Football

• A big-time Gator is on the market [Taylor, set to make $6M, cut by Jags].
• A lot of talk that Thomas Mills got Hayden a really nice deal [Hayden, Colts strike deal].

Baseball

• The guy is only 26-years-old and averages a strikeout per inning pitched [Santana avoids arbitration with Angels].
• Gotta love the amount of deals that are struck in the final hour [Pirates, McLouth agree to 3-year deal].
• Should we be blaming the MLBPA instead? [Commish doesn't want steroids blame]

Sports Agents

• For our readers overseas [Superagents” reality TV show to launch in UK this week].
• Doug Eldridge of DLE Sports Management Group is trying to raise $100k [Reginald T. Dogan: Racer makes strides for wounded vets].

Basketball

• The story on Anthony Randolph switching agents made the latest Carnival [Carnival of the NBA #63: Stress Relief].
• The Chicago Bulls have been very active lately [Knicks trade for Bulls' Hughes].

1. Wasserman Media Group (Arn Tellem, BJ Armstrong, Dan Tobin, Greg Lawrence, Thad Foucher, Bob Myers) – The WMG team had an unprecidented draft.  BJ Armstrong stole the show by representing the #1 overall pick, Derrick Rose.  Because BJ was always mentioned with Rose, many looked over the fact that he is also the primary agent for #14 pick, Anthony Randolph.  Quite a first year for the one-time Chicago Bull.  Arn Tellem did not do too poorly himself.  Danillo Gallinari went higher than many had anticipated during the week.  While Tellem may not be “listed” as the primary agent for many of WMG’s 7 first round picks, you have to believe he had a heavy hand in persuading the players to go Wasserman’s way.  Add to the stable Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Maarty Leunen, D.J. Augustin…yeah, this one is easy…Grade = A+
2. Priority Sports (Mark Bartelstein, Aaron Mintz, Brad Ames) – Forget A-Rod vs. Canseco, T.O. vs. the media, and Shawn Chacon vs. the Astros GM.  I want to see Tellem vs. Bartelstein.  If you had to ask me which two names currently dominate the NBPA agent landscape, it would have to be these two fellows.  If your last name starts with a “B”, chances are, Bartelstein represents you.  His company got J.R. Giddons drafted in the first round, way above where I thought he would go.  At the same time, Trent Plaisted slipped a little further than Bartelstein probably hoped he would.  The company definitely jumped for joy when Brandon Rush became a lottery pick.  Overall, Priority had another solid showing.  Grade = A
3. BDA Sports (Billy Duffy, Calvin Andrews, Rade Filipovich) – The biggest news leading up to the NBA Draft had maintained the spotlight for quite some time: O.J. Mayo fired Calvin Andrews and BDA Sports after NCAA violations came to light regarding Mayo’s acceptance of money through a runner for the agency.  In my mind, BDA had to do quite a lot to rebound from that devastating news, which may continue to get worse if further sanctions are placed on the agency.  I do not feel like they ended up very happy.  Besides losing Mayo, James Gist was picked later than expected, but Goran Dragic was taken right about where he was predicted to go.  Overall, 2008 was a disappointing year for a company that used to be right up alongside Priorty.  Grade = C-
4. Excel Sports Management (Jeff Schwartz, Sam Goldfeder) – For a long time, mock drafts had Jerryd Bayless projected as a top-4 pick.  It is not Schwartz’s fault that Bayless slipped as draft day approached; Bayless was probably being hyped a little bit too much beforehand.  Having a lottery pick is always a win for a sports agency, and Excel must be happy that Bayless went in the top 14.  Having two lottery picks is even nicer…Kevin Love is also a client.  The true icing on the cake is that Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was taken at the beginning of the second round.  Mbah a Moute was not even a lock to be picked at all.  Grade = A
5. Montgomery Sports Group (Roger Montgomery) – Not a bad draft for a man who only represented four guys going into last Thursday.  Sonny Weems was taken higher than expected and Darrell Jackson went right about where he was predicted to land…and to a team that desperately needs some help.  I have no criticism for Roger, but until he breaks into the first round, I am unable to give him an A.  Grade = B+
6. Creative Artists Agency (Leon Rose, Andre Buck) – It was looking like CAA was going to be left out of the first round shuffle until the aforementioned O.J. Mayo affair went down.  But even more surprising is that CAA ended up with two lottery picks.  The second is Jason Thompson, who has Andre Buck as his primary advisor.  Who could have predicted that the Rider forward would be selected twelfth overall?  The only thing holding me back from giving CAA an A+ is the slipping of CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts).  Tenth pick in the second round?  Something went wrong there.  Grade = A-
7. ASM Sports (Andy Miller, Justin Zanik) – Serge Ibaka, Sasha Kaun, Omer Asik, J.J. Hickson, Marreese Speights, Deron Washington, and Richard Hendrix all got drafted.  It seems like ASM has not gotten its due praise because WMG has been taking all of the headlines.  Someone hire a PR expert for this company, ASAP!  Between WMG and ASM, how does anyone else compete?  Sure, James Mays and David Padgett were not selected, but I am sure that they will find a team to play for.  Grade = A+

• When: June 26th: 7 p.m. EST on ESPN.
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York

Want some helpful links to guide you up to draft day?  See below:

1. Find out exactly where your team is slotted to pick in each of the two rounds and get Austin Walton’s take on who they will pick (with no commentary): NBA Mock Draft
2. Get familiar with the names of NCAA freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who have kept their name in the draft along with the international studs who may be looking to turn red, white, and blue: Early-Entry Withdrawal Deadline: Final List
3. Take a trip down memory lane and re-live the first round of the NBA Draft all the way back to 1957: Complete First Round Results

My main focus on the draft will be following the success of the WMG team which includes agents Arn Tellem and B.J. Armstrong.  I interviewed B.J. a little less than a month ago (click here), and may be following up with him again for another special feature on this blog.  Yeah, Arn is the man…he apparently had much to do with WMG’s signing of Rose.  B.J. is also showing that he is fit for the job.  One guy getting left out of the discussion so far is Lee Melchionni.  We covered his signing with WMG last October, when he was shacking at the Tellem household.  Melchionni does not serve as a primary agent for any of WMG’s clients, but he is getting some hands-on experience.  His tasks include having a client’s dogs shipped to him on a plane and ordering a player 82 custom suits, so that said player would never have to wear the same suit to a game twice.

WMG hopes to hear these clients’ names called on Thursday: Derrick Rose, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Randolph, Marty Leunen, Danilo Gallinari, D.J. Augustin, Jason Rich, Davon Jefferson.  That list is unprecidented.  I cannot personally remember any agency have the potential to dominate a draft in any sport quite like WMG has positioned itself.  Actually, Darren Gill has done a decent job putting his name in the mix when it comes to the CFL Draft.

Dynasty does not have any players in the 2008 NBA Draft, but we are in discussions with a few players that have put in some time in lower professional leagues like the NBDL and IBL.  We hope to make a splash in 2009’s draft, but for now, we are content with getting our feet wet representing players who are right on the cusp of joining an NBA team.  Look for an update on this front very shortly.

Also, I will be the subject of a couple of interviews this week.  Make sure to check out the podcast on HoopsAddict.com that should be posted early in the week, which you can download by clicking here.  And also be sure to tune in to my live appearance on the Region Buzz Sports Show.  If you are in the Chicago area, you can listen to it live by listening to 1230 AM on your radio from 6:00-7:00 p.m. CST on Thursday.  If not, it will be posted here for download.

• Is it not an exaggeration to say that Isiah Thomas is directly responsible for a $187 million loss? [The Thomas Tax].
• Remember that guy Byron Leftwich? The Jaguars definitely don’t [Garrard signs seven-year, $60 million contract with Jags].
• Looks like the Dolphins are between Gholston and Long (Jake) [Reports: Dolphins negotiating with Long, Gholston].
• David Beckham will earn 200 times the MLS senior player minimum over 500 times the “developmental player” contract minimum this year [From Rags to Riches].
• 16th round MLB Draft selections can still find success even though the odds are not in their favor [After one season in the majors, Young gets $28 million deal from D-backs].
• While he is not helping the Miami Heat, D Wade is busy turning up the heat by posing for the cover of Ocean Drive [Wade's continued star power].
• The Trailblazers are doing an awesome job campaigning for LaMarcus Aldridge to win “Most Improved Player” [Rip City Rising].
• 6′11 Junior, Trent Plastaid, has declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft, but will not sign an agent [BYU's Plaisted declares for NBA Draft].
• On the other hand, 6′11 Freshman, Anthony Randolph will forfeit his NCAA eligibility by hiring agent Arn Tellem to represent him in the upcoming NBA draft [Source: LSU's Randolph signs with agent].

This week’s featured post is my in-depth post covering who is likely to be representing the top players in this year’s NCAA Championship game. It also looks at who alumni of the two teams have selected for representation. Go check out the story by clicking the Featured tab on the right sidebar.