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The Short List To The Superdome: Championship Week

Championship week brings the regular season to a close and the Shortlist to the Superdome reads heading into the final weekend as follows:

Missouri, West Virginia, Hawaii, Ohio State and Kansas.

Between the sub .500 finish for the Hurricanes, Sean Taylor's tragic end and Jennifer Love-Hewitt announcing she's engaged, this last week has been an example of the maxim when it rains, it pours.  I would be lying if I told you I didn't just want this misbegotten season, and by extension the entire year of 2007, to hurry up and get finished already before anything else goes wrong.

Only one team from the Shortlist last week found things going wrong between the hashes and as a result, closes the door on the SEC's chances of keeping the crystal football within the conference:

1) LSU gets caught looking ahead to the Georgia Dome and wakes up too late to prevent it's championship run from terminating in triple overtime 50-48 against the Arkansas Razorbacks.  In a related story, there is no truth to the rumor that Houston Nutt reportedly gave a big thumbs up to the new set of sorority debutants surrounding him upon arrival in Oxford, Mississippi when asked to make a comparison to his previous coaching location.  But you could hardly argue with him even if he did in my opinion.

Missouri, West Virginia and Hawaii have one game left each, while Ohio State and Kansas sit and cheer on one last set of upsets that could result in their promotion to prime-time on January 7th. Missouri can make the most forceful statement of the three teams with games this week as an opportunity to avenge their only loss in the Big 12 Title game. 

With that said, there are only two teams this week I see losing games and falling off the Shortlist at the finish line:

Missouri and Hawaii.

I know it's hard to beat a team twice in one year, but Bob Stoops remains an icon in the Sooner state because he refuses to allow his team to lose more than two times in any given regular season more often than not.  The Sooners are at the two loss threshold now and are still bigger, faster and stronger than the Tigers in the trenches.  It should be another hotly contested affair between these two teams, but Mizzou is in for another heartbreak.

Meanwhile, out on the islands, the record setting QB of the Warriors, Colt Brennan, is back and looking no worse for wear.  Ty Willingham's Washington Huskies make the trip over the Pacific to the tropical paradise of Hawaii to wrap up what will be a losing year either way when the final whistle blows in Aloha Stadium. 

It is an all or nothing proposition for the Warriors, win and a trip to a BCS bowl is assured, which combined with one last weird weekend of upsets would give them a darkhorse shot at petitioning for an unprecedented title game appearance, lose and it could be hello Albuquerque for bowl season. 

I'm playing a hunch here to be honest with you, but I think there may just be an ounce too much of Pac-10 pride left in the former national power for them to roll over and play content to the Warriors' Cinderella dreams.  I could be wrong though.

Enjoy the final week of games Saturday and I'll be back next week to compare the merits of the teams who survive to find themselves a part of the Shortlist to the Superdome.

Sean Taylor: Hanging in the Balance

Sean Taylor, who made #26 famous for big plays and hard hits while at the University of Miami was the 5th player taken overall in the 2004 NFL draft.  He was the first UM player selected that year when drafted by Washington to bring back a feared presence in the middle of the field and become key cog in the rebuilding of the Redskins defense. 

Taylor has earned the respect of many and has already been selected to the Pro Bowl in his short NFL career.

In 2001, he was one of just four true freshmen to play for Miami in the 2001 national championship season, carving a niche for himself in Miami's secondary.  Taylor was named "Big East Special Teams Player" of the Week for his performance against the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2002, Taylor was a second-team All-Big East selection by the league's head coaches in his first season as a starter.  He led all defensive backs in tackles, interceptions and passes broken up and had a career-high 11 tackles (2 solo) and intercepted 2 passes in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State University.

During his final year at Miami, Taylor produced a historic season that culminated with honors and awards. He was a named a consensus first-team All-American, the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation's best defensive back. He led the Big East Conference and ranked first nationally in interceptions per game (0.98) with 10, tying the record for interceptions in a season with former Hurricane standout Bennie Blades. He finished first in total tackles with 77 (57 solos).

He intercepted two passes in Miami's impressive 28-14 win over Pittsburgh, playing a key role as the Hurricanes limited All-American receiver Larry Fitzgerald to two receptions for 13 yards. He returned interceptions for an average of 18.4 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown return at Boston College, a 50-yard scoring runback at Florida State, and a 44-yard scoring runback against Rutgers.

