Tux of Borg

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178899,00.html Jacko: Financial Wipeout Imminent Michael Jackson is in his 11th hour of financial peril. On Tuesday, Dec. 20, he will be declared officially in default by Fortress Investment Group on loans of $270 million. Jackson, knowing this day has been drawing near for the last year, has done nothing whatsoever to ameliorate the situation, sources tell me. On the 20th, Fortress will have the ability to foreclose on the loans and take possession of Jackson's half-interest in the $1 billion Sony/ATV Music Publishing company, as well as the entire MiJac Music Publishing company. Fortress also holds an $18 million lien on the Neverland Valley Ranch. That lien, concerning what's about to happen to Neverland, is significant. Sources there tell me that the biweekly payroll, due last Thursday, was missed entirely. As of yesterday, the 100 or so employees at the Los Olivos, Calif., ranch were seven days past due on their two-week paychecks and a week into the next one. I am also told that the situation at Neverland is dire. While Jackson is in Bahrain with his kids and their nanny, some of the electricity at the ranch was recently shut off by Pacific Gas and Electric. Also, there are real fears now for the animals in Jackson's home zoo. Last week, the ranch was down to almost no food for the animals. At the last minute, sources say, a delivery was made, but it won't last long. Fortress, which owned by New Yorker Peter Briger, is a specialty firm that buys debt. On Tuesday it will have two immediate options. One would be to exercise a "put" built into the loan agreement by which it could foreclose on Jackson and ask Sony to purchase the loans outright. The second option, and the one Fortress will likely choose, is to foreclose and inform Jackson it will sell his assets at market prices. If Jackson's half of Sony/ATV is really worth $500 million, as estimated in the past, Fortress could clear $300 million on the $200 million secured by the Sony catalogue. The MiJac-backed loan, which comes to $70 million including Neverland, would be sold separately. Unclear in all this is how Jackson's minor partner, John Branca, his sometime attorney, would fare. Branca — who was the architect of Jackson's Beatles purchase in the 1980s — has a 5 percent stake in the Sony catalog. Experts tell me that his percentage is tied to Jackson's, whatever happens. The interesting thing here is that Jackson has known for a long time that this day was coming. He's been warned about it by his closest advisers and family members, and if he chose to, he could have read it about in a number of places, including this column. But insiders tell me Jackson has not done anything to contact or work with Fortress. He's simply opted to ignore the situation, sources say, rather than face reality. Last April he was offered a chance to sell half of his interest in the Sony catalogue, which would have freed up enough cash to pay all his bills and debts. That deal would have left him with a 25 percent interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing as well. But Jackson never answered that offer because he'd become paranoid, as usual, that somehow he was being ripped off. The deal, in fact, had been constructed by bankers at Goldman Sachs with two of his advisers, Alvin Malnik and Charles Koppelman. The Fortress loans were purchased by Briger last May from Bank of America, which had maintained them and refinanced them for several years under the guidance of Jane Heller, a personal banker with BofA. But Heller acquiesced to Fortress' offer after Jackson, refusing to acknowledge his dire situation, allowed grocery chain magnate Ron Burkle and the Rev. Jesse Jackson to go over Heller's head to the head of Bank of America. Their calls were rebuffed, and Heller — now embarrassed and feeling slighted — gave up trying to help Jackson out of his self-created mess. And there's more, including shocking revelations about how much Jackson understood from sitting in court and listening to five months of testimony about his own business earlier this year. Next week, as we head toward the breaking point in what has been a very weird year in the final chapter of Jackson's career, I will tell you more about that. For now, though, Jackson has one working day left — Monday — to contact Fortress and make arrangements to repay his loans.

I'm sorry.... president of the ieatcrayons fan club. Happy now?

How about we stop giving refuge to other team's castoffs.

