This Kid May Be the Best Ever ... or Not

Now it starts in middle school.

O.J. Mayo is a 15-year-old from Cincinnati who has been pegged as the next LeBron James. Mayo, who has been signing autographs since he was 11, wasn’t the least bit surprised at the media crush -- a TV truck blocked traffic around the campus -- when he recently moved on to North College Hill High for the ninth grade.

Mayo, who is 6 feet 4, already has a mustache and a tattoo. He has been in Sports Illustrated and USA Today and on ESPN and CNN. He has his own Web site. And his grandfather, who coaches his AAU team, refers to him by his three initials: OJM.

Mayo says they stand for Oscar, Jordan and Magic.

At least there are no unreasonable expectations.

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Trivia time: Who was the first woman to win tennis’ Grand Slam?

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Shell game: Golfer Lois Cronk, 90, recently won her first U.S. women’s title, earning the gold medal in her age group at the National Senior Olympics. She shot a 54-hole total of 270 at Honey Bee Golf Course in Virginia Beach, Va., despite a run-in with a turtle that tried to steal her ball.

After narrowly missing a water hazard, she saw the ball move as she approached.

“This turtle had it in its front claws and was pulling it back into the pond,” she said. “I reached down and said, ‘Shoo!’ and grabbed the ball. I had to take a penalty, of course, but I wasn’t about to let a turtle make off with my ball.”

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Old pros: Greek authorities say they will raise the limit on the number of licensed brothels for the 2004 Summer Games.

Insert your own joke here about NBA players competing in the Olympics.

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Backyard heroes: You figured your chances of getting into a hall of fame were somewhat less than the proverbial snowball’s in Hades? Not so.

Call your friends, tell them to log on to www.candystand.com and vote for your inclusion in the Wiffle Ball Hall of Fame.

After you’re in, you’ll have to make a virtual trip to visit your niche because this hall of fame will exist only on the Internet.

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Softball king: From the Caught on the Fly column in Sporting News: “Journalist extraordinaire Larry King -- he’s here, there, everywhere -- weighs in regularly with sports insights on sportsillustrated.cnn.com. King never backs down from the big issues

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Lend me your ear: Mike Tyson managed to blow an estimated $400 million in 20 years, which works out to about $52,000 a day, and he spent three of those years in prison.

A Tyson representative said, “Now, [Tyson] has taken the lead in bringing order to his financial affairs.”

Yikes.

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Trivia answer: Maureen Connolly.

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And finally: USA Today’s Jon Saraceno on Kobe Bryant: “Does anyone else find it odd that, before his legal difficulties, we never saw his spouse -- and now after he gets in an adulterous jam, he’s wearing her on his wrist like she’s some kind of legal charm bracelet?”

-- John Weyler