Sports Blog

It looks like the disappointment surrounding Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo extends beyond his recent second place finish in this years NBA Rookie of the Year race.

According to a story on Yahoo! Sports, Mayo and his handler Rodney Guillory received cash and other incentives from USC coach Tim Floyd in an effort to land the high school basketball star at USC.  The story also alleges Guillory received money for influencing Mayo to sign with the Bill Duffy Associates (BDA) sports agency upon declaring for the NBA draft.

The source of the latest USC recruiting scandal is Louis Johnson, who according to Yahoo! is a “former member of Mayo’s inner circle.”  If this all sounds familiar it’s because this isn’t exactly the first time USC has been caught up in a recruiting scandal.

USC is already undergoing a three year investigation by the NCAA for alleged misconduct in both their basketball and football programs.  Some of the programs biggest stars, such as current New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, have come under scrutiny for possibly accepting money in violation of NCAA recruiting rules.

And, of course, no one involved in the current situation has anything to say.  Not the federal authorities.  Not BDA.  Not USC. Not even O.J. Mayo.  When the story broke yesterday you would have expected Mayo to come out and deny any wrong doing by the 6 p.m. Sportscenter, but he didn’t and one has to wonder why.

Regardless of Mayo’s innocence, the situation leads us to one question: should college athletes be compensated for their work?  Many college sports purist say no, but the increasing lure of playing professionally elsewhere may soon change their minds.  Just last year high school basketball prodigy Brandon Jennings bypassed college and instead decided to play overseas in preparation for the NBA.

He took a lot heat from the media, a lot of which was undeserved.  For players whose only desire is to go to the NBA, why shouldn’t they be compensated for their time?  Why should coaches and universities earn millions of dollars while the players who provide the product get nothing but a pat on the back?

The answer used to be twofold; education and a chance to get to the NBA.  But for top players who plan on playing one year and declaring for the draft, the education is a largely useless form of payment.  And as for a chance to get to the big leagues, well, lets just say that NCAA basketball is no longer the only game in town.

If the NCAA is smart (which it isn’t) it will figure out a way to end penalties for compensating players.  People argue that if you do only the big schools will be able to compete, but the last time I checked that was already the case.

Image Source: news-herald.com

It appears former USC star and current New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is already on pace to break some NFL records.  According to a New York Times blog, Reebok has confirmed the No. 5 overall pick and his No. 6 jersey is the current top seller among all rookies, ahead of first overall pick Matthew Stafford (also a quarterback, drafted by the Detroit Lions).

It points out the obvious (New York has a bigger fan base) and gives the obligatory mention to Brett Favre.  It also mentions the sales are on pace to outsell last years hottest seller, Darren McFadden of the Oakland Raiders.

Then it got me thinking…where are the best places to buy cheap football equipment and jerseys?  I took a look over at Smarter.com’s NFL’s shop and, after overcoming a bout with sticker shock, I found my way to today’s deal of the day.

Over at the Fansedge.com, they have some great deals like Tom Brady’s Reebok Super Bowl XLII New England Patriots Jersey for only $34.99 (originally $89.99).

Their spring savings are up to 70 percent off and include such awesome items as a two-pair of Atlanta Falcons panties for $17.99. After all, what girl doesn’t want a Falcons logo stitched onto her special place?

Image Source: NYJetsFan.com

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for Mark Sanchez jerseys.
Discounts on NFL gear.

After everyone was done whining about the loss of Tom Brady on Sunday, they then turned their concerns over to the new quarterback of the New England Patriots. Matt Cassel. But the only thing is, no one knew what to worry about. No one knows anything about him.

The only real claim to fame Cassel is remotely known for is being at backup at USC to two Heisman trophy quarterbacks: Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. And to be drafted by an NFL club with actually never taking more than a handful of snaps in college, just who is this guy? He must be good right?

Well, the guys down at Deadspin gathered up some information on Cassel. There really wasn’t a whole lot of stats to throw around for this guy, so they had to reach around to his whole family for some fun facts:

• Matt’s older brother, Jack Cassel, was called up in September by the Houston Astros. Then only a few hours after Matt had thrown his first TD pass to Randy Moss last Sunday, Jack came in to relief Wandy Rodriguez, giving up two runs over four innings in the Astro’s 7-5 win over the Rockies.

