Weekly Sports Roundup - 11-14-17

Perhaps the only industry with more movement than Hollywood is professional sports. We'll recap it all here in our regular look at the happenings across the world of sport.
 
NFL
We've hit the back half of the NFL schedule and the playoff picture in both conferences is beginning to crystallize. One team truly stands out above the fray and that is the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles. MVP-candidate Carson Wentz, a Bruce & Ryan Tollner client at Rep 1 Sports, has quarterbacked a balanced offensive attack that is complemented by one of the best defenses in the NFL. Wentz and tight end Zach Ertz of Caric Sports Manegement have formed one of the most lethal passing combinations in the league this season, with Ertz's six touchdowns the most of any tight end. Wide receiver and USC product Nelson Agholor, a Tory Dandy client at CAA, has shaken off the bust label in his third season with five touchdown grabs of his own, while brusing running back LeGarrette Blount is on pace for a 1000 yard season. Blount, a Zeke Sandhu signee, will form one half of a brutal ground duo with the newly-acquired Jay Ajayi of Select Sports Group. Defensively, the Eagles are led by All-Pro defensive end Brandon Graham and resurgent cornerback Patrick Robinson. Graham, a Joel Segal client, leads the team with five sacks, while Robinson, a Ron Butler client at South Florida Sports, has unexpectedly been one of the league's best shutdown corners in his first year in Philly. The Eagles have had an elite unit on that side of the ball ever since naming former Detroit Lions' head coach Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator. The great success Schwartz has had in Philadelphia despite lacking any major household names has many speculating that Schwartz, a Jimmy Sexton client, will be getting offers to return to the head coaching ranks this offseason. One thing is for certain- with seven weeks remaining, the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC is likely to go through the City of Brotherly Love.  
 
NBA
The young NBA season is starting to take shape and there is no more impressive story than what the Boston Celtics and coaching wunderkind Brad Stevens are doing. The Jordan Cerf client at WME has the Celtics at the top of the standings despite losing star wing Gordon Hayward for the season in the opening minutes of the very first game. As the Mark Bartelstein client over at Priority Sports continues to recover from his gruesome leg injury, fellow acquisition Kyrie Irving and the always excellent Al Horford have picked up the slack. Irving in particular has embraced his new leadership role as the focal point of the offense after coming over from the Cavaliers this summer. Perhaps agent Jeff Wechsler at 24-7 Sports will be able to teach him about the shape of planetary bodies, or at least familiarize him with the work of Eratosthenes in 240 B.C. But that's neither here nor there. The versatile Horford has gotten much more comfortable in his second year in green, with the $113 million dollar man and Jason Glushon client anchoring a Boston defense that is comfortably the best in the NBA through the first month of the season. Young, highly-drafted wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have both impressed so far this season, with the rookie and fellow Wechsler client Tatum looking especially impressive by instantly starting and logging heavy minutes on the NBA's best team at the ripe old age of 19. Brown, an Aaron Goodwin client and at 21 the elder statesman of the pair, has taken a big leap forward in his second season in the league. GM Danny Ainge made a controversial decision to move on from nearly every player from a team that had made the Conference Finals last season, but it has paid big dividends so far. When Hayward returns next season, the rest of the league should watch out.
 
College Basketball
The road to March Madness has officially begun as the college basketball season has gotten underway. To no one's surprise, Coach K's Duke Blue Devils are the early-season number one team, with a roster led by certain NBA players Marvin Bagley III & Gary Trent Jr. Stay tuned to WhoReps to see which agents they and all other likely NBA talents sign with once their season has concluded! Krzyzewski, a Jeff Jacobs client at CAA, is amazingly in his 38th season as the coach of the Blue Devils, and just got his 1000th win at Duke by beating Utah Valley 99-69. His 1073 total wins when adding his seasons at Army rank first all-time in Division 1 men's basketball. Meanwhile, across the country, Gonzaga University athletics has signed a 10-year multimedia rights extension with IMG to remain with them until at least 2028. IMG has held the school's licensing rights since way back in 1999, when the Zags were the new kids on the block, fresh off a thrilling run to the Elite Eight. Things have changed now, as coach Mark Few has transformed the Bulldogs into a perennial power accustomed to playing well into March. Having lost the title game to North Carolina last season and freshman big man Zach Collins to agent Mark Bartelstein and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, Few must find a way back to postseason glory. Star guard Nigel Williams-Goss is also gone, having signed with Wasserman and been drafted by the Jazz. Redshirt senior forward Johnathan Williams will have to step up in his final season. While the team may not have the same firepower as years past, whoever underestimates the Zags does so at their own peril.