Bronco648

September 20th, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^

Smith has said he made land investments when he was coaching Louisville from 1998-2002 and that he and other investors lost money when the real estate market tanked.

JLS wasn't hired by MSU until after the 2002 season. How is this "Sparty On"?

BlueMan80

September 20th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^

Of which JLS qualifies as.

Putting money in is the easy part. Once an investment starts going south, many people get paralyzed by the thought of taking a loss by selling. So, they ride their investment all the way to the bottom. Saw this a lot at my previous employer where people had all their money in company stock. The "dot bomb" hit in 2001/02 and their savings totally crashed. At least employers are pushed these days to advise employees to limit their holdings of company stock in 401k plans.

LSAClassOf2000

September 20th, 2012 at 2:27 PM ^

"The documents filed Wednesday show Smith's biggest assets are two retirement accounts worth about $600,000 each." - from the article

There was an article published around the time he filed that said he could claim about $500 in checking and about $300 in cash, as well as real property valued at just a few thousand dollars in Idaho, so basically those retirement accounts - which are exempt under changes to the bankrupty code, I believe - are basically all he has beyond whatever he gets from Arkansas against $25 million in debt. Wow. Questionable investment strategy / focus aside (which has resulted in his owing over $10,000 per month to one developer in Louisville alone, if I remember this correctly, and who knows what else), that's definitely not where you want to be at 63 years old - I feel bad for him in that respct really.

 

wolverine1987

September 21st, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^

for someone that age, and likely, after this year, not to have a job in coaching either, or at least one paying an amount that will help him with retirement. With lifespans such as they are now, and cost etc, after he pays back some, the retirement accounts he has are not really that much to live on. 

profitgoblue

September 20th, 2012 at 2:35 PM ^

Its interesting that he filed for Chapter 7 protection instead of Chapter 13.  In a 7 he'll basically wipe all the debt out by making a one-time payment (or spread it out over time) rather than having his debt lumped into a monthly payment in a 13.  I'm not a consumer bankruptcy lawyer so don't quote me on that but its definitely an interesting part of the case.  Like LSA noted above, John L. will get to use all of his state law exemptions to keep his house and certain of his property as well.  Check out what Michigan state law exemptions look like:  http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ouq5elfgrb01eknthwukdlap))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-600-5451

 

a2bluefan

September 20th, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^

The thing about Ch 13 is that, while you generally get to keep most of your assets, it's very restrictive in other ways. In particular, it severely restricts your ability to borrow any money from anyone...  including borrowing from family, your 401K, taking out a car loan, or even using a credit card.To do so requires written permission from the bankruptcy court. Plans are generally 3 or 5 years (depending on income) during which agreed-upon payments must be made and these lending restrictions remain in effect. Because of these lengthy requirements, many never complete the plan. Whereas, while Ch 7 forces you to liquidate certain assets, there's nothing that prevents you from borrowing again (albeit at mega-high rates since your credit is now destroyed), provided a lender is willing to lend to you.

MichiganManOf1961

September 20th, 2012 at 2:42 PM ^

With the unstable currency markets in today's world, I chose to invest my money in gold.  Gold has risen in value for almost a decade now and looks like prices will keep rising.  John L. Smith should've invested his nest egg in gold.

~Herm

matdog05GOBLUE

September 20th, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^

Wanna know how I got these scars? My father, was a drinker...and a fiend. And one night, he goes off craaaazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen to defend herself. He doesnt like that. Not...one...bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. He turns to me, and he says, "Why so serious?". Comes at me with the knife, "Why so serious?!". Sticks the blade in my mouth, "Let's put a smile on that face." 

Perkis-Size Me

September 20th, 2012 at 9:32 PM ^

I really don't think this guy should be coaching right now, at least not at a major program like Arkansas. The stress of being that much in debt, coupled with the stress of having to compete in the SEC and having teams like Alabama and LSU on your schedule, as well as recruiting? I think JLS is in over his head.



I can see how coaching would help him take his mind off the situation, but he probably bit off a little more than he could chew. I feel bad for the guy, though. Is just two really shitty situations that he's in.

jethro34

September 20th, 2012 at 9:36 PM ^

This guy is seriously a joke of a human being.  When passing jabs back and forth with Sparty friends they talk about UM being down and I blame it on the JLS of UM football, RR, but the more I learn about JLS, the more disrespectful that statement is to RR.

Don

September 21st, 2012 at 6:15 AM ^

who've lost their shirts in bad investments, even going way back to old school guys like Johnny Unitas. Well-paid pros are magnets for scammers, crooks, and flim-flam artists, and most athletes don't seem to have the ability to tell who's a crook and who's honest.