Matt Leinart's Twitter account: if fake, should be removed

Earlier today I wrote a blog post regarding "Matt Leinart's tweet" where he supposedly wrote that Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner was "kinda old". The tweet was written on February 1st during the time of the Super Bowl where the Cards took on the Steelers in Tampa.

Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.

Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.

Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.

Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.

Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake

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Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:



Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.

I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):

Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web

Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?

No one saw the tweet

Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.

By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.

Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:

Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web

Well, he was just kidding there. 

Watch what you tweet

The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.

Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake

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Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:



Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not use Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.

I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):

Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web

Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?

No one saw the tweet

Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.

By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.

Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:

Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web

Well, he was just kidding there. 

Watch what you tweet

The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.

Matt Leinart Party Boy In News For Partying With Girls

Two years ago, as Matt Leinart was repped by Leigh Steinberg and preparing to come out for the NFL Draft, I wondered if Leinart could focus in the NFL with all of the partying he's known for.

Well, with his season ending injury and now his photos of him simulating you-know-what with a champagne bottle and some celeb guys, the answer seems to be, well, let's review what I wrote first:

There's a school of thought that once Matt Leinart hits the grind of the NFL, he'll not post the same remarkable numbers that he did at USC. While I do disagree with that -- I think Matt will be one of the best -- I do think his first two years will be a bit hard. He's not going to be able to run the streets as he did at USC.

Look, as a Cal-grad who was getting his master's degree there at a time when most my age were still undergrads, I can identify with Matt's love for parties and the ladies. But now millions of dollars are on the line. Will Matt dump all of this fun?



Well, we have our answer and it's a resounding "no" because of these photos, but as Matt's partying always seems to have some casuality, this one fits the pattern. The Dirty.com is accusing Matt of serving alcohol to underage girls.

All of this was surfaced by a website called "The Dirty.com" which posted these photos of Leinart at his best.

As for the accusation, Leinart himself came forward and told Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt about the party ahd the photos. Also, there's actual proof of this -- The Dirty.com dugg that up too -- so Matt's not off the hook regarding this, and in a way, that's too bad because I still think Matt tries to do the right thing, but that he get caught up in having fun -- and lets face it, it's not like he had to trick the women into being there.

The question is which one of Matt's "friends" leaked the photos. I mean Matt's got to watch his P's and Q's, but that means keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer.

And checking those IDs of girls before they drink.

UPDATE:

The girls age information according to TheDirty.com:

Courtney Elizabeth Halki (age 20 beer bong myspace profile below, this idiot made a picture from this night as her profile pic- same dress and beer pong set up) is a student at ASU. Liv Fierro (age 19 her bebo profile below was a blonde, but now short brown hair in blue big top), Chelsea Antoniono, and Karley Davis (in spa left of Matt zebra top- sophomore from Downers Grove, IL her myspace says in a relationship and ASU nursing major) were three of the other girls in the pictures. Still digging up more dirt so please email me with any info on the ladies pictured.

Profootballtalk.com Calls For Brady Quinn To Fire CAA's Tom Condon

Will CAA Sports Divsion's Tom Condon lose yet another high profile quarterback, having just lost Matt Leinart earlier this year. Well, there's no official word but if Profootballtalk.com has its way, it could happen. This is what Florio and his people over there are Profootballtalk.com wrote:

QUINN SHOULD FIRE CONDON

Earlier this week, a league source opined to us that Browns quarterback Brady Quinn should fire agent Tom Condon. We disagreed, due in large part to the rule that requires Quinn to wait five days before hiring a new agent.

But given the fact that Condon has displayed no sense of urgency to get the contract finalized so that Quinn can commence his career as a member of a football franchise that desperately needs to give folks in Cleveland a reason to cheer, we now believe that Quinn should write up the letter disengaging from Condon and send it to the NFLPA.

Just do it, Brady. Forget about the marketing guarantee or whatever other inducement Condon offered to get you to sign. He has given you, in our opinion, nothing but bad advice, every step of the way.

The tipping point for us was when we read that Condon only "talked briefly" with the Browns on Friday, and that Condon has invited Browns management to travel to Kansas City to get the deal done.

Condon, in our opinion, should pack his bags and get his ass to Cleveland, and stay there until there's a contract. Quinn clearly wants to play, as evidenced by his response to a question from ESPN's Collen Dominguez regarding whether he is willing to sit out the full season.

"You know, I don't think it's gonna go that far," Quinn said. "I don't think we're in that sort of situation. That's something that I don't wanna do."

