On Monday, I talked with Michael Fertik, CEO of ReputationDefender and the genius behind a brand new creation: NameGrab.  Michael is an entrepreneur, so we clicked right away.  He started creating businesses straight out of law school, and has been very successful in his previous pursuits (when you get an endorsement from Dr. Phil, you’ve officially “made it”).  He founded ReputationDefender in 2006, but only recently started marketing it after putting countless time and energy into its development.  Today, there is roughly ninety people in his company with customers in spanning forty countries.  His existing products allow a person to monitor his/her reputation on deep web contente that is not even visible through Google searches, remove unwanted contact information from websites, and publish information that one wants to come up through Google searches.

But what is NameGrab all about?  Interestingly, it puts into motion an idea that I had been discussing with a colleague of mine a couple of weeks ago.  As Monasterio stated in his excellent post,

The main point is to acquire these online properties, even if you don’t use them at first. It’s far better to have nothing on a Web page than to have cyber-squatters fill the page with advertisements.

The problem is that athletes and their agents do not want to spent the 10-30 minutes it takes to sign up for the hundreds of websites.  And new social networking sites sprout up from the ground every day.  How do you know which one will be the next Twitter?  The safest bet is to at least reserve a piece of property on each one of them.  The only property you can own is a user name.

Fertik, through NameGrab, has automated that system.  For $100, he promises that an athlete or agent will be able to reserve three user names.  Those user names will be confirmed by NameGrab and then the athlete/agent will have the opportunity to claim the email addresses associated with those names, if he/she so chooses.  NameGrab has plans to include the purchasing of domain names with those user names and also may feature deals for sports agents who have more than three clients that they want to reserve names for.

It seems like a really cheap option that could save athletes and their agents a lot of drama and money in the future.  Cybersquatting is becoming a big issue.  Even college freshmen and first year medical students are finding their names taken by the time they want to register for many social networking sites.

I am currently giving NameGrab a test with the user names DarrenHeitner, Kyle McPherson (a baseball client of mine), and sportsagent.  I will report back on my findings.

Just a few days after an impressive 32 point, 9 assist performance against Chauncey Billups and the Nuggets, Brandon Jennings dropped an insane stat line. 55 points on 21/34 from the field (62%), 7/8 from 3pt range (88%), 5 rebounds and 5 assists with 4 turnovers. What makes his 55 point performance even more impressive is that he failed to score a point in the first quarter, went for 29 in the third, and most important of all, led his team to a victory.

Jennings’ difficult time in Europe has been well documented. From getting kicked out of practice for not working hard enough, to meager playing time and scoring output, many skeptics deemed his choice a failure very early on. However, Jennings apparently learned a great deal in his year abroad. While his flashy style and controversial public comments have painted one picture of Jennings, his actions and performance in the NBA have displayed something very different thus far.

When top scorer Michael Redd went down with yet another knee injury, many said “here we go again” for the woeful Bucks. However, Jennings apparently was not one of them. He has picked up the scoring load, shown poise and leadership, helping to guide his team to a 5-2 record with a 4 game win streak. He is also leading his team in points (25.6) and assists (5.1). Jennings is also adding over 4 rebounds a game, 1 steal and shooting nearly 50% from the floor and 57% on 3pt.

There is no question that we surely will see players choose the path of Brandon Jennings by going to Europe as opposed to their requisite year of college. There also certainly will be those who are not fit to make that jump. Hopefully we do not see a rash of “advisors” steering players who should be playing college basketball, towards the overseas payday for their own monetary gain; however, it may in fact be a good move for some players.

Maybe it takes a year of sitting on a bench in Europe, getting treated like any other professional player and having to work hard, rather than walking around a college campus like a celebrity for a year. Maybe it is too stressful for some to be labeled the next Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, etc. every night on ESPN during March Madness. Maybe, for some, this really is a successful path to choose.

While it is still too early to grade the Jennings experiment a complete success, I would venture to say that he is off to an exceptional start and proving a lot of doubters wrong. Somewhere Sonny Vaccaro is smiling.

It makes sense that major West Coast agencies continue to grow.  Creative Artists Agency was a player in the entertainment world well before it started buying out the largest sports agents/agencies.  It figured that its existing model and connections could bring in more revenue than those entities had been receiving in the past.  It seems to be doing quite well with that business plan.  Another company with broad entertainment connections for its clients is Wasserman Media Group.  I don’t know when agent Arn Tellem finds time to sleep, with his enormous list of clients in professional basketball and football.  He probably receives over one-hundred calls per day from GMs, reporters, and clients, and still finds time to go on the recruiting trail and find new business.  He also keeps his current clients happy, and seems to have a strong connection to the entertainment world through his wife, Nancy Tellem.  Nancy is the President of CBS and is in charge of all of its television programming.

Quite the power couple, and it definitely benefits Arn’s clients.  Recently, Pau Gasol made an appearance on CSI: Miami.  Last year, Gasol and Jordan Farmar appeared on NUMB3RS.  Both shows are on CBS, both players are clients of Arn Tellem and WMG.  Gasol and Farmar are not the biggest names in the game of basketball, but both of them are playing in Los Angeles, so it is natural for them to want a piece of the limelight.

Want to be a MAJOR player in this industry?  Better start cultivating those connections in the entertainment industry, as well.

For example – last Monday morning at about 9am I received a phone call from an unfamiliar number. It turns out it was one of the fathers from the Canadian team I had scouted over the weekend. He had gotten my card from someone with the team and wanted to talk to me about how the whole player/agent relationship works at this point in a youngster’s career if they have aspirations of playing college hockey. I spoke with him for about 15 minutes, explaining that we couldn’t sign his son, provide him with any sort of benefits, or even have much actual contact with him, but we could work with the family in advising him about college choices and help to promote his abilities to college coaches (see NCAA Constitution and Operating Bylaws, August 1, 2009 at 12.3.3.1 which permits a prospective student-athlete to allow an agent to distribute records, statistics, etc. without jeopardizing eligibility). Naturally, I wasn’t expecting to start my day like this, but I was pretty pleased with myself by how I handled the conversation without any preparation. I guess in this competitive industry, you’ve always have to be ready. I told the father that I would be planning a trip up to Ontario in the near future to scout the team further and that I’d be more than happy to sit down with him and really discuss their options and timetable.

With these kids being so young, there isn’t much I can do for them now, but as I explained above, I still have a little wiggle room to work with. My plan – start getting these kids some attention throughout the hockey community. If they start popping up on scouting lists after talking with me, at least the parents will know that I’m the real deal. Immediately, I sent a couple emails out to some scouts who contribute to hockey publications. Most scouting reports don’t include the full crop of 95 birth years yet, but I want to get these kids noticed. Hopefully soon we’ll find out if any of my work is paying off.

Last week I didn’t give you an update on Matt’s situation and you might be wondering what’s going on with him. Right now, he’s still skating with the same club we got him signed with two weeks ago. He’s been seeing increased ice time and he’s taking advantage of it – yesterday he had an assist and a +2 rating. It’s been a few weeks since the CHL and SPHL seasons started and teams should be figuring out where they still need to upgrade. Thus, getting Matt back on their radars is my next move.

Also last week I called a couple of the teams I had spoken with in the past who were struggling defensively. Basically, I identified the teams giving up the most goals per game and then checked their rosters to see where the defensemen were on the +/- rating. Some teams had a few defensemen with a figure deep in the negatives, but many times the player would also have more goals and assists than the rest of the blueliners. As I’ve explained before, Matt’s more of a stay-at-home defensemen – one that will take care of the puck and keep traffic away from his goaltender but not a guy that’s going to be lighting up the lamp every night. Every team has different roles that need to be filled in order to find a certain level of success. Since Matt’s not going to compete with a defenseman who puts up big offensive numbers, I pretty much decided to focus on teams with defensemen without high point totals who were struggling to keep their +/- in the black. Fortunately I was able to reach a handful of coaches that sounded like they might be interested in bringing Matt in on a three-game tryout contract. Today, I’ll be sending the teams Matt’s updated resume as there’s already been a few coaching changes and not everyone currently has his information. Throughout the next couple of days I’ll continue to make some calls and we’ll see where it takes us.

