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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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 Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:22 pm Post subject: The Official NHL Ownership Debacle Thread |
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Too many to keep track of now in the individual forums.
Here's a piece about Bootsie's dealing with Leipold and Anschautz(amounting to 17 million of his 25 million stake in the Preds), and about the Samueli's and their recent guilty plea.
| Quote: |
Even the smug man in charge at NHL headquarters would surely agree last week was an especially bad one.
As he addressed the league's board of governors in New York, Gary Bettman admitted he had no clue that two of his closest NHL confidants – L.A.'s Philip Anschutz and Minnesota's Craig Leipold – had lent San Jose banker Boots Del Biaggio a combined $17 million (U.S.) to help him pay for a $25 million stake in the Nashville Predators.
NHL owners were speechless, according to a source who attended the meeting, as Bettman grumbled he had been in the dark. Neither Anschutz nor Leipold had made him aware of the cozy back-door deal.
Del Biaggio, of course, has become the NHL's most famous owner. He's the target of a criminal investigation, faces at least a half dozen lawsuits, and has been filed with divorce papers for allegedly lying about his financial wherewithal.
Although Leipold's motivations are murky, Anschutz likely lent Del Biaggio the money because his company owns an arena in Kansas City and Del Biaggio wanted to move the Predators there.
"Anschutz and Leipold are on Gary's executive committee," says one high-ranking NHL source. "These are guys who are at the power centre of the league, close to Gary, and supposed to be his best allies. And here they were lending Del Biaggio money, and not telling Gary, at a time when they were supposed to be reviewing his offer to become an owner.
"It stinks."
And now, with some of his owners viewing the NHL's front office as nothing short of a banana republic, Bettman's month gets worse.
Ducks owner Henry Samueli is a long-time California philanthropist turned perjurer and felon. Yesterday, he beat Del Baggio to the punch by pleading guilty to lying to federal authorities.
The model of the modern-day NHL owner who bought the Ducks in 2005, Samueli faces five years probation and $12.2 million (all figures U.S.) in fines after admitting he lied last year when U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials asked him about a stock options scandal at his company Broadcom.
Will the NHL force Samueli to sell the club? It's uncertain. The league offered no comment yesterday. But then what could it say?
After all, here's what deputy commissioner Bill Daly offered last month when the SEC first charged Samueli with scheming to defraud Broadcom shareholders: "Today's announcement has no impact on Henry's status as an NHL owner or on his ownership of the Ducks. Civil litigation happens all the time. That doesn't disqualify anybody from owning a franchise, much less an NHL franchise."
Bettman added: "The Samuelis have been terrific owners. They're perhaps the most community-minded and charitable people in all of Orange County," Bettman said. "I am not going to fret about something that may or may not be substantiated at the end of the day."
Right. No sense fretting. Maybe Bettman and Daly couldn't have predicted yesterday's news but certainly "this matter's before the courts, so we decline comment" would have been a shrewder move.
Trouble is, Bettman and Daly think they're the smartest guys in any room. It won't be a shock if the league sticks by Samueli instead of making what amounts to a no-brainer. There should be no room in the ranks of NHL ownership for felons and perjurers – even if they are philanthropists. |
Mirtle's comments
Kelley asks "Who else?"
| Quote: |
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement I had a simple question for National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman: will he or will he not suspend Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli?
Now the more complex question is: for how long? A second question would be: who else?
I ask – and no, Gary, I didn’t call your office because, frankly, I know I won’t get an answer— what Samueli did would seem to fall under the same code of conduct regulations that ensnared Toronto Maple Leafs player Mark Bell.
Bell pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident while a member of the San Jose Sharks. One could argue – given his career to that point—that Bell had a problem, but he never availed himself of the necessary help prior to that incident and the commissioner took it upon himself to add a 15-game suspension without pay for what the commissioner said was conduct "dishonourable, prejudicial to or against the welfare of the League or the game of hockey," in violation of National Hockey League By-Law 17.
...
To the best of my limited knowledge on this matter, it’s not in the league’s best interest to have owners of one team privately (some would argue secretly) funding the owner of another team. It has something to do with the integrity of competitive balance and integrity of ownership and exemplary conduct and things like that.
