Um, This Can't Be Good...

Former CA chief accuses D'Amato, Ranieri of cover-up
BY MARK HARRINGTON | mark.harrington@newsday.com
10:28 PM EDT, September 2, 2008

Former CA Inc. chief Sanjay Kumar alleges his former mentor Charles Wang "personally directed" improper accounting at the company going back to 1987, and that several long-time board members "took steps to protect Wang and conceal the facts."

In a 27-page affidavit filed in court Tuesday by Texas billionaire Sam Wyly, Kumar depicts a cover-up within a cover-up, alleging board members Lewis Ranieri and Alfonse D'Amato "had knowledge of" the accounting misdeeds for which he went to prison -- going back "at least" to 2003. Yet the accusations, which he said he communicated to a special board committee through "many" interviews, never made it into a report the board publicly filed in 2006, documenting the scandal.

Fresh allegations

Kumar's affidavit provides specific instances in which he alleges Wang pushed him to close contracts after a quarter closed to meet earnings figures expected by Wall Street, in violation of accounting rules.

Kumar, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, obstruction of justice and lying to FBI agents, alleges it was at "Wang's direction" that he took a July 8, 1999, flight to Paris to close a $32 million deal with GIE Informatique -- $19 million of which was improperly recognized nine days after the quarter's close.

Andrew Frank, a spokesman for Wang, yesterday referred to Wang's 2006 statements denying any involvement in accounting misdeeds at CA, and said he was "appalled" by the allegations. "I intend to vigorously defend my good name and fight any and all efforts to place the crimes of Kumar and his management team at my feet," Wang said then.

A spokesman for D'Amato and Ranieri, who resigned as board chairman in 2007, called the allegations "false." "Mr. Kumar has pled guilty to lying to the company's board, its lawyers and its investors," said the spokesman. "It is regrettable that, from jail, Mr. Kumar continues to be a stranger to the truth."

CA in 2004 acknowledged former executives conspired in a multiyear, $2.2-billion accounting scandal for which the company reached a deferred prosecution agreement and paid more than $225 million in restitution. A spokesman yesterday said the board conducted a "thorough" probe of the allegations, including interviews with Kumar. "In a matter of this complexity, one cannot draw conclusions from the uncorroborated recollections of a single individual," the company said.

Kumar alleges Wang "insisted that CA 'stonewall" the government probe of CA, arguing it would eventually "go away."

Implicating others

The filing also implicates CA co-founder Russell Artzt, alleging he "actively participated in concealing CA's improper accounting practices" from investigators and fellow board members. Kumar's affidavit alleges Artzt, who was never implicated in the wrongdoing, helped the sales team finalize deals after a quarter had closed. He also allegedly urged Kumar to keep silent on Wang's alleged involvement. Artzt "told me to remain silent because he thought that D'Amato would 'get this fixed,'" Kumar's affidavit says.

In a statement yesterday, an attorney for Artzt said her client "categorically denies" knowledge of, or participation in concealing the accounting misdeeds at CA. "Mr. Kumar's statements are completely false," said attorney Christine McInerney, noting that Artzt, who still works for CA, was cleared by a committee of the CA board.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, which oversaw the government's accounting fraud probe that resulted in Kumar pleading guilty, declined to comment.

The affidavit was filed as part of a lawsuit against former and current CA executives and directors by Wyly, a CA shareholder, hoping to recoup hundreds of millions in lost CA investments. William A. Brewer III, lead counsel for Wyly, said it "confirms a conspiracy and subsequent cover-up of epic proportions."

Kumar alleges Ranieri specifically directed him to keep details of the accounting improprieties from fellow CA director Walter Schuetze, saying former SEC chief accountant Schuetze would "have a heart attack" if he knew the extent of the misdeeds.

Since going to prison on a 12-year sentence last year, Kumar has been interviewed by government and private lawyers, said Lawrence McMichael, a Philadephia-based lawyer for Kumar. He said Kumar "will talk to anybody who wants to talk to him and will tell them the truth." Kumar's appeal of his prison sentence will be heard later this month. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, which oversaw the probe, declined to comment.

Michael Cornacchia, a former prosecutor on the case now in private practice in Manhattan, said investigators are apt to look with suspicion on Kumar's claims unless there is "independent supportive or corroborating evidence." If new evidence of obstruction were found, it could extend any statute of limitations on those crimes, he said, though the statute on accounting fraud has likely expired.

