Bad boy Forbes Latest News Scandal

Bad boy Forbes Latest News Scandal
“bad boy” Ross Mandell finally got nailed. A federal jury in New York convicted him of running an eight-year scheme to defraud investors of some $140 million. He used the money for such niceties as visits to strip clubs, expensive Swiss watches, private jets–you get the idea. How Mandell managed to get investors to fork over money to his Sky Capital Holdings is puzzling; he had a long record of well-publicized Wall Street shenanigans. He is awaiting sentencing.

Forbes wrote about Mandell in a 2005 magazine piece I edited, entitled “Second Act,” in which he insisted he should be allowed another chance. I asked the writer of that story, David Serchuk, who left Forbes in 2009, to reflect on Mandell’s lastest trouble. Serchuk’s well-taken point: The conditions that allowed him to serially violate securities regulations are alive and well. Here’s Dave’s essay:

Ross Mandell’s Third Act: Jail

Mandell and codefendant Adam Harrington plan an appeal but Ross will have a hard time explaining away this sentence to his brokers, caught on tape: “You have to lie, you have to paint a rosy picture. That’s your choice.”

The specific crimes proven by the government were astonishing. Like they were living out the C-movie knockoff of “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” Mandell and his team of merry men were shown to have spent $162,400 in investor money at places like Stringfellow’s strip club in London, for “adult entertainment.” If I had previously thought Mandell a guy I wouldn’t want handling Aunt Sadie’s Social Security check, it turns out he’s also a guy I wouldn’t want handling Aunt Sadie Read more

Danica Patrick Gets "Ride's" On Cars Nascar Nasgor

Danica Patrick Gets "Ride's" On Cars Nascar Nasgor
The AP reports that IndyCar driver Danica Patrick's officially ditching the IndyCar series — perceived by many as the "small-time" — for a full-time NASCAR Nationwide gig and a few select Sprint Cup races. But she just can't quit IndyCar completely — as there's still going to be a possible Indy 500 run thrown in the mix.
Patrick's NASCAR career so far has resulted in no wins in 19 races despite leading briefly at Daytona in July, but she's performed on par with other rookie drivers. Perhaps more importantly, Danica is already the third highest-paid female athlete in the world and NASCAR gives her a larger stage and audience for herself and her potential team JR Motorsports.
All of this is based on anonymous sources but isn't particularly earth-shattering. The biggest remaining question is would she be allowed to run in the Indy 500, where she finished third in 2009, which would mean missing up to three Nationwide races and sacrificing points in the Nationwide championship Read more

Nexus S Samsung Androids Gets Help By Google Promotions Thank Giveaway

Nexus S Samsung Androids Gets Help By Google Promotions Thank Giveaway

Why Is the Nexus S Important?

After its initial wave of promotions in the holiday season last year, the Nexus S essentially dropped off the face of the planet. The Nexus S 4G, released earlier this year, was only promoted lightly. So is this an attempt to boost sales of the 4G version? Is Google still trying to push their brand into the phone development line?
While those are possibilities, it’s more likely that this choice is based on the NFC technology that the Nexus S contains. Nexus S is built to support Google Wallet immediately, and while other NFC devices are available, the Google Wallet payment program certainly needs a bigger user-base if it wants to spread.

Google’s flagship device for Gingerbread, the Nexus S, is being promoted once again. This time around Google is doing a one-day giveaway for the device for those who sign a two year contract. The bigger question, though, is why?

