Sports
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http://www.thetowntalk.com/
Thetowntalk.com
Heisman winner Cannon home after stroke
Billy Cannon, seen in 2009, watches video of his touchdown run against Mississippi in 1959 on the scoreboard at Louisiana State's Tiger Stadium. Cannon is back home after having a stroke Tuesday. / AP
Glenn Guilbeau
BATON
ROUGE -- Former Louisiana State Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon was
discharged from Our Lady of the Lake Hospital on Thursday and was back
home after suffering a stroke Tuesday, his close friend and former LSU
track coach Murrell "Boots" Garland said.
"He was walking all over the place," Garland said in a phone interview after speaking to Cannon's wife since his LSU days, Dot Cannon. "He was doing a lot better."
Cannon, 75, was rushed to the hospital at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday from his job as the dentist at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, where he runs the dental program and has worked for the last 15 years after closing his practice in Baton Rouge. He spent that night in the intensive care unit, then was moved to a private room Wednesday.
"I went up there Tuesday and Wednesday, and he was much improved Wednesday from the first night," Garland said. "He had already stood and walked on Wednesday. And he was better today."
LSU assisant athletics director/vice chancellor Herb Vincent, who too was in contact with the Cannon family, also reported that Cannon had left the hospital and was home.
Garland, who has known Cannon since 1956 when Cannon was a freshman at LSU and Garland was a senior back from the service, said Cannon joked with him about his condition.
"I tend to stutter a little," Garland said. "And Billy said when he was talking with some other guys at work Tuesday that he got to talking like I used to, so they had to take him to the hospital," Garland said laughing.
Garland said he told Cannon that he prayed for him as he drove to see him Tuesday night, and God interrupted and said, 'Who? Billy Cannon? Are you kidding me?" Garland said Cannon laughed long and hard at that one.
"He's doing real well," Garland said. "They think the main thing he'll have to do during his recovery is get a little speech therapy."
Cannon led LSU to an 11-0 season and the 1958 national championship as a powerful tailback who also played defense. He then won the Heisman Trophy in 1959 as LSU went 9-2 and was No. 1 for the first eight weeks of the season. The Tigers went to 7-0 that season and won their 19th straight game on Oct. 31 when they beat No. 3 Ole Miss 7-3 on Cannon's legendary, "Halloween Run," an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown with 10 minutes to go in the game. Cannon broke tackles by nearly every member of the Ole Miss team. Weeks later, he won the Heisman.
"He was walking all over the place," Garland said in a phone interview after speaking to Cannon's wife since his LSU days, Dot Cannon. "He was doing a lot better."
Cannon, 75, was rushed to the hospital at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday from his job as the dentist at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, where he runs the dental program and has worked for the last 15 years after closing his practice in Baton Rouge. He spent that night in the intensive care unit, then was moved to a private room Wednesday.
"I went up there Tuesday and Wednesday, and he was much improved Wednesday from the first night," Garland said. "He had already stood and walked on Wednesday. And he was better today."
LSU assisant athletics director/vice chancellor Herb Vincent, who too was in contact with the Cannon family, also reported that Cannon had left the hospital and was home.
Garland, who has known Cannon since 1956 when Cannon was a freshman at LSU and Garland was a senior back from the service, said Cannon joked with him about his condition.
"I tend to stutter a little," Garland said. "And Billy said when he was talking with some other guys at work Tuesday that he got to talking like I used to, so they had to take him to the hospital," Garland said laughing.
Garland said he told Cannon that he prayed for him as he drove to see him Tuesday night, and God interrupted and said, 'Who? Billy Cannon? Are you kidding me?" Garland said Cannon laughed long and hard at that one.
"He's doing real well," Garland said. "They think the main thing he'll have to do during his recovery is get a little speech therapy."