Over the next few weeks I’ve got another challenge ahead of me – setting up my immigration law practice. Last Tuesday, I was officially sworn in and I should be receiving my certificate to practice law any day now. In the mean time I’ve got a lot of matters that need to be addressed.

Step one – find an office. Up until now, I’ve been working out of my home to save money, but with a steady stream (hopefully) of clients that I’ll have to meet with on a daily basis, I’m going to need something a little more professional. Last week, I checked out a few suites located about 15 miles west of where I live and I need to make a decision within the next couple days. After that I’ll be getting my business cards printed up, filing some documents with the State, and taking out my first malpractice insurance policy. With the seemingly never-ending list of fees being thrown at me, it can be extremely stressful at times. Luckily, my family has always been very supportive of me and they’re helping me out with some of the down payments.

Well there’s no surprise that I’ve got another busy week ahead of me. I haven’t gotten much sleep lately but I suppose that in today’s job market, I’d rather be swamped than the alternative. Before I go, I’d like to point out that last week SportsAgentBlog.com had over 20 new articles posted. There are a lot of solid pieces out there for anyone looking to break into the sports industry and I strongly encourage you to check them out. Also please feel free to continue providing the great feedback I’ve gotten so far in the “Comments” section of each entry.

On November 2nd, Nationwide Tour pro, Doug Barron, became the first player to fail the PGA Tour’s new drug policy and was issued a one-year suspension for his violation.  In response, Barron filed a civil lawsuit this last Thursday against the PGA Tour, seeking monetary damages and a temporary restraining order against the Tour which, if granted, would allow him to play in the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament on Nov. 18-21st.

The lawsuit filed by Barron’s lawyers clarifies the banned substances that Barron tested positive for: testosterone and beta-blockers.  The lawsuit also claims that Barron has been taking beta-blockers since he was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse in 1987. Barron has also suffered from anxiety attacks for years, a fact that was widely known on Tour and that he shared with at least one reporter. In 2005, he was diagnosed with abnormally low testosterone. The condition affects fellow Tour pro Shaun Micheel, among others, and leads to feelings of lethargy and depression. His agent, Art Horne, said Barron last took a testosterone shot in June.  Since then, Barron has switched from non-conforming beta-blockers to a similarly acting but conforming drug, Horne added.

The lawsuit lends credence to the theory that many Tour-watchers believed from the start, that Barron, an unimposing-looking 40-year-old without a victory, had inadvertently broken the rules.  According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Barron stated this, “I’ve never tried to gain any advantage over my peers.”  And in a recent ESPN article he stated, “There is no way to enhance my performance at the level I was at…I was trying to live a healthy life as an adult male as seen by my physician that was treating me for good health.”

In a recent article from golf.com, Barron’s agent Horne stated, “This was never a case of a guy in a back room taking creams or using needles,” but rather, “[t]his was a guy taking what was prescribed to him by medical doctors for conditions that others have been given exemptions for. We feel Doug has been treated unfairly.”  It is nice to see that Barron’s agent took appropriate actions by addressing the media directly and explaining his client’s position on the matter.  Whether or not they are true remains to be seen.

Drew Rosenhaus has had his fair share of clients that he represented prior to and during the NFL Draft, but he is mainly known for the sheer number of players who switch to him when it is time for them to re-negotiate their contract or sign their big second contract.  Rosenhaus’ competition hates it, and so they should.  As an NFLPA certified advisor, you most likely have to pay for your clients’ training, food, and housing prior to the draft (and anything else that comes up).  Then, if you are lucky enough to have your clients drafted, you will take a meager 3% at tops (many agents charge less just so they can compete with guys like Rosenhaus) of their professional contracts.  For non-first rounders, that figure does not come out to much.  Last, you can’t sleep at all because you are always worried that your clients will make a switch to a different agent before you are actually able to negotiate the big contract and make some sort of money to live off of.  Only to possibly lose your client to a guy like Rosenhaus.  Rough life, but you chose to live it.

In baseball, we rarely discuss a guy like Rosenhaus, who players flock to once they are ready to negotiate a big contract.  Scott Boras grabs all the bonus babies before they are drafted and rakes in his nice 5% advising fee early in their careers.  Sure, some players leave their agents for Boras, especially right before becoming arbitration eligible, but we don’t hear about it ALL that much.  In fact, Boras recently lost a big fish to a rival agency; one that might start making a name for itself as one that picks up players after they make it to the pros.

Hendricks Sports Management is run by Randy and Alan Hendricks.  The brothers started the firm in the 1970s, sold it to SFX, and then re-formed the agency in 2003.  They have been in the business for a very long time, are connected to basically every important person in the business of baseball, and have seen their fare share of arbitration cases.  There’s a certain comfort factor for players who are looking to make a switch in representation.  And they are quiet about the clients they actually represent (their website does not list any).  Once a team that represented 16% of all Major League players, after they re-formed the agency in 2003, they say that they are more selective about who they represent.

So why the possible relation to the Rosenhaus brothers?  Well, last year, the Hendricks brothers grabbed Rick Porcello from none other than Scott Boras Corp.  Recently, they signed former Cuba defector, Kendry Morales, who used to be represented by David Valdes.  Is this the start of a new business model for the Hendricks brothers or did they just offer to represent two players who were upset with their previous representation?  Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Agent Mark Stevens is in the news again. Back in 2006 he was compared to Drew Rosenhaus when he and another high profile client, Ron Artest, were in a strikingly similar situation. Well he seems to be attempting to follow the same playbook in his most recent attempt to get Stephen Jackson traded out of Golden State.

After publicly stating a desire to be traded back in August and some initial backlash with coach Don Nelson resulting in Jackson being absolved of his duties as captain, things have seemed to quiet down in Golden State. Jackson has been playing without incident and has put up numbers in line with his career averages. Jackson even had a 15 assist night just a few days ago. Golden State is said to have been in talks with up to 10 teams with interest in Jackson and has been attempting to weigh offers and find a reasonable trade. It seemed as if an amiable end is possible after this falling out.

Then Jackson’s agent, Mark Stevens, decided to publicly insult Coach Don Nelson in an obvious effort to speed up the process of getting his client traded. Whether or not Stephen Jackson had known Stevens was going to publicly insult his coach, we will never know, but this seems all too familiar territory for Stevens and seems to be a well thought out plan (or not so well thought out depending on your point of view). Could this be Stevens’ way of speeding up the trade process, while attempting to deflect some of the blame from Jackson, who already has character issues and a bit of a troubled history in the league?

Where I take issue with the strategy is that now GMs are not only concerned with dealing for a player who is going to publicly bad mouth them or the team, they are going to be dealing for a player whose agent will publicly bad mouth the organization. That is certainly not the type of thing an agent would like to develop a reputation for. Maintaining a positive dialogue with the organization would certainly increase the odds of a mutually beneficial resolution. Stevens’ strategy may result in Golden State choosing to eliminate the headache and the contract by trading Jackson for little in return, which could result in Jackson ending up with another non-contender…which is why he originally wanted out of GS.

It remains to be seen how the whole situation will play out; however, the bigger question is when, if ever, as an agent, is it beneficial to make inflammatory comments about a client’s coach, team or management? While this may be the strategy that some choose to use, in the long run respectable, private negotiations seem to be the best avenue for accomplishing the goals of all parties involved. We have seen many a case in which an unhappy player and agent try to force their way out of a situation, but they very seldom work out positively for all sides.

*Note: Ron Artest is no longer represented by Mark Stevens and Stevens does not have any other NBA clients.

Starting in 2009, there are two classes of free agents: international and domestic.  Domestic free agents can only sign with other NPB teams while international free agents are free to try their luck overseas as well as sign domestically.

In order to qualify as an international free agent, players must play nine seasons in the NPB.  To qualify as a domestic free agent, players drafted before 2007 must wait eight seasons.  Players drafted after 2007 are only required to wait seven seasons before being declared domestic free agents.  This is a much longer period than in MLB.  Can you imagine an MLB superstar having to wait eight seasons before signing with a big market club?

