Per Shuster: Big Ten Hiring Local Counsel Derailed TRO on Friday
Need the legal guys to weigh in on this regarding if it even makes sense.
In one of the threads on Friday night, someone remarked about having opposing counsel entered in the record.
If so, score one for the Big Ten I guess, but the war isn't over.
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EDIT (LSA) - a "long story made short" reply that I received someone that covers the next steps - "On Friday there will be a hearing on whether the TRO is granted. The TRO would preserve the status quo (JH coaching) until a hearing on the request for preliminary injunction. If the PI is granted, JH can coach until the breach of contract lawsuit is decided on the merits."
November 12th, 2023 at 9:15 PM ^
Well, “someone” is clearly wrong, as they’ve already released opponents for 2024-2027, and USC doesn’t play Michigan every year.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:24 PM ^
Gotcha. I remember seeing it and it stuck in my head as a little odd. I obviously did not look.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:40 PM ^
Don't overlook the possibility of ND replacing Michigan in the B1G with ND's standing rivalries with USC, MSU and a potentially new Thanksgiving at noon with OSU all built into the newly coast-to-coast B1G conference.
There is a 100% chance the B1G would take ND if Michigan left... whether ND would join I don't pretend to know.
If possible, I'd rather turn the tide of public contempt against the weak-kneed treacherous schools that did this, so that Michigan emerges as the power broker of the conference, leading with integrity, grit and strength of character.
If that's wishful folly (and quite possibly is), then the ACC or a conference that perhaps doesn't yet exist, may certainly be a better option, but I'd enter it with eyes wide open.
Mob Justice is almost always Injustice, and what our "peers" did this past week is a stain that will never be washed from this conference.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:45 PM ^
You raise a good point about ND - a lot of the wishcasting on this site about joining the ACC has pivoted on our rivalry with ND. But what if ND says “no” outright and/or gets a better offer from the B1G? They’ve got a more compelling reason to play in this conference than the ACC with or without Michigan.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:46 PM ^
In the long term, if the SEC decides to push for a super league with the addition of FSU and Clemson or Miami, the pull of Michigan to the SEC will be significant. The only other card out there for the BIG would be ND.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:49 PM ^
a conference that perhaps doesn't yet exist, may certainly be a better option, but I'd enter it with eyes wide open.
This is more where I'm at.
I said somewhere else we should only leave if we have a solid landing spot. The response I got was that we must exit no matter what, money be damned.
That will feel good for all of about a week. Then if what happens is the Big Ten moves on, stays as one of the dominant conferences in the nation, and we fade into irrelevancy as part of a weak ACC or an independent that can't gain traction (we do not have the national following that Notre Dame has), well, that will be sad.
Like you said, we should be looking to be power brokers. I don't see how that happens within the Big Ten, we're a pariah, apparently. But if we could get a group of schools who want to make an elite super conference, I think that would be viable.
Still, how we actually make that happen, who knows. Easier said than done.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:01 PM ^
Would the BIG treat OSU like this?
November 12th, 2023 at 9:47 PM ^
You guys are really overselling the PAC-4 additions. USC is the only actual blue blood. The new B1G conference is definitely no longer the Big Ten. It's Frankenstein's monster and it's held together by corporate TV contracts subject to supremely fickle free market pressures. Give that tenuous structure a big rattle-- like the departure of a flagship program that led the historical Big Ten conference for the better part of 130 years-- and you'll quickly find out that the B1G is a house of cards just waiting to collapse. Do you honestly think OSU cares about playing Rutgers and UCLA? They don't. If Michigan leaves the B1G, Michigan and OSU can and would create an out-of-conference protected game. Meanwhile, the SEC would come calling.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:50 PM ^
Not is Ohio State is behind all this
November 12th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
Michael Rosenberg is claiming the regents already talked about leaving. Poster on here who says has a contact who used to work in the AD said the SEC has already talked to Michigan and Texas has been pushing us hard to join.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:56 PM ^
I believe the part about the Regents. I’m very skeptical about the rest. “If it sounds too good to be true…”
November 12th, 2023 at 10:02 PM ^
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/update-former-ad-employee-insider-buddy
was from Saturday morning. Not saying it is true or not..just in case you missed it in all the massive posting that has gone on lol
November 12th, 2023 at 10:07 PM ^
I read that. At the time, I was fist pumping at the news. But given all of the “insider” tidbits that turned out to be complete bullshit, I’m much more cautious in my optimism.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:10 PM ^
Ain't that the truth. The local insiders seemed to be more wrong than the asshole national ones
November 12th, 2023 at 10:12 PM ^
If it turns out OSU had a hand in this, I would be fine never playing them again. This is beyond reproach.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:16 PM ^
lol, nobody cares about usc, Washington, ucla and Oregon. Why do you think they are leaving the pac 12? It’s because they couldn’t even get a tv deal. Which proves no one cares about those teams. They will be more popular in the Big 10 because of matchups against Michigan and osu.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:57 PM ^
That may be true, but the media rights deals for the B1G include, for example, a guaranteed spot for BTN on cable channel lineups in every state in which the conference has a member school. Each subscriber is paying a percentage of their monthly bill to the conference. That’s why Rutgers was such a huge “get” and had nothing to do with Rutgers as an academic or athletic powerhouse. No one gives a damn about them for any other reason - and they wouldn’t be a member of the conference if they were in the Dakotas. For a state like California or Washington, the purse is huge. Follow the money.
November 12th, 2023 at 11:27 PM ^
Yes, there is a reason that they left the Pac 12 for the Big Ten and not the other way around.
November 12th, 2023 at 11:58 PM ^
They already said Oregon and Washington are worth less than the average of the big ten deal. So those two schools don’t help as much as people thought. And since we know 10 of the schools are worth vastly less than the average payout, it is only logical that Michigan is worth several multiples of the average payout.
just to use rough numbers, the deal is $1 billion/year total. Based on the negotiations Oregon and Washington are worth less than $100M/year. All the garbage schools, NW, Indiana, Rutgers, etc are probably worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $10M/year. Michigan/OSU are likely in the $400M/year range
November 12th, 2023 at 9:04 PM ^
Shuster doesn't know what he's talking about.
Having local counsel or not is essentially irrelevant to whether a TRO is granted.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:29 PM ^
So true, local counsel is someone admitted to the local bar, or sworn into whatever court so they can do local cases. Nobody wants to take more than one bar exam…so unless big ten had a lawyer on staff that fits the bill, got to get someone local. Not unusual at all. Should not make a case quicker or slower at all.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:06 PM ^
If theres one thing Ive learned through this, its that apparently there are hundreds of highly capable M lawyers reading the board
November 12th, 2023 at 9:25 PM ^
We need to put a ban on Shuster on this board. He's not a reliable source and honestly doesn't seem like he's all there
November 12th, 2023 at 9:41 PM ^
Who is Louise Mensch?
November 12th, 2023 at 9:45 PM ^
Possibly someone who had a following on Twitter and made outrageous claims in regards to 45. I didn't know either, but didn't really research much.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:46 PM ^
I didn’t know either, so I used Google, which led me to Wikipedia.
But, since I had already Googled that for you, I’ll just go ahead and tell you: apparently a spewer of misinformation.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:40 PM ^
With such a huge match up against OSU, one would think that this would be an easy out for Tony... Allows him to save face with the BIG schools and get Harbaugh back on TV.
This is BEYOND bad blood between Michigan and the conference.
November 12th, 2023 at 9:48 PM ^
big ten acting like bitch ass punks
November 12th, 2023 at 9:51 PM ^
Tony Petitti is a TV exec at his core. Presumably, that makes him a good judge of what drives eyeballs and ad revenue. In that light, he is absolutely killing it at his job right now. There is no more important, no more visible story in sports at the moment than this one. Everyone is paying attention to the B1G, and he is laughing all the way to the bank.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why Michigan and Harbaugh are sacrificial lambs. They’re the means to an end.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:07 PM ^
He could have easily had this same drama without doing it like this.
Take no action before PSU (we're still reading UM's response).
Suspend Harbaugh for Maryland and not OSU. (We might not even sue at that point, just complain. And he can't actually want the legal action...although he's obviously not afraid of it.)
