Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah! Not the easiest of weeks for Sports Agent Blog. We encountered significant downtime, which was both a curse and blessing. It is the byproduct of outgrowing our servers, which I guess is a great problem to have. The site is still in the process of migrating to a new host, but hopefully downtime will be minimal in the next few days. Thanks to all of you who frequently visit the site and led to our lack of available memory. Now you have a new challenge — keep spreading the word and give us problems with our new server! This week on FORBES: (1) Russell Westbrook Adds Flashy Underwear Company To Endorsement Portfolio; (2) How Stevan Ridley Of The New England Patriots Defied Odds To Become An NFL Running Back; (3) Independent Writing Platform Rant Sports Secures $3 Million Investment; (4) Winners And Losers From Shortstop Jhonny Peralta’s New $53 Million Contract With The Cardinals; and (5) $24 Million Investment In DraftKings Should Shake Up The Daily Fantasy Sports Space. And as always, the weekly wrap-up:
Baseball
- All-star list of attendees at Michael Weiner’s funeral . . . may he rest in peace [Funeral attracts opposites].
- Shapiro is known for representing some of baseball’s best, among many other accolades [Sports Agent Ron Shapiro On The Three Keys To Negotiating A Successful Deal].
- Looks like no news on this front yet [Japan execs coming here to try to resolve posting issue, free Tanaka].
- Great resource brought to you by MLBTradeRumors.com [2014 Arbitration Tracker].
Football
- Players searching far and wide to recover their losses [NFL players file arbitration claim over failed casino project].
Hockey
- His off-ice income of $4.5 million helps put him at No. 1 [Sidney Crosby Tops List Of NHL’s Highest-Paid Players On And Off The Ice].
Sports Law
- Joe Nocera claims the NCAA has done a nice job brainwashing the country [The North Carolina Five].