Winston wins Heisman, people get angry

At 19 years, 342 days old, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston became the youngest college football player ever to win the Heisman Trophy. How could you disagree? His numbers were off the charts:

3,820 passing yards
38 touchdowns
10 interceptions
67.9 completion percentage

Put those numbers into consideration and push that together with the fact that he's a redshirt freshman that has led his team to the National Championship game. This was a no brainer.

If you asked me at the beginning of the season who would win the Heisman, I was going to tell you Teddy Bridgewater. Which shows it's no use talking about the Heisman until the last week of November.

The Daily News came out with this piece almost trying to take away from Winston's win and explaining how some 13 percent of voters left the quarterback off of their ballots due to the sexual assault investigation. Take a read if you'd like. I work alongside with author, Filip Bondy, covering Nets games. A veteran journalist, obviously, and I respect his work greatly. However, this is an unnecessary article, and he is not the only one writing pieces like this.

They asked, what of the woman who pressed charges?

Here is what you need to know about Jameis Winston: He is a quarterback for Florida State and he has just won the Heisman Trophy. The end.

Innocent until proven guilty, correct? If the investigation and charges were dropped, then we as Americans, no matter what our occupation is, have to accept that.

I have a question for the woman, and I"m thinking out loud here. Why wait to press the charges as Winston and Florida State are attaining new levels of success and he is slowly becoming a household name? Almost makes you wonder if they were irrelevant, would she press charges? They said these events took place over a year ago.

I understand just how horrifying an experience like this is. And in some cases people keep this information inside for a long time, so that could definitely be a possibility, but the timing, looking at the grand scheme of things, confused me.

Now, let me make something clear, and those who know me know what type of man I am. These allegations and charges were extremely serious and this entire process was no laughing matter. If authorities found something seriously damning towards Winston, then we actually have something against this guy and he does not deserve any accolades, national attention or success for that matter.

If he did something like this, he doesn't deserve to walk among the public.

Men who do this towards women are not worthy of being called "men." Those who take advantage of another human being, regardless of gender are animals.

What of the woman who pressed charges?

I'm not sure if I want to know her name, her whereabouts. God forbid anything did actually happen, she'll have to live a life where no one listened. And that sounds nightmarish as she would always be connected to that. Simply a girl who cried wolf and that simply isn't fair.

But I believe in the American justice system. Therefore, Jameis Winston is nothing more than a dynamic college quarterback who is a Heisman Trophy winner and  playing for a national championship in January.

Everything else needs to be dropped for now and "journalism" should be the first to do so. Simply poking around things and thinking out loud, kind of like I am doing now, should not be allowed in such large publications like the Daily News.

This is simply my opinion, that's what blogs are. I'd love to hear what you think. Comment below or friends of mine, start a conversation on any of the various social media sites. This is a touchy subject and do not mean harm to anyone reading this.

The MLB off-season: Winners and losers

By Joe Pantorno

The past week saw plenty of wheeling and dealing, some raised eyebrows and, from what I'm seeing from the Yankees, anger and disrespect (I had to throw that in). We'll take a look at some of the winners, the losers and headlines that will be dominating the Major Leagues in 2014.

Biggest deal: Robinson Cano to Seattle

Did I really have to say it? No, but here in New York, we're finding the spectrum to insulted fans to those who basically are saying 'good riddance,' to the best second baseman in baseball. 10-years, $240 million: say what you want about the money and being greedy, if someone offered you an extra $70 million, you'd take it, even if it means being underwhelming in a small baseball market.



Move with biggest chance of a let-down: Mark Trumbo to Arizona

While 1B/OF Mark Trumbo has massive power numbers and headlined a deal that saw the Angels get pitchers Tyler Skaggs from Arizona and Hector Santiago from the White Sox, Trumbo could have a rough go in the NL West. His career on base percentage is .299 and he will have considerably less protection in the Diamondback's line-up. Chase Field also isn't the easiest park to hit one out in. In a few years' time, we could be talking about how LA stole Hector Santiago from Chicago.


Signing that filled biggest gap: Bartolo Colon to Mets
With a bowl full of jelly and shouts of 'he's a cheater,' just hear me out before we get on the Colon bashing train. We all know the Mets are reeling after the loss of Matt Harvey. It doesn't matter what they say, this team had big plans for 2014 and their centerpiece went down during a putrid September. Colon went 18-6 last year, is an innings eater and has a track record of providing quality starts. This isn't a deal to make a statement, it's to stop the bleeding in the pitching staff and give the less experienced (Wheeler, Niese, Gee) a veteran presence that has actually attained success...not Dice-K.

Best free agents still available: Grant Balfour, Shin-Soo Choo

Both were All-Stars in 2013 and Choo, whose numbers don't scream for the kind of attention that he is getting, is driving his paycheck up as we speak. The longer he holds out, the bigger his contract will be. There have been reports that the Rangers were preparing a 7-year, $153 million deal for the outfielder. Last year with Cincinnati he hit .285, 21 HR, 54 RBI with 20 stolen bases. Do those numbers warrant that sort of deal? No.

Balfour has been talking with Baltimore on a deal. He wants three years while the Orioles won't budge at two and are starting to look for other options. Balfour had 38 saves with a 2.59 ERA in Oakland. At 35 years old, he's in no way considered old in relief pitcher years, yet a three-year deal seems to be too much to ask for.



Most underrated deal: Tim Hudson to San Francisco

It's clear that Hudson will end his career in San Fran. The 38 year old's two-year deal is his last shot to win a title. His addition to the Giants' pitching staff has rounded out what could now be one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Of course this is all probable, but come Opening Day, the Giants could have a rotation of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and now Tim Hudson. That's not too shabby.

Lowest risk, highest reward value: Carlos Beltran to Yankees

The Yankees have money, so before you go griping about how this could be such a good deal if they gave him so much cash, stop it. Sometimes you have to overpay a bit to fill a need and Carlos Beltran is most likely to find plenty of success in the Bronx, though it pains me to say that. The 36 year old still can pay a smooth outfield and whenever comes the time (and it will come) when he picks up a knock, he can provide a great alternative at DH. Switch hitting, he'll feast off the short porches, just like Brian McCann will with right field.