hoyainspirit
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
When life puts that voodoo on me, music is my gris-gris.
Posts: 8,392
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Post by hoyainspirit on Mar 26, 2014 8:52:55 GMT -5
While not specifically about the Big East, this article linked by DFW on the Front Page says that UMCP has subpoenaed ESPN with regards to its suit against the ACC, "targeting ESPN's role in ACC expansion, a role that played a direct impact in the destabilization of the Big East Conference".
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757hoyafan
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,999
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Post by 757hoyafan on Mar 26, 2014 9:00:54 GMT -5
**Grab your popcorn**
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njhoya78
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 7,760
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Post by njhoya78 on Mar 26, 2014 9:08:30 GMT -5
In the immortal words of Flounder in Animal House, "Oh boy! This is going to be great!"
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2014 9:08:42 GMT -5
Nice to have Fox Sports in the mix doing articles on ESPN corruption. Really hope the communications between ESPN and ACC become public at trial, hope UMD gets off the hook for the 52 million which opens up other teams to leave the ACC and I hope Fox or NBC wins the rights to the Big 10.....
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Mar 26, 2014 9:19:39 GMT -5
Nice to have Fox Sports in the mix doing articles on ESPN corruption. Really hope the communications between ESPN and ACC become public at trial, hope UMD gets off the hook for the 52 million which opens up other teams to leave the ACC and I hope Fox or NBC wins the rights to the Big 10..... On the one hand, I want the Big East to remain the flagship conference for FS1; on the other, I want FoxSports to grow its brand as quickly as possible.
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PhillyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by PhillyHoya on Mar 26, 2014 9:37:31 GMT -5
Even though we have to thank the Twerps for it, I'm happy to see the ESPN/ACC collusion exposed.
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hoyabinx
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,043
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Post by hoyabinx on Mar 26, 2014 9:57:23 GMT -5
Here is the kicker from the article and, in my opinion, a real possibility:
So ESPN faces an interesting conundrum: (1) Don't push the ACC for settlement and have its past exposed completely or (2) push the ACC for settlement and hope there aren't any collateral consequences. I honestly don't know what I'd prefer. I think I want to see the ACC implode, but seeing the emails and memos about what ESPN did is almost irresistible.
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Post by BubbleVisionBiff on Mar 26, 2014 10:24:36 GMT -5
Didn't ACC secure GOR for all broadcasts? Could FSU and Clemson bail and take broadcast rights with them? Can't see how that gets litigated quickly, or would a potential verdict encompass that?
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Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
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Post by Elvado on Mar 26, 2014 10:43:57 GMT -5
Wow. Only ESPN could be loathsome enough to make me root for Maryland.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Mar 26, 2014 10:47:00 GMT -5
ESPN has brought in dozens of additional Syracuse "journalism" interns who are feverishly manning the document shredders 24/7 this week.
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Post by dungeon ball on Mar 26, 2014 10:57:13 GMT -5
Somehow I feel like this all ends with a whimper, without the fireworks we're all hoping for, kind of like Syracuse violations. Nothing will come to light, UMD will settle for some amount that's less than exit fee, but not low enough to entice other ACC members to jump.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Mar 26, 2014 11:02:48 GMT -5
Somehow I feel like this all ends with a whimper, without the fireworks we're all hoping for, kind of like Syracuse violations. Nothing will come to light, UMD will settle for some amount that's less than exit fee, but not low enough to entice other ACC members to jump. Killjoy. But you are probably right. Although it had better happen quickly, before the ESPN subpoenas are returnable and the dirt is exposed.
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Mar 26, 2014 11:04:35 GMT -5
Somehow I feel like this all ends with a whimper, without the fireworks we're all hoping for, kind of like Syracuse violations. Nothing will come to light, UMD will settle for some amount that's less than exit fee, but not low enough to entice other ACC members to jump. I'm hoping this litigation gets so bitter (akin to a bitter divorce) that rational lawyering does not prevail, every party gets in the dirt, and all the dirty laundry surrounding this deal is exposed.
