIOTS and let a real owner who gives a crap get the Hawks and Thrashers please. Amen
By Hossa is God
December 11, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this
Yeah, the Thrashers would have hoisted the Lord Stanley’s Cup at least 3 times by now…LOL. This McDavid is a jack arse not even a camel. It’s easy to pop off in hind sight.
By Ramblin Wrecker
December 11, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this
Wow, great reporting Schultz. I had to go to an entirely different article to understand why McDavid even had a case to sue Turner over.
So basically, McDavid got the equity from the Hawks/Thrashers/Philips Arena right, without having to buy them. Why were these guys at Turner such idiots that they couldn’t find a buyer willing to give them market value for the whole kit and kaboodle? If McDavid was aware of the real value, then surely someone else would know it. Too bad they sold the Braves last. It sounds like they learned something about pricing. If they had sold the Braves first, maybe Arthur Blank’s offer would have been good enough and we’d be talking about how we just signed CC Sabathia instead of how we’re getting jobbed by the Yankees over AJ Burnout.
By hallelujah !!!!!!!
December 11, 2008 4:08 PM | Link to this
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE!!!!This organization from top to bottom just got whipped on both courts. How does it feel losers?Your coach is just a reflection of your cheap, undervalued way of thinking. Victory feels so good!You have been exposed Spirit Group for the p** fakes you are. Oh baby!Can’t wait to see those books!Thought DMcD was just going to go away, huh? Spin doctors may know leave. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Tomahawk Matt
December 11, 2008 4:11 PM | Link to this
**Mr. McDavid,
WOULD YOU PLEASE BUY THE BRAVES FROM THE LIBERTY MEDIA IDIOTS?
Sincerely, Atlanta Braves FANS**
By tp
December 11, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
That’s the best sports column I’ve ever read. Thanks Jeff!
By Maniac is accurate
December 11, 2008 4:17 PM | Link to this
Well the $#%^ has sunk to the bottom of the bowl. Flush Woody now and hire a real coach while there’s still time this season.
Billy was only half the problem. Finish the job!
By WHAT SPIRIT
December 11, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this
Let’s boycott the Hawks and Spirit until the owner’s have to sell them and we will return when management has a clue.
By PMC
December 11, 2008 4:48 PM | Link to this
I’m not following the camel analogy. Camels are very well designed and adapted for thier environment.
The ASG is a gigantic grease fire of poor decisions. They never really wanted to own a hockey team anyway.
The Hawks should have been far better than they are by now… but management didn’t seem to think point guards in a guard driven league were important.
By Astro Joe
December 11, 2008 4:52 PM | Link to this
Hey ASG, if you had a dollar for every column/article written about you guys that included the word “dysfunctional” you would have been able to offer Childress a fair deal before the Greek team out-bid you.
By the way ASG, when are you going to file the paperwork on Speedy?
By Darrin "The Vent King'
December 11, 2008 6:17 PM | Link to this
Ever see Ted Turner in an interview? If you have, you can easily believe what McDavid is saying about Turner Broadcasting. I’ve never seen a more stuck-on-his-self, crass, rude, obnoxious narcissitic person in my life. How he and Fonda stayed married without one killing the other is beyond me. I’m not sure if he even runs the place anymore but I’m sure his attitude set the foundation for how the way Turner Broadcasting is run. I’ve heard eerily similar things from friends of mine that have worked there also. As for the Atlanta “Killing My Spirit” Group - I wish there was something the citizens of Atlanta could do to get rid of those idiots. They don’t give a rat’s azz about any of those teams and the way the teams play is typical of how the franchises are ran- like crap. I wish anyone short of Satan ran these franchises other than those group of Keystone cops.
By Ted Striker
December 11, 2008 6:24 PM | Link to this
David McDavid won his lawsuit but many NBA and NHL owners privately agree he didn’t have the liquidity to successfully make a go with the two franchises. While he could tender a certain amount, his pockets weren’t nearly deep enough to adequately capitalize the teams, post-purchase.
