This is a picture of infamous Canespacer OcalaCane holding his new (and always beautiful) wife Jeryl.
You know OcalaCane as the official Canespace photographer. I know him as Steve Durand.
You see Steve and I go way back, in fact all the way back to junior high school in Miami. I met OcalaCane in the middle of my first fist fight, on my fifth day of school in the seventh grade at Richmond Heights Junior High.
These times were not easy for anyone at the school, much less some skinny, long haired, blond kid who had just moved from another school located across town in the "Little Havana" section of Miami.
It was obvious to me early on that my limited and broken Spanish wasn't gonna get me through this confrontation.
At the time that OcalaCane intervened in my little altercation I was using my face to hit the fist of some black dude I met during PE class.
When Steve decided I had had enough he and a few of his friends who I had never met stepped in to save what was left of me and my pride. The fight ended soon enough and we walked away with me holding my lip and him holding me up. Those are the moments of which friendships are made.
Steve and I attended Miami Killian Senior High School together and we share the Cougar Pride with former Cane Randall Hill and new UM recruit Lamar Miller. After high school we went our own separate ways, me going to UM and him going off to find his way through life.
We later grew further apart as he moved off to Ocala and I moved to Fort Lauderdale. Then after many years, somehow he managed to find me again through the Canespace blog.
Since reconnecting we have attended several UM games together, spent endless hours recounting our "glory days" back in the 305 and shared our common love for the Hurricanes.
Recently, I had the honor of being the best man at his wedding in Ocala. Talk about full circle? Yeah, this is a clear example of it really happening.
At Steve's wedding I had the opportunity to meet not only his lovely bride for the third time but his three incredible step children.
Now you have to understand that these children, along with Steve's lovely bride, grew up in the 352 and by default became Gator fans. So Steve has had his work cut out for him in trying to convert them from the orange and blue to the orange and green; to becoming fans of "The U".
His first assignment was to dress them all in Canespace gear and then take them to a classic Hurricane event: Canes vs Gators baseball in Gainesville. The Canes managed to sweep the Gators and new Canes fans were born on the spot!
More importantly, these children are simply put nothing short of angels on earth. Their ages and names are completely irrelvant. It is their beauty, character and personalities that makes them who they are.
And now, when I see my good friend and old buddy Steve Durand "Raising Canes", it makes my heart full and my memories of our long time friendship all the more important.
In truth, God knows that as we were growing up in Miami, with all of the risks and rewards that we found along the way, that it was highly possible that neither one of us might have made it this far.
Much less could we have hoped to have accomplished so much in life.
But take look a good look at him now.
Steve Durand is all that and will have a family full of memories to share for a lifetime as he stays busy taking care of his lovely new wife.
And spending his time Raising Canes...
Now let's talk LSU, these guys should be in trouble but they are not
Posted by: Hurricannian | June 11, 2009 at 01:18 PM
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/orl-sportsfsu-11061109jun11,0,3087048.story
It will be interesting to see if the "suspended" wide receivers suddenly get reinstated for the "U". I'm sure Bobby hates the fact that he doesn't have a couple of warm up games to use for the suspensions before Miami.
Does the old man have the nerve to play them against the U and then suspend them for Jacksonville State the next week?
Posted by: texascane | June 11, 2009 at 01:18 PM
RS and company are doing it the right way on the recruiting trail, and they are following their plan based on the pre-Coker strategy of program-building.
The Canes coaches are looking past the stars and looking to recruit great athletes (mostly from Florida but also from other areas) who they get to know, who are great leaders in the locker room and who can potentially play a variety of positions because they are great athletes. Then, the coaches bring these athletes to the U and develop them into first round draft choices.
Go Canes!
Posted by: Windy1 | June 11, 2009 at 01:37 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250905
f#cker
Posted by: DATcane | June 11, 2009 at 01:42 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250596
u
Posted by: DATcane | June 11, 2009 at 01:43 PM
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/ncfnation/0-9-76/FSU-s-Ponder-takes-ownership-of-offense.html
fswho
Posted by: DATcane | June 11, 2009 at 01:44 PM
Sup spacers..sorry I haven't been on...I'm hanging out in tenneessee and just might move here in a few months. Nice write up soup...great work. Congrats ocala, she is beautiful.