But as of  November 26, 2007 all of the foregoing seems unimportant, insignificant as Sean suffered a serious gunshot injury from an intruder in his own home.  His femoral artery had been severed and blood loss was significant.  He underwent surgery and lapsed into a coma, hanging somewhere in the balance between survival and death.  Thankfully, a recent update has him responding to slight commands from the doctors and they now use “cautiously optimistic” in regard to his condition.

Sean Taylor and his girlfriend had a baby girl last year. That had resulted in a change in the Pro Bowl safety, said Portis in a statement from the Washington Redskins. 

"Ever since Sean had his little girl, it was like a new Sean," Portis said. "He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child. It was good to see Sean walk by smiling.  Now all of a sudden, his back is up against the wall, our backs are up against the wall."

Sean Taylor.  A son, a father, a football player who wore #26 and became one of the best to ever wear the U.  He is a true warrior who wore the orange and green proudly and became a true Hurricane superhero.   

His on the field accomplishments, while forever legendary among Canes fans everywhere, now pale in importance with his life hanging in the balance...

Editorial Note:  Sean Taylor died from his gunshot injuries sometime in the early morning of November 27. 2007.  The Hurricane family mourns the loss of one of our own.  Sean Taylor, RIP.

Season's Greetings

The worst college football season in recent memory is now over for the University of Miami Hurricanes.

First Year Head Coach Randy Shannon got the first wish on his list, which was to spend more time with his prized high school recruits instead of practicing for some silly bowl game on blue turf, by having his team take itself out of bowl contention by losing to Boston College on the last Saturday in November. 

The same Boston College team that hadn't beaten the Canes in over 15 years.  Yeah, that one.

The Miami Hurricanes decline is revealed in almost every statistical category recorded.  This team scored less points and gave up more, gained fewer yards and gave up more, gave away more turnovers, and lost to more unranked team's (some with with losing records themselves) than any UM team since 1977.  Not really, I just made that up.  But it is a fact that the 2007 team did perform worse in all of those categories and most others in 2007 than the 2006 UM team that got Larry Coker fired.

So, for the first time in 10 years, the Canes are not going bowling because they failed to win enough games to be eligible to play in a bowl game. The current version of the Miaimi Hurricanes is poorly coached, lacks talent and fails to execute.  Yet according to media sources we are close to, they do have these new things called "accountability" and "discipline", they do arrive on time for games and look really nice in their unis, but apparently, that is the extent of their skill set. 

The play from QBs Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman had fans praying for the return of none other than Brock Berlin (pictured at left).  The play of numbers 3 and 7 was so poor and inconsistent that desperate fans longed for the days of Frank Costa.  Even Ryan Clement or Derrick Crudup would have started and starred over these two so called "players". 

The good news is next year the Canes will have three or four highly regarded QB's to choose from.  Any of them will certainly be an upgrade over the two choices Shannon and Nix had in 2007.  Marve, Harris, and Cook better get busy and get ready because one of them will start.

Next year, the Canes alledgedly have lots of top notch, "can't miss" recruits coming in.  Apparently, that is the only thing that will save this team.  The current players appear slow, unmotivated, uncoachable and to be seriously lacking in the talent department.  The kids from Miami Northwestern High School, led by Jacory Harris, Aldarius Johnson, Sean Spence and Marcus Forston (pictured at left) alone will give a huge boost to the Canes talent level. 

The new players are undoubtedly bigger, faster and smarter on paper than their predecessors.  Time will tell if this talent translates to better play on the field and more victories for the Canes in 2008.

With the hated Florida Gators and the crazed Gator fans in the Swamp awaiting the Canes visit early next season, something better happen and quick before the Canes show up for that little party in Gainesville. 

Or, it could get ugly and fast for our beloved team wearing the orange and green and the U on their helmets in 2008. 

Short List To The Superdome: Week 13

Editor's note:  This edition of the Short List is late going to post as a result of the Thanksgiving Holiday.  It was written BEFORE Thursdays games but posted Saturday AM...

Three months into the college football season finds the Shortlist to the Superdome with the following schools counted among it's ranks:

Kansas, LSU, Hawaii, Missouri, West Virginia, Arizona State and Ohio State.

These seven teams have fought tooth and nail to stay in the running for a shot at National Championship glory with Ohio State ensuring a spot on the Shortlist once it's all over, no matter what, thanks to it's gritty rivalry game win. But a loss in mid-November is difficult to overcome without a great deal of help around the country, will the Buckeyes find a way to back in to play for it all two years in a row? Don't count out Jim Tressel's team just yet.

