Take the money and run...er keep it

Two professional poker players were driving through Iowa after playing in a World Series of Poker event in Joliet, IL.  They had just over $100,000 (their bankroll for playing poker) in the car.  They were stopped, allegedly for failing to signal before passing another vehicle.  During the stop, the Iowa police officers learned of the cash and they seized it.  Seems like a no-brainer.  Prove you aren't a drug dealer and you should get your money back.

That's not how it worked out.  Iowa wanted to keep the money and eventually struck a deal where they returned $90,000 and kept the other $10,000.  The duo had to fork over a third of that $90K to their lawyers and were out over $40,000.  Now they are suing.

Several phrases come to mind.  Due process.  Illegal search.  The cop claimed to have stopped the car because of failure to signal but the police dashboard camera proves that is untrue.  The driver did use his turn signal before passing.

The upshot is that CNN is reporting there is a company operated by a former CA Highway Patrol officer that teaches police officers how to be more successful in seizing and keeping money.  Police departments pay big money for this training, which supposedly pays for itself as the amounts they take from the people grow.

This is just wrong.

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The Super Bowl (and the NFL) by the numbers:

Over 700,000 and 72

$50 million

2nd highest

Over $4,000 and 23%

Roughly 10%

9 million

$4.5 million
 
There are more than 700,000 footballs made for the NFL each season.  There will be 72 footballs used in the Super Bowl.  72 game balls.

$50 million is the amount spent on food to be consumed while people watch the Super Bowl at home, over and above normal food purchases.

On Super Bowl Sunday, people in the U. S. eat more food on that day than any other day of the year, with the sole exception of Thanksgiving.  2nd most.

The average price of a ticket to this year's Super Bowl is over $4,000 which is a 23% increase over last year's average.

Roughly 10% of the people who attend the Super Bowl will claim it as a business expense.

Domino's Pizza estimates it will sell and deliver 9 million more slices of pizza on Super Bowl Sunday than on an average day.

$4.5 million is the price of one 30 second commercial during the actual Super Bowl game.

What does all this means?  It means that the Super Bowl is a major economic engine.  There is lots of money at stake at all levels.  The NFL is all about putting money into the pockets of its owners.  And of course, its commissioner, Roger Goodell.  In the five year period that ended this past September, Commissioner Goodell earned $105 million in compensation.  That's over $20 million per year on average.  On the NFL's 2013 not-for-profit tax return, Roger Goodell earned over $44 million.  There was another $19 million spent on compensation for five other high level NFL executives.

So why in the world is the NFL itself a not-for-profit entity?  The NBA isn't.  Major League Baseball was, but gave up its 501(c)(6) status in 2007.  There are multi-million dollar salaries at the highest levels of the NHL and PGA and their status is also questionable.  The NCAA manages to operate while paying only two of its most highly compensated executives compensation of less than $2 million a year each.  No other NCAA employee earns more than $1 million a year.  Before you go talking about players in pro sports and coaches at the college levels, they aren't employed by the not-for-profits. 

The owners of the NFL's teams make a fortune.  The NFL itself made a net profit (referred to as a "surplus" in not-for-profit accounting) of more than $8 million last year.  I don't have all the data to see if they are plus or minus for their history as a not-for-profit, but I suspect they are in the "black".  So why don't they pay taxes? 

Lobbying.  The popularity of the league.  You tell me.

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Lance Armstrong says he would dope again, but his answer requires listening to the whole answer.  "If I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't do it again, because I don't think you have to. If you take me back to 1995, when it was completely and totally pervasive, I'd probably do it again. People don't like to hear that." 

My thoughts on this quote from Mr. Armstrong harken back to a blog I wrote about 18 months ago.  http://fourohfouram.blogspot.com/2013/07/were-rules-made-to-be-broken.html talks about the path of professional bowler Don McCune from also-ran to champion because he found a way to change the equation through chemistry.  He made his bowling ball softer by soaking it in a solvent.  Within weeks after he began to win tournaments, 22 of the 24 semifinalists were doing the exact same thing.

Mr. Armstrong's rationalization is that if everyone else is doing it, you can't be competitive without doing what they do.  The rules for a competition are made clear before hand.  If you can't compete within those rules, cheating may provide a temporary way to win.  But in the end you end up losing a lot more than your victories give you.  It isn't really cheating if there isn't a rule against what you're doing.  But once that rule is in place, just follow it.
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Random Ponderings:

I love dogs but I don't get the fascination with the upcoming 11th annual Puppy Bowl

The allegation that an African-American student at Yale was held at gunpoint by campus police is very disturbing.  The university has not yet addressed whether or not the police did draw their weapons.  If they did, they should be disciplined.

There was a news headline today about a drone being found at the White House.  I'm wondering how many late-night talk show hosts will turn this into a joke about Vice-President Joe Biden.

A French judge won't let parents name their daughter Nutella.  She will be Ella instead.  Made me wonder how Adolf Hitler Campbell, who was taken from his Nazi parents nearly two years ago.  He was six at the time and already threatening to kill people.

If you get bored today, search for a photo of Rashida Jones at the SAG Awards and try to interpret the Rorschach patterns on her dress.

If, and I repeat, if; the doctors took photos of themselves with Joan Rivers lying sedated on the operating table, they deserve to be severely disciplined by the medical authorities.  I hope Meslissa Rivers prevails in her lawsuit.

When a pageant contestant's bikini top comes off during the swimsuit competition does it improve or hamper her chances of winning?  Miss Beverly Hills had that happen to her at the Miss California competition and she only finished 4th runner-up.

If Bob Uecker and Donald Trump belong in the WWE Hall of Fame, so does the Gubinator.

Can Johnny Depp deliver box office gold in anything other than yet another Pirates of the Caribbean sequel?