Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 288 of 1503)

John Elway victim of $15 million Ponzi scheme

Former Denver Broncos quarterback great John Elway waits on the sidelines before the Broncos play against the Seattle Seahawks in their NFL football game in Denver September 19, 2010. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

According to the Denver Post, retired quarterback John Elway and a business partner invested $15 million in March with a hedge-fund manager Sean Muller, who was charged and arrested this week in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Yahoo! summed up the story nicely:

The Denver Post reported that the two invested $15 million with Sean Mueller in March with the understanding that the money would be placed in a trust until a final decision was made about where it would be invested.

About 65 people had invested $71 million with Mueller over the past decade. Yet in April, Mueller only had $9.5 million, according to a state investigator. He turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday on charges of racketeering, securities fraud and theft, and is being held in prison on $2 million bond.

Elway and his partner have asked that their claim be processed ahead of any other investors’ because their $15 million was supposed to be placed in a trust, not pooled with the money of the rest of the hedge fund. According to an April filing, $12 million of Elway’s money was placed into a Morgan Stanley trust account, as expected. The other $3 million has gone missing.

This is why you don’t invest in anything. Just go to the casinos like I do. That way you know you’re getting screwed right from the start and it’s not a surprise when all of your money disappears.

“You gotta be f***ing kidding me. Another 16 against a 20?”

Will teams show interest in Shawne Merriman once he’s released?

Aug 14, 2010; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman watches from the sidelines during the preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers defeated the Bears 25-10. Photo by Image of Sport Photo via Newscom

Shawne Merriman’s career with the San Diego Chargers is finished. The team placed him on injured reserve with a minor injury designation, which means they have to release him once he’s officially healthy.

With this being the eventual outcome, Chargers’ GM Alex Smith was wise not to give Merriman a new contract this offseason. Not that he was going to give into Merriman’s contract demands anyway. Despite the linebacker’s three-time Pro Bowl status, Smith wasn’t going to give the injury-prone Merriman a new deal when he hasn’t been productive in nearly three years.

The question now becomes: once he’s released, will any team take a flier on him? Even if he’s deemed healthy enough to be released, he probably won’t be 100% for the rest of the year, which means the market could be completely bare for him in a couple of weeks.

One team that may make him an offer is the Patriots, who have an obvious need for a pass rusher and who also play the 3-4 alignment that suits Merriman’s skill set. There haven’t been any connections to Merriman and New England yet, but then again it’s still early and it’s not Bill Belichick’s style to reveal his team’s future intentions.

Another team that may be interested is the Saints, who also have a need for a pass rusher and could use the upgrade at linebacker. Even though they play a 4-3, Gregg Williams is known for his innovative schemes and he could certainly put together a game play fits Merriman’s pass-rushing ability.

Again though, he’s not healthy and hasn’t been in two years. One team that has already said they’re not interested is the Cardinals, who would like to add depth at outside linebacker but they don’t want to take on the injury risk. It makes you wonder how many other teams feel the same way.

Jay Cutler’s latest concussion his fifth since college

Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler remains on the turf after being sacked in the second quarter against the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium in week 4 of the NFL in East Rutherford, New Jersey on October 3, 2010.    UPI /John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the concussion that Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler suffered in Week 4 against the Giants was actually his fifth since college.

A November 13, 2004 article in the Tennessean reported that Culter had suffered three concussions while at Vanderbilt and a fourth occurred on the final game of the ’06 season when he was with the Broncos. If that’s the case, this is certainly something that the Bears will keep a close eye on going forward.

The NFL did a great service to its players by making it tougher to return to games or play the next week if they suffer a head injury. They now have to pass a series of concussion-related tests and if the player is still showing even the slightest signs that the injury is still prevalent, then he can’t play under any circumstance.

Of course, if the league is so stringent about head injuries now, it makes you wonder how many players have played with concussions before. It’s almost sad that it has taken this long for the NFL to recognize that it needs to be stricter when it comes to players’ noggins.

But at least they did figure it out and players like Cutler (who is expected to return to action this week after missing Chicago’s win over the Panthers last Sunday) aren’t putting themselves even further in danger than they already are. After all, football is a contact sport – injuries happen. But if they can be avoided, then the league needs to take the steps necessary in order for that to happen.

Giants making the right decision to start Jonathan Sanchez in Game 2

San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez delivers a pitch to the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of their MLB National League Division Series baseball playoff game in Atlanta, Georgia October 10, 2010.  REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATESSPORT - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

Every manager would love to have the problem Bruce Bochy currently has. He has to set his rotation for the NLCS (which starts this Saturday in Philadelphia) and even though Matt Cain is arguably the Giants’ second best pitcher, he won’t be starting in Game 2.

That responsibility falls on Jonathan Sanchez, one of two lefties San Francisco will throw at the Phillies’ struggling lineup in the best-of-seven-game series. (Rookie Madison Bumgarner is the other.) Sanchez will get the nod over Cain because Bochy prefers to go righty (Tim Lincecum), lefty (Sanchez), righty (Cain), lefty (Bumgarner), when laying out his rotation.

It’s the right move given the Phillies’ lineup and the ballpark they play in. Chase Utley is a left-handed hitter, as is Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez. All three of them can hit for power and given the Little League stadium that they play in, they can do some damage against a hard-throwing pitcher like Cain who relies on his fastball.

But Sanchez’s go-to pitch is his slider, which is much harder to hit out of the ballpark than a fastball. In other words, he’s the better pitcher to throw at Citizens Bank Park (where Game 2 will be played) and considering he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday, he obviously doesn’t have any qualms about pitching on the road in a pressure situation. (Although that certainly wasn’t the case earlier in his career when he was an emotional roller coaster in every start.)

The Giants have a huge mountain to climb if they want to reach the World Series. The Phillies have the best collection of talent of all of the remaining teams and their pitching staff is expected to put the clamps down on San Fran’s offense, just as the Braves’ starters were able to do in the NLDS. That means the Giants’ spectacular pitching staff will have to be even more spectacular (maybe even perfect) if this club hopes to move on.

But Bochy can only put his players in the best position to win and then trust that they’ll execute. There’s a possibility that Sanchez could get destroyed in Philadelphia and then Cain blows it in Game 3. However, in setting his rotation the way he is, he’s arguably giving the Giants their best chance to win. Now they just have to go out and execute.

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