HEY, WILLIE! Why do Deion and Kirby want to skip those trips to Jacksonville?

HEY, WILLIE!

A recent edition of the paper seemed to have a common theme: Football coaches complaining about having to play in Jacksonville. 

Deion Sanders wants out. Why, because Bethune-Cookman might draw more fans there? Isn’t that a good thing?

And Kirby Smart, too, because his Georgia Bulldogs can't officially host recruits there? At least they both only have to play one game there.

What reason will the Jaguars use when they ask to play their games somewhere else? Funny, but I don't think we'll hear visiting coaches complain about playing the Jags there.

JEFF IN NSB

HEY, JEFF!

Deion’s Jackson State team will play Bethune-Cookman in Jax this season rather than Daytona Beach. He thinks schools in the SWAC should play before packed houses at smaller home stadiums rather than fill a fraction of an NFL facility.

Deion has a point, but Deion doesn’t pay B-CU’s bills.

Unfortunately, I feel it’s a matter of time (and not much time) before the Florida-Georgia game goes home-and-home instead of its annual gathering in Jacksonville. It would be a shame, for many reasons.

Among them: It’s the one time a year when you’re guaranteed to see 40,000 fans leave that stadium happy.

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NASCAR ODDITIES: A monkey in the cockpit? Cigarette lighters? Johnny Reb? Yep, NASCAR once allowed all that

HEY, WILLIE!

It seems that two small pieces of tape under the car wrap is illegal, but as my wife pointed out, you can slap bear-bond all over the car and if you win, it’s OK. Please explain.

DOUG IN PALM COAST

HEY, DOUG!

You're referencing this week's disqualifications of winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up Kyle Busch at Pocono. The "tweaks" to the cars were extremely slight, but most definitely illegal.

You could probably talk this through on your own and figure it out, but that wouldn’t help cover the open space here.

Here goes . . .

A racing accident damages a car, and in order to stay out there, the crew has to improvise with the damaged body — be it with bear-bond or reciprocating saw. In this instance, however, the “improvising” took place well before the green flag.

If you can’t see the logical difference in those scenarios, well, you should probably be a crew chief!

HEY, WILLIE!

I see where the Tennessee Vols have been hit with recruiting violations for paying $60,000 in benefits.   

Gadzooks, that might buy one 4-star offensive tackle these days. 

And on a somewhat less sarcastic note, do you think schools in cities like Miami, Los Angeles, etc., where there may be deeper pockets, will eventually have an advantage?

I think we’re a helluva long way from “Win one for the Gipper.”

KH

HEY, K!

A quick burst of research revealed an amazing amount of audacity on the part of former coach Jeremy Pruitt (and some others).

Sure, 60k today, with the new riches bestowed by the new NIL rules, seems like tip money. But UT was tossing around financial favors in a manner that wouldn’t be legal even by today’s relaxed standards.

And they weren’t even bothering to mix in a middleman here and there.

Yes, basic market analysis would suggest the big-city schools should have an advantage in recruiting and keeping (and poaching) talent.

But in football, it always seems to come down to the head coach and his staff, along with that talent. Give me an A+ coach with B+ talent every day over a B+ coach with an A+ roster.

HEY, WILLIE!

It took a while, but it finally dawned on me why I didn't recognize the names of more than three “All Stars” in this year's less-than-ballyhooed tempus interruptus commercialized event.

SEVENTEEN of the fan-or-other favorites for participation were no-shows, either due to "injury" or  they had to attend their kid's tee-ball game ... or appear in court... or couldn't find the departure gate at the airport ... or ... 

CARTER

HEY, CARTER!

Look at you, going all high-ed on us, tossing around Latin as if it belongs here. You truly are y pluribus unum, and you can look it up.

Count me among those who still enjoy the All Star Game. At least in baseball’s version, you get full effort. Of course, without much possibility of maiming physical contact, it’s easier to go all-out in a ballgame.

It’s also interesting, and pleasantly surprising, to see how eager most players are to compete in the Home Run Derby, especially considering the physical effort involved.

Now, Carter, go on back to yelling at skateboarders!

— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: What's up with Deion, Kirby dissing Jacksonville? | HEY, WILLIE!