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O.J. Mayo, Lacrosse Championship & Making History In Texas - May 12, 2008
posted by: Josh
• There was a lot of noise yesterday about O.J. Mayo and potential violations during his seven months at USC. There's not much to say about the situation at this point, but if the allegations prove true, I would suspect that the penalties would be harsh for USC. Unfortunately, if there was wrongdoing by Mayo, there's not much that can be done to penalize him, as he will still be eligible to play professionally and earn millions of dollars next year. • Scott Brosius played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues, collecting 1,001 hits, three World Series rings and more than $22 million in career earnings. What's he doing these days? Coaching Division III baseball. After retiring in 2001, Brosius returned to Linfield College to complete his degree the following year. The former Yankee third baseman then spent five years as an assistant coach with the Division III program before taking the reins this spring. Things have gone well thus far, as the Wildcats are 30-10 and will play in the NCAA regionals this week. • The first round of the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship was played this weekend - four games were played Saturday and four were played yesterday. I was intrigued by Saturday's results, not necessarily because of Navy's upset victory over fourth-seeded North Carolina, but because all four losing teams scored seven goals. • To keep it going, Notre Dame beat Colgate in Sunday's first game, 8-7.
• Another interesting note is that Ohio State advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Cornell on Saturday, 15-7. Although Ohio State is one of the top athletics programs in the country, this is only the third time the Buckeyes have made it to the NCAA tournament and first time in the quarterfinals. Lacrosse has officially moved to the Midwest (Notre Dame has been winning for a while) - how long until teams from California are consistently making the field? • This year's field did include five teams from Maryland (Maryland, Loyola, Johns Hopkins, UMBC, Navy) and five teams from New York (Syracuse, Cornell, Colgate, Hofstra, Canisius). • Paul Goydos doesn't have an endorsement deal, so while turning in a second-place finish at The Players Championship this weekend, Goydos proudly wore the hat of his alma mater - Long Beach State. Go Dirtbags!
• Bonnie Richardson was the only one from her team to qualify for the Texas 1A track and field state meet, but was still able to bring home the overall team title for Rochelle High School. On Friday, Richardson won the high jump, placed second in the long jump and finished third in the discus. The next day, she won the 200 meters and came in second in the 100. Richardson totaled 42 points in the five events, more than enough to edge Clifton High's 36 points. Still only a junior, it seems that Richardson will be a heavily sought after prospective student-athlete in the next few months. • Richardson's feat marked the first time a female scored enough points on her own to win the Texas state title. About 30 years ago, Frank Pollard did the same thing for Meridian High School, marking the only time a male student-athlete has done that in state history. Pollard went on to play football at Baylor and for the Pittsburgh Steelers. • The Wheaton (Massachusetts) men's lacrosse team raised more than $1,800 for the family of Wesley lacrosse coach Christian Zwickert, whose 19-month-old son Collin suffers from cerebral palsy. • The UCLA women's water polo team claimed its fourth straight national championship yesterday, beating USC, 6-3. Seniors Gabrielle Domanic, Brittany Rowe, Courtney Mathewson, Jillian Kraus and Kamaile Crowell all finished their careers with four national titles. It was the 101st overall national championship for UCLA. • Western Oregon was just one victory away from earning a berth in the Division II Softball Championship this week, but the Wolves couldn't get past Humboldt State, losing 1-0 on Saturday and 9-0 yesterday to see their season come to an end. Western Oregon received national attention two weeks ago, when senior Sara Tucholsky was carried around the bases by a Central Washington player after tearing her ACL between first and second. 
CommentsOhio State goalie Stefan Schroder scored the first goal in the Buckeyes' upset win over Cornell, going end-to-end. Now there's an exciting play. If the NCAA investigates O.J. Mayo with the same vigor as they did Reggie Bush, nothing will ever happen.
I honestly don't understand the institution's culpability when a student-athlete takes money from an agent. How are coaches supposed to monitor every one of their student-athletes every moment of every day? It's the agents who are reaping benefits from Bush and Mayo getting paid, not the coaches or schools. Those are the guys who we should find a way to punish. "Unfortunately, if there was wrongdoing by Mayo, there's not much that can be done to penalize him, as he will still be eligible to play professionally and earn millions of dollars next year." The real unfortunate issue is that Mayo should have been a professional this past season but David Stern made a rule that prevented 18 year old elite athletes from starting their career in which they would likely be a success. I agree with you, Adam, but can you outline a way that we would be able to publish the agents? The only thing I can think of is that a license could be revoked, but that seems terribly unlikely in a business that thrives off signing elite clients. Why do they care about NCAA rules? Now that the golfing world got to know Paul Goydos, people (and endorsement companies) will be all over this guy. What a great story. We learned a lot about his honest and funny personality, which is a change from the typical professional athlete. Also, it became well publicized this weekend that he is a 43 year old single dad who gained custody of his two daughters a few years ago, which is extremely difficult and rare for a touring professional. He made more money yesterday than he made in his best year on tour (16 years). You have to feel good for this guy. Josh, the NCAA can't possibly do it alone. The NBA and NFL need to cooperate. They have vetting processes for who is allowed to represent their athletes, right? Well, if you get someone in trouble with the NCAA, you can't represent anyone in the NBA. That'd be a deterrent. Ncaa will never look at USC any closer than their administration. LOIC to ncaa and USC. First, Adam, do you really think they didn't notice that OJ Mayo seemed pretty well taken care of when Tim Floyd himself said he came from an impoverished background? Same with Reggie Bush. The amazing part is that the NCAA is so blind. They couldn't catch a cheat if they tried, it takes ESPN, Washington Post, etc....to get anything done. The real lack of institutional control is with the NCAA. The $$$ comes first just like it does for the agents. The only people that seemed to have NOT known OJ wasn't legit was USC and the NCAA. I mean EVERYONE in the United States knew except USC and the NCAA. It's embarrassing, especially in the wake of the Reggie Bush scandal. (Well, USC knew, and so did the NCAA, but ignorance is bliss!) I know the excuses will follow asking how "they" could have known. That mechanisms are in place, but what do you do if people lie, etc....and asking us all what we would in such a situation. The excuses are always ready, that's one thing the NCAA and USC seem to truly excel at. Congrats to Bonnie!! Post a Comment |
  
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