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SportsBusiness Journal has reported that IMG may be interested in purchasing all or part of Gaylord Sports.  This is interesting news, as IMG has stepped away from representing any athletes involved in team sports, in favor of focusing on individual sport athletes primarily in golf and tennis.  Gaylord has a very strong golf division headlined by Phil Mickelson, David Toms, etc, but the company also has a very strong baseball division, represents some of the best softball players, and has growing entertainment and football divisions.  I find it hard to believe that I

Mark Riddell and David Spriggs may just be the two most popular athletes amongst their peers at the moment. Due to their persistence, they have set a precedent that will help athletes residing in Australia keep a bit more of their income. [Sports stars have win in High Court against the Australian Tax Office]

Riddell, a current Rugby League player and Spriggs, a former AFL footballer took on the Australian Tax Office (ATO) arguing that the money that athletes pay to agents for their services should be tax deductible.

Lon Rosen was one of William Morris Agency’s favorites.  He had a long career as one of the head honchos at WMA, but like many of his colleagues, had the plug pulled on his career with the company when WMA recently joined forces with one of its rivals, Endeavor.  You could not have believed that Rosen would be jobless for long.

One of the best (pun intended) at gobbling up superstar employees/agencies in order to expand its own operations is BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television).  And BEST, an entity of Blue Equity, has hired Rosen and given him the position of Executive Vice President.

Shaquille O’Neal is a great promoter.

And in this day and age, is it incredibly easy to make one’s self visible through the use of social media. Sometimes, though, there are pitfalls (in addition to the downsides of releasing contract terms) of using these outlets.

Such is the case of O’Neal, for one, who has recently spent a great deal of time holding on to the limelight by any means possible, most commonly by his use of Twitter.

This Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up is coming to you from the capitol of Florida: Tallahassee.  Yesterday, I woke up (actually barely even slept because of chirping birds all night) at roughly 6 a.m. to get my girlfriend ready for her MCAT.  Thankfully that battle is behind us.  I feel like I have been studying for the MCAT for the past two months, too.  Don’t get me started about the audio tracks I had to listen to on the ride up to Tally.  How do you like the new toolbar on the bottom of this page?  Make sure to join our Facebook Community by clicking on the Community tab…and send a shout out.  Still working hard on the baseball guys that we are advising, and fielding offers for our basketball players overseas.  Here are some stories I missed this past week:

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.

Wow, it has been a very long and draining week.  But I expected as much going into it.  We have been dealing with the MLB Draft nonstop and will continue to work with our guys who were and were not drafted in the coming months.  Additionally, we will begin to look at 2010 and beyond to pick out exactly which baseball players we think will fit well in the Dynasty family.  Dynasty has also been in talks with various overseas basketball teams about some of our players.  They are commanding quite a bit of interest!  Jason Belmonte and other Dynasty Bowlers will hit the lanes this weekend in New Jersey for the GEICO PBA Team Challenge.  Check out live updates at Be

Previously, I wrote a piece on attendance clauses in contracts of professional sports players. Recently, a story broke which touched upon my analysis.

Drew Rosenhaus, agent of Eagles Tight End Cornelius Ingram, said via his Twitter account, “…we have just agreed to terms on a 4 year deal for rookie TE Cornelius Ingram.” This is great news for Eagles fans and can be seen as great news for other rookie tight ends who are currently awaiting contracts.

Going to be down in Miami for Super Bowl week?  If you have not yet booked your flight and hotel, what are you waiting for?  Not only will the city of Miami be celebrating the Super Bowl, but the weekend before, it will be hosting the Pro Bowl.

I have already started working on the logistics for a few events and gatherings.  With the help of a colleague and friend of mine, Roger Mussa, I am happy to announce one of the first opportunities you will have to mingle and network with people in the sports business world while helping out in making the Super Bowl week a success.

What: Symposium - The Business of Sports Networking - Philadelphia

Where: The Field House, 1150 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

When: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 (6:30 p.m.)

Description:

Russell Scibetti of The Business of Sports blog, is putting together a networking event in Philadelphia, PA.  It is intended for sports business professionals that work/live in the PHI area.

The MLB Draft begins next Tuesday and will last until Thursday night.  Dynasty has been working around the clock to prepare ourselves for next week.  We will be putting in very long hours!  The rain does not seem to stop here in Gainesville, FL.  If we see an hour of sunshine in a day, we consider ourselves lucky.  Today is my 6 month anniversary with my girlfriend…I have a nice little surprise for her.  She will be taking the MCAT in less than 2 weeks…better believe she is a little stressed.  Working on some big things with Jason Belmonte and Super Bowl week events.  Here are some stories I missed over the past week:

Football

When I was in Chicago, I came across a commercial for the Chicago Bliss: A brand new team that will play in the inaugural year of the Lingerie Football League this season on Friday nights.  The Chicago Bliss were holding tryouts last week, just like many other LFL teams around the United States.  The Lingerie Football League is no joke.  Not only are these ladies gorgeous and wearing lingerie, but they are making some serious hits and playing intense football, as well.  Friday night lights has a new definition.

The struggling economy caused a serious financial hit in many sectors. Knowing this, some people still seem to believe that the sports industry is immune to the rigid economy.  Others claim that fans will not attend games or watch sports when athlete salaries remain so high. The average NFL salary rose to around $4 million dollars this past season. In the NBA, attendance was actually up this past season. Although numbers were only 1% higher, this was still the third highest attendance numbers in NBA history.