Pet Peeves: Traveling

Sure, sports is nothing more than entertainment. But I want it to mean something more, especially college sports, or at least be honest and fair. NBA refs barely seem to know what traveling is anymore, and their foul calling is a tad inconsistent to the say the least..... sometimes you have to draw blood to get a foul called, and sometime just being within a foot of a player will get a foul called. This inconsistency really sours the pro game for me.

Now college seems to be getting in on the act. The NCAA officials in every game I've watched this year have forgotten the rules of the game and don't know how to call a walk. Is it just that the athletes have gotten so athletic the refs can't keep up? I don't think so. The game has become pure entertainment and they let the rules slide to keep the fans entertained with the spectacular play. I, for one, am sorry to see this trend develop.

This doesn't mean I won't be watching the NCAA tournament games for the next several weeks, but the outcomes will seem tainted to me. Give me the pure, unadulterated game called straight-up according to the rules.

Pet Peeves: Golden Parachutes = Perverse Incentives

The dismissal of HP CEO, Mark Hurd, after the market closed on Friday for a code of conduct violation brings up the topic of one of my favorite pet peeves: golden parachutes for executives.  I'm not going to delve into the circumstances that lead to his firing by the board.  I'll leave that to the news media.  However, as a shareholder of HP I'm pissed off that Hurd is rumored to be walking out the door with a rumored $10M in cash and $40M in stock all for violating company rules.  If any employee below the top executive ranks had committed this offense they would be shown the door with no severance package or golden parachute.  CEOs should be treated the same way.  Code of conduct violations should not be rewarded in this fashion, nor should being fired for poor performance.  If it isn't already clear, I am against golden parachutes period.  These executives are already compensated quite handsomely for the duties they perform.  Golden parachutes only hurt the stockholders of the company and the moral of the remaining employees while unduly rewarding individuals who are being shown the door.  I hope boardrooms will sober up and put an end to this distasteful practice.  If the job is not attractive enough on its own merits then it is time to move on to the next candidate, not put these golden parachutes in place that reward poor performance or ethical lapses.