Fear the Links: Here’s what O.J. Mayo’s been up to

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Here’s today links.

At Sports Illustrated, Ben Golliver catches up with O.J. Mayo, who is currently suspended by an NBA for a violation of the league’s drug policy. Mayo, now 30, is a fascinating figure for so many reasons, and if what he’s saying is true, it’s good to see him figuring things out.

At ESPN, Molly Knight profiles USC quarterback Sam Darnold, who could lead to the Trojans back to the promised land. (Also could totally be a Cleveland Brown in a year’s time.)

The Ringer’s Allison Herman explains why Game of Thrones is now traditional fantasy and no longer subverting the genre’s normal tropes. (Like, Jon and Dany should not be meeting with [redacted].)

At Bullets Forever, Michael Sykes wrote about the work John Wall is doing with his charity. Work like this maters.

Lastly, and this is from a few days back, but here’s Howler’s Pardeep Cattry on how Philippe Coutinho became a villain, even if he doesn’t deserve to be.