• Matt’s younger brother, Justin Cassel, led the Southern League in ERA this past season pitching for the Class AA Birmingham Barons. He was drafted out of UC Irvine.

• Even mom has made a name for herself out there. Barbara Cassel is a Hollywood set designer on the new NBC series, My Own Worst Enemy, winning an Emmy in 2007 for the mini-series Tony Bennett: An American Classic.
• He’s been married to former USC volleyball player Lauren Killian since 2007.

• Played in the 1994 Little League World Series where his Northridge, California team lost 4-3 to Maracaibo, Venezuela.

• Played baseball at USC in 2004 and was even drafted by the Oakland Athletics that year in the 36th round.

At least he can say he’s the best football player in the Cassel family. They seemed to have the game of baseball cornered. For Matt’s sake, lets hope he can now make more of a name for himself in the pros than he did in college.

Wait, he did that last Sunday. Way to earn that paycheck Matt!

NFL Shop  New England Patriots Gear  Matt Cassel Jerseys

Source: Deadspin

Photo Source.

It’s always fun to listen in on pro athletes and where they stand on certain topics.

Global warming. Natural disasters. Paris Hilton. All have been touched. Literally.

But for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, he lets us know on a recent radio show just where he stands on THE Ohio State and its fan.

“I cannot stand the Buckeyes.”

Short and sweet. The USC alum probably could have left it at that. But of course he didn’t.

“It’s amazing to hear what those guys think about that university and what they think about that football program and Tressel and all the crap I gotta put up with being back there.”

“I just can’t wait for two years from now when SC comes to the ‘Shoe and hopefully we’ll have a home game that weekend and I can go up there and watch us pound on them in their own turf”

“I’m really getting sick of it and I just can’t wait for this game to get here so they can come out to the Coliseum and experience LA and get an old-fashioned Pac-10 butt-whoopin’ and go back to the Big Ten.”

I still sense a touch of bitterness in Carson’s tone from when the Buckeyes were handed the national championship over USC when Palmer was in LA. I’m not sure how Palmer is still going to make it to camp after those kind words about a college they worship more than God.

Maybe he’ll make mends with Chad Johnson and Ocho Cinco can lend him some of his outfits for a disguise.

Source.

Photo Source.

This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Wade Boggs appears to be having fun in Tampa - Deadspin
• MLB has a new roids hotline: 1-800-Steroids - Larry Brown Sports
• Top 7: Less than Stellar No Hit Pitchers - Joe Sports Fan
• 25 Great Moments at Yankee and Shea Stadiums - The Sports Hernia
• Worker tries to bury a Red Sox jersey in new Yankee Stadium, hoped to start new curse - Sports by Brooks
• Kobe Bryant jumps over an Aston Martin? - KCAL 9 Sports

YouTube - Watch 
And in the Smarter Sports Blog we talked about:

• “How Many was that Again?”
• Kansas and Memphis Square off for the NCAA Championship
• Protestors Rally Against Torch. Paris Cops Put Out Olympic Torch
• Kansas Beats Memphis for NCAA Championship
• One Fan Sings Farewell to Brett Favre
  
• O.J. Mayo Leaves USC. Makes the Jump to the NBA

For all of you Trojan fans out there who were hanging on to every glimpse of hope that O.J. Mayo would hang around for at least one more season, can now let go.

O.J. Mayo announced today that he will be hiring an agent, therefore making him ineligible to return to Southern California next season, making him available for the NBA Draft. Mayo’s announcement would have had him joining his friend and UCLA rival, Kevin Love in the NBA, but a report from the Los Angeles Times website was proved false as he has yet to make his announcement. The Times website jumped the gun saying Love and teammate Darren Collison had announced their decision to go to the NBA.

Mayo first hinted at the jump to the pros when he sported a pair of socks bearing the NBA logo on them in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Mayo and Southern California lost that game to Kansas State, 80-67.

Mayo averaged 20.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in his lone season at USC.

Source: Fox Sports, Fox Sports

Photo Source.