Contract law verdicts — especially where implied or verbal contracts are claimed by one party — are highly unpredictable. Therefore, it’s not remarkable McDavid won. Still, post-trial comments from jurors indicate some were naive about how intricate buy-sell agreements work in practice. And very naive about how large corporations operate in particular.
It remains to be seen whether McDavid will ever collect on this verdict, in current form. Turner Broadcasting will likely appeal. If nothing else, they should challenge the amount on the grounds it holds no practical merit.
From earlier AJC reports, “the first amount the jury awarded — $281 million — primarily represents the fair market value of the teams at the time of the sale minus the amount McDavid would have paid for them.”
Fair market value is the price a willing buyer would pay to a wiling seller, both in a free market for an asset. It is not the same as intrinsic value and the opinion of people not interested in purchasing or selling the asset hold little sway since they are “not in the market.” My point is that FMV is actually the same for everyone actively in the market for a particular asset, in this case the two teams and arena rights.
If McDavid was a legitimate purchaser with a legitimate buy-sell, there should be no difference between the FMV and what he was willing to pay. However, the verdict implies there was a $281 million difference. He won the verdict because 1) jurors believed buying and selling multiple franchises is complicated (true) and — 2) and it’s just more natural for folks to side with an individual rather than a corporation when things are very confusing to them.
By JSS
December 11, 2008 6:50 PM | Link to this
Dead dog, same stick…
Dude, take continuing education or something!!!
By Bob in SF
December 11, 2008 7:32 PM | Link to this
I was on board with him until he mentioned Dunleavey and Rivers as competent NBA coaches. Doc was terrible until he got a chance to roll the ball out on the floor to three All-Stars, one of which is a lock HOFer and Dunleavy’s incompetence is legendary. A competent basketball GM was needed back then and is still needed for the Thrashers.
By Matt = niremetal
December 11, 2008 8:18 PM | Link to this
Kind of ironic for someone who probably just spend millions of dollars in legal fees to win a lawsuit to criticize someone else for being stuck in a lawsuit…
By SUPERIOR
December 11, 2008 9:06 PM | Link to this
I wish it were like the old days and we could hold public stonings. Imagine the line ASG would create.
By JeffH
December 11, 2008 9:51 PM | Link to this
Dunleavy? You can’t be serious. Doc wouldn’t even be considered a ‘good’ coach if it weren’t for the $$$big three$$$. This just shows you how much this guy really knows. Another loud mouth from Texas is all we need. The grass always seem greener on the other side of the fence…but you still have to mow it.
By scottbravesfan
December 11, 2008 11:37 PM | Link to this
The Hawks and Thrashers are forever ruined. They will never be winners. The city of Atlanta is called a bad sports town because most people support other teams besides the home teams since the home teams are always awful. Teams have to be good every once in awhile to actually establish a fan base.
By Brendan
December 12, 2008 12:22 AM | Link to this
Ruined forever??, Scottbravesfan. Forever is a long time. All that’s needed is good ownership and competent decision-making, and everything gets fixed within 3 years. As currently owned, I don’t expect much from the Hawks and Thrashers. But the AS, LLC won’t own them forever. I have long suspected the teams and arena purchase were simply a “money grab.” Buy low. Sell high. Hard to argue with that strategy. Put in a couple of “caretaker” ownership years, then watch the money rain down from the sky.
Oh, the Spirit Boys claim to be huge sports fans. But what kind of fans can they really be? How long did they leave Billy Knight in charge of the Hawks? And he’d still be here, if Knight had been permitted to fire Woodson. Now, I like Woodson. He’s hilarious! I think he’s got a career on the comedy circuit when his time is done in Atlanta basketball. I offer, as “Exhibit A,” this gem, from 2005: “Records are records. I’m not concerned about our record. We can’t control our record.”
Pure comedic gold. That, from a Head Coach, of an NBA team. After 13 wins all season long, it was very EVIDENT that Coach Woodson wasn’t concerned about the team’s record.