Cannon led LSU to an 11-0 season and the 1958 national championship as a powerful tailback who also played defense. He then won the Heisman Trophy in 1959 as LSU went 9-2 and was No. 1 for the first eight weeks of the season. The Tigers went to 7-0 that season and won their 19th straight game on Oct. 31 when they beat No. 3 Ole Miss 7-3 on Cannon's legendary, "Halloween Run," an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown with 10 minutes to go in the game. Cannon broke tackles by nearly every member of the Ole Miss team. Weeks later, he won the Heisman.
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http://www.dandydon.com/
Dandy Don's LSU Sports Report
First, congratulations are in order for LSU football signee Jeryl Brazil who ran the nation’s fastest 55 meters in this year's LHSAA indoor track state champs with a time of 6.27. As my Dad (Don) used to say, “speed kills on the highway and on the football field.” I can’t wait to see Brazil as a Tiger, returning punts on special teams and catching a few passes out of the backfield under Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron’s LSU offense.
Also, I awoke to unconfirmed rumblings of LSU receiving a football commitment last night. According to a couple of emails I received and a few tweets I saw, LSU offered and received a commitment from Edna Karr linebacker Donnie Alexander (6’2”, 200, No. 51 on my list-in-progress of top LA Football Prospects for 2014). I will try to confirm the news with LSU today before adding Alexander to my list of LSU commitments for 2014. Alexander is one of several solid 2014 prospects from Edna Karr including ATH Speedy Noil and DL Willis Gerrald.
Read more...http://www.dandydon.
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http://www.dandydon.com/
Dandy Don's LSU Sports Report
First, congratulations are in order for LSU football signee Jeryl Brazil who ran the nation’s fastest 55 meters in this year's LHSAA indoor track state champs with a time of 6.27. As my Dad (Don) used to say, “speed kills on the highway and on the football field.” I can’t wait to see Brazil as a Tiger, returning punts on special teams and catching a few passes out of the backfield under Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron’s LSU offense.
Also, I awoke to unconfirmed rumblings of LSU receiving a football commitment last night. According to a couple of emails I received and a few tweets I saw, LSU offered and received a commitment from Edna Karr linebacker Donnie Alexander (6’2”, 200, No. 51 on my list-in-progress of top LA Football Prospects for 2014). I will try to confirm the news with LSU today before adding Alexander to my list of LSU commitments for 2014. Alexander is one of several solid 2014 prospects from Edna Karr including ATH Speedy Noil and DL Willis Gerrald.
Read more...http://www.dandydon.
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SEC Blog
Inside Scoop: We can all learn from Frank Wilson
A couple of days ago LSU released a video highlighting the 2012 "Impact Freshmen". LSU is one of the programs that is blessed to be able to do this every year (see 2012, 2011 and 2010 versions). Not only to they recruit great players, they also get those players to not just contribute but to make an impact in their first year on the field.Yesterday, I went to LSU and spent an hour with LSU assistant head coach/running backs/recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson. Entering his fourth year at LSU, Wilson is known as one of the best recruiters in the country. He also prides himself on doing a great job coaching his position group as well.
Over the course of our time together I asked Frank a number of questions and found his answers to not only be revealing, but also found his responses to truly show his passion for being a great overall football coach.
I asked Frank what advice he gives to young coaches trying to get their first college job or those looking to advance their career.
Wilson: First, you have to be totally invested in your players. It starts with recruiting them, getting to know them, their parents, the key decision makers...knowing what is important to each of them. Then you examine whether they are a good fit for your program. If so, you show them why LSU is the right place for them...not just tell them, you show them. If you aren't totally invested the recruits will see through you and you won't get the best players. Then you have to nurture and develop those players once they are on the roster. You have to love them, treat them as family. It's the only way to truly be successful.
Interestingly enough, as we're talking Frank's cell phone rings and he asks if I'd mind if he took one quick call...it was a player who had just finished up at LSU who had just arrived in Indy for the Combine. Wilson said, "I left that message earlier, just wanted to check on you, to see that you made it up there okay. Wanted to let you know I'm proud of you and know that you will do a great job up there and in your career at the next level." Through the phone, I could hear the player respond, "Oh coach man, I'm good. Up here and excited to be here. Couldn't have done any of this without you, my team and my family at LSU." That's the bond that has to form for you to truly be considered an elite coach.
