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Charles Fischer

Wilner Finds WHO Overpaid the Pac-12 by 50 Million...

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Boy what a bad look for the conference in this article on many levels...whew!

 

What will Larry do?

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Mr. FishDuck

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What will Larry do? He'll hire lawyers for himself.

 

This thing makes no sense though. Wilner's article says only Comcast can determine how much they should pay because the size of the payments is based on data only Comcast has access to.

 

If that's true, how can Comcast claim they overpaid, and continued to do so for years, if they used their own data as the basis of the payments?

 

I'm confused.

 

In any event, that was some, at best, shoddy management going on down there. What else will come out?

 

 

Edited by jrw
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How would the conference know that they have been overpaid if they didn't have access to the distribution data from Comcast? Wouldn't it be reasonable for the conference to think that Comcast's payments were correct if that was the case?

 

These business dealings seem very sloppy to me. I just can't fathom why it has taken Comcast so long to figure this out?

 

However, our conference employees aren't without blame here too. I find it hard to believe Larry Scott wasn't knee deep in this.

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This is some very shady business dealings to say the least. How in the world can the PAC be paid by Comcast based on Comcasts secret numbers? What???!! Then, how do you 'Kow' you are being overpaid or underpaid? Only comcast should know with any accuracy. That leads me to my next question.

 

How can anyone truly know they have been overpaid? If Comcast wants some clawbacks, then they need to open the books via a court order. This is a bunch of garbage. 

 

Also, why fire the 2 execs? For what? Not telling Comcast that the PAC doesn't truly know the payout? Whaaaaatt??!!!

 

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According to the reports, the two execs didn't share the info with the right peeps within the conference hierarchy... Beyond Larry Scott, who would that be ?

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The other senior administrator who Shuken and Willman reported/should have reported the news to was Woodie Dixon, Pac-12 Conference General Counsel and Head of Officiating.  Larry Scott should have asked Dixon for a legal opinion on several things: 1) whether this info should be reported to the Pac-12 Chancellors/Presidents; 2) whether it was actionable, meaning whether they should follow up with Comcast and untangle, or do further investigation into whether the $50M was a correct figure; and 3) what the Pac-12's legal obligation and/or legal exposure was. 

 

Did Larry Scott and/or Dixon willfully cover this information up so that the conference's finances looked better and the Pac-12 Networks looked like a viable money-making platform, or was it negligence on their part to not investigate further or take further action? 

 

What a mess George Kliavkoff stepped into.  Larry Scott - the gift that keeps on giving.... 

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According to Canzano, the results of the audit were given to Dixon back in 2017, as well as to Scott. 

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This story is getting ugly for Larry Scott. To be fair, we truly don't know who knew and who sat on this info. But, it sure looks like Larry Scott was informed. 

 

I can just imagine how this line of reasoning went:

 

LS: You mean to tell me that we were overpaid? 

S.W.D: According to the self imposed audit

LS: Does Comcast know about this? Have they spoken to us on this matter?

S.W.D: No. 

LS: How do we know we were overpaid since we can't see the numbers that Comcast holds close to the vest?

S.W.D: We don't, but we are pretty sure.

LS: Well then, it's an internal audit by numbers we can't verify. For all we know, we could still be getting underpaid. Comcast knows the numbers and Comcast is cutting the checks. Nuf' said. Now please stop interupting my meeting with Harvard Alums in my Las Vegas Pent House Suite! The Cavierre is getting warm!

 

5 years later....

 

GK: Oh good grief! I feel like a Janitor. Always cleaning up after the last guy! 

Media: You want a fat and juicy contract? We want answers and reassurances!

GK: You got it! I'll fire the only people left from this embarrassment.     .....S.W? Your FIRED!!

GK: Will that work?

Media: Great start! We'll talk

 

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