the New York Times calls Financial disorder. A lengthy article
that landed over the weekend that frankly, frankly, all due
respect to our friends at the New York Times.
I kept looking for something that wasn't there. I was
waiting for bombshell. I've come to expect when the New
York Times, shows up and starts digging into the nooks and
crannies of a controversy. There's going to be something
there. That makes me say, holy crap in there. Just wasn't
there, just wasn't. I wanted to know why
not? When I saw that headline. I'm thinking we're going to
Out what Dan ventrell or venturelli depending upon which
the host on this program is speaking was complaining about
what got him fired, What complaints, what allegations of
misconduct did he pass along? I really thought they were gonna
hit the mother lode
they Advanced the ball, but not
really all that much.
The idea that the organization financially is run. Like it's
in the stone age's that they overpaid taxes, that they, they
if anybody has any problem with anything. They just buy them
out and move on. They don't want any issues. I don't want
any problems. It's just kind of Miss managing
the money as a general proposition. That was the gist
of the story in the New York Times. Again, again, it's fine
perfectly fine. But
when you have a history
of Bombshells,
when you give us one, that's kind of a dud. I'm not going to
sit here and say, hey, there's another bombshell great job.
It's like, yeah, it's kind of fall short of your standard.
The New York Times report on the Raiders in my estimation
falls short of the standard. They've set in other contexts.
Yes. I hear
you there. You're right. There's not a lot of depth to
it. I think. It's though it's become such a big topic though.
These NFL teams. Are they handling themselves? The right
way, the Commander's
the Cowboys. You got a free pass. Now. We're going to go
onto the Raiders and deal with that. All right. I just think
it's there's there's interest in it right now to where
I guess seems a little light. But I mean, it's one thing, you
know, you classify under like no crap. I mean,
everybody knows, I mean, I don't think this is like
a shocking, you know, Revelation here.
I think everyone has known thought that the Raiders have
some Financial issues. Part of the reason they went to Vegas
and you hear those rumors really over the last few years,
whether it has to do with player contracts,
having the guaranteed cash and money to pay players up front.
So I'm not shocked from mint from that standpoint. This is
one of those though. I do classify under like, is this
the tip of the iceberg? A little
just again, we're
just, I don't want to go Apples to Apples, but it just seems
like, you know, Slowly. But surely hear things are being
pulled away from the Raiders to where you start to go. Damn. Is
this about to go down
like Dan Snyder, Washington Commander,
you know
Highway here like are we about to go that way here with
the Raiders? Are we going to find out that there's a lot of
issues? I guess that's what I'm a little scared about for their
sake
but we're still not at the point yet. Nowhere a clear
bright line has been crossed. We don't know what Dan ventrell
or venturelli has passed along. By way of complaints were made
to him regarding alleged, misconduct of Mark Davis,
obviously.
That could become a thing, a real thing,
and
one of the realities here, and it's always delicate to talk
about issues like this. But this has been lingering for
years. Now. I've heard about this multiple times
when Al Davis passed his widow, Carol
assume the equity of the team,
unless they have engaged in the kind of high level. And
detailed estate planning that this report from The New York
Times would suggest that maybe they aren't as buttoned up
there. If they're not buttoned up with their basic. They
Financial
realities of running an NFL franchise. They may not have
engaged in the estate planning necessary to ensure that when
Mark inherits, whatever a landcare alone,
he's going to be able to pay the estate taxes. Because as
the values of these teams continue to mushroom,
you can have to come up with a big check for Uncle Sam. We
talked about that last week, Chris the estate tax obligation
and that that could be the thing that forces Mark Davis to
sell.
And another thing that came up over the weekend, the folks, at
the Louis Post-Dispatch doggedly pursuing documents.
The NFL would rather we not see from the litigation filed by
st. Louis against the league, following the relocation of
the Rams,
many great revelations in there, which just proved that
they were lying their asses off to st. Louis, and the rest of
us. What a shock when Stan kroenke bought the property
that became so fi Stadium lies
lies and More Lies straight face. Bald-faced every kind of
faced lie from Stan kroenke and Roger Goodell and Kevin dumb
off. Just Seeing stuff but really not surprising for
anybody who pays attention.
I'll probably get fired during the segment for saying that but
it's true. I'm telling the truth about all those lies. The
other aspect of it that I thought was very compelling
and one point they were contemplating moving
the Raiders to st. Louis. With a
reorganized ownership and
you just kind of like you just kind of have the feeling and
I've had this feeling ever since Mark Davis took over
the team that the other owners would just as soon be done.
With him, but they don't know how to make it happen. They
don't know how to make it work.
And if there are these issues in the organization, if there
are any lines that were crossed, they're not going to
give him a break. They're going to welcome the opportunity to
shed him
and to have someone
someone in a much better position to capitalize on
the Las Vegas Market in their estimation swoop in and take
over that team. I just feel like it's a matter of time
before they make a move on Mark Davis.
