Marc Cuban writes on his blog:
Let’s just hope the accountants for the Tribune Company have a higher regard for accuracy in reporting than Sam the Sham does. Perfect example of Sam in action is Jerry West going on the air during the draft saying the Grizz can’t afford to trade for Shaq. Then Sham chimes on the show saying Shaq is going to Memphis. Sam then does his daily rip on the Mavs and, in particular, our new draft pick, Pavel who he calls a stiff.How about this for a challenge Sam the Sham Smith?…I will donate 10k dollars to the charity of your choice if you can prove that you have ever seen Pavel play in person or on tape — excluding the footage on the ESPN draft shows. Two minutes of ESPN tape doesn’t qualify as scouting. If you lose, you change your business card title and Tribune byline to “Sports Gossip Columnist”. I will even pay for the cards. Doesn’t the Tribune Company realize that you are a blight on the entire company? I brought this up to an exec I met who works at the company. He told me they knew it, but that you were like the crazy old uncle they had learned to live with. Great support from your company, Sam.
If they only knew how many times I have told brokers and possible investors that they shouldn’t buy Trib stock because if they can’t get simple details on their sports pages right, how can you trust their accountants? Corporate culture either values accuracy or it doesn’t. The Tribune Company obviously doesn’t.
******** Stop The Presses ********
No lie: After I wrote this blog entry, I sat down to read the NY Times and there in the business section is an article accusing (among others) the Tribune Company for inflating audited subscriber numbers…Maybe the company encourages Sam to lie…who knows…Is lying pervasive at the Tribune Company? Corporate culture is amazingly powerful…
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Brilliant stuff. I only wish there was someone like Cuban writing a blog about Wall Street.