IS GETTING ITS DRAFT BOARD READY
Buddy Ryan famously referred to Norman Braman as "the guy in France."
Now, Brian Westbrook seems to be embarking on his quest for a new contract by hiring a guy named France, agent Todd France, based in Atlanta. Though as of midafternoon Wednesday, the hiring still was not official, an Eagles source told your Eagletarian, and rumors were swirling that Westbrook might be yet again changing his mind. (Ever notice how rumors always swirl, they never meander or chug?)
First things first: No, this is not the guy who used to kick for the Eagles, the Soul, and a 
whole bunch of other NFL and Arena teams. When last heard from last month, that Todd France had been signed by the Chicago Rush after their kicker got hurt. The agent Todd France reportedly used to joke that he was the NFL's second-most-famous guy with that name, back when he was first starting out.
Right now, Omar Gaither is France's only Eagles client. He also represents former Eagle Takeo Spikes, who was something of a mentor to Gaither. Spikes, an Auburn alum, is typical of France's 30 or so NFL clients, who tend to come from Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech. France went from footnote to major player in 2003 when he left the CSM agency where he'd gotten his start, taking its entire football division with him, including Spikes, who was a star at the time. As you might expect, a lawsuit followed that move, but it didn't keep France Athlete Management Enterprises (FAME, get it?) from flourishing.
France had never represented a first-round pick until 2005, when suddenly he had three of his clients taken there, most notably Auburn running back Ronnie Brown, second overall, by the Dolphins. France also has represented other high-profile runners, such as Priest Holmes.
France isn't known for holding clients out or for engineering high-stakes public confrontations (next question!). But
the Eagles are believed to be concerned that Westbrook's selection process might have come down to which guy made the most lavish promise about a new deal; Westbrook was recently quoted in the Inquirer as saying he thought he deserved $30 million in guarantees, which would be an off-the-charts record for a soon-to-be-29-year-old running back. (Where is Priest Holmes these days, anyway? Maybe Todd France knows.)
Anyhow, it's worth reiterating that the Eagles are eager to have an official Westbrook representative to talk to, that they seem very interested in doing a Westbrook deal. They don't want this to be the season of the unhappy No. 36. But they also aren't guaranteeing $30 million to a soon-to-be-29-year-old running back.
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