Back to advice for other coaches, I asked Frank to summarize what he tells brand new college coaches...
Wilson: Be yourself. Give everything to your players. Care about them and show them that. Be truthful. Always talk with your players. Out-recruit your competition and coach your position group up as best you can, I mean really get them to dominate, and you will succeed.
Wilson thinks about that call and then says, "You know the NFL draft is coming up. Those organizations invest a tremendous amount of personnel and resources into identifying the right players and then selecting them and then integrating them into their team. The draft is the lifeblood of that organization and a great draft will produce great players and eventually a very successful team. In college, it's the same. It's recruiting. You have to devote time and resources to it. Identify the right players for your team, get them to commit to your program, get them on campus and develop them and let them flourish into great players."
I asked Frank about how often the staff visits with prospects and he opened a book which was sitting on his desk and showed me their plan...
Wilson: For in state prospects, and you know we like to build a wall around this great state, we like to see them every month, either on their campus or on ours and we have a detailed plan to do that. It's all about building that personal relationship, and the entire staff has to be on the same page. When a prospect comes to our campus, everyone on this staff knows them on sight. Everyone. From the people helping them to find their parking spot and welcoming them into the building, to the administrative staff, all of us coaches, etc...and I don't just mean, "Hey John", I'm talking about, "Johnnie, good to see you. How's your family? I remember last time we saw you ..." you have to engage them and show them the real you and it has to be genuine.
I asked Frank if pure "X&O" guys can succeed as college coaches. Guys that don't have the passion for recruiting...
Wilson: I don't think so. If you don't have a passion for helping improve the lives of young men, I don't think you can be a great college football coach. If you can't be a great teacher, I don't think you can succeed in this profession. Guys who are great at Xs & Os but who can't get deliver that information in a way that the players embrace will not be successful. I've seen guys like that who say the college game isn't for them (because they don't want to recruit) and they go get a job in the NFL but they stall out because, even in the league, you have to be able to convey information to your room in a way they can process and embrace, it's teaching, and if you can't do that you won't be successful. You have to earn these players' respect and the only way to do that is to show them who you truly are.
I asked Frank how many players they evaluate every year...
Wilson: Oh, thousands. Thousands. Thousands. We're blessed to have an excellent operation across the hall (player personnel). They screen thousands of players and make recommendations to me about which players are "our type" of guys. That allows me personally to not have to watch ten thousand; but maybe only one thousand. But it's still a lot of evaluations. And that's something that a lot of people don't understand, people think "recruiting" is the most important thing; but really it starts with talent evaluation. You have to be really good at evaluating which players are right for your program and then you go recruit them...and you have to do that talent evaluation yourself. You can't rely on third party services for that stuff, you have to see them yourself and say that guy would be a great fit on our team. Once you have identified a prospect that you really want for your program, the entire staff has to create and buy in to a detailed plan to recruit that individual. The whole staff has to know the plan and be on the same page. Takes a lot of time; but it's the only way to get the best players for your program and the only way to take your program to the top.
Wilson referenced and demonstrated for me the custom iPad software (from Overtime Software) they use to evaluate prospects (see iPad in the picture above). Wilson said when he joined the staff at LSU, he and director of player personnel Sherman Morris worked closely with Overtime to create this scouting platform and he says it has changed his life. "Great, great, great software here. I evaluate a player at his school, take some video myself, type in, or record my notes and push it up to the cloud and within minutes the guys back at the office can see everything and take action. Makes us far more efficient as a staff."
I asked Frank to talk me through what a prospect does on a visit to campus and the thing that really resonated with me was how much Wilson recognized that it takes the entire program to successfully recruit a prospect. Wilson spoke at length about how important of a role both current and former players have. He added that when speaking with prospects he always encourages them to speak with current and former players from their position group. He wants them to hear from their peers how much they enjoyed attending LSU and he wants them to form bonds. Frank also brought it back to the "impact freshmen" concept, saying when prospects are around and after the commit and then join the team, he always hears the older players chatting up the young guys, challenging them to be one of those "impact" guys. "It's part of who we are now. Go back and look at the last three or four freshman classes. Guys know they are going to come here and play and that's important."