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Post by dungeon ball on Mar 26, 2014 11:07:55 GMT -5
Can someone explain to me what Maryland not wanting to pay an exit fee has to do with ESPN and ACC colluding to expand? How does this help Maryland's case?
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
Posts: 18,215
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Post by SSHoya on Mar 26, 2014 11:21:15 GMT -5
Can someone explain to me what Maryland not wanting to pay an exit fee has to do with ESPN and ACC colluding to expand? How does this help Maryland's case? Here's my understanding. Maryland was opposed to the increased exit fee but was outvoted. ACC/ESPN colluded and wanted the increased exit fee to prevent teams like Maryland from departing the ACC for better monetary deals. Maryland's argument is that the exit fee is therefore not liquidated damages under the contract (enforceable and economically related to the damage suffered), but is instead punitive and therefore unenforceable. Thus, if Maryland can prove collusion existed between ACC/ESPN in order to keep the ACC together and that the increased exit fee was voted for in order to prevent departures, it helps Maryland's argument that the increased exit fee is not liquidated damages but punitive and unenforceable.
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bkhoya
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 117
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Post by bkhoya on Mar 26, 2014 11:29:54 GMT -5
I disagree with the assessment of anyone who thinks it'll end in a whimper, primarily due to the fact that we are talking about large sums of money for a financially strapped institution. One of the reasons the Big Ten became appealing to Maryland is because of their need for more money, so of course they're going to fight tooth and nail against the $52 million exit. So the only way I could see this ending in a whimper would be if Maryland accepted to pay lets say $40 million instead of $52 million. I just don't see Maryland even agreeing to pay that. I think the settlement would be closer to $20-25 million, which seems to be more acceptable these days and you're right back in your dooms day scenario where it's enough to make schools like Georgia Tech and Florida State think they can look elsewhere.
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Post by dungeon ball on Mar 26, 2014 11:39:07 GMT -5
Can someone explain to me what Maryland not wanting to pay an exit fee has to do with ESPN and ACC colluding to expand? How does this help Maryland's case? Here's my understanding. Maryland was opposed to the increased exit fee but was outvoted. ACC/ESPN colluded and wanted the increased exit fee to prevent teams like Maryland from departing the ACC for better monetary deals. Maryland's argument is that the exit fee is therefore not liquidated damages under the contract (enforceable and economically related to the damage suffered), but is instead punitive and therefore unenforceable. Thus, if Maryland can prove collusion existed between ACC/ESPN in order to keep the ACC together and that the increased exit fee was voted for in order to prevent departures, it helps Maryland's argument that the increased exit fee is not liquidated damages but punitive and unenforceable. So we're hoping that evidence of collusion between ESPN and ACC in regards to increased exit fee, will then also reveal evidence of ESPN tampering with Big East teams?
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Post by aleutianhoya on Mar 26, 2014 11:41:28 GMT -5
Can someone explain to me what Maryland not wanting to pay an exit fee has to do with ESPN and ACC colluding to expand? How does this help Maryland's case? Here's my understanding. Maryland was opposed to the increased exit fee but was outvoted. ACC/ESPN colluded and wanted the increased exit fee to prevent teams like Maryland from departing the ACC for better monetary deals. Maryland's argument is that the exit fee is therefore not liquidated damages under the contract (enforceable and economically related to the damage suffered), but is instead punitive and therefore unenforceable. Thus, if Maryland can prove collusion existed between ACC/ESPN in order to keep the ACC together and that the increased exit fee was voted for in order to prevent departures, it helps Maryland's argument that the increased exit fee is not liquidated damages but punitive and unenforceable. Absolutely right. And earlier in the thread, someone was asking about the right-granting agreements, and whether these truly would prevent further movement from schools in conferences that have executed them. The answer is that it's really not clear. These sorts of things have never to my knowledge been litigated. And they would be subject to the same sort of defense (punitive vs. compensatory). While you're generally free to contract however you see fit, you can't contract in a way that completely prevents someone from moving to another businees opportunity unreasonably. And the right-granting agreements might be analogized to fit that exception. A school probably wouldn't have the same "I didn't vote for it" argument available to it, but I'm not sure that helps much legally anyway. As to how this resolves, I think a lot of this depends on just how bad the ESPN documents are. I'm sure they're smart enough to cloak a lot of the bad stuff in attorney-client privilege anyway, and I don't think they'd much care about documents that simply show what everyone knows already: that ESPN and the ACC were working together to maximize their joint venture's worth. I think they would care if there specifically were documents that spoke ill of another league, like the Big East. So they may not care about a doc that says "if you get Louisville to join that would be terrific for all of us," but they might care about one that says "if you get Louisville to join, that will cripple the Big East and allow us to not pay them anything going forward." There may not be many or any non-privileged documents along the lines of the second example. Even if there are, I'm sure they'll require a protective order that will make it hard for any of these to be made public. Leaks sometimes occur anyway, but more often than not, they don't.
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757hoyafan
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,999
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Post by 757hoyafan on Mar 26, 2014 11:41:44 GMT -5
Here's my understanding. Maryland was opposed to the increased exit fee but was outvoted. ACC/ESPN colluded and wanted the increased exit fee to prevent teams like Maryland from departing the ACC for better monetary deals. Maryland's argument is that the exit fee is therefore not liquidated damages under the contract (enforceable and economically related to the damage suffered), but is instead punitive and therefore unenforceable. Thus, if Maryland can prove collusion existed between ACC/ESPN in order to keep the ACC together and that the increased exit fee was voted for in order to prevent departures, it helps Maryland's argument that the increased exit fee is not liquidated damages but punitive and unenforceable. So we're hoping that evidence of collusion between ESPN and ACC in regards to increased exit fee, will then also reveal evidence of ESPN tampering with Big East teams? Yep! Remember, the old Big East commish turned everything over to the Pitt president & he said they should turn down the deal from ESPN--then all of a sudden they were leaving for the ACC..
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757hoyafan
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,999
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Post by 757hoyafan on Mar 26, 2014 11:42:10 GMT -5
Here's my understanding. Maryland was opposed to the increased exit fee but was outvoted. ACC/ESPN colluded and wanted the increased exit fee to prevent teams like Maryland from departing the ACC for better monetary deals. Maryland's argument is that the exit fee is therefore not liquidated damages under the contract (enforceable and economically related to the damage suffered), but is instead punitive and therefore unenforceable. Thus, if Maryland can prove collusion existed between ACC/ESPN in order to keep the ACC together and that the increased exit fee was voted for in order to prevent departures, it helps Maryland's argument that the increased exit fee is not liquidated damages but punitive and unenforceable. Absolutely right. And earlier in the thread, someone was asking about the right-granting agreements, and whether these truly would prevent further movement from schools in conferences that have executed them. The answer is that it's really not clear. These sorts of things have never to my knowledge been litigated. And they would be subject to the same sort of defense (punitive vs. compensatory). While you're generally free to contract however you see fit, you can't contract in a way that completely prevents someone from moving to another businees opportunity unreasonably. And the right-granting agreements might be analogized to fit that exception. A school probably wouldn't have the same "I didn't vote for it" argument available to it, but I'm not sure that helps much legally anyway. As to how this resolves, I think a lot of this depends on just how bad the ESPN documents are. I'm sure they're smart enough to cloak a lot of the bad stuff in attorney-client privilege anyway, and I don't think they'd much care about documents that simply show what everyone knows already: that ESPN and the ACC were working together to maximize their joint venture's worth. I think they would care if there specifically were documents that spoke ill of another league, like the Big East. So they may not care about a doc that says "if you get Louisville to join that would be terrific for all of us," but they might care about one that says "if you get Louisville to join, that will cripple the Big East and allow us to not pay them anything going forward." I'm sure they'll require a protective order that will make it hard for any of these to be made public. Leaks sometimes occur anyway, but more often than not, they don't. msn.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/myth-of-the-big-12s-grant-of-rights.php
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