Canespace

Recruiting Update From The Source

When you want to know the real scoop, you have to go straight to the source.

Larry Blustein, more than anyone else, is "That Guy". 

Affectionately known as "Blu" to other members of the media and fans of the hard core recruiting scene, nobody disputes the Blu's assessment and critique of talent from the 305, 954 or the 561. 

Larry Blustein has been covering high school sports for over 40 years in South Florida.  That is a level of commitment and consistency that is seldom seen these days in sports coverage.

Blustein works for several media outlets in South Florida including the Miami Herald and also produces some really quality work for http://sfhighschoolsports.com along with host Josh Darrow. 

Both Larry and Josh cover recruiting for the big five Florida Schools (did I just say that out loud?) with what seems to many (including me) is a special emphasis on the University of Miami.  

Plus the BIG news out this week is that they are seriously increasing their coverage with new features, videos and much more recruiting news on a regular basis.

Here is Josh Darrow with UM verbal commit from Miami Norland Duke Johnson: 

Here is Darrow interviewing Keith Brown who is also a UM verbal comitt from the Norland Vikings: 

So when U want the 411 got to http://sfhighschoolsports.com/ 

Anything else is just a waste of time!

Breaking News: Al Golden Joins The 12% Club!

Back in 2007, just one year after we first started Canespace, there was a poll conducted prior to Randy Shannon's first year as head coach that asked: "How many games will Miami win this season?"

 
A few bold (some would say crazy) and very confident fans, twelve percent of the voters to be exact, decided that the Hurricanes would go undefeated that year and win all 12 games on the schedule. 

This select group became known forevermore as the 12%ers or the 12% Club here at Canespace.

While the 12% Club had some very prominent members here at Canespace they were led by their duly elected President RayChanCanesFan (RCCF).  RCCF was joined by a few select others like Esteban, Calvin and Cavaleer. 

If you ever had a chance to meet any members of the 12% Club they would look you straight in the eye and tell you that it was highly likely that Miami would never lose another game once Randy Shannon was in charge in Coral Gables. 

Esteban once predicted in 2007 that when Miami played Oklahoma in Norman "The Hurricanes will pick up a few more recruits once we roll 60 on the Sooners!"  Miami finished the season with a 5-7 record and lost to Oklahoma by the score 51 to 13.

Calvin would post 800 word essays on the "facts" of the matter and once posted a comment on the blog that said: "I can see Coach Shannon and Mike Barrow running out of the smoke just like the old days.  And Shannon has his dream job now so it is OVER for college football."

Cavaleer was so absolutely certain that Shannon would win back-to-back National Championships that he later changed his blog name to Captain Optimist.  The Captain could go on for days and days while waxing eloquent about how other teams were merely playing checkers while "The Boss Man" was playing the much more complex game of chess.

Ahhhhhhh yes, those were the days.

Unfortunately, in the four seasons that transpired since 2007, Miami and Coach Shannon got rooked. 

The Boss Man and the Hurricanes lost too many games to count, Shannon got fired with a year left on his contract, many bloggers have moved on and now most Canespacers and other Hurricane fans have toned down their bold predictions and lofty expectations. 

Now the overwhelming majority of Miami fans known as the "realists" like Solarcane make predictions of 9-3 seasons. 

These so called "realistic" expectations are much more commonly heard around the blog these days than the occasional spirited "optimist" like 12% club President RCCF who still chimes in every single year at a resounding 12-0. 

Some Hurricane fans like Canechic and CanesGirlNC who feel badly burned and even scorned by the UM football team will not even venture to make a prediction at all and fall smack dab in the middle of the ever growing "show me" category of UM fans.

But hold on a minute!  Apparently the new guy in town is not willing to stand for any such nonsense or pessimism or lowering of expectations by Miami fans.  

New UM head coach Al Golden wants all of you Hurricane fans out there to joyously embrace the 12% notion and to proudly join RCCF and a few others in the 12% Club.

 
Yes, we are here to tell you that new Hurricanes head coach Al Golden is without a doubt a proud, card carrying member of the 12% Club!

According to a recent interview with Jorge Milian of the Palm Beach Post Golden as much as said so.  If U don't believe me here is a direct quote from that article:

Milian wrote, "Golden has spent part of the past month visiting UM alums and fans throughout the state and nation. His message?"