Wilson also spoke about how important a role the people who are with the recruits during games have. "We're focused on winning the game. Other people are with the prospects during the game and they play a very important role. Everyone has to be on the same page. This is why it's so important that everyone who works for football, not just the coaches, is a great person. Hire great people. People that you are proud to say are part of your organization. People that you know will represent your team and university with pride and the right way. People that will treat others the way you want them to be treated."
I finally got back to asking Frank about all of the great videos that LSU football puts out, often on a weekly basis, and his response was somewhat surprising. Frank told me that Sherman found a student worker a few years ago, Derek Ochoa, and he now does almost all of those videos on his own. "From time to time Sherman and I give him some direction but really he picks out the clips and the music. He's been with us for a few years, he spends time with the players and around the program and he knows what message we want to deliver."
Stepping back and thinking about that, this is something that I'm surprised more programs haven't embraced. Music and video are a young man's world, especially when trying to resonate with teenage players. Every campus in America probably has some student who is a video whiz that would love the opportunity to make a few dollars while creating videos for their football program. Reach out and find this person!
One last nugget Frank left me with, "Tell those guys out there they need to trust their own evaluations." He referenced a number of "2 star" guys that they found early in the recruiting process in whom they recognized the potential for greatness (think Mo Claiborne, Tyrann Mathieu, etc...). "Be true to yourself, develop relationships with those high school coaches and you'll hear about those that "could be great". See them for yourself and trust your own eyes."
Leaving LSU I stopped to think and honestly don't recall every having a conversation with anyone where their passion for what they do resonated so much. Frank Wilson loves what he does and it shows. Want to get to the top of the game? Be true to yourself, be passionate about being the best wherever you are, invest in your players and great things will happen for you just like they have for Frank Wilson.
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http://theadvocate.com/sports/
Sports
Cam Cameron's contract binds him to LSU
Here is a copy Cameron’s letter of agreement
The bonuses, ranging from $15,000 to $100,000, brings the potential total value of his three-year contract to roughly $3.8 million, according to the two-page document signed on Feb. 14 by Cameron, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva and LSU coach Les Miles.
The formal contract still needs to be approved by the LSU System Board of Supervisors, and is slated for a vote during its March 18 meeting in Baton Rouge.
Cameron, 52, was hired after five seasons serving as the offensive coordinator for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, who fired him in early December after uneven performances and promoted quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell.
Under the terms of his deal, which were released Wednesday, Cameron will earn $600,000 in his first season with the Tigers. His salary increases to $1.3 million in the second year and peaks at $1.5 million in the final season of his contract.
Those figures would make Cameron the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the SEC, ahead of Alabama’s Doug Nussemeir and his $590,000 salary.
His agreement contains six potential bonuses, starting with a guaranteed $15,000 if LSU reaches the SEC championship game. Along with that bonus, he can earn the highest bonus from the following options:
- Participating in a non-Bowl Championship Series game with a payout of less than $2.6 million: $10,000
- Participating in a non-BCS game with a payout of more than $2.6 million: $25,000
- Participating in a BCS bowl game: $50,000
- Participating in the BCS national championship game: $75,000
- Winning a BCS national title: $100,000.
Cameron also receives an $800 monthly allowance for a vehicle, or the use of a vehicle provided by a dealership with reimbursement covered by the Tiger Athletic Foundation.
Critically, if Cameron leaves before the contract expires, he’d be on the hook for a $1 million buyout. Yet that buyout can be waived if Cameron accepts a head coaching job outside of the Southeastern Conference.
