And So This Is How It Ends

It's over.  It is finally, sadly over. 

Just like the University of Miami's consecutive home win streak at the Orange Bowl eventually ended at 58 games, the Hurricanes' streak of 14 consecutive years with a player being drafted in the first round came to a sudden, but not so dramatic, halt with yesterday's first round of the 2009 NFL draft.

Since 1995 and all the way from Warren Sapp through Kenny Phillips, "The Streak" was the envy of all of college football.  So many players were selected from Miami that the league would soon become known as The NFLU. 

No other university even comes close to matching this historic run. Currently, LSU is second at five consecutive years.  The Gators?  Two years.  FSU?  One.

With four players selected in the first round in 2001 and 2003, five in 2002 and an NFLU record of six players choosen in round one in 2004, the NFLU simply became a Sunday showcase of former Hurricanes all across the League. 

U do the math and add them up and that's 19 first round picks in just four years!

With more players (47) in the NFL currently making a lucrative living by catching, carrying or chasing the pigskin, the University of Miami has been recognized for its long-standing tradition as being the deepest, richest and most productive pipeline to the League. 

Still ten years from now, the trivia question will be: "Who were the first and last players selected during the first round streak?" 

A: Sapp, Warren and Phillips, Kenny. 

With Head Coach Randy Shannon at the helm recruiting some major league talent from the 305 and beyond to play on Saturdays, it will not be long before the players with the coveted "U" on their helmet are once again all the rage.

And will be seen playing in the NFLU on Sunday.

Comments

[bhamcanesfan]

first?

[bhamcanesfan]

Man it's slow around here! Can't wait til labor day!

[86Cane]

Bham...roger that!

Dolphins select WR Patrick Turner.

Questionable pick according to the "experts".

[KSF68]

phoey

[86Cane]

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The 11th-ranked University of Miami baseball team dropped the second game of a three-game set against Virginia Tech, 7-4, Saturday night at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. After being held hit-less through the first three innings, the Hokies scored six runs on seven hits in the fourth inning to even the weekend series.

Miami drops to 28-14 overall and 12-11 in Atlantic Coast Conference play while Virginia Tech improves to 25-16 and 10-12 in league play.

After going hitless the first three innings, the Hokies broke the game open in the fourth, scoring six runs on seven hits to take a five-run lead. Three straight singles by Mike Kaminski, Ronnie Shaban and Michael Seaborn brought home the first three runs before a two-run double off the bat of Sosnoskie put the Hokies up four. Three batters later, Steve Bumbry's RBI single put the Hokies up five and forced UM starter David Gutierrez out of the contest.

Gutierrez (2-5) lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out six in a losing effort. Kevin Youst pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings in relief of Gutierrez, striking out a career-high four before handing it over to Michael Rudman. Rudman finished out the game for the `Canes, allowing one unearned run on two hits while walking one and striking out a season-high six over the final 3 innings

Justin Wright (5-1) allowed just two runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out a career-high 10 in eight innings of work to earn the victory for the Hokies. Brandon Fisher came on in the ninth and allowed two late runs before Ben Rowen recorded the final out of the game to earn his third save of the year.

Yasmani Grandal and Scott Lawson each had two hits for UM. Grandal finished the night 2-for-4 with a homer, a double and two runs scored while Lawson also went 2-for-4.

[MDCane]

Does anyone think it would be a stretch or absolute insanity to move Allen Bailey to to offensive line?

[moneycane]

86 my legends of the fall picks:
Baby J
Randy Phillips

[Six]

With the 7th overall pick, Canespace selects ...

Six, University of Tampa .. Free Safety .. 5'11 .. 196.

New England is getting a nasty good player in Tyrone McKenzie from USF. He and Clint Sintim from Virginia (2nd Round, Giants) were at an All-American game as the LBs, with Sintim supposed to be the stud starter - McKenzie beat him up all week long on all the drills and was the starter on game day.

[solarcane]

Everything is gonna be alright

The sky was gonna fall because we weren't playing in the Orange bowl.... it didn't

The sky won't fall because we don't have a first round pick

When Boise St breaks the unbreakable home win streak record sometime a couple seasons from now the sky will still be there.

Be proud of what you were lucky enough to witness over the years.

All the gnashing of teeth and pumping fists over past glory isn't gonna change better teams with better players breaking other teams records.

We will set more standards again soon enough

peace

[Alex D]

All good things must come to an end. However, there will be better days ahead for the Canes.

[Six]

Hopefully Edge gets released by the Cards so he can go somewhere else.

Raiders prove to be the complete morons of the draft ... again. You know the intelligent Raider fans (who don't have the myopia gene running rampant through their body) are wishing that Al Davis stopped circling the drain, and finally goes down it. They won't have a successful team until he either goes down that drain or hands the team off to someone else - and we all know the latter won't happen.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's nephew was just taken by the Browns - Kaluka Maiava. Kaluka, in the words of Chaka Khan: "I feel for you", try not to get staph infection or a huge case of the "suck", just by putting on that uniform or living in that city.

