Get Some Spring Back In Your Step

Hurricane fans will have two opportunities to get a sneak peek at the 2010 University of Miami football team this month.  UM has announced two dates for fans like UMike and his son (seen below at Traz Powell Stadium) to get a glimpse of their team during two open scrimmages to be held at two different locations in South Florida in March.

Miami will hold a scrimmage on Thursday, March 11 and its annual Spring game on Saturday, March 27. Both events are free and open to the public, except for Canespace blogger Cat5 who has been banned from the events due to the fact that his favorite player Arthur Brown (see below) never cracked the starting lineup and has transferred to Kansas State to be closer to his family.

The Hurricanes will hold an intrasquad scrimmage at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, 3/11/10 at 7 PM. Gates will open at 6 PM and players will take part in an autograph session from 6-6:45 PM.  Last year we took this picture of Jordan Futch (below) with Mrs. OcalaCane at the always fun and incredibly fan friendly event.

The Hurricanes will then wrap up Spring Practice at Traz Powell Stadium on the North campus of Miami Dade College on Saturday, March 27. UM's annual spring game will start at 4:30 PM with gates opening at 3 PM.  UM players will take part in an autograph session from 3:30-4 PM and the game will be broadcast live on CSS. 

Maybe if you are lucky then you can get some of the UM players to sign your special edition ST#26 shirt like the Canes best WR (#4) and fastest WR (#3) are seen doing here at last year's event?

Canespace bloggers like CaneSawMassacre and FightingIbis will have the opportunity to purchase season tickets in the lower level of the stadium starting as low as $199. Deposits for 2010 Season Tickets are available now by visiting Hurricanesports.com or by calling 1-800-GO-CANES.

Miami opens its home schedule on Thursday, September 2 when it hosts Florida A&M at newly renovated and recently renamed Sun Life Stadium where free beer will be served at all home games (just kidding!) and even this can happen to you (86Cane and RaizeCane seen above with some Canes fans).

That is to all Hurricane fans except for AngryCane (seen above with Canechic and RaizeCane) because although he looks quite relaxed here he gets way too angry when the Canes lose or Jacory throws an interception for a pick six!  I'm jus sayin...

Comments

[JCane]

I saw McGee missed today, described as being due to issues without anything more specific mentioned. Gotta wonder what was meant.

Re: B. Washington. If he tore the MCL, this may not be all that bad. This isn't like an ACL or PCL.

Shwarma: I saw your comment. I think LeMay looks fluid with his throwing motion and Bridgewater will likely take some work to develop, regardless of his athleticism. However, I don't see LeMay or Miller likely coming to the U (North Carolina and OH folks). Someone who'd be interested would be M. Williams from N. Carolina, who apparently is an old Cane fan. Someone who seems to already have more of a passing motion/pure passer ability would be nice to add to the arsenal, too, but of the top 30 qb prospects out there if one is athletic, in your backyard, and willing to take time to develop, you know what you gotta do... Some have said that Bridgewater is already showing some signs of better development as of late, but I haven't seen anything on him lately.

Another ugly finish by the guys on the hardwood. Even an off year by the Heels is better than this Canes' team (or for most of the ACC apparently).

[SOUP]

Our ACC record is very poor.

In all sports.

We suck...

[pb(CSROH10)]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umiami/

[SOUP]

Mandingo in his prime:

You have to give Lamar Miller credit -- at least he tried. Twice during track season the 5-11, 212-pound running back said he challenged receiver Travis Benjamin for the title of fastest Hurricane. And twice, Miller laments, Benjamin got the better of him -- barely.

"It's hard to beat him," Miller said of the much thinner Benjamin who placed fourth in the 60 meters (6.74 seconds) and two spots ahead of Miller (6.84 seconds) at last weekend's ACC Track and Field Indoor championships. "He runs at warp speed."

[Daytoncane]

all this talk about the offense is ok, but i want to know how the defense is progressing.

that side of the ball has to pull its weight this year. no more shootouts.

[Teflon cane]

Hey solar and soup thank you after a long day of work i look forward to seeing what comes out on this site!

[GURU]

U

[solarcane]

"Our ACC record is very poor.

In all sports.

