Somehow this kid just comes out with a bruise. The sound of his leg hitting the metal is crashing, which made me a tad surprised it was just a bruise, and not a broken shin. I get an injury like that, I’m out at least six months.

Jeopardy! is the kind of show that asks questions I never know, which is why never watch it. But had I been watching the episode that featured this picture right here, I would’ve actually gotten one right — me and the other seven teens that beer-bonged and skinny dipped with him.

Collegiate athletes that get caught taking gifts from agents, coaches, etc., generally don’t just step forward and admit their wrong-doing. Even when caught, they often deny it. No matter the proof. No matter the evidence. No matter how badly damaged their image is, they’ll fight it to the end.

OJ Mayo has taken that path.

Reached late Sunday night, Mayo told ESPN.com, “I don’t know anything about it. It caught me by surprise. I’ve got to get to L.A. to see what’s going on. I’m just focusing on the draft.”

Like he said, the guy was caught by total surprise. Total. Utter. Surprise. Sadly, it’s OJ who’s the victim here, and I think the rest of America should give him a hand and get off his back.

Cincinnati Reds 3, New York Mets 8: The Mets offense erupted once again, and a team that was once 14th in the NL in offense is quickly climbing up the ladder. Jose Reyes had 3 hits, with Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran each chipping in with 2, helping the Mets pile up 14 hits and 8 runs en route of the Reds. Oliver Perez pitched six strong innings for New York, giving up 3 hits and 3 earned.

Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Chicago Cubs 6: It was possibly a preview of the NL Championship months from now, and if it was, it won’t be a very suspenseful series. Chicago swept the D’Backs with the win on the heels of a strong outing by Chicago’s bullpen. Sean Gallagher gave up 4 runs in 4 innings, but the bullpen pitched five strong innings, giving up zero hits and zero runs.

Oakland A’s 12, Texas Rangers 6: Quick. Don’t look. Name five players on the A’s. Give up? Me too. But they keep damn winning.

Boston Red Sox 8, Minnesota Twins 9: It was a slug, and Boston scored two late runs in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to get past the scrappy Twins. Craig Monroe went 2-4 with 4 RBI’s for the Twins. David Ortiz managed 2 hits in 4 at bats, raising his average to .241 on the year, still a stark contrast of how he’s hit in the past.

New Orleans Hornets 80, San Antonio Spurs 100: I know there’s home court, I know home court generally gives a team an advantage. But as I watch these NBA Playoffs, I’ve gotta put hte question out there: Is it a guaranteed win once you’re at home?

Of the second round series, the home team is 14-1 (the lone loss was Orlando’s one-point defeat at the hands of the Pistons), and the games aren’t super close. San Antonio will lose by 15 on the road, then come home and win by 20, which makes me wonder what the difference is — like I said, I know there’s a difference, but a 35 point differential because you’re playing in front of your fans?

My rant aside, the Big Three for San Antonio were solid. Tim Duncan had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Tony Parker had 21 points and 8 assists, and Manu Ginobli had 15 points, 8 assists, but also had 4 turnovers.

Chris Paul managed to score 23, but had an un-Chris Paul night, handing out 5 assists over the course of the game. the series shifts back to New Orleans where, if history thus far proves right, they’ll win.

Los Angeles Lakers 115, Utah Jazz 123: Again: A home team that wins after struggling mightily in LA. Kobe had a bad back, but it was still almost enough to do in Utah. The Jazz were up by double digits with less than four minutes to play, but LA — and Derek Fischer, parituclarly — caught fire, eventually tying the game with less than 10 seconds to play.

Deron Williams had 29 points and 13 assists, and though his numbers were down, Carlos Boozer had a nice game with 14 points and 12 rebounds, with 12 of his 14 points coming in the second half. The series is tied 2-2 and shifts back to LA, where you’d think the Jazz have the momentum, but, I caution you — they don’t. This year’s NBA playoffs will be known as the playoffs where the top seed won every time, all the way ‘ti the end, when Boston hoists the Trophy.

I’d be doing you a real dis-service if I didn’t include this one. Watching Zach Randolph dribble around like an idiot and chucking up an air ball is one thing — watching Stephon Marbury scream to the streets of New York that the East is scared now. . . it’s way better.

From one of the best teams to one of the worst, Mike D’Antoni will now coach the New York Knicks. In lieu of the move, I’ve attached a video of just what D’Antoni can expect to get out of his team. It’s one of my favorite clips. Enjoy, Mike.

Fourteen years later, we’re still talking about OJ Simpson and whether or not he did it (or rather that he did do it; there’s not much speculation). In what shouldn’t even be news, Mike Gilbert, who claims he helped OJ bloat his hand so the glove wouldn’t fit in court, says OJ confessed it to him when he was high, drunk, and on sleeping pills.

In a soft mumble, Simpson told him: “If she hadn’t opened that door with a knife in her hand … she’d still be alive.”

“Nothing more needed to be said,” Gilbert writes. “O.J. had confessed to me. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

The report goes on to also say Gilbert is a delusional drug addict, but hey, if you bash OJ, you’re okay in my book.

There’s nothing better in sports than when a team gets way down in the playoffs, and then to make it look like they’re still relevant and not dead, someone comes out and makes a statement, only giving the team that’s already up more motivation to finish the prey off.

Predator = Detroit Pistons.

Prey = Jameer Nelson, whom I actually like.

“We’re going to make some adjustments and we’re going to win this game,” Nelson said after Orlando’s 90-89 loss on Saturday. “I’m not being arrogant or cocky or anything like that. I think [Saturday] we let it slip out of our hands. Game 2 we let it slip out of our hands. We’re going to win this game in Detroit.”

At home and up double digits, the Magic couldn’t close the game out and get the W. I’ve been watching the NBA for a long time, and it’s rare that you find a team that had a game all but won, blow it in the end, then come back and start winning on the road. It just doesn’t happen.

USC was once looked at as a clean program that just somehow attracted great players, but that once clean image is starting to get more and more tarnished. First, you had Reggie Bush, who was given whatever he wanted in lieu to a National Championship, Heisman Trophy and great college career. Now, you’ve got OJ Mayo, who also reportedly took gifts.

Louis Johnson, who was a part of Mayo’s inner circle until recently, said Mayo accepted around $30,000 in cash and gifts during the past four years from Rodney Guillory, a 43-year-old Los Angeles event promoter. In addition to cash, the gifts included a flat-screen television for Mayo’s dorm room, cell phone service, a hotel room, clothes, meals and airline tickets for Mayo’s friends and a relative, according to Johnson, others with knowledge of the gifts and store receipts.

This is nothing new to anyone who follows sports. Agents give these guys cash, and these guys, broke as they are, happily accept it. Unfortunately for Mayo, where he received a flat screen, hotel rooms, and lots of loot, he wasn’t given a jump shot, any sense of team play, or the ability to pass.