The writing was on the wall.  When it was announced earlier this year that the United Football League’s (UFL) training camp would be suspended for 30 days and its regular season games were pushed back a month, I started to wonder just how much longer the fledgling league had in it.  The UFL had been struggling for quite some time.  It lost $45-50 million in 2010 in addition to losing $32 million in 2009, has owed millions of dollars to creditors (including Mark Cuban), has had issued paying its medical bills, and took quite some time to pay overdue agent fees.

When I heard that the UFL was suspending training camp and pushing back regular season games, I admitted that the league continued to be a good platform for pro athletes to display their skills, so long as the UFL was able to play out a full season.  But the UFL just announced that the season has been shortened, and many believe that it will not return in 2012.

Mark your calendars for October 21 – when the powerhouse Las Vegas Locomotives take on the Virginia Destroyers in the UFL Championship Game.  It may be the first and last time you watch a UFL game.

The UFL Is Destined For Darkness from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The Western Conference playoffs had such promise when the regular season ended. A young Oklahoma City team got an unlucky draw against the big bad Lakers, a coach Karl-less Nuggets team faced the insignificant Jazz, the ever so delicate Trail Blazers tried to finally make a splash against that old Canadian guy in Phoenix. Oh, and the Mavericks played the Spurs, but other than Texas, who really cared?

Unfortunately the West is where you go to have whatever Cinderella hopes there is in professional sports shattered (See Al Davis’ Raiders 2003-forever).

The Rundown:

LA vs. OKC

A scrawny kid who couldn’t lift 185 pounds in a weight room three years ago all of a sudden carried an entire city and franchise to its first playoff series since Ray Allen wore the green and gold in Seattle. Where did it land him? Face to face with arguably one of the best basketball players of all time; oh dear.  However, the Thunder sparked hope in NBA fans, as their team of kids who are barely old enough to drink, took two from the defending champs and tied up the series! Unfortunately all good things must come to an end; it was a shame, though, that it had to be off a Bryant miss and a Gasol last second tip in. (LAL win 4-2)

Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz

The Denver Nuggets have been the team to cheer for since their loveable coach, George Karl, took a leave of absence to fight throat cancer. Unfortunately nobody told his team they were supposed to keep playing! Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams decided to play like the last dynamic duo that laced ’em up for Jerry Sloan and send the Nuggets home. (UTH win 4-2)

PHX vs. POR

Since Brandon Roy became the face of their franchise (better him then Greg Oden and his exploratory photographs), the Portland Trail Blazers have lost their nickname of just ‘Blazers’ and become a fun team to watch over the season. However, they have not been a title contender since Kobe lobbed that ally-oop to Shaq in game 7 of the Western Conference finals in 2000.  All they had to do was stop the Benjamin Button of the NBA in Steve Nash and they move on, right? Wrong. Brandon Roy gots hurt, LaMarcus Aldridge still isn’t a star big man, and Jarron Collins wons a playoff series as a starting center. Yeah that’s right, Jarron Collins. (PHX win 4-2)

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs

A blockbuster trade, rejuvenated roster, and a prehistoric Spurs team should equal an easy opening round series, except that the basketball gods like picking on Mark Cuban because he is like a kid who never learns his lesson.  Thanks to Manu Ginosebleed* and the always classy Tim Duncan, the Spurs once again bent those kids from Dallas over their knee and well, the rest is just history. A thought to keep on the back-burner - If the San Antonio Spurs continue this tough play, with a young bench and good shooting, could they upset the Lakers and once again make David Stern cry over horrific NBA finals ratings? You kind of have to hope so. (SAS win 4-2)

So far this year’s playoffs have been a bit of a disappointment, considering there was a whopping zero games that went into overtime in the West, but the 2 seed and 4 seed lost, yet no one called it an upset? When do the playoffs start getting fun again? I kind of miss the intensity, the loud fans, and the hustle the players show for the unnecessarily long playoff runs.

As for how the West was won: The Spurs beat the Suns in 6, the Lakers beat the Jazz for the third consecutive year in 6 because Kobe starts to make that snarling face and Deron Williams gets spooked. Lakers take down the Old fellas from Texas after a long 7 game series. Congrats Kobe, here is your chance to make that Jordan vs. Bryant comparison everyone loves.

