Original subtitles

Sports used to be great,

you know what I mean?

There was a certain purity about it.

It was the last Bastian of discipline.

There was players hitting, wanting to play, doing anything.

And then, you know what screwed it up?

Along came agents.

And then agents were with the players.

And instead of the players talking,

you had to talk to the agent.

And then agents had agents.

And then as the agents started up here,

they started going lower and lower and lower.

Then they finally got to Arliss.

Now you talk about the lowest of the low.

- Arliss, he screwed up not only basketball, baseball. - (Arliss mumbles)

He screwed up football... What?

- How are you, man? Great to see you. - Oh, hi, Arliss.

- Hey, look... - I was just talking about football.

Oh, I wanted to thank you for those nice words

you said about me on the network the other day.

I really appreciate that.

Well, you know, if it weren't for people like you...

then I don't know where this sport would be.

Arliss: For most of us,

the dream of becoming a champion,

remains a fantasy,

but for a special few,

it is very much a reality.

We cheer them,

we live through them.

Athletes are our last warriors.

My job is to make their dreams come true.

My name is Arliss Michaels,

I represent athletes,

these are my stories.

♪ Don't know what it is that makes me love you so ♪

♪ I only know I never wanna let you go ♪

♪ 'Cause you started something oh, can't you see ♪

♪ That ever since we met you had a hold on me ♪

♪ It happens to be true ♪

♪ I only wanna be with you ♪

♪ I just wanna be beside you everywhere ♪

♪ As long as we're together, honey, I don't care ♪

♪ 'Cause you started something oh, can't you see ♪

♪ That ever since we met you had a hold on me ♪

♪ No matter what you do ♪

♪ I only wanna be with you ♪

The Super Bowl Sunday for sports agents

is on a Saturday in April.

That's the day the National Football League

holds its annual draft.

Man: Standing by in the players' waiting area.

And I'm Stuart Scott,

and I'm here with Matt Cartwright and his family,

where the big offensive tackle

is one of two players Cleveland is considering taking

with the first pick. You gotta be at least...

Arliss: Actually, the countdown to d-day begins years before.

Fortunately, I have a former player

and first round draft pick

who has been there.

Hey, Swampy.

Hey.

So...

Tell me about Matt Cartwright.

He's a stud hog.

Coaches think he's gonna be the starting offensive tackle

as a true freshman.

Why don't you, um...

put in a good word for me?

Another penny and I'll put in two.

Arliss: The NCAA has strict rules about contacting athletes.

Other agents break these rules,

but never us.

We believe an athletes college career is precious,

a time to treasure.

Announcer: With four seconds left, and two points down,

this 43-yard field goal attempt will be for the win.

The kick is up...

(crowd groans)

It's no good!

Arliss: My people wait until well after a player's last game

before approaching him,

unlike other agents.

That was a tough loss, Matt.

Mike Armstrong, great to see you Matt.

You're wasting your time, Mike.

Arliss already signed him.

Arliss?

Arliss signed you?

Yeah.

Over two years...

Just before he left.

Just be careful, Matt.

Watch yourself or you could end up

like Arliss' first number one draft choice.

His name escapes me for the moment,

but he was a quarterback.

Went to Cal, I believe.

He got hurt, pissed all of his money away.

You see that's what happens when you have an agent

Who really doesn't care about you

after your playing days are over.

Well, have a good day,

gentlemen.

(laughs)

Don't listen to him.

I'm not.

C'mon, I'll take you out for dinner.

You're driving.

Kirby, I didn't bring my car.

Oh, yes, you did.

(alarm chirps)

Your brand new Lexus.

Whoo! Kirby, yes!

Huh?

I think it would be a good idea for you

to enter the draft in April.

I don't know if I'm ready for the pros yet.

I may need my sophomore year to get seasoned.

Ah, seasoning is for chefs, not running backs.

Kirby: Hey, Stanley, let's get a bite.

Arliss: Unfortunately, as much as we believe

in a college education,

there are others from the school of hard knocks

who are stepping into the picture.

I speak of the Johnny-come-latelys

with their fancy cars and clever rap.

Hey, that's T-Bag.

As I was saying, you don't need school.

Hold on.

Mr. Bag, my name is Jermaine Lankford.

I'm a big fan.

Yeah, sure, sure, hey,

I love the way you run, dog.

Hey, is it true that you're going into sports management?

Ah, ah, ah! He merely dabbles.

We here at AMM are exclusively involved in sports management.

Wait, listen.

I'm in need of representation.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, whoa.

Let me talk to you for a minute, dog.

Hey, you need to kill that noise, you know what I'm saying?

- I mean, you a freshman, right? - Yeah.

You got time, man, get that education.

Yeah, man, but Stanley here says...

No, no, listen to me.

Stanley works for Arliss Michaels.