First game without Harbaugh, how does Michigan respond? It'd be the only reason for people to tune in to the Maryland game.
Then he's back in time for OSU.
That would maximize TV ratings without creating this level of chaos.
It's not his goal.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:13 PM ^
I’m not quite cynical enough to believe that he is taking these actions because he is manufacturing a story to drive revenue to the conference. However, since most people in the media believe that there is no such thing as “bad” publicity, this sounds like just the sort of story that would make a career TV exec think he’d won the lottery.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:21 PM ^
Dude that is such a horrible take. Why would someone be so short sighted? Your theory makes no sense.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:44 PM ^
Short sighted? On the contrary, it is a matter of seeing the events of the past several days from a different perspective - that of a person whose job is ultimately about TV revenue. Why else would the conference hire a guy who a) Didn’t have a history with the B1G; b) Didn’t know a thing about football; and c) sole qualification was negotiating TV contracts for Major League Baseball?
I have always been of the belief that the moment someone tells you that their decision or opinion is “not about the money,” you can rest assured it is all about the money. Right now, “SignGate” is driving more interest, media stories, and viewers to B1G football - and Michigan/Harbaugh in particular - than probably all other conferences and teams combined. There isn’t a sports media outlet that isn’t featuring it prominently. It’s even been front page in non-sports outlets such as the AP and WSJ. Even WaPo is writing about it. A protracted court battle assures that the story has legs for months - maybe years.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:23 PM ^
Petty Petitti trying to prove his legal chops like an ass that he is. Hope Michigan unleashes a legal storm too.
November 12th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Tiny Tony is getting paid side money by the network executives to collapse the Big Ten. Go after one of the big school for the tiniest infraction with help from media to make headline news. Have that school be so pissed of they decide to initiate talks with other big schools to ditch these conferences held up by blue blood programs but beholden to minnows and the NCAA. They create a super conference of blue bloods, and sign massive deals with media outlets. TV shows super conference games from noon to 3 am with ratings rivaling the NFL. Media company executives toast each other with Dom Perignon on their genius plan. Can someone write up a draft to turn this into a drama for Netflix?
November 12th, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
Attorney here. The B1G retaining an attorney, who filed an appearance, would not by itself be a reason for the TRO not being granted.
Also, judges hear cases all the time involving the universities they attended. And many judges are part time instructors at law schools. Neither are a reason for recusal.
Also, why do posters continue to refer to the Judge as a she? The Bacon post that the case had been changed from Tim Connors to a female judge was incorrect. Tim Connors is the judge. You can go onto the Washtenaw Circuit Court website and look at the case record.
I haven’t been able to get ahold of the 200+ page filing yet, but I plan on doing so and reading it. I suspect that most of the pages are attached exhibits. if I think I have a good handle on what will happen based upon my review, I will post it on this blog.
In the meantime, it’s going to be a long and stressful week. We really need Harbaugh back, especially against Ohio State. GO BLUE!!
November 12th, 2023 at 11:43 PM ^
This doesn’t make any sense. Hiring local counsel is an every day occurrence and has no impact on the course of the proceedings. Too many people staying at a Holiday Inn Express lately.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:40 AM ^
This guy has been a joke about pretty much everything else, so let's add this one to the list:
I'm no lawyer, but if you're telling me this "unusual" step of hiring local council always stops/delays an expedited TRO - then this is exactly what everyone should do every time when faced with an expedited TRO.
It's hard to point and laugh at shills for other parties (see Thamel, Pete) when we allow ourselves to be duped by an even less credible version begging for our attention.
November 13th, 2023 at 8:08 AM ^
This has become a full-on dick measuring contest.
This is really Pettiti’s first controversy and therefore I fell like he’s decided it’s a battle he has to win.
This really just looks like any sort of new boss taking over an enterprise. Slap some decisions down and decide on a new course so everyone knows you’re in charge now. Fun that we got the full front end of it. Thanks Stalions…
November 13th, 2023 at 9:12 AM ^
Straight up Bullshit! I hope this TP guy gets his ass embarrassed in court for the petite stuff he is doing sounds like his feelings got hurt and he is in bed with some other program to be this one sided against Michigan The Beat Team in all of College Sports.