January 2011 Monthly Thread

[Gordon Gekko]

Here we go, only a matter of time before someone would call up claiming to be a Madoff investor while Mike takes everything he says as gospel, Mike, the guy could be a freakking bartender for all we know.

Anyway Allan on the Cell Phone claims that he broke even. Sorry Allan you fraud, sixteen years of investing with Madoff and a well timed stroke of luck that made you pull the money out right before Madoff went down is not "break even", you got 12 to 15 percent a year on your investment, all of that is illegal profit and subject to be taken by the courts, can WFAN pull his caller id and provide it to the local authorities.

[ICouldCareLess]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

Here is Mike making fun of a caller who criticizes the Wilpons - "bluh bluh bluh":...

I only saw about ten minutes of the show today, but he was talking about Mets' finances, in which I have absolutely no interest. I turned away when some guy called in and described himself as "A Wall Street" guy, and Mike kept him on the air. Can you imagine any financial professional calling himself "A Wall Street Guy"? Does an Aerospace Engineering call himself "A Rocket Scientist"?

[Hanging out with Lori]

Originally Posted by ICouldCareLess

I only saw about ten minutes of the show today, but he was talking about Mets' finances, in which I have absolutely no interest. I turned away when some guy called in and described himself as "A Wall Street" guy, and Mike kept him on the air. Can you imagine any financial professional calling himself "A Wall Street Guy"? Does an Aerospace Engineering call himself "A Rocket Scientist"?

"Wall Street guys" includes every clerk who works for a brokerage. I wouldn't take advice from him though.

[ICouldCareLess]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

"Wall Street guys" includes every clerk who works for a brokerage. I wouldn't take advice from him though.

That's what I meant. No one credible would use that term ...

[ddben]

MF demonstrated a truly surprising lack of knowledge both about the entire Madoff scandal and the basics of the law as it effects Wilpons and the team.

he seemed unable to grasp the concept that Wilpon would be responsible for returning ALL THE PROFITS that he received over the long course of his investments. it appears that the principal had been removed (conveniently) prior to the crash of the fund.

it also appears to the trustee that there were numerous "red flags" which should have alerted an investor who had the knowledge and savvy of Wilpon that it was unrealistic to receive the level of returns that he did or years, irregardless o the market conditions. this facet could lead to additional fines on the Wilpons, above their substantial profit over the years.

the numbers that are being discussed tonite (friday) range from 250M all the way up to 1 billion $. it doesn't seem to me that any investor with the money that they need would want to take a minority position in an entity which has had no success for 10 years and has alot of uncertainties ahead.
the smartest thing to do would be to just sell the team and get the money he needs to pay off the trustee. btw, the trustee is not some shlock lawyer suing him for fun, but is representing the thousands of other investors who lost most or all of their investment by trusting Madoff. he has successfully recovered about half of the losses sustained by the investors, just by doing exactly what he is asking the Wilpons to do.

it is also slightly suspicious that the details have been sealed until feb 9. if not for the efforts of the new york times and WNBC they may have remained sealed. it will be very interesting to see what the indictment/charges against Wilpon actually are. he may well have expedited or encouragaed other investors to get involved with Madoff, and even have gotten a 'finder's fee' for his actions.

remember, the city gave the mets 200-300M$ in tax breaks to build the new Citi Field. that kind of gives the right for the news forces to gain access to exactly what Wilpon is being charged with. i wouldn't totally exclude the possibility of some sort of criminal charges being included as well. you might want to ask Madoff's son about that, but he committed suicide a few months ago.

This will be going on for the next months or years. the smartest thing would be for the W's to divest themselves of the Mets and let a new ownership group begin to rebuild the team.

i am neither a lawyer, banker, or baseball executive. i just keep up with the news that is always available these days. more and more willl be coming out in the next days and weeks. i have already marked my calendar for Feb 9.

maybe mike might figure out what is going on by then!! i'm sure he knows alot of ''wall street guys''.
ddben@aol.com

[ICouldCareLess]

I don't understand Mike's obsession with the Mets' ownership. Why should I care or even know who owns the Mets? Who owns the SF Giants? Who owns the Twins? Those teams seem to win ballgames ...

[tnt1528]

if charlie sheen came to my street and saw all that white powder on it he would think he died and went to heaven

[Mike's snowblower]

Originally Posted by ICouldCareLess

Mike really enjoyed that Dan Lauria segment. Anyone know if Dog has seen the play or has had Lauria in studio?

Dog would be home watching the Australian Open not going to Lombardi like...Brady.....I mean mike.

[yisman]

dog would be up at 5 AM every day, I guess.

this is brutal.

Every primetime match gets played at 3:40 AM EST.

[Hanging out with Lori]

Now there is a report that the Wilpons were involved in another Ponzi scheme a few years ago which they had to pay off. That doesn't look good. Maybe Mike mushed them when he said last week that they were not "crooks".

[mp3matt]

Originally Posted by Hanging out with Lori

Now there is a report that the Wilpons were involved in another Ponzi scheme a few years ago which they had to pay off. That doesn't look good. Maybe Mike mushed them when he said last week that they were not "crooks".

Could Mike have been more wrong regarding the Wilpon situation? I am not asking rhetorically, could he seriously have been more wrong?

-They're not broke
-They're not not selling
-They will never relinquish control
-Yada yada yada

He believes everything they say, and so far they have lied about everything. And he will berate you if you don't believe every word out of the Wilpon's mouths.

[Mike's betting slip]

Dallas Sheraton - largest hotel in the world? Close MIKE, #53:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...s_in_the_world

[ICouldCareLess]

Mike can barely contain himself talking to Staubach ...

[JerryTheCop]

It needs to be #1 to fit his fat ***!!!

[ICouldCareLess]

Mickelson didn't "make a mistake" by laying up at 18. If he had tried to hit the green in two from the left rough over, the pond and failed EVERYONE would have said he made a stupid move ...