We suck..."

its like mental telepathy, I was thinking the same thing at the same time

[solarcane]

teflon,
your always welcome
sorry I have been a grumpy old man lately, I'm aching for the season to roll back around.

geez bg and me were even arguing, I don't think that's ever happened in three years.

[Six]

86 sounded on the phone like Rosie O'Donnell looks in a swimsuit

They shouldn't have named the get together today the "Big Four" game. I don't think USF baseball could beat University of Tampa or Florida Southern in a 3 game series .... USF is definitely not part of the "Big 4"

Canes looked alright. Left some runners stranded in scoring position, I hate seeing that. I was actually starting to get bored up in the press box watching the game -but- I was a hell of a lot warmer than all the people in the stands. Nice to see the Canes do the little things, fundamental baseball

I was kind of hoping that USF would use their 6'8 lefty starter, b/c I wanted to see what that kid could do and how the Canes would hit him. It wasn't his day to pitch

I stayed until the 6th inning of the later game between UiF and FSU. FSU dropped a 7 spot on UiF in the 1st inning. FSU hit 2 bombs - believe me, the wind helped out ALOT. UiF was basically shell shocked right off the bat. The starting pitcher for the Crocs didn't record a single out, was tagged for 5 runs off of 3 hits or something like that. They do have some guys that can hit in their lineup, they just weren't showing it too well tonight

While it was still light
http://i46.tinypic.com/34s3q8p.jpg

When it got dark
http://i45.tinypic.com/nmm53d.jpg

[solarcane]

I wonder how many Big East titles we would have racked up by now?

[Six]

As for the HeisTman trophy, I would've voted for Gerhart from Stanford

Everyone knew what was coming who played against Stanford. Jim Harbaugh ran that kid into the ground and he kept running. They don't have a Julio Jones, Marquis Maze, or Trent Richardson to change pace and give Gerhart a breather

He's old school, smash mouth, run it up the gut and grind it out ..... he put up close to 1,900 yards rushing and had 28 TDs

Then again, the HeisTman is generally a team award anyway - with a few exceptions, few and far between

Ingram is a bad man, no doubt - but I would've given it to Gerhart this year

[solarcane]

the night pic is sweet.

Six what do you think will become of Yonder, would he be able to play catcher in the bigs if he has too?
Can he call a game???

[Daytoncane]

Six i got a video for you. this is one of the funniest things i have ever seen in my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fCYYPCtHGs&feature=related

[solarcane]

may have been linked already

Miami AD confident in ‘10
By admin on Tuesday, 2nd March 2010 From ESPN.com.

Youth is no longer an excuse at Miami. Depth, for the most part, is no longer a problem. And staff stability, particularly at the coordinator positions, has begun to take root. As coach Randy Shannon enters his fourth season, the pieces seem to be in place for the Hurricanes to contend for championships, starting with the Coastal Division and ending on college football’s biggest stage.

And that’s exactly what those within the program are expecting — if not this season, than next.

“Success is measured by wins and losses and competition, and success is measured through championships,” said Miami athletic director Kirby Hocutt. “Randy knows the expectations that are here better than anyone. He’s lived it for practically his entire career. He has the same expectations upon himself that we do as an administration, that we do as a program. It’s nothing new.

“As I evaluate each and every program each year, you look for continuous improvement and confidence that steps are being taken to compete for and win a national championship, and I am confident that the steps we’ve taken as a football program and continue to take will position us to compete at that level. It takes time, but we’re in a period now where it’s our time. I’m confident that the upcoming season and the season that follows, what has been a young team are now upperclassmen who are determined to return the program to where it was before.”

“We all feel that way,” Shannon said.

There is enough confidence in the direction of the program that Shannon, who has compiled a 21-17 record in three seasons, will receive a contract extension, but details of the deal were not immediately available. Miami has improved every season under Shannon, increasing the win total from five in 2007 to nine in 2009. The Hurricanes have been to back-to-back bowl games, and last year went undefeated against their nonconference opponents during the regular season.

“The last three years under Randy Shannon’s leadership, we’ve taken significant steps forward each and every year,” Hocutt said. “I couldn’t be prouder of what the program represents and exemplifies in the classroom and the community and everything that they do. The performance on the field has improved, but the expectations are championships. Randy has continued to have my full support. He’s got the full support of the university and that’s what it is.”

