Hi, I’m The Jaded NYer, and I’m a baseball-aholic.
Hi, Jaded!
With that out of the way, I wanted to take the opportunity, before I get into full swing with post after post about how the Mets are making my blood pressure go off the charts, to explain to you my obsession with the sport. The following is taken/revamped from a previous blog post, written during the 2008 post-season after my team CHOKED yet again, that should clarify it all for you:
My love of baseball has nothing to do with the home team or the stats or even the players that make me swoon (I see you Johan!).
It's the stolen bases, the double plays, the grand slam home runs, the outfielder diving to catch the not-so-easy out, and then playing the rest of the game with a stained uniform- a badge of honor that stain, a reminder of his heroic feat.
It's the crowd booing the umpire, it's the coach getting kicked out of the game, and it’s the empty-dug-out fights on the pitcher's mound.
Shut out games, no-hitters, extra innings, 3 men on 2 outs and 2 strikes in the bottom of the ninth... you hold your breath, and the man at bat knows it feels it and the fate of his team rests........on..........this..........next........pitch
The crowd follows the ball... will the outfielder catch it or will he let it fall? Will it leave the park or bounce off the wall? Fans keep watch with hearts stuck in their throats...
It's watching the older guys pull miracles out of aching bodies, and the young’uns making themselves known
It's the peanuts & crackerjack & hot dogs and beer
It's the 7th inning stretch
It's wearing your favorite player's jersey proudly on your way to the game, and for me and mine...
...it's being able to pass down your love for the game to the next generation.
I love you baseball, whether my team wins or not.
------------ MetsWatch '09: W33-L34-GB2.0 Next game: 6/22/09 VS. STL @ Citifield, Tim Redding (#44, 0-2 for the season) pitching
Any true sports fan is not only a fan of what happens on the field, but the entire sports industry intrigues us. An industry that has a high amount of African American players, but a scarce amount of African Americans that manage their careers. I was excited when I was introduced to Robert London, VP Sports and Entertainment at Dow Lohnes over twitter and was able to get him on the phone to pick his brain about the agency side of sports. Listen to the full interview here and key points are transcribed below.
Eb- What does being the VP of Sports and Entertainment entail? RL- Wow do you have all day? No uuumm...Basically its making sure that all of our NFL Client's brands are protected. We have to create his brand and create his persona, so we do a lot with trying to match certain companies up with players that meet his personality, his style, and meets his look. Every brand has a specific look and we try to make sure each client has a branding look.
Eb- Who are some clients you represent? RL-Jackson Jaguars starting RB Maurice Jones-Drew;
Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte, total we represent about 25 NFL guys.
Eb-How do you go about pitching a new client? Is it based solely on talent? RL- I don't like to sign guys or deal with guys who I'm going to have to get a call from at 2 in the morning. I don't like the whole "hey can you come pick me up from jail." I'll do anything I need to do for my clients and they know that, but I approach certain types of guys. For instance, guys that have a solid family background, you know what you're going to get with some of those guys. You find out who players really are when you give them a whole bunch of money. You see a player that's drafted in the 1st round several years ago that played CB, he had gotten into some trouble in college and since he went in the 1st round he got 13 million dollars. He's the same person. Now you see who he really is, he thinks he's above the law, thinks he's better than everybody else, he gets in trouble, he's throwing up money in the strip club, and stuff like that. That's who that person is. Those aren't the type of people that I attract. I attract players and clients who understand that the NFL is a means to a greater end.
Eb- Who are some top African American agents besides yourself? RL- There are a couple of them out there but you don't hear about them because for the most part a lot of agents stay behind the curtain. You don't see most of them in the limelight. Without mentioning their names, players like Larry Fitzgerald, I believe he has a black agent. Donovan McNabb has a black agent. So you don't hear about those guys, but you look at the players, and you say wow, these players are well behaved, these players are very business savvy, and they know the opportunity that they have in front of them. Then you say and they are represented by some African American business men and that's impressive.
Eb-Having a dream job there are still challenges you have to face that the world doesn't know. They only show the glory side of the biz, what are some challenges you face? RL- Yeah people see the red carpet stuff, and that's a culmination of hours and hours of hard work in the office. Tons of phone calls, tons of negotiations, tons of hanging up on people and getting hung up on. There is so much that goes into deals and representing these guys. There isn't enough time in the day to get through everything we need to do to represent these players so I work 24hours a day. Whether I'm in my office, or on the plane, or on a commercial shoot, its a 24 hour a day job and it never stops.