The Not So Wild West from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

“Friends don’t let friends wear the FroHawk. If you are a soon to be pro athlete and are considering hiring an agent. Just do the “FroHawk Search”. If they have any clients with Fro Hawks, pick a different agent.”

Those are the words of Mark Cuban from his blog, blogmaverick.com.  Despite his legal troubles with the SEC (his blog does a great job of explaining the actual facts), Cuban is still able to laugh and discuss the recent trend in the NBA with players rocking the frohawk.   Mark advises athletes about the fro-hawk. Commenting that although Mr. T’s trademark “frohawk” seems to be back in style and may be a good marketing devise to draw attention to players, it still looks hideous.

It is not only a trend in the NBA, but football players, soccer stars, and many others have given the hairstyle more fame than it deserves. Even if you agree that the frohawk is not what you want to see your child come home from the barbers with, you can’t take Mark’s words above seriously or athletes would be looking over agents such as Drew Rosenhaus and Scott Boras.  An agent may be able to control some areas regarding their clients, but hairstyles are usually not specified in the contract.

The Fro-Hawk from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

“Mamma.com decided in the spring of 2004 to raise capital in a so-called private placement in public equity offering, known as a PIPE, according to the SEC suit. In late June, as the PIPE moved toward closing, Mamma.com’s investment bank suggested the company invite Cuban to participate. On June 28, Mamma.com Chief Executive Guy Faure e-mailed Cuban asking him to call him “ASAP,” the SEC said. Cuban called four minutes later from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and spoke to Faure for about eight minutes. Faure, who resigned last year, began the conversation by telling Cuban he was about to give him confidential information. Cuban agreed to keep it to himself, the SEC said. Cuban became upset and angry during the conversation, and said that he didn’t like PIPEs because they dilute the value of company stock for existing shareholders, according to the SEC.”

After Cuban got off the phone he then called his broker and traded all 6.3% of his Mamma.com shares. Some reports said it was within only 8 minutes of the conversation ending, others claim it was hours later, but before the public announcement of the offering. The federal regulators claim that by selling his shares when he did, Cuban saved losses of around $750,000.

Scott Friestad, the SEC’s deputy enforcement director claimed that “It is fundamentally unfair for someone to use access to nonpublic information to improperly gain an edge on the market.” In the SEC’s statement, they urge that unless he is subject to an injunction, Cuban “is likely to commit such violations again in the future.”  Although the issue at law regards insider trading, the real issue that Cuban and his attorneys will question, asks if Cuban is being singled out by the SEC because of his high profile name.

In response to the allegations, one of Cuban’s attorney’s Ralph Ferrara, said on Cuban’s blog that the SEC’s case “has no merit and is a product of gross abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Mr. Cuban intends to contest the allegations and to demonstrate that the (SEC’s) claims are infected by the misconduct of the staff of its enforcement division.”

Cuban, in his own statement, said, “I am disappointed that the (SEC) chose to bring this case based upon its enforcement staff’s win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff’s process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government’s claims are false and they will be proven to be so.”

In a later post on Cuban’s blog, Cuban’s attorney, Stephen A. Best, claims that the conversation between Mr. Cuban and Mr. Faure had no agreed discussion of keeping the information private. Below is the relevant interview regarding the phone conversation between the two.

Christopher Clark:

1) Q- We spoke earlier about you were telling Mr. Cuban in words or substance : “I have confidential information for you”.

A- Right. 2) Q- Do you recall anything Mr. Cuban said in response or reply to that statement by you ?

A- No, I do not.

Whatever defense Cuban and his attorneys use, they better make sure that he sticks with his story and does not lie in any way. The charges against Cuban, currently, are only civil charges and not criminal. Meaning that if he complies with the SEC he could get away with paying only restitution damages and no jail time. On the other hand, if he lies, the government is likely to press criminal charges, including obstruction of justice. This could place him in the same situation that Martha Stewart was in. The two cases are eerily similar, except that Martha fabricated a defense and was charged and jailed not on insider trading charges alone.

With the Mavericks off to a dismal start this season along with this complaint, Cuban has not had the greatest month of November. If he handles the civil complaint appropriately, he might only be forced to write a check, and will be allowed to go on and conduct business as usual. But will the charges have any furthering effect on Cuban’s business?