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2006/Dr...arlyEntries.htm 2006 NFL Draft Early Entries from D-I By Pete Fiutak To go or not to go. Tis nobler to return to school for a senior season than to leave early and get taken late. Even so, it's impossible to tell a legitimate pro prospect not to come out early after what happened to Willis McGahee in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl or Wisconsin's Joe Thomas in this year's Capital One Bowl. If you win the lottery, you don't sit on the ticket for a year. Some of these players are going to be instant millionaires while others are making a big mistake. My rule of thumb for pro prospects is this: If your game relies purely on speed, come out. Every football player needs speed to some degree, but a receiver, running back and defensive back only has so many years of blazing speed in them. Any slippage in that top gear, and you're out of the league. Running backs can only take so many shots and should come out as soon as humanly possible. Everyone else should stay in school unless they're a sure-fire first or second round pick. Here are the early entries so far. Antonio Cromartie, CB Florida State Projected: 2nd round Good or bad move? He has to prove he's 100% healthy, but he would've likely been a top ten pick if he never had the knee injury. Vernon Davis, TE Maryland Projected: 1st round Good or bad move? In a loaded year for tight ends, Davis should be the first one taken. He's a field stretching receiver playing tight end. Maurice Drew, RB UCLA Projected: 4th to 5th round Good or bad move? Size will be an issue, but ticky-tack injury history will be an even bigger problem. He'll be drafted as a kick returner and change-of-pace back. Ray Edwards, DE Purdue Projected: 2nd to 3rd round Good or bad move? He could quickly rise into the first round with the right workouts. His tremendously disappointing junior year will quickly be forgotten about with a few good workouts. Charles Gordon, WR/CB Kansas Projected: 2nd to 3rd round Good or bad move? If Justin Miller can be a first round pick, then so can Gordon. He didn't have the All-America season expected of him this year, but that's because no one threw at him. Willie Hall, OT MTSU Projected: 5th round Good or bad move? He has the measurables at 6-6 and 302 pounds, and he has improved in each of the last three seasons. He'll be a solid career backup. Devin Hester, WR/CB Miami Projected: 1st round to early 2nd round Good or bad move? He'll fall under the category of too-good-to-pass-up, but no one really has a clue of what to do with him. Is he a corner that needs a ton of work, or is he a receiver that hasn't reached his potential? At the very least, he's a scary-good kick return prospect. Santonio Holmes, WR Ohio State Projected: 1st round Good or bad move? It'll be an upset if he's not the first receiver taken. He might not be Randy Moss/Terrell Owens-sized, but he can fly. He's a bigger Steve Smith. Chad Jackson, WR Florida Projected: 2nd round Good or bad move? Possibly the best combination of size and speed among the receiving prospects, Jackson will be a steal midway through the second round, and could replace Derek Hagan as the second receiver taken behind Santonio Holmes. Omar Jacobs, QB Bowling Green Projected: 2nd round Good or bad move? There was talk before the season of Jacobs being on the verge of being a better pro prospect than Matt Leinart. He was dinged up and didn't put up the numbers he did in 2004, but he still rocked when healthy. He needs work on his throwing motion and the scouts have cooled on his overall skills, but he's accurate enough to get at least a few offensive coordinators excited about his potential. Greg Lee, WR Pitt Projected: 3rd round Good or bad move? He has the size and the big-play capability, and he has the potential to grow into an early second round pick if he times well. Expect his physical style to make him a late first-day selection. Laurence Maroney, RB Minnesota Projected: First round Good or bad move? His speed might put him in the top 15. He'll likely be the third back taken behind Reggie Bush and DeAngelo Williams. Richard Marshall, CB Fresno State Projected: 4th round Good or bad move? He'll slide because of his size, but he'll move into the first day if his 4.4 speed becomes 4.38 speed in workouts. He's tough and a nice ball-hawker. Stanley McClover, DE Auburn Projected: 3rd round Good or bad move? Size is the issue. He needs to gain about 10-15 more pounds, but there's no questioning his pass rushing skills or his speed. If someone believes he'll get bigger and won't lose his quickness, he might be an early second rounder. Haloti Ngata, DT Oregon Projected: Top ten pick Good or bad move? The first tackle off the board. He could go top five. Bernard Pollard, S Purdue Projected: 2nd to 3rd round Good or bad move? In a thin year for safeties, he'll likely find his way into the second round because of his hitting ability. He's questionable at best in pass coverage. Leonard Pope, TE Georgia Projected: 1st round Good or bad move? Pope is too big and too good a receiver to fall out of the first round. Rob Smith, G Tennessee Projected: 3rd to 4th round Good or bad move? He has the size and the athleticism, but he has to prove he's really over all the little injuries over the years. He's a strong run blocker. Stephen Tulloch, LB NC State Projected: mid-to-late first day Good or bad move? All question marks about his shoulder appeared answered this year. He's a tremendous tackler with great range and instincts. He can find his way into the second round if someone becomes enamored with his tackling skills. Demetris Summers, RB South Carolina Projected: 6th round to undrafted Good or bad move? He'll stick with a team for at least a year, likely as a free-agent. He has decent talent and good speed, but off-the-field questions will be a problem. Marcus Vick, QB Virginia Tech Projected: late 3rd round to early second day Good or bad move? Think Adrian McPherson. Someone will be ecstatic to groom him for a few years as a quarterback of the future. Dee Webb, CB Florida Projected: late 2nd to early 4th round Good or bad move? He isn't all that big, but he's a sure-tackling corner with nice ball skills. He's a second rounder with a tremendous combine. Donte Whitner, S Ohio State Projected: 3rd to 5th round Good or bad move? He needs work. He could've used another year to build more of a buzz. He would've been one of the Big Ten's best defenders in 2006. Mario Williams, DE NC State Projected: Top 15 Good or bad move? Some think he would've been a first rounder as a freshman. Vince Young, QB Texas Projected: Top five pick Good or bad move? He might be the future of the NFL. Think Michael Vick if he was a quarterback.