Checking the books

In addition to Ranieri and D'Amato, Kumar's affidavit alleges former CA board members Willem de Vogel and Artzt "knew of our practice of booking revenue for a few days past quarter end." Kumar alleges de Vogel, a member of the CA board's audit committee until 2002, knew of the improper accounting, saying he "would call up CA executives three to five days after the quarter's end to inquire 'How are we doing?' or, 'How do the numbers look?'"

Lawrence Kamin, a lawyer for de Vogel, said his client "categorically denies" the claims, noting de Vogel was to serve as a witness against Kumar at trial. "He's one of the good guys," Kamin said of his client.

Kumar said he discussed the late-booking practice with Ranieri "during the government investigation," which began in February 2002. In April 2003, he alleges, he told Ranieri a former CA joint venture partner was trying to blackmail the company about the improper accounting. He alleges Ranieri told him to "put the past behind me," which he understood to mean "fix the problem at all costs."

Kumar alleges D'Amato was "aware of Wang's participation" in the accounting improprieties but "told me on more than one occasion that it was best not to discuss Wang's involvement."

Kumar charges that D'Amato helped steer CA's internal investigation to a lawyer he knew well, despite Schuetze's urging Kumar to interview a number of firms. That attorney was Robert Giuffra, a Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer who had worked with and for D'Amato and his brother Armand, going back to the 1980s. "D'Amato made it clear that I should recommend Giuffra," Kumar said, adding that Giuffra's role was allegedly to conduct CA's defense against the federal probe "to minimize" its "depth and any damage that might be done to D'Amato, Ranieri and Wang."

Giuffra declined comment.

Kumar said he and Wang had a major falling out after Kumar introduced a new business model in 2000, alleging Wang "was regretting giving up the CEO title." So Wang fired him over breakfast in November 2001, he alleges, though CA's board reaffirmed Kumar's post at a subsequent meeting.

Goodbye, August!

August is simply the worst month to be a hockey fan.

In June you have the finals (whether you have a horse in the race or not) and the entry draft.

In July you have free agency and the yearly shenanigans of some new crazy ownership group trying to make a splash.

Then, in August, you get nothing. It's quiet. Sure, this year we had the Mats Sundin saga (seriously, Mats. Get off the pot) and the continued misadventures of the Tampa Bay Lightning (good luck with Meszaros over Boyle) and whatever is played on the NHL Network.

But mostly, you get nothing. It's like we've all been banished to watching clip after clip from the upcoming Best of Hillbilly Jim and Uncle Elmer DVD. I don't know about you, but I can't takes no more!

So here we are. Mark Parrish is still a free agent and even though Chris Botta thinks it would be a mistake to bring him back, I am still holding out hope. Sure, he only scores goals in bunches but last time I checked, you win hockey games by scoring goals. Would Parrish be taking time away from the young guys coach Scott Gordon is trying to develop? Maybe...but it wouldn't be much. I still think you can add Parrish and maybe one of the remaining free agent defensemen out there with some experience like a Bret Hedican or even Marek Malik. As the Isles have proven over the last couple of seasons, you really can't enough defensemen.

No truth to the rumor that our armed forces are now treating prisoners to DVD's of Hillbilly Jim and Uncle Elmer as torture, either. Not that it wouldn't work; we just can't confirm it.

For those who asked me about the hockey cards, I have actually bought six more packs since last report and no Islanders. Not even the guys who aren't on the team anymore. I did pick up the Kyle Okposo rookie from a popular auction site that we won't name but as of this writing, said Okposo has not arrived at it's new home.

Special thanks to those who wrote in wondering where I was over the past few weeks. Well, I was around but I just wasn't moved to write anything because, as we said, nothing was happening. I've tried watching Islanders Illustrated but I'm not exactly the biggest fan of watching TV on the computer so that has been hard. Overall, a decent show though. Slight thumbs up because of my TV-on-the-computer bias.

Also, to everyone who wrote to me about the Comcast travails, I feel your pain. Shocking how much people like to vent about cable companies. And yes, I know Cablevision blows too, even though I don't get their (ahem) service.

