Mark Madsen Quite a Web Mogul

The bizarre connection of Clippers forward Mark Madsen to the nation's first-ever arrest for domain name theft initially left more questions than answers. First of all, what in the lord's name is Madsen doing purchasing domain names on eBay for $111,000? Is this something Madsen does often?

Yes, actually. Madsen seems to be quite an Internet mogul.

Madsen, who has not responded to a request for comment on the case, allegedly purchased the domain name P2P.com from Daniel Goncalves for $111,000 on eBay in 2006.

The New Jersey State Police arrested Goncalves last Thursday, and have accused the 25-year-old of hacking into the email account of the rightful owner of P2P.com in order to transfer the domain to Goncalves' own name. This was, apparently, a success. The initial owner, Albert Angel, filed a civil suit against Goncalves, Madsen and GoDaddy.com in 2007.

But this is a gray area for law enforcement, and no authorities would move until Angel convinced N.J. to press the case.

Goncalves is out on bond, and Madsen has been charged with nothing in the way of criminal charges. But the episode does shine a light into Madsen's peculiar investment strategy.

According to some amateur sleuthing and a tip from Domain Name News, we learn Madsen's eBay name is "thecollins2." On the surface, that would appear to be a reference to Stanford's two Collinses: Jarron and Jason Collins, the twin centers who co-starred with Madsen on the Stanford Cardinal for three seasons and are currently kicking around the NBA. (I really do hope there is another explanation for the handle.) As you can see from Madsen's feedback, he has been an active seller and buyer of domain names since 2005.

Madsen (thanks again to DNN) owns Woodside Technology Group. Information on Woodside Tech is rather limited, but the connection is spelled out on Madsen's own Web site. According to a number of who.is records, Woodside Tech is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a St. Paul suburb. Madsen played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons, and bought a home in Eden Prairie after signing with the Wolves in 2003.

Madsen also goes by another handle in domain name circles on the web: "petersen045." That's his handle on DNForum.com, a forum where domain name investors talk shop and swap assets. One DNForum thread in particular seems to verify that petersen045 is Madsen. When petersen045 attempts to sell the domain name ruj.com on DNForum, users note that Madsen (as "thecollins2") has already sold the domain on eBay. Madsen, as petersen045, defends his practices and attempts the clear the air by offering a full explanation, some testimonials and even his cell phone number. The number traces to the Minneapolis area. Further, petersen045 signs his posts as "Mark."

Madsen's activity on DNForum, as well as the big-dollar purchase of P2P.com, indicates the player was in deep in this industry. In July 2006, he sold InternetDating.com for an undisclosed amount. That same month he attempted to sell FreeCreditChecks.com and carbohydrates.com. He owned a Zach Randolph special, CaliforniaDUILawyers.com, at some point. A year ago, he offloaded dozens of Canadian domain names -- including lovelies like chocolatecandy.ca, accordians.ca, schooners.ca and the epic menstrualperiods.ca -- for $21,000. On eBay, he sold two domains in June for a total of $7,000.

All in all, it's clean ... but goofy. Madsen has never fit the standard NBA player mold. But domain name hustling is so far off the reservation it makes my head hurt. Maybe playing in L.A. once again can get Mad Dog back to a Mercedes lot instead of GoDaddy.