Family-owned chain Modell’s Sporting Goods, a familiar retailer throughout the northeastern U.S., is preparing to declare bankruptcy. The CEO’s unusual step late in February to keep the company afloat by reaching out publicly to crowdsource funds has proven unsuccessful.  “I don’t recall ever seeing a CEO attempt to appeal to the market in such a candid and vulnerable way,” wrote Mark Ryski, CEO of HeadCount Corporation. “And while I give Mitchell Modell credit for trying to leverage social media, his pleas for support makes him and his company appear disturbingly desperate. I don’t think this will help Modell’s situation – in fact, it may make it worse.”