Month: November 2011

mma

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 14, Episode 10: A punchy farewell to Spike

Posted on by Beau Dure

And we bid a fond farewell to The Ultimate Fighter on Spike. This is the final episode (not counting the finale, which is basically a “Fight Night” card) that will air before the UFC takes its programming over to the Fox networks. Spike and the UFC have had seven years of remarkable brand-building together.

This one probably won’t have a lot of the shenanigans we’ve seen through TUF history. We have two fights, and the Bisping-Mayhem feud has fizzled.

We still have a feud between John Dodson and Johnny Bedford. Or at least a one-way hatred between Bedford, who has decided to judge lest he be judged. Or something like that. I’m not sure what they covered in their Bible study.

Continue reading →

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soccer

The WPS vigil: Nov. 30 update

Posted on by Beau Dure

The WPS saga is starting to creep out beyond the women’s soccer media into some other outlets:

  • The Soccer America headline “History isn’t on WPS’s side” doesn’t quite tell you what’s in Paul Kennedy’s analysis. History isn’t on WPS’s side in the sense that World Cup booms typically don’t last. (Not mentioned here: That’s also true in men’s soccer. Or any Olympic sport, frankly.) Kennedy states two points well worth remembering. First, WPS doesn’t have its Anschutz or its Hunt, someone with extraordinarily deep pockets who has demonstrated that he’ll stick it out no matter what. (Little wonder the Twittersphere reaches out to Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey or, more curiously, Rachel Maddow. Being on TV doesn’t make you a megamillionaire, folks.) Second, if WPS fails, it’s likely to be a long time before we see another Division I league. We’ll get back to this point.
  • The head of women’s soccer for FIFA, Tatjana Haenni, hopes WPS survives. That’s not the most interesting part of this AP story. Check out Eniola Aluko, saying she was fortunate to play for a big salary in the league’s first year and that it should’ve been more conservative from the get-go.
  • Venerable soccer writer Frank Dell’Apa summarizes the story for Boston.com. The suggestion that WPS terminated magicJack “mistakenly having been assured a replacement had been lined up in Connecticut” is interesting. I’d like to find out more about that. Surely the league would deny it, and in any case, they seem to have reached their breaking point with Dan Borislow no matter how many teams they had.
  • Player signings! Anita Asante and Carolyn Blank will stick with Sky Blue.
  • Fox Sports Southwest pounces on Megan Rapinoe’s Tweet to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, imploring him to buy a team. Cuban’s HDNet once broadcast MLS. But the reality check here is that it would be awfully difficult to start from scratch and start a team.
Back in our cozy women’s soccer world, Lauren Barker adds some levity (and insight) in a post at All White Kit.
The big argument for WPS overnight: Anthony DiCicco (not the former WUSA commissioner or Breakers coach) offers a long, eloquent open letter offering unsolicited advice for everyone involved — the league, U.S. Soccer and fans.
  • To the fans: Twitter isn’t going to help. (This is where I disagree — Twitter is a useful rallying point. If it’s the end result, maybe that’s a bad thing. But it’s a convenient place to start.)
  • To the league: Put forth a compelling, sustainable vision.
  • To U.S. Soccer: Yeah, we know the league is flawed, but come on! Do you really expect to have a competitive national team without a top-level league?
He actually sounds a lot like Kate Markgraf, though Markgraf might be more of a Twitter fan than he is. (And again, apologies — Markgraf certainly wasn’t “ranting” in any pejorative sense. She made a good strong case, particularly given the limitations of Twitter.)
Back to the other front of WPS’s current battles — I asked Dan Borislow if he had a court date for his lawsuit yet, and his response was, “Wed for venue.” WPS has argued that Florida lacks jurisdiction over this suit, and that Borislow should’ve filed in Delaware’s Court of Chancery. Borislow has said he’ll pursue justice wherever he needs to go — I was joking when I said “Mars,” but I take him to be quite serious. I’m not sure moving the case helps either party. A delay would surely irritate Borislow. And it might leave the league in limbo a little bit longer while it tries to line up sponsors and perhaps another team, all while the clock is ticking.
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soccer

All the Borislow-WPS legal documents (so far)

Posted on by Beau Dure

Plenty of people have been asking to see the exhibits. Careful what you wish for. See the whole thing at Scribd. Some language NSFW.

