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Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (1/1/2010)

Darren Heitner — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:00:55 +0000

This is the first Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up of the new year. The column is one of the favorites for readers and there is no threat of it leaving. However, I was close to scrapping it for this week. I had collected a great number of interesting stories, only to have my browser crash yesterday. I have been able to find most of the links, and added in some new ones that are of particular interest. Thus, the streak of posting this column every week continues. I had a fantastic week scouting and talking to young baseball players and their families at the PerfectGame National Underclass Showcase – Main Event. Three days full of pure baseball was draining, but enjoyable. On one day I had Frank Zaino (Director of Baseball Operations at Dynasty) and Justin Herzig (HR Director) with me and on another I was only accompanied by Frank. A lot of relationships were formed and I look forward to following up with many of the families we were able to meet. In a very competitive industry, it is extremely important to get your name out to these families very early. I believe that there is also a lot for them to gain by learning about a company early on so that a certain amount of trust may be developed. Anyway, here are some stories I missed over the past week:

Football

Confidential arbitration denied [Does this mean eventual closure for Bush-USC case?].
Got A LOT of time on your hands today and not too hungover? [American Needle v. National Football League, Docket No. 08-661]
Was Mike Leach really fired “for cause”? [Legal showdown between Leach, Texas Tech may just be starting]

Baseball

Scott Boras is not bound by the same worries and constraints as other high-profile agents [Boras is the Teflon agent].
The United States benefits from Chapman signing in 2010 [Aroldis Chapman and the taxman].
Doug Glanville offers some great advice like, “a lot of the work required to make it takes place off the field, and involves how you manage your life” [Not Just Tiger’s Temptations]
“He doesn’t really have an edge and lacks controversy” – Mauer took a page out of Glanville’s book [Is The Twins’ Joe Mauer Baseball’s Next Big Brand?].

Vaccaro Questions NCAA’s Judgment

Richard Kimsey — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:00:55 +0000

The NCAA’s agenda in certain situations involving schools and athletes is certainly questionable.

Grassroots basketball enthusiast Sonny Vaccaro made some interesting points recently in an interview with Henry Abbot here.

On the topic of Derrick Rose and the wins vacated from Memphis, it is possible the NCAA came down hard on the Tigers because the school is not a traditional powerhouse Bowl Championship Series school. Vaccaro feels that some other schools in the BCS generally are let off easy because of the revenue the schools generate for the giant entertainment conglomerate that has become the NCAA.

The specific case of Reggie Bush is cited, pointing out that while Memphis was quickly penalized, the University of Southern California has yet to be sentenced for the school’s actions from 2006 with Bush, which Vaccaro finds “interesting.”

Vaccaro then goes on to make a huge point against the NBA’s age limit rule. The reason for the supposed beneficial rule is to force talented young athletes to go to college and become more well-rounded individuals. But in many cases, the main justification coaches give to recruits on reasons to come to the school is because the coach can get them to the NBA.

Would Tyreke Evans, DeMar DeRozan, or Jrue Holiday have needed any help getting to the NBA if there was no rule? Doubtful. Brandon Jennings definitely did not and still managed to be a lottery pick.

So why are many coaches using the lure of the NBA to recruit players when the supposed reason for the age rule is the lure of college? It’s probably because college doesn’t seem as sexy when you are earning absolutely nothing. But having these NBA-ready talent forced to go to college makes a lot of money for the NCAA.

Does the NCAA really want these kids to get an education? The association can’t believe that most of these players will be staying for more than one, or even two, years. Free labor, though, for the collegiate entertainment industry is very beneficial for the NCAA.

Rose isn’t the first and won’t be the last player the NCAA has used to dictate how it wants business conducted.

Publicly Endorsing Political Candidates

Darren Heitner — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:32:56 +0000

For a couple of days, Yardbarker.com had a post by Greg Oden on its front page, racking up more barks (positive votes) each hour. The title of his blog entry was: Senator Obama is getting my vote. Then, Jason Wulterkens wrote about how Tiger Woods recently jumped on the Obama bandwagon, throwing his support toward the likable candidate. It got me thinking, should athletes or agents vocally express their opinions on who America should vote for in a political election? Obviously, everybody has a First Amendment right to publicly announce who they are going to support in any type of forum. But is it a smart business decision to do so?

Leigh Steinberg, known as an agent who is always bucking the general trend (Jerry McGuire was supposedly based on his life), has also publicly announced his support for Senator Obama. In fact, he has created a group called Athletes for Obama with the help of Reggie Bush and Charles Barkley.

No matter if you think an athlete or agent should publicly support a candidate or drive people to vote for a particular person, I think we can all agree that it is worthwhile for people in high positions to have a goal of trying to broadly influence people to vote (not specifically who to vote for). That is why I particularly liked the way that Oden ended his post:

If the person I vote for wins it’s gonna be because of my one little vote, at least that’s what I’m gonna think. I think everyone should think that way. This will be my first presidential election to participate in as a voter and I hope that you younger voters will get involved. I think that our votes can really influence the outcome so go out, register and vote for who you think is the best candidate to be the best leader for this country and make sure you and your family will feel good about the new president that is elected in November.

I also urge all of this site’s readers to stay up to date with the Presidential race and vote this November. This will be the first opportunity for many of you to vote in a Presidential election. Make your voice heard. Each vote counts.