Aug.15 at 3:16 pm

matt says:
first?

Aug.15 at 3:20 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
thats funny and all, but it also says jr smith is probably dating solange!

Aug.15 at 3:31 pm

Tenorca says:
Yet another reason to love BD. OJ Mayo is a chump.

Aug.15 at 3:37 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
kinda reminds me of kobes i-dont-know-this-kid schtick with raja(even though bell is older than bean)

Aug.15 at 3:38 pm

Domo says:
DAMN DATS F***d UP. MAYO CANT SAY S**T BECAUSE B-DIDY IN THE L AND MAYO IS JUST ABOUT TO START COLLEGE. BARON SHOWD HIM HOW THEY GET DOWN IN LA. DUCES

Aug.15 at 3:43 pm

YODAS says:
Yeaha boy

Aug.15 at 3:44 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
ryan, ill let you handle this one, you always know just how to do it

Aug.15 at 3:53 pm

Allenp says:
Man, I wish I was hearing reports that Iverson was working out with Melo. Cause he needs to be.

Aug.15 at 3:54 pm

Question says:
Now this time, try it again in English Domo…

Aug.15 at 4:06 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
dammit question, i said let ryan handle this guy, trust me, ryan will snatch the dignity from his guts

Aug.15 at 4:06 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Thank you, Jesus.
Tenorca says “OJ Mayo is a chump.” Tenorca, I was going to argue with your assertion, but then I clicked on your name, which takes me to your blog, which looks interesting. Scanning your links on the right hand side — sort of the new millenium version of checking out somebody’s CD collection and book shelf, I think — I notice a hotlink that says “Bill Simmons: read nothing else about sports anywhere.” And I think, “Dude, you’re reading slamonline — you’re totally cheating on Sports Guy!” And then I think, “I don’t need to put this guy on blast, because he’s already done it to himself, and has even been thoughtful enough to include a link.” So, thank YOU, Tenorca.
P.S. Unless you were kidding. Then we can be friends.
P.P.S. It’s actually OK to like Baron and OJ, at the same time even. Did Simmons say it wasn’t?

Aug.15 at 4:12 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Is Domo really worth a response? Ok, here’s one: “Word is Mayo more than held his own in the games.” I just cut-and-pasted that from the story above. Again, I like Baron a lot and respect both his game and his sense of defending his home turf, but he sort of sounds like a cranky old man here. Must be the beard.

Aug.15 at 4:14 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
actually ryan, i was talking about domo, but thats good stuff too

Aug.15 at 4:16 pm

H to the izzo says:
Ryan,an unnessacery(well they’re always nessacery) shot at Bill Simmons was more than enjoyable

Aug.15 at 4:17 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
it seems i should have refreshed the page before responding. i checked out birdmonster a lil myself and it appears he is serious about the bill simmons thing

Aug.15 at 4:24 pm

Anthony Verna says:
I also noticed no word of Iverson - ahem - practicing.

Aug.15 at 4:40 pm

Reggie Evans says:
Skeets must do give us the dialogue to this incident

Aug.15 at 4:41 pm

Reggie Evans says:
oops. “Skeets must give us the dialogue to this incident”

Aug.15 at 4:46 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
speaking of skeets, kobe didnt “shoot it up that far”

Aug.15 at 5:13 pm

Jukai says:
I’m surprised Mayo didn’t headbutt Davis. Or choke him. Or sucker punch him in the gym.

Aug.15 at 5:24 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Me too!

Aug.15 at 5:36 pm

Tenorca says:
Ryan: I was half kidding. I’ve only seen Mayo play once. All I know is Baron made basketball in the bay watchable again. If you lived through years of Murphleavy, you’d be touchy too.

Aug.15 at 5:47 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Then we can be half-friends, though I’m not sure I can forgive the Simmons link, at least not as it’s currently worded.

Aug.15 at 5:51 pm

Jukai says:
Why do ya care for this kid so much, Ryan? He’s pretty unlikable.

Aug.15 at 5:51 pm

Jukai says:
OJ, I mean. Not Tenorca.

Aug.15 at 5:55 pm

Tenorca says:
Ryan: Since SLAM has, essentially, saved my sanity at work for the last year, I’m taking your comment to heart. Check out the page now. I think we can get along, so long as we don’t let your ill-advised

Aug.15 at 5:58 pm

John D says:
The Simmons hate is just stupid. He’s one of the few good things about the Worldwide Follower.

Aug.15 at 5:59 pm

Tenorca says:
…never press “submit comment” in the middle of the sentence. Just promise to watch the first Warriors game where Mayo’s on the opposite team for me. Odds of Mayo getting dominated: 98%. Beardo is unstoppable, you know.

Aug.15 at 6:09 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Ok, we can be full friends now.
As for Simmons, John, I know a lot of people like him, I just honestly never have, even from back in the BSG days when some of my SLAM co-workers used to read him religiously. I just don’t like him, and his take on OJ is indicative of why. That said, I do appreciate he has a lot of fans and probably gets more hits for a single column than we do in a month. Just so you know, I hated him BEFORE he got popular.