Posted by: UMike | June 11, 2009 at 01:52 PM
Anyone think this NCAA punishment
of "vacating wins" in bogus? I for one don't care if Alabama has to vacate 21 wins 2-3 years ago, does anyone remember the records from 2+ years ago anyway? It has no teeth unless a team is in jeopardy of giving up a championship, or in BB's case his all time win total.
Posted by: TJL | June 11, 2009 at 02:05 PM
...
Posted by: LyquidEnigma | June 11, 2009 at 02:19 PM
TJL,
I totally agree. Going after old wins is ridiculous. What does it do? Also, do you think the teams who they beat are all of a sudden happy that they get the W? HELL NO!
Its a stupid way to approach this.
Posted by: conch salad | June 11, 2009 at 02:26 PM
86,
I know Manny has been busy with Los Marlin', but do you know why he hasnt been keeping up with the blog? I hate to say it but I check the SS blog first these days cuz Shandel has kept it going. Mandingo hasnt put one out on the baseball guys and no one has put out any info on whether Ray Ray and co. are now on campus (I think they reported or are set to report soon).
Any idea whats up? Is he just too busy with Los Marlin?
Posted by: conch salad | June 11, 2009 at 02:34 PM
arrest and fraud... seems like some type of loss of institutional control. they wont go after the future but the past. funny!!
Posted by: lou of m | June 11, 2009 at 02:45 PM
If the NCAA wants to put real teeth into this they should make the teams give back the bowl money, if any, they received in those seasons.
If they don't go to a bowl in those seasons, they forfeit future bowl money until it's paid off.
After all, the NCAA has determined they weren't eligible for the bowls they went to.
Posted by: texascane | June 11, 2009 at 03:18 PM
Total friggin joke unless you won a NC in that time.
That would blow!!!
GO CANEZ!!!!!
Posted by: Canez1 | June 11, 2009 at 03:28 PM
Solar
My fat a*s sat up at La Parilla in Cancun almost daily since Friday. Ms. Truth and I took off the ME by Melia there in Mexico. When the 'Space I'd no longer in service, and you 86 and I can sit down with that bottle of McCallan that he's going to owe me I'll give you the real story...
...but for the blob we had a splendid time sitting by the pool, drinking my perfect Caipirinhas and best - in - the - world Margaritas chatting with the lovely ladies we made friends with. After the sun went down Ms. Truth and I would entertain our friends in on our amazing balcony/deck into the wee hours.
The weather was perfectly sweltering and the hotel was amazing. There wasn't much going on at the clubs so we brought the party upstairs.
A great time was had by all.
;-)
Loved every minute of it.
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 03:51 PM
I will say that the margaritas at La Parilla were just about perfect. I'm going to have to re-do my sour mix cuz that was some good stuff right there.
Anyone going to Cancun should take a look at the ME. Not the grand melia..just ME. Fatastically hip and modern. Great service and if you spend a little it goes a looooooong way.
Truth don't do all inclusive cuz as much as I like to eat I really only eat one big meal a day.
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 04:01 PM
Ocala
You did good...great even. She's way too hot for you LOL
Smart man!
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 04:18 PM
so Glen Cook doesn't get drafted by an NFL team but instead by Chicago Cubs? Funny stuff. Good luck.
Posted by: Esteban | June 11, 2009 at 04:19 PM
from Bruce Feldman's blog...
• Dan Morgan is one of the best college players I've ever covered. His performance when Miami beat FSU in the Orange Bowl in 2000 was the most amazing effort I've ever seen from a defensive player in a college game. Even though he was a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Panthers, his NFL career was cut short by injuries and concussions. Right after that FSU win, I did a feature on him for ESPN The Magazine about the relationship he had with his dad, who was one of those old-school tough guys that had played semi-pro ball and had worked as a bouncer and a bodyguard. They were just these tough, tough people. In his Miami days, Morgan was said to be a completely no-nonsense guy. Didn't go out. Didn't drink. Just went to school. Worked out. Loved football. He was a complete throwback. I always believed Morgan was the kind of guy who would have to be carried off the field. I am glad he walked away from football when he did.
Posted by: Esteban | June 11, 2009 at 04:25 PM
What a heaping, stinking, maggot-infested load of crap...
ESPN college football analyst Jesse Palmer, who played quarterback at Florida from 1997 until 2000, defended Meyer in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel.
