Friday, February 15, 2008

HOW TO REDUCE YOUR “REPUTATION VALUE”

I am not talking about Roger Clemens. I am talking about his attorney, “former” powerhouse Houston attorney Rusty Hardin. 

I would imagine Rusty probably does not need to work another day in his life but if you could value attorney’s like you do a sport’s franchise, his value just went from the stratosphere of the Dallas Cowboys to the Arizona Cardinals(the lowest valued team in the NFL according to Forbes) 

If you are talking hit to reputation, you can also analogize him to the New England Pats walking into a can’t lose situation and now being just another “almost team” right there with the Seattle Seakhawks….. 

With Rusty’s huge ego, you can bet he was calling every shot for Roger. You can also bet he devised the strategy and undoubtedly advised Roger to press forward with the hearing that couldn’t have gone any worse if it had been scripted for both of them to come out looking like idiots and what is worse, exposing Roger to criminal liability?

My advise to Rusty is to stick oil deals, Harris County Courtrooms, and power lunches in Houston. I certainly don’t think anyone else will be asking you to represent them before Congress in the next 30 plus years………

Posted by bcuban at 19:48:54 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, February 14, 2008

THE TRENT MONICA DILEMMA-WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Lets say that I am a talented software programmer at Trent Monica industries located in Malibu Beach, California. I have millions in stock options that will vest if I stay at Monica six more moths. My employment contract with Monica just happens to last six more months. They can not get rid of me until it expires.

Monica comes to me and says, our International Falls, Minnesota subsidiary, Phizkunis Software, needs someone just like you. We would like you to move there and help them out. I say “what’s in it for me”? 

Im told:

“nothing really, just the opportunity to be a good guy and take one for the team to help us and the subsidiary out. It is a little cold but you will love it there…..

I say what about my stock options? I vest in six months. 

Response: Sorry, while it is a subsidiary ,it is a different company so you will lose those. You will sign a new contract with them and accrue new options over time. 

What would you do?

MORAL OF STORY? Basketball is a business…….  Expect Devean George to make a business decision whatever he decides to do.

Posted by bcuban at 13:47:43 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

THE BELL IS TOLLING FOR HD-DVD

In what is one more nail in the HD-DVD coffin, Netflix and more importantly Best Buy have stated that they will abandon HD-DVD high definition and exclusively endorse competing Blu-Ray high definition disc technology. As I have previously written this format war runs along the same lines as the VHS/Betamax wars of many years ago with VHS winning out.

While the Netflix endorsement hurts, the Best Buy endorsement is a crushing blow to the HD-DVD format. Best Buy is the #2 retailer for DVDs and the #1 retailer for next generation format DVDs. The next huge domino in line has not yet fallen. Wal-Mart has stated that they are currently undecided. If Wal-Mart backs Blu-ray, its over…..

I expect Wal-Mart to continue to carry the HD-DVD line while they determine if they have their own market for it. Of course if HD-DVD’s biggest backer, Toshiba decided that the market is no longer there for their players, the whole thing is academic.

Posted by bcuban at 18:21:53 | Permalink | No Comments »

Saturday, February 9, 2008

RETURN TO SENDER

It was a day like any other day.  Sun was shining. Dog was scratching, cat was napping, Brian was loafing. There was a knock at the door at that would change my future.  I am used to afternoon knocks on the door.  I am on first name basis with the UPS guy as I buy a ton of books on Amazon.com.   This knock however was like any other knock on my door since I moved into my condo ten months ago. It was a knock of authority. It was a knocked that said “I mean business”.   It was a knock that caused the dog to stop scratching, the cat to wake up, and me to get off my ass and put some clothes on to go answer it. 

Lets’ talk about the psychology of “the knock”.   When there is a knock at your door, there are really only so many realistic options.   Sure it could be Jessica Biel coming to tell me she worshipped me from a far and was dumping, her boyfriend and wanted to move in to my new condo.  I would have to decline as I have a girlfriend but it is nice to be wanted.  Sure it could be that but I will have to admit that is not a realistic option….

So what else could it be?  Let’s take the following out of the equation. I am not expecting anyone, I have no psycho girlfriends or one night stands out there, I didn’t order pizza, it is not Halloween. I also  live in a gated community so  it could not one of those magazine sales cults that try to sell you mages you don’t want, keep your money to  buy drugs and alcohol and you never see the magazine.   The last one told me that if he sold one more subscription to “Motorcycle Mama”, he would get a scholarship to Harvard Law School.  I am still waiting for my “Mama” and I saw that same kid standing at an intersection with a sign that said “Free Porn For Food”

Having ruled out the plausible and the implausible I answered the door.   It was the post man with a dam certified letter!   I hate certified letters!  Unless you jus t won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes there is no such thing as a good news certified letter.  I am an attorney so I know this! I have sent out many certified letters and none of them contained good news!