Comments (2)
1) Comment by phil - 02/23/2013
Perhaps I am missing something, but is this article suggesting
that LSU maybe pays too much for football coaches? I think
the bonus system should also be paralleled with a deduction
system. Divide the total salary by the number of games and
deduct that amount from the salary when a game is lost. I have
said this previously. We ALL indirectly are paying for these high
salaries. TV rights pays for some of this and TV owners make
some money from commercials on TV. When the cost of those
commercials goes up, so does the price of goods at the stores.
But even if you do not believe that then you should be able to
believe that the money to pay these coaches has to come from
somewhere. Glad that I am not making those "contributions" to
TAF . By the way, did you happen to read about the budget
problems the State is having and programs that will be hurt.
Enjoy your football.--------------
2) Comment by Thomas Williams 02/23/2013
I have a sneaking suspicion that most of the LSU fighting tiger football fans. Are not so much worried about how much money the LSU chain of command is paying Cam Cameron. To coach the LSU offense for the years to come. But rather very much wondering instead just how well that coach Cameron is going to communicate his knowledge into the LSU QB, in particular.
And that if the LSU QB becomes an efficient college QB, playing for LSU because of Cam Cameron. And that of course will turn into LSU college football victory's every Saturday night in tiger stadium. The excitement alone will be like an eclipse shading out just how responsible that the amount of money LSU paid the LSU football coaching staff is. If LSU keep winning college football game, Cam Cameron won't need money in the state of Louisiana. Because everything he want and needs, will become free. Winning college football game is everything in the SEC?
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LSU Football - Geaux Tigers!!!
| Times Picayune | Video (4 min, 46 sec): P.J. Lonergan didn't expect an NFL Combine invite |
| Times Picayune | Video (4 min, 49 sec): Michael Ford "living a childhood dream" at NFL Combine |
| ESPN 104.5 | .mp3 Audio (8 min, 18 sec): Interview w/ Ryan Perrilloux |
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EyeOnTexas A&M leaks first renderings of Kyle Field renovation
By Matt Hinton | Blogger
February 21, 2013 5:28 pm ET
Kyle Field of the future. (TexAgs.com)Texas A&M is off to a fine start in the SEC, thanks to its new head coach, up-tempo offense and freewheeling, Heisman-wielding quarterback. Long-term, though, keeping pace on the field in college football's most competitive conference means keeping pace in the ever-escalating facilities race, and A&M put its new brethren on notice again this week by unveiling the first renderings of a four-year, $400-million-plus overhaul that could make Kyle Field the most imposing venue in the league.
The previews were leaked to several A&M-obsessed outlets via the athletic department's fundraising arm, the 12th Man Foundation. The colony of bats that calls the stadium home during football season could not be reached for comment.
     Click for full-size photos. (For more, see TexAgs.com) |
Initial plans call for the enclosure of the south end zone (currently open) by two levels: On the upper level, 12,000 new seats with the potential for adding more in the future; on the lower level, space reserved for "an area for press, interviews, 12th Man Productions, computer operations, football locker room and recruiting room." In addition to the expanded capacity, construction will reportedly involve demolition of the entire west side stands and press box, as well as parts of the east side to make way for private suites and two existing buildings near the stadium. The field will also be lowered approximately seven feet and moved approximately 18 feet to the south, to allow room for additional seating.
Work is set to begin next winter, after the final 2013 home game, and continue in phases through August 2016. Each phase is scheduled to be completed in an eight-month window over the offseason so as not to interfere with home games in the fall.
The project is a joint venture between two Houston-based companies, Manhattan Construction Group and Vaughn Construction, which were awarded the contract over six competing bids in December. In the last decade, the Manhattan Group has overseen the construction of two of the marvels of modern sports architecture, Reliant Stadium in Houston and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, and is also handling construction of a new on-campus stadium for the University of Houston, set to open in August 2014 on the now-former site of the Cougars' old venue, Robertson Stadium. Vaughn Construction says it's overseen 45 projects for the Texas A&M University System on eight campuses, at a combined cost of more than $600 million.
No word on whether the remodeled exterior will continue to boast bogus championships.
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