The Sports Idiot

Earlier this week it looked like Atlanta had signed former Brave Rafael Furcal to a three year deal.  Speculation immediately turned to whether or not the Braves would trade either Yunel Escobar (the current Braves SS) or Kelly Johnson (the current Braves two bagger) for help in the rotation.  Meanwhile, Furcal and his agents, Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, had other ideas.  Not only did they break their verbal agreement with the Braves, but they used the term sheet the Braves faxed them as a negotiating tool with the Dodgers, whom Furcal wound up signing with.

Frank Wren was obviously not happy, and when Big John got wind of all of the dealings he picked up the phone and called Tellem.  Oh what I would have given to listen in on that conversation.  Basically, Schuerholz told Tellem that Wasserman Media Group should not bother contacting the Braves again, about any of their clients.  Ever.

In return, Arn Tellem released a seven point statement from Wasserman.  The best part is point number seven, in which he basically threatens the Braves and tries to pwn them:

7. If it serves our clients we will continue to present opportunities to the Braves, which in accordance with the rules governing Major League Baseball, the Braves must entertain. We hope that once emotions have subsided, the Braves will act in a manner consistent with not only their obligations under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and The National Labor Relations Act, but also the best interests of the franchise. In short, we would not want this incident to color their better judgment.

What Tellem is ignoring is the fact that not only are Schuerholz and Wren pissed about this, but other GMs are taking notice.  Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown said that Yahoo spoke with “several GMs and agents” who said that “the term sheet constitutes a handshake agreement, and they couldn’t recall a situation when such an agreement was broken.”  ESPN’s Steve Phillips has stated that he can not recall any time when a term sheet was not seen as an agreement either.  Phillips would know, as he is a former GM himself.

Bottom line is Wasserman Media Group acted unethically and now they think they can strong arm the Braves in the future.  Good luck with that, Mr. Tellem, and thank you in advance for giving me an easy out on my next DBoTW.  In the end, nothing will come of this, and I would think that eventually Wren will deal with Wasserman again, but not with either Tellem or Kinzer, who at this point are seen as nothing more than a waste of skin.

Also, check out Beenzie’s fan post on Talking Chop.  He nails it.

In this third entry into the DBoTW series, the competition is getting stiff.  We have already inducted Sean Avery and Kevin Towers into the club, and we could probably get away with giving the nod to Towers again this week.  Luckily for KT there are other candidtates packing a punch this week.

Find out who it is after the jump. Continue reading ‘Douche Bag of The Week – December 17, 2008′

Torry Holt is whining about being called for pass interference.  Sorry Torry, but whether or not the ref “cheated” and looked at the Jumbotron is irrelevant.  All that matters is that, according to your own QB, you pushed off, which is indeed a penalty.  Look, we are sorry that your season is so crappy, and that you were not traded to someone like the Eagles who could have made your 10th year in the NFL a good one.  At the end of the day, you are not on the Lions, so you at least have that going for you.

Our first DBoTW was Sean Avery.  This weeks winner is Kevin Towers, who is the GM of the San Diego Padres.  Why is Towers the DBoTW?  Simple.  Towers thinks that Jake Peavy is worth your entire minor league system, as well as a third teams.  Dude had a great offer from the Braves for Peavy, and he turned it down.  Then he holds the Cubs ransom during the entire Winter Meetings.

Kevin Towers, you sir, are a complete douche.  You could have made your team better, stocked your prospect barrel, and moved Peavy’s “big” contract, but instead you had to keep asking for more.  You thought that you had all of the leverage, and that the Braves or Cubs would cave to your demands in the 11th hour of negotiations.  Unfortunately for you, the GMs of the Braves (Frank Wren) and Cubs (Jim Hendry) are not douche bags, and did not take your poison (yet).

It is time to introduce a new series here at The Sports Idiot, and in our inaugural installment of Douche Bag of The Week, we bring you Sean Avery of the Dallas Stars.   Find out why after the jump. Continue reading ‘Douche Bag of The Week – Sean Avery’