Golden responded by saying: “The bar has been set and that bar is not going to move at the University of Miami. The thing I’ve said is, Don’t move the bar. Let us chase it, but don’t bring the bar down. Keep it where it is.”

OK, coach whatever you say!  For the record then, and as you requested, here is what we all expect now that the bar has been set very high and you sincerely pleaded with us not to move it:

1. A 10-2 season, a top 10 ranking and a victory in a major bowl game in 2011.

2. A 11-1 season, a top 5 ranking, an ACC title and BCS Bowl Game in 2012.

3. An undefeated season and a National Championship in 2013.

4. Oh, and just for old times sakes, we'll take another BCS title in 2015 before you leave for the NFL.

5. We expect a Heisman, Maxwell, Camp, Walker, O'Brien, Biletnikoff, Butkus, Bednarik, Nagurski, Outland, Hendricks or Thorpe finalist and/or award winner every season.

6. We expect to have a UM player, no make that several players, drafted in the first round every year.

7. We want sellouts and a packed, rocking Sun Life Stadium this year and every year from here on.

8. We'll also take some really cold beer and some really hot cheerleaders on the sidelines.

OK, forget numbers 7 and 8, we can handle those for you, but numbers 1-6 are all on you coach.

 
Welcome Coach Golden to the 12% Club, where membership has privileges!

And potentially some serious consequences too...

Batter Up! ACC Tourney Starts Today

The 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship starts today and runs through Sunday (May 25-29) at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC.

No. 1 overall seed Virginia (22-8 ACC), will be placed atop Division A for the second straight year and will be joined by No. 4 North Carolina (20-10), No. 5 Miami (19-10) and No. 8 Wake Forest (15-15).

Florida State (19-11) is seeded second and will be joined in Division B by No. 3 seed Georgia Tech (22-8), No. 6 Clemson (17-13) and No. 7 NC State (15-15).

The tounament is based on a "pool-play" format, where each team will play one game against each of the other three opponents in its division Wednesday through Saturday. The two teams with the best records within their division brackets will advance to the title game on Sunday.  The winner earns the ACC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

First day matchups on Wednesday have Georgia Tech and Clemson opening play at 11 a.m., Virginia meets Wake Forest at 3 p.m., which will be followed by Florida State vs. NC State at 7 p.m.

The 11 a.m. game on Thursday will pit North Carolina against Miami at 11 a.m., followed by Florida State vs. Clemson at 3 p.m. NC State faces Georgia Tech in the 7 p.m. game.

Friday’s schedule finds Virginia facing Miami at 11 a.m. Florida State meets Georgia Tech at 3 p.m., followed by North Carolina and Wake Forest in the 7 p.m. game.

On Saturday, Clemson and NC State square off in the 11 a.m. contest, followed by Miami vs. Wake Forest at 3 p.m. Virginia and North Carolina close out the day at 7 p.m.

Sunday’s title game between the division pool-play winners is set for 1 p.m.

In addition to six teams currently ranked among the nations’ top 20 (Virginia, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson and Miami), the tournament will feature five teams that were among the top nine in the most recent NCAA RPI report (No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 UNC, No. 4 Florida State, No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 9 Clemson). Miami was ranked 18th, and NC State 30th.

This will be the seventh time that the city of Durham will be hosting the ACC tournament.  The tourney was last held here in 2009 when Virginia beat FSU for the conference title.

Fans can purchase tickets to this week's competition and on-line ticket information can be found at: http://www.theACC.com/championships/11-baseball-tix.html

All 13 games of this year’s ACC Baseball Championship will be televised for the fifth straight year.  For Miami fans games can be found on Fox Sports Florida. Check the conference web site at: www.theACC.com for local stations and cable providers.

For more 2011 ACC baseball tournament info click here: http://www.theacc.com/championships/11-baseball-championship.html

Miami Scores Big In Latest Academic Progress Report

Today the NCAA released their full and final version of the 2011 Academic Progress Report and once again the University of Miami ranked among the very top institutions in all of college sports.

 
Here are some of the highlights of that report:

* Eleven of 18 Miami teams posted APR scores that are better than the national average. [Check the graphic comparison chart above]

* Four UM teams – football, men’s tennis, men’s basketball and baseball – have improved their score in each of the last seven years, and all four are currently above the national average.

* Women’s golf and men’s tennis posted perfect 1,000 APR scores this year.

* Eight teams posted an APR score of 980 (out of 1,000) or better.