Immediately my mind is spinning.   What have I done?  I have not cheated on my taxes recently, I have not “deadbeated anyone”. The bottom line was in that 2 seconds that seemed like and eternity I could not think of anyone that I had screwed over and would want to “smite” me with a certified letter.

I take a deep breath and take the letter.  The world suddenly has shifted from the real to the surreal. The letter is addressed to occupant!   WHO THE HELL SENDS A CERTIFIED LETTER TO OCCUPANT!

I am not sure of 99 percent of the things in my life but I am sure my name is not “occupant”. I know this because I asked the postman to wait, went to my office, grabbed my birth certificate an confirmed my name was not “occupant”  The name of the guy I leased the condo from was also not “occupant” so I ruled him out .  My cat’s name is Useless and my dog’s name is Peanut so I ruled them out.

 

I then told the postman that after thorough due diligence, I was certain there was no one named “occupant” living at my address.

The Postman’s response was profound”

“Pal I just deliver them, do you want to sign for the dam thing or not!”

How many times as an attorney have advised people pulled over for DWI, don’t take the breathalyzer.  Of course no one heads the advice because every drunk thinks they are sober. Next thing you know you’re being initiated into your new “fraternity by being “pinned” by a smelly redneck named Bubba.

I should have followed my own advice.  Never take the breathalyzer and NEVER SIGN FOR A CERTIFIED LETTER ADDRESSED TO OCCUPANT!

Conclusion of story?  It was a letter from  the “new”  owner of my condo   They had foreclosed on the guy I had leased it from. The letter said I had ten days to get out.

If I had only entered the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes this sad story might have had a happy ending………

 

Posted by bcuban at 15:47:36 | Permalink | No Comments »

Friday, February 8, 2008

THE RUBINOWITZ CONUNDRUM

I am a brilliant(so I say) young attorney. I just graduated from Harvard. I skipped right over associate and was made an instant partner at the powerhouse Dallas, Texas law firm of Rubinowitz, Rubinowitz and Rubinowitz. Three Harvard grad savage Jews that will tear the skin right off you.(What t.v.sitcom is that from?)

In any event, being someone who never needed the showroom to sell the Cadillac, I sold Rubinowitz on my ability to generate endless amounts of revenue, certainly enough so they can afford to hire the black-sheep Rubinowitz who went to Yale.

Jumping right into the partnership track with no experience other than the bullshit that got me where I am, I decided I need to think outside the box to get new clients for my new firm.

I put up profiles on Linked in, Facebook and Myspace. Not wanting to limit myself to any one area, I put in my “About Me” sections of all sites that I am the youngest partner in the history of Dallas Jurisprudence; I specialize in all areas of law and while I don’t want to brag, I have many “big” verdicts and countless satisfied clients. I can also find my way around a courtroom better than Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men.’

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:

Have I violated the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct with my pages on these sites?

Have I subjected Rubinowitz to liability for my actions.

Did Rubinowitz have any duty to ask to see all my social networking pages prior to their going up?

Posted by bcuban at 03:58:05 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thursday, February 7, 2008

I AM IN LOVE WITH MY GARBAGE

So I am cleaning out my home getting ready for a move in a couple months.  I pull out this box that contains nothing but jumbled cables, speaker wire and electronic thingamajigs.  I am trying to decide what to keep and throw away. I pull out this one generic cable.  I look at it and immediately form a bond.   That cable and I have history…..   I bought that cable 5 years ago, when I bought my first nice stereo to go in my home,  I then used that cable when I hooked up my first high definition television,  I am pretty sure I used that cable in my DVD player at well.   I had history with that cable.  I stared at that cable. I thought about that cable.   I let my cat chase that cable, giving it once last triumphant moment in my life   after about an hour I said goodbye and gently placed that stereo cable with which I had so much history in the dumpster.   Love is never having to say you’re sorry.  Sometimes you just have to let go of your garbage.


 

Posted by bcuban at 17:06:47 | Permalink | No Comments »

STEROID MANIA PART 4

I am going on that record here as to Brian McNamee’s production of syringes and other “corroborating” evidence with regards to Roger Clemen’s alleged use of steroids. It is a complete fabricated effort to save his deal with Federal Prosecutors who have undoubtedly told him if Clemen’s denial proves true to their satisfaction, whatever plea deal he has is off the table.

Why do I believe this is bullshit? While it is true that unexpected evidence turns up in criminal and civil cases, it almost always evidence from obtained or offered up by a third party. When a criminal defendant suddenly says ‘oh yea, If forgot to give you this”….. it is highly suspect and almost always of no evidentiary value.