Links to the individual documents follow (since I can’t get the Scribd widget to embed here) …

Previously linked here:

Borislow’s exhibits

  • Exhibit A: WPS LLC agreement
  • Exhibit B: WPS agreement with teams
  • Exhibit C: Sun-Sentinel feature on Wambach
  • Exhibit D: Letter from WPS attorney Pamela Fulmer on summer dispute
  • Exhibit E: Follow-up letter from Fulmer
  • Exhibit F: espnW story on new CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan
  • Exhibit G: One page of an invoice. WPS disputes that it sought $2.5 million from Borislow. There’s no context in this invoice, so it’s very difficult to tell what’s being sought.
  • Exhibit H: Letter from Borislow attorney Louis Ederer on “purported termination”
  • Exhibit I: Response from Fulmer to Ederer
  • Exhibit J: Palm Beach Post story on termination
  • Exhibit K: Palm Beach Post story from summer

WPS exhibits

  • Exhibits 1-15: BoingBoing story on Borislow’s suit against their site, email exchanges over sponsor signage, email from Briana Scurry, and a couple of insulting emails.
  • Exhibits 16-28: League notice of several violations from first magicJack home games and from public comments.
  • Exhibits 29-40: Atlanta Beat protest, email exchange over whether Borislow contacted bench during suspension, union grievance.
  • Exhibits 41-62: All about the termination.

And that’s all for now.

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soccer

The WPS vigil: Nov. 29 update

Posted on by Beau Dure

http://storify.com/duresport/the-wps-vigil-nov-29-update.js?border=false&header=false&sharing=false&more=false

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soccer

WPS rips Borislow in legal documents

Posted on by Beau Dure

Update: My story on the situation has been posted at espnW.

For those just joining us: Dan Borislow, who turned the Washington Freedom into a star-studded South Florida team called magicJack last year, is suing WPS over his termination from the league. See the legal documents on his lawsuit, the espnW story on the suit, Borislow’s statement on the suit, and Borislow’s second statement after WPS was not immediately granted Division I status with five teams for the 2012 season.

Today, I’ll have another story at espnW on the league’s response to the lawsuit and U.S. Soccer’s decision to delay Division I sanctioning for next season. In the meantime, I have the league’s legal response to the suit (“opposition to motion”) and its motion to dismiss the suit. They’re PDF files, of course:

Opposition to Motion

Motion to Dismiss

WPS is seeking dismissal of the suit plus legal fees for this suit and the August lawsuit.

 

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Uncategorized

The war on nonrevenue sports

Posted on by Beau Dure

http://storify.com/duresport/the-war-on-nonrevenue-sports.js?border=false&header=false&sharing=false&more=false

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soccer

Borislow: Reasons WPS is dead, how to save it

Posted on by Beau Dure

Update: From Philadelphia – “The accusation that the franchise offered $6,000 to a WNT member for the year is completely false.  The Independence has been in talks with WNT members and none of them have been offered the amount put forward by Dan Borislow’s statement.”

Original post: The dispute between magicJack owner Dan Borislow and Women’s Professional Soccer could have an impact beyond the courtroom. Over the weekend, U.S. Soccer decided not to sanction WPS as a Division I league next season — for now. U.S. Soccer says it’ll give WPS 15 days to expand from its current five teams to six.

Two ways to read that decision:

1. USSF will sanction WPS but wants to give it a little more time to nail down a deal for an expansion team. No point in sanctioning five right now if there’s a significant chance of having six instead.