Also, in contrast to MLB regulations, players must be on the team’s top roster for 145 days in order for it to count as a “year” for free agency purposes.  Time spent injured or in the minors does not count.  Therefore, it can take much longer than eight or nine years for a player to be eligible for free agency in Japan.

Further, teams that sign a domestic free agent in Japan are required to compensate the player’s former team with either money or players.  Many players decline free agency and remain with their teams.  This basically means that Japanese free agency is almost non-existent compared to MLB.  For example, after the 2008 season, 83 players qualified for free agency.  Only 7 actually filed.

This year, roughly the same amount of players are eligible.  One Japanese player has already filed: Ryota Igarashi of the Yakult Swallows. Igarashi is a 30-year-old right-handed relief pitcher.  He went 3-2 with three saves and a 3.19 ERA in 56 games last season.  His best season was 2004 when he had 37 saves and 86 strikeouts in 66 games.  It will be interesting to see how many more actually file.

Yesterday, I tweeted that DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles dropped DeBartolo Sports as his representation and picked up Rosenhaus Sports.  Jackson is on pace to break his impressive stat-line that he posted in his first year in the league.  Last year, he barely missed breaking 1,000 yards receiving, but only caught two touchdowns.  This year, in half as many games, DeSean has double the amount of TDs as last year and looks like he will break the 1,000 yard mark (as long as he remains healthy).

This is not the first young receiver to switch from DeBartolo to Rosenhaus this year.  Back in July, former University of Florida standout, Louis Murphy made the jump.  DeBartolo is known in the industry for its amazing job recruiting prospective clients.  What is the reason that they are having a tough time retaining them?  Two WRs lost to Rosenhaus in the same year cannot be something that they are happy about.

DeSean Jackson probably thought that he should have been picked higher than #49 in the 2008 draft, but why wait so long to drop his agent?  Could he have been shopping this whole time?  Next Question..

Larry Johnson is not the only athlete who needs a lesson on social media best practices.  There are many others who have the potential of being in his shoes, or worse, in the future.  It is very easy to write a 140 character (or less) message and click send, immediately blasting those words to the world.  That is why it is so important for athletes and their agents to be very careful in implementing a solid social media policy.  Speaking of agents…

Agents also have to be careful about what they tweet.  Their words do not only reflect on their own image, but affect their clients as well.  If an agent is posting controversial tweets, it could affect the way that others perceive him and his clients.  Agents are known to frequently tweet about their clients (as a side note, we are putting together a master list of sports agents on Twitter.  Follow that list by clicking here.), but rarely do you see an agent talking bad about another person’s clients.  Especially when the player is a direct competitor of your client.  It just seems like a bad practice.

A few days ago, though, Allan Walsh (@walsha) did just that.  The hockey agent for Octagon who represents Montreal Canadians goalie, Jaroslav Halak, tweeted:

“Interesting stat of the night….Price is 10W, 32L in last 42 starts. Hmm.”

Walsh was referring to starting goaltender, Carey Price.  The tweet has been deleted from Walsh’s account since the it was covered by various media outlets.  It is not that Walsh is right or wrong about his statement, and he is definitely entitled to his opinion, but perhaps it is better that he keep that opinion to his close friends and not share it with the world on Twitter.  It got Walsh a lot of publicity, but that is not our goal as agents; it is doing the best for our clients.  Does the tweet help out Halak at all?

Walsh responded to the criticism he received from the tweet with the following statement:

“It was a tongue in cheek comment not meant to be taken seriously, forgot it was Montreal and everyone loses a sense of humor.”

I tweet about athletes who are not my clients, and sometimes I may even make jokes about them.  But I have never written a bad tweet about a direct competitor of one of my clients.  For instance, I would not tweet about how poorly another reliever was doing on the AAA Memphis Redbirds squad while Pete Parise was the closer.  That type of discussion is better reserved for talks behind closed doors with management.  The point will still be heard by the other side of the table, without the additional public embarrassment for all parties.