Former Major League right-fielder Tim "King Fish" Salmon, one of the greatest players in the history of the Anaheim Angels, is the "talent" on an upcoming panel "The Art of Representation," which will explore the relationship between talent and agency.
     The panel, part of the annual Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium, will be held at 10 a.m. on Oct. 18 in the Great Hall in Armstrong Hall at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
     The symposium kicks off at 9:30 a.m. with a keynote by Mike Kennedy, co-founding partner of Gallagher and Kennedy in Phoenix and chairman of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. Kennedy will give a behind-the-scenes view of preparing for the Super Bowl. An entertainment panel is scheduled for 1 p.m.
      "I'll be giving the perspective from an athlete's point of view," Salmon said. "Sometimes what you read in the papers, the amount of money we make, the players come off a little bit on the greedy side.
     "That's because the public doesn't have an understanding of the whole process. The way our agent represents us has a big affect on our peers. If you're the top free agent out there, you're driving the market.
     "It's like real estate. If you sell your house for less than market value, you're hurting everyone in your neighborhood."
     The event is sponsored by the Sports and Entertainment Law Students Association, the W.P. Carey Sports Business M.B.A. Program, ASU's Herberger College School of Theatre and Film and ASU's Graduate and Professional Students Assembly.
     Scott Seymann, president of the Sports and Entertainment Law Students Association, said the symposium will help people understand the system.
     "The goal of this symposium is to give people an opportunity to learn about the realities of sports and entertainment law careers first hand, from real world professionals," Seymann said. "This field is fascinating to many, but often seems mysterious and elusive. We hope to lift the veil a bit and debunk some of the myths."
     Brian Mueller, a sports and entertainment attorney at Mariscal, Weeks, McIntyre & Friedlander, will moderate the sports panel, which in addition to Salmon and Kennedy, will include Jim Kuzmich, vice president and general counsel for Gaames, a Scottsdale company that represents professional baseball players; Pat Murphy, ASU's head baseball coach; and Nona Lee, vice president and general counsel for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
      The entertainment panel will be moderated by Brent Roam, a third-year law student, actor and musician, and will include Richard Schulenberg, an independent entertainment attorney from Beverly Hills, Calif., Booker T. Evans, an entertainment attorney at Greenberg Traurig in Phoenix, Gary Goldman, former head of Fox Animation, animator and animated film director and producer with the Bluth Group in Phoenix, Matt Connelly, a licensing executive director for McFarlane Toys in Tempe, and Connie J. Mableson, an entertainment attorney with Dodge, Anderson, Mableson, Steiner, Jones & Horowitz in Phoenix.
     The symposium is free, but attorneys may register for up to four hours of CLE credit for $150. Breakfast and lunch will be served.
     For more information, contact Seymann at (480) 365-8000, or scott.seymann@asu.edu.
     Salmon was Rookie of the Year in 1993 and a crucial part of the Angels' playoff and World Series run in 2001, hitting two key home runs in Game Two of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants.
     He said negotiating got easier for him over the years.
     "Early on, there's no doubt that having an agent brings you better value in the marketplace," Salmon said. "But as a player becomes more veteran, he's established the kind of player he is, and it's not hard to estimate his market value.
     "After so many years, you start creating a foundation for the way you play. Your numbers speak for themselves. And in my instance, I didn't want to leave my team, so the negotiations were easy."
    Salmon moved to Arizona in junior high, graduated from Greenway High School and attended Grand Canyon College (now University) where he played for three years before signing with the Anaheim Angels in 1989.
      "Early on in my career, in the old-school days, things were more emotional with the ownership and the general manager," Salmon said. "They'd say things like, 'This guy's got a lot of fire. We want this guy.' Now, there's more statistical analysis and scouting. The agent's job is to determine how the player will fit in the organization, what kind of player he is in the clubhouse. It's more than a backroom handshake. There's a lot more dollars on the table nowadays."
     Salmon retired in 2006 as the Angel's all-time leader in home runs (299), runs scored (983), walks (965), and hitting percentage (.499) . He is second in franchise history with 1,012 RBIs, behind Garret Anderson.
     Salmon said he now has time to coach Pop Warner Football and Little League for his kids - a 14-year-old daughter, 11-year-old son, and 7-year-old twins, one boy and one girl. He's also trying to fit in more golf, and going back to school to finish a bachelor's degree in management.
     "I have a ton of interests," he said. "If I were younger, I could see myself going to law school, med school, getting a pilot's license. I'm excited by any kind of experience that will broaden my horizons."