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”

LeBrick James Steps Up In a Pivotal Game 4

As much shit as I talk about the guy, I want to be the first to admit that since my comments denouncing him from basketball royalty, I thought his play in Game 3 and 4 has brought him back to the Royal Court. While I still feel he is not the King, I do think that he needs some position in the royal quarters. Let's set aside the last two games, I'm talking overall performance here. Kobe Bryant is the best player in basketball, hands down. We can call him King Kobe. Every King needs a queen and that's Raja Bell, mainly due to the fact that he's Kobe's bitch. They have a Prince, the man for the next generation, he is Prince (Chris) Paul. You need a big man and no one is more dominant right now than Duke Dwight Howard. Let's not forget Lebron, he is entertaining and a loyal servant of the people. Many are his witness so we can call him Court Jester James. So please, Nike, Cavs ownership, CAA, whoever is in charge of this man's public image, please don't address him than anything more as and entertainer to the people, Court Jester James.

I really want to like this guy because I have a feeling Jerry Buss will buy him when Kobe retires if Jay-Z (Nets) don't buy him first. I know how he loves throwing up the Diamond Dallas Page Dynasty sign I laugh at him on TV, I do enjoy his 6 or so made shots a game, 4 are usually ferocious jams sent from the heavens and always make the Sports Center Top Plays. I will give him his due when he earns it. As of now, he is a top 10 player in this league, a top 5 under 25, he is not the king, he is not a pauper, he's a solid athlete with a lot of tats. He's not the Jay-z of basketball, he's like the Little Wayne or Young Jeezy, enough talent to please, easy to market, no signs of gaining the #1 spot. Maybe he's the LL Cool J, always stating he's the greatest of all time when we know the case can only be made for Tupac, Biggie, Andre 3000, Rakim or KRS-One. After all judging by this clip he knows all about "Mama Said Knock You Out."

Paul Pierce is straight outa Inglewood, he knows all about the "Gangsta Boogie, a Gangsta Boogie."Mr. James, I wish you well in Boston, 3 against 2(Big Z) is never easy.

Sam Cassel is the best alien in the history of basketball.

Dallas Hollywood Cowboys

TO is like Hansel from Zoolander. So hot right now. The guy is all over the place. Lakers Games. Red Carpet events. Jessica Simpson's bedr....I mean...ummm...Lakers Games. He was even found on set of a film being made by Bang Bros, a porn group based in Miami. Today he shimmied his way on to Yahoo! and that 4 letter network to hype his sitcom acting debut tomorrow. That's right--his sitcom acting debut. TO somehow convinced somebody (the same guys who do Bang Bros maybe?) to give him a role along side Public Enemy hype man and reality TV show sellout/superstar Flava Flav on a show called "Under One Roof" on some station called MyNetworkTV. What the hell is MyNetworkTV anyway? I'll pass, but somebody let me know how it is.

On another note, is it me, or has the whole Dallas Cowboys squad gone Hollywood? Jerry Jones is like the NFL owner version of TO. A shameless self promoter. And in that spirit, he is allowing HBO cameras to invade Cowboys training camp to film a reality show (side note: hopefully JJ will be able to add PacMan Jones to the roster in time so that he can make it rain during filming). I question how much the boys from Big D will be playing for the camera instead of Wade Phillips . Especially with TO and Tony Romo-Simpson around. What, is Jessica going to show up too? Things might get a little ugly if Tony finds out that Jess and TO have "exchanged pleasantries"--TO's words, not mine. But hey, at least the Cowboys don't have to worry about Mr. Romo-Simpson distracted by plans to become the next American Idol. Check out this clip of him butchering the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley field.

Ted's Ultimate Fantasy Depth Chart 2008-09

Position Obvious Choice Sleeper

QB Tom Brady Donovan McNabb

RB Adrian Peterson Michael Turner

RB2 Ladanian Tomlinson LenDale White

WR1 Randy Moss DeSean Jackson

WR2 Touraj Houshmanzadeh Donte Stallworth

WR3 Terrel Owens Limas Sweed

TE Dallas Clark Zach Miller

Defense Minnesota Vikings Oakland Raiders

K Mason Crosby Ryan Longwell

Early Fantasy Football Tidbits

Here at the SportsToilet we want to give you the upper hand in your office leagues/friendly leagues for next year's fantasy football season that is rapidly approaching. We want to make sure you literally don't spiral down the toilet and make an embarrasment out of yourselves in front of your friends and co-workers. You don't want people to laugh at you for drafting Tony Romo-Simpson #1 overall.

Anyways let's talk about the guy who had the worst season last year but the best commercial. I am talking about Steven "You don't know" Jack-son. First and foremost the beast they call a human is in a contract year. See what he said in the St.Louis Post Dispatch. Here is a quote from the former Oregon St. Beaver . "Well, we all know what happens in a contract year: you ball out," he said with a laugh. "So, I expect to." Top 3 pick your drafts. Put it down now, Steven Jackson will truck fools this coming year.

I personally thought one of the steals of the draft this coming year will James Hardy. This lanky receiver(6'7" 220 to be exact) who set all the receiving records at Indiana University is the best thing to leave Indiana since Kelvin Sampson.

Hardy already has the inside track to start for the Buffalo Bills this year. With former Tulane Green Wave and Venice local bro J.P. Losman throwing it up for grabs every down because he doesn't care about interceptions, look for this youngster to go and get it. Try to scoop up this player in the later rounds when your friends are passing out after drinking too much. I cannot stress how important late round picks are. Personally, I was able to scoop up Wes Welker in the last round last year so listen to me on the Hardy kid.

Last but not least I congratulate the Chicago Bears for resigning their kicker Robbie "Good as" Gould to a new 5 year deal. It takes a lot to find somebody who wants to kick field goals in a stadium that is always cold and very windy. Stability in the kicking game is always a good way to get rid of the Cedric Benson issue. By the way Cedric Benson, get a hold of yourself. I bet you were the happiest person in the world when your Bears passed on USC Trojan killer Rashard Mendehall. Mr.Benson, it is time to step up and show us something here at the SportsToilet.

Back to Where it All Began...

According to Buster Olney "The Lonely," The Mariners have expressed interest in bringing Jr. back to the emerald city. This would be great for baseball and great for the true star of the steroid area to return to his baseball home to retire as the legend he truly is. Many forget Griffey's dominance of the 90's he was better than any of the roid heads (Canseco, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa.) He was the Michael Jordan of baseball, I mean he would have been if Michael wasn't the Michael Jordan of baseball.
An injury plagued, latter half of his career skewed the public's prespective of Griff and hopefully classic games of KGJ will surface so all the youngins can learn to respect the man. Ken, thanks for the best sports game for Super Nintendo and the smooth stroke, you are the man for you place and time. Hopefully the Mariners pull off a trade for him, not only would he be back on his original team but the lineup would be deep and would give the Evil Orange County Angels a run for their money.
The new lineup could be very potent Ichiro who usually gets on base could be followed by the much improved Raul Ibanez, then potential all-stars Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson, Griffey could DH at the fifth spot followed by young talent like Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Lopez. In addition to a strong lineup, the Mariners have one of the best one-two starting pitching combos in the league with "King" Felix Hernandez and Eric Bedard. This team could make a run and is always dangerous in terms of pulling off deals at the deadline, watch for them to quietly sneak into the playoff chase after they add pitching at the deadline.

Man on Fire?

From the beginning of this series I thought the New Orleans Hornets led by my first pick in this year’s fantasy draft, Chris Paul, would take the series. I know the consensus pick has been the Spurs however something about how CP3 carried my fantasy team this year has had me believing in the Hornets. I knew the whole time that the X-factor would be Peja Stojakovic; if he could hit those deadly threes it would be a done deal I thought. I mean, we all know Chris Paul would get him the open looks at the basket, the question was whether Peja would step up to the challenge. And in the first two games he did show up, hitting 7 – 11 from the beyond the arc and 17 – 28 from the field. However the one thing I forgot to factor into my equation was that the San Antonio Spurs had Mr. Popovich at the helm. At first Coach Pop put his best defender (Bowen) on Paul in order to try and slow the best point guard in the league, but CP3 cannot be stopped and he showed that. Coach Popovich decided to put Bowen on my X-factor and by doing so has evened the series. Stojakovic shot 5 – 16 from the field in the last two games and only 1 – 4 from beyond the arc. Chris Paul will go off, West will contribute, and Chandler will get his share of rebounds and easy put backs. Despite everything if Peja can’t hit threes someone else will have to or the Hornets can start to flush their playoff hopes down the sports toilet.
I would love to sit here and tell you that I believe the home court advantage was the reason that each one of these games has been won by the home team. It’s not though. The San Antonio Spurs are seasoned veterans that can win at home or away; they just needed their head coach to make the necessary adjustments. And maybe Tim Duncan just needed a couple of days to feel better and in turn make Byron sick to his stomach. The Spurs are winning this series unless Byron Scott makes somehow figures out how to outcoach Popovich or Chris Paul puts forth two legendary performances.

