David Stern should be blamed for putting too much Mayo on the hotdog, not Tim Floyd

How is this even an issue? Why has college sports not reached the 21st century? How antiquated is the rule that college athletes cannot be compensated for playing sports when they make their universities millions of dollars in revenue. I thought slavery was abolished in the Eighteen Hundreds. OJ Mayo, came to USC as the most hyped high school basketball player since Lebron James. Could USC, or any other school for that matter have stopped agents, managers, shoe companies, and about a million other people from trying to get their hands on this guy. I mean why do you think he came to LA in the first place? For exposure.

OJ Mayo not only filled the Gaylen Center but he got a dormant USC basketball program off its feet. Not only were alumni and fans excited, but other NBA level prospects such as Davon Jefferson and Demar Derozan were following Mayo to USC. USC literally will make millions of dollars off this kid’s contributions to the program. So the important question to ask ourselves is, why can’t he get paid? Especially now that the NBA would not let Mayo straight from high school into the league, Mayo had no choice but to go to college. He didn’t want to be a student, he just did what David Stern mandated, and decided to take what he could get in the meantime.

If USC loses scholarships or has to fire its coach, Tim Floyd, because people outside the university were giving Mayo money in hopes of signing him up when he eventually did go pro, I think it is an absolute travesty. The kid who takes money gets off scot free and gets paid next year in the NBA, and the university he leaves behind gets to take the fall? What is the message we are sending here exactly? And why would future talents such as Mayo, not just do the same thing that he did. They don’t care about losing their eligibility to play in college, they never wanted to be there in the first place. If colleges make this much revenue off of their players there must be a more equitable situation put in place, if future stars such as Mayo have any incentive to not take money from people outside of the organization.

I think the main point here is that what was Floyd supposed to do if he even did know that Mayo was receiving money. Cut him from the team? The top few players in each class must end up going to college somewhere, and it is ridiculous for schools to be punished by the players decisions. I understand if the school pays the player out of its own funds how it could be unfair, but I think we can all agree that Mayo would have received this money wherever he had decided to go for his 1 year as a “student-athlete”

Hold the Mayo

That 4 letter network reported today that the generally always up to no good former USC guard and future NBA lottery pick/millionaire O.J. Mayo (real name: Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo--I'm not making this up) was accepting cashmoney and free bottles at Teddy's while a student at the University of South Central. A big NCAA no no. This could potentially mean that USC would have to forfeit all games where OJ.participated. Doubtful that will happen. More likely are some additional restrictions on recruiting that they will no doubt violate. My question: wasn't this one obvious? At the time, USC had just spent millions of dollars in constructing the GAYlen Center (which I have to admit is actually pretty nice). To build a competitive/interesting to watch so that we can sell tickets and fill the arena team, they needed a blue chip recruit. Enter Mayo. A kid who has been hyped in the national media since 7th grade. From West Virginia/Ohio, willing to go to the highest bidder. USC (a school known for buying players) fit the bill. You would think that the boys from Troy would have learned their lesson on investing in degenerates named OJ. Guess not. This whole situation has the movie Blue Chips written all over it. Tim Floyd is Pete Bell. Seriously. (Speaking of Tim Floyd, my friend Loaf often refers to him as a used mattress salesman. I'd say that's pretty accurate). Of course, nothing will happen to Mustard...I mean Mayo. Just like in Blue Chips, where Neon and Butch (played by Shaq and Penny Hardaway respectively) went directly to the pros unscathed by the recruiting violations. As for the future of BBQ Sauce, I predict that he will go lottery in the draft and have an adequate statistical career (potentially a good short term pick-up in fantasy leagues) for a myriad of crappy teams . Think hybrid of Ricky Davis/Jamaal Tinsley. And, of course, he will rack up a slew of legal infractions ranging from substance abuse (DUI, possession of illegal substance, etc.), to assault to possession of an illegal firearm. Mark it down. You heard it here first on the Sports Toilet. By the way, why doesn't Vegas have odds on athletes and the likelihood of them getting arrested? I take the under on Horseradish getting arrested within a year.