Comments on: Favre Flap V. 4.0: Wiley Fires Back At Tarkenton http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/favre-flap-v-40-wiley-fires-back-at-tarkenton-24130 Celebrity sports gossip since 2001 Fri, 25 May 2012 17:07:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: No one important http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/favre-flap-v-40-wiley-fires-back-at-tarkenton-24130#comment-94539 No one important Fri, 29 May 2009 20:40:42 +0000 http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/favre-flap-v-40-wiley-fires-back-at-tarkenton-24130#comment-94539 The Tark has always been a cheap hustler post NFL; especially in business. See this report published quite a while back; "Since retiring from the <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/article/National_Football_League/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/mdd/index.htm" title="National Football League" rel="nofollow">NFL</a> in 1978, <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/article/Fran_Tarkenton/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/mdd/index.htm" title="Fran Tarkenton" rel="nofollow">Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton</a> has portrayed himself as an "entrepreneurial dynamo," to borrow a phrase from the jacket of his 1997 book, What Losing Taught Me About Winning. As the title suggests, he has built a thriving career by peddling the notion that his "finely tuned business acumen" (that jacket again) is something you, too, can acquire if you heed his pearls of wisdom.Last week Tarkenton's business reputation suffered a big blow. He agreed to pay $154,187 in fines after the <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/article/U_S_Securities_and_Exchange_Commission/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/mdd/index.htm" title="U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission" rel="nofollow">Securities and Exchange Commission</a> accused him of helping direct a multimillion-dollar fraud. Tarkenton did not acknowledge wrongdoing, but the <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/article/U_S_Securities_and_Exchange_Commission/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/mdd/index.htm" title="U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission" rel="nofollow">SEC</a> alleges that his software firm, KnowledgeWare, claimed $8 million in phony revenues in 1993 and '94. Toward the end of each quarter, when it became apparent that the company wouldn't reach its revenue goals, the <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/article/U_S_Securities_and_Exchange_Commission/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/mdd/index.htm" title="U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission" rel="nofollow">SEC</a> says, KnowledgeWare sent products to resellers and other customers, then booked those transactions as income even though the customers were told they wouldn't have to pay unless they made a sale. That's accounting fraud, designed to hide a struggling company's true condition from investors.Even before this slap on the wrist from the feds, the three-time Super Bowl loser's reputation as a businessman was wildly inflated. KnowledgeWare, which Tarkenton founded in the early '80s and took public in '89, had degenerated shockingly by the early '90s. "As a software executive, Fran was in way over his head," says Mitchell Kertzman, the former CEO of Powersoft, a competitor. Industry insiders say KnowledgeWare put out a series of products that simply didn't work well, something Tarkenton never acknowledged. When Tarkenton had a chance to unload the company in '92 for $360 million, or $23 a share, he spurned the offer and held out for more than $40 a share. When he was finally forced to sell two years later, he got only $4.77 a share. But Tarkenton took care of himself, negotiating a $300,000 annual consulting fee with the new owner, Sterling Software of <a href="http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/article/Dallas/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/mdd/index.htm" title="Dallas" rel="nofollow">Dallas</a>. He also received $6.4 million in Sterling stock options. (He no longer has any relationship with Sterling.)Last week Tarkenton's lawyer said his client was "pleased to have this matter resolved" and had "long since moved on...to other business ventures." Given Tarkenton's history with KnowledgeWare, that's a scary thought." The Tark has always been a cheap hustler post NFL; especially in business. See this report published quite a while back; "Since retiring from the NFL in 1978, Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton has portrayed himself as an "entrepreneurial dynamo," to borrow a phrase from the jacket of his 1997 book, What Losing Taught Me About Winning. As the title suggests, he has built a thriving career by peddling the notion that his "finely tuned business acumen" (that jacket again) is something you, too, can acquire if you heed his pearls of wisdom.Last week Tarkenton's business reputation suffered a big blow. He agreed to pay $154,187 in fines after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of helping direct a multimillion-dollar fraud. Tarkenton did not acknowledge wrongdoing, but the SEC alleges that his software firm, KnowledgeWare, claimed $8 million in phony revenues in 1993 and '94. Toward the end of each quarter, when it became apparent that the company wouldn't reach its revenue goals, the SEC says, KnowledgeWare sent products to resellers and other customers, then booked those transactions as income even though the customers were told they wouldn't have to pay unless they made a sale. That's accounting fraud, designed to hide a struggling company's true condition from investors.Even before this slap on the wrist from the feds, the three-time Super Bowl loser's reputation as a businessman was wildly inflated. KnowledgeWare, which Tarkenton founded in the early '80s and took public in '89, had degenerated shockingly by the early '90s. "As a software executive, Fran was in way over his head," says Mitchell Kertzman, the former CEO of Powersoft, a competitor. Industry insiders say KnowledgeWare put out a series of products that simply didn't work well, something Tarkenton never acknowledged. When Tarkenton had a chance to unload the company in '92 for $360 million, or $23 a share, he spurned the offer and held out for more than $40 a share. When he was finally forced to sell two years later, he got only $4.77 a share. But Tarkenton took care of himself, negotiating a $300,000 annual consulting fee with the new owner, Sterling Software of Dallas. He also received $6.4 million in Sterling stock options. (He no longer has any relationship with Sterling.)Last week Tarkenton's lawyer said his client was "pleased to have this matter resolved" and had "long since moved on…to other business ventures." Given Tarkenton's history with KnowledgeWare, that's a scary thought."

]]> By: Matt Reaser http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/favre-flap-v-40-wiley-fires-back-at-tarkenton-24130#comment-94535 Matt Reaser Fri, 29 May 2009 20:20:38 +0000 http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/favre-flap-v-40-wiley-fires-back-at-tarkenton-24130#comment-94535 Fran must have forgot when the Vikings hired a new coach (by the name of Bud Grant who led them to 4 Super Bowl appearances) he didn't get along with him and demanded to be traded from the Vikings, giving up on the city and team that was a championship contender, he got traded to the Giants and only looked forward to one game, their game against his former team the Vikings....(yes after some years with the Giants he returned to the Vikings to LOSE 3 Super Bowls with them)... but what was he saying about loyalty again? Fran must have forgot when the Vikings hired a new coach (by the name of Bud Grant who led them to 4 Super Bowl appearances) he didn't get along with him and demanded to be traded from the Vikings, giving up on the city and team that was a championship contender, he got traded to the Giants and only looked forward to one game, their game against his former team the Vikings….(yes after some years with the Giants he returned to the Vikings to LOSE 3 Super Bowls with them)…

but what was he saying about loyalty again?

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