I am a huge Pittsburgh Pirates fan.  I was born and raised in Pittsburgh.  My earliest memory of seeing a game is being taken by my father to see the Pirates play Tom Seaver and the New York Mets at Forbes Field in 1969.  In 1972, I remember, 11 years old,  sitting in front my television, watching the Pirates take a lead into the 9th inning, thinking we were going to the World Series, only to see Johnny Bench homer in the bottom of the 9th  to tie Game 5 of the playoffs. I bawled  when George Foster scored on a wild pitch to send The Big Red Machine to the World Series instead of the Pirates.

The 1970′s were great years for the Pirates and fans alike.  They were in contention practically every year. They won two World Series Championships in 1971 and 1979.  I loved going to games.  I often went with my two brothers.  Back in those days double headers prevalent.  My older brother would take me and my younger brother to a doubleheader. We would however first stop at the local deli for a corned beef sandwich, not to eat at the game, but to bribe the guard at the entrance to the box field seats to lets us in on our general admission tickets.  We would take the seats of those who had only stayed for the 1st game of the doubleheader.  I miss those days.  The glory days of The Pirates and my love for baseball.

My allegiance did not end with the good times.  I faithfully attended games through the Three Rivers Stadium wasteland of the 80′s.  The Pirates were not a good team but with the exception of a couple years they were never terrible. What was terrible was attendance. Pittsburgh as a city was struggling economically.  I remember attending games were there could not have been more than a few thousand in the stands.  Those days also seem like grand old times as I watch the ownership wasteland that is now the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It is a wasteland. A wasteland of total indifference to winning regardless of profits.  That’s a bold statement when you consider that the Pirates were for quite a few years were owned in part by the financially strapped city of Pittsburgh and some other local businesses.   A pre-revenue sharing ownership group that did not hide that fact that there was not much  money. It’s possible that I am romanticizing a much worse situation but I recall that they did the best they could with what they had. They were the last option in the game to prevent what would amount to a hostile takeover by another city which would have certainly resulted in the team leaving Pittsburgh.  Their job was to be as competitive as possible with what they had until they could find a buyer who would put some money into the team and take it to the level of greatest it achieved in the 70′s.  The irony is that with their limited resources, they almost did it on their own terms with the arrival of Barry Bonds and the Pirates near miss on the World Series in 1992.  That was the high point. It was a different era and different economics.

The low point is an ownership group that actually has money running a scorched earth business model, taking substantial revenue sharing, putting none of it into salaries and doing what with it?  Putting a AAA caliber ball club on the field and have the gall to insult our intelligence as to their major-league worthiness.  They have never really been clear about what is being done with revenue sharing profits other than to state that they are running the team in a fiscally responsible manner.  One theory is that they are using it to pay down team debt.  How is that not the same as putting it in your own pocket?   Whats the excuse for 2011?  We are young?  We will develop?  The line of every GM stuck with a stable of non-producing trades and busted Vegas lottery picks.  It’s akin to saying 110 degrees is not hot in Las Vegas because its a dry heat.  In the end dog-shit stinks regardless of what perfume rhetoric you pour on it…

(CBN)The City of Pittsburgh, Pa, home of the Major League baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates is abuzz with shock and outrage over the discovery of secretly recorded meeting between between Pirates majority Owner  Robert Nutting and General Manager Neal Huntington .

The bizarre exchange occurred in Nutting’s office after the Pirates executed a series of questionable trades and player sales in a  roto rooter roster purge ending in the unloading almost all of their starting lineup in exchange for cash and a collection of unknowns who have failed to produce squat in 2010.  The Pirates in fact, appear to be on-track for the worst season in team history.  The  moves prompted the front page headline “WHO THE HELL ARE THESE GUYS” in the local Pittsburgh newspaper.  The following a a transcript of the recorded conversation.

Nutting: Come on in Neal, have a seat.

Huntington: I’m glad you called me in. I’m still unclear on a couple things about our team direction.

Nutting: Oh, really  Like what?

Huntington: We have traded away practically every decent player we have.  This will be the worst Pirates team ever and that’s saying something after 17 consecutive losing seasons.  I think Russell is going to quit and start selling Goodyears.  Who will manage the Pirates moving forward if he does.

Nutting: I was thinking of the Dos Equis Man. He will fit in quite well with our team concept.

Huntington: What exactly is our team concept?

Nutting: That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I want to put together a team that will help us relocate to Cuba

Huntington: Cuba?  Your joking.

Nutting: I’m serious about this Neal.  It’s no secret I’ve never liked Pittsburgh much. The weathers lousy, the downtown is a pit, the stadium’s too small,we cant draw dick and no one is reading my crappy newspapers. Another 2 years of this and I may need to start feeding  Ogden real dog food.

Huntington: You can’t just up and move a team on a whim!

Nutting: It’s hardly a whim.  Fidel has offered to build us a new stadium — 62,000   capacity, 45 V.I.P. boxes, and all rent to be subsided through sugar cane sales. No other franchise in baseball can match that deal.

Nutting: Whats more, Fidel has taken a liking to the Dos Equis Man.   Fidel personally told me he finds him incredibly interesting. Whats more, he looks like him.  He likes the commercials and thinks of him as the son he always wanted .  There is also a national Cuban Tequila brand rolling out that will provide some good marketing perks . I plan offering Mr. Equis a long term contract to replace Russell.  Fidel will be the starting 1st baseman in Spring Training. The job’s his to lose.

Huntington: You cant be serious!

Nutting: I’m not serious, my name is Robert, whats wrong with you….

Nutting: Whats more, we will be given the option of signing player development contracts with the parents of all promising Cuban prospects. We will have exclusive negotiating rights starting at 7 years old as well as their real birth certificates. We will corner the Cuban baseball talent market!

Huntington: Even so, the League and the City will never let us  leave Pittsburgh.  There is a lease and laws we have to deal with.

Nutting: I have that all figured out!   During the next off-season  I will  have us scheduled for an exhibition game in Cuba.   While we are in Cuba, under my authority as owner and in the best interests of baseball I will undertake a mass defection of the entire team.   The bottom line is that if we play bad enough no one will care if we defect and the players will love the sunny climate.

Huntington: You mean you want us to lose?

Nutting:  We’ve been losing.  I want us to finish dead last and set an all time loss record.  Speaking of which, I heard Mario Mendoza is making a comeback, offer him a 3 year deal and a free AARP membership.

Huntington: You are out of your mind!

Nutting: Well I still think print media is viable if that’s what you mean.

MORE TO FOLLOW!

©2010 Brian Cuban

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Former NBA stars Antoine Walker and Derrick Coleman are Broke.  The Real Deal, Evander Holyfield stared into the financial abyss although it appears he is getting his finances under control.  Just a few of the high profile athlete having to scale back his lifestyle to the level to which you have I have been accustomed.  The list is long and distinguished. Why is it that athletes who seem to have everything are often completely unable to control anything related to finances?

We all played our violins to death when we heard of Latrell Sprewell’s financial troubles. On Halloween 2004, Sprewell, who was in the final season of a $62-million five-year contract with the New York Knicks, said he was insulted by the Minnesota Timberwolve’s offer of a contract extension that was reportedly worth between $27 million and $30 million for three seasons. Sprewell stated, “I’ve got my family to feed.” That quote become a national moniker for the public perception of athletes as greedy, out of touch individuals. Apparently, Sprewell still can’t feed his family. His yacht was  repossessed and his home faced foreclosure.

While there is certainly the stereotype of the financially irresponsible NBA athlete, no professional sport is immune.

Let’s take a look at some high profile athlete financial sob stories over the years:

1. No one my age can forget Jack”The Ripper” Clark , star player for the Boston Red Sox who filed for bankruptcy in 1992 in the middle of his second year of a three-year, $8.7 million contract with Boston; he listed $6.7 million in debts. Jack was a master of financial planning and prudent asset acquisition. His bankruptcy petition listed assets such as 18 automobiles, including a 1990 Ferrari that cost $717,000 and three 1992 Mercedes Benz cars costing between $103,000 and $143,000. He owed money on 17 of the automobiles and was liable for about $400,000 in Federal and state taxes. He had also lost about $1 million in a drag-racing venture. Sounds like Jack would have been more at home in the NBA. You can read about it here

2. Johnny Unitas, Hall of Fame quarterback for the Baltimore Colts, filed for bankruptcy in 1991 citing numerous failed business ventures in his petition These failed bits included bowling alleys, land deals and restaurants. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991.

3. Mike Tyson The name speaks for itself. Mike’s bankruptcy was highly publicized. Despite earning hundreds of millions during his boxing career, Mike kept it simple. His bankruptcy petition simply stated: ” I am unable to pay my bills”. According to federal court records, his liabilities totaled about $27 million. You can read that story here.

4. Dorothy Hamill, the women’s figure-skating gold medalist in the 1976 Winter Games, filed for bankruptcy after a series of financial setbacks. Hamill said she has experienced financial setbacks as a result of poor financial investment advice and management.

These are just a few of many athletes’ tales of woe. It is not a phenomenon limited to professional sports — just ask M.C Hammer. Prior to his declaring bankruptcy, it was made public that his day to day living expenses far exceeded his income of $33 million. If I am going to veer off to celebrities, I certainly have to mention Kim Basinger and Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage.

