The Longshot: DeVito could prove to be a homespun hero

A Sporting Chance

GOOD FETLOCKS: Actor Joe Pesci pecks his beloved steed and namesake.

THE challenge for today is to find a connection between the NFL, one of the best musicals ever staged and one of the best films ever made.

Challenge accepted.

Last week we highlighted a quarterback who had a problem remembering names.

This week we have a guy with a familiar one. Tommy DeVito made headlines across the big pond recently as he took over the quarterback role for the storied New York Giants, having arrived this season as an undrafted free agent, destined to become a mere member of their practice squad.

That would usually mean he was unlikely to see much game time, but he entered the fray in recent weeks as the third-choice thrower, coming on against local rivals the Jets and the Raiders when the men ahead of him went off injured.

He wasn’t able to turn those scoreboards around but started his first game on Sunday, when the Giants also got a battering in Texas from fierce rivals the Dallas Cowboys.

DeVito has managed to run in three touchdowns in his three games however and is likely to remain the starting pivot for the rest of the regular season (the Giants won’t be making the playoffs).

Yet that isn’t the reason he has attracted the spotlight. Rather it is because he still lives at home with his parents, despite being 25.

“It was a no-brainer for me,” DeVito told ESPN last week.

“Everything that I need is there at the house. The decision was made since this level of football is stressful for a rookie, especially from the quarterback position. There is a lot going on, a lot of meetings. So everything outside of football is handled by my family.”

Home comforts and a short commute are at the core of the decision, although as the third-string QB he also may not be on a very lucrative contract.

“I don’t have to worry about laundry, what I’m eating for dinner, chicken cutlets and all that is waiting for me when I get there. My mom still makes my bed. Everything is handled for me. Honestly, I don’t even know if I could find a place closer to training than where I live. It takes me 12 minutes to get here.”

Tommy DeVito is actually a name more renowned for not spending enough time with his mother.

We’ll make no excuse for a movie reference either, what with it being film festival week.

And no, Tommy has confirmed he is not related to Danny.

Rather Tommy DeVito was the name of Joe Pesci’s character in the greatest gangster movie ever made.

Although if you want to call Goodfellas the greatest movie ever made too, you’ll brook no argument here.

In one of the film’s most famous scenes, which was almost entirely improvised, Tommy and his pals pay a late-night visit to his mother (who was played by director Martin Scorcese’s mother), who upbraids him for never calling around anymore.

He is only there to borrow a kitchen knife as he needs to deal with “a hoof”, but the scene turns sweetly demented when she shows him a picture she has painted (actually drawn by Susie Pileggi, the mother of the film’s screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi) of a man on a rowboat with two dogs pointing in different directions, which was actually a recreation of photo published in November 1978 by National Geographic, of a man named John Weaving, who lived on the banks of our own mighty Shannon.

Joe Pesci planting a kiss on Martin Scorsese's mother during Goodfellas.

Have we digressed enough? No?

Tommy DeVito is also the name of one of the Four Seasons, the 1960s band made famous by the voice of Frankie Valli (who is also referenced in Goodfellas: “Who the hell do you think you are, Frankie Valli or some kinda big shot?”) and the lyrics of Bob Gaudio.

When growing up in Newark in New Jersey DeVito and Valli were friendly with a young Pesci, who worked at the Four Seasons bowling alley, and introduced them to Gaudio there in 1959.

Pesci is portrayed in the wonderful musical about the band, Jersey Boys, as a crucial component of their formation and a background influence on their early days.

To tie all this back in with betting, the actor has limited his screen time in recent years, appearing in just three films in 25 years, but has a keen interest in horse racing Stateside.

He has owned a number of decent fillies (including a multiple winner called Pesci).

Ten years ago Pesci was also featured prominently in ‘Behind the Gate’ a documentary about the industry in the US.

It’s available in full on Youtube for anyone who wants to get their film fill this festival week without leaving their couch.

-

The Green Jacket is obviously already taken by another sport, but I’ve always felt that the reigning champ should walk out at the Crucible donning a baize blazer with seven coloured polka dots. He would immediately be sent back to the dressing room to change, but as an inappropriate fashion statement, it would be memorable.

Snooker style is about to get a shake-up this week however, with the most groundbreaking vest changes since John Virgo was parading bespoke waistcoats on Big Break.

This week’s Champion of Champions will see each player wear specialised jerseys. The tournament is a 16-player invitational event featuring winners across the past 12 months.

Ronnie O’Sullivan (4/1) will be the defending champion in Bolton as he bids to capture the title for a record-extending fifth time, and he will wear a jersey with his nickname “Rocket” on the back, in a move that represents a major marketing shift for the sport.

The action got underway yesterday and it is likely that one of the Marks, Selby or Allen has already secured a place in the semis. Selby entered the action at 15/2 and has curiously never won the event, and although has been in decent form since finishing runner-up to Luca Brecel in this year’s World Championship reaching the final of the British Open and the last four of the Shanghai and European Masters, he hasn’t won a tournament since March.

Judd Trump is the 11/4 favourite after winning 22 matches in a row before falling to Stephen Maguire in the last 32 at last week's International Championship in China. He lost in the final to O’Sullivan last year. The Rocket plays Zhang Anda in his opening game tomorrow, someone who has seen him off twice recently (including last week) and who is 7/4 to win their best of seven frames tussle and a 25/1 outsider to win outright, despite racking up a 147 on his way to victory in Tianjin, when he became the sixth player from mainland China to win a ranking event. Whoever wins could run into Selby or John Higgins (10/1) on the path to the decider.

Antrim man Allen is also a 10/1 shot alongside another Mark, Welsh wizard Williams, while the Belgian Brecel seems fairly long odds at 16/1 considering his memorable win in Sheffield back in April.

- The golf season draws to a close this weekend with the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. But it starts up again the following weekend for whatever reason that makes sense to the tour organisers. This event was first staged in 2009 and was supposed to somewhat copy the format of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup with the Race to Dubai, however it has never managed to successfully attract the same interest of golf fans. That Rory McIlroy, 11/2 favourite alongside John Rahm (the reigning champ and three-time winner) for this particular tournament has already wrapped up the title for a fifth time before teeing off, despite plying his trade mostly in the US, might be one of the reasons for that. Matt Fitzpatrick is a two-time winner of the finale in recent years and is offered at 14/1. There will only be 50 competitors and Shane Lowry is 33/1.

- 

WE have made no mention of the Cricket World Cup in this space so far, but the tournament semi-finals are on tomorrow and the day after Defending champs England had a bit of a nightmare, presumably missing having an Irish captain this time It’s an outside chance of 13/2 that the final will be a repeat of the recent rugby decider of New Zealand and South Africa. The Kiwis first have to overcome hosts India tomorrow, who are even money to win the one-day 50-over title for a third time, as they did most recently on home turf in 2011. New Zealand were runners up on the last two occasions and are 12/5 to win tomorrow’s semi.

The Australia-South Africa semi is expected to be a closer run affair, with the Aussies 7/2 for a record-extending sixth outright triumph, with the Africans 4/1.

The Bet

ADRIAN Meronk will still be smarting from being left out of the Ryder Cup team this year and after a stellar year played mostly on the “European” tour where he finished behind only McIlroy and Rahm, he will be motivated to put in a strong performance down in the dunes and at 33/1 he looks decent value.