He’s going to need it, especially with a schedule that starts with two September road trips to top 15 teams in Ohio State and Pitt. Miami surprised many with its promising start in 2009 against a similarly unforgiving schedule, but lacked the maturity and depth to maintain success throughout the entire season.

“We’ve finally got an older team,” Shannon said. “… Everybody has played two years. I was thinking to myself, I’m beating myself up, I just want to win, win, win. Sometimes people have to calm me down about things I always see. I’m going to continuously be that way as a coach, but after the season I evaluate, ‘OK, where are we at?’ I compare us to some teams I’ve been on and played on and things like that. You really don’t get good until you have your guys play a lot of football, in their second and third years.

“I think the team is starting to evolve and change into where we need to be at now,” he said. “It makes it a lot of fun because the team is starting to get my mentality and attitude, and they understand what winning is about and what we have to do. I’m going to continue to stress the point of winning and competing at a high level because of the competition that is here.”

This year, starters like quarterback Jacory Harris and linebacker Sean Spence will be juniors. It will be the second season under coordinators John Lovett and Mark Whipple. Come August, Shannon will have 15 offensive linemen to work with and every position but the secondary will go three-deep. It’s a vast improvement from having only five linebackers last year, and being forced to move players around and look elsewhere for talent, like to the basketball court, where the staff got lucky with former tight end Jimmy Graham.

“It’s the first time I’ve finally felt comfortable in three years,” Shannon said. “It’s time to take that next step now.”

[PhillyCane]

we don't let Flyers fans participate - LOL! Just kidding!!!!

Posted by: CGNC | March 02, 2010 at 02:48 PM

Ha ha ha very funny. You better watch your self missy :)

[Six]

solar - only part I hate about the pics I took is that giant NY sign in it. It's like a huge King Kong sized dog turd out there ... hate the Yankees with a passion

I don't think Yonder can be a catcher at the big level. If he tries, it's going to take an insane amount of work all around for him to pull it off. The Reds already have their future 1st Baseman in Votto, and he's a baby, so he'll be there for a while. Yonder still has something to prove in the minors, he didn't spend that much time above A-Ball. He spent 27 games at AA, but that's also to be expected with a guy in your system that was selected 7th overall in the draft and had come out of college. Probably wouldn't have gotten that high if he was a high schooler, so the time spent in college helped him.

He might be serviceable out in RF - hell, the Rays put Aubrey Huff out there for a while. This is also the Reds and they had Adam Dunn (6'6 280) and Austin Kearns (6'3 250) in their outfield for a time - one word to describe their quicks out there ... "molasses"

He did hit 11 doubles in AA, so he can leg it out if he has to ... that could help him in RF. I don't know too much about his arm.

Who knows what will happen. Votto might blow up and demand crazy money that the Reds won't pay, so Alonso is there. Someone might come along with a trade for Votto or Alonso. He has to work on his hitting though.

I don't think he squats behind the plate though. To ask someone to do that for the first time, in Minor League ball - is hard. He could probably do it, but I don't see it

[PhillyCane]

Only ONE rule: U can't win!

Posted by: SOUP | March 02, 2010 at 03:19 PM

We will see about that soup. Im gona bring the heat

[PhillyCane]

LOF rules:

1. After Spring practice ENDS with the final scrimmage we will pick two players, one on offense, one on defense.

2. The players you pick are the ones that you believe will have major breakout seasons in 2010 and become "Legends of the Fall".

3. It cannot be just pick the four BEST players on the team. Therefore you cannot pick any of these four players:

Jacory Harris
Leonard Hankerson
Brandon Harris
Allen Bailey

4. The more RISK you take the greater the reward for being correct. It's not so much about being right so U can say I told U so, it's about going with your gut or your favorite player or favorite story of the year.

For example many here will pick Berry, which is fine. But is that really gonna be a surprise to anyone if Berry does well? NOT!

Now you pick Lamar Miller or Mike James or Storm Johnson and any of them dominate and lead the team in rushing or returns four kickoffs for TDs and one to win a game then you have something there.

On defense you could pick CMac which is a no brainer or you could pick Shayon Green, CJ Holton, Kevin Nelson, Jimmy Gaines or Tyrone Cornelius which would be much more exciting.

Get it?

Posted by: SOUP | March 02, 2010 at 03:29 PM

Thanks soup. Do you still do the Hampton Inns hotel, because I decided to book elsewhere after last year. I liked it and all but wanted to be way closer to campus so I found an awesome deal at a Marriot in the Grove

[GURU]

who won the gold medal in curling?

[Six]

solar - no way is that real, haha. Man, it can't be ... it's too bad to be real. It's like all those joke movies that are out there that make fun of the Germans, the Eastern Bloc countries, etc. for just now watching Miami Vice or Dukes of Hazzard or just having horrible taste in music and dress, haha

Just to hear the guy say Boomerang in his language cracked me up

That set looks like something out of public access broadcasting set or a high school talk show set, ha

[CaneSawMassacre]

Dayton........... AGAIN. I"m going to shred this because I want you to read what you write.

av,

how am i talking just to hear myself talk?

answer:

People say this because you make blanket statements and don't actually read the responses that you string together to be argumentative.
-------------------------------------------

so im not being completely honest when i say we have a ways to go before we're elite?

Answer:

No, because we are on the cusp of being elite and your comparison with other elite teams without speaking on their situations that they were handed and comparing this team to the best teams in the history of college football the 1999-2002 U.M. teams.
--------------------------------------------

you must've missed other bloggers comments about how great we were last year. and how the ACC is supposedly not that far off from the SEC.

Answer: Who said we were great last year? I think most be debunked your statement that we were average. Let me spell it out.
2007: Below average 5-7/ Not quite terrible
2008: Average 7-6/ Almost slightly above average because we reached a bowl game w/ freshmen
2009: Above average to good/ Not great or elite and I would love for u to copy where anybody said we were GREAT or ELITE last year.

I'll also add that everybody has said that we can make improvement. We obviously don't feel we ARE THERE YET> But you constantly downgrade what Shannon has accomplished in his 3 years. THAT IS OUR POINT. Considering we expect another year of improvement this year, we are talking a B.C.S. caliber game. What more do u expect from Randy"?

The SEC, nobody said the ACC was almost as good as the SEC. Everybody said the SEC was overrated and they are playing the NCAA and the media (rather smartly thought it sucks for the rest of the conferences). The NCAA and media have a hard on for the SEC and allow them to get away with WEAK to INCRIMINATING out of conference schedules because they are the SEC...(Like just think about that..) Our point was that from top to bottom, the ACC has better competition and talent level vs. the SEC. All the main studs in the SEC go to 4 programs. LSU, UF, Alabama and Goergia (poss. now UT) The bottom feeders in the SEC are stomping bags for the big boys. In the ACC any team can win against any team on any given Saturday because of the equal playing field.
-----------------------------------------

all i talk about is how we can get better. there's always something that you can do better or get better at.

Answer: That is a lie.. IF that was the case nobody would disagree. You are constantly negative though and constantly drag Shannon down with your negative comments. To a point where it becomes redundant. Everybody believes in progress but WHAT MAKES U A CANES FAN? What makes u proud or happy to be a UM fan.

-------------------------------------------

you're thinking like a fan, and there's nothing wrong with that. but i like to think like a coach because i always want us to get better at something.

Answer: Cop out answer for being constantly negative. Coaches have to find positive aspects of a team as well and build on them. If you were being like a coach you would be analytical with the positives and negatives for the 2009 year, and what we need to see from the team to be successful in 2010. Not just saying I'm not sold on Shannon, does that make sense?
-------------------------------------------

i bet if Randy were saying the exact same things im saying he'd be considered a genius.

Answer: Go on the message boards, randy is never considered a genius for anything he says. Its a shame that he gets blasted for not even saying anything. BUT Randy already said the team needed to progress but he said it ONCE and he was done. U don't stop.... and you still haven't provided a solution to the problem that we could debate in the mean time.

[Sarasota 'cane]

A. Johnson/Ray Ray

I'm picking now unless one of 'em gets hurt!!