Now Bettman has reportedly told board members that he was unaware of what Anschutz and Leipold had done and if that’s true that’s a good thing because one could argue that had the commissioner been made aware he might well have been a part of Del Biaggio’s alleged fraud and that would not be a good thing for the league, the game of hockey or the commissioner.
I mean it’s bad enough that the NHL’s due diligence people missed on Del Biaggio’s apparent financial shortcomings, which amount to some $17 million (the amount lent by the two owners) of the $25 million total Boots is said to have committed to the Predators. It’s worse if the commissioner knew Del Biaggio didn’t have the cash and allowed the league to sign off on the investment.
Heck, that’s not a suspendable offence, that’s a firing offence.
Should be interesting to see how the commissioner handles all of that.
After all, if a player must pay a price for preserving the integrity of the game, what’s an owner supposed to do?
For that matter, what’s a commissioner, the employee of the owners, supposed to do?
Maybe that first question isn’t so simple after all. |
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Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2281
Location: Denver
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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Can't believe I'm saying that right now Jeremy Jacobs ain't lookin' so bad!  |
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E.L.3000
Big in Japan
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1735
Location: Fuck tha MTL police
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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Eat shit Gary.
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It seems like you need to be a physics professor to choose the right TV. Luckily, I am one.
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saskhab
'03-'04 Goalie Profiles Coming Soon!
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 3754
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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The Samueli situation is one that a commish has no control over... they stuck up for him when he was assumed innocent, and I have no problem with that. Campbell brings up Bell, and they did the same thing there. Now that Samueli has admitted guilt, the Ducks' owners are mandated to be absentee owners (although it's a little complex, since Mrs. Samueli has done no wrong, but apparently voluntarily stepped aside for the duration of her husband's suspension to avoid any confusion).
The Del Baggio case... well... I guess the question that isn't asked, is what does Gary do about Anshutz and Leipold? Do they face fines/suspensions?
_________________
"Oh my God. There she is. Lovely Sally Slater. I should speak to her. But what the hell can I say? Anything that doesn't mention that I masturbate over her memory is probably a good idea."
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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| saskhab wrote: |
| The Samueli situation is one that a commish has no control over... they stuck up for him when he was assumed innocent, and I have no problem with that. Campbell brings up Bell, and they did the same thing there. Now that Samueli has admitted guilt, the Ducks' owners are mandated to be absentee owners (although it's a little complex, since Mrs. Samueli has done no wrong, but apparently voluntarily stepped aside for the duration of her husband's suspension to avoid any confusion). |
No control over...but again he looks bad in his judge of character/qualifications for being an owner/whatever. Another owner in shit...and he sticks up for them instead of offering a "no comment. It's in the courts". But I guess seeing as how they bailed him out with an inflated price on that franchise, he's going to stick up for them...
How does the saying go?
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Fool me a third time, slap me in the face and tell me to smarten the fuck up?
Fool me a fourth time? "Hey! Look! This guy will let me own a hockey team even though I don't have the money"
Fool me a fifth time? "Hey! Look! We can lend this guy money and own parts of other teams as well as our own! And this little munchkin who's supposed to be running the show won't even notice!"
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saskhab
'03-'04 Goalie Profiles Coming Soon!
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 3754
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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The NHL did nothing but defend what Samueli had down as an owner of a NHL franchise. I still see no problem with that.
And I don't think that the NHL should be viewed in a bad light for having him on board, considering it took a couple years after he bought the Ducks for the Feds to put together a case against him... especially since the allegations against him (which are still that, he only admitted guilt to lying to the SEC) have nothing to do with the Ducks' purchase.
It's the Del Baggio incident that stinks in all ways possible, right up to the commish. And I still say, shouldn't Leipold and Anschutz be penalized as well in this?
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"Oh my God. There she is. Lovely Sally Slater. I should speak to her. But what the hell can I say? Anything that doesn't mention that I masturbate over her memory is probably a good idea."
- Mark Corrigan, Peep Show |
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| And I don't think that the NHL should be viewed in a bad light for having him on board, considering it took a couple years after he bought the Ducks for the Feds to put together a case against him... especially since the allegations against him (which are still that, he only admitted guilt to lying to the SEC) have nothing to do with the Ducks' purchase. |
Yes, they still have nothing to do with the Ducks purchase itself, but it is who owns the team. The NHL continues to bring people on board who continue to have legal problems outside as well as inside of their ownership of the team. Regardless of whether it has to do with their ownership of the franchise, whether it happened prior to or after the purchase or granting of an expantion, it's still a reflection(and a terrible one) of who the NHL continues to(or doesn't) do business with.
| saskhab wrote: |
| And I still say, shouldn't Leipold and Anschutz be penalized as well in this? |
Oh I agree. But they're part of Bettman's "inner circle" so we'll see if anything becomes of that. 
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:17 am Post subject: |
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Well, now we know that the stupid fucks in the head office who research and approve the sale don't know how to read a fucking balance sheet:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080625/SPORTS02/806250399/1040/SPORTS08
| Quote: |
The Nashville Predators' second-largest investor, William J. "Boots" Del Biaggio III, owes nearly $35 million more than he has, and he lists his $23.5 million stake in the team as his most valuable asset, according to court documents filed this week.
Del Biaggio lists $88.43 million due to creditors, including $10 million to former Preds owner Craig Leipold, according to a summary of his assets and liabilities filed in federal bankruptcy court in Northern California on Monday. He lists $53.9 million in assets, including $12.1 million in real property, all in California.
The $10 million he owes Leipold is apparently separate from a $10 million loan Leipold made to the team as part of its sale last year. Leipold sold the team in December and then bought the Minnesota Wild franchise. |
Owes $35 million more than he has...so take away his biggest asset, the $17 million that he owes on it. And that's what it takes to be on the radar to own a piece of an NHL franchise? To be on the radar multiple times for purchases of teams?
http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN111390624.PDF
I'd love to see the one that he handed the NHL, unless they were falling all over themselves just to make sure a guy worth actual money couldn't buy a team so they just completely ignored it. How hard would it be to notice that two of the creditors are owners of other franchises?
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Hounsy
Reigning King of One-Liners
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 1443
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:56 am Post subject: |
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Yet he couldn't come up with the cash at the time and borrowed from the seller? Why did these kinda warnings not lead to a deeper look at the guys finances? Sure Gary will just plead ignorance to it all and the fact that what he didn't apparently know anything about though it just happened that it seems to me such oversight aided his own agenda with the Nashville situation.
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:14 am Post subject: |
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| Hounsy wrote: |
| Yet he couldn't come up with the cash at the time and borrowed from the seller? Why did these kinda warnings not lead to a deeper look at the guys finances? Sure Gary will just plead ignorance to it all and the fact that what he didn't apparently know anything about though it just happened that it seems to me such oversight aided his own agenda with the Nashville situation. |
Funny you use the phrase "lead to a deeper look". As in they performed any look at all to begin with?
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
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Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:53 am Post subject: |
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Could you ever seen the NHL doing this?
http://tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=251994&lid=sublink03&lpos=headlines_main
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A senior UEFA official warned clubs with heavy debts on Wednesday that they could be excluded in future from European competitions.
UEFA general secretary David Taylor said clubs face the ''ultimate sanction'' if they failed to deal with serious debts.
''There would be forms of communication, even warnings, even reprimands before one would ever get to a situation of exclusion - but it's absolutely possible,'' Taylor told the Leaders in Football Conference at Stamford Bridge.
The first meeting exploring how to overhaul the licence requirements to enter UEFA competitions will be held Monday at the organization's headquarters in Switzerland, although there is no timetable for its implementation.
''Let there be no doubt - we are not sitting idly by,'' Taylor said. ''We are looking at strengthening the minimal financial criteria and other forms of self regulation that may impose greater standard on clubs that want to compete in European competitions and beyond that club football.
''The whole concept of financial fair play is about living within your means and your resources which can also mean having debt but being able to service that debt.'' |
Fuck no! Selling teams to owners with no money is how the NHL keeps out wealthy undesireables with the funds to actually support a team!
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