Both teams that I called to fall off the Shortlist survived last week to leave me with egg on my face:

1) Ohio State sends Lloyd Carr out to pasture with a 14-3 win on the road. For the first time in over forty years, the Buckeyes have won four straight in this rivalry. They now sit in the clubhouse with an impressive resume, but a loss at home is much more difficult to sweep out of sight when the time comes to compare one loss teams on the Shortlist. Still, what was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Columbus turned out infinitely better than anyone had expected at the start of the year, the Buckeyes are sure to be a pre-season favorite in 2008 assuming their early NFL entry losses don't pile up too much.

2) Hawaii escapes the Wolfpack of Reno, Nevada with a field goal late in the game 28-26. June Jones could see his BCS payday evaporating before his eyes, but backup QB Tyler Graunke drives the Warriors in the crunch time to save the perfect season on the islands. Boise State, unbeaten by the Warriors in all six conference contests between the two teams, comes to the islands this week for a showdown of top-25 teams. It should be a game filled with offensive fireworks all over the field Friday, but I expect the Warriors to pull out a close contest with another last minute score to stay on the Shortlist for at least another week.

Two teams I didn't see losing games last week fell off the Shortlist instead of the aforementioned survivors:

Oregon watches it's title dreams unravel like a Dennis Dixon knee ligament as they go down 34-24 at Arizona to the Wildcats. The Pac-10 now finds it's championship contention banner being flown only by Arizona State.

The Ducks meanwhile must regroup with a second string QB to maintain their chances at winning their conference. Mike Bellotti has his work cut out for him to finish this season off the right way in Eugene.

I said when Texas Tech fell off the Shortlist several weeks ago that the Air Raid offense would give Mike Leach's team a chance to play spoiler down the stretch and they did just that by knocking off Oklahoma 34-27 in Lubbock. Graham Harrell was the first big-time QB recruit to sign with Leach and has the offense down pat, now he and his eccentric coach have a signature win to build on. Another eight win season for Leach continues the solid coaching job he has turned in over the last eight years at a perennial also-ran school in the Big 12. Although the true breakthrough season has yet to arrive for Red Raider fans, you get the sense that it will arrive there sooner rather than later for the always quotable Leach.

I expect one team to fall from the Shortlist this week, one coached by a familiar face for Hurricane fans:

Arizona State.

The Sun Devils host Southern Cal on Thursday and despite coming off a bye, are beginning to hit the wall as a team in the waning part of their schedule. Pete Carroll can't afford another loss this year and will use this opportunity to reverse some of the downward spiral his program has found itself trapped on the last two years. Expect Dennis Erickson's team to go down with a heck of a fight, but ultimately succumb to Southern Cal's superior depth, leaving the Shortlist with only half a dozen names on it by Saturday.

The upsets continue unabated in this college season and the final weeks should muster up a few more unexpected surprises before it's all said and done. Enjoy the games this week and I'll see you back here next week as we reshuffle all the cards in the deck here on the Shortlist to the Superdome.

Copyright 2007 Christopher Whelpton for Canespace

For The Life of Me

Using the logic of a young boy it occurred to me the bread always lands butter side down because that is the heaviest side. Years of testing this theory eventually taught me that nothing so obvious is ever that simple. In fact, it led me to the conclusion that Life himself is a consummate practical joker.

In Little League, with the stands filled with girls from your school, is it misfortune, or perhaps bad luck, or is it really Life just toying with you when that the line drive curves like a guided missile and hits you where it hurts most?  How about that time you were popping a wheelie on your bike only to have the front wheel fall off and send you headfirst into the school parking lot, bringing tears to not only your eyes but all your pals as well?  That time the rope swing mysteriously grabbed your ankle and smacked your head against the big oak tree? 

I developed a nervous twitch and habit of looking over my shoulder every time anything good seemed to be going on in my life. Something was happening here.  I came to realize that Life isn’t like a box of chocolates. It's more like the guys from Jackass walking behind you looking for ways to humiliate you.

When it comes to sports fans Life is like the comedian that builds to the killer joke with a smattering of smaller gems. Life will screw with you like he is the IRS; ask any Seminole field goal kicker.

Thumb your nose at Life and become number two in the rankings? Life isn’t Carrot Top, you don’t mess with Life.

When Randy Shannon became head honcho of my favorite team in the universe I have to admit that for a while, I let my guard down.  He said that at practice "My guys were flying around out there".  Shoot, even Manny told me so! The word on the street was the fans over at Canespace were saying the Canes could easily go undefeated, or 11-1, or at worst 10-2! Ten and two! Oh Lord, I was looking for an amen!

Problem is Life wasn’t home reading Canesapce and daydreaming. Life was doing the same thing Life had done since the day I met him.  Life was plotting ways to stomp my hopes and dreams into the ground.  Most recently Life demonstrated this nice little trick by stomping my team into the surface of football stadiums all the way across the East Coast of these United States.

I really should have suspected something when the season started. Remember that day Michigan learned all about Life?  Life isn't always pretty or the way we planned it, is it?

As my fellow Canespacers debated what was ailing the Canes, somewhere in my tortured subconscious a little voice was whispering "That’s Life.” 

Week after week I try to convince Cane’s fans that Life is tough. Just like when I was a kid making sandwiches they think they know the answers.

They say just before you die Life flashes before your eyes. I’m hoping I can muster the strength to stick my foot out and trip him. Getting the last laugh on Life is all you can really ever hope for.

Solarcane for Canespace

Canespace Exclusive: LIVE Chat With Manny Navarro

Welcome to another of our special features here at Canespace we like to call: "ASK MANNY!"

Every other Tuesday during the football season we have Manny Navarro from the Miami Herald host a LIVE chat session right here on the Canespace blog from 8-9 PM. 

On alternating weeks all the loyal Canespacers trot on over to Manny's blog at the Miami Herald, "Eye On The U", for more on the news U can use.

All day on Tuesday each week (and also during the live chat session) we encourage U the fans to post your questions for Manny to answer during the one hour rapid fire session. 

So Canes fans, don't hold back!  Manny does not shy way from tough questions or controversial issues.  Manny is a hard core 305 guy and he is not afraid to bring it.

Here are some fan photos by RoachCane77 from the UM/VT game last Saturday in Blacksburg.  That's Roach and wife Kathy U/L, Aqua and CGNC second from L, and Roach and E_K third from L, and assorted friends:

Just A Little Bit

Aretha Franlklin sang about it. 

Abraham Lincoln earned it. 

Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated it. 

These days it seems everybody even remotely associated with the Miami Hurricanes football team is scrambling around searching for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T and can't find it anywhere.  In fact, when was the last time you can personally claim to have seen respect around here anyway? 

Was it the last time the Canes won the National Championship in 2001?  2002?  Maybe even late in 2003?

After Saturday's 44-14 loss to Viginia Tech at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg the Canes wound up being swept by the State of Virginia.  Even with Kyle Wright playing his heart out, the Canes defense and Canes fans everywhere had their hearts ripped out by the Hokies late in the second half.  Of course, Kyle's three turnovers (one INT and two fumbles) didn't help matters any, but the Canes defense and special teams just didn't get it done, again and again and again. 

Some faint glimmers of hope that briefly appeared when the Canes narrowed Tech's lead to 20-14 in the third quarter were quickly extinguished when the Hokies drove the ball right down the field against little resisitance and coverted third down after third down against the now infamous "Power of Cheese" defense (read: swiss cheese, lots of holes).  This defense is alledgedly "coached" to stop such a thing by some guy from a 70's TV show (The Waltons).

Trust us when we say that we have looked everywhere for a little respect (just a little bit), but no matter how hard we tried, where we looked or how deep we dug, we just couldn't locate any sign or trace of it. 

Quick, notify the authorities, put out an APB.  Witnesses believe that respect officially went missing on or around November 10, 2007.  It was last seen near NW 7th Street and NW 17th Avenue and was wearing orange and green and a U on it's helmet.

The last time we looked, the numbers posted on the Orange Bowl score board looked like 48-0 to us (that just can't be right, can it?).  That's right the Canes were shut out in their last ever game at the OB and for the first time since 1974 and yet confetti was still raining down as the players left the field like the Canes had won the Super Bowl or something. Talk about your contradictions; where the heck was respect when you needed it most? 

I mean, if respect was going to make a sudden and triumphant re-appearence you would have thought that it would have been at the last ever game in the Orange Bowl, right?  The introductions of the seniors, the halftime celebration of the Canes greats of yesterday and the post game extravaganza were all lined up to ensure that respect would return.   

Canes fans were absolutely certain that respect would return to a team that had earned so much of it over the years in that historic and hallowed stadium.  What a perfect time and place for respect to make it's big return to the team wearing orange and green, right?  Uh, um, well...maybe not. 

