Baseball

• A battle between Jose Julio Ruiz and his former agent, Jorge Luis Toca [Ruiz, Ex-Agent Clash Over Split].
• Pretty pointless, but could prevent future long negotiations if both sides are content [Are Mutual Options Baseball's New Fad?].
• Mike Lupica mostly targets Scott Boras [With controversial doctors like Tony Galea, sports agents seem to walk away without fault].
• Always good to recognize the great things that host families do for players [The next Giants' prospect could be staying in your guest room].
• Really interesting to see how the holding may affect New Era hats in baseball [Practical Effects of American Needle v. NFL on a Minor League Baseball Team].
• Is the answer really more scholarships? [Hunter was wrong, but had valid point].

Sports Law

• Has NCAA bylaw 12.3.4.2 helped create a new agent selection counseling industry? [The Wild Card – 12.3.4, USC, and You]

Coaches

• CAA may quickly attain the most successful coaching division in the industry [Wesley to become rep for coaches].

Ready for a new feature?  I was listening to the radio yesterday and on comes Jay-Z’s, On To The Next One.  For some reason I start to think how I can incorporate the song’s title into SportsAgentBlog.com.  And then it strikes me – Whenever a player drops his agent for a new one, we will title our post “On To The Next One: [Athlete's Name Here].”  The athlete with the honor of being the first person to participate in our new column is Dayan Viciedo.

Dayan Viciedo is on the 40-man roster in the Chicago White Sox organization.  He turned 21-years-old yesterday, and decided to get himself a gift in the form of a new agent.  He recently dropped Jaime Torres for Scott Boras.  Dayan was born in Cuba, and some people refer to him as the position-player version of Aroldis Chapman (whatever that is supposed to mean).  Torres negotiated the 4-year contract that Dayan is currently playing under with the White Sox.  That 4-year deal is for a whopping total of $10 million.  It’s nice to get paid that amount of money based on potential, alone.  He played all of last year in Double A.  As Dayan’s new agent, Boras is counting down the days until he is able to negotiate Dayan’s next deal…if Dayan makes it to the big leagues sometime soon.

On September 4, 2008, I decided to take a look at the law schools that some of the industry’s best have attended in the past.  This week, BitterLawyer.com decided to take the task one step forward, ranking the top 11 agents who have gone to law school.  I have to thank the website for mentioning my name and this site in their article.

Ranked at the top of the list is Drew Rosenhaus, who went to Duke University School of Law.  He is followed by Scott Boras, who graduated from University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.  Up next are the two men behind CAA Football (Tom Condon – University of Baltimore and Ben Dogra – St. Louis University Law School).  Rounding out the top 5 is Arn Tellem, who went to University of Michigan Law School.

The comments in the post make note that most of the agents listed went to a TTT.  UrbanDictionary.com sheds some light on what TTT means (I have changed it around a bit to make it appropriate for this site).

Third tier toilet. Generally used as a pejorative term for law schools that are not prestigious, aka Top 14 law schools. To certain people, a law school is either a TTT or a Top 14 school, there is no in-between.

Vanderbilt Law School is ranked #17 according the US News and World Report, but it is still a TTT because it isn’t in the Top 14; it doesn’t matter how close a school’s ranking is to the top 14, if it is not in the Top 14, it is automatically a TTT.

I wouldn’t look too far into why many successful agents did not go to a Top 14 law school.  The only thing I would say is something I have always believed in – Going to a top school may open up some doors that would not normally exist; however, going to a top school does not guarantee success.  And TTT schools have produced MANY successful people.

James Paxton’s fight with the NCAA brings out everything I hate about organized sports.  When it becomes all about money, power, and respect, people suffer.  Those, like Paxton, who do nothing illegal, unethical, nothing out of hatred or spite, but still get punished, show the problems that may exist in organized sport.  When institutions grow in strength, they feel that they can do whatever they please.  In this case, the institution won.  James Paxton was pushed away from the University of Kentucky, the university he came back to after passing up a seven-figure offer from the Toronto Blue Jays.  This is the NCAA’s way of saying thanks, but no thanks.  We have a boatload of student-athletes; you are just one unnecessary person in a large group of college baseball players.