I mean, I hear There. I don't think that's like a crazy
thought. I think there's
I could probably share some of that sentiment as well
as far as having that feeling,
you know, the st. Louis. They just really had the NFL.
I feel like as you know, I've been
trying to figure the Raiders out to a degree or help them
out or wish they were a little bit better. Wish the stadium
thing got figured out in Oakland. It just feel like it
was going on forever to where I can understand the NFL going,
man.
I wish, you know, things were just run a little bit better
there. Something, you know, is a little Smoother, with the way
they do business.
I get that. I just feel like we've kind of been,
like, hearing those type of rumors for a long, long time.
But, you know, again, I don't know where it goes, and we're
with Mark Davis, you're right. The big thing is just going to
be,
you know, can they continue to
keep that in the family and pay that estate tax? That will be
interesting to see as we go
go to the Future here
and as for the Rams real quickly because people may be
wondering well, why would they lie about the intention? Of
Stan kroenke
to convert property. He purchased in late, 2013
in Englewood, into a state. And why would he lie about that?
Well, and this quote
is contained in one of the documents. It was uncovered by
the st. Louis Post. Dispatch. The Rams didn't want the fan
base in St. Louis to Crater. They wanted people to show up
and support the team, even when
they knew they were moving the team, 2014,
2015, 2014. Really when
no one had any idea, if they weren't paying attention. The
Rams are thinking about leaving, especially since
they're lying about why Stan kroenke bought that land. They
want people to renew their Susan, two season tickets.
They want people to show up
and spend their money.
They want people to think the Rams are going to be though.
That's why they lied about it. It's shameful. But again, I'm
not surprised by. And one last thing, right?
Former Rams Fans in st. Louis,
if you're looking for a team to root for,
I give you the Cincinnati Bengals because Mike Brown
was the only person who was
Instantly saying
we should not screw these fan bases over not in those words,
but that was his message. Why are we not supporting these
areas that have supported us all these years. And of course,
Mike Brown was ignored,
but folks in St. Louis should not ignore Mike Brown in
the Bangles. That would be enough for me. If I was a
citizen of a team that felt screwed over by an NFL
franchise. And I knew Mike Brown was the only one going to
bat to try. It also helps. It is teams pretty good right now.
I would be a Bengals fan immediately Chris.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean it definitely would be easy to
bring you over there because of that say Louis I would think
like Mike when you talk so much about the league going to 34 36
teams.
I would think that's going to be one of the cities that gets
a team. You don't think. So. You say no to that. Not not not
after not after this I fell for 800 million dollars.
Not not after, you know, the NFL
like they always do.
There's a, there's a level of confidence that borders on
delusion that borders, on arrogance that borders on
hubris. That we're going to win. We will crush you
in court. First Step arbitration. We know that
Playbook. By now,
now at least with st. Louis, it wasn't secret rig kangaroo
corporate was still, they were trying to make the argument
that it should arbitration that was like five years of
the lawsuit was trying to force it to arbitration. They went all
the way to the US Supreme Court. To try to force it into
arbitration.
They lost. That's when the wheels started to come off for
the NFL and at the end of the day, this case that they
thought was
without Merit, they ended up paying almost 800 million
dollars. So I was told in the aftermath of the settlement.
There's no way the NFL is doing business with st. Louis in
the future now,
right? Passage of time.
Yeah, look right after it right after you commit to paying 800
million dollars, when you thought you shouldn't pay
anything.
You may be speaking a little emotionally, but
it's going to take some time
and it's going to take some changes in leadership are going
to need new commissioner new owners for some of the key
teams. That would be made against you right there, right?
But but it's going to take some time
but it's going to take some time to expand. Maybe when they
put on the last two
to go from 38 to 40. Maybe that's when st. Louis is back
in the mix. Yeah, and maybe I would think it's still too
like, Mike Brown's point. It's still a big-time City. There's
a great Sports town.
We saw an NFL team. Win a Super Bowl,
you know, being a part of that City.
They need their own franchise though. Not a team that gets
moved there or something like that. Something that truly is
a start-up. Identifies with st. Louis
and go from there. I mean that's I think they're worthy
of that. Whenever the NFL does, you know expand to that point
before he was shouted down by Jerry Jones. Cardinals owner
Michael Bidwell, and I remember his team wants moved out of st.
Louis back in the late 80s. He pushed back against letting
Stan kroenke move the team because he said, if we do this
they will think we're all about the Benjamins
Michael. We already do.
We are we already think that mean,
come on. Come on. It's okay. It's capitalism baby. Go make
as much as you can while you can, but don't complain when
the players tried to do
the same thing.