When the Toronto Star ran an article alleging that a shocking 60 percent of NBA athletes “go broke” five years after retiring, did we not all pull out that very tiny violin we have reserved for such occasions? The NBA players union and the NBA have both disputed that assertion. The article goes on to talk about all the people taking advantage of and “scamming” these athletes. While I have no doubt there is truth to this, I can also understand how such a generalization would make the NBA uncomfortable. It leaves you with the impression that 60 percent of NBA players are not only financially inept but also idiots in general. This is simply not true. While good business sense is often lacking, I view many of their mistakes as being more mistakes of trust, credibility and lack of life experience than anything else. Smart, busy people who can afford it, hire people with targeted expertise to help them. This allows them to focus on their expertise. Sometime mistakes are made and bad judgment is used in who we hire and hang out with. That is not unique to the NBA or professional sports. This happens to everyone. That is life. It happens all the time. It just does not make front page when we screw up. If there is any question at all as to how badly we as the general public screw up, just look at the personal bankruptcy filing statistics.

In order to get a perspective from the inside, I contacted Jordan Woy, a highly respected sports agent and a principal in the sports marketing/management firm of Schlegel Sports. Jordan has represented numerous high profile athletes

Here is what Jordon had to say:

I think there are several reasons why so many athletes “go broke”. First, whether it is a lottery winner, an athlete or a star entertainer, if they are not equipped with the knowledge on how to make and save money they are in trouble. When they didn’t earn it through disciplined business practices and they don’t have those skills they usually go through it quickly. Most lottery winners or athletes make a great deal of money in a short period of time. They start spending it on things that only go down in value (cars, jewelry, partying, entourage, etc) and start to evaporate the money they do have. They can carry this off until they stop earning big money. This is when the trouble starts. It is hard to believe that MC Hammer, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and now Ed McMahon are broke. These are people who earned hundreds of millions over time and it disappeared. Lavish spending and entourages were probably the downfall for the first three for sure.

Most athletes play for four to ten years if they are lucky. After they pay taxes (can be 40 to 50%) and agent fees and buy their first homes, cars, outfits, jewelry (plus, cars, clothes and jewelry for friends and family), they are left with very little. When they first “strike it rich” all of their longtime friends and family expect help. Most athletes feel obligated to help everyone out at first then they wise up. They also want to keep up with their teammates. If someone buys a Bentley, they have to buy one; if someone buys a $75,000 watch, they have to buy one to keep up the appearance. Then, of course, when the career ends and they are still living in a multi million dollar house, driving 3 expensive cars (and insurance), traveling in private planes and taking Limo’s when they go out on the town, reality sets in. The money dries up very quickly.

However, if athletes educate themselves, learn money management skills and make smart, safe investments along the way, they are usually in very good shape. After representing athletes for over 20 years, we call this our “life plan”. We take out clients on working vacations in the off season to places like Las Vegas, Cancun and on a cruise to the Bahamas to learn business networking. We have people from industries such as real estate, oil and gas, financial planning, credit repair, asset protection/estate planning, etc come to educate the players and their wives so they can learn about these business and also determine if they are interested in any of these industries for life after sports. One of the financial planners who comes always says most people die coming down from Mt. Everest not going up. The goal is for these athletes to get to their Mt. Everest AND to get down safely.

So, what do you think? Are the financial mistakes that athletes make any different than your mistakes or mine? They are certainly mistakes made with a higher downside. When we hear these stories are we just unable to comprehend that someone could have that much money and spend it all? Can we learn lessons on how to live our lives from their highly publicized financial gaffes? Do we even care at all?

With all due respect to Latrell Sprewell, we have our own families to feed…

(CNS) In light of the rash of  allegations of  sexual assaults involving NFL players taking place at  charity golf tournaments, the NFL has issued a safety advisory to women who may be thinking of attending these tournaments.  The statement from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reads as follows:

“We are aware that there have been allegations of sexual assault against NFL players attending charity golf tournaments.  Allegations against Ben Roethlisberger for his conduct at a Lake Tahoe Tournament and new allegations involving members of the Green Bay Packers at a Wisconsin golf tournament concern us. While all players are innocent until proven guilty, we feel we have no choice but to issue this safety advisory to all women to stay away from charity golf tournaments in which NFL players are participating. We must concede that the combination of alcohol, self entitlement, perceived legal impunity  and bad golfing creates an atmosphere of danger to women.  These events should therefore be avoided at all costs. When it is determined that our players can actually conduct themselves at these tournaments in a manner consistent with the law and the highest the expectations of the NFL, the advisory will be lifted.  -Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner

When reached for comment, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger , who is currently under suspension related to his conduct surrounding a separate alleged sexual assault(not a golf tourney) has this to say:

“I don’t feel there is any greater danger from me at a charity golf tournament than there is in a bar or at a ball game”.  I am also a hell of a golfer from the whites.”

Members of the Green Bay Packers declined comment on advise of counsel.