Cavs - Celtics Series

After a game 3 victory by the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Boston Celtics I came to one conclusion; Coach Rivers may be nicknamed Doc however he does not have any cure for the Celtics lackadaisical play away from home. Sorry Doc, but there ain’t a prescription for that. Look for the Cavaliers – Celtics series to be tied 2 – 2 after the game 4 tonight. The Celtics have not won away from home so far this post-season and after their sub-par performance in game 3 one must begin to wonder why they lack the intensity during their away games.
Of course the Celtics had the best regular season record in the league and could by winning all their home games; win the NBA championship without having to win a single away game. Nevertheless, they won’t be playing the Atlanta Hawks in these playoffs anymore so they shouldn’t be expecting all easy home games either. The Cavaliers have had such shitty performances from Lebron James in the first two games in Boston; however don’t bet on that happening in game 5. I know I like to hate on James all the time but lets be real Lebron can easily have himself one of those playoff-defining moments and have his team up 3 – 2 going into game 6 in Cleveland.
The way I see it Lebron is a winner whether we (I) like it or not; Garnett, Pierce, and Allen have throughout their careers shown us that they have all been perennial losers.

The Boston Cheat Party

Lets just that this is the city in which cheating is the cool thing to do. As if the Boston Celtics are not in enough trouble with the problems they have winning on the road it seems as if they may have pulled a Bellicheck and done the unthinkable. Boston.com is reporting before the Celtics game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks the Hawks were staying at the Liberty Hotel in Boston. A league source close to the situation instructed his bar staff to give anyone affiliated with the Hawks staff a double shot in any alcoholic beverage they ordered. Coincidence? I think not.

Let me just say that this Big 3 they have assembled over there in Cheat City does not impress me over here at sportstoilet. They have yet to prove anything. Its like assembling a make shift team to try to win one for the gipper. Kevin Garnett, great defensive player but the Minnesota Timberwolves may have hurt his chances of a truly great championship filled career. Ray Allen, stifling shooter but he is better off in his role in "He Got Game." He at least has a career after basketball. Then we have Paul Pierce. Unproven in my eyes and very hit or miss game to game. The bench remains just a bunch of fillers who are there to try to make it work. This unproven chemistry may come back to haunt them down the road. But they can always go with the alternative, cheating.

We made a couple key trades and we got the Funk

I was thinking back on some Nike commercials after seeing the new ones for Nike Sparq where every one's faster is faster than my fastest. I like this a lot and it's great to see Saul William's get much overdue exposure with his song in the commercial, "List of Demands." I love huge Nike campaigns like this and it got me thinking about the best ever. There's been a bunch but one stood out in my mind.




Anyone remember the Roswell Rayguns? They were the fictitious ABA team comprised of "Dr. Funk" Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse, Jermaine O'neil and Baron Davis.It was 1975 and they just wanted to keep the funk alive. The commercials were made to promote Vinsanity's new shoe by Nike. The Nike campaign was based on an ABA team that was struggling and invested in a new brand of basketball that could be the future. They were right and it was also the birth of pro sport's widespread historical appreciation of past uniforms, especially basketball. Now you started seeing 10-15 throwback games a year and killer uniforms for fans to galk at and desire to buy. Soon enough Mitchell & Ness, the leader in throwback reproductions over saturated the market with uniforms that at one point in time were nearly impossible to find. Rappers started sporting them in nearly every video you saw and the widespread demand was crazy. It was more common so see a "Throwback uniform on the street than a regular jersey. The craze was everywhere and thank God it died down, any and all nostalgic value the jerseys had was killed. I don't think the commercial was completely to blame, Andre & Big Boi played a huge part in the madness as well. A Nike campaign that fresh deserves a shout out, it was the best thing since Spike Lee and Jordan's "It's gotta be the shoes."
Nike last great campaign was the Lebrons. That was funny. I hate Lebron, but the guy can sure sell a product. Especially when he jumps off the high dive while Kool and the Gang is playing, that's smooth. Not sure if it's better than Chris Rock and Penny Hardaway's "Little Penny," but it is damn funny.
Still all of those are no match for the genius of the Roswell Rayguns. Nike + Vince + Diddy + Stack + JO + Snoop + tha P + Tha Funk Ship=The best Nike ad ever!