Here is my most recent post, which explains some more about James Paxton’s situation, in case his name does not ring a bell.  The gist: The University of Kentucky suspended Paxton because he would not cooperate with NCAA investigators who wanted to question him about his advisor (Scott Boras) supposedly having direct communication with someone from the Blue Jays front office after Paxton was drafted last year (an NCAA rule violation).

After James Paxton withdrew from the University of Kentucky, the institution of higher education released the following statement (with my emphases added in certain parts):

The University of Kentucky is very disappointed in James Paxton’s decision to not meet with the NCAA about a potential amateurism issue. No one wanted James on the mound in a Kentucky uniform more than UK head coach Gary Henderson, athletics director Mitch Barnhart and the UK Athletics staff. Due to the possibility of future penalties, including forfeiture of games, UK could not put the other 32 players of the team and the entire UK 22-sport intercollegiate athletics department at risk by having James compete. It’s about the team and giving student-athletes the opportunity to achieve their goals. Throughout the process, UK has remained confident that James would be able to pitch for Kentucky during the 2010 season and UK offered every bit of assistance to aid James in that NCAA process.

UK does not know all the facts of last summer’s post-draft interaction among James, his advisors and the Toronto Blue Jays and has not prejudged his situation. James has an obligation under NCAA Bylaw 10.1 (j) to answer questions that relate to his amateur status. On advice of his counsel, James has elected not to be interviewed by the NCAA. UK has offered to pursue an immediate application for reinstatement for James with the NCAA if that became necessary. However, no request for reinstatement of his eligibility can be made based on mitigating circumstances until the student-athlete and his family cooperate and make all facts known to UK, with the NCAA having the opportunity to verify those facts. UK has never been provided all pertinent information from James and his family, who are following the legal advice of his attorneys not to be interviewed by the NCAA. Without knowing all the facts, UK cannot present mitigating circumstances to the NCAA on James’ behalf.

UK is more optimistic than James and his family that any period of ineligibility could be shortened to allow James to pitch during the last and most important part of the season, the Southeastern Conference schedule. So it is disappointing that James is unwilling to go through the normal NCAA process, allowing UK to appeal for him, if necessary. The University of Kentucky is sad to see James leave its baseball team, especially after other players gave up portions of their scholarships in August so that he would have a substantial scholarship for his senior year.

While UK is extremely disappointed in the decision made by James to not meet with the NCAA, he will always be a member of the Wildcat family. UK hopes that James will stay and earn his degree and wishes him the best in his professional baseball career. Should James change his mind and be willing to cooperate with the NCAA inquiry, the door is open for him to return to the UK baseball team and UK will seek any immediate appeal necessary for his reinstatement.

If it truly is about the team and giving student-athletes the opportunity to achieve their goals, wouldn’t that mean that the team/school would rally behind its individual athletes?  Does UK think that the stance it has taken will encourage future baseball players to attend its school any more after not backing up one of its own student-athletes?  And that sentence about UK being sad to see Paxton leave, especially after other players gave up portions of their scholarships…Please!  Do you care about Paxton, or do you wish you had the money to pay the other guys?

Now take a look at Paxton’s attorney’s statement regarding Paxton’s decision to leave UK.

In light of UK’s decision to issue a press release Friday evening, I feel compelled to explain this sad state of affairs, none of which would be occurring, if UK was not scared to death of the NCAA.

UK’s fear of the NCAA has resulted in UK withholding James from intercollegiate baseball competition, when there are no allegations or evidence against him, when he is eligible to play, and when UK admits that it cannot compel James to speak to the NCAA. This fear is based upon the unsupported supposition that someday allegations would be filed against James predicated upon some unknown set of facts that would result in some unknown NCAA retaliation down-the-line.

As everyone knows, James turned down a lot of money from the Toronto Bluejays to come back to UK to play with his teammates and for his coach with the hopes of reaching the post-season and the possibility of winning the College World Series for the Wildcats.

The past several months have been very challenging for James and his family as well as for his teammates and coach. To the many who have stood by him, he is forever grateful for their support.

Much has been speculated about why the NCAA wishes to interview James, even though UK admits that it does not know, and this speculation has focused on a single, unverified blog entry, which is vague at best. However, the implication is that James’ attorney violated the NCAA’s No Agent Rule, which attempts to limit his attorney’s representation of him, and which would be held invalid in Kentucky, if James were ever charged with such a violation—just like it was held invalid in Ohio in the Oliver v. NCAA case last year. The NCAA’s presumptive penalty for a No Agent Rule violation is permanent ineligibility, and not six games or the like that has been bandied about as a possible sanction for such a violation.

Some people wonder why James won’t just go to an NCAA “interview,” if he has nothing to “hide,” so let me tell you why:

First, at UK, students have due process rights under its Code of Student Conduct, faculty have these rights by Kentucky statute, James’ coach and the athletic director have these rights via their lucrative contracts, and UK has these rights via NCAA Bylaw 32, which affords it the rights, when it is being investigated, that it has ironically denied to James. In addition, all of these persons have the rights guaranteed by the Kentucky Constitution. However, James is being denied these rights. Indeed, despite making massive profits on the backs of student-athletes, the NCAA provides no due process protections to student-athletes like James;

Second, what the NCAA cloaks as an “interview” is in reality a prosecution and execution by ambush without notice of what the subject matter will be. On top of that, the NCAA sometimes relies on confidential witnesses, dubious so-called “evidence,” like blogs, without any standards for credibility or weight, and so on. The NCAA acts like an unscrupulous bully by doing essentially whatever it wants without regard to the rights of student-athletes;

Third, at the end its prosecution and execution of a student athlete, the NCAA, does not even have to put its reasoning or the alleged violations in writing to James. With absolute power over the athlete—as the UK AD put it, “the NCAA holds James’ life in its hands”—the NCAA is completely unaccountable to student-athletes;

Fourth, the schools like UK, which described itself to James as just the NCAA’s messenger, are forced to do the NCAA’s dirty work. Under NCAA rules, only UK can suspend James, and all suspensions are indefinite by definition. Indeed, UK indicated to James back in September that, if he went to the NCAA “interview,” he would be suspended— even though UK said that it did not know why. Thus, James has already been told going to an interview means suspension, and under NCAA rules, the suspension is indefinite and possibly forever;

Fifth, in December, James was told by UK that, if the interview was about the No Agent Rule, and if James went to the “interview” and asserted his attorney-client privilege regarding his communications with his attorney, it would be interpreted as not cooperating, and he would be suspended. In fact, UK told James that the NCAA Bylaws superceded his right to have confidential and privileged communications with his attorney, which is mind-boggling. In a nation built upon due process and equal protection, the NCAA’s refusal to respect student-athletes’ right to counsel is staggering;

Sixth, once suspended, only the NCAA can reinstate James, and it can impose whatever penalties it wants as a condition of reinstatement. James has no right to even seek his own reinstatement, and only UK can supposedly “represent” him on reinstatement, subject to whatever position regarding his future it decides to take, even if James disagrees with it. Thus, in layman’s terms, the NCAA has banned James from having any individual right to appeal, so it can do whatever it wants to him, and he has absolutely no recourse of his own; and

Seventh, UK which is beholden to the NCAA, scared of the NCAA, and the selfdescribed messenger of the NCAA, stated in its press release that it is “disappointed” that James is unwilling to go through “the normal NCAA process.” This is astonishing, because in a civilized society, the “normal NCAA process” is hardly normal and is about as un-American as it can get. Hypocritically, UK and the other NCAA members do not believe that such a process would be fair to them, since they have negotiated their own due process protections that apply to them, when they are investigated by the NCAA.

James’ lawsuit against UK was a civil rights case under the Kentucky Constitution, where he challenged the denial of due process rights to student-athletes, yet the circuit court did not even discuss the merits of this challenge. Likewise, the court of appeals did not analyze or even discuss any of the specific arguments advanced on James’ behalf, and, instead, it blamed James for this situation, which was hardly of his own making. While James could have sought discretionary review in the Kentucky Supreme Court, any such review, if at all, would most likely have come long after the baseball season was over, thus making the effort a futile one, all the while leaving James in limbo during the remainder of the season.

At some point, James believes you have to stand up for what is right, and James has decided to do so by taking a leave of absence from the University. James understands that his life will be defined by his principles, and he is making a heartbreaking sacrifice to stand up for what he believes is right. James is a wonderful young man with a bright future, and he will emerge from this process stronger and wiser than he was before. I look forward to that day very soon, when I will be able to see him pitch in the Major Leagues.