The Nexus S Giveaway

Those with a shrewd eye will note a message on the bottom of the Google search page today, August 3rd: “Nexus S, a pure Google experience. Get it FREE today only.”  This links to a special promotional site that outlines the technical specifications, the features, and the aesthetics of the device. From there, users can sign a two-year contract with Sprint, T-Mobile, or AT&T to receive the phone for free, including shipping.
Since this phone is normally over $500, the promotion is fairly major, and indicates that this phone – once unsubsidized –  is now being discounted by the carriers and other groups as well. Whether it’s Google or Best Buy (the only outlet this deal is available through) covering those costs is unsure, but someone is definitely picking up the tab.
Still, that tab shouldn’t be too big. This deal is only available on a limited number of Nexus S phones, and the deal itself ends at the end of August 3rd. Among other things, that means if you want it, you better  Read more

MilWauke Brewer Vs Cardinal Rush

MilWauke Brewer Vs Cardinal Rush Fan Take's

Locked in a tight NL Central race, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals have been engaged in some bitter battles. The most recent one was Tuesday night's game, a game that got out of control in the late innings.

In the seventh inning with the Brewers up by a run, Brewers reliever Takashi Saito(notes) allowed consecutive singles to open up the inning, which put runners on the corners with no out and Albert Pujols(notes) stepping up to the dish. With the count 1-0, Saito's fastball tailed inside and drilled Pujols in the hand, admittedly a bit close to his head. Pujols appeared to be in severe pain, but he remained in the game. The Cardinals would tie the game, but the Brewers were able to control the damage and limit the Cards to only one run in the inning.

Ryan Braun(notes) led off the next inning for the Brewers and was immediately brushed back by a Jason Motte(notes) fastball. Motte, who is the Cardinals fastest pitcher, then plunked Braun in the back with a fastball on the next pitch. Motte stared down Braun and made no indication that the pitch was an accident; in fact, his body language signaled the opposite. LaRussa pulled Motte to bring in a lefty to face Prince Fielder(notes), leaving many to believe Motte was brought in to do one thing and one thing only: retaliate.

After the game, LaRussa denied that the Braun beaning was intentional, but he did say that they were trying to establish the inside half of the plate the first two pitches. In a heated exchange with a reporter which saw La Russa call Brewers fans "idiots," LaRussa would not agree that Saito's hitting Pujols was an accident, nor would he say that he ordered for Braun to be hit.

LaRussa is completely delusional for thinking that the Pujols hit-by-pitch was intentional. Saito is the Brewers' quietest, most harmless reliever—by that I mean he is always cool and calm, and he would never hit someone with a pitch intentionally. In addition, there is no way the Brewers called for Pujols to be plunked. With a one run lead and runners on the corners, why in the world would the Brewers give away the game just so they could hit Pujols? They wouldn't. Still, LaRussa, being the classy guy that he is, clearly sent his hardest thrower out there to hit one of the Brewers' two best hitters, Braun, as payback for an accident.

The next incident came in the 10th inning when home plate umpire Rob Drake rang Yadier Molina(notes) up on a called strike three. Molina immediately barked at Drake, then accosted him and visibly bumped him twice and appeared to spit on Drake's face. Whether the saliva came from Molina's mouth intentionally or as a result of Molina's yelling is open for interpretation. After the game, Molina claimed it was an accident, of course.

Molina will certainly face some action from the league office, and a likely suspension will be handed down to him soon. Molina's actions completely crossed the line and then some. Making contact with an umpire is bad enough, but to do it twice, get right in his face and spray saliva all over his face, and then cuss him out for the next 10 minutes as Molina took his slow walk to the showers in a disgrace to the game of baseball.

Overall, this game was another classic example of LaRussa having no control over his team and even instigating a fight between the teams. LaRussa also filed a complaint before Tueday's game saying that the Brewers were darkening the stadium when the Cardinals were batting so it would be harder for the Cards to see the ball. Sounds like an excuse-making, sore loser to me. LaRussa is usually a good manager and his resume commands respect, but it would be nice if the guy learned how to lose with class, too.

Drew is a lifelong Brewers fan who endured all the tough losing seasons of the '90s and early 2000s and is finally enjoying some great winning baseball from the Brewers the last few years. His earliest Brewer memories were seeing the likes of Jeremy Burnitz, Mark Loretta(notes), and Jeff Cirillo trot out to take the field at Milwaukee County Stadium. Read MOre