Money Players

An * next to my name?

And this concludes my week as a full-time blogger. It's been fun. Like Dock Ellis who pitched a no-hitter in 1970 under the influence of drugs (LSD), my performance was made possible by liberal amounts of Vicodin, a mindblowing narcotic that was just what my LICENSED doctor ordered. Hopefully, this revelation does not taint my performance. On the other hand blogging doesn't take much talent, as Buzz likes to remind everyone. (Buzz when he wakes up on the right side of the bed.)

In all seriousness, I had ACL knee reconstruction surgery one week ago. The first couple days were not fun, but I am doing much, much better (No vicodin in the last 24 hours!). Tomorrow I return to my regular work schedule.

Thanks for the many well wishes.

Keep visiting Money Players -- the stats are my motivation to keep on blogin'.

Some highlights from the last week

SportsAgentBlog.com interviews B.J. Armstrong Great interview done by Darren Heitner. Mostly interested on what B.J. has to say about World Wide Wes, O.J. and David Falk.

Kirk Wright commits suicide Sad ending to a person I've covered for the last couple years.

Championship running with the Bulls On the Bulls winning the lottery, their 90s championship run, and not-so-pleasant image of GM Jerry Krause with his shirt off.

The Agent Riddler strikes again Agent David Falk dished dirt a second time with CNBC's Darren Rovell. This time Falk's riddle isn't that difficult to decode.

More OJ Mayo coverage Got more interesting when someone who posted comments alleged to be former BDA employee. And also my response to Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop.

NCAA Enforcement and the blame game A primer on NCAA enforcement issues. Did NCAA prez Myles Brand really say his organization had "new information" in the O.J. Mayo case?

Kudos to Sports on My Mind blog for its provocative coverage of the O.J. Mayo saga. One post invokes my book to make his point. Smart. Another explores our culture and the "one and done rule" Note: I've said this before, but "one and done" is not a rule. The NBA only requires US-born players to be 19-years old and one year removed from high school. Players don't have to spend their "gap year" at an NCAA institution. They can play in the NBDL or Europe.

Money Players Amazon.com Sales Rank  #252,035 -- up nearly 1 million slots since my Sporting News interview with Mike DeCourcy! Pick up your copy today!

--Marc Isenberg * with the aid of Vicodin

Cheating is not enough...

You must win and cover the spread too.

Oakland Tribune writer (and father of my bride) Art Spander writes in a column titled, "Great sin of losin' fuels cheatin'":

Sports are supposed to be balancing influences in our wavering lives, governed by exacting rules...We're moved by the scene in "Field of Dreams," when James Earl Jones thunders about the game, "it reminds of what was good and that could be good again." Like the Black Sox Scandal? Like John McGraw grabbing runners belts from the third-base coaches' box? Like members of the New York Giants peering through a telescope from center field in the old Polo Grounds to steal signs?

An athlete always will look for an edge or ways to keep others from finding that edge. When some golfers first switched from wood drivers to metal, it was inevitable all would switch. They dare not fall victim to technology. It was another sort of technology, a chemical one, ballplayers believed was necessary. A year ago, Hank Aaron, discussing the steroid rumors, said in his days, the 1960s and '70s, the drug wasn't in clubhouses. "So I never used it," he explained. "Now, if the guy next to me was using it, I might have been tempted."

All this reminds me of an old cartoon where a father attaches a large metal spike to his little boy's football helmet and says, "Son, I'd rather you win and cheat than play by the rules and suck."

Summer feel-good stories

Haven't had much time to blog in July. Not like I missed anything important. Trying to finish my book, "Money Players: A Pro Athlete's Guide to Success in Sports, Business & Life," which if I continue to not blog should be ready to ship in September.

Sports have not had a carefree, lazy summer. WWE wrestler Chris Benoit tragically put the ultimate sleeper hold on his wife and son before killing himself. After multiple off-the-field transgressions by Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, and Chris Henry, the NFL delivered them swift, severe punishment. Just after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's stronger conduct policy was ratified -- and embraced by owners and players alike -- Michael Vick faces criminal charges for his alleged involvement in a dog fighting ring. Now the NBA is reeling over allegations that one of its referees placed bets on games he officiated. The Tour de France is a complete mess.

And then there's Barry Bonds, who looks pretty wholesome these days, at least relative to the times we live in. As The Onion headline noted, "Bonds Home-Run Scandal Somehow Becomes Feel-Good Sports Story Of Summer."

Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum commenting on the one league which has escaped summer controversy, "Somewhere last week NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was lounging in his deck chair with a tall cocktail and a photo of Sidney Crosby at his side, saying, 'Who cares that the Food Channel gets better ratings than the Stanley Cup finals?'"

The truth will set you (and your fat contract) free

By Marc Isenberg

Yankee Jason Giambi faces a 50-game suspension for telling the truth about steroids.

Last month Giambi told USA Today, "I was wrong for doing that stuff. What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players, ownership, everybody — and said: 'We made a mistake.'"

Not a shocking revelation by Giambi, but it was nice to hear someone involved in the whole steroid controversy speak directly in the light of day, rather than hear from alleged uses in staged Congressional hearings or in leaked grand jury testimony. Most gave Giambi an attaboy for his admission, but not MLB. To them this was their Al Capone moment.

Selig has "ordered Giambi to meet with Sen. George Mitchell,, the chairman of baseball's steroid investigation, within two weeks and said he would defer imposing discipline until then."