David Stern and the NBA have the right to discipline/fine team owners and managers for their actions. As we have previously seen with Stern, he does not hesitate to issue fines and suspensions to athletes for criminal charges and actions off the court. He has even fined Cuban before for “comments” he made after a game. So, if the SEC finds Cuban guilty, he may also face sanctions by the NBA.

Another business area that could be affected by the complaint might be the potential buying of the Chicago Cubs. Using my own “insider information” from Mr. Cuban himself in October, the potential deal to buy the Cubs is off the table. Mark told me it would have been a wonderful opportunity for him and the Cubs organization, but they both were unable to agree on future terms. If the deal were still up in the air and assuming he was the highest bidder, before he could officially buy the Cubs he would still have to get approval by all other MLB owners. And with a charge of insider trading hanging over his head, that task of getting other owners approval may be a little harder.  So accordingly, Cuban owning the Chicago Cubs in the future is not going to happen.  Sorry Cubs fans.

This past October at the Entertainment Law Forum in Los Angeles, I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Cuban. Not only was I impressed with his overall charisma, knowledge and creative business ideas, but he was extremely personable and social to me as a law student.  I read earlier this year that Cuban would only allow the NBA All-Star game to be held in Dallas if they allotted seats for his season ticket holders.  This act shows that he cares about the fans and not only about money and his business.  Besides these allegations, Cuban is a role model for entrepreneurs and many other professionals out there.

With the economic situation in America today, I believe the SEC is looking to show Americans that they are still a force of regulation. Like Martha’s ordeal, charging a big name star, such as Cuban, brings added attention to the agency and gives Americans more belief that the government is trying to fix the economic situation.  The charges against Cuban are certainly shocking. As one of the richest individuals in the world (161st according to Forbes in 2007), Cuban is always looking for other business areas to break into and innovate. If he recognizes a potential loss, like any good businessman, he attempts to reduce his losses. Hopefully, Cuban will continue to try and reduce his losses the best way he can (by not lying), because this time there is a lot more to lose than just $750,000.

Mark Cuban’s Complaint from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries, Los Angeles from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Visit sportsjobs.com and read it regularly for a month, and this is what you’ll find: copious commission sales jobs, a handful of sponsorship jobs at mid-level colleges, and bundles and bundles of unpaid internships with teams of every stripe.

The jobs that are out there either don’t pay or are really just sales positions not a lot different from selling shoes or boat motors or securities. They aren’t sexy.

So it seems like the current landscape for a college graduate looking for a job is this:

1. There are availabilities for sports business jobs to young, qualified, and ambitious candidates.
2. Entry level pay at those jobs will be below what may be necessary for you to live comfortably.
3. You cannot be picky when it comes to breaking in.  You may not get a job with a sports agency or basketball team, but may get offered a low level position doing marketing with a company that focuses on a sport like soccer.

A recent article by Brian Kladko at Bloomberg.com seems to agree with the above sentiments, but adds some additional information to help guide students or future students that are looking to break into the industry.  Apparently, obtaining a sports management/administration degree from one of the over 229 schools that offer such a program is often the wrong move if you are looking to gain a job in this field out of college.  Theo Epstein did not major in sports management, and Mark Cuban believes that you are doing yourself a huge disservice if you decide to limit yourself to studying in a sports-oriented major.  Mark is quoted in Bloomberg as saying,

“While we won’t dismiss a potential hire because they graduated with a sports management degree, it hurts more than helps…I would rather hire someone with more diverse skills.”

Nobody tells it quite how it is like Mark Cuban. What he says may not be pretty, but at least you know you are getting the truth (or at least his version of it).  Mark has a solid point, though, which is one that I have said time and time again.  There is no reason to limit yourself to focusing on one particular subject.  In fact, a more well-rounded candidate is always preferable to somebody who is only proficient in one area (actually, if you are an accountant, I retract that statement).  Go to school and take business courses, finance, political science, and mass communications (my favorite!).

The one exception is if you go to a school that has a rich history of successful alumni who graduated from its sports management program.  Ohio University is a great example.  Harvard…not so much.  Do your homework and make the right decision in choosing your school and your courses.  This field is too competitive to be making any false steps.

Get Yourself A Sports Business Job from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules