Friday Hot Links

#1 Must-Read, Drop-Everything Link Of The Day

• O.J. Mayo's hometown paper lends some real perspective on the life of this young man, pointing out the treacherous road he's traveled. [Herald-Dispatch]
  • #1a: Michael Wilbon concurs. [Washington Post]

Good News

• Everything is done with the USC-Coliseum deal. The one surprise? Everybody's happy. [L.A. Times]
• Commencement is today, and Keith Rivers is reminiscing on his blog. FYI, Disney chief Robert Iger is this year's speaker. [Yardbarker]
• The USC coaches tour (Pete Carroll, Tim Floyd) starts May 28th. [USC]
• Sedrick Ellis is adjusting to life in New Orleans. [Scout]
• Regardless of what happens with USC, O.J. Mayo's high school team would not have to face any penalties. [ESPN]
• Willie McGinest is staying in the NFL one more year because the Browns look like a contender. [ESPN]
• Women's hoops landed a second top-40 recruit, who sent the school her decision with a funny photo. [ESPN]
• Somebody's already trying to predict the bowl games. [Scout]

Bad News

• Lofa Tatupu apologized for his recent arrest. You have to wonder why the $42-million man was driving a Hyundai. [Seattle Times]
• Former USC swimmer Erik Vendt was surprised by a lawsuit over his swimsuit. [L.A. Times]
• No surprise, the NCAA has contacted Louis Johnson. [L.A. Times]

Ugly News

• Menelaus (I presume named after the king of Greece who fought Troy) has compiled a lengthy list of allegations against USC. The comment section gets a little spicy, and it was picked up by Deadspin. [Bruins Nation]

Talkin' Mayo II

Yesterday I spoke with ESPN's "Outside the Lines," which broke the O.J. Mayo story on Sunday.

[Ed note: Due to technical difficulties the clip was not appearing in this post, but now that has been cleared up, so enjoy]

Good Kid, Bad Situation

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... the case that O.J. Mayo got caught with his hand in the cookie jar appears to be strong.

Despite a very earnest and categorical denial Wednesday, there's a long way to go before Mayo can be cleared. To me, the biggest sticking point is that Andy Katz (ESPN) called Mayo on his cellphone, and the bill for that number was apparently paid for by a credit card under Rodney Guillory's name. That seems pretty incriminating, though I'd still love to see those documents released.

Regardless of how this plays out -- even if he took more than $30,000 in extra benefits -- I'd like to be the first one to say that O.J. Mayo is really a great kid.

Except I'm not. Not even close. Reporter after reporter, columnist after columnist, coach after coach, has gone on the record to say that O.J. Mayo is poised, respectful and seems to have great character.

Despite this apparent blemish, all the hype holds true.

If there's one thing that people should take away from today's article it's these two lines:

• Mayo had just completed his last school final when he paused to speak to a reporter.
• Following the interview, Mayo slipped into a new red Porsche Cayenne GTS with two friends and drove off, saying he was headed to Chicago for workouts in advance of next month's NBA draft.

A Porsche. A posse. Why would O.J. Mayo bother taking a freshman class final? A promise.

A couple of months ago, I heard Mayo reiterate his pledge to Coach Tim Floyd that he would finish the semester. He didn't have to. Heck, the year before three players just stopped going to class.

But that wasn't like Mayo. He finished up, even though technically nothing could make him -- except himself.

That says something about this young man.

It also speaks volumes about the situation that surrounded him. As a high school player, he was 12 months from his first shiny red Porsche. In the interim, USC sold No. 32 basketball jerseys in the bookstore for $75. To put that in perspective, the store sold a football jersey for $15 less -- and it actually came with sleeves.

Mayo was also paid an NCAA-approved monthly stipend of $450 (or six jerseys) and he was expected to keep his nose clean. Maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe the NBA should have let him in earlier or threatened to punish rookies who break these sorts of rules.

There's a great story that Mayo once declined a free cookie because it might be an NCAA violation. But if you give a mouse a cookie ...

Mayo Responds in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Ben Bolch interviewed O.J. Mayo today and will have a story online in just a few minutes.

Mayo was very open about things and earnest in his denial of the allegations.

UPDATE: Here's the first version of the story.

Wednesday Hot Links

Basketball

• The most immediate effect of the O.J. Mayo scandal could be the loss of DeMar DeRozan -- USC's top recruit. [LA Times]
• Bill Plaschke is calling for Mike Garrett to speak out. I agree 100% but doubt it'll happen. [LA Times]
• Local reporters are talking about colleague Rodney Guillory. [CalHiSports]
• Tito Maddox, previously involved in a Rodney Guillory scandal, is speaking out. [LA Times]
• Andy Katz is calling out the one-year rule. [ESPN]
• Having trouble keeping all these names straight? Here's a quick breakdown. [LA Times]
• No surprise, the NCAA confirmed it's investigating Mayo. [ESPN]

Football

• As expected, the Coliseum Commission approved the long-term deal with USC. All that remains is the school's formal approval. [LA Times]
• USC had its spring combine and released the results. [USCRipsIt]
• Another touching story about Chilo Rachal and his mom. [San Jose Mercury News]

Elsewhere

• Turns out the USC compliance officers are having an easy week -- they could be at Alabama State. The NCAA hammered the school on 40 violations involving athlete grade changes without the knowledge of their professors. The sad part? That means it probably can't even count the remaining 628 violations. You didn't misread that. [USA Today]

Can'd Camera

About a month ago the USC football program* released a goofy video featuring tight end coach Brennan Carroll (Pete's son) putting prospective walk-ons through the paces and hamming it up. Initial reaction was either positive or mildly perplexed. Apparently opinions headed south and now the program has decided to yank it off of YouTube. That follows allegations that Rick Neuheisel used it to recruit against USC and Deadspin's blasting the video. A lot was made over the use of profanity, which we all know is prohibited in footba ... wait. Nevermind.

Humor is very subjective. Most of this stuff is targeted to recruits and I doubt that's who was complaining. This particular video was full of absurdity, with delivery varying from deadpan to eccentric. Here are a few actual lines from the video and who I could picture saying them:

Peter Griffin: "Whistle! Whistle! Whistle! Good. I don't have a whistle. I just say whistle."

Dr. Gregory House: When told they don't have enough stopwatches to do two drills at once: "We don't need 'em. I'll do it in my head."

Denny Crane: "I don't necessarily need to check my watch to know it's time to go."

Eric Cartman (or perhaps said to him): "This is dog wosh. Those shorts are way too tight for you. Way too tight on the shorts."

Michael Scott: When asked if there were any prospects: "Zero. But they could all make it."

My guess is that there's some sort of generation gap. I wonder if people upset about the video could identify at least two of these five characters. Then again, Deadspin and Gutty Little Bruins both skew toward the right demographic, and neither one liked it. Obviously if you don't like (or get) the humor, Brennan Carroll might look like a pretty big jerk. And profanity, although beeped, might not be appropriate for younger recruits. So ... what say you?

* The video was produced by TrojanTV All Access and released on PeteCarroll.com and USCRipsIt.com.

O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0

The O.J. Mayo situation continues to evolve and has left people with a lot of questions. Over the coming weeks I'll try to break down the situation with an ever-evolving F.A.Q. (frequently asked questions). This is version 1.0. If you're in a rush, I'll boil my opinion down to one sentence:

O.J. Mayo broke the rules and Tim Floyd had better start explaining things.

Talkin' Mayo

I'm working on a post called O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0, which will go up soon. In the meantime, here's a clip of me trying to put some perspective on the whole O.J. Mayo situation.

Thanks to "First Take" for having me on this morning. I think I swapped a "Rodney" for "Ronald." I also want to be clear that everything at this stage is a Star Jones special: "allegedly." I used the term a few times but I probably could have used it more. Regardless, I think some of the ESPN discoveries about alleged extra benefits are practically irrefutable. More on that in the FAQ.

Hey NBA, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

There have been a lot of headaches this off season in college hoops. Regardless of how many individuals are at fault, one institution lacking control is the NBA.

A few years ago the suits at the NBA were concerned about their image. Hello, dress code! I have no idea what that solved, but they still haven't adequately addressed a fundamental problem -- one with a bigger influence on how they develop players to represent the league.

The NBA and their farm system the NCAA have a dysfunctional relationship. In a league in which some players have a bad reputation for baby-mama drama, the organization responsible for the league's diaper dandies has been left downright impotent.

Earlier this week I tried to explain to a friend why Nick Young, Gabe Pruitt and Lodrick Stewart bolted for the NBA before finishing their semester at USC in spring 2007 -- costing the school two scholarships.

"Why couldn't they punish the players?" she asked.

I pointed out that no sanction leveled by USC or the NCAA would affect them. As pros, they were already ineligible to play in college. Taking away their scholarships has zero effect because they make six or seven figures per year in the NBA. Plus what are the odds they really want to finish school?

She mused that it's too bad the NBA can't punish them.

Four days later I was telling her why USC and the NCAA had no practical recourse against O.J. Mayo for allegedly receiving $30,000 in illicit benefits.

Again, she mused that it's too bad the NBA can't punish him.

Again, she was right.

The NBA should punish rookies who fail to meet the most basic off-court expectations.

Monday Hot Links

Football (Alumni)

• Pat Yasinskas says Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers may be the biggest impact rookies in the NFL. [ESPN]
• LenDale White says it'll be a new version of Thunder & Lightning for the Titans. [Tennessean]
• Mike Williams is trying to take advantage of his "last chance" with the Titans, says missing a year hurt his chances. [Nashville City Paper]
• The 49ers release a fun interview with Chilo Rachal. [SF 49ers]
• Willie McGinest is retiring after the 2008 season. [Sports Illustrated]
• Ronnie Lott is in the news, and not just because his dealership is tied to the O.J. Mayo controversy. He's actually quite the humanitarian. [SJ Mercury News]
• Petros Papadakis held an online chat. [WeAreSC]
• Some guy claims that O.J. Simpson confessed to him. [Associated Press]

Hoops

• Jeff Goodman ranked the top 20 college basketball assistants, and USC's Bob Cantu made the list at No. 18. [Fox Sports]
• Check out the LA Times story on the O.J. Mayo controversy, which includes an early denial from back when he was just a youngin'. [LA Times]
• If you have ESPN Insider, Chad Ford says Mayo's stock has been on the rise because of what he did on the court and because of his character off of it. Hmmmm. [ESPN Insider]
• Just before the allegations surfaced, Mayo did a radio interview with Joe McDonnell. [Audio from AM570 KLAC]

Elsewhere

• There was only one team No. 3 USC couldn't beat this year in women's water polo. After upsetting No. 2 Stanford for the second tournament semifinal in a row, the Trojans suffered their fourth loss to UCLA this season. This one was in the national championship game.
• Rutgers football coach explains why he told Notre Dame to take a hike. [NYT Quad Blog]