Football

• NCAA ban aside, football coaches may want to think twice before selecting Dez Bryant [Bryant comes with a caveat emptor tag].
• Mike Ornstein vs. Bill Henkel [Wilson: Marketing reps confirm altercation at combine].
• Yes, the NFL has to follow state laws when they are applicable [The Star Caps Saga Continues].
• Please read what Head Coach Marvin Lewis had to say about the NFL Combine [Inconsistent Measureables].
• Some will over spend, some will go the cheap route, others will pretend there is still a cap [NFL free agency begins Friday without cap].

Baseball

• Never seen Garrett Broshuis pitch, but I am sad to see him leave the game [Suitcase Chronicles: Not Crash Davis].
• Some love for Arn Tellem as a baseball agent [Hideki Matsui in Anaheim: "Man, I feel comfortable here"].

Soccer

• So now that Major League Soccer and its players’ association is not bound by a collective bargaining agreement… [McCarthy’s Musings: The Friday Five Explains The Demise Of The MLS CBA].

Football

• If Keels negotiated the deal, he deserves his entire fee [Larry Johnson, Alvin Keels dispute raises new question regarding agent fees].
• With Keels, leaves Keels, back to Keels [Agent change could mean Bodden wants to stay in New England].

Baseball

• A rare pro-Scott Boras piece [Are Scott Boras and Money Ruining Baseball?].
• And I think the 1-year, $8 million deal this late was a great deal for Boras and Damon [Klapisch: Johnny Damon, Scott Boras really blew this one].
• I have full confidence that Michael Weiner will represent the players to the best of his abilities [As head of baseball players' union, Michael Weiner seen as departure from Don Fehr].

Basketball

• Love the Arn Tellem piece, except I am not sure that the comparison to investment bankers works well [They Earn It].

Sports Agents

• Amy Stanton represents female athletes, including Gretchen Bleiler [Women at Work].
• The former relief pitcher, Darek Braunecker, is included [UALR Athletics To Induct Three Into Hall of Fame On Saturday].
• Athlete, agent, ambassador of action sports [PRO FILE: CIRCE WALLACE].

Neil Stratton

Neil will also have a brief presentation by businesses worth partnering with. This presentation is aimed specifically at agencies and agents certified less than three years, or recruiters/young agents considering starting their own firms.

If you are out in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, this is an event you probably want to check out.

What: 2010 Scholarly Conference on College Sport

Where: William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

When: April 21^st (Wednesday) – April 23^rd (Friday)

Blurb:

It is the 3rd annual conference for faculty, athletic administrators, students, sport practitioners, and the public interested in research, theory, and critical thinking about college sport and related issues.  It will provide an open forum for independent, organized and focused interdisciplinary research regarding college sport.

Panels:

One and Done: What is the Effect of the NBA’s Age Limit Rule on the College Game?

• Gary Williams – University of Maryland Men’s Basketball Head Coach
• Shane Lyons – Associate Commissioner for Compliance at the Atlantic Coast Conference
• Michael McCann – Associate Professor at the University of Vermont Law School
• Doug Gottlieb – College Basketball Analyst and Radio Host at ESPN

Ethics of Elimination: Will Broad-Based Athletic Departments Survive?

• Amy Perko – Executive Director of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
• David Akinniyi – North Carolina State University Varsity Football Player, Former Football Player at Northeastern University
• Dr. John Cheslock – Associate Professor at Penn State University
• Mike Moyer – Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association
• Jeff Bourne – Director of Athletics at James Madison University

Thou Shalt Not Tweet: Athletes’ Social Networking Legal Rights vs. Institutional Control

• Lester Munson – Legal Analyst at ESPN, Investigative sportswriter and speaker
• Steve Kirschner – Associate Athletic Director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Kathleen Hessert – Founder and President of Sports Media Challenge
• Marvin Austin – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Varsity Football Player

Keynote Speakers:

• David Williams is the Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Athletics at Vanderbilt University, a position that is analogous to an athletics director at many universities. Mr. Williams has helped the school navigate away from the traditional model of a separate athletics department to one that functions within the framework of the university. Mr. Williams also serves as Vanderbilt’s General Counsel.

• Michael Oriard is the Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University. An offensive captain and a second-team All-American at the University of Notre Dame, he played four years with the Kansas City Chiefs before leaving the NFL to finish a doctorate in American literature. His books include Bowled Over: Big-Time College Football from the Sixties to the BCS Era and Brand NFL: Making and Selling America’s Favorite Sport.

• Anson Dorrance is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Women’s Soccer head coach. He has one of the most successful coaching records in the history of athletics with an all-time record of 673-33-21. His UNC teams have won 21 national championships, including 20 NCAA crowns and one AIAW title, 19 regular-season ACC titles, and 19 ACC Tournament championships. He was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008.

• Craig Thompson is the Commissioner of the Mountain West Conference having served in the role since 1998. Under his leadership, the Mountain West became the first major collegiate athletic conference to launch sports channel, the MountainWest Sports Network. He is an integral part of the national landscape in intercollegiate athletics, and he is currently on the NCAA Football Board of Directors and a member of the BCS administration.

To register for the conference, please visit http://csriconference.org/registration.html. The early registration period for the conference ends next Friday, February 26^th, and more information about the mission and purpose of the College Sport Research Institute can be found at www.unc.edu/csri.

Baseball

• I really don’t think that Scott Boras represents Freddy Krueger or the shark in Jaws [Know Thy Enemy: Scott Boras].

Football

• Forces a few agents to come to Indy early and creates a divide between agents who were invited and those on the outside [Union will brief agents on CBA progress February 24].
• It’s officially front office season [Upcoming Front Office Decisions].
• How does this hurt/help the UFL’s expansion plans? [The Arena Football League is back]
• Another one goes to Rosenhaus [Vickerson changes agents].

Basketball

• Arn Tellem’s best post to date, where he says, The awful truth: NBA players would be in a stronger position without a union [Stern und Drang].

Sports Agents

• Jeff Rubin could not have been pleased with the $10,000 bill [Tiger Woods Former Mistress Michelle Braun Runs Up Hotel Tab For Sports Agent In Miami].
• Lowell Taub answers Rovell’s questions as you would expect a smart agent to answer them [One-on-One With Bode Miller's Agent].

It’s been a nice run for Daunte Culpepper.  Or has it?  Culpepper has long subscribed to a policy of negotiating his own contracts, talking to NFL teams on his own behalf, and keeping the 1-3% he would have otherwise payed an NFLPA agent.  It was almost three years ago when I claimed that Culpepper could use an agent.  At the time, he was with the Dolphins, but was more busy running his mouth to the media than attempting to show his skill on the field, which would have possibly prevented him from ending up in a trade.

Then, in September of 2008, Culpepper decided that he was going to retire from football.  Well, that didn’t exactly work according to plan…but it was definitely something that once again could have been held from the media.  SportsAgentBlog.com contributor, Dominic Perilli, said it best back in 2008, when he stated,

Throughout Culpepper’s career, Daunte the agent got in the way of Daunte the quarterback. His focus was often on his contract and getting paid rather than going out there and playing football.

Culpepper started 5 games for the Detroit Lions in 2008 and another 5 games for the Lions in 2009, and he does not want to start 5 games again in 2010.  But this time, perhaps, Culpepper has warmed up to the idea of at least having someone experienced in NFL matters help him with the process of finding a good fit.

That man is David Cornwell, whose law firm, DNK Cornwell, has the tagline, Premier Legal Resource for Sports Agents and the Men & Women Who Play Professional Sports.  Cornwell lists his expertise in law, negotiations, marketing & licensing, corporate management, and media.  Culpepper could probably benefit from most of those services.  Some other notes about Cornwell: He has served as the primary counsel for Reggie Bush (New Orleans Saints), Gilbert Arenas (Washington Wizards), Michael Beasley (Miami Heat), and Darren McFadden, and he also used to be the primary counsel for sports agents Leigh Steinberg, Jeff Moorad, Eugene Parker, Dan Fegan, and Michael Gillis.

Culpepper says that he will still negotiate his own contracts, but will retain Cornwell as an advisor.  Whatever the case may be, I believe this is a step in the right direction for Culpepper.  This should have been done years ago.

In fact, apparently two people together have committed $20 million to buy the rights to two new teams (making the total number of UFL teams increase to six).  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com thinks that the league needs to work hard on producing new uniforms.  Before they do that, I think they need to do some work on getting a better TV deal.

Football

• I would imagine that Lawrence has been pretty busy [Everett-based sports agent Paul Lawrence sees a bright future for his client Tracy Porter after Porter’s big Super Bowl play].
• Even sports agents are wearing the mouthpiece? [Jaw dropping performance? Personal Best with Performance Mouthpiece].
• Andy Reid calls him the assistant commissioner [Reno's Bob LaMonte among NFL's most powerful].
• Still not a fan of the restrictiveness of the franchise tag, but it exists, so let’s acknowledge its presence [Teams can use franchise tags starting Thursday].

Baseball

• Not sure that fingerprinting is the answer, but it’s nice to see the MLB getting serious about problems in the Dominican Republic [Baseball Considers Plan to Curtail Age Fraud].
• Even Scott Boras cannot master the system in all situations [Did Boras Fail Damon, Washburn, & Lopez?].

Sports Business

• The discovery process will make this very interesting [NCAA Loses Motion To Dismiss Suit From Former UCLA F Ed O'Bannon].
• Tax issues are not the easiest things to understand [AN OFTEN OVERLOOKED TAX SAVINGS].

The article goes on to say,

For those of you wondering if its ethical for agents to be talking to players before their season is finished — it’s perfectly legal and just part of the game. The NCAA has no problem with sports agents using social networking tools.

While it is true that the NCAA has no problem with Camper’s action, it is important to remember that the NCAA is not the only body that regulates the sports agent profession.  Agents need also be concerned with state and federal statutes.  Importantly, states that have signed onto the UAAA prohibit an agent from initiating contact with a student-athlete unless registered with those states.  Interestingly, Michigan is 1 of 3 states that have existing, non-UAAA laws designed to regulate athlete agents.

So Camper should be fine, but had he or another agent written the same message on an athlete’s wall in another state bound by the UAAA (or a variation thereof), a picky regulating body could take action against that agent.