Senior Bowl January 28, 2006 3pm ESPN

Marcus Vick highlight video. http://media.putfile.com/Marcus-Vick-Highlight-2005 And for those who missed the "accident". http://media.putfile.com/VT-THUG-1

Says the president of the BF fan club.

You forgot a former running back from Ohio State.

Something tells me that someone is going to eat crow today.

http://media.putfile.com/VT-THUG-1 Here is a video of what happened. Sure Marcus... that was an accident.

It's official.... Marcus is turning pro.

"It's just simply not working correctly," My ass... somebody hardcoded that in.

Wow, he is kicked off the team again.

Right team, wrong guy. 2005 Top KR Avg Rank Player Team Avg 1 Jim Leonhard BUF 36.0 2 Andre Davis NE 36.0 3 Reche Caldwell SD 33.0 4 Rich Alexis JAC RB 31.0 5 Terrence McGee BUF 30.2 6 Antowain Smith NO 30.0 7 Brandon Jacobs NYG 29.0 9 Domanick Davis HOU 29.0 9 Jerome Mathis HOU 28.6 10 Michael Pittman TB RB 28.3

Rank Player Team Avg 1 Roscoe Parrish BUF 13.3 2 Reno Mahe PHI 12.8 3 B.J. Sams BAL 12.2 4 Mewelde Moore MIN 11.7 5 Steve Smith CAR 10.6 6 Dennis Northcutt CLE 10.5 7 Antwaan Randle El PIT 10.2 8 Chad Morton NYG 9.6 9 Mark Jones TB 9.6 10 Bobby Wade CHI 9.6

Damn... they ranked Willis right next to the love boat incident.

Let me get back to you after my 6th beer and 120mg doze of prozac.

Hopefully his QB can stay healthy for an entire season in KC.

Young and Leinart will both be NFL busts. Now watch a team with no O-line like the Texans draft Bush. We'll see how good he is when there are 3 guys to meet him in the backfield.

Helen Resor

Silly message board rumors.... Texans want to trade Carr to Miami for Ricky Williams and a 2nd round pick.

Isn't that the New England formula?

I hope Ralph gave MM permission to suspend players.

OJ is being named slash player coach.

I like the cardiac bills better... but whatever floats your boat.