Eb-Regular people have access to celebs and athletes that they never had before because of mediums like Twitter. You and a couple of your clients are on twitter so how do you as an agent try to make sure they are using those mediums to their advantage because what they put out there can make or break them? RL- I let my guys know hey, everything that you say can and will be held against you. So use some judgment and some common sense with everything you say. If you use that as a rule of thumb no one can ever attack you. People can always twist your words around in the media but if you're doing the right thing to begin with, no harm can really come of it. You have the myspace thing, you have facebook, the twitter, all these outlets are to benefit these athletes and even me. If I need a message to get out about my client, its easy to put out amongst the millions of people on twitter. Everyone can get the truth versus something that a media source heard about these guys.
Eb- What kind of advice would you give someone that is trying to break into the business? RL- I would tell them don't do it, it ain't worth your time. (Laughs)I don't need anymore competition in this business. (Laughs) No but what I would tell them to do is to go to Law School and learn about contracts. Learn the nuances of business. It's great to have an undergraduate degree but you have no experience in work or business at all, you really need some more backdrops so maybe go get a MBA. Then try to break into the field by interning with somebody. This industry is so competitive and people want to get into it so much that internships aren't paid. So you have be able to say I don't care if I have a 3month internship and I won't get paid because its the experience that I'm getting that is my payment. Also be ready to work 12-15 hours a day because that's what it's going to take.
To get more on the day to day of what its like to be a sports agent follow Rob on twitter: www.twitter.com/mrbobbyo
A couple months ago, I attended an event in Michael K in NYC where Clyde Frazier did an in-store for his classic puma shoe. Of course I got a flick with the legend.Then surfing the internet I found video of the event and I made a cameo...lol, so I had to post it.
It is reported that Dirk Nowitzki wants sole custody of his unborn child. He filed a petition in a Dallas County Courthouse last week that he wants Crystal Taylor (if that's really her name) to give up the baby the minute she delivers if he's proven to be the father.
Her lawyer said to the Beaumont Enterprise, "Our only focus in this case is to ensure the laws of the state of Texas are complied with to protect any and all rights Taylor has in delivery and her rights as a mother." Interesting. It's quite unusual how this woman didn't follow any of the laws of the state of Texas before she got arrested but wants to comply with the laws now that the father wants the baby.
However, I have to give it to Dirk. Even though he has problems stepping it up on the court when the Mavericks need him, he did manage to step up to his role as a father when it became apparent he was going to be one. Kudos to you Dirk.
I was watching SportsCenter, and I heard the news that Donte' Stallworth pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the killing of 59 year old Mario Reyes who was waiting on the bus. His sentencing, 30 days in jail.
Are u kidding me?
He was wasted and took another man's life and all he got was a month in jail? Michael Vick got 23 months over dog fighting, which they still don't have any hard evidence he was involved other than the house where his family lived was in his name. Now I'm just as happy as the next person when a Black man beats the system, but what that says to me is the justice system values a dog's life over mine. Or maybe it's just me......
Today was the debut episode of Slanted Sports with Eb and Shannon. An edgy sports vlog that we'll post every Saturday where we discuss hot topics in the sports world. The raw, uncut, crossing all lines sports perspective. All the crazy things relating to sports that you always think, but never say, we are going to lay them all on front street. Both sports critics in our own right, we can't do anything but give it to you straight.
Each week we will also give out a Slanted Slap of the Week award to a deserving athlete that we feel needs to be slapped. We will also feature a short hilarious clip in the "video of the day" section at the bottom of the home page.
In this debut webisode, Eb and Shannon discuss the NBA Finals, Michael Vick, 4th & Long, and the Slanted Slap of the Week Award goes to Brett Favre. Enjoy!
Don't forget to check back every Saturday for new webisodes!
You know you can check Eb out right here at Sista Sports on the daily but also make sure you check Shannon out every Saturday from 9am-12noon for Sports Saturday with Bomani Jones on 620 the Bull in Raleigh, NC. If you're not in the area they stream online HERE.