MLB can't catch guys red handed so they take after the only "alleged" truthteller. Selig wants Giambi to literally take one for the team -- actually the owners. Giambi can talk to Senator George Mitchell in a confidential forum with full immunity. Anyone want to bet money that the testimony gets leaked?

What kind of messed up world do we live in when the truth has more consequences than outright lies and deception. In the bizarro world of Major League Baseball, the truth can lead to 50-game suspensions. (And in the military, the truth can kill. The military recently discharged 58 gay (not that it matters) Arabic language experts under "Don't ask, don't tell.")

David Zirin wrote on Giambi two weeks ago, but it's even more relevant today now that Selig has made his strong-arm tactics known. Some highlights:

[Giambi's] statement last week constitutes the most honest and interesting talk in two years--ever since the anabolic institution of Major League Baseball was born again as straight-edge.

Tim Keown, in a moment of sanity, wrote on ESPN.com, "If Major League Baseball attempts to get punitive with Jason Giambi for his tacit but not explicit admission that he used steroids, it will constitute a new level of hypocrisy. And if baseball's investigation gives the Yankees the shield they need to attempt to void Giambi's contract, it will constitute a new new level of hypocrisy... Baseball, the entity that closed its eyes and counted its money for years and years while extolling the virtues of the artificial long ball, is now threatening to come down hard on the one guy who might provide a sliver of salvation to the whole episode."

Often I am asked why athletes don't speak out more on issues of the day. Here is another example of how the athletic industrial complex hammers those who step out of the shadow of cliches, who actually have something to say.

Roger Goodell to NFL teams: Zip It

NFL commish Roger Goodell set memos to NFL teams warning them not to leak confidential information. While NFL fans have an insatiable appetite for draft informaiton, it is imperative that NFL teams protect private information concerning draft prospects. This issue comes up every year, typically over leaked Wonderlic Test scores. NFL teams have legitimate reasons to conduct extensive background checks. However, if they are going to acquire this information, NFL have a responsibility to ensure that players' rights are protected.

Last week Pro Football Weekly revealed that three top NFL prospects admitted marijuana use.

Goodell told USA Today, "I'm troubled by the breach of confidentiality. Whenever you get into these situations leading up to the draft, you have a lot of misinformation put out there...We've got to be very careful not to let information that is supposed to be confidential get distributed."

The big steroid testing bully gets a Stern lecture

With prodding from Congress and the media, owners and league commissioners have pushed for stricter steroid regulations and testing. So the game is on to root out the evil doers. Yes, I do think players bear responsibility for what they put into (or on) their bodies. But that doesn't mean players (even owners and commissioners) should roll over when the drug testing attack dogs bark.

Many people think players associations have moved slowly on the issue, which I think is an unfair criticism. Players associations are, in fact, working to eliminate steroid use and, at the same time, preserve athletes’ privacy and prevent owners from using drug testing as a weapon against players.

The media and Congress have built strong cases against athletes often without all the facts. Notable examples: the positive A sample of Marion Jones and the leaked grand jury testimony in the BALCO case.

Dick Pound, as head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), has used his power to severely criticize professional and amateur governing bodies for being lax when it comes to drug testing. The solution, of course, is simple: hire WADA to administer the drug testing programs.

I am against athletes using steroids, both from a competitive standpoint and for health reasons. But the question is, how do we approach the problem in a sensible, fair way?

For starters, listen to NBA commissioner David Stern. Said Stern,"[WADA] is actually getting harder to take seriously. Whenever an organization which purports to be even-handed and fair announces that a 'B' sample isn't necessary, then they lose an enormous amount of respect."

Stern continued, "We have these very intense procedures we deal with our players on, and we throw them out if they fail the tests. But we also have a number of processes in place to protect them."

Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins said it best in 2004:

"That phony careerist and human necktie Dick Pound should promptly remove himself from public life and quit trying to enlarge his reputation by wrecking the reputations of others."

Two years later that's still wishful thinking.

Shawne Merriman's positive drug test

San Diego Charger Shawne Merriman has been suspended by the NFL for testing positive for a banned substance. He is appealing this suspension.

I am definitely against players using steroids. While many are ready to attack Merriman, he does deserve some benefit of the doubt. At least until we have all the facts.

There are rules and procedures which must be followed in order to protect the integrity of the drug testing program. Unfortunately, someone from the team and league leaked information to the ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

On ESPN.com, Mortensen reported team and league sources told him that Merriman's suspension was "definitely for steroids … not one of those supplement deals."

Merriman's attorney David Cornwell correctly pointed out, "Someone breached the confidentiality provision of the NFL's drug policy, which is subject to a $500,000 fine."

Cornwell claims that any steroids that may have been present in Merriman's body was the result of tainted supplements.

Said Cornwell, “(Merriman) has been playing, unwittingly, Russian Roulette with his career, because he has been taking the same supplements and has been subjected to testing and hasn't yielded a positive test. So he thought the supplements he was taking were safe.”

Unfortunately, this is more of a commentary than a defense. Tainted supplements is certainly plausible, but this claim likely won't help Merriman.

The bottom line is the NFLPA agreed that players are responsible for whatever goes into or onto their bodies, knowingly or unknowingly. Even if they're getting a massage, they need to know what is being rubbed onto their skin. Ignorance is not an excuse.