2. USSF has given WPS an ultimatum — get a sixth team, or you’re not Division I.

The latter would be a major problem. If WPS isn’t a sanctioned Division I league, there’s no way U.S. national team players would participate. (They’re already hesitating to sign up for next year, multiple sources have said.)

A sanctioned Division II league really wouldn’t make a lot of sense. Why have only five pro teams in a league when they could just as easily join one of the existing pro-am leagues (WPSL or W-League)?

Another option: Just take a year off, given the fact that the Olympics will pose a major conflict in the first place (assuming the USA qualifies, which is not a safe assumption). Perhaps teams could play a brief exhibition season, which would provide a nice change of pace from residency and friendlies — which also cost U.S. Soccer a considerable sum of money.

No one has raised that option in public, though Borislow suggests a one-year hiatus below. But WPS and USSF aren’t saying anything in public right now. They’ve made it clear that they prefer to keep their discussions private.

That’s not the Dan Borislow way. The following statement includes a few substantive disagreements over the direction of the league — how much to pay players, how much emphasis to put on U.S. national team players and so forth. It also includes a few petty insults of a few of the league’s officials.

I feel compelled to point out that some of the things stipulated here are not verified. The accusations that the league “extorted” and “stole” from magicJack without due process will be argued in court, unless the parties settle before that date. We don’t know CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan’s compensation or Philadelphia’s contract offers.

Several league officials have been contacted for comment. They may choose not to comment because litigation is pending, and if they choose not to speak, their silence should not interpreted as acceptance that the following statement is accurate.

With all those disclaimers out of the way, here is Dan Borislow’s statement.

The 10 reasons the WPS is Dead and the only possible life support

1. The Governors thought they were bigger than the rest of organized soccer. They never follow rules including the USSF rules. The Governors and their coaches oversize egos thought they could have a successful league without the best US National team players. They have no idea it’s all about these players.

2. They hire “yes” CEO’s who cannot control their constant misbehavior and bad decisions, therefore there is no checks and balances.

3. Mike Stoller and the Boston Breakers are a solid pair, but they will never close their investors to keep the team alive after the league stole the magicJack team without due process. Who could ever give somebody money knowing the other side has a history of stealing it after extorting the investor for even more money?

4. After the owners find out what the teams want to pay Women, they will bail on the team and the league. I believe the owners of NJ haven’t a clue of what their Governor is doing. I do not believe a person who owns Bed, Bath and Beyond can support a league who wants to pay Women close to what the average income is in the poverty line. These Women would be better of on welfare in many cases. Recently Philadelphia offered a US WNT player $6,000.00 for the year.

5. The proposed pay schedule would have an inexperienced CEO of the league get paid more than what the whole starting team of the US Womens National team get paid. The CEO will make almost as much as what Atlanta wants to pay all their players combined.

6. The league hasn’t an idea of what the product should be. To me ,it is so obvious when we saw Abby’s name being chanted so loud at AWAY games. These games are like rock concerts, where they are just looking for the best performance from World Wide stars. Most teams believe the league can prosper without these type of players. They believe a competitive game is the key. The fans can care less. They want to see Abby, Hope, Christie, Meg and Shannon.

7. The league grossly miscalculated almost every important decision. They first extorted and stole money from magicJack and then when that didn’t work, they seized the team without due process, never thinking they needed a sixth team to be certified a Division 1 team when they are supposed to have 8 teams. They actually think our best WNT players will degrade themselves and play in a Division 2 league without pay. The best players look to endorsements to make a fair living. Who wants a Division 2 player endorsing their product? Injure themselves for what?

8.The league will lose it’s litigation with magicJack and the only chance it had was to listen to us about what the product should be and how to build it. It takes an investment to build something good. They want to pay a worse than worthless CEO and most of the other league leaders, but they dont want to pay the players. What kind of professional sports league is this? It reminds me of the NBA who pays their leader $20 Million a year? are you kidding me and where are they now? Part of the whole problem of the NBA is what this one person makes. But at least he does not get paid more than a whole team does. They will lose the litigation because they are wrong and think they are above the law, the USSF and the players.