Long story short--for those who wanted to know about resolution--is that we got everything squared away....sort of. Chalk it up to a huge nightmare. Also, a warning to anyone who is a Comcast customer that wants to order WWE 24/7--Comcast still does not offer the full programming slate that the WWE makes available. They've not showed any NWA TBS shows in August and did not show either the Stampede episode from 1986 a lot of people are talking about or the Terry Funk Film Session that I desperately wanted to see in July.

September is Ric Flair month. I hope to hell that everything is offered as it is supposed to be...but I am not holding my breath. Suffice to say, Comcast still sucks.

And yes, if I flip on the channel and the full programming as listed on the WWE website (and other carriers' websites) then I will post the good news here. Don't hold your breath.

Upcoming Islanders Games on the NHL Network

Monday, August 18, 2008
1:00 PM Vintage Games: Canucks vs NY Islanders from May 16, 1982
4:00 PM Vintage Games: Oilers vs NY Islanders from May 17, 1983

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
7:00 AM Vintage Games: Canucks vs NY Islanders from May 16, 1982
10:00 AM Vintage Games: Oilers vs NY Islanders from May 17, 1983

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
1:00 AM Vintage Games: Canucks vs NY Islanders from May 16, 1982
4:00 AM Vintage Games: Oilers vs NY Islanders from May 17, 1983

Sunday, August 24, 2008
7:00 PM Vintage Games: NY Rangers vs NY Islanders from April 10, 1984

New Hockey Cards!

I love it when I find the new hockey cards each year. It's one of the three barometers that we are getting closer to hockey season; along with The Hockey New preview issue and exhibition football.

Upper Deck's Victory set is always the first out, so you can imagine how happy I was to see the boxes at our local Target. I picked up one of those boxes that has ten packs (plus a "bonus" pack--why not just say eleven?) for $9.99 yesterday. My wife and I ripped them open and as you have probably figured out, all we want really is Islanders. We don't mind getting cards of the stars and all, but our boys always are more important.

So, guess how many Islanders I got in a box of 11 packs and 66 cards? That's right: zero. Didn't get any Rangers either, which we are oddly okay with. Still, with 250 cards in the set and getting 66 cards in the box, you'd figure that the odds are pretty good that we would get some Isles, but we didn't. We did get Crosby and Ovechkin and an oversized Tomas Vanek card (yawn).

So, out of (let's say) five stars, I would give this rip about a two. One star for getting Crosby and Ovie and one star for just being happy that there are hockey cards out. We'll also give Upper Deck some credit for improving the design of the cards, which are much more appealing than last year's Victory set.

The Islanders players in the set are cards 71-76: Rick DiPietro; Bill Guerin; Miro Satan; Trent Hunter; Mike Comrie; and The Tank.

Thanks to The First Lady of NYIFORLIFE.com, my wife Linzi, for the photo. She's also the webmistress for this site as well.

Islanders Team Report

Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports

Inside Shots

Islanders general manager Garth Snow took his time talking to men of various experience levels while searching for Ted Nolan’s replacement as head coach.

He found him in AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon, who was introduced as the Islanders’ head coach on Aug. 13.

Gordon, the AHL’s Coach of the Year, is accustomed to dealing with young players, which will be critical given the Isles’ commitment to a youth movement. Nolan reportedly was not, which led to his dismissal.

“I could tell right away when he walked through my office door that there was chemistry and that we were speaking the same language,” said Snow of Gordon.

While many big-name coaches with NHL experience were discussed before the club decided to give Gordon his first taste of coaching in the NHL, Gordon is optimistic that his experience in the AHL has prepared him to deal with a young, struggling Islanders team.

“It didn’t just take coaching Xs and Os, it took the players buying into the system that we play and being accountable to each other. That’s kind of the last step in my development as a coach in refining the team chemistry part of it—how to get the guys to want to play for each other. I’ve been able to find what works and doesn’t work and been able to do it on a small stage and not have to have the growing pains, hopefully, at the NHL level.”

Of course, hope springs eternal in August.

Notes, Quotes

• The Islanders announced their 2008 preseason schedule, including one home game at Nassau Coliseum, Oct. 1 against New Jersey. With training camp to be held in Moncton, New Brunswick, for the second straight year, the Isles will play host to Boston at Moncton Coliseum on Sept. 23. They also will play Philadelphia in London, Ontario, on Sept. 25 and Florida in Sumerside on Prince Edward Island on Sept. 27. The Isles also play in New Jersey, Boston and Florida in early October.

