VITO'S VIEWS

In the era of cable TV, the Internet and social media, we sometimes think there’s never been as much hype in sports as there is these days.

The recent death of Billy Cannon, the 1959 Heisman Trophy winner, is a reminder that even back in the day, players could become larger than life heroes even without today’s hype.

Cannon was one of them.

Playing running back and defensive back, he helped LSU win the national title in 1958 and his 89-yard punt return for a touchdown that helped beat Mississippi, 7-3, in 1959 is still one of the most iconic moments in the history of college football.

Both teams were undefeated and LSU was ranked first and Mississippi third.

Continue reading “Billy Cannon didn’t need the Internet era to be larger than life”

The Aaron Hernandez case is now closed except for the various lawsuits winding their way through the courts, but the fascination with his rise and fall remains.

The book about the case by best-selling author James Patterson (who has a new novel out written with Bill Clinton) and two co-authors came out in January and quickly became a New York Times best seller. CBS did a “48 Hours’’ episode on it. So did the Oxygen cable channel, and the movie rights have also been sold.

Still, all the attention has not resulted in any answers for why Hernandez became a murderer and then committed suicide, which wiped out his conviction because the case was still on appeal.

The authors believe Hernandez killed two other men, but he was acquitted on those charges. He also shot a drug dealer — who was supposedly his best friend — in the eye.

Hernandez shot four people in three separate incidents … and nobody knows why.

Continue reading “Aaron Hernandez case remains a fascinating mystery, perhaps forever”

The NFL owners had a choice to make last week as they grappled with the issue of NFL players kneeling to protest police brutality.

Would they stand with Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who lost both legs in the conflict or would they stand with Donald Trump, who received multiple deferments for bone spurs during the Vietnam War and never served in the military?

After the NFL passed its new policy on standing for the national anthem, Sen. Duckworth tweeted a picture of her prosthetic legs and said, “One day my coffin will be draped with our nation’s flag just as it did with my husband’s and brothers. I will always stand on these legs for the flag and the anthem but ALSO my honor to defend people’s right to free speech.’’

Sen. Duckworth isn’t the only veteran who understands the members of the military protect the right of free speech.

Naturally, Trump took the opposite view.

Continue reading “Botched anthem policy shows how much cowardly NFL needs new leadership”

The NFL “Hard Knocks” show is a lot more popular with the fans than the teams.

Many teams don’t like the idea of cameras being in their inner sanctums in camp. They sometimes act as if they were working on The Manhattan Project instead of putting together a football team.

And since NFL Films produces it, there is little chance a team will be embarrassed.

Still the NFL had to put together guidelines for teams that can’t turn down an invitation so they all can’t refuse.

If a team has a new coach, has been on the show in the last 10 years or has been in the playoffs the last two years, they can’t refuse to do the show.

Continue reading “‘Hard Knocks’ producers will have their work cut out making the Browns interesting”

It might seem logical for the NFL’s highest-paid player to be the league’s best player, too.

But that obviously wasn’t the case when Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons became the NFL’s first $30 million man, even though he isn’t the best quarterback or the best player in the league,

Ryan, though, was able to take advantage of good timing.

He’s only 32, young enough to get a big deal, while Tom Brady has a history of taking below-market deals and Aaron Rodgers’ current deal isn’t up yet.

Is Ryan worth the money? Well, any player is worth what a team will pay him.

Continue reading “Timing, not talent, helped Matt Ryan become the NFL’s highest-paid player”

There is an old saying that when a politician speaks the truth it is called a gaffe.

I was reminded of that line when Ben Roethlisberger publicly complained about the Pittsburgh Steelers drafting quarterback Mason Rudolph on the third round.

Roethisberger got a lot of flak for the comment when he wondered how Rudolph helps the team now.

From his standpoint, Roethlisberger spoke the truth. Rudolph doesn’t help the team win now, and Big Ben wants to win now.

And if Rudolph turns out to be a good quarterback, he could be pushing Big Ben for a job in a year or two.

Continue reading “Roethlisberger needs to pipe down and start winning big games again”

Actions speak louder than words.

That was the message from the Jacksonville Jaguars when owner Shad Khan confirmed reports last week that he has made an offer to buy historic Wembley Stadium in London.

The announcement brought up old fears that the purchase may be the first step in moving the Jaguars to London.

The London Evening Standard, which broke the story, even wrote, “Khan’s long term ambition is to move the Jaguars into Wembley Stadium on a permanent basis, but that remains some way off.’’

A USA Today columnist also speculated the Jaguars could wind up in London.

Continue reading “Skeptics can snicker, but the Jaguars are staying in Jacksonville”

The Jacksonville Jaguars, who only have two quarterbacks on their current roster, figure to have a third by the end of this weekend.

How they acquire that third quarterback will be an interesting subplot to their draft.

If they don’t draft one (or draft one in a late round on the third day) or sign one as an undrafted free agent after the draft ends, he figures to be just a camp arm.

That would be a sign they figure Cody Kessler, obtained from Cleveland for a conditional seventh-round pick, will remain the backup.

If they take one in the second or third rounds (they bypassed Lamar Jackson in the first round), he would likely beat out Kessler for the backup job behind Blake Bortles. Kessler was a third-round pick two years ago.

Continue reading “Jaguars had better hope Lamar Jackson doesn’t become a star”

It was just a coincidence that team president Mark Lamping conducted the Jacksonville Jaguars’ annual “State of the Franchise” news conference last Thursday on the same day the NFL announced the 2018 schedule.

Many Jaguars fans were upset that the team only got two primetime appearances despite reaching the AFC title game last year. They got a Sunday night home game against Pittsburgh on Nov. 18 and a Thursday night game at Tennessee on Dec. 6.

Two AFC South rivals (Houston and Tennessee) got three primetime appearances, and 10 teams got five primetime spots, including the two Super Bowl teams, Philadelphia and New England, while Minnesota, the loser of the NFC title game, got four.

Lamping’s presentation showed the NFL’s decision probably wasn’t a surprise as he talked about the challenges a small-market team faces.

He didn’t address the schedule because it hadn’t been released, but here’s a look at some of the factors that probably influenced the NFL.

Continue reading “NFL doesn’t consider Jaguars ready for primetime just yet, and that makes a lot of sense”

The Dez Bryant divorce from the Dallas Cowboys was messier than it should have been.

In reality, it was just bidness, as they say in Dallas. He had a big contract ($12.5 million base salaries the next two years and a $16.5 million cap number this year), and not only had his production dropped off, but Bryant had tended to wear out his welcome by being a distraction with things like his sideline outbursts. The Cowboys didn’t want him at any price, even if he had agreed to a paycut.

Still, the way it was handled on both sides left a lot to be desired.

First, owner Jerry Jones was not exactly candid when he said at the scouting combine that he wanted Bryant on the team.

Meanwhile, they waited a month to cut him after the league year started, and that cut down on his options now that many teams have spent big money. But Bryant and his agents didn’t think to get a roster bonus payable at the start of the league year, which probably would have forced the Cowboys to cut him a month ago.

Continue reading “Dez’s Dallas exit was understandable but needlessly messy”