Them brothers would sign my two-year-old boy

if he had a cross-over dribble.

- You know what I'm saying? You feel me? - (laughs)

Now I know you heard my hit song, "Born Fresh,"

'cause they be playin' it.

I step up on the scene like my man Turbo's break routine.

Taking a stick harder than Nell Carter in stretch jeans.

West coast, bow down, kiss my pinky ring.

(laughs)

Tell it exactly, got to stay in school.

Call me back when you're a junior.

Arliss: Though a lot of pseudo-agents

are now sticking their toes in the water,

I say the more, the merrier.

You're signing with T-Bag?

That's right, sorry.

Oh, no. Randy Moss is leaving me for a musician?

Look, I need someone

who can offer me cultural identity.

Someone who understands where I'm coming from.

I understand where you're coming from.

Hell, I helped get you there.

Something wrong with you?

I gotta go.

T-Bag has booked me for a recording session at noon.

Randy, Randy, listen.

Hey, Arliss, hi, Randy.

Randy, don't go, don't go!

I hope you didn't validate his parking.

We don't validate anyone's parking.

(moans softly)

What the hell are you doing?

You look like gentle Ben.

Rita, shit, call Dr. Irv.

I'm breaking out in hives.

It's gotta be...

Chicken pox?

That's right. You obviously never had them as a child.

But I gotta go to New York for the draft this weekend.

Arliss, you've got fever lesions,

severe itching and you look really, really silly.

Now, you're staying home.

For how long?

A week, ten days tops.

A week!

Don't scratch.

Get some calamine lotion.

It will help alleviate the itching.

Where am I gonna get calamine lotion?

You just told me I gotta stay in.

Don't you have someone who can take care of you?

I...

(phone ringing)

Arliss Michael's office.

Hi, it's me.

Oh, did you see Dr. Irv?

Yeah, I did, he said it's nothing serious.

Oh, good. Um, I'll see you Monday.

Sure, have a good weekend.

Oh, one quick question.

Did you ever have chicken pox?

- Umm... - Good, get the hell over here right away,

I need you to pick up a few things.

Arliss: In the days leading up to the draft,

a potential draft choice's stock

can rise or fall due to their workouts.

That's why I have my staff personally supervise

all strength and flexibility drills.

We find this an uplifting experience.

Twenty-six, twenty-seven...

twenty-eight...

Look at that upper body strength.

He's the guy who can help St. Louis

ram the ball into the end zone.

Thirty-two...

thirty-four...

thirty-five, thirty-six,

thirty-seven.

Arliss: In my opinion, attention to detail

can turn into extra yardage.

This can go a long way towards paying big dividends,

and providing valuable information.

Not only for the seller,

but also the buyer.

A lineman running a 4-7.

That's the best 40 yards anyone's run this month.

Must be the shoes.

Matt was awesome,

the scouts needed drool cups!

Cleveland wants to talk contract parameters.

And we already know what spot they're gonna pick.

Numero uno!

Good, good, good, good.

Oh, Rita.

Could I get some soup?

Oh, of course.

What a wuss!

Here's the deal:

I'm gonna be out of the office a good ten days.

You two are gonna have to run the show without me.

Ten days, bummer.

Now, I'm counting on you to stay on Cartwright.

That means no DUIs, no bong smoking,

no pub brawls before Saturday.

Don't worry about Matt, his head's on straight.

I'm talking about you, Kirby.

Take care of yourself.

We'll keep you in our prayers.

I gotta go. I... I... I'm just too weak to talk, bye.

Bye.

Jesus, what a baby.

Really, grow a dick.

You know, you might wanna be sure the phone is disconnected

before you remember me

in your goddamn prayers!

Jeez, you look like a goalie for a dart team.

Thank you, Mother Teresa.

Can I go now?

Of course.

Although some Jell-o would be good for my throat.

I asked for lime, but that's, okay.

Hey, Matt, my man.

I just got off the phone with Cleveland

and they were so impressed with our private workout,

they're considering making you

their number one pick.

That's great, but Kirbs,

I've already come to a decision on an agent.

Decision, but I thought you already...

No, no, no, I've been kicking tires,

test driving agents. Now I found a home.

What do you mean you "found a home"?

Armstrong, are you goin' with Armstrong?

No, no, I'm keeping it real.

Real?

Yeah, I'm going to "Free To Fly" Management.

T-Bag!

Yeah, T-Bag.

He's hooking me up with a record deal and my own clothing line.

Matt, you and me, I mean,

we had a cultural kinship.

He doesn't know what you've gone through

growing up as a white man, I do.

Shame, shame, playing a race card.

Matt Cartwright has a contract at AMM.

And we intend to enforce it.

Oh, I'll tell you what.

It you're willing to forget about that,

my client is willing to forget about

all the cake you paid him

during his college years.

Otherwise Matt is ready to sing to the NCAA.

Oh, and he'll skate.

You know the rules, man.

He won't have to pay you back none of your damn money.

And your sorry asses won't be recruiting

on college campus' for a long time.

That about covers it, Cochise, keep it real.

Matt Cartwright is white!

Yes, as of noon yesterday.

T-Bag is going after my white clients?

Arliss, easy, you're gonna get sicker.

Oh, you don't know how much sicker I'm getting.

If I can't keep T-Bag away from my white clients

I might as well fold the fucking tent.

Actually, you know our white clients make less than our black clients.

What are you doing?

I'm not sure I had the chicken pox.

You two should call your moms.

You know, I can't believe we lost a potential

number one draft choice.

We put a lot of time and effort into Matt.

We put lot of money into Matt!

$200,000 incentive pay,

one Lexus, one Concord trip to Paris.

We had a contract with him!

They're threatening to, uh, call the NCAA.

You two have to fix this.

Us?

Yeah, it happened on your watch.

Godamn it, a guy can't get the chicken pox

without his whole fucking operation going down the drain!

You're gonna pay T-Bag a visit.

You hear me? Now! I want my client back!

I want him back!

(rapping): ♪ Bad, but not catastro... ♪

♪ I got her respect with no hassle ♪

- ♪ I'm still the same brother, light skinned, curly afro ♪ - ♪ Curly afro ♪

♪ What's up though? I'm still the same homie ♪

- ♪ A superfreak, I blow a G a week ♪ - Uh-huh.

♪ Tax be running rubber up the street ♪

Hey, hey, Taj, Taj, let me marinate on that last verse, man.

- You wanna take five? - Yeah, yeah.

Okay, baby.

Kirby: Yo, T...

What's up, gentlemen?

Let's talk about Matt Cartwright.

Start talking.

First of all, he's not your client.

No shit.

And secondly you... Huh?

You're right, he ain't my client.

Armstrong hijacked him away from me.

Armstrong?

Man, that motherfucker personally gave Matt

a ten million dollar signing bonus.

Jesus, if he doesn't go in the top five,

Armstrong stands to lose a hell of a lot of money.

Yeah, but thanks to us

getting everybody horny for him,

he probably is gonna go in the top five.

And this fool disrespected me, man.

You know what I'm saying? You feel my pain?

Armstrong went on ESPN talking about

I'm an amateur, a wanna-be.

What the fuck is that?

Yeah... Disrespect.

Armstrong respects nobody, he never has!

We gotta change that, he's gotta go down.

Midnight cowboy got some grudging, huh?

Is this personal?

Yeah, yeah, I think it is.

I say, we form a little cultural kinship

based on the unifying color of green.

Gentlemen,

it's time to go into the two-minute offense.

Let's go to Stuart Scott

who is standing by in the player's waiting area.

And I'm here with Matt Cartwright and his family,

where the big offensive tackle

is one of two players Cleveland is considering

taking with the first pick.

You gotta be nervous.

I'll tell you, Stuart, I am a little nervous...

Well, well, well, it's, uh, Huggy Bear,

and AMM's nut squad.

I thought only agents with players

expected to be taken in the first round

were allowed into the backstage area.

Or did you sign one?

We already did.

Hoss Cartwright over there,

'til you snaked him.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Matt approached me on his own.

Is that Grecian Formula seeping into your brain?

Don't try to play us.

Word.

Alright, here's the deal.

We split the commission three ways.

AMM and T helped inflate Matt's value.

And a lot of that value is created out of pocket.

We propose that we each get one percent.

Or it's go time.

Not a chance in hell.

I'm the one who stuck my neck out

by writing a check to that kid

for ten million dollars, not you guys.

So, Matt Cartwright is mine, and mine alone.

Tell you what, Mikey, you better wear a cup,

because we're gonna rough up your suspects.

You listen to me,

I'm not intimidated by your street tactics.

I may not be the only game in town anymore,

but I am still the biggest goddamn game in town,

and I will roll and flick you three

like the little boogers you are.

Now, if you'll excuse me,

I have a date with television.

Arliss: With D-Day upon us,

I assume my role as supreme commander

of the AMM forces.

(phone ringing)

Hello.

We're going in.

Okay, listen, hit him hard,

hit him fast, hit him low!

That wore me out.

(phone beeps)

(toothbrush whirring)

Arliss: Rule number one when you hit the beach on D-Day,

never arrive unarmed.

Don't worry Carmen, Matt Cartwright

beat the steroid test in college.

He'll beat 'em in the pros.

I'm sure that the reason

he lost twenty pounds in the past two weeks

had nothing do with the fact

that you guys were testing him.

This isn't sour grapes from a guy

who used to represent Cartwright, is it?

I just want to see the Browns rise again.

Kirby, I'm sort of busy here.