Quote To Note: “Communication is key, along with the ability to provide structure to the team, to be able to discipline players and to hold players accountable. I’ll look for a coach who has integrity, an inspirational, motivational, knowledgeable coach. Those are the ingredients I feel a great coach has. I look forward to the process of finding our next head coach.”—GM Garth Snow, on the Islanders’ coaching search.

Roster Report

Draft Picks Of Note:

Corey Trivino, 6-1, 170, OPJHL Stouffville, 36th overall: The speedy center scored 69 points in 39 games in the Ontario Provincial junior A league, plus four goals for champion Team Canada at the World under-18 Junior tournament in January.

Aaron Ness, D, 5-9-1/2, 157, Roseau HS (Minn.), 40th overall: The undersized defenseman was Mr. Hockey in Minnesota in 2008, with 72 points from the blue line in 31 games for his high school team. Interestingly, Ness will attend the University of Minnesota and coach Don Lucia, who took issue with the Isles and with Snow for signing 2006 first-round pick Kyle Okposo away from the Golden Gophers in the middle of the college hockey season last winter.

David Toews, 5-10, 175, Shattuck-St. Mary’s HS (Minn.), 64th overall: The younger brother of Chicago rising star Jonathan Toews had 100 points in 51 games (44-56) for Minnesota’s top high school program. The younger Toews is headed to the University of North Dakota.

Kirill Petrov, 6-3, 198, RSL AK Kazan: 73rd overall: The Isles took a chance on Petrov, the No. 2-ranked European skater (behind No. 6 overall selection Nikita Filatov) by NHL Central Scouting. Petrov plummeted in the draft because he is under contract for the next two seasons in Russia. The right wing was named the top forward at under-18 worlds last winter with five goals in six games.

Free Agent Focus: After signing center Doug Weight, power-play quarterback Mark Streit and third-string goalie Yann Danis, the Isles boast 24 one-way contracts for 23 roster spots for 2007-08. When asked by Newsday if that means he’s likely done shopping on the free-agent market, GM Garth Snow replied, “I would say so, but I’ll still poke around and make calls.”

Player Notes:

• C Frans Nielsen, a Denmark product who has appeared in 31 games for the Islanders the past two seasons, received a four-year contract worth $2.1 million.

• D Bruno Gervais became the last returning Islander to land a new contract, signing a three-year deal worth $2.225 million on July 25.

Hockey on Versus Schedule Announced

The Islanders are scheduled to be featured four times on Versus this season. Here are the dates:

Tues. Dec. 9* NY Islanders at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Tues. Dec. 16 Washington at NY Islanders 7:00 PM
Mon. Dec. 29* NY Islanders at NY Rangers 7:00 PM
Mon. March 2* Colorado at NY Islanders 7:00 PM

The games against the Flyers and Rangers are national broadcasts where Versus has exclusivity. The game against the Capitals is on my birthday so mark your calendars so you can send me big and expensive presents.

NHL Logo Rankings

This week The Hockey News released it's annual list of NHL Logo Rankings. At NYIForLife.com we decided to list our own thoughts and compare with The Hockey News. What do you think?

THN RANK.	LOGO	TEAM	Bill	Linzi
1		Chicago Blackhawks	2. No doubts here.	13. Traditional.
2		Detroit Red Wings	1. This classic is the winner.	5. Looks like it would make a great tattoo!.
3		Montreal Canadiens	6. The standard-bearer for winning in the NHL.	4. Classic timeless design. One of my favorites.
4		Boston Bruins	5. The spokes are great and the colors are too.	11. Not exciting, but classic logo.
5		St. Louis Blues	17. THN is crazy to rank this so highly.	12. Stylish, nice colors.
6		Philadelphia Flyers	8. The fans would revolt if this was changed.	23. Eh.... I didn't even notice it was a flying P with wings!
7		Minnesota Wild	11. Maybe it's me, but for the longest time I had no idea it was an animal's profile.	9. Cleverly designed and attractive logo. First time I've actually looked at it close up.
8		San Jose Sharks	13. Another big seller.	3. Every week is Shark Week!
9		Pittsburgh Penguins	12. Cartoony but not lame at all. I've always liked the penguin.	10. This Penguin looks pretty friendly. Oh, and I like Penguins! Who doesn't?
10		Toronto Maple Leafs	7. Classic logo.	6. Nothing wrong with this one. Perfect in any color.
11		New York Islanders	3 .I've been drawing this logo for 30 years. Love it.	1. Of course! I live with Mr. NYIForLife.com
12		Calgary Flames	4. This is one that can't be improved upon. Loved it the first time I saw it.	2. Classic and visually exciting.
13		Phoenix Coyotes	21. Bark at the moon!	20. Woooooooo.
14		Nashville Predators	25. Looks like Denis Leary's character from "Ice Age" to me.	25. This pre-historic relic belongs in a museum not on a hockey jersey.
15		Edmonton Oilers	18. If Gretz never wore this crest, everyone would rank it lower.	24. Needs updating... let's bring this one back from the 70s.
16		New York Rangers	9. Pretty standard but also legendary. About average for my biased tastes.	30. Ok, it's not that bad, but they are the Rangers.
17		Vancouver Canucks	27. I get the whale and I get the C, but together, not much else.	19. Something missing from this design.
18		Florida Panthers	26. Just completely horrible. Is it leaping at me or is it supposed to be 3-D?	29. This kitteh just wants to give you a hug.
19		Colorado Avalanche	16. This needs updating. I don't have any ideas, but it needs something.	16. Attractive. Nice and safe.
20		New Jersey Devils	10. Classic and understated.	7. Cute... kinda 70s. So it'll be in style this fall.
21		Atlanta Thrashers	15. Don't care if it is the state bird or not.	21. Angry little hockey bird gets a penalty for high sticking.....
22		Washington Capitals	14. A newer take on the classic Washington logo.	17. Nice solid logo. Points for including a hockey stick in the logo.
23		Dallas Stars	19. Pretty standard fare here.	18. Like THN says "It’s a big star and it says ‘Stars.’"
24		Columbus Blue Jackets	28. Better than it was, but still nothing that would inspire me to buy a jersey.	8. Nice, but it looks like it belongs in the AHL.
25		Los Angeles Kings	29. Just plain ugly. Stupid and ugly.	28. Bleah. Reminds me of Prince John from the Disney classic Robin Hood.
26		Ottawa Senators	22. Love the color scheme but not this creepy brushy-helmeted dude.	15. Not a huge fan of this logo, but it looks good on the jerseys.
27		Tampa Bay Lightning	20. Nothing to it, really. Boring.	27. Sponsored by the Weather Channel?
28		Buffalo Sabres	24. Couldn't they just call a do-over and go back to the old Perrault-era crest?	14. Looks fresh.
29		Carolina Hurricanes	23. Still looks like a dish soap logo to me.	26. Looks like a washing powder logo. Get's your whites really white!
30		Anaheim Ducks	30. The old logo was crap and the purple was atrocious, but this isn't much better.	22. I agree with THN, this looks like a font. Much easier on the eyes than their last logo though.

Link to original feature at THN:

http://thehockeynews.com/articles/17432-THNcoms-NHL-Logo-Rankings..html

Some Other Stuff I'm Thinking About on a Boring Day at Work

First off, how did I miss reporting that the Isles now have a working agreement with a team called the Odessa Jackalopes of the CHL. That means that the team now has the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) as their top developmental team and the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL to go along with the Jackalopes.

I know what you're thinking. Say it with me: what the heck is a Jackalope?

Well, for starters, it at first sounds like it could be the product of an unholy union between a jackass and an antelope. Makes sense, right? So I looked it up on Wikipedia because Wikipedia is about 85% correct at any time and/or space. This is that they said:

"...the jackalope is a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope, hence it's name."

Punctuation aside, you have to marvel at how Wikipedia has made life easier for people like me who are only concerned with a quick corroboration that may or may not be about 85% correct.

So, you know, I was close. Makes sense since the logo above looks like a pissed-off rabbit.

Item #2: Did you see how the Wild cut fish with Mark Parrish? Were you surprised that we never really had anything about that here? Well, there's a simple reason: we were wrapped up in The Comcast Incident at the time.

