That short, sweet O.J. Mayo Interview I promised... Also featured in Score.

I’m the opposite of moderate, immaculately polished with the spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid.”

That’s a line from Atlanta’s home-grown rapper T.I. off of the song “Live Your Life,” and that sentence pretty much sums up what rookie phenom O.J. Mayo is right now. He just has IT. He was in town recently to play the Atlanta Hawks as well as to help introduce the marketing agency Eighty81, which is opening up a new office in Atlanta. I caught up with him for a few minutes to get his thoughts on life in the league.

Calandra Coone: What’s life like in the NBA? How is it different from college?
O.J. Mayo: I think it’s all the travel, you know, the climate changes. The travel is really rough going from city to city. You go from a cold city to a warm city and you’ve really just got to make sure you get enough rest.
C.C.: You’re averaging over 20 points per game, so you seem to be adjusting pretty well. Is Rookie of the Year something you’re shooting for?
O.J.: Nah, not really. I’m not really a person who looks for individual goals. I’m more of a team-goals type of person. I’m just looking to help better our team.
C.C.: What was it like for you on draft night being traded from the Timberwolves to the Grizzlies? Did you take that personally?
O.J.: Well, it just let me know that the NBA is definitely a business. I didn’t know I got traded until I saw it on TV. So it just let me know that it’s a business and I have to maintain, be a professional and stay strong.
C.C.: Are you going to be extra-motivated when you face the Timberwolves for the first time?
O.J.: Yeah probably so, haha, probably so.

As seen in Score.... sorta.

I wrote the paragraphs following this paragraph for Score this week. The editor left out a very important thought (highlighted in orange) so the end of my rant does not make sense in the paper. I've decided to include it. In fairness to the editor he did tell me it was kind of mean spirited. I did not intend for it to be mean spirited because hey, tis the season.....Truth hurts sometime and I'm not making this stuff up. When I wrote this they were only a -27 together, now they've jumped to -39.

I am not a stat geek, not by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t feel like stats always tell the whole truth. Besides that, stats sometimes get in the way of the opinion I want to have about certain players. Sometimes they work against the point I’m trying to make so I just don’t deal with them.
Every time I watch the Hawks play I get this nagging feeling that when Acie Law and Flip Murray are on the floor at the same time nothing good happens. Now of course I had nothing concrete to back this up, but this feeling just kept intensifying so I finally decided to look it up Friday night after the Hawks lost to the Raptors. I went to 82games.com and I was not surprised to learn that I in fact was correct. The Law Murray combo this season is absolutely awful. In defense of Murray, he’s equally as awful when he’s on the floor at the same time as Marvin Williams and Maurice Evans. In defense of Law, when he’s on the floor with Maurice Evans it’s also dreadful. It's not just the two of them together. See, this is exactly why I don’t bother with stats. The only point I wanted to make is that Coach Woodson should stop playing Law and Murray together unless there is absolutely no one else available. I don’t just limit that to point guards and shooting guards. I mean they shouldn’t be on the floor together unless there is no one else available in uniform. It feels that bad when they are on the court at the same time. What I discovered is that Woodson needs to not play Acie, Flip or Maurice much at all. Now that doesn’t make any sense. I told you stats don’t tell the whole truth.

The Washington Wizards fired Eddie Jordan last week after they started the season 1-10. My only feelings on this are if they were ready to fire him after only 11 games they might as well have fired him last season. They obviously weren’t convinced he was the right person for the job anyway.

Rashan Ali Smith Interview

If you aren't in Atlanta you probably can't totally grasp who and what Rashan Ali Smith is to the community. She's the perfect role model for any woman, young or old in Atlanta who aspires do to wonderful things. Rashan is more than just a radio personality on Hot 107.9's A-Team Morning Show and sideline reporter for the Atlanta Hawks. She has her hands in lots of things! She's also a philanthropist, a mother, a writer and an actress. Recently she played a character by the name of Monica in the movie Three Can Play That Game starring Vivica Fox and I can assure you Rashan is unforgettable in that movie! She really made the most out of all of her scenes! Atlanta better enjoy Mrs. Ali Smith while they can because although she'll always be Queen Of The East Side, she's on the verge of becoming too big to let just one city own her.

I recently exchanged emails with Rashan about her love for sports and her non-profit organization Sporty Girls Inc. Part of this interview appeared in Score Atlanta. Here is the interview in it's entirety.