9. The league never realized they were in a crisis situation. They thought once they had magicJack save the league, that they would use us as a place holder until they found another sucker who would bow to their demands. I begged and pleaded with the Governors to act like they were in a crisis situation, but like most Bankruptcy situations, the owners don’t know they are dead even after they are sitting in Bankruptcy court. It’s will be a remake of the “Night of the Living Dead”

10. The league is represented by one of the the dumbest lawyer’s, Pam Fulmer who is actually involved in the conspiracy to attempt to destroy magicJack. The league has three Governors who couldn’t run a lemonade stand. They have coaches who couldn’t train Lassie to bark. I genuinely feel sorry for Boston and New York who wanted to put on a great show and willing to make the investment to do so.

magicJack believes to save the league, the WPS needs a whole new management team, lawyers, business plan which includes wanting to pay the real Pros real money. All the players would have to become free agents again. The league should ask for a one year hiatus from the USSF and get its act together during that time, including getting owners who can afford to make the proper investment. With the Olympics and all the current controversy, it can never be a successful year for the league. Philadelphia and Atlanta must be replaced for they will never understand what will make this league succesful. New Jersey needs to replace it’s Governor. A reporter said that the players should potentially play this season for the betterment of women’s soccer. This notion is ridiculous, for all of the Women in the world, they should seek some form of equality when they are the most successful soccer team in the US and one of the most succesful -Men or Women-in the World. This league is not good as it stands,it needs a major overhaul. Just because the great majority thinks something is right,doesn’t make it right. Some of the greatest tragedies in the World were premised on that line of thinking. It takes a lot more courage to do something different than the rest of the crowd, but it doesn’t take any courage if it is the ethical thing to do.

Albert Einstein quote:

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?

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soccer

Will WPS stars sign up for another season?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Here’s a bit of irony: iTunes, in shuffling through my music library, has just called up Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

If you look at the list of players who have and have not signed with WPS teams for 2012, you’ll see that an awful lot of players are in the “have not” category. That includes most of the U.S. national team assembled for Saturday’s revenge friendly against Sweden.

A couple of sticking points:

1. When will the WPS season take place? The Olympics fall rather inconveniently in late July and early August. (Yes, if things go awry in January’s qualification tournament, that could be a concern for the Canadian players and not the Americans, but we have no reason to assume such things.)

2. The league has no collective bargaining agreement at the moment. That’s also ironic in a sense, given today’s events — there’s no salary cap, so the league isn’t preventing owners from paying Borislow-style salaries to stack their rosters.

WPS CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan had this to say in a conference call last week: “We certainly believe that a CBA is a vital component. At the same time, we have to kind of move forward as it stands. There’s a tremendous amount of talent.”

The union, though, is a little disappointed with progress so far. Here’s a statement:

This off-season the players union has been busy working with players on various matters, but talks with the league have seemingly stalled regarding scheduling, salaries, contract terms, and other issues subject to bargaining. The owners have not responded to player proposals regarding minimum salaries in any real way and are proceeding as if uninterested in a CBA. The players recognize WPS is in flux but find the league’s lack of responsiveness disappointing – a CBA would only contribute to the stability and professionalism of the league and there is no reason one could not have been reached before free agency opened. We are, however, moving forward with plans for next year and are hopeful and excited about the 2012 season and beyond.

The next key date for the league is Sunday. Each year, pro leagues and teams go through a review with U.S. Soccer’s professional leagues task force (in the past, that group has included USSF secretary general Dan Flynn, executive VP Mike Edwards and board member Carlos Cordeiro), which makes recommendations to the U.S. Soccer board. That board will meet Sunday before the MLS Cup final in Carson, Calif. For a thriving league like MLS, this review won’t generate any news. For a league that needs to apply for a waiver on the minimum of eight teams, there’s a bit more to discuss.

If you need to catch up on today’s news, check out the espnW story on Dan Borislow’s lawsuit and read the preceding two posts.

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soccer

Borislow-WPS suit documents

Posted on by Beau Dure

Reminder: Here’s Dan Borislow’s statement on the lawsuit and the espnW story.

Here’s what we have. As you read, please bear in mind that these are legal documents representing one side of the case. We have not yet heard from WPS in public, nor have they filed a legal response.

– The complaint is attached. It’s fairly straightforward, setting out why Borislow is demanding reinstatement of his team.

– The motion, also attached, goes into more detail. One key excerpt (page 15, paragraph 21) explains Borislow action after withdrawing August lawsuit: “Satisfied that the League was not going to attempt to terminate the Team during the 2011 season, and believing its disputes with the League were behind it, the Team redoubled its efforts to complete the 2011 season in the most positive possible way, and dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.”

One item worth singling out: magicJack claims several of its players continue to contact the team expressing a desire to play for the team in 2012. The team also had been contacted to play a “series of lucrative preseason international matches against professional teams in Japan.” (p. 21-22)

A guide to the exhibits mentioned:

– Exhibit A: The league’s LLC agreement (78 pages)

– Exhibit B: Operating agreement with teams (98 pages)

– Exhibit C: Sun-Sentinel feature on Abby Wambach, July 26. This is used in motion to reinforce argument that Borislow kept league afloat.

– Exhibit D: Letter from WPS lawyer Pamela Fulmer to Borislow, explaining league’s position on disputed portions of LLC and operating agreements and offering dates for meeting in person or on the phone, July 5

– Exhibit E: Follow-up letter from Fulmer offering another (earlier) meeting time, July 7

– Exhibit F: espnW story (mine) on new WPS CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan, used in Borislow motion to establish that O’Sullivan had stated publicly that the league was working to resolve dispute with him, Oct. 19

– Exhibit G: This is puzzling. It’s one page of an invoice, and I hesitate to describe it in any more detail for fear that I’m taking it out of context. In the motion, this is described as an invoice for “over $2.5 million in alleged ‘damages’ relating to the 2011 season.” The motion pegs the date on this invoice at Sept. 13 and says O’Sullivan and Fulmer said the league would not allow the team to play in 2012 if it didn’t pay. It did not.

– Exhibit H: Letter from Borislow lawyer Louis Ederer to O’Sullivan (Re: Purported Termination of Membership Interest). Letter states Oct. 25 letter fails to state grounds for terminating team, and Ederer/Borislow ask the league to state what was discussed at Oct. 25 board meeting. Ederer/Borislow also state that league failed to give Dispute Notice or opportunity for hearing — this is discussed at greater length in the motion. Letter dated Nov. 8

– Exhibit I: Response from Fulmer to Nov. 8 letter (Exhibit H) and a Nov. 7 email from Borislow to O’Sullivan (not included). Fulmer starts by informing Ederer that it’s improper for Borislow to contact O’Sullivan on legal matter without consulting WPS lawyer (Fulmer).  Fulmer responds to substance of letter by saying Borislow had been invited to Oct. 25 meeting (he was, after all, a member of the board at that time) and also did not accept several invitations to hearings in June and July.

One ominous point in Exhibit I: “Finally, the League will hold Mr. Borislow accountable for any attempts at disruption of its business relationships with potential expansion teams, sponsors or other third parties such as the USSF. We again reiterate that he cease & desist immediately from making any further inappropriate contact with the League’s business partners.”

In the motion (page 19, paragraph 19), this letter is used in an effort to establish that the termination is a “new” dispute, NOT the same dispute under which magicJack had been threatened with termination over the summer.

– Exhibit J: Palm Beach Post’s Hal Habib story on magicJack termination, Oct. 27

– Exhibit K: Post/Habib story previewing first magicJack home game after World Cup, July 26

PDFs:

Complaint

Motion

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