Now, this being an Islanders (Forum of One) and Mark Parrish being a popular former Islander, does that mean he could make his way back to the team? I don't see why not. He had his best years playing on Long Island and is going to feel like he has something to prove. The Islanders, we all know, are going to need some goals to come from somewhere. Why not from Mark Parrish?

All of this speculation really boils down to the fact that Snow and Gordon are committed to The Kids and making Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau the players we hope that they'll become. There's a lot of qualified leadership in the room right now and from comments made by Bill Guerin and Doug Weight, the guys are on board with the edict and see themselves as players who are giving back to the next generation of guys.

Does Mark Parrish fit into this plan? Maybe. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he came back to the Islanders in one of those one-year/prove yourself kind of deals. Saying that, it also would not surprise me if Parrish found his way to Peter Laviolette's Carolina squad, either.

Item #3: The prank "Favre" jersey given to John Bailey at his introductory presser. Man, I gotta tell you, that was funny. I'm a Giants fan who's opinion of Favre has taken a turn south since his flip-flop-and-fly over the past off-season. But still, with all of the hype and press the Jets have been getting, it was still fun to see Bill Guerin and Doug Weight have a little fun at the rookie's expense.

And you know, rumor is that Bailey is going to get a very long look in camp after his performance with the other Islanders rookies this summer. Word is that the team told him to look into getting a place on the Island so you have got to think they are expecting him to make a serious push in training camp. With Doug Weight, a (hopefully) healed Mike Sillinger, Mike Comrie; and others pushing for time at center, Bailey is going to have a tough road ahead but all indications are that this is a pretty good kid with some skill. Does that mean he is NHL ready at age 18? We'll see.

Well, there you go. Another free post for everyone. We'll have more on the Scott Gordon press conferences and whatnot later tonight or tomorrow morning. We also are working on a special supplement to The Hockey News' Ranking of the NHL logos. I'll be joined in this by The First Lady of NYIFORLIFE.com, my wife and fashion consultant, Linzi, and it should be up here some time this week.

Scott Gordon named coach of the Islanders

....and I am super-pleased with the hire. Now that Garth Snow has the guy in charge that he wants, the rebuilding of the franchise can actually begin. No more Band-aids and no more splints. This is going to be a team that grows together as we move forward.

Many outlets are reporting that assistant coaches John Chabot and Gerard Gallant have been retained. This late in the game--training camp is only weeks away--it's probably for the best to give the guys at least some sense of stability after a strange and tumultuous summer.

Plus, you know, we can find out if Gallant and Chabot will thrive working with a boss who will listen to their suggestions. (Zing!)

With Gordon, the Isles are getting the reigning coach of the year from the AHL and a guy who proved valuable in developing players for the Bruins. My friends who are big Bruins fans loved the fact that over the past few years, if a kid was called up to Boston from Providence that that player was ready to go and knew his role walking into the Garden. That, my dear readers, is preparedness and leadership. If you're going to try and develop the kids you better get a guy who is known for being a good communicator and teacher and has had some experience and success doing just that. The young Islanders will know what is expected of them and what their roles are on the team with Scott Gordon as the head coach.

Many people knee-jerked--myself included--when Ted Nolan was fired; thinking that the next Islanders coach had to have some Stanley Cup pedigree. The more I thought about it, the more and more I was against hiring a guy like John Tortorella or Bob Hartley. Stanly Cup winning coaches are used to Winning Now and may not have the patience needed to start building the family from scratch. A seasoned and successful communicator with a resume of having developed players is what was truly needed...and in Scott Gordon, that is who we got.

Newsday: We Are Down To Three

Greg Logan has a source that says Garth Snow has narrowed the field down to three candidates to be the new Islanders coach: Bob Hartley; Scott Gordon; and Paul Maurice. This means that Bob Crawford is free to work for the CBC on Hockey Night in Canada and that John Tortorella gets to collect some of that Tampa Bay funny money for another season.

In the New York Post, new Isles center Doug Weight is interviewed in a very small article. He says the right things and generally seems to approve of Garth Snow's snail's pace at getting a coach: "I can see that he knows exactly what he wants, and to be honest with you, that's the most important thing."

And yes, for those who have asked, I did see some of the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. Those drummers were sick. I also am watching the US soccer games as well. As I type this, our boys are down 1-0 to the heavily-favored Dutch.