* Volleyball posted a score of 995, which is in the 11th percentile and just short of the NCAA standard for public recognition.

* The Miami baseball APR score of 989 is ranked 20th nationally with Notre Dame. The only ACC schools with higher marks are Duke and Virginia.

* UM football’s score of 979 is eighth among all FBS schools and trails only Duke in the ACC. 

David Wyman, the UM Associate AD for Academic Services, has done a stellar job over the last several years helping the Hurricanes achieve great things in the classroom. 

It is that continued and consistent success over time that has the competition and the NCAA taking notice of the outstanding performance of UM student-athletes.

In referring to the significant progress at Miami over the last five years Wyman stated:

“Through consistent advancement in the APR and graduation rates, our Hurricanes have demonstrated that educational achievement is a priority in their college experience.  It is inspiring to see our student-athletes lead the country with excellence in every endeavor in which they engage.”

It was the third time in the last six years that four teams from the University of Miami Athletics Department have received Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA for high scores in the Academic Progress Rate (APR).   The Hurricane baseball, football, men's tennis and women's golf teams all were among the top 10 percent of schools in multi-year APR scores. 

 
New UM Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst had this to say about Miami's tremendous academic achievements in multiple sports during the past year:

"Congratulations to our baseball, football, men's tennis and women's golf programs on their sustained academic excellence.  This success starts with dedication and perseverance by our student-athletes, who are able to balance the many pressures of college and still achieve academic success at a higher rate than the majority of their peers. Our coaches and academic staff deserve recognition as well for building upon the strong academic legacy of the Hurricane Athletic Department with another banner year in the classroom."

It is the second straight year that the Hurricanes football team has earned the recognition. Last year, Miami was the only Bowl Championship Subdivision (BCS) team among the 26 schools recognized that finished ranked in the final USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press poll after the 2009 season.

For more information on the University of Miami's full APR please click here:

https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/aprx2010/UgLMVD1155S415_2010_apr.pdf

Regular Season Ends, ACC Tourney Awaits Hurricanes

The 15th-ranked University of Miami baseball team rebounded from a Friday night fiasco to take the regular season finale by the score of 5-2 from Duke at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

The Hurricanes finished the 2011 regular season with a 34-20 record (19-10 ACC) while the Blue Devils ended the year at 26-30 (7-23 ACC).

Yet it wasn't A-Rod, but R-Rod, that led Miami to victory on Saturday over Duke.  The Hurricanes' Rony Rodriguez, who hit a two-run home run and had three RBI, combined with Zeke DeVoss, who had an impressive four hit performance of his own on the day, to lead the UM offense.

The UM pitching staff allowed only three hits to the Dukies on a bright, beautiful, sun-splashed afternoon in Coral Gables to help the Hurricanes clinch the series and send the Hurricane faithful home happy on Fan Appreciation Day at the ARP.

Several Hurricanes were honored with team awards during the game. The recipients of the honors and accolades were:

Rookie of the Year – P Bryan Radziewski
Home Run Award – OF Rony "R-Rod" Rodriguez
Ron Fraser Top Pitcher Award – P Eric "Bob Marley And The" Whaley
Werner “Winner” Award – OF Nathan "Hot Dog" Melendres
Novins “Fan Vote” Award – Radziewski
Most Valuable Player – Zeke "Beep Beep" DeVoss

Next up for the Hurricanes is the ACC tournament in Durham, NC. Today the Conference announced the complete pairings and starting times for the 2011 ACC Baseball Championship which will be held Wednesday through next Sunday (May 25-29) at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

No. 1 overall seed, Coastal Division co-champion Virginia (22-8 ACC), will be placed atop Division A for the second straight year and will be joined by No. 4 North Carolina (20-10), No. 5 Miami (19-10) and No. 8 Wake Forest (15-15).

2011 Atlantic Division champion and defending ACC champion Florida State (19-11) is seeded second and will be joined in Division B by No. 3 seed and Coastal Division co-champion Georgia Tech (22-8), No. 6 Clemson (17-13) and No. 7 NC State (15-15).

Miami's first game of the tournament will be played at 11 AM on Thursday against North Carolina. 

Feeling Stronger Everyday

Got Strength? 

The University of Miami does.

 
New UM basketball head coach Jim Larranaga announced that Jim Krumpos has joined the Hurricanes men’s basketball staff as the strength and conditioning coach,  

“I’m very pleased and excited to have Jim Krumpos join our staff,” