O. J. Mayo Report 2: Investigation, the ESPN Way

ed. note - read D-Wil's Monday column on O.J. Mayo here. Chapter 2 of Marc Isenberg's book, Money Players: A Guide to Success in Sports, Business & Life for the Current and Future Pro Athletes, is titled, "College Rules!" The initial words of the chapter are these from sports agent Richard Woods: "As soon as you have given a player money you have [read more...]

Regular Seasoning

A college football season just ended, with two different prevalent trains of thought regarding who should be crowned national champion. Some would make a case that LSU, the team that won the official BCS title, is the best team because their performance over the course of the season. The Tigers were 7-1 against teams in the Top 20 of the [read more...]

The (NC) Academy Awards of Football

Almost every major recreational genre has an end of the year awards show. The best TV shows win Emmy's, Grammy's go to the best in music, and the top theater performances are awarded Tony's. Even sports have one, if you count the ESPY's as a valid award show. But there's no doubt the most famous of all these honorary ceremonies [read more...]

Fighting for Roses

Some people just refuse to learn from their own mistakes. For example, Ben Gordon still thinks he can drain 20-foot fade-away jumpers with a hand in his face, even though he's shooting under 40 percent this season. Ozzie Guillen continued to bring Mike MacDougal out of his bullpen (54 appearances in 2007) despite the right-hander's 6.80 ERA. And Rex Grossman [read more...]

Hart Surgery: In-Vince-able

I am drained. Ever since Matt Leinart's last-second pass brushed off the fingertips of Dwayne Jarrett, allowing the clock to run out and secure Texas' first national title since 1970, I have been putting this column together in the back of my mind without really knowing how I was going to do it. There is so much to say: about the [read more...]

Hart Surgery: Rose Bowl Bound

This is it. In my entire life as a sports fan, I have never made it this far. I have been to a Final Four, seen the last game of a World Series, and seen Tiger Woods fist-pump his way around the U.S Open, but today is a new experience.I am on my way to Pasadena to see my beloved [read more...]

Hart Surgery: Pour Me Another

Oooooooooh boy. You know, I used to think my premature baldness was caused by genetics or perhaps sticking my tongue in an electric socket repeatedly as a boy. Now I am convinced it is because of college football. Being a college football fan these days is like going out for a night of binge drinking. Every time you do it you [read more...]

NCAA Greed May Spare Bloom, Williams

After an off-season that should have provoked at least a few winces upon looking in the mirror, (Man, I'm that ugly?) the NCAA has a chance to show some sound rationale, and perhaps heal some of those blemishes. This week both Jeremy Bloom and Mike Williams are back practicing with Colorado and USC respectively, their presence alone surely sending a few [read more...]

Hart Surgery: We Can Do Better

My aversion to the BCS has been well documented in this space over the years (ok, year). The system has failed again, but I feel no satisfaction. All you need to know about the BCS can be summed up in this sentence: If Texas had beaten Arkansas and lost only to Oklahoma, they would most likely have finished as the #2 BCS team - [read more...]