• WMA must have heard that I call Dynasty, Sports Agency 2.0 [William Morris, Media Execs Create 'Agency 3.0'].
• The MLB draft is approaching…should the NBA be taking notes? [Building a better mouse-release]
• Clayton Kershaw is so hot right now [Dodgers Rookie Sensation Clayton Kershaw Signs Exclusive Collectibles Agreement With Steiner Sports].
• Freddy Adu Bids Hello To IMG [IMG Signs Freddy Adu].
• Derrick Rose to the Miami Heat? Perhaps BJ Armstrong will invite me to sit with him courtside for a game if Joey Dorsey truly has inside info [Draft Notes: The No. 1 question persists for Chicago].
• How many of these cheaper players will have their options picked up before July 1st? I’ll pay to see Chris Quinn somewhere else [NBA Teams Face Options Decisions].
• Kevin Mawae and Jay Feely are green with envy [Mawae: Big rookie contracts like Ryan's 'disheartening'].
• I am not buying this new intentional infliction of emotional distress claim [Clemens adds new claim to suit against McNamee].
• Back in 1992, Mitch Albom was being paid by the Detroit Free Press to knock down agents [Mitch flashback: Alan Trammell negotiated his own contract].
• Nice intentions, but I am full of doubt [WVU lawsuit against Rodriguez headed for mediation].

DigitalSports.com is a local sports media company that will aim to cater to a national audience. For now, the service is limited to Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

No matter what state you live in, at DigitalSports.com you can access information about local High School and Club Sports & Activities. Information is not only supplied by the people who designed the website; users generate content by sharing accomplishments of those that participate in youth sports in their communities. The goal of DigitalSports.com is threefold: inform, entertain, and inspire, all while solely focusing on the positives of child athletes and hashing out any negatives that may occur in youth athletics.

The DigitalSports.com platform is meant for the children that participate in local athletics; however, their parents, fans, and coaches may benefit from the services provided. Included in the site are professionally written articles about local sports coupled with extensive video and photos of prior events. The setup allows alumni of the local sports to look back and re-live some of their own memories through the posted content. In fact, Joey Dorsey can reminisce about the old days when he led his highschool team to an undefeated record much like this year’s Memphis Tigers. Think he was still missing about half his free throws back then? DigitalSports.com provides you the video to see for yourself.

My favorite aspect about the site is that the executives are committed to only displaying positive stories, photos, and videos. If you subscribe to ESPN.com’s general feed you will notice that at least half of the stories deal with a guy holding out of practice, a drug bust, or Chris Henry. DigitalSports.com won’t cover any of those issues. Twenty high school athletic conferences representing 350 schools are currently examined and 2,500 pieces of original content are produced per month. Join now and see what the site has to offer.

The Kansas Jayhawks and the Memphis Tigers are set to tip off the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tonight at 9:21PM EST, and until that time, many newspapers and blogs will be writing about the two teams and their players, and contemplating which team that wears the color blue will come out victorious. One common thread will be that Kansas, as a school, has more experience when it comes to making it this far in the Tournament. Kansas has been in the Championship Game eight times, including this year. For Memphis, this is only the team’s second visit to the final game. Kansas has won it all twice, been in the Final Four thirteen times, made the Tournament thirty-seven times, and has eighty Tournament victories. Memphis has never won the Championship, and does not rank close to Kansas in any of the other categories discussed above. But throw all that information out of the window, because it does not matter. Tonight is anybody’s game.

Instead of making predictions like every other sports blog, I decided that it would be interesting to look at the individual top players at each school that are currently on the court and those that have graduated to play in professional ball. What sports agents have dominated Memphis and Lawrence? Which agents have a comfortable relationship with the Championship Game coaches? Are there other people at each campus that may be influencing players?

Kansas Jayhawks in the NBA and their agents:

• Nick Collison – Mike Higgins (SFX)
• Drew Gooden – Calvin Andrews (BDA Sports)
• Kirk Hinrich – Jeff Austin (Octagon)
• Raef LaFrentz – Mike Higgins (SFX)
• Paul Pierce – Jeff Schwartz (Excel Sports Management)
• Scot Pollard – Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports & Entertainment)
• Wayne Simien – Leigh Steinberg (Steinberg & Moorad)
• Jacque Vaughn – Jeff Austin (Octagon)
• Julian Wright – Rob Pelinka (SFX)

Memphis Tigers in the NBA and their agents:

• Earl Barron – Mark Termini (Mark Termini Associates)
• Rodney Carney – Chris Emens (Octagon)
• Shawne Williams – Happy Walters (Immortal Sports)
• Lorenzen Wright – Andy Miller (ASM Sports)

It was not an easy task to find out the agents of all of the players listed above. After a quick glance at the names and the agencies listed above, it seems like representatives from Octagon and SFX will have some nice seats in San Antonio. I am sure that Jeff Austin and Mike Higgins will be in attendance, but I doubt that they say a word to each other. Which Jayhawks will they be fighting for? DraftExpress.com currently lists Darrell Arthur going #20 in the first round and Brandon Rush being snagged at #25 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft. Will either player (or both) sign with Octagon and/or SFX?

Then there is Memphis and its three stars that are suggested to be selected in the 2008 NBA Draft. DraftExpress.com has Derrick Rose being the 2nd overall pick, along with Chris Douglas-Roberts (CDR) being picked at #15 and Joey Dorsey going in the middle of the 2nd round. The list of agents for the current Memphis NBA players does not suggest that any particular agent/agency has an advantage for this year’s talented crop of Tigers. But as far as Memphis is concerned, the history books need to be swept off the table and it must be realized that this is an entirely new organization.

The landscape in Memphis was redone in 2000, when the University named John Calipari its new basketball coach. He led the team to win the NIT Championship in 2002 and then took Memphis to the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and 2004, something the Tigers were not used to. In 2006, the Tigers got a #1 seed in the Tournament, and Calipari realized that it might have been time to return to old friends with heavy influence in the basketball community.

Ever hear of a guy named Worldwide Wes? If not, I suggest you read this GQ article on him. The heading describes William Wesley as, the most connected, most discreet, most influential man on and off the court. Not a bad guy to have on your side. In fact, there may be a lot of validity in equating the success of this year’s Memphis Tigers team with Calipari’s connection to Wesley. Don’t think that Calipari has been working with William? Why else would he say that Wesley is a goodwill ambassador for the University of Memphis program? Wesley openly roots for Memphis to win and has been instrumental in bringing relations between Memphis basketball and China.

The sports agent point of all of this is that besides having a strong connection to Calipari as a coach, Worldwide Wes is a big fan of Leon Rose as an agent. None of the four Memphis Tigers currently playing in the NBA are signed with Rose, but you may see some or all of this year’s Memphis draft class signing with the basketball agent if William Wesley has his way. It seems like if there is one player out of the three Memphis ballers leaving for the draft this year that is least likely to sign with Rose, it is Joey Dorsey. I have seen reports linking Wesley with Rose and Douglas-Roberts, but have come up empty in any connection with Dorsey.

I cannot wait for the game tonight. I honestly have no idea who is going to win. But for me, the most exciting period for me is after the game is over and players start to make their decisions on representation for the 2008 NBA Draft. Stay tuned as we update you on the agent signings by both teams’ draft-entry players.