Go 'canes!

[GURU]

damn thought calvin was back,,,,

[Six]

You want to see what boredom, fast hands and a video camera can do for a baseball player?

:44 seconds to :55 seconds he does it a few times in a row

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YngyMco72QA

[solarcane]

Six
here is your pic with the NY deleted.

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj201/solarcane/niteball2.jpg

I was reading an article about Yonder and it seemed like they dig that Votto( spell?)guy, and are gonna try Alonso in the outfield or convert him to a catcher.
Maybe he should op out and become a DH somewhere?

[solarcane]

thats some cool shyt with that bat!

[Daytoncane]

yeah i don't think that clip was real. i think it was part of a another comedy show.

and how the hell does he do that bat trick?

[CaneSawMassacre]

k

[Daytoncane]

im not sure anybody has ever seen Kenny Rogers like this. i wish i had a grandpa that could do these things

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV6In1K8zKk&feature=related

[solarcane]

more too much slack on your hands, but the timing is pretty dam cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s16a3Cci75k

[CaneSawMassacre]

About practice today.....
http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/030210aag.html

[solarcane]

dayton LMAO!!
when the bat sails out and hits him square in the face I bout stained my drawers!
When the dairy contest went on I'm pretty sure I did.!

[solarcane]

aight catch you guys later
nothin good ever....

[CaneSawMassacre]

Dayton did u see my response to your comment at the beginning of this blog, just a few responses ahead.

[Six]

solar - damn, that's crazy that you can take out the NY like that. Now it looks like a great night at the ball park

Ya, Votto can play and that's their guy right now at 1B. Yonder is just going to have to bide his time, get better down in the minors and work on his batting against lefties. Anything can happen at anytime and he can get called up due to an injury. The Indians used to have a logjam at 1B back in the day with Thome, Richie Sexson and Sean Casey

Sexson finally got some playing time in 1999 with Cleveland, hit 31 bombs and 116 RBI. Went to Milwaukee, hit 45 HRs .. 29 HRs .. 45 HRs with 125 RBI .. 102 RBI .. 124 RBI. Then went on to Seattle and continued to rake until 2006

Sean Casey went to Cincinnati in 1997 and played 1st for them until 2005

Like I said, the Reds are a team that put Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns in the outfield. So, if they're not afraid of putting those two oversized clod hoppers out there - I'm sure they wouldn't be afraid of putting Yonder out there as well

Who knows what's going to happen with Votto. His contract negotiations might not go well, they might trade him, who knows. But, he's at least a proven commodity in the bigs right now - as Yonder isn't one yet. He's just in AA, hitting alright, just trying to make it to the bigs so the Reds will have that great problem to solve with what to do with him

Hell, the Phillies had Pat Burrell playing left field ... the Brewers made Ryan Braun into a left fielder as well - both of those guys were infielders in college

[Six]

Oh man, haha, my face hurts from that Kenny Rogers clip

I'm with solar, when he threw that bat and it hit him in the face I lost it

Then the whole puking on each other with the milk was awesome

[Six]

The Kenny Rogers puking dairy product made me think of this Family Guy skit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eYSpIz2FjU

"Dad ... I'M SCARED" hahaha

[Daytoncane]

more Kenny Rogers. he's so talented

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypYZIxvppqg&feature=related

[Doc Ibis]

Re: B. Washington. If he tore the MCL, this may not be all that bad. This isn't like an ACL or PCL.

?? Brandon Washington tore his MCL??

[Six]

Wonder what Will Sasso is doing now b/c his Kenny Rogers is his best act

Alright, I gotta go get some food

[canechic]

Sidney Crosby you proved what a wimp you are last night....can't even fight on your own...ugh just makes me sick!

[DATcane]

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/10041/accs-best-game-day-traditions-miami

U

[DATcane]

http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_0_1_aa&ct3=MAA4AEgAUAFqAnVz&usg=AFQjCNH56YzUVmOCufqFhWU9r_RGzftJtA&cid=8797511412514&ei=3lyOS5DoIZ389gSiqtsT&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.palmbeachpost.com%2Fnews%2Fstate%2Fhurricanes-receiver-byrd-impresses-coach-311236.html

U

[Cat 5 Cane]

HOW'S THIS WITH YOUR MORNING COFFEE!

Randy's comment... “I think the team is starting to evolve and change into where we need to be at now,” he said. “It makes it a lot of fun because the team is starting to get my mentality and attitude, and they understand what winning is about and what we have to do. I’m going to continue to stress the point of winning and competing at a high level because of the competition that is here.”

“It’s the first time I’ve finally felt comfortable in three years,” Shannon said. “It’s time to take that next step now.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Going back to my comments yesterday, referencing you could hear him smiling during the interview in seeing the newbies of 07 and 08 teams... growing into the old molds of what it takes to be a MF'n Cane...

Randy is a no nonsense guy and him saying the above should tell us all what is coming.

Elite this year?... maybe, maybe not, but we should be close to it in every game we play.

If ya can't hear it... You're deaf!
If ya can't see it... you're blind!
If ya can't comprehend it... take a seat on the bench cause you're dumb!

ATTITUDE !!! Yeah, I got ATTITUDE, Ya want some?

WE GOT SOME CANES OVER HERE!

[KnoxCane]

Posted by: CaneSawMassacre | March 02, 2010 at 11:42 PM

^^^^THANK YOU^^^^^^

On every article there is only one person that consistently loves being negative. The bad thing about it is U think U are sparking debate w/ Ur comments but in actuality U sound like a HATER, always finding something to be negative about. It just gets old and frankly it shows you try too hard to play the role. Most dont even have to go look at the posting history to know who im talking about, because - WE SEE U HATERZ!

It needed to be said

[Aquaman]

What needs to be said is if we don't protect Jacory or cover the TE, it'll be a different year, same excuses...

I hope the LBs and Dline step up and shut that shyte down.

I hope Jacory has time to go deep to Streeter and Benjamin.

I hope we can plow some holes for L.Miller, Berry, M.James. Cause I know they can house it.

If I'm a hater cause I watched Jacory get sacked 35 times, and watched a slow 2nd string TE catch 7 1st downs in a single game, then so be it.

[Cat 5 Cane]

being #1 in Football can be applied to every step in life... as there is no easy path to getting there! The game becomes a business. The attitude changes from child's play to concentrated focus, having fun, yes, but your mind never alters from your goal.

I hope this doesn't come out to sound like I'm blowing my own horn, as what I'm about to say isn't meant that way, but the effort and attitude to being #1 is only understood by those who have attained that status.

I use to install comm kitchens for BK's and later McD's back in the day. Coming from Miami, my attitude was laid back and lazy. Getting the job done, but not finishing it off was an understatement... at best. As I matured and moved to Texas, is where I learned what effort and working to attain 100 percent quality really meant. Laughing now, I can tell you, them Texas boys know how to kick azz and get the job done! Starting out and grading to 72/74 percent in my first couple of years, I was a laughing stock and a joke of the company... but vowing to be #1 was my goal and I learned what effort it takes to get there... Yes, I say now... regardless of your profession. Once you have been there, you know the effort and attitude it takes to get there!

There is no 110 percent to get there, not 200 percent, not even a 1,000 percent to be number One...

Just 100 percent is the number!

Attitude... catch it!

[BEERicane]

Posted by: Cat5Cane | March 03, 2010 at 08:51 AM

That is so true to the vast majority of the population, but there are some who can be lazy as all hell and make it to the top through raw ability.

That being said, You are absolutely correct in that 100% is the number of full effort, not (100+x, where x > 0)%. I hate it when I hear 110%.

I'm just happy to hear that the troops have apparently embraced the 'tude and mentality that it takes to be a champion. We shall see if it all pans out this fall.

Canes win this 'ship this year if they remain healthy (esp j12) just like the Turds did in 08 after a 9-4 season and losing a bowl game the year prior... Week 2 will tell us is this is a possibility. Come out of OSU with a W we will get a huge boost in the rankings, then follow that up with a W at Pitt, we should be in a position where the teams ahead of us in the rankings will play each other and free up our spot in the big Dance. Hopefully they learn from last year's complacency when they cracked the top10.

[DATcane]

http://www.allcanesblog.com/

U