Judge Says: Pass the Mayo

Although we’ve had our gripes about east coast bias and the Gray Lady in particular, it’s clear that the New York media know their basketball.

Rather than jump the gun on this O.J. Mayo matter, the New York Times waited for the story to develop and, as we did here earlier, allowed the inevitable video evidence to appear, in an effort to ensure accuracy in its reporting.

Even better, Pete Thamel provided the proper context in the lead of his story on Mayo in yesterday’s Times, along with some quotes from people who actually know what they’re talking about:

O. J. Mayo, a West Virginia high school senior considered the country’s best guard prospect since LeBron James, has been suspended and is not expected to play tonight in a national showdown game.

Mayo’s team, Huntington High School, ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today, will play No. 11 Artesia High School of Lakewood, Calif., in the Hoophall Classic in Durham, N.C.

More than 5,000 fans are expected at [Duke's] Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game is part of a tripleheader featuring some of the best high school teams in the country. […]

“It’s an amazingly bizarre story,” said Dave Elkins, the director of marketing partnerships for the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is putting on today’s event. “This is the team that’s making so much history in that region.

“To have something like this come up, it’s intriguing.”

Most importantly, Thamel relies on his own eyes, rather than second-hand accounts, using the video to help provide an objective interpretation of what happened.

Mayo picked up his first technical foul for taunting after a dunk late in the second half of Friday’s victory against Charleston’s Capital High School, the No. 2-ranked team in the state. Mayo caught the ball after it went through the net and strutted toward the free-throw line still holding the ball.

After being whistled for the technical, he walked to midcourt, where players from both teams had gathered and were jawing. Mayo then walked away, tucking in his shirt and looking at the sky.

The second technical was called after Mayo walked back toward the players gathered at halfcourt. On the video, he did not appear to say or do anything.

But when the official Mike Lazo walked over to the scorer’s table to report the technical, Mayo followed him. Mayo appeared to make subtle contact with Lazo, his shoulder brushing up against Lazo’s back. Lazo then dropped suddenly to the ground. On the video, it appears that little contact was made and that Lazo’s fall was exaggerated.

Apparently, Thamel isn’t the only one who thinks the ref’s fall was “exaggerated,” as a circuit court judge in West Virginia yesterday ordered an injunction that allowed Mayo to play in the HoopHall Classic at Duke.

According to USA Today’s Christopher Lawlor, Mayo, “considered the nation’s top player,” drove with a family friend for six hours to get to Durham, just in time to “spark” his team to a 73-66 win. Combined with a loss yesterday by the nation’s current No. 1 team (St. Benedict’s of Newark, N.J.) the win should give Mayo’s Huntington High the No. 1 spot next week.

The funny thing is Mayo fouled out of last night’s game with 2:40 left and the score tied at 63. So, we can’t be sure what Lawlor means by “spark,” but I’d say Mayo must be one helluva good player if he can “spark” his team to a win against another nationally ranked team without even playing in the game.

Then again, I don’t know a lick about hoops.

Fight On!

UPDATE: Insomniac's Lounge has yet another take, not to mention a second and third camera angle, pulled from ESPN's PTI. The best part of the clip is Michael Wilbon's comments about Mayo's behavior. Again, we'll see for ourselves soon enough.
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O.J. Mayo: Not So Fast My Friend

As we concluded yesterday, none of us really know what the hell happened when USC's top-ranked basketball recruit O.J. Mayo was ejected from a high school game last Friday night.

But now we have video -- worthy of another Zapruder film reference -- which brings into question the "thug" label being placed on Mayo by those who are supposed to know their hoops.

Take a good look at the clip, from WSAZ Channel 3, the local Huntington, W.Va., TV news station.

Do you see Mayo taunting and jawing excessively with the opposing team and their fans? And, how in the world does a grown man fall to the ground as a result of the supposed contact Mayo made with the ref?

Judging from what we see in this clip -- and again, we don't know what was said or what else happened at this game -- it appears that Mayo may have a right to be upset about the double-technical called on him. In fact, one might conclude from this video that Mayo showed restraint, given all that was going on around him, and that perhaps he deserves the benefit of some doubt.