In conclusion, James apologizes to his teammates and coach, who are stuck in the middle, just like he is. James wishes his teammates and his coach a successful season, and he will be there in spirit cheering them on. James is and always will be a Wildcat at heart.

Sad ending to a sad story.

Super-baseball agent Scott Boras has a new client, Cleveland Indians rising start Shin-Soo Choo.  The right fielder, who hit .300 and 20 homeruns last year is part of the Indians grand scheme for the future…maybe.  The recent change in representation to Boras from Octagon Worldwide’s Al Nero, may throw a curveball at the Indians chances of locking Choo up at the price they want.  Choo is up for arbitration after the 2010 season, and a free agent in 2013.

There is, however, an obstacle standing in Boras’ way to collecting a big payday from Choo.  As a native of South Korea, he must serve two years in the South Korean Army before reaching 30 (two years from this July).  There are two ways he can get out of this: 1) If his team wins the gold in this November’s Asian Games, or 2) he gains his U.S. citizenship, and its been rumored that he’s studying for the test.  Maybe Boras has some pull in the INS?  Boras must see that special something in Choo, because he’s willing to take the risk of what two years away from professional baseball might do to Choo’s game.

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].

MLB Mock Drafts are much less exciting than NFL Mock Drafts.  The NFL Draft only has 7 rounds, but most “mock experts” only predict the first few rounds.  The MLB, with 50 rounds, is almost impossible to guess.  But the first round picks are usually known a year ahead of time.  With high school and college seasons just beginning, a few players who right now may not be projected as top picks will be able to translate their remarkable upcoming seasons to a first or second round draft grade.  Again, most first rounders are already known.  One of those “sure fire picks” is James Paxton.

James Paxton was supposed to be the #1 pitcher for the University of Kentucky this season.  He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the #37 overall pick (in the supplemental first round) of the 2009 MLB Draft.  Instead of signing after his Junior campaign, he decided to come back to the University of Kentucky to help his school in his Senior Year.  As a ‘thank you’, the University of Kentucky suspended him because he would not cooperate with NCAA investigators who wanted to question him about his advisor (Scott Boras) supposedly having direct communication with someone from the Blue Jays front office after Paxton was drafted last year (an NCAA rule violation).

The University of Kentucky began its baseball season last Friday, and James Paxton was not on the mound.  He should have been, though.  He still is projected to be a top-half of the first round pick.  Draftsite.com pegs him as the #7 overall pick; MyMLBDraft.com thinks he will be the #12 overall pick.  Whether or not Paxton plays, he is still seen as valuable, but will his performance and/or demeanor be affected by this legal nonsense?

My main concern continues to be the potential ramifications that this may have for future student-athletes in deciding whether or not to retain an advisor leading up to and following the MLB Draft.  Baseball parents cannot be thrilled to hear that having an advisor could lead their children to missing out on their final season of student-athlete eligibility.  In the end, the athletes who really could use strong advice from seasoned advisors will end up suffering.

The University of Kentucky still lists Paxton on their official roster.  Too bad no one can see his number on the field.

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].

Busy weekends is the norm over at Scott Boras Corp. headquarters.  This past weekend was no exception.  Scott Boras has been busy playing with the media concerning Johnny Damon negotiations, but he also had a client fire him and subsequently was hired by a different professional player.

Johnny Damon is not the only Scott Boras Corp. free agent waiting to sign an term sheet with an organization.  Felipe Lopez watched as Orlando Hudson signed a 1-year, $5 million deal with the Minnesota Twins and started wondering when his pay day would come.  No longer interested in playing the waiting game and happily placing the blame on his agent, Lopez fired Boras and picked up Dan Lozano of Beverly Hills Sports Council as his representatives on record.

But Boras also gained a new client.  This one came by way of Hendricks Sports Management, which cannot be having fun defending itself in this pending lawsuit.  The Hendricks Brothers are being sued by Edwin Mejia and Athletes Premier International after Edwin and API lost Cuban defector, Aroldis Chapman, to the Hendricks Brothers.  When Chapman made the switch, many inferred that Hendricks client, Kendry Morales, played a big role in the change of agents.  Interestingly, Morales has now fired the Hendricks Brothers and has signed with Scott Boras Corp.

Is there no allegiance in this business?  Okay, stupid question.

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].