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Were you able to digest our breakdown of the first round?  Agencies like ASM Sports and Priority Sports came on strong at the end of the first round.  Which agencies found their home in the second round?

Second Round

After 60 picks and 100,000 trades, we now know who was selected in the 2009 NBA Draft and what teams they may be playing for in 2009.  I will let the other web sites debate over what teams were the winners and losers.  Here, our main concern is sorting out the agencies that were popping champagne vs. those leaving Madison Square Garden with their heads down.  This post will cover the first round.  A second round post will follow.

First Round

In the Phoenix courtroom of Judge Redfield T. Baum, the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy drama continues to play out. On June 15th, Jim Balsillie’s attempt to purchase the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton took a hit. Judge Baum rejected Balsillie’s bid, however the Research in Motion magnate has vowed to keep going in his mission to bring a seventh NHL team to Canada. This is a story that won’t be going away anytime soon.

The NHL Entry Draft begins on Friday.  Montreal is a great host city for the draft and should be a lot like the NFL Draft in NYC with fans cheering and booing with each pick in the first round.  The first two selections are on every fan’s radar.  The debate of who deserves to be the #1 pick, John Tavares or Victor Hedman, has heated up over the last year.

The MLB Draft occurred just last week, but already, three first-round picks have signed with the teams who picked them.  The disadvantage of signing early is that you forfeit seeing what other players are signing for.  There is a possibility that you sign for less than you could make if you hold out until the deadline.  The positive is that you show goodwill to your signing team and get started within the organization as soon as possible.  Many teams will start you on a higher level, and you will be well on your way up the system while your colleagues are holding out for more money.

With the average NFL career lasting about three and a half years, players have to worry about their post-playing careers.  Athletes often seek employment in the sports industry, because most of the time it’s all they’ve ever known.  Many agents make a long-term commitment to their clients by continuing to advise them when their playing days are over.  Likewise, player associations play key roles in many athletes’ lives after retirement.  The NFLPA is going the extra distance to help some of their players prepare for employment with the Internship Program for Players.

Just went through a very draining few days of the MLB Amateur Draft, and the fun is not over yet.  We had some guys drop in the round selected because of signability issues, a couple of guys leave us, and we picked up a few new players to advise.  It really is crazy how this business works.  Nothing will be truly sorted out until the signing deadline, which is August 17.  I should have more information about Dynasty’s new clients at that point.  I can almost guarantee that a few of our guys will go back to school for at least another year.

I have been waiting for today for a very long time.  The beginning of the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft is just hours away (it kicks off at 6 p.m. EST on MLB Network and MLB.com) and will last well into Thursday, until the final pick of the 50th round.

If you are one of the lucky people to have applied this past January for NFLPA Contract Advisor certification, you most probably received an email recently that states whether your application has been approved or denied.  If approved, step one (the easy step) is out of the way.  Now you will have to attend the NFLPA Contract Advisor Seminar for New Applicants and start studying for the exam that will be given at the seminar.  A passing grade on the exam is required in order to be granted certification.

We all know that keeping in touch with our clients is vastly important for many different reasons.  But we can add another reason to that list: uncovering unexpected/unknown injuries.  In April, TSN reported that Ron Salcer accused the Minnesota Wild medical staff of negligence for failing to diagnose that his client, Bret Burns, had a concussion (concy, in hockey talk).  The TSN report documents how Salcer found out about Burns’s concy:

The NCAA took notice of a recent popular post on this blog: Coaches Can Talk To Athletes On Twitter/FB. What About Agents? Not only was the post published, but I tried reaching out to the NCAA on Twitter to answer the question.  A week and a half went by with absolutely no communication, and then yesterday, I received an email from Cameron Schuh, the Associate Director for Public and Media Relations for the NCAA.

Here is part of Cam’s initial email:

The Andre Smith sweepstakes is over.  For now.  The newest winner (if that’s what you want to call it): Alvin Keels of Global Management Group (GMG).  Just as a recap, here is how Andre has chewed up and spit out agents thus far (in chronological order).

Yesterday was a huge day for Dynasty Baseball.  The division added two new clients, which means that Dynasty now represents 9 players spread out between 6 MLB organizations.  The best part of the two signed players is that neither of them were recruited by Dynasty.  Instead, one was referred by a current client, the other, by another one of our clients and a player who is not even a client of ours.

The NCAA has formally approved the use of Twitter for recruiting purposes.  This is definitely big news for college coaches, who will use Twitter to sent direct messages to high school recruits.  But what about agents?  Agents are bound by strict NCAA regulations that prohibit contact with a student athletes until a certain point of their collegiate careers (depending on the sport).  Now, can agents, like college coaches, use sites like Twitter and Facebook to talk to athletes of any age, as long as they follow specific instructions?  These are the instructions for coaches:

24 hours later, and I have figured out who wants to be Andre Smith’s agent.  The only problem, is that I have no clue who he wants to be the person in charge of his contractual negotiations.

Yesterday, I reported that Andre Smith dropped his third agent (Rick Smith of Priority Sports) and rumor had it that he was planning on re-signing one-time agent of Smith’s, Alvin Keels.  By the afternoon, the world was once again turned on its head.