Agents are a breed apart
Being obnoxious is their stock-in-trade
The extremely annoying Drew Rosenhaus, agent for Terrell Owens, did something right for his client the other day. In acting at his obnoxious best after the soon-to-be-former Philadelphia Eagle read his possibly even genuine apology, the agent made himself the fresh target.
Everyone now is writing and talking about Rosenhaus, who loves the attention almost as much as his client. Owens- bashing has been replaced by agentbashing. It’s a smart move. Once the dust settles, sooner or later, watch how many NFL teams step up to give Owens yet another chance to display his considerable football talents. He is behaving like a jerk and this isn’t the first time, but there are two things to remember. One is that every pro sports league is full of executives who think they can solve the problem guys and make them play for them and them alone. It will be no different with Owens. Talent trumps temperament, eventually. The other angle is that if the Eagles were, say, 6- 1 and controlling their division, instead of stumbling around, they would be holding their nose and putting up with Owens, warts and all. As Pat Gillick once said when discussing George Bell, who was known to be a pain now and then back in the good old days, a team puts up with a lot more b. s. when it’s winning than when it’s losing.
Rosenhaus, by the way, brings to mind a big-time baseball agent from 15 years ago. Dennis ( Go-Go) Gilbert was a big star then, handling Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Jose Canseco, Bret Saberhagen and Mike Piazza among a top- notch stable.
Gilbert was intensely disliked by many GMs, in much the way super agent Scott Boras is now. Not that he cared. He knew his job was making money for his players and he was good at it. What anybody else, including media and public, thought of him mattered not at all. One morning at the 1991 winter meetings, Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach, Whitey Herzog, then GM of the Angels, went after Go- Go, and loudly, in the breakfast buffet line. Herzog thought Gilbert had two- timed him with Bonilla, ultimately leveraging millions more out of the Mets when Whitey thought
he had the player locked up. Back and forth they went until Herzog, tired of talking, picked up Go-Go and tried to plant him alongside a potted palm.
It was great theatre and Herzog became at least sentimental favourite to be named executive of the year.
Gilbert didn’t exactly fade away. He built a life insurance company that catered to Hollywood stars and made him bazillions. He donated $ 1 million for abaseball stadium for inner- city kids that bears his name in South Central L. A. and led a successful project to help retired scouts who never made any money in baseball and need help now. He also is a special advisor to White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and helps the team ( apparently successfully) in salary negotiations, having learned all the tricks on the other side. He also recommended a former client of his, Ozzie Guillen, as manager. One other thing he probably did: Recognized, in Rosenhaus’ rudeness and grandstanding, an agent doing the dirty work for the guy who pays the bills. ON THE CORNER:
Early returns for the Jim Proudfoot Corner include $25 envelopes from Anne and Bill Lapstra of Brampton, Glenn Buckley of Toronto, Jim and Shirley Sweeney of Pickering, Pat Scull of Willowdale and John Bak of Whitby. Jack Wood at Georgetown Toyota never misses and sends $100 in memory of the great race caller Daryl Wells. Speaking of great ones, Dan Loiselle, Canada’s incomparable voice of racing, adds a Cnote. So, too, does Glenn Duncan of Scarborough and Jack and Jacqueline Wilson of Oshawa. These are the first steps on a long road to help the kids.