I like that I mention O.J. Mayo’s issues being a, you know, jerk, in yesterday’s blog and what do you know…controversy happens instantaneously. I will summarize simply: O.J. Mayo, star freshman, who recruited himself to Southern California (telling head coach Tim Floyd, “I’ll call you.”) recently accepted 200 dollar tickets for a Lakers game as a gift from Denver Nuggets Forward and Stop Snitching Enthusiast Carmelo Anthony. This clearly violates NCAA rules that state that athletes cannot accept gifts that regular students would not have the opportunity to get. $230 dollar LA Lakers tickets from an NBA “star” (I dispute Anthony’s star status) falls under this category. Now Tim Floyd says that he gave O.J. Mayo the okay to acquire the tickets. Combine this with the Reggie Bush fiasco and USC is not in good standing with the NCAA currently.
"Tickets? You Got Tickets?" The O.J. Mayo Story
Ron Hunter, however, is in great standing, at least with me. Hunter is the Head Coach for Indiana University and Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI…yes, that’s a real Division I School). Tonight, Hunter will coach barefoot to raise awareness for an organization helping to put shoes on the feet of African children. Hunter had a goal to raise at least 40,000 pairs of shoes by the end of tonight’s game. He achieved his goal earlier this morning when Converse donated 15,000 pairs of sneakers. Hunter is incredibly involved in this project and is traveling to Africa with the shoes at the conclusion of IUPUI’s season. Kudos to Ron Hunter.
Last night had Texas A&M and Baylor playing the longest game (5 overtimes) in Big 12 history. This game was not on television. ESPN had to use the web feed for its highlights. Baylor has had a remarkable turnaround in the last 3 years. After having one teammate murder another and a coach attempt to cover up that murder, followed by a mass exodus of players transferring out of the school, head coach Scott Drew (son of Homer Drew, brother of Bryce) has done an absolutely remarkable job of lifting the Bears out of the depths of failure. They won in College Station last night to improve to 17-2. They will likely make the NCAA tournament. Kudos to Scott Drew and Baylor University.
No Kudos, however, to Texas A&M. I would say that the Aggies are the biggest disappointment of the year, having begun it ranked in the top 10 and now having lost 3 consecutive games (to Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Baylor…not exactly potential champions of the NCAA). Their best victory of the year is against Ohio State. Or maybe Alabama. Possibly Oral Roberts. The point is that they haven’t played anyone and with games against Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas ahead, don’t look for the Aggies to get very far in the postseason. Losing Acie Law IV, the best player in the history of the program, and head coach Billy Gillespie has hurt this team more than the experts thought. That tends to happen.
Someone should tell Rihanna that she is NOT SEXY.
Thanks to the joy of the NBA League Pass Free Preview I got to see my game of the day last night: Portland @ New Orleans. The Hornets are fantastic. The Blazers were ending a long road trip last night, so forgive them if they weren’t overly competitive, but the Hornets are outstanding. Jannero Pargo scored over 20 off the bench last night. The Hornets already have Chris Paul (who somehow is not going to be an all-star starter, even though he is the MVP of the first half of this season), Tyson Chandler, and David West. If they can get performances from their supporting cast like last night, then they will win the NBA Championship. Yes. I mean it.
Game o’ the Day: Today’s game o’ the day isn’t really a game o’ the day. However, I’m going, so it will be. Toronto Maple Leafs @ Washington Capitals. It’s the final game for both before the all-star break so neither will play hard and I’ll have wasted 20 bucks. I’ll take the Caps to avenge last night’s loss to the Leafs 3-1.
Mid-Atlantic Bias 
Woo! College basketball! I would like to say that I think Anthony is a basketball super star because I know who he is. I don’t know many basketball players, so to be able to know them, they have to be a star.