It's Hard Out Here for a Star at USC

Since this is a New York Sports blog, I am writing this under the guise that if OJ Mayo is available for the Knicks to take in the NBA Draft, I think that they should select him, over Eric Gordon and over Jeryd Bayless.

By now I am sure that you have all read the story about one of OJ Mayo's confidants coming clean about all of the violations that Mayo committed as a high schooler and as a freshman at USC this season. Allegedly Mayo was receiving cash and other gifts from his friend/advisor Rodney Guillory who was getting the money he was spending on Mayo from BDA (Bill Duffy Associates), the sports agency that Mayo signed with when he declared for the NBA draft. Obviously, if true, this is a violation of NCAA regulations and Mayo as well as USC and BDA should be punished for it. This is all well and good, I have no issue with there being punishments when a violation occurs. However, on Sportscenter this morning, there was a 5 to 10 minute piece in which the Outside the Lines reporters spoke with Louis Johnson (the confidant who is accusing Mayo and Guillory, after Guillory "sabotaged Johnson's relationship with Mayo") and then proceeded to follow around Mayo and Guillory with their accusations. The reporters ambushed Mayo the day of his press conference to announce his draft intentions, on one of the happiest and most important days of his life, Mayo was confronted and attacked by these so-called reporters. I understand that they were just doing their jobs and that as journalists it is their duty to find the truth. But Mayo is still just a kid, was it really that important for them to ruin his draft intentions? Did they need to come in guns ablaze trying to catch him and trick him into admitting that he had received money from BDA? No it was not. The piece reminded me of the recent Miguel Tejeda piece that Outside the Lines did, where they confronted Tejada about his age, and the fact that he is two years older than the Astros organization believed. Two freaking years. The way that ESPN covered the story you would have thought that he had admitted to taking steroids, with Roger Clemens, in Jose Canseco's house, will falsifying documents for terrorists. Yes Tejeda made a mistake and yes Mayo might have potentially made a mistake, but the guerrilla tactics that these reporters are using to confront these men make the reporters seem like the bad guys.

-Mose

We Remember - Chris Childs

We will be running a segment called "We Remember" in an effort to honor old New York players, who may not have been the best, but were able to help their teams in different ways. Today, we remember Chris Childs.

He didn't go straight to the NBA. After going undrafted in 1989, point guard Chris Childs graduated from Boise State and left to play in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) hoping to be signed by an NBA team, eventually. Childs dedicated himself to the CBA from the '89-'90 season to the '93-'94 season, when finally made his mark averaging 17.9 points-per-game, 7.6 assists-per-game and winning the league MVP. He was signed by the Nets at the end of the season and was finally given his first shot at an NBA career. 

As a 27-year-old rookie, Childs started 11 games in New Jersey, averaging 5.8 points-per-game and dishing off 4.1 assists-per-game. In his second season, a contract year, Childs started 54 games at point guard for New Jersey, averaging 12.8 points and 7.0 assists, both career highs. He had a 17-assist game against the Lakers in February. 

At the end of the season, he signed with the Knicks, the team he will always be most associated with. In '96-'97 Childs helped the team to 57 victories and a playoff appearance. In '98-'99, he helped them win 27 games in a strike-shortened season and become the first number eight seed to power its way to the NBA finals. That same year, he was named to the All-NBA Interview Second-Team as one of the most likable and intelligent basketball players. A team leader, Childs continued to help the Knicks win until he was traded to the Raptors for Mark Jackson and Muggsy Bogues in 2001. It was the last time the Knicks have finished over .500.

After spending one and a half years in Toronto and 12 games in a return to New Jersey, Childs was released by the Nets and decided to call it quits. Childs' Knicks legacy: leader. His career points-per-game and three-point-percentage both climbed higher in the playoffs. We remember Childs as s big game player with a character that can't be questioned.

- D. Spell