It is Draft Day.

That's okay.

I'm sure picking Matt Cartwright

won't be like when you took

Jim Druckenmiller,

instead of Jake Plumber.

Mel: And the first pick of the draft by Cleveland is...

Reggie Clayson!

- Running back, University of Michigan. - Oh, yeah! Alright!

Reggie Clayson?

I thought it would be Matt Cartwright!

Mel: It always seemed like a toss-up to me, Chris.

Reggie's a big, strong, running back.

You'll be next, huh? You'll be next.

Dallas is on the clock.

Why are you telling me this?

Look, the syringe that was found

in the back of Matt's car

belonged to his diabetic cat.

I could care less about his cat.

What I am interested in is, can he play football?

Then, we understand each other in the fact

that Matt Cartwright does not have a drug problem.

It's just that Noodles,

that's his cat, Noodles is diabetic.

You dig?

And Dallas picks Drew Cappo,

- quarterback from Wisconsin. - (gasps)

Wow, now that's a shock.

- Number two, number three. - We've seen this before guys.

A player doesn't go where he's expected to go.

The team that's picking next wonders,

what they don't know.

No, no, no.

I didn't say Matt Cartwright was with a hooker.

I said Matt Cartwright was with a looker.

No, no, man, you said, hooker, I heard you.

Stan, c'mon, bro, this is me, talk to me.

Was Matt with some hooker?

Oh, my, New Orleans passes on Matt Cartwright?

Goody, goody, goody.

And goes for Nebraska defensive...

Stuart Scott, what's the mood down there?

I think disappointment would be an understatement

at this point, Chris.

(phone ringing)

Yeah.

Good luck getting a ten million dollar signing bonus.

We can end this now,

or are you ready to cut your losses?

Kirby, I'm not afraid of Arliss.

I'm certainly not gonna cave in to his sidekick.

Okay, it was your ten million.

Don't believe the rumor that we're spreading rumors.

Those are just rumors, our rumors are true. Mm.

Oh, wow!

Matt Cartwright isn't even the first offensive lineman taken.

Look out below!

Goody, goody, goody, goody, goody, goody!

This is the best you've looked all week.

This is the best I've felt all week.

Look, Armstrong wrote a personal check

for ten million dollars.

Even if Cartwright goes now, at number five,

Armstrong will never recoup his initial outlay.

It's just a matter of time before he caves.

So, you're better?

Yes...

- So, I can go? - Yeah. Oh, wait.

Wait, wait, wait...

I need a Fig Newton.

Ladies and gentlemen,

if you're Matt Cartwright,

you might feel like you're on the Titanic.

At least Titanic had a band.

You know, this is getting embarrassing.

Embarrassing?

Do you know how much money I blew on you?

Get that fucking thing out of my face, please.

Don't worry, you're gonna go next.

Chin up, huh, chin up, c'mon.

Kirby: Yes, this is Kirby.

Let's talk.

Kirby: Oh, fine.

Stanley: Yo, yo, yo, Mikey.

What's up with your boy, Mike?

If I didn't know any better,

I'd think that someone was running

a disinformation campaign on my client.

Yeah, boy's falling faster than a white heavyweight.

Okay, we split three ways,

if you can get Matt picked number five.

You've got five minutes.

Chill.

We want a portion of the endorsement money.

Plus the cost of one Lexus.

No fucking way.

Hey, Matt.

Remember that quarterback Armstrong told you about?

The one that pissed away all his money?

Well, he didn't finish the story.

Seems he did pretty well for himself.

In fact, he cost your agent a lot of money.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Alright, alright, it's a deal.

But right now, Cartwright's in a free fall.

How are you gonna stop it?

Watch and learn.

What do you mean Mike Armstrong says Matt won't play for me?

Yeah, it's nothing personal,

he's just a little particular.

What, an agent is telling me what to do?

If I want a draft that guy I'll draft him.

I'll turn him into a football player.

Finally!

And with the fifth pick,

Seattle selects offensive tackle Matt Cartwright.

So, finally the big old hoss, Matt Cartwright

has found a home.

Big guy, get over here, come talk to me,

give me some love. What are you thinking right now?

Well, Stuart, I'll tell you this...

Arliss: Draft Day, like war, is hell.

It takes grip, guts, and a little luck.

Sure it gets bloody,

but to the victor go the spoils.

A toast, to our field general,

Kirby Carlisle.

To respect.

Kirby, you'll never have mine

but at least you got Armstrong's.

I'll take respect wherever I can get it.

Mom, what do you mean it was the measles?

Rita, we're going to lunch.

Oh, could you please pick me up

some chicken soup and some Nyquil?

Oh, don't be such a baby.

Oh, don't scratch... Here I come!

Mom!

My name is General Arliss Michaels.

I represent athletes.

These are my stories.

Dismissed.