What the Sports?

Did O.J. Mayo Violate NCAA Rules?

2008-01-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

Carmelo Anthony gave O.J. Mayo some tickets to go to Monday's Lakers-Nuggets game. It seems innocent enough right? The tickets (priced at $230 each) may get O.J. in trouble with NCAA authorities. NCAA rules prohibit free admission to professional sports organizations unless tickets are allowed to the entire student body. The NCAA has to determine if Anthony gave the tickets to O.J. as a friend or as an agent of the Nuggets. This action could lead to a suspension or could force Mayo to donate the value of the tickets to charity. This rule makes sense, but not for this situation. Who hasn't received free tickets? Not everyone has received free tickets from a professional athlete or organization, but several people know someone who works for or plays for a professional team. I would hate to see Mayo punished for something some simple. Hopefully it will be resolved without punishment. Whats wrong with a college athlete having a little fun?

Signing Day in Upcoming in Arkansas

2008-01-20T12:48:00.001-08:00

Recently, ESPN writer Gene Wojciechowski wrote a really funny story about the struggles new Arkansas Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino must be having. With national signing day only a few days away, this story gives a funny look at what having Coach Petrino in your home recruting your son might actually be like.

National signing day is Feb. 6, which means new Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino has just three more weeks to convince blue-chip recruits -- and their parents -- to commit to the Razorbacks.

I'd give anything to be one of those parents when Petrino stopped by for his in-home visit.

Petrino: "Before we start, can I just say one thing from the bottom of my heart? This is by far the best Chex Mix I've ever had in my life. My wife Becky will kill me if I leave here without the recipe."

Recruit's dad: "Recipe? You open the bag and pour it into a bowl."

"Hold on -- I'm writing this down. Into … a … bowl. Well, I can certainly see where your son gets his smarts."

"Yes, about my son …"

"Best recruit I've ever seen. He could be a legend in Little Rock."

"You mean Fayetteville."

"Fayetteville … Little Rock. I keep getting those two mixed up. Memo to me: buy map of state."

"You've never actually seen my son play in person, have you?"

"Not exactly. But I have seen him on film and he's absolutely the kind of student-athlete I want
in, uh …"

"Fayetteville?"

"That's the place. And while we're discussing college campuses, do you mind me asking where your son has taken his official visits?"

"Well, so far he's talked to Notre Dame, LSU, Florida, Mississippi and Auburn."

"Weird -- so did I. What I meant to say is, has he made any kind of verbal commitment?"

"Yes, to Auburn."

"Weird -- so did I. I mean, he's only given them his word, right?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"It's been my experience that if you try hard enough, you can get out of anything, including your word."

"Why don't you tell me about your personal philosophy as a head coach."

"Well, we're going to throw the ball so much that they're going to name an airline after us."

"But for how long?"

"Pardon me?"

"I said, 'For how long?' I was looking at your career bio. Since 1983 you've coached at two different NFL teams and seven different schools -- eight, counting Arkansas -- and only once have you stayed longer than three years. My son has a better chance of lasting longer at Arkansas than you do."

"Like I said at the news conference a few weeks ago, I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that I made the right decision. But enough about me. Why don't we talk about what jersey number your son prefers. Personally, I like --"

"Hold on. In 2002, when you left your eighth team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, for your ninth team, Auburn, you said, 'I gave it a good run in the NFL. I enjoyed my time there and learned a lot. But college is where I prefer to be.'"

"You work for Google or something? But you're right, I love the college game. That's why I'm sitting here in your house tonight. So, all together now: 'Moooooooooo, Wig! Pooie!"'

"I think it's, 'Woooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!'"

"Memo to me: learn pig call."

"It's calling the hogs."

"My bad."

"Another recruiter was here a few days ago. He said people are calling you, 'Coach Pinocchio.' He said you have a history of lying."

"I don't think I have a lying issue."

"In 2003, your first year as Louisville's head coach, you lied about a secret meeting with Auburn officials to discuss replacing your former boss, Tommy Tuberville -- who hadn't even been fired."

"I was a young coach and I made a mistake."

"You weren't that young. You were 42."

"I meant young, compared to Joe Paterno."

"In 2004 you lied when you said coaching Louisville football was, 'the best job in the country.'"

"Now, wait a minute, I really liked that place."

"But you talked to Auburn in 2003, and had contact with Notre Dame, Florida, Mississippi, LSU and the Oakland Raiders during the next two years about their job openings."

"OK, seventh-best job."

"In 2006, when Louisville sweetened your contract, you lied when you said, '… this is where I want to be."'

"It was. In July."

"And less than six months later you left Louisville for the Atlanta Falcons head coaching job. So you lied when you said college is where you preferred to be."

"Look, Louisville was paying me $25.5 over 10 years. The Falcons were paying me $24.5 million over five years. Do the math."

"I did, with some help from Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald. He added it up and found that during a 12-month period, you had a combined 20-years' worth of contracts with Louisville, Atlanta and now Arkansas worth more than $63 million."

"Not bad for a Pinocchio, eh?"

"In January 2007 you lied when you said coaching Atlanta is, 'truly the best football job in the NFL.'"

"Who are you -- Monk?"

"On Dec. 10, you lied to Falcons owner Arthur Blank when you said you'd return to the team in 2008. A day later, with a 3-10 record, you resigned and took the Arkansas job."

"You'd leave too if you saw the rush hour traffic in that town."

"Every one of you coaches tells my son that the two biggest decisions he'll ever make are choosing a school and choosing a wife. So why would I let him choose you?"

"Like I told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after I took the Falcons job, I think I develop a lot of really good, strong relationships that last a long time and get everybody on the same page."

"Speaking of pages, you left a one-page, one-paragraph, four-sentence form letter for your players when you resigned from the Falcons. That doesn't sound like you had a strong relationship."

"Did I mention we run a lot of four-wide receiver sets?"

"Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington told reporters that you preached team and family, 'and then he quit on us.' Falcons running back Warrick Dunn said, 'Arkansas should be worried. Any family and any kid that he recruits should be worried.' And Jamaal Anderson, who played at Arkansas and played for you in Atlanta, told the Journal-Constitution, 'I'm just afraid to see what happens if he does bad at Arkansas. Is he going to leave those kids?' Well, are you?"

"Uh, is there any Chex Mix left?"

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at gene.wojciechowski@espn3.com.

See the actual article here.

Long Shootout

2008-01-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

When the Capitals and Oilers went into overtime on Thursday, no one expected it to take 12 rounds to score a goal. Twenty-three straight shooters failed to score a goal in overtime. Matt Bradley was the one to break the scoreless streak and move the Capitals to a 5-4 victory. Olie Kolzig (pictured left) was the stone wall which helped the Capitals give the Oilers only their third shootout loss of 14 shootouts this year. Dwayne Roloson was credited with a losing effort in goal for the Oilers despite holding the first 11 shooters scoreless. These two goal tenders get my vote for amazing performances of the week. It can't be easy denying shooters over and over again like they were doing. The shootout was the second longest in Capitals history behind a 15 round shootout in 2005. For more information about the game look at the recap at NHL.com.

No Comforting Seinfeld

2008-01-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

WLUK, a fox affiliate in Green Bay, has decided to drop its normal rerun of Seinfeld from the schedule. What is the reason behind it? The reasoning is to keep Eli Manning from getting comfortable. Eli's schedule is clear during the 5:30 slot which would normally allow him to watch one of his favorite shows. General Manager Jay Zoller of WLUK would not feel comfortable letting Manning get comfortable. Zoller said, "We don't want to give any comfort to the enemy whatsoever when they come into town". This makes sense, but is it really necessary? Does the TV programming Eli watches during the week really matter all that much? I can't answer these questions, but I can say that if I were a Green Bay Packer I would love this. Any time a local TV station goes that far out of its way to help you out, you definately can't complain. This is another hilarious example of how seriously people take sports in America, and I don't see anything wrong with it at all, in fact, I like the idea. The TV station is also allowing local fans to vote which TV program should be played in that spot instead. What is the number one idea thus far you ask? A special about the great Packers coach Vince Lombarti. They sure do love their football in Green Bay. I would have picked Green Bay to win the game before I heard about this. After this news came out, I am almost certain Green Bay will win. I don't know how you could argue that.

Taunting Fan

2008-01-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

This hockey fan got to see himself on the jumbotron and television taunting the opposing team's player. Aparently, he and his friends thought it was pretty funny, and I did as well. Thanks to Ebaumsworld for the video.