How did you first become interested in sports?

I was born into a sports family. My father is Buck Godfrey who is the head football coach at Southwest Dekalb High School and the winningest high school football coach in Dekalb County history. My mother coached Pop Warner football at Glenwood Hills Park. She led her team to an undefeated season. Yes, my mother!

Not only did my father coach football, he also coached our summer league swimming team and the high school swim team at Towers High School and SWD. He taught me how to swim at the age of three. I began swimming competitively at the age of five. There were very few girls swimming at the time so I would have to swim the boys in my age group. It definitely helped me build character at an early age!

What is your favorite sport to play?

I am definitely good for a nice swimming workout from time to time! It used to be hard to swim recreationally because after so many years of training you kind of look at the pool like, "man, I sure did put in a lot of hours throughout my life." Training for swimming is arduous! It can be grueling at times. Nonetheless, it is the best exercise for your body, hands down.

What inspired you to create Sporty Girls?

Sporty Girls, Inc. is a non-profit organization which encourages young African-American girls to swim, play golf, tennis and soccer while developing lifestyle skills. We are in the midst of our first summer camp right now!! It has been extremely exciting!!! I am so thankful.

SGI was a dream that I had about two years ago. Growing up, my relay team and I were the only Black girls in the water for a number of years. We were very good and very successful. (We still have two records that stand in the Dekalb County Summer League Record books. One record is 23 years old.) All of us received full scholarships to swim in college. Two of us went to Florida A&M University. One attended Georgia Southern and the other went to Howard University. All of our degrees were free because we chose a sport that most African-American girls just don't do. So I thought to myself, why not create a way for girls from all economic backgrounds to be exposed to the sports "we" don't generally participate in on a professional level. There are scholarships being given in these sports, but they are not going to our youth because we simply have never participated in it.
Swimming also helped me to foster great relationships. The girls on my relay team were also in my wedding. That's what swimming did for me.

Do you think non-traditional sports offer something more than the popular sports?

I think all sports offer the same things. Since we traditionally aren't seen in a swim suit, with golf clubs, with a racket, with shin splints; it gives them that much more confidence to believe that they can accomplish anything by succeeding in those non-traditional sports.

Do you think we need to do more to highlight the successful African American women who are involved in sports whether it be through competition or reporting?

I think the media does a great job in highlighting women of color. Because we have to be that much better than our colleagues, I think we always stand out. I'm always looking for the woman that looks like me and when I see her exhibiting her knowledge and athletic prowess, it makes me proud!

Do you ever feel awkward being one of, if not the only woman in the locker room?

I never feel awkward! I've been around male athletes all my life! I've always considered myself the 'feminine tomboy" so I can relate to males very well! I know how to form good relationships with athletes. They gain respect by your approach and your knowledge of the game. I think I've done a great job with both of those.

You've been the sideline reporter for the Atlanta Hawks for the past few years, but since the birth of your daughter you started working fewer games. Do you plan on continuing with the Atlanta Hawks this upcoming season?

Being a part of the Atlanta Hawks Game Operations staff has been very rewarding. Not only do I have the opportunity to engage the audience with meaningful sideline interviews, but I really get a chance to know the players. I've formed lifelong relationships with many of the staff members and certainly the good people at Philips Arena! I am still sorting things out for next season. I really think I always want to be a part of the family in some capacity because they have been so good to me. Peter Sorckoff and Matt Payne are really incredible people! They've given me an incredible opportunity and they always encourage me to cultivate my talent. What more can you ask for?

I've also been given the opportunity to do some new things with "Better Mornings" on CBS 46, so television is definitely up next!

What about Radio One and sports....

My co-host and friend Griffy 2K and myself do the sports twice a day on the show. I also write a sports commentary every Thursday that is posted on our website. This gives me the chance to talk about any and everything I'd like to talk about. I've talked about everything from Evander Holyfield to Vivian Stringer. I'm proud to say that I'm a woman and I love sports. What man doesn't love that? My husband certainly does!

If you want to learn more about Sporty Girls Inc. or you want to make a donation, log onto the website or write to:

Sporty Girls Inc.
P.O. box 4390
Atlanta, GA 30303
Voice/Fax 404.806.7352
info@sportygirlsinc.org
http://www.sportygirlsinc.org/

Please visit www.rashanali.net to learn more about Rashan.