THE CHOKER AND THE THIEF

Ex-trojan (sort of) O.J. Mayo chokes away the game-sealing Free Throws, Kobe’s 3 with 4.3 seconds left steals the lead away, and Mayo’s miss at the buzzer leaves Memphis in a Purple Haze

If none of his games at sc actually counted, is he still an ex-trojan?  You’re damn right he is.  O.J. Mayo will always be a trojan, not because he wore the uniform for a year (who knows about classes), but because his arrogance and selfishness epitomize what it means to BE a trojan.

You’d HAVE to presume that he knew what he was doing with the Agents was going to leave a slimy residue all over the Program, but that he didn’t give a damn.  Then, outside of just denying everything, he hasn’t done anything to support the school as they have self-imposed sanctions on their Basketball Program, an admission of guilt in the Mayo Affair… despite Mayo still denying it.

Apparently, this whole NCAA ordeal is weighing on Mayo’s mental state, because the Grizzlies had the Lakers dead to rights — a 2 point lead with Mayo at the line for 2 with 18.8 seconds left.  But Mayo (an 84% Free Throw shooter, 4-for-4 to that point), who had earlier gotten called for a Technical Foul when he lost his cool, once again couldn’t handle the pressure, and bricked both free throws.

Of course the Lakers gave the ball to Kobe, who had just tied the game on a 3 a moment earlier.  And Kobe, in his first game back from an ankle injury in 18 days, had his driving shot blocked by Rudy Gay.  But the Lakers retained possession, and Kobe lost Gay for a 3-pointer to put the Lakers on top, 99-98.

Memphis had 4.3 seconds to give the their fans a night to remember, but Mayo tried a fallaway prayer over Pau Gasol, and it rimmed out as time expired.  The Grizzly fans will still remember it, but only as the night that Mayo cost them a victory over the World Champions.

In all fairness, Mayo is an amazing Basketball player, who will have a long, successful career in the NBA (unless he does something idiotic OFF the court).  The only consolation is that every time his name is mentioned in relation to usc, the topic will be cheating, payoffs, and sanctions, and how his “recruitment” was a big part of the SCandal Parade that might even take down the Football team too (if it didn’t already, by scaring Pom Pom away).

Some College Stars, who are actually GOOD representatives of their schools, have been doing well recently:  Arron Afflalo came up huge for Denver the other night against LeBron; Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook each got a Triple-Double last week, and Kevin Love continues to dominate the NBA Boards as an invaluable 6th Man.

There are just SO MANY good Bruins in the Pro’s now, that it’s too hard to keep up.  But the “good” news is that the total number is likely to decrease for each of the next few years.  But that’s okay — The current Bruins need to cut down on their “turnover” (as well as their Turnovers), so that continuity and experience can propel UCLA back to the top.

Comments

3 responses to “THE CHOKER AND THE THIEF”

  1. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    “Hey oj, where you going with that gun in your hand….I’m going down to get my memorabilia; I found her in the possession of another man…”

    Nothing like a true classic…

  2. kacey Avatar
    kacey

    How about a nice article about Darren Collison! he is the model for UCLA Bruins! hard work pays off!

    http://www.facebook.com/notes/bruins-nation/nba-celebrating-its-remarkable-rookie-darren-collison/326148259825

  3. Jake Avatar
    Jake

    Yeah!! Go Lakers !!, Thanks OJ