Now, it’d take all the remaining bandwidth to discuss Don Waddell. But, again, they leave him in charge. So, that must mean … that they like the job he’s doing. Uhh, just as a reminder … the Spirit Boys, particularly Levenson and Pescowitz, claim to be HUGE SPORTS FANS.
I wish I could find it, but some hockey blog ranked the GM’s, and the Blogmaster wrote words to the effect of, “Bruce Levenson wouldn’t know a bad GM if it fell on top of him, punched him in the nose, then sodomized him.” I don’t know the official record of the Waddell Administration, but it’s under .500. It stands on the brink of its eighth season outside of the playoffs, in nine tries. Irrespective of the BUDGET, GM Waddell had EIGHT picks in the Top 10 overall to build this club. Budget, smudget. He didn’t get it done. There’s only so much blame he can deflect upon ownership. While ownership has no defense WHATSOEVER. I’ll read Waddell’s book, when it comes out. I’d really like to hear his side of things. It has to be difficult to work for bad owners. But Waddell cannot pretend he hasn’t had his share of misfires that had nothing to do with ownership.
By Josh
December 12, 2008 12:47 AM | Link to this
TO THE ATLANTA SPIRIT! PLEASE SELL THE TEAMS. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO PROFESSIONAL SPORTS AND THE CITY OF ATLANTA. WE DESERVE GOOD TEAMS AND COMPETENT OWNERSHIP AND A CHANCE TO COMPETE FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS!
By 10yr plan
December 12, 2008 2:18 AM | Link to this
Jeff,
Thanks for the great column. I’ve been an Atlanta hockey fan since the Flames days in the mid 70’s. Is there any truth that McDavid would’ve hired Burke as GM instead of Waddell. Also, I know you’ve tracked the Thrashers since inception, any chance of a recap of all of Waddell’s moves(free agency & draft). I know he’s been very quotable over the years. Examples include Brunette & Staios being too slow too, Savard being a cancer in the locker room, Stefan over the Sedin Twins. Not to mention all the poor signings(Krupp, Maracle, Rhodes, etc…). Jeff, your the only one who can set the record straight, please let us hear from you. The Flames were before your day, but please ask Mr. Bisher what kind of team they were and what was the attendance. This city will support hockey! Keep up the good work!
By Ted Striker
December 12, 2008 2:40 AM | Link to this
The folks screaming ASG MUST SELL NOW ought to just step up and buy.
Isn’t that how it works? One party — ASG — sells. The other party — the folks demanding a sale, by god now!!! — buys.
Grandpappy Striker had a saying. It was “step up to the plate and swing… or wear a skirt with the cheerleaders if you’re just going to make noise.”
Lotta skirts around here.
By Najeh Davenpoop
December 12, 2008 3:29 AM | Link to this
Haha co-sign both of Astro Joe’s posts.
Mike Dunleavy would have been disastrous.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
December 12, 2008 6:51 AM | Link to this
“Records are records. I’m not concerned about our record. We can’t control our record.”
Maybe he was talking about the locker room record player going haywire? Perhaps they had to listen to “We’re not going to take it!” endlessly that season…stupid LPs.
By kurtz
December 12, 2008 7:37 AM | Link to this
Mr. Striker, regarding your pensees on fair market value, would you agree that if different parties were offered different conditions as part of a purchase, the fair market value could vary? The poor jurors were asked to assume the most believable set of facts about the asset, as presented at trial, and most likely, those conditions of sale on which both sides agreed, or the most credible side maintained.
While Ted Turner’s name is still attached to Turner Broadcasting, wasn’t he far removed from the sale of the sports teams or any operations under the Time Warner umbrella?
By manny
December 12, 2008 8:17 AM | Link to this
The courts need to force them to sell, they are running the teams in the ground….they didn’t even have all the money to buy the teams, it was a loan given by Ted to his son! Somebody get these clowns out of the owners box.
By Dumbing Down
December 12, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this
Mr. LAC,
Please get back on your medications. Just because it is the holiday season doesn’t mean you can stop taking your pills and threaten people. Also, you mess up the Happy Meal orders when you don’t take your pills.
By Brian22
December 12, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
I’ve never been sold on McDavid. I’m not convinced he wouldn’t have run the teams on the cheap. I’m not convinced that he would’ve kept the teams in Atlanta. That being said, ANYTHING is better than the Atlanta Spirit. The Atlanta Spirit makes the Smith family look like Arthur Blank.
By wxwax
December 12, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this
Interesting comments on the jury verdict by Messrs. Striker and Kurtz.
Schulzie, can’t believe you’re so naive about McDavid. At the time it was obvious he didn’t have the money to both buy and operate. He’d have split the Hawks and Thrashers, and we’d probably have lost the hockey team. Who knows, he might even have moved the Hawks. Turner wanted to keep the teams intact and in Atlanta.
There was all sorts of bad mojo about McDavid. While his comments about the Spirit are spot-on, it doesn’t take a genius to see what their problems are. More to the point, his ability to critique the Spirit doesn’t mean he’d have been a better owner.
I’m glad the teams weren’t sold to McDavid.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
December 12, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
wxwax — Refer to the section of Schultz’s article labeled:
“He also disclosed some of his original plans for the teams, including:”
The first two bullet points highlight McDavid’s intentions (possibly hindsight driven) which answer the criticisms you bring up.
Supposedly he had a buyer lined up for the Thrashers, and partners lined up for the entire venture.
By wxwax
December 12, 2008 1:15 PM | Link to this
Isn’t that the point, ranallo10?
You’re asking me to believe what a car salesman says.
Therein lies the problem.
By ranallo10 (in AT)
December 12, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this
Touché.
I personally believe he would’ve sold the hockey team…though, I doubt it was a buyer “committed to keeping the team in Atlanta” like he implies it was. Without the Arena rights, that team is relatively worthless.
McDavid always seemed more interested in basketball (didn’t he own part of the Mavericks at one time?), so I wouldn’t put it past him to have talked to potential buyers for the Thrashers.
The investors things sounds like bologna to me though. Maybe he had a few conversations with friends where they mentioned “wouldn’t that be cool if…”, and that’s what he considers “interested partners”.
By Ted Striker
December 12, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this
Hi, Kurtz —
I wholeheartedly agree with you that “if different parties were offered different conditions as part of a purchase the FMV could in fact vary.”
The best example of such a situation would be if the McDavid buy/sell had been specified to be exclusively unbundled — with the Hawks, Thrashers and arena rights being sold part and parcel individually — as opposed to being part of a package deal as it was in fact structured. Or, in a more complicated version, assets of the two franchises being sold part/parcel individually or the same for Phillips arena rights. (Example, Hawks jersey sale rights being sold apart from ownership of the team, etc).
If that had been the case, there could be a claim that the FMV was arbitrary, being different because the assets themselves varied. That said, there’s no evidence whatsoever this was the case, it would be highly unprecedented, and most tellingly — the plaintiff did not make such a claim.
Back to question, from another viewpoint. As for different parties being offered different “conditions” — FMV is strictly defined in law based on the United States Supreme Court Decision in United States v. Cartwright, 411 U. S. 546, 93 S. Ct. 1713, 1716-17, 36 L. Ed. 2d 528, 73-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) (1973). Without going deeply into the legalese, FMV is applicable based on goods and/or services offered in series or quantities. FMV is based on goods/services offered in series or quantities that are identical.
The crux of this matter is that the assets/rights being sold in this case were the Hawks/Thrashers/Philips arena rights. This was not variable, so the goods/services portion of the FMV definition remained constant. According to US versus Cartwright, FMV is an opinion, until a price is determined, at which point FMV becomes fact, as it is the price that the market would bear for a knowledgeable buyer/seller unencumbered by undue pressure and acting in their own best interest in a reasonable time/exposure in a free/open market.
You are right to say the “poor jurors.” They were put in an unenviable position of listening to intricate testimony about complicated buy/sell agreements, difficult written contracts, and most importantly asked to make a judgement based on implied contracts after the original buy/sell expired. They seemed to be most impacted by the fact that Turner Broadcasting had prepared documents in advance of being executed (which is how things are done in the corporate world — many drafts and proposals are often created, most of which are never executed and many that never see the light of day).
Some jurors commented to the effect that they leaned toward the plaintiff because his perspective seemed more consistent and therefore understandable than Turner Broadcasting. With TB, there were multiple perspectives expressed by different people in different departments. Confusing. In reality, it would be unusual if that were not so. Consider this. When there is a major project with hundreds of people in different departments working on different aspects of the same project, individual employee viewpoints differ. To make it more complicating, when the project fails — in this case — the buy/sell doesn’t go through there’s no way that everyone at corporate would have the same viewpoint because they are each testifying about their individual experience on the project, not the total comprehensive scope, which individually, they may never have been given access.
McDavid had the advantage on this count because he was one man, with his supporting team in tow when it came to testimony.
As for your question about Ted Turner being far removed from the sale, I figure you are correct. It’s a huge corporation while his name is on it and he owns stock, he doesn’t have a rubber stamp. But I don’t know what he knew, or even that it matters what he knew. It was stated that the jury found no merit to the plaintiff’s claim TB sharing McDavid’s financial information with unauthorized parties. To many, that seemed like the most serious charge.
The losers, if the verdict holds, will be the stockholders of Turner Broadcasting. Everyday folk might be surprise to see that that’s them, if they check their 401K and dig down into the actual stocks owned by their mutual funds. (I have a 201K, not a 401K after recent losses).
The only clear winners are: the attorneys, both sides. Yes, McDavid has crowing rights, but whether or not he will end up collecting is still a matter of he attorney’s adding a bit more to their coffers.
By Brendan
December 12, 2008 3:57 PM | Link to this
Sometimes, Jeff Schultz jumps into our discussions. Where is he?
By tyger
December 12, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this
*One thing overlooked *
By Al
December 12, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this
The dude compares running a professional sports franchise to selling cars and you take him serious enough to write about it? What a joke …
By Jonathan Hart
December 13, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this
Shultz,
Get an MBA and possibly a JD before you attempt to write another column like this. You’ll come off less naive.
By it's all about the seydel money
December 13, 2008 10:03 PM | Link to this
A BUNCH OF dishonest PUNKS TRYING TO GET RICH only because they had connections.- The Atlanta * sissy spirit* are EMBARRASSED PRETENDERS.
By drewbear
December 13, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this
Ted Striker, is what TB did with McDavids financials illegal or just immoral? I would think that if there is testimony to that point that some agency would be very interested in persuing some sort of action against TB. Thank you for leaving the legalese out of your post. Also, I have quit contributing to my 401k. I figure I can use the money now, even if it is taxed as income.
By NASCAR Dave
December 16, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
Well, well, well… Has everybody figured it out yet??? You know, the “Black Cloud” they keep talking about??? Yeah, the Black Cloud is none other than DONNIE FRAUDell, the Master of Disaster… The sooner you people figure out that he is the One and Only Problem, the better off your lives will be…
I told you PAVELEC was ready… I told you VALABIK was ready… I told you our young Wolves would contribute more than our washed up retreads/”Team” guys…
I told you ERICA PERRIN and ERIKA CHRISTENA are in COACH’s doghouse… He wants them both OUT, can’t you see???
RANALDO, SARA, and the usual flock of apologists have to feel pretty silly trying to argue with me all season that players like VALABIK/PAVELEC/OYSTRICK/CRABB were not ready… Once again, I prove them all wrong, AGAIN…
I know the truth hurts and I know you must feel pretty silly knowing that a guy with “NASCAR” in his name knows more about hockey and THIS team than any of the “alleged” educated fans up in here… LOL
Keep watching, see me be right again and again, and in the meantime let’s get SLATER/CHRISTENA/ERICA PERRIN/and MOOSE out of here and bring up some more Rookies… Oh yeah, and FIRE WADDELL!!!
NUFF SAID.