Make no mistake. The the opinion here remains that Mayo could be coming to USC for the wrong reasons, but perhaps everyone should step back and see this kid first-hand, in action on and off the court, before we fully form our conclusions.

In the meantime, we've got this highlight clip of the game in question, which shows us what all the on-court hype is about.


I guess they don't play much defense in West Virginia.

Fight On!

Hat Tip: AO via Conquest Chronicles.
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USC Hoops: One Year Wondering

Again, I have to ask: Is this how we're supposed to build a basketball program?

Apparently, USC's prized basketball recruit O.J. Mayo got himself caught up in a little on-court, two-technical foul incident that may put him on his high school team's bench for a couple games.

Here's the second-hand account in today's Los Angeles Times:

USC signee O.J. Mayo faces a two-game suspension after being ejected from a game Friday night involving his Huntington (W.Va.) High team in which he received two technical fouls and reportedly initiated contact with an official.

Mayo received one technical foul for taunting after scoring on a breakaway dunk, then a second technical for a verbal confrontation with players from the opposing team.

Mayo reportedly followed an official to the scorer's table to dispute the call and made contact, after which the official dropped to the court.

The opposing team's local paper has a slighly different account, but the The Huntington Herald-Dispatch (W. Va.) reported this:

Mayo received the first technical foul for taunting Capital player Tyrone Goard after a breakaway dunk that gave Huntington a 61-43 lead with 5:15 left in the game. Mayo did not react to the call and walked to the opposite end of the court but was followed by Capital players. A verbal confrontation escalated between Mayo and Capital players before Lazo assessed the second technical foul to Mayo but none to a Capital player. After the second technical foul, Mayo followed Lazo to the scorer's table to object. When the referee stopped, Mayo bumped into him from behind, and then Lazo fell to the ground.

Whatever. We weren't there, and the newspaper and radio accounts of what actually happened are supposedly varied, so who's to say what actually happened. We don't know whether or not Mayo had a legitimate reason to jaw with the opposing players and fans, and we don't know to what extent he made contact with the official.

What we do know is that Mayo will most likely be one-and-done after next season ... a year in which he supposedly thinks he can bring USC to national prominenance the way Patrick Ewing did at Georgetown.

We also know that USC head coach Tim Floyd didn't actually recruit Mayo. The kid decided that he wanted to become a Trojan, thinking that Los Angeles would be a good place to market himself for his entry into the League.

As Tom Purfield of the Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftan pointed out recently, Mayo appears to be a basketball mercenary.

Scanning the wire every working day in this profession reveals many eyebrow-raising stories. But every once in awhile, something small emerges that sheds light on a larger issue in the world of sport.

When Mayo signed his letter of intent to attend USC in November, his comments in an Associated Press story were striking, not so much for their arrogance but for the role he expects USC to play in his life.

"Coach (Tim) Floyd has been an NBA coach and the city of Los Angeles is a great marketing city," Mayo said. "Hopefully if everything goes well, I can market myself for the next level.

"I plan on making a living at this," Mayo said in another AP story. "I feel that's why I was born and put on this Earth, to be a leader, to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever play and to be a great example and role model for the kids and for different people out there who look up toward me."

[...] No excitement about becoming a part of the Southern Cal community. Not even a hint of plans to major in political science or economics.

It's all about making this one year of exclusion from the millionaire club of the NBA as productive as possible - not for the Trojans, mind you, but for O.J. Mayo's pro hoops future.

Leave it to someone who "scans the wire" for news because there is none in his own town to point out what many of us seem to be missing ... this Mayo kid may not be worthy of our Trojan Family.

Remember when Harold Miner (aka Baby Jordan) left USC early to begin his ill-fated career in the NBA? Remember Dwayne Jarrett's presser a few weeks ago announcing his early entry into the NFL?

They were crying, torn up emotionally because they were leaving USC. And we've seen it in other Trojans who understood what it meant to be part of the Trojan Family, what it means to be a Trojan for life.

We'll see what Mayo does, if and when he gets to USC. We don't know him well enough to pass judgement on him just yet. But something ... a few things actually ... tell us Mayo won't be crying when he leaves.

Fight On!
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Yahoo Report: Trust in Reggie, Part III

We've been critical of Scott Wolf here in the recent past, but the Los Angeles Daily News' USC beat writer showed his non-hack chops yesterday.

First, Wolf didn't bother to file a story about the new Yahoo! report. Then, he posted this on his "blog":

There's a lot of focus on the Reggie Bush investigation right now. But what does it mean? The existence of tapes does not necessarily hurt USC because the university could challenge the veracity of them if the NCAA used it to punish the football program. Not to mention that taping conversations like that is illegal.

Even if the tapes are correct, without USC's knowledge or complicity, it would be hard to hold the university liable. That doesn't mean USC is off the hook regarding the chance of getting stripped of a national championship, but we're referring more to probation for the program.

Exactly.

Also, in response to a few emails I received about yesterday's Displaced take on Reggie, I'll again reiterate the position here regarding the validity of the Yahoo! "reporting."

Yahoo! Sports is trying to make a name for itself. It sees this “story” as its Woodward and Bernstein moment.

The problem with [commenting on the Reggie Bush issue] is that [doing so] inadvertently gives too much credit to the Yahoo! reporting. As Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso [...] said on College GameDay outside the Coliseum [in September]: “IF … IF … IF.”

One of the reasons why none of the established, reputable news outlets are investigating this story is that many of the sources involved are scheming sleaze balls, several of whom have already been convicted of white collar crimes.

The other aspect of the story is that all the parties involved are in some form of litigation against each other, which brings into question whatever statements they make. Never mind what that says about the judgment of Reggie and his family in picking their associates, but no real news outlet is going to push this story … unless it is seeking to make a name for itself.

To say it another way, we go to TrojanWire's Rory MacDonald, who further illustrates the point:

[...] the Keystone Kops of investigative journalism continue to treat the testimony of known extortionists as perennial fact, conjuring up retroactive repercussions for USC [...]

Back to those jokers at Yahoo! [...] may we suggest refocusing your efforts on I don't know, technology? Congratulations on finally getting your much-delayed ad targeting software (Panama) done. It's probably every bit as good as Google's (heh), making your stock well worth paying over 2 times growth for (YHOO currently has a PEG Ratio of 2.10).

(Full disclosure: dumped all my YHOO stock yesterday.)

Perhaps someone should investigate the journalism skills (if not the ethical practices) of Yahoo! Sports and its reporters. We've seen the ugla "nation" do as much, when Yahoo! ran a story the bruins didn't like.

Funny how ugla's belief in the reporting at Yahoo! Sports is a matter of convenience. I suppose that's typical of Nestor. (Again, I will not post Nestor's real name, no matter how many times you ask.) But, I digress ...

Regardless of the motive and journalistic quality of the Yahoo! hacks, the fact is that neither the would-be agents involved nor Reggie Bush's family have shown us much in the way of quality, either.

A comment on yesterday's Displaced post from Jonathan Tu of 82 Sluggo Win, sums it all up:

I put my faith in Reggie back in April. An entire season later I feel that my trust can now be withdrawn as the evidence mounts. I don't consider the evidence in the area of "completely, utterly damning" yet, but I do consider it pretty overwhelmingly in favor of the Griffins doing bad things. I'm not sure where I stand on Reggie but it appears he had knowledge.

It's pretty obvious to me that USC had nothing to do with it. The Griffins may be that dumb to cavort with a guy named Michael Michaels (wearing a bolo tie, no less) but Carroll, Garrett and the rest are definitely not. In that sense I'm not worried about sanctions. Some idiots (i.e., Bruins Nation) will probably toss around terms like Death Penalty but if Alabama of the late nineties/early millenium wasn't hit with the Death Penalty no one will be. I doubt USC even gets a slap on the wrist unless the Todd McNair connection has more meat to it.

Frankly, the worst thing about this whole ugly ugliness is thinking back to Reggie's acceptance speech at the Heisman ceremony. He pointed out LaMar and thanked him (LaMar) for teaching him (Bush) how to be a man. I won't lie: that got me a little teary eyed. To think that these infractions were going on at the same time as this speech makes me want to throw up.

Precisely.

