A CENTURY COMBINED IN Pri'✓a- Ze. Pr-cieeic_e Cindy Diskin James B. Bragman DNP, APN-BC DO, FACP MD Doctor of Nursing Practice Board Certified: General Medicine Board Certified: Internal Medicine Geriatrics & Sports Medicine Board Certified: Internal Medicine Endocrinology & Metabolism Women's Health West Bloomfield Internal Medicine, PLLC West Bloomfield Beaumont Building 6900 Orchard Lake Rd, Suite 313 West Bloomfield, MI 48322 Lawrence V. Mendelsohn Taking The Sports World By Storm Accepting New Patients 248.855.7453 Steve Stein www.westbloomfieldinternalmedicine.com 1736650 AS SEEN IN THE JEWISH NEWS Pre Broadway Tour of Musical Bvrnbardt on Broadway Bravo for a remarkable performance! `Speaking of Art,' WAAM Ann Arbor, MI Mesmerizing for the entire show --Lakeshore Arts, Saugatuck, MI First Presbyterian Church 523 Hendrie Royal Oak Thurs., March 29 2 PM Fri., March 30 7:30 PM Scarab Club 217 Farnsworth Detroit Sat., March 31 7:30 PM Suiday, April 1 2 PM www.BrownPaperTickets.com or at the door For group sales, call 734.864.3244 www.BernhardtOnBroadway.corn Call 248-283-0835 33401 Woodward Ave., Birmingham 54 March 29 4 2012 F Contributing Writer first, let's get the obvious ques- tion out of the way. How did Storm Kirschenbaum get his unusual first name? There's a simple explanation. He was born during a January 1978 blizzard, one of the worst in state history "I don't think there's been a day in my life when I haven't been asked that ques- tion at least once," he said."I'm fine with it. My name is a blessing, not a curse. People remember me because of my name." The 34-year-old Birmingham resident is making a name for himself in another way. He's the president of Metis Sports Management, the state's top sports agency firm and an emerging player on the national and international scenes. While the firm is based in Birmingham, there are satellite offices in Phoenix, Ariz., and the Dominican Republic, and ifs represented by an agent in South Carolina. There are 10 employees. Metis represents 80 professional ath- letes, the vast majority of them major league baseball prospects. Eleven are in the Detroit Tigers organization. Nineteen clients were in big league camps this spring. Houston Astros relief pitcher Fernando Rodriguez and Philadelphia Phillies catcher Eric Kratz are Metis clients who could stick with their parent club this season. "We're having a great year, our best ever. We're adding seven to 10 clients a month:' Kirschenbaum said. "This business is 100 percent referral, so that tells you we have a good reputation. Clubhouses are very small. If you're doing things the wrong way, the word gets around!' Kirschenbaum said he understands why the public — and many professional athletes — have a negative perception of sports agents. He can't change that, he said, but he won't compromise his integrity. "Our job is to do the best we can for our clients, keeping in mind that we're an extension of their family' he said. "I have a great passion for our industry' Kirschenbaum's passion and entrepre- neurial spirit were recognized last year by DBusiness magazine, which selected him as one of its top 30 business owners in their 30s. Kirschenbaum was an outstanding athlete when he was in high school and college. He played hockey and baseball, earning All-American honors in baseball while he was at Birmingham Groves. He played Division I college baseball at the University of Florida and Long Island University-C.W. Post. His career goal at one time was to play in the NHL. That career didn't pan out, but Kirschenbaum graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in political science from Long Island, and he gradu- ated from the University of Detroit-Mercy Law School in 2003. He was employed by a law firm with a sports practice until 2008, when he opened his company. Metis is a word that comes from Greek mythology. She was a goddess of good counsel, advice and wisdom. Her influence seems to be working because Metis has survived in a profes- sion that has few survivors. "It takes seven to 10 years to build a sports agency practice Kirschenbaum said. "Not everybody can do that. Ninety- eight percent of new firms dissolve after about two years!' Kirschenbatun's business partner is Dr. Nelson Hersh, an orthodontist. A former Jewish News High School Athlete of the Year, Kirschenbaum serves on the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation's selection committees for the athlete of the year and the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Alison, a dentist, have a son Cole, 4. ❑ Please send sports news to sports® thejewishnews.com .