Howdy BN. The new site looks great!

Had to come back here for after today's big news.

In case any of you missed the full OTL segment on the Juice Deuce, I posted it in the nifty FanShots section.

Wanted to go into it a little deeper though.

In that full segment and her extensive writeup ESPN's Kelly Naqi (who must have gone to a different school of sports journalism from the monkeys who pose as sports reporters in LA) gave us this little detail about OJ2 and BDA:

As Mayo held up different clothing combinations for Guillory's approval, Johnson said Mayo had a plan. Over the next year in a city that is home to the stars, he was going to create the Mayo Brand, and then take his total package to the National Basketball Association. Once he turned pro, Mayo would sign with an agent at Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management (BDA), which represents a number of NBA stars, including Steve Nash, Yao Ming and Carmelo Anthony; and the agent would polish that image.

It didn't occur to me right away. I just realized a little while ago that this is not the first time we are hearing Carmelo's name in a OJ2 story. Remember this from the LA Times back in January ?:

USC freshman guard O.J. Mayo may have violated NCAA rules by accepting complimentary tickets from Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony to Monday's Lakers-Nuggets game at Staples Center.

Although USC compliance officials could not be reached for comment, NCAA bylaw 16.11.2.2.3 states that student-athletes may not receive "free or reduced-cost admission to professional athletics contests from professional sports organizations, unless such services also are available to the student body in general."

It was not immediately clear if the NCAA would consider Anthony an agent of the Nuggets or merely an individual who gave tickets to a friend.

The tickets Mayo received were located behind courtside seats near mid-court and had a face value of $230 each.

A compliance director from another West Coast school said that although he did not have all the details, Mayo's actions could constitute a secondary violation and that the NCAA could order Mayo to donate the value of the tickets to charity.

Nothing came out of that story as Tim Floyd was super duper quick to take the fall :

Southern California coach Tim Floyd has taken the blame for a possible NCAA rules violation by freshman standout O.J. Mayo.

Mayo accepted free tickets to Monday night's game between Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers from Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, and attended after telling his coach of the situation.

"O.J. asked me if he could go to the game," Floyd said before the Trojans left for a two-game road trip that began Thursday night at Oregon State. "I asked him where he was getting the ticket, and he said, `Carmelo.' I said, `How long have you known him?' He said `Since seventh grade.' I said, `Sure, he's a friend."

Mayo, averaging a team-leading 19.7 points, told reporters Tuesday he had received the tickets, which were located behind courtside seats near midcourt at Staples Center and had a face value of $230 each.

"It's a secondary violation. It's one of ignorance on my part if it was a mistake," Floyd said. "I'll take the responsibility because I told the kid he could go to the game. I assumed he could go to the game. If they want to suspend me for a game, suspend me for a game, but not the kid. He did the right thing."

May be someone should probe deeper into that story again?

I don't know. I think Tim has few more questions to answer from that story. Don't you?