"[Urban] can't be out at the clubs at 1 a.m. monitoring these guys," Palmer told the Sentinel.
1:00 AM My God the horror....
You want to talk temptation: Gainesville night clubs versus South Beach =
Rosie O'Donnell versus Megan Fox.
Sorry Jesse, it's a character issue. The Miami temptations are vastly greater, but Cane players aren't showing up in the police blotters on a weekly basis.
Posted by: Old Skool | June 11, 2009 at 04:27 PM
I see Rosie O out on South Beach a heck of a lot more than I see Megan Fox.
I'm just sayin'.
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 04:46 PM
Here's the full article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4250905
Posted by: CanadianCane | June 11, 2009 at 04:48 PM
Palmer probably doesn't want to get on Meyer's bad side like Shane Matthews. After all, if you step out of line, Cryer will throw a tantrum and take his toys and go home.
Posted by: shwarma | June 11, 2009 at 05:04 PM
Next time they induct guys into the ring of honor, Morgan (despite however he chooses to give back to the program), should be a lock. You just can't be all everything and not have your name up there.
Posted by: shwarma | June 11, 2009 at 05:07 PM
Thinking about this more, I think the next class should only these 3: Morgan, Sapp and Irvin.
Posted by: shwarma | June 11, 2009 at 05:18 PM
Okay maybe I shouldn't use Rosie as an example.
Then how about Chastity Bono versus Megan Fox
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/11/ent.chastity.bono/index.html
Posted by: Old Skool | June 11, 2009 at 05:56 PM
I'm glad 44 quit too
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 06:11 PM
U should say Chinese Food (sum dum ho) in Canesville Vs Sophie Howard here
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 06:14 PM
Or Sum dum ho Vs Ms. Truth
Yowzers!!!!!
No contest
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 06:16 PM
I agree re: morgan. Wish he could have made afew more Super and Pro Bowls, but I don't want to see him with a terrible brai ninjury
Posted by: j.w. | June 11, 2009 at 06:18 PM
Sophie Howard and Ms. Truth.
That would be the last we would hear from you for a very long while.
Posted by: Old Skool | June 11, 2009 at 06:19 PM
Just for grins I did a Google search for Sophie Howard images. Only 448,000 showed up.
Posted by: Old Skool | June 11, 2009 at 06:24 PM
Here's another example of what makes Miami different from any other school, when you look back on the performances of SEAN TAYLOR and dan morgan against Fsu, if we surveyed who had the biggest impact against Fsu, it doesn't matter in my book, but i do know for their positions nobody ever dominated Fsu like they did in those games, but we can continue to put one great next to another great time after time. Like who was the better tight end, shockey or winslow, runningbacks, forget it, linebackers(ok, dan morgan probably wins this one awards wise, but alot of people will rohan), defensive tackle, the lineage of greats that we've put out goes on and on.
Anyway, this team is loaded with talent now, and in a couple of weeks, will be loaded up again, and next year, the same thing. The talent is already back where it belongs, the development phase is the only thing left before we start running rough shod over college football once again.
I don't know it all, but i know this much, this team will be able to do 2 things in the future, run the ball and stop the run, with all the defensive lineman we're bringing, and once that UM hunger is really instilled in them, just sit back and enjoy the show, HAPPY DAYS are almost here again!
Posted by: Calvin | June 11, 2009 at 06:42 PM
Calvin
You forgot the one player in the history of that amazing series between FSU and Miami that is most responsible for Miami winning during the time he played:
Chris Rix
The greatest player in Miami Hurricane history :-)
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 08:30 PM
Old Skool
There are probably only 448,000 images available of her online because her "eyes" probably consume waaaay to much Internet space in each JPEG.
Posted by: The Truth | June 11, 2009 at 08:32 PM
////
Posted by: cbh | June 11, 2009 at 08:42 PM
LAST
Posted by: 86Cane | June 12, 2009 at 12:24 PM
86; Great wedding pics of Ocalacane & Mrs. & fantastic article! Go Canespacers! Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Ocalacane!
Posted by: tortugacane | June 12, 2009 at 05:24 PM
Luckily to read your article,thank you. With very best wishes for your happiness in new day.
Posted by: coach sale | July 05, 2010 at 02:53 AM