More Career Sports & Entertainment News

Only a day after reporting a major announcement by Career Sports & Entertainment in regards to its expansion from Atlanta to New York City, I have a few more CS&E related stories to relay.

1. As an owner of a fairly popular blog, I am always thrilled to hear news of success stories for others in the blogosphere.  When I read an article in SportsBusiness Journal claiming that SB Nation received over $1 million in venture capital, I was shocked and happy with the growth of the prominence of sports blogs in such a short amount of time.  Along with the funding, SB Nation has announced that Mark Lazarus, President of Media and Marketing for CS&E, will now serve as a senior adviser for the sports blog network.  Will Career Sports benefit from Lazarus’ relationship with SBN?
2. CS&E expansion plans to NYC, possibly being involved with a major new media platform in SB Nation, and then comes the less than wanted news that one of its agents spoke too many words to the New York Daily News.  The comments regarded John Smoltz considering a Roger Clemens-like midseason return with another team and were made by Keith Grunewald, Vice President of Baseball Operations.  Keith was one of the main officers that I worked under at CS&E as an intern.  I will never forget how much he loved my mom’s home-made cookies and the great times we had cracking jokes while I was learning the ropes of the sports agent profession.  Anyway, it seems as if Grunewald upset quite a few Braves fans right in CS&E’s backyard.  Worst of all, the comments shocked Grunewald’s own client, John Smoltz.  To tell you the truth, I think the media is making a lot to do about a small, innocent statement.  This is what Grunewald actually said,

“That’s not a bad approach to say who is winning and who can he help? There will be injuries and poor performance around the league, so that will be part of it. … He won’t be ready for the beginning of the season, but we’re thinking May or June and he could make an impact like Roger Clemens a couple of years ago to help make a run at a playoff spot. John’s made it clear he’d love to finish his career in Atlanta, but that depends on what [Wren] and the guys want to do.”

Grunewald really shouldn’t have said anything, especially since Smoltz and Wren had agreed to resume contractual talks once Smoltz fully recovers from an injury he is currently rehabbing.  Additionally, CS&E has a very strong relationship with the Braves and the rest of the Atlanta community.  That being said, he made a rare mistake, which I am sure will not hurt him nor the company in the longterm.