Now, let's move on ... or rather, Fight On!
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Yahoo Report: Trust in Reggie, Part II

Once again Yahoo! Sports breaks a bit of “news” about supposed Reggie Bush improprieties, and the majority of USC bloggers hesitate to comment, let alone acknowledge the piece. We’re quick to jump all over the “good news,” but bad news … not so much.

As I wrote back in September, this less than punctual response is understandable. And, really, when you read the new Yahoo! “story” there isn’t much to say in response, except to assess the actual impact this may have on USC Football, all of which was stated several months back. For a quick re-take on this we’ll try a less partial source in the blogosphere, The Wizard of Odds:

What does this mean to USC? The NCAA would have to show USC either knew or should have known about the alleged wrongdoings. At the moment, that's a longshot.

A “longshot.” Not reassuring enough you? Me neither.

Perhaps the most telling element of the Yahoo! piece is the last two paragraphs, which includes quotes from a radio interview Pete Carroll did with T.J. Simers one day after the Rose Bowl.

According to a report first published by Foxsports.com, Bush requested a sideline pass from his alma mater for the 2007 Rose Bowl but USC declined, stating that it had already distributed its allotment of VIP passes.

USC coach Pete Carroll was questioned about Bush's absence from the Rose Bowl on a Los Angeles radio program on Jan. 2, the morning after the game. Radio host and Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers asked Carroll: "You saw the reports that Reggie was told not to come to the Rose Bowl, to stay away from USC. Do you buy that? Do you have anything to do with that?"

Responded Carroll: "No. I know that through this investigation, because he's not cooperating the way they'd like it, there's some issues about that. Reggie gets to do whatever he wants to do. He's not part of us anymore and we can't control any of that. But there's some, I think some opinions from the NCAA that they're mad at Reggie. And, you know, they would not like him to be associated with us. But I don't know what's going on with all that. But there is some stuff.

"I did call Reggie and he didn't hear from anybody about any of that kind of stuff. We're just going to keep working along the best we can and try to keep our head above water and do the right thing and stay out of that stuff. But that stuff, it is kind of nasty. You just don't know where it's coming from and people are out to get you. It can get kind of hard."

“Reggie gets to do whatever he wants to do. He’s not a part of us anymore.” Now, let’s not take this out of context or over-examine the words, but these two sentences say a lot.

Indeed, it is hard. Hard to get to the truth. Hard to know what it all means for USC Football. Hard to trust those allegedly involved, including Reggie.

But, until this thing plays out fully, what else can we do? What else can we say that hasn't already be said …

We can over-think this thing and convince ourselves that it doesn’t matter. Or, we can circle the wagons and trust in Reggie:

I'm not worried about any of these allegations or anything like that, because I know what the truth is, like I said from day one. Once the smoke clears, everybody's going to see we did nothing wrong.

Obviously it does affect you just because it is out there. But at the same time I know there's nothing to worry about. It makes you want to go out there right away and tell your side of the story. Show everybody the facts, the truth. But you can't do that. That wouldn't be the right way to do it

I told [USC] the same thing, don't worry about anything. If there was something to worry about, then I would tell you. But there's nothing to worry about.

Okay, Reggie. We’ll trust you. Just like we did at South Bend last year. Just like we did versus Fresno State in the Coliseum. Just like we did when you pitched a lateral to no one in the Rose Bowl … ?

We’ll trust you, Reggie. We’ll trust you ...

... but we have to admit, it may be harder to do so today.


Fight On!
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Lane Kiffin to Raiders

Steve Sarkisian turned down the opportunity to be the Raiders head coach last week, so crazy Al Davis took the next best thing ... Lane Kiffin (left). Just saw this "scoop" on an ESPN update.

The early take here: USC got ... or rather kept ... the better coach.

Fight On!
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USC Song Girls vs. 'Every Man, Woman and Child'

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of sitting too close to the ugla alumni section during a bruin football game, you’ve seen him. His name is Geoff Strand, and he’s an idiot.

Strand is the annoying guy (if you can call him a guy) dressed like an ugla clown, commanding the bruin alumni (“every man, woman and child”) to cheer on his cue, as if ugla grads are too stupid to know when to make noise for their team. I’m certainly willing to give bruin alums more credit than that, I suppose.

As for the fact that Strand is a fool, the evidence is irrefutable:
The funny thing is this video was posted on the “nation” in reaction to a post by Orson at EDSBS, who used Strand as evidence that ugla fans are apathetic Republicans … or did he really mean Nationalists? I’m not sure what to make of Orson’s point, but the comments it spurred are hilarious (and telling), and the cannibalistic thread that followed the “nation” post illustrates the nature of the ugla fan. Rather than defend their man Strand, the bruins give us this:

If I didn't go to UCLA or was not a Bruin football fan, I'd be clowning that freakinsh show too.

And I would also hurl all kinds of insults.

This is just pathetic. I can see some arguments about having a juggler as part of the band show. But this dude is just a clown. He doesn't belong in a college football game.

Go Bruins!

Never mind the comedic value of comparing a “freakinsh show” to a “juggler” at your own college football game, the irony in this post by “bluestreet” is classic. He says his bruiness prevents him from insulting and making fun of Strand, and yet that’s exactly what he does.

Anyway, “MIMBruin” led off the comments with this:

Do we need some new blood? Abso-freakin-lutely. Student yell leaders of recent years haven't been all that creative or distinctive in their style. I think the last good shtick I saw was the crew that brought a toilet lid with the words "FLUSH 'EM!" or "FLUSH IT!" to spur the crowd onto noise.

Hmmm … I don’t know about you, but toilet humor never got me to cheer at a college football game. Then again, I didn’t attend ugla. Someone else who presumably did is “razksig,” who restored my understanding that at least a few people with brains call themselves bruin fans.

Strand bugs the hell out of me
I just think that the crowd is somewhat apathetic anyway, but having a guy up there saying "don't cheer now, wait till I say to cheer" is so bush league. Fans should be on their feet screaming the entire time our defense is on the field, not just after the opposing team's offense breaks its huddle. Football is one sport in which the home crowd can have the greatest effect on the outcome of a game, and this geriatric clown is one thing holding back an already tame crowd. […] I hardly remember Strand leading our section during the SUC game, which was not the case for every other home game I attended. I appreciate his intentions, but he is terrible.

“Bush league” … “terrible” … that’s a good way to put it. But “bluestreet” was even more to the point in his second go around.

[Strand] is a nice guy and all. I am sure he is a good guy.

But he dresses like a freak. He looks creepy along the sidelines. Frankly I think its kind of embarrassing.

He should limit his little routine to alumni gatherings. But even then, his routine is just silly and embarrassing.

“Freak” … “creepy” … “silly” … “embarrassing” … LOL. Of course, you can’t have a thread at the “nation” without some Trojan bashing, and “babyblue98” delivers on cue:

That guy [Strand] has always kind of annoyed me. i've always said who's to say he gets to be the voice who represents the bruin fan? but whenever that guy gets on my nerves, which is every game i attend, i just think that at least he's not as gay as that trojan wearing a skirt riding that white horse around the coliseum.

We know being gay has nothing to do with this, but really, who is this “babyblue” trying to kid? Anyway, “abby8065” gets the thread back on track, attempting to kill two birds with one stone … or tomato, as it were.

pathetic!
I am sorry but that guy is pathetic! I don't need someone to tell me when to cheer or not; and I never cheer when someone tells me to!

He looks like a circus clown and his voice is too damn annoying. I couldn't even watch the entire video, because I wanted throw something at him.

Now he could definitely get the crowd excited if he wore a Trojan t-shirt and let people throw tomatoes at him!

I would just go to the games to get a chance to peg him.

The fun goes on for a few more comments, until the aptly named “True Blue and Gold” points out the truth (if not correct spelling) to fellow ugla fans …

It's really embarassing the way you go after your own. Geoff hasn't done any harm to anyone. If anything he promotes spirit and entusiasm. I don't know if you've noticed but he manages to get the press box side to yell Bruins while the student yell crew doesn't even tell us that it's going on.

Whether or not Strand “hasn’t done any harm” is certainly up for debate, but it is interesting to see how these bruins turn on one of their own.

USC Trojans, on the other hand, don’t have such issues. We’ll have fun here at the expense of our spirit section any day of the week, especially Thursdays.

But rather than use words like pathetic and freak and creepy when presented with video evidence, USC fans use words like lovely and hot … and wedgy.

Fight On!
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