Every day on The Opening Bell, we do something called “Behind the Headlines” where I assign papers to my colleagues and ask them to find a story behind the headlines that no one has seen or found. It’s usually an edgy, off the charts story and in Ashley Webster’s case involves animals. It’s a long story :)!! Moving right along…….today Shibani took the top prize and caused all of us to cry from our fits of laughter.

Take a look.

As you could imagine with resumes like theirs, it was both intimidating and exhilarating to be in the room with them. All in one room there was: Coach K, the winningest active coach in the nation, with three NCAA Championships, 10 Final Four appearances, 10 ACC Championships and Jerry an NBA Hall of Famer and former majority owner of the Phoenix Suns, it doesn’t get much better than that. Coach K had a huge ring on his hand, the 1992 dream team Gold medal ring for his post as assistant coach at the time and Jerry had on his Hall of Fame ring. Clearly two of the sports very best who have a vested interest in bringing home the GOLD!

We talked basketball, expectations for excellence in this summer Olympics and why Nike made such a big investment given the weakness in the U.S. economy and how they’re holding us given the weakness in the U.S. dollar and the spike in oil. We had some fun. Check it out.

What I have always loved about Jeff is his candor. When others tell you what you want to hear, he tells you like it is and he pulls no punches. Today he did just that when I questioned him about the failure of Bear Stearns, the risks at Lehman and how and why we got into this mess in the first place.

To set the stage for you, it’s important to note that Jeff has held many heavy-duty executive positions at some of the best known Wall Street firms. He has held senior positions at Travelers Group as vice chairman, served as president and chief operating officer at Shearson Lehman Brothers, was vice chairman of Smith Barney, chairman of Neuberger Berman, vice chairman of Lehman Brothers and member of the office of chairman, co-chairman of Lehman Brothers Asset Management and most recently chairman and chief executive officer of Bear Stearns Asset Management. He came on the job at Bear Stearns two weeks after the hedge funds that lead to Bear’s collapse, collapsed.

Listen to what he says about the failures of Wall Street and why this will happen again.

Please watch the following video and listen to what this expert has to say. It’s David Darst and he is Morgan Stanley’s Global Wealth Management Investment Strategist. He and I used to work together at Goldman Sachs 15 years ago and then spent many years at Morgan Stanley together. He has written many well-known books on asset allocation and what to do at moments like this when you see the value of your stock, home and investments decline.

Take a look. It’s worth it.

Why was he so terrific and the subject so interesting? Jeff talked television and the digital future. Jeff disagrees with almost every expert who says television is dying. He not only disagreed with that premise, but he also announced the findings of their annual study, which says TV will flourish and that the “always-on” consumer is accessing all digital outlets at record levels. He says the winners will be the networks that control content and can distribute across multiple platforms. He also says that the internet may be the most important factor in the future success of the newspaper industry. Loved the topic. Jeff was a 10. See what he says. Trust me. He does not disappoint!

Rick Franzen from Battenkill Capital and David Magee author of “How Toyota Became #1″ and “Ford Tough” joined me to discuss the state of the auto industry and where we go from here particularly given the bankruptcy rumors.

Take a look at what they say about where oil prices could be headed if Iran went through with its threat and what Mike says about the recent reports on Pakistan, Afghanistan and the New York Times article about private national security matters.

In a 34-page report delivered to Governor Paterson, Ward listed 15 “essential decisions” yet to be made. The memorial site for those who died on 9/11 was supposed to be complete for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. The Port Authority says meeting that deadline is impossible. Also impossible deadlines to meet: the building of the Freedom Tower, the focal point of this project; the PATH transit hub, known as the Calatrava Transit Hub, which is now estimated to cost an additional $1 billion dollars, and the dismantling of the highly controversial, environmentally unsafe and site of the fire where two firefighters were killed, the Deutsche Bank tower.

What is the real problem besides the unbelievable embarrassment this has caused this city and this country? Two dozen federal, state and city agencies are involved in rebuilding this site. Not one of them has figured out how to work with one another toward a common goal with a proposed $16 billion dollar budget. Yes, there have been three governors since this project began, but enough is enough. Put one person in charge who has veto authority with the remaining agencies.

This is not the first time this project has been delayed or dates pushed off. It started with the botched job by Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder and original developer when he missed every deadline in sight. Although, to his credit, now he has begun rebuilding Tower 3 and 4 and says all three of his buildings will be done by the end of 2012. The Port Authority, which took over in 2006 because of Silverstein’s failure to meet deadlines, has to shoulder much of the responsibility.  The original completion date for the Freedom Tower was 2008, now maybe 2012, the Transit Hub was 2009, now no date attached, and the World Trade Center Memorial was 2009, now no date attached.

If Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch or Steve Jobs were in charge, this job would have been completed! Yes, there are 26 separate but related projects on 16 acres and 19 public agencies, two private developers and 101 construction contractors and subcontractors involved, but it is July 1, 2008, and what do we have to show for the lives lost and the families who travel to this city everyday to remember the loved ones who have passed away? At what point do we say give this project to an executive who can get it done? Is it time to call Sam Zell or another real estate mogul? If the costs are getting higher, that’s because we have taken WAY TOO LONG. Of course costs for things like steel and copper and construction items are rising. I am not downplaying the huge undertaking to complete this project: five major skyscrapers, as much office space as downtown Atlanta, 500,000 square feet of shops, a performing arts center and the third-largest transportation hub. When it is finally completed, it will be the standard by which other developers across the world look to replicate but between now and then, someone needs to take control or we’ll be writing about this two years from now.

One of the people that I had a chance to sit down with was Federico Pena, the Honorable Pena, who was at one time secretary of transportation and energy under the Clinton Administration and who is currently a managing director at Vestar Capital Partners, a global private equity firm. Pena is also national co-chair of the Obama for America campaign.

We discussed everything from the past to the present. He talked about the lack of a national plan and that he would like  to see the government and economic/energy policy treated as though it were a corporation. He believes the key to success in Washington, D.C. and for the next president is to set goals and see those goals attained.

Take a look.