And it would also appear that our ACC opponents have lost some respect for the Canes after having beaten them at home three straight times and in five of seven ACC contests this year. The not so usual suspects that stole respect from the Canes this year include: UNC, GT, NCST, UVA and VT. 

Think of this: had Duke beaten the Canes on their home turf (don't laugh, they almost did) the State of North Carolina would have been a perfect 3-0 against the team with The U on their helmets this year!  Heck, if the State of Virginia can do it with UVA and Virginia Tech both beating the Canes this year by the combine score of 92-14, why not the Tar Heel State of North Carolina?  Well at least the Blue Devils have roundball to get even with the Canes alter this year when ACC play turns to the hardwood.

The lone road win against FSU seems more and more like a dream or a miracle the further it gets away.

So to many of us, it appears that respect is on a temporary hiatus, and will only retrun when the Canes start winning again on a consistent basis and respect, if and when it returns, is sure not to be embarrassed.  First, the players, coaches and fans will have to get their acts together because respect is earned by one player, one coach and one fan at a time. 

It seems to us that the lesson here is that respect is something hard to earn yet easy to squander.

While there's no doubt that respect is hard to find these days, we encourage you to keep your eyes open as many here are very confident that it will return again someday, and hopefully soon.  Make sure you let us know first when you get a glimpse of respect, even if it's just a little bit, returning to the University of Miami Hurricanes football team.

The Short List To The Superdome: Week 12

Shocking finishes weren't just relegated to the Hurricane finale in the Orange Bowl Saturday night as now only two undefeated teams are left in the nation, one a surprise, the other an expected upstart.  We are down to single digits on the Shortlist to the Superdome as now only nine teams remain in the competition for a Blackwater assault team guided tour of New Orleans. 

The surviving roll call reads as follow:

Kansas, LSU, Hawaii, Oregon, Oklahoma, Missouri, West Virginia, Arizona State and Ohio State.

Due to the propensity of Samoan cousins related to members of the Hawaii team I feel an explanation is in order, lest certain members of that genealogical bloodline take offense with me at the Warriors stalling out at number three. 

When LSU pounds Louisiana Tech 58-10 in Baton Rouge, the same Tech team that fell in overtime in week 2 to Hawaii by a single point, it's going to take a little help for your relatives to make it to the top spot all the way from the Big Island.  Not to mention the fact that I expect the Warriors to be gone from the Shortlist before kickoff Saturday, but more on that after we look at the one team that dropped I game I didn't see coming, falling from the Shortlist in meteoric fashion:

1) Boston College drops back to back games to close out the ACC's hopes for a National Champion, succumbing to Maryland 42-35.  The schedule finally becomes to tough for the Jeff Jagodzinski's squad, proving once again, that a steady on field diet of service academies and Notre Dame never pays off in the long run.

I expect two teams to be stricken from the Shortlist this week, one a guilty pleasure of mine, the other a perpetual nusciance:

Ohio State and Hawaii.

The Warriors are a West Coast football watcher's dream.  They kickoff at the end of the day during home games, are guaranteed to throw for 350 or more yards, put up 35 or more points, play serviceable to intimidating defense, and have some of the best uniforms in college football.  They also play either a feast or famine schedule, BCS traditional power opponents or WAC nobodies. 

Thus their are either in a underdog role or a high flying circus on turf which combined with their natural home field geography turning them into literal home warriors yet road weaklings gives them a niche appeal.  Unfortunately, they are off the island this week, QB Colt Brennan is trying to shake off a concussion and the Nevada Wolfpack is coming off a bye week.  All of this leads me to call for the Warriors to fall this week and pare the Shortlist of it's final non-BCS member school.

Meanwhile, Terry Porter's choice for the 2002 National Champs find themselves regrouping from a shocking loss at home to Illinois.  The game of the year in the Big 10 took a hit in prestige with Michigan's additional loss but this rivalry is one of the great spectacles of the college game and the contest will be hard fought as always. 

Ultimately, Michigan has more to play for this round, redemption, and that coupled with a home field advantage should be enough to allow the Wolverines to win if Mike Hart and Chad Henne are healthy. 

If they aren't, the Wolverines will still go down taking their best shot at their hated rivals and their overrated, sweater-vest sporting coach.  It should be a heavyweight encounter of grand proportion in Ann Arbour Saturday.

Enjoy the games this weekend, only three weeks remain in the wildest of college football seasons in recent memory and this weekend is almost certain to provide more of the same.  I'll see you all back here next week as we continue to thin the contenders away from the pretenders, on the Shortlist to the Superdome.