[86Cane]

Does anyone think it would be a stretch or absolute insanity to move Allen Bailey to to offensive line?

Posted by: MDCane | April 26, 2009 at 12:16 PM

Or TE?

[Six]

Cane John Salmons of the Bulls, in about 6 minutes, taking on the Celtics on ABC.

He doesn't have a particularly tough player to guard, it's only Paul Pierce ... eesshh.

[Six]

"We're talking about the Florida Gators man, the National Champs ... I love the Gators"

- John Gruden, about 8 minutes ago on NFL Network, when talking about Louis Murphy

Another reason I couldn't stand that jackhole Gruden, he's a huge Croc honk.

[86Cane]

Yo Seis...guess how many players the NC Gators have had drafted so far in 2009?

ONE. That's right ONE!

The pot smoking Percy Harvin.

NICE!!!

[Six]

86 - I know, haha.

Wait ... Louis Murphy was just taken by the Raiders.

Like I said earlier, Raiders still prove to be the morons of the draft.

I'm glad he goes to the rotting franchise of the NFL.

How about 4 ACC players taken in the first 9 picks. I'm not an ACC fan, I'm a Canes fan .. but still, the ACC has put out some nice stats in the last few years of players taken in the 1st Round.

[86Cane]

Yes, ACC 4 of the top 10.

Overall first round:

ACC = 5
SEC = 8

Overall draft:

ACC = 18
SEC = 22

[JCane]

Hey all:

Top of the 3rd for VT just ended, and still no hits for them off of Nazario on the hill for the Canes. The Canes are up 3-0, with all 3 coming in the bottom of the 2nd off of a Lawson run scoring single and a two run shot by Harold Martinez.

As for Six's comments about the city I lived in for 3 years and still have the in-laws there requiring periodic visits:

Could have said it better myself. Great line by Priscilla Presley in one of the Naked Gun movies when she went out back of the restaurant, right by the dumpster, and tried to explain it as going out for a breath of fresh air, later stating she used to live by Lake Erie. If it weren't for Cleveland we wouldn't have the EPA and many clean water acts, so it serves a purpose. I guess it went out of style to have your river catch on fire years back!

[JCane]

Bottom of the 3rd for the Canes, and Hagerty is on 1st with a walk. Grandal is up, still no outs. 4 hits in the game thus far for Miami. Fly to left for an out, so with Hagerty still on 1st, up comes Herrmann.

Gotta get back to the sick kid, so I'll check in later when I can.

[JCane]

oops, btw, I meant to say to six that I "couldn't have said it better..." re" his comments about the mistake by the lake:

[JCane]

The 3rd ends, still 3-0 Canes. Catch you later.

[Ocean State Cane]

86 i was thisclose to picking the Whip, but then i remembered the BIg Redhead... no one else taking a step to the edge with me!

[Six]

How about all the hype around Victor "Macho" Harris during the past two years? All the VTech fans touting how great he was, blah blah blah .... all the announcers doing VTech games jocking him relentlessly, blah blah blah

5th round, pick 139, and "Macho" is still wandering in the purgatory of the draft world

[Calvin]

The streak ends, but the CHAMPIONSHIPS are about to began again, just think about it, this team is good enough now to win it all. As long as we stay in the weight room and get stronger, we'll be alright. Not many teams have what we have, and not to many teams are going to be able to pass the ball consistently.

cav, the one thing i like about the g-tech spring game, it's old school in the sense that, it's no other way to really practice the option without letting the qb get hit too, lol.

As far as our team goes, jacory gets better the more he plays, and we all know he can heat up. whipple will do better than norm chow because he's got a lot of True DADE COUNTY ballers along with everybody else on the team who have that TRUE UM mentality, that's all he needs, it'll be hard to find anybody on this team settling for 2nd place, and that bodes well for a guy like dvd, who all he has to realize is, he's got enough speed to not have to play off the wide outs, their not going to out run him, so just stay with the receiver closer and than DOMINATE!

On defense, we're gonna have at least 10 guys out their this year who not trying to give up nothing to nobody, and if dvd seems to act as if he's playing scared, he'll have brandon mcgee, jamal reid and price kent breathing down his neck for that job.

It's going to be fun watching our linebackers develop, i'm especially interested in seeing the cookie monster out their on the field, him being moved to linebacker is what we have always done(safties to linebackers)see jon beason, a 1st round pick surprise to me but he was always solid though. Like me, i never thought ray lewis was that dominant in colleg, he was good, but having sapp and rohan marley and company out their helped, to me beason and ray are better pro's than they were college players.

Last year physically, we were a lil outmanned at alot of positions but the talent of those players caused them to make more plays than they should have, this year, those same players are going to be able to play a lil more physical this year to go along with their talent, what that means is, these same players are going to start looking like they did the same way they did when they were dominating in DADE COUNTY, their going to start looking that way at the college level.

[Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer]

Solar, Boisie lost to BC or someone in 2006 I think in the bowl game at their home BUT I think someone's going to knock them off this year or next. They won't get it. I wish we could knock them off at home. Wouldn't that be sweet? haha

[86Cane]

I guess it went out of style to have your river catch on fire years back!

Posted by: JCane | April 26, 2009 at 01:56 PM

Yeah, that's NEVER a good thing!

Thanks for the baseball updates.

No Bruce Johnson sighting huh?

[Central Vacuum Planet - UMike]

Calvin...I got to admit, I love ALL your posts. So positive all the time..makes me feel like everything I believe is actualy true! lol Keep it up

[DZ8]

When does the Bruce Johnson watch start? 6th round?

[j.w.]

Boise did lose to BC in the SMURF bowl, but they're trying to pass that off as a road game because the ACC was the home team for the bowl game. (LOL). Whatever, even if they get through this year without a home loss we know their claim to the record isn't real.

[Chinese Punisher aka Cavaleer]

Calvin, yeah Buchanon, Holton, Futch and AB will be learning the ropes and licking their chops. I just want quality minutes from them in relief of Sharpton, Spence and C-Mac.

And if Truth is talking about Ray Ray starting by the 3rd game, you know the word dominate

[JCane]

Top of the 6th, Tech up, down 6-1. VT scored the sole run, and they still have only 2 hits for the game. The Canes knocked in another 3 spot in the 5th, mostly on the strength of Herrmann's 2 run shot.

86: Who's Bruce Johnson? :( I guess I'd prefer to think of the poor draft for the Canes as being the end of one bad time and the start of the ascent of a new era of greatness.

Now VT has runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs in the top of the 6th, following a walk and a double. Better look out. Still up by 5, but....a walk, and now the bases are loaded with no outs for the visitors.

[86Cane]

Check this:

Middleton possesses prototypical size for a cornerback. His strengths include overall ball skills and the ability to be effective in run support. However, some tightness in his hips creates some concerns about his ability to limit separation.

"Tightness in his hips"?

Oh my!

[86Cane]

"86: Who's Bruce Johnson? :( I guess I'd prefer to think of the poor draft for the Canes as being the end of one bad time and the start of the ascent of a new era of greatness."

And so it is written and will be done...

[True Cane]

can someone get Bruce Johnson please.................. My gator friends are going to kill me tomorrow.

[JCane]

Bottom of the 6th and the Canes are up with DiNatale batting and no outs. They mostly dodge a bullet giving up only one run on a double play and then getting a pop up out. 6-2, Canes.

[JCane]

The Gators are going to be obnoxious regardless, true. It is their nature, and they are going to take advantage while the getting is good. Every dog has its day, including a mutt from the pound (ie a Gator).

DiNatale single, bringing up the DH, Villasuso, still with no outs. 3-2 count...DiNatale takes off, safe at 2nd while Villasuso swings and whiffs. Runner at 2nd, one out, and at bat is the SS today, Powers. Many players are getting some action today who don't normally get much PT. Powers with the groundout, advanced DiNatale to 3rd, but now 2 outs with Lawson up.

Uh-oh from my end. Gotta run. Check back later.

[JCane]

Inning done, to the VT 7th.

[86Cane]

JCane...keep the updates coming.

GO CANES, BEAT VT!

[JCane]

VT scores one in the top of the 7th off of a single, but the inning ends for them on an attempted steal of 3rd. The bottom of the 7th looks to be the big break for UM, as the the 6-3 lead has been extended to 9-3 and two runners aboard...make that 11-3 after a Villasuso double. There's a runner at 2nd, still only one out and Lawson at bat.

[JCane]

Make that 2 outs. My mistake. Lawson is still up.

[JCane]

Wild pitch, the runner moves to 3rd. Currently Lawson has a 2-2 count. He fouls out on the 3B side. To the 8th we go, with the game looking to be will in hand at this point.

I'll check back when I can.

[JCane]

Lest I forget, Bellamy is on the hill. Looks like the danger of last inning is ancient history.

[DZ8]

JCane

Don't insult a mutt from a pound like that.

[shwarma]

Spencer Adkin selected by Falcons

[Loco]

And Spencer Adkins it is!

[shwarma]

Hard to believe Adkins, a backup, was the first cane taking. Even seniors who were starters couldnt beat him out. Guy is a physical freak though.

[Calvin]

lol, spendcer adkins bringing the speed and he's a work-out warrior, that alone will earn u a draft spot alot of times, than coming from UM doesn't hurt either!

[conch salad]

haha spencer adkins WOW

[CaneSniper]

And so it begins...

[JCane]

Top of the 9th, two outs and nobody on for VT, but then a HBP and single get runners on 1st and 2nd. The Canes still have a 11-3 lead. 2-0 count to Reed for Tech...while waiting on the pitch, I want to apologize to all mutts in all pounds everywhere. My sincere regrets!

3-1 count to Reed.

I sat next to Adkins girlfriend's folks at the FSU game. They were very nice educated people who also really like him. They spoke of how nicely he treats their daughter and how hard he works, both as a student and as an athlete. Makes you want the guy to have success.

Force out at 2nd. Game over! Adios muchachos! Canes Win! 2 out of 3 ain't so bad! 11-3 victory. UM stays on the plus side of their ACC record with today's victory.