Macnamee almost have to say he got it from a third party or he has zero credibility. He just happened to forget he had syringes when he talked to Federal Prosecutors? I would love to hear the explanation he gave as to where he got them. The odds of a legit chain of custody to rule out any chance of tampering are also zero.

This whole thing is going to backfire on Mcnamee and the next zero he sees will in front of the word “freedom” for the next year or so.

Posted by bcuban at 13:34:55 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

CELEBRITY POLITICS

I was driving to work today and tuned my Sirius radio to the Fox news channel. I consider Fox News to be just a couple steps above tabloid shows and maybe a step under the NY Post. There is always something entertaining to be had…..

When I turned it on, they were right in the middle of a debate. The subject was whether Oprah Winfrey should have endorsed Hillary Clinton rather than Barack Obama. I really could not figure out what “controversial” point of contention warranted this debate. Oprah wanted to endorse Obama, plain and simple. No further explanation needed. The call-ins were interesting. All over the board. All just moronic in my mind.

She should have done it because she’s a women, she should have done it because Hillary was a better candidate, blah blah blah blah…..

Why does any celebrity or Joe Schmo working at Jack in the Box have any moral or other obligation to endorse anyone but who they personally feel is the best person for the job out of the available choices? 

The fact that someone has a huge group of followers does not in my mind does not import any “obligation of conscience” to vote in any manner than the burger guy comes to the exact same decision.

Would I have a problem if Oprah chose Obama because he said he would come on her show with his new book if she endorsed him? Of course! That type of thing perverts our electoral system and the Constitution. Agendas that pervert and manipulate the system for personal gain of any type must be stomped down.

Bottom line: Regardless of who is the best candidate, Oprah and Joe Schmo at Jack In The Box have the basic fundamental right to cast their vote using nothing more than their conscience as their guide. They are not be beholding to anyone in exchange for that basic right granted us all many years ago. I wont speak for your but I will say that either of them owe me I a goddam thing.

Posted by bcuban at 20:03:42 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

J.F.K. IS A FIGMENT OF YOUR IMAGINATION

If CNN today reported a survey in which 1 out of every 4 americans under 25 believed that John F. Kennedy never existed, would you be worried? What would worry you? The state of our educational system? The state of parenting in general? Would you even care? It would scare me shitless! Why? A youth with no sense of history is a youth with no sense of self and that is a dangerous youth…. That is a youth who walks into malls and schools not with a wallet or book but with an automatic weapon.

So what is almost as bad as 25 percent of our youth not believing J.F.K existed? 25 percent of England’s youth not believing that Winston Churchill existed! I am not kidding on this one. In a recent survey of London youth, 25 percent believed that Winston Churchill did not really exist and was a “mythical figure” Don’t they teach history over there? Are there that many children not going to school? Are London youth simply so disillusioned and disaffected about their present that they simply can not related to or believe in any strong figures in their past…..

While I am not an expert on English historical values, I would think that teaching their youth about a figure that played a large role in saving them from learning to “goose-step” would be a educational imperative

Anyway you cut it such a stat should scare the hell out of them. It sounds like the youth of London are certainly disconnected from their history. After disillusioned comes disconnected, after that comes disaffected. Then comes the most dangerous D of all to a nation(other than death), disenfranchised. 

From the ranks of disenfranchised youth come home grown terrorists and those who have no qualms about turning on their own….

My children are going to live and breathe U.S. history. Im not taking any chances……


Posted by bcuban at 02:32:36 | Permalink | No Comments »

Monday, February 4, 2008

ACTUS MORONUS

While he wont say it, Joseph Tacopina, attorney for scumbag, coward Joran Van der Sloot is nervous. 

Van der Sloot has long been suspected of taking part in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway, the high school student who disspeared in Aruba the night before she was to go home to the United States. Van der Sloot is the last person to see her alive. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance. 

So why is Tacopina nervous?

A secretly recorded video tape has surfaced in which Va der Sloot basically confesses to being with Natalie when she suddenly became un-responsive. He admits that without knowing if she was alive or dead, calling a friend who came and helped dispose of her body at sea.

Tacopina said his client was not responsible for the Alabama teenager’s death and that the tapes do not amount to a confession.

“There was no confession, no admission of a crime by Joran on any of these tapes, which is very telling,” Tacopina said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

While the admission may not rise to the level of an “actus reus” there is one key thing that is not said that tells you Tacopina is nervous.

He never says that his client made it up like Van Der Sloot contends…… You know why? Van Der Sloot probably told him the same story and he doesn’t want to get disbarred by repeating his client’s lie……..(assuming he is his U.S. attorney)

He told us his client was telling the truth in his admission in one statement.


Posted by bcuban at 20:10:04 | Permalink | Comments (1) »