Does Condon have the entire Quinn family so bamboozled that they can't see that the agent's foot-dragging does nothing to get Quinn ready to pursue his next contract? You know, the one that will pay him more than $30 million in guaranteed money, if Quinn becomes the player that he thinks he is.

With that said, there's a school of thought that Condon is holding out for the best deal possible for Quinn because Condon believes that Quinn will be a bust, and thus Condon thinks that he needs to get the most possible money for Quinn now, since there likely won't be a second big contract.

And part of Quinn's reluctance to dump Condon could be due to the fact that Quinn is unwilling to admit that he might have erred by hiring him.

Regardless, it's time for the deal to get done. It's wrong for Condon to be exercising so much control over the player. Reasonable people should be able to work something out reasonably quickly, if they all can get together and work on making it happen.

As we've previously said, we think that this is all about Condon setting the stage to attract his next crop of quarterback clients, and not about Condon taking the best possible care of his current one.

We also think that the Browns should call Condon's bluff and go to Kansas City and tell him that they are ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done to make this contract happen. That'll put even more pressure on Condon to crap or get off of the commode.

Also, why not publicly disclose the specific terms of the offer that the Browns have made, and the terms that Condon is seeking? Sure, this stuff usually happens under a veil of confidentiality, but we think that the Browns should put it all out there, so that folks can make their own assessment as to who's right, and who's wrong.

WILL QUINN AGREE TO A REBATE?

Though we continue to hear that the primary sticking point in the Brady Quinn contract is that agent Tom Condon wants to get more guaranteed money and more total dollars than Quinn's draft slot dictates, one of the other issues is the back-end incentives that Quinn will receive based on playing time and other factors.

The Quinn camp wants the triggers to be easy to meet, and the Browns want the bar to be higher than that.

But, as one league source pointed out to us, if Quinn and company are so focused on ensuring that he is paid a "fair" amount if/when he becomes the starting quarterback, is Quinn also willing to agree to reduce his future pay if he ends up being the next Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith or Cade McNown or Dan McGwire or David Klingler or Andre Ware or Tim Couch or any of the other first-round quarterbacks who got a bunch of money for, in the end, not much at all in return?

Probably not, because the player-friendly rookie compensation system never accounts for the fact that the first-round pick might be a first-class bust.

So, on one hand, Quinn and Condon want to tilt the field in their favor if Quinn becomes the starting quarterback (which most quarterbacks taken in round one are expected to do), and on the other hand they'd never agree to reduce future salaries figures if Quinn becomes the starter, but has a passer rating lower than his jersey number.

The system protects first-rounders from ever having to pay money back. So if Quinn wants to reap the benefit of that system in the event he never delivers as the Browns' quarterback, then Quinn should also respect that same system when formulating his demands.

Rumor: Matt Leinart Not Happy With CAA - Profootballtalk.com

LEINART LOOKING FOR NEW A MARKETING REP

On Friday, USA Today ran a front-page story on the growing power and influence of Creative Artists Agency , which has amassed a host of A-list entertainers and athletes in the past year.

The story fails to point out one potentially relevant fact.

Per a league source, the powerhouse agency is in danger of losing its lock on the marketing dollars to be generated by former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman winner and starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.

The source tells us that Leinart recently informed CAA of his decision, but that he has not yet hired a new firm. In the interim, CAA is trying hard to keep him.

As the source observed, it could be that CAA is growing too fast without the right people in place to handle the workload.

CAA Taking A Bath On Sports Division? - Buying Matt Leinart, Tom Condon, and IMG

Someone -- perhaps Leigh Steinberg -- is reading this with glee. But if Hollywood Reporter Nikki Finke's any indication,
Creative Artists Agency , the super-firm of talent agents started by Ron Meyer and Mike Ovitz in 1975, and recently the epicenter of Hollywood's move into athletic talent mining starting with players like Arizona Cardinals QB Matt Leinart, may be losing money in its sports division.

To understand, read this post from Nikki's blog:

If CAA agents this week are looking inconsolable, it's because they now have to give up flying first class. (Those conversations you're trying to overhear at lunch in Century City are the CAA tenpercenters kvetching about it.) So what happened? My sources tell me that CAA called a big all-agents meeting and read the riot act to its spendthrift tenpercenters. To cut expenses by a whopping 20%. To start flying just business class instead of first class. And to take to heart this warning: If you want to get paid, then get your clients jobs.

I hear the motion picture agents are the most upset about the new edicts because they live the high life more and so got hit harder. Look, I've been saying this for a while now: CAA can't keep spending like drunken sailors without having cash flow issues: buying a bevy of agents from other shops and wooing clients by the hundreds, and moving into swank new headquarters while still paying rent back at the I.M. Pei building, and starting a money pit of a sports division where most of the endorsement deal money will be heading back to IMG for years, etc. Now CAA is having the same woes every other agency in town has been having: for instance, William Morris last year asked its departments to slash spending by 20%. What's next? Richard Lovett on Avenue Of The Stars with a metal detector looking for loose change and lost jewelry?



If it's true that CAA's gotten into a deal where it's giving most of its' cash from sponsorship deals back to IMG, then it's officially taking a bath in its sports division. Everyone in the sports business knows its the sponsorship deals that drive the industry, and this is especially true for NFL agents, which are limited to 3 percent takes of an athlete's contract.

By contrast, CAA comes from the world of the 20 percent deal, where they can get as much as that for an actor or actress. So they're giving up 17 percent of a deal, plus a big chunk of endorsement money? Wow. All that plus the fact that CAA and the other Hollywood agencies aren't savvy enough in new media to promote their talents to such an extent they make up for this. One firm I will not name has an extensive website, but you can't find it on Google! (They need to use SBS-ON!)

At first, I thought CAA's foray into sports would restructure the industry and cause a shakeout of some of the small-time -- at least in behavior -- agents. But given the appearance of their business model, I remain skeptical. It's now logical to me why IMG would give up its NFL operation to CAA without the appearance of a fight; they're getting paid! Moreover, it seems everyone, from Leigh Steinberg to Matt Leinart's trainer Steve Clarkson of Air 7 (which has a better website now), to IMG, and Tom Condon (who was lured from IMG to CAA) has been paid by CAA just so it could leap -- head first -- into the sports business without a battle.

In other words, CAA really did create a money pit!

Let's give it five years, and then review. Unless CAA starts making a ton of sports movies with Matt Leinart and Paris Hilton as the stars, they may see the NFL and sports as a waste of money. It's not, really. It's just that they don't really understand what they've gotten themselves into.

Steelers Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt Is Arizona Cardinals New Head Coach - ESPN

He did place his personal stamp on the Steelers offense and that was more than revealed in Super Bowl XL.

Whisenhunt hired as Cardinals' new head coach
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, one of the hottest candidates during the current NFL hiring cycle, has signed a four-year contract to become the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

Whisenhunt will be introduced as the successor to Dennis Green at a Tuesday news conference. Financial details of the contract -- which includes a team option for a fifth year -- were not yet available. Based on what the Cardinals have paid coaches in the past, Whisenhunt probably will earn an annual salary in the $2.5 million range.

"I'm really excited," Whisenhunt said by phone Sunday evening. "I really think it's a great opportunity. It's a team with a lot of young talent on both sides of the ball. The more I studied the situation, the better it looked, and the more I wanted that job. I can't wait to get started."

Whisenhunt, 44, met for a second time with Arizona officials on Friday, as the Cardinals continued their follow-up round of interviews aimed at finding a new coach. The Cardinals interviewed eight candidates in the initial round, then brought back Houston Texans assistant head coach Mike Sherman and Whisenhunt for second interviews.

"In the end, we felt that Ken was the best fit for this organization," said Rod Graves, Cardinals vice president for football operations, "and we felt that because of the leadership that he portrayed. He presented a well-organized and thorough plan moving forward. We liked it.''

The second interview went well and the two sides opened negotiations on Saturday. There had been reports the Cardinals first offered the position to Sherman, but team officials denied that.

"It became apparent to us, particularly when we got into the second phase of our interview process, that Ken began to separate himself from the other candidates," Graves said.

Whisenhunt also interviewed for openings with the Steelers, the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins.

An Atlanta native who played collegiately at Georgia Tech, and then played tight end for the Falcons for four (1985-88) of his nine NFL seasons, Whisenhunt certainly seems a good fit for a Cardinals team that is loaded with young offensive talent.

Arizona was seeking a coach to work with quarterback Matt Leinart, and Whisenhunt's development of Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh impressed the Cardinals' brass. Arizona also has solid young players on defense and Whisenhunt might retain current coordinator Clancy Pendergast to lead that unit.

A fearless playcaller, and adept at creating advantageous matchups, Whisenhunt has been Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator since 2004. Under his stewardship, the Steelers' offense statistically ranked No. 7 in the NFL in 2006. The Steelers were 16th in 2004 and 15th in 2005, when they won Super Bowl XL.

Although some perceive Whisenhunt's strengths as the creative use of formations, motion and personnel packages, he also believes in a power-based running game.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.