Top Ten College Gameday Signs of '07

2008-01-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of waking up on a Saturday morning in the fall is knowing that College Gameday will be on. There isn't a better way to prepare yourself for a day of watching football than to get in depth analysis of the upcoming games. Since they film on a college campus every week, there is plenty of opportunity for the students to get their two cents about the college football season on national television. Here are my top ten favorite signs from the students and fans themselves. I am open to comments and new suggestions so let me know if there is a sign you think I missed for this season.

10

"LSU can bleaux me"

There is nothing wrong with using a teams owns phrase against them. I thought this sign was hilarious.

9

"Honk if your HS team played Kansas"

We all know Kansas had an awful schedule, but this fan thought it was necessary to point it out in another way.

8

"Nick Saben: Liar Liar"

I don't think the people of Baton Rouge have very nice feelings for Nick Saban. I can't say that I blame them.

7

"Dorsey eats Tebown Steak"

Whitty.

6

"Rudy would start at ND this year"

I personally enjoyed the always overrated Notre Dame struggle. Aparently, this fan did as well.

5

"Best of D3: 1. Williams, 2. Notre Dame"

I'm not really sure why Gameday went to this divison 3 game, but this sign was hilarious nontheless.

"T-bag Tebow" and "Tebow wears Jorts"

This one is a tie. Simple shots at the "almighty" Tim Tebow (at least as Flordia fans say). He definately deserved the Heisman, but seriously, putting him in the popular Chuck Norris jokes is a little much people.

3

"Mangino Causes World Hunger"

That is just funny. I don't care who you are, you have to laugh at that one. I did enjoy another Kansas sign that read "Kansas Football - A Tradition Since September", but Mangino is a big man.

2

"Coaching Record: Corso 73-85, Stoops 86-19"

Seriously, what is Corso thinking most of the time? This tells the story.

1

"You can't spell c_ck__cker without OSU"

Classic Gameday sign. I don't think I even need to say anything other than this sign was hilarious.

Texas Coach Touches Live Ball

2008-01-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

What was this Texas assistant coach thinking during this play? I guess he just caught up in the game, but he could have cost Texas a bowl victory with this change in possession and momentum. During the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl a few days ago, Texas assistant coach Chris Jessie stepped onto the field and touched the ball causing a penalty which changed a fumble recovery by Texas into a first and goal for Arizona State. Texas was up 21-0 at the time and could have taken the rest of the life away from Arizona State with the ball at midfield, but the penalty gave Arizona State a first and goal and led to a touchdown. Luckily for Chris, Texas held onto the lead to win, but this was one of the craziest plays of the year.

Maggette Magic

2007-12-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

You just think Corey Maggette just commited a turnover. Actually, he was just setting up a three point attempt, or at least thats what he wants us to think. This is an amazing hook shot from just past half court to beat the buzzer.

Millsaps Folley

2007-12-14T16:54:00.000-08:00

This could be the play of the year. Millsaps is winning with two seconds left when Trinity University laterals the ball 15 times for a 61 yard touchdown. This play was just unbelieveable. You just have to see it to believe it.

Scared Pitcher

2007-12-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

This Japanese pitcher gets scared after hitting Tony Batista. This is probably the funniest hit by pitch I've ever seen.

Mississippi State Championship Almost Lost to Celebration

2007-12-10T08:46:00.001-08:00

This is a highlight tape of the Mississippi High School 5A state championship football game betwen South Panola and George County. South Panola's running back drops the ball in celebration at the 1 yard line at about the 6:30 mark in this video resulting in a George County touchback. George County makes a good comeback and gets an onside kick down 7 in the 4th. The final play looked like pass interference could have been called but it wasn't. South Panola almost broke a 74 game winning streak due to the celebration, but congratulations to them and George County for good seasons and a great game.

Phil Dawson Crazy Field Goal

2007-12-02T20:17:00.001-08:00

I loved this one. Mainly because I'm a Browns fan, but also because I'd never seen it before. What drove me crazy is how the two officials underneath the goal post were looking right up at it and just looked at each other like they didn't know what happened. You would think they could figure out that it went through. Nonetheless, it was a great kick and a great victory for the Browns.

Giving Him The Business!

2007-12-02T11:16:00.001-08:00

This one made me scratch my head. Aparently ACC offical Ron Cherry thinks that "giving him the business" is an acceptable explaination for a penalty. Personally, I thought it was pretty funny.

The funniest part is the ACC official wasnt the first to give this call during a game. This is an old game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets.