Daily Archives: October 20, 2006

Great Coach tirades

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Denny Green.jpgBy now, you have probably seen Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Denny Green’s meltdown after his team blew a 20 point lead to the Bears over the final 17 minutes of the Monday Night game earlier this week. Even Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was impressed. “That was one of the best ones I’ve ever seen,” Van Gundy told the Houston Chronicle. “I loved that. It was great. I could feel his passion. I could feel the sting, too.”
Although Green’s tirade was entertaining, it really wasn’t one of the best coach rants of all-time. For example, Green’s performance is rank amateurism in comparison to the following:

The King of Tirades, former Indiana University and current Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight, has a classic halftime speech here as well this collection of ten of his best tirades. And don’t miss this hilarious commercial that Coach Knight did for Minute Maid.
Not exactly a tirade, but no collection of coaching meltdowns is complete without former Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes going nuclear on a Clemson linebacker at the end of his final game as Ohio State’s head coach.
Former Colts coach Jim Mora’s famous tirade after his team lost a game by turning the ball over five times — “Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs. You kiddin’ me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game.”
This video includes a nice collection of tirades by former Raiders coach and current Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, former Jets coach Herm Edwards and former Saints coach Mike Ditka, among others.
Finally, one of the best ever, former Cubs manager Lee Elia’s tirade in 1983 over his club’s 5-14 start that season. Incredibly, Elia lasted several more months that season before being fired.

Big DOJ initiative against bankruptcy fraud

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us-doj-seal-lg3.jpgPeter Henning over at the White Collar Crime Prof Blog notes this Justice Department press release the other day announcing a wide-ranging crackdown on bankruptcy fraud, although none of the cases appear to have been landed in Houston:

United States Attorneys have filed criminal charges against 78 individuals in 69 separate prosecutions in 36 judicial districts on a variety of federal bankruptcy fraud and related counts, including 18 cases charged Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, announced today. The announcement is the culmination of ìOperation Truth or Consequences,î a nationwide sweep that demonstrates the breadth of enforcement actions taken by the Department of Justice to combat bankruptcy fraud and protect the integrity of the bankruptcy system. [. . .]
Collectively, the Operation Truth or Consequences bankruptcy fraud sweep includes charges filed against nine attorneys, two bankruptcy petition preparers, and one former law enforcement officer; alleged concealment of more than $3 million in assets; use of false Social Security numbers and false identities; submission of forged documents and use of false statements; defrauding of individuals whose homes were in foreclosure; fraudulent receipt of government loans and benefits; and various other unlawful acts.

I have no idea whether the DOJ’s initiative is justified. But bankruptcy is strong medicine with serious side effects, and the exposure to criminal liability in bankruptcy is often underestimated by debtors and their counsel. It shouldn’t be.

Texas Children’s huge expansion

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Texas Children's Hospital logo.jpgTexas Children’s Hospital — already the largest pediatric hospital in the country — announced a massive $1.5 billion expansion earlier this week that calls for 2 million square foot expansion, including construction of a maternity center, a neurological research institute and a satellite hospital in west Houston. Texas Children’s is one of the largest employers in the Medical Center and expects to create an additional 2,500-3,000 jobs in connection with the expansion. The Chronicle’s Todd Ackerman has story here.
Juxaposed between earlier posts here and here on the struggles of Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch to define their future in the troubled waters of America’s health care system, Texas Children’s bold expansion is a reminder of the strong influence that Houston’s Texas Medical Center and vibrant medical community will have on this key domestic policy and economic issues facing American society.