Copyright 2007 Christopher Whelpton for Canespace

Ouch, That Hurts!

This feature article was written exclusively for Canespace by guest blogger JC:

Dis•grace–noun
1. the loss of respect, honor, or esteem; ignominy; shame: the disgrace of criminals.

2. a person, act, or thing that causes shame, reproach, or dishonor or is dishonorable or shameful.

3. the state of being out of favor; exclusion from favor, confidence, or trust.

–verb (used with object)
4. to bring or reflect shame or reproach upon: to be disgraced by cowardice.

5. to dismiss with discredit; put out of grace or favor; rebuke or humiliate: to be disgraced at court.

In the grand scheme of life, competitive sports are for fitness and entertainment. The Canes' players are healthy young men who enjoy the game of football and we as fans find a thrill and beauty in witnessing athletic feats beyond our own. Basically, it's just for fun. So to attribute undue importance to a sporting event, like Mr. Winslow Jr.'s infamous "I'm a solider" allusion is often seen as in poor taste and cheapens the real challenges and joys in life.

But there are special moments when sport transcends mere entertainment, when a team or individual is unfairly called upon to represent or inspire the masses in a time of great emotion or turmoil. Fortunately for athletes and for us as a society these moments are few and far between. The events which lead to them are often horrific and the pressure placed on the team or individual is incredibly unfair. Players don't sign up to have ramifications beyond the normal placed on them.

And yet the 2001 New York Yankees' postseason became more than just the effort for a 4th consecutive World Series title. It became a symbol of the resilience of New Yorkers following the 9/11 attacks.

The 2005 LSU football team's game against Arizona State, a "home" game played in Arizona in the wake of Hurricane Katrina carried the collective weight of players impacted by the storm and the hopes of a devastated community.

The 1992 Hurricanes faced the same situation following the devasting disaster known as Hurricane Andrew that leveled much of southern Dade County.

On a much lesser scale socially but perhaps equivalent emotionally, when a team leaves an old and treasured venue loved for generations, fans also look to that particular team to stand up for years of memories, hopes, and dreams both realized and unfulfilled and come through with one more performance. The Saints' return to the Superdome was perhaps a bit of both rolled into one.

This is what the Hurricanes faced, much like the Pittsburgh Steelers when Three Rivers Stadium closed following the Steelers' 24-3 win over the Washington Redskins on Saturday, December 16 2000. The Steelers honored all of their greatest players prior to the start of the game to ever play at Three Rivers Stadium. Eight weeks later Three Rivers Stadium was imploded. The Yankees have another defining moment ahead in Yankee Stadium's last season.

LSU miraculously rallied to win in Arizona. The Saints crushed the Falcons. The 01 Yankees and 92 Canes proved you don't have to win necessarily to provide that boost. Walk-off World Series home runs and a trip to the national title game in what were ultimately a losing efforts gave a needed emotional boost to the city.

But these Hurricanes, in the house of three national titles and 58 straight wins, could muster only 9 first downs, and not a single point while almost never stopping their opponent.  In the end a score of 48-0 told the tale of a hopeless battle.

A crowd of 60 thousand, unheard of for the Hurricanes when they struggle, came simply to bask in the nostalgia and take in the sights one last time. But the night was robbed of any significance, and of all emotion, by the flat players.

Just like those teams, everything that came before and after was and is irrelevant. They might have been great teams or bad teams, but their special moment wasn't a reference on quality.  Past success is soon forgotten in the sports world.

The Yankees and Saint and Tigers went back to just being sports teams. Their wins and losses beyond that moment had no greater significance. So it will be for the Canes.

In the grand scheme, it was just a really bad day for the Canes. But these players failed where I cannot recall any other team failing, and in the worst possible way. Perhaps that is a reflection of their mental resiliency as football players, but in my mind it will forever tarnish their legacies as Hurricanes independent of what successes may yet come.

Word On The Street

Word on the street is that the Canes lack the talent on the field to compete.

Word on the street is that the Canes coaching is green, suspect and may be to blame.

Word on the street is that both players and coaches share equal responsibility for the struggles in 2007.

Word on the street is that some recruits may be wavering due to the Canes performance this season.

Word on the street is not if, but when, will the Canes come roaring back: 2008, or 2009 or 2010 or beyond?

Word on the street is that the old days of dominant teams may be gone forever and that "parity" is the new buzz word.

Canespace wants to know what you have heard on the street: