Football

• The St. Louis experiment is failing while the Cowboys investment in their big boys is working well [Under the Cap: Top Ten Guards and Centers].
• A look at just how competitive recruiting college football players is for agencies of various sizes [The race to sign college prospects].

Baseball

• Could they have found a worse picture of Hendry? [Unloading Milton Bradley without paying steep price won't be easy for Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry]
• NY Yankees GM taking a hard-line approach to impending contract discussions with Matsui and Damon [Yanks’ Cashman Won’t Be Swayed].
• Clocked as high as 98.75 mph, but he is 30-years-old (due to Japan’s rules regarding free agency) [Hard-throwing reliever aims to leave Japan].
• Arn Tellem gets in on the blogging action [Hideki Matsui: An Ageless Talent].
• A lot more young players about to get cut? [The Changing Landscape of Salary Arbitration-Eligible Players and Free Agents in Baseball]

Sports Agent

• Some great advice for agents who might not be as involved as they need to be [The Proverbial, I Don’t Know].

Sports Business

• A job very well done by Red Bull [Red Bull's Project X = Sports Marketing Idea of the Year].
• Maybe not the world just yet, but starting off at the high school level is a good strategy [Can Under Armour, IMG Take the World By Storm?].
• St-Pierre t0 serve as the face of Under Armour’s Underwear [Under Armour signs UFC champ Georges St-Pierre to multi-year endorsement deal].
• I actually just yesterday had this discussion with somebody [End of the Day, Live Events Make Sports, Brands, King…].

Baseball

• A little baseball trademark law conversation [Wide world of ‘Series’].

Football

• No sense of urgency on the part of the owners [League rejects "lock-in" bargaining proposal].
• A two-paragraph statement that included no explanation – bothers me [Bryant loses final appeal].

Basketball

• BJ Armstrong answers a few questions while promoting the launch of Windows 7 [An Interview with BJ Armstrong].

Last week, the single game penalty turned into a year-long ban.  The NCAA suspended Bryant for the rest of the 2009 season and any bowl game that OK State might play in.  Oklahoma State appealed the suspension, which seems rather harsh based on the situation (unless there are facts that have been withheld to the public).  We may find out the result of that appeal as early as tomorrow.

It sure seems as if OK State gets picked on a lot by the NCAA.  Remember Andy Oliver?  He played at the same institution before signing with a professional team in the 2009 draft.

The NCAA flexes its muscle again.  Are you impressed?  If Bryant would have solicited advice of an attorney, would the NCAA have pulled an Andy Oliver and tried to say that he was ineligible for that too?

Shouldn’t the NCAA be the advocate for its student-athletes above everything else?  I perceive the institution in a different light.  Its actions lead me to question its purpose at times.  With Brandon Jennings performing at a high level in the NBA (yes, it is a very small sample to look at) after saying no to college and playing a year overseas, shouldn’t the NCAA try to do more to show that it cares about its players.  Suspending them for a season without giving solid justification, makes me think that athletes will want to get in and out (or never in) of college as fast as possible.

Again, if the penalty is merely in response to Dez lying to NCAA officials, then I think it is excessive.  If there are facts unknown to me and the rest of the general public, then that is another story.  OK State was 4-0 without Bryant…until last weekend.  41-14.  Season over.  Reminiscent of last year’s College World Series.

Sports Business

• “Take the opportunity to meet as many people as you can.” [Sports leaders explain the key to success]
• A sign that lacrosse is growing in the U.S.? [MLL, NLL lacrosse star John Glynn signs with agent Matthew Norfolk]

Baseball

• Even if they don’t make it in baseball, they may make some good money off of the rights fees [Story Of Indian Pitchers Bought By Sony].
• All because of a misunderstanding [Sports Law Blog's Joe Rosen Signs Red Sox Reliever Hideki Okajima as Client].
• That Vernon Wells contract… [Bad Contract Swap Meet].
• A great read for players, parents, scouts, and advisors [Showcases Have Turned Baseball Into A Year-Round Sport].

Football

• Keep your mouth shut and your tweeting at bay [The Cost of Larry Johnson’s Gay Slur on Twitter: $213,000].
• The UFL vs. CFL portion is a good read [Sports Agent Corner: UFL vs CFL, “Runners”, and the Stay-or-Go Debate].

Also, one last note.  Buffalo Wild Wings is hosting a cool contest.  Register to win a roster spot to play in an exclusive football game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, this spring.  You can register at any Buffalo Wild Wings location through November 8 (no purchase is required). The winners will be selected November 18 and will receive round-trip airfare and hotel accommodation for the February 13 game, among other prizes. The winners will be split into two teams and given celebrity coaches (ESPN’s Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg) and captains (Jerome “The Bus” Bettis and Marshall Faulk).

They also want me to share a coupon with you, which is good until November 1 (yeah, not much time to use it).  You can print this page (there is a button to do that on the top of this post), to use the coupon.

Baseball

• Some interesting ideas include: increase scholarships, bring back the one-time transfer rule, make a switch to wooden bats, and push the MLB Draft to after the CWS [College baseball still needs major changes].
• Big ATL agents (France – football and Abbott – baseball) will be in attendance [First Ever Brian McCann Celebrity Softball Game Set for 11/13].
• Quite a line from Boras: “If stem-cell research were around, you’d want to tap into that gene pool.” [Scott Boras is making pitch for Johnny Damon's free agency this winter]
• The Arizona Fall League has produced a lot of very successful Major League players [Scout's Diary: AFL Still A Great Secret].

Football

• Surprised that Antonio Gates is not in the top 10 paid TEs? [Under the Cap: Top Ten Tight Ends]
• I also hate the uniforms, but glad to see that NFL execs are taking a peek at the talent [Don't discount the UFL].
• Josh Morgan seems to be taking the news pretty well [Report: Crabtree likely to start for 49ers].

Sports Agents

• Former sports agent, Alonzo “Lon” Monk, was up to some shady business [Ex-Blagojevich aide pleads guilty to corruption].

Interestingly, before hiring Drew Rosenhaus, LenDale did not actually have an agent.  The NFLPA lists his agent as Christopher Brantley of ASM Sports, but according to Brad Biggs of the National Football Post, Brantley is not an NFLPA certified advisor.  Thus, had LenDale not picked up Rosenhaus or another NFLPA certified advisor, he would have had to negotiate his next contract all by himself, which is something that most NFL players are not prepared to do (Daunte Culpepper and Ricky Williams are two of the few players who has attempted to negotiate their own deals).

ASM Sports is known for its strong basketball client list that includes Chauncey Billups, Donyell Marshall, Marreese Speights, and dozens of other talented players.  Andy Miller is the popular name behind the company, but most likely you have also heard of VP Justin Zanik.  I cannot find any information regarding the company representing professional football players, which makes me wonder how LenDale connected with Brantley in the first place.

Gabe Feldman fears that granting the NFL single entity status will led to the league acting in an anti-competitive manner.  He believes that the Seventh Circuit’s decision should be overturned in this case and that no professional sports league should ever be labeled a a single entity.

I suggest that you have a background on the actual American Needle case before reading Feldman’s article, which is the first link on this post.  Also, make sure you section off some time, because Feldman’s piece is not a quick read.  For prior SAB posts on the topic:

• The NFL Is Entangled In An Antitrust Action
• Supreme Court Grants Cert For American Needle
• What The Supremes Should Be Thinking When They Review American Needle

When Crabtree eventually signed with the San Francisco 49ers and held a press conference, Parker was nowhere to be found.  Perhaps it is because there is no way to justify such a long holdout when your client accepts an offer that was on the table months ago.

So the Crabtree saga is done…for now.  Time will tell if the 49ers wasted a 1st round pick or not.  But what about this Dez Bryant story?  You know, the Oklahoma State football player who was ruled ineligible for this past weekend’s game (and possibly the entire season) after lying to the NCAA about going to Deion Sanders’ house and training at his facility?  Yeah, he even wrote about it on his Facebook page.

Deion has been training players for the NFL through his company, Prime U.  Pushing cars looks like a big part of the program.

Okay so Dez Bryant gets busted for talking with Deion Sanders…where does Parker come into the picture?  As the Tulsa World reported,

[Deion] Sanders resides in the Dallas area and is associated with sports agent Eugene Parker. As an NFL player, Sanders was Parker’s client. [Dez] Bryant admitted to participating in a training session with Sanders at a Dallas-area gym and to having dinner at Sanders’ home.

Oy vey.  Are we looking too far into the connection, or is there credence to all of this?  Apparently Sanders had a strong hand in Crabtree’s holdout, so perhaps Deion is an intricate part of Parker’s arsenal.  Crabtree, like Bryant also worked out at Prime U.  For now, Parker’s name is not involved in the Dez Bryant issue; however, I am sure that the last thing the agent wants at this point is his name in the media because of any possible connection.  At least Sanders is going to bat for his former agent.

“Eugene has nothing to do with this,” Sanders said in a telephone interview. “Eugene don’t do that. He’s never been in this situation.”

The end of the 2009 NFL season will allow a number of solid football players to hit the open market. Usually, in the last year of players’ contracts, that player will play hard and put forth a great deal of effort in order to receive a substantial contract the following year. This year, however, some of the big names in the league are not showing teams that they are worth big pay days.

PFTV reported on Braylon Edwards‘ sloppy season and how his year has fallen apart five weeks in. Other players such as Shawne Merriman, Demarcus Ware, and Terrell Owens are having pretty sub-par seasons so far.

After the Brady Quinn failure in Cleveland, Braylon Edwards hoped that Derek Anderson would hit him with some passes……fail. Then, as if his 0 catch game against the Bengals was bad enough, he allegedly punched LeBron James’ friend after the game at around 2:30 AM (this case is still being looked at). Let’s see if he can earn a big pay check using Mark Sanchez’s arm.

Merriman’s troubles started with his injury last year; after returning and looking forward to a promising season, he was arrested on domestic violence charges (this case was tossed). In my eyes, Merriman is still a solid football player – he is only 25 and has a lot of years ahead of him if he can rehab properly. However, his 8 total tackles in 4 weeks has failed to prove me right.

You can blame Terrell Owens’ mediocre season on Trent Edwards (otherwise known as Captain Checkdown), or you can blame it on Buffalo’s solid running game this season, or you can blame it on whatever you’d like. With 8 receptions for 158 yards and 1 touchdown, T.O. has not impressed me this season and to be honest, I have no clue where he could end up next season.

Demarcus Ware has only 16 tackles and 1 forced fumble so far this season. Not horrible, but not good for someone looking to score big in the “cha-ching” department. Manny Lawson of the 49ers has 23 tackles so far and Patrick Willis has 37 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions (Willis is a MLB, though).

It’s all about performing in the NFL. If these guys don’t clean up their acts and get their heads in the game, they will be left with less cash than guys like Derrick Mason, Ronnie Brown, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sharper, who are all playing exceptionally well.

Golf

• Giles used to represent Davis Love III and Tom Kite [Vinny Giles, 66, wins Senior Amateur at Beverly Country Club].

Football

• Andre Smith’s “Superman” clauses remind many of the contract Leland Hardy negotiated for Ricky Williams [Smith’s contract reminiscent of Williams’ pact].
• Fans may want their teams to lose in the first round of next year’s playoffs [What Free Agency Will Look Like in an Uncapped Year: The Final Eight Plan].

Baseball

• On drugs, document fraud, and skimming/kickbacks – fantastic piece [Dominican baseball prospects frequently play fast and loose with the rules].
• Pay closest attention to Rick Johnson’s words [NCAA cracks down on baseball advisers].

Networking

• Unfiltered messages from high profile athletes has its potential consequences [Social Media and the NBA].