Aug.15 at 6:12 pm

Ryan Jones says:
And Jukai: Barry Bonds is my personal measuring stick for unlikeable athletes, and I can not imagine putting OJ in the same category, or even a similar one. That said, I’ve never met Barry, and I’ve spent a lot of time with OJ, who I’ve found to be one of the most personable and forthcoming high school basketball players I’ve ever met. I personally doubt spending time with Barry would change my mind, but I’m betting that spending time with OJ would change yours. Anyway, if this continues to be a topic you’re at all interested in, please read the next issue of SLAM. Thank you.

Aug.15 at 6:16 pm

albie1kenobi says:
Tenorca, “Just promise to watch the first Warriors game where Mayo’s on the opposite team for me. Odds of Mayo getting dominated: 98%.” i agree with you, if Baron’s body can hold up til then. Yeah i’m from the Bay too but i just can’t trust his body. i just don’t.
and Ryan, glad you hate Simmons. i don’t really buy the stuff he says either, but i find it entertaining. i think if you start writing columns on the regular, we’d be all over it. your style is (cue Borat) NIIIICE. you make me miss the east coast.

Aug.15 at 6:22 pm

Tenorca says:
Even being from the bay, I can’t help but agree with your Bonds comment. As for Mayo, I just don’t think its smart to jaw at an NBA pro when you’re barely out of high school. You’ve got to earn your right to talk trash.

Aug.15 at 6:26 pm

Reggie Evans says:
I doubt spending more time with Kobe will change Ryan’s mind. HELLO!

Aug.15 at 6:27 pm

Reggie Evans says:
Warning on above comment: Unsolicited Kobe Mention

Aug.15 at 6:40 pm

Ryan Jones says:
You can definitely argue that he needs to “earn” his right to pop sh*t to an NBA All-Star, or you can admire that he’s got the balls to do it straight out of high school — and according to that article, and my own experience, the game to back it up. You can probably guess which way I lean. I’m going home now.

Aug.15 at 6:51 pm

Tenorca says:
albie1kenobi: Oh, BD could be in a wheelchair by 2009. Anyway, you know you’d rather roll the dice with possibly-gimpy Baron than with any of the other bogus PGs we’d been running the previous decade.

Aug.15 at 6:57 pm

Tenorca says:
You can also definitely argue your point too, Ryan, and it does show that the kid’s got some spunk. When/if he makes it to the NBA (and I know all signs point to lottery pick, but, you know, nothing’s certain), I’ll evaluate the man. For now, he’s just a kid jawing at the big dogs though, no matter what kind of guy he is.

Aug.15 at 7:39 pm

MikeC says:
“I don’t know this kid.” Priceless. I’m going to start telling random kids that I don’t know them.

Aug.15 at 7:59 pm

albie1kenobi says:
touché Tenorca, touché. did we even have a pg the past 10 years?

Aug.15 at 8:31 pm

Chukaz says:
I can’t understand why B-diddy would hat on mayo. Mayo is really good. Whenever I’ma eat a sandwish I use some mayo. Wait… wrong mayo. You tell him B-diddy (the @$$hole shoulda gotten in Jessica Alba’s pants while he could).

Aug.15 at 8:33 pm

Chukaz says:
I meant hate on mayo. I’m eating some right now. That’s not true, but who cares. When am I gonna get my own column?

Aug.15 at 8:54 pm

Kevin Wilson says:
I’m reserving judgment on Mayo until I see what kind of recruiting job he did at USC. If he can make Tim Floyd a winner, I’m convinced.

Aug.15 at 9:17 pm

Jukai says:
Ryan, I’ve heard that OJ Mayo is VERY personable. People who talk to him one on one say he’s a real cool guy, funny and someone who’d be awesome to get a beer with. That doesn’t change the fact that he has gotten into several fights with his fellow students, including several incidents that seemed like he was picking on nerds… headbutted a referee… choked his friend… smokes like a chimney.. And what I’m really tired of is people defending him. There’s this movement out there that people HAVE IT IN FOR OJ MAYO. And that’s true, the same way people have it in for Rasheed Wallace and Ron Artest. If you’re a punk, people are going to put you under the magnifying glass. As Kevin Wilson put it, if he never touches a human being again, and leads a morally decent life, then it was all youthful indiscretions. If he gets in another fight with a player over what he may or may not have said to some random girl in his class, then I don’t care how cool he is to hang out… he’s a punk, and that’s exactly what the NBA doesn’t need right now.

Aug.15 at 9:17 pm

Jukai says:
All Melo wants to do is hang out at his crib and drink a beer and play Gears of War all day. That’s pretty sweet. That doesn’t get him off the hook for sucker punching two Knicks players.

Aug.15 at 9:36 pm

MOMONEY says:
Once again: Baron = Boss. Period.

Aug.15 at 11:49 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Jukai, how good are your sources?

Aug.16 at 1:32 am

Sebastian Pruiti says:
This is nothing too big in my opinion, it happens at every open run ever. Someone doesn’t respect a call, and people get heated. The only difference is that in this one, a big time NBA star, and the best high school player were involved. P.S. I have hated Bill Simmons since the beginning as well, one of the main reasons I switched from ESPN to SLAM 2 years ago.

Aug.16 at 1:43 am

Jukai says:
Ryan, I’d love to be corrected. My sources are “the internets”. However, it’s pretty well documented that he got into at least two fights, one where he sucker punched a poor kid in the face, which may have been the wrong kid to begin with. And, whether he really headbutted the ref or not, it’s suspendable to even let your anger go as far as to touch the guy. I also read he may or may not have choked his female friend, but I am having trouble finding where I read that. So I guess it never happened. Once again, PLEASE defend him. No one would be happier than me if he comes out like a Lebron or a Wade and proves he’s a great guy.

Aug.16 at 2:06 am

Jukai says:
I’ve read a few archieved posts on OJ, Ryan. You REALLY got this guys back. Any specific reason why?

Aug.16 at 8:50 am

Ryan Jones says:
Jukai: My LeBron experience is the basis for how I’m approaching OJ. As you probably noticed in one of those previous posts, I made the comparison between their high school experiences, specifically how much LeBron was hammered during his senior year by the national media, most of whom had never met him or even seen him play in person. Why? Mostly becuase of the Hummer (which his mom bought him as an 18th birthday present, through a “loan” she most likely got through a potential agent) and the throwback jerseys that some clerk at some store outside Akron gifted him. Perfect judgment on the part of the James family? Of course not, but considering their background and the fact that so many others (ESPN, tournament promoters, SLAM, etc) were already making money off them — and knowing LeBron would never play college ball — I found it hard to blame them for trying to get something. Maybe that’s because I knew them. Meanwhile, all these columnists and talking heads from all over the country just killed the kid for basically being everything that was wrong with sports. Well, yeah, he’s really ruined basketball in the four years since, hasn’t he? The smell of that horsesh*t moralizing stuck with me, and so I’m strongly inclined to give an 18 or 19 year old kid from an underpriveleged background the benefit of the doubt in a similar situation. Has OJ gotten into a fight or two? Most high school kids have, and not having been there, I have no idea of the circumstances (though I have heard the rumors). Have most high school kids been in a car in which somebody was carrying marijuana? I’d guess that probably applies to half the kids in America on a given Friday night. But how many kids wear a target like OJ has, being talked about on ESPN and known everywhere he goes. How many idiots talk sh*t to him trying to get famous themselves? I’ll assume he’s gotten special treatment for his fame and been targeted for it in roughly equal measures. If he’s as much of a knucklehead as some make him out to be, I’m sure we’ll KNOW soon enough. But in the meantime, I’m going on my own experiences and following in the time-honored SLAM tradition of giving ballplayes the benefit of the doubt. I should probably go finish my story now.

Aug.16 at 1:26 pm

Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
read all this and more in ryans article in the next issue of slam

Aug.16 at 8:42 pm

Jukai says:
Oh c’mon, I just wrote this HUGE RESPONSE and it disappeared. UGhfjkasfjfklaj! Okay, to sum it up: I agree with the special treatment/crap thing. I don’t like him cause he seems to get out of fights/run in with law WAY TO EASILY. He’s got a free pass cause he’s OJ Mayo. I agree with you that what he has done has been made out fourty times worse, because he is OJ Mayo, and people view him as the future of basketball, and not a kid who has some growing to do. Now submit damnit!

Sep.14 at 4:31 pm

Rochelle says:
The only thing I’ve to say at this time OJ Mayo going to make alot of people choke on there on words!! When you do choke, I’ll I tolded you so!!!! Yes and I know him personally!!!!

Sep.14 at 4:34 pm

Rochelle says:
I just want to correct a mistake, by the way I meant to say OJ going to make alot of people choke on there own words!! “Smile”

Sep.16 at 10:25 am

Greg says:
thata boy Baron, OJ sucks

Sep.18 at 9:14 pm

raw-chickn says:
greg get a life, o.j.’s just begun so sit back and relax. huntington,w.va.

Oct.9 at 3:14 pm

TiNY says:
haa yeah boomdizzle!!

Oct.12 at 12:26 pm

mike says:
oj mayo is better than baron he is mad thart he is washed up

Nov.26 at 2:13 pm

Shad says:
man quit hatin on OJ!that dude is super just like you so y you wanna waste ur time hating on a black guy….LMAO

May.22 at 2:12 am

j-hop says:
for all of u who don’t know what you are talking about. Baron did that as a punk move to get into O.J.’s head for the upcoming season. I know somebody who was there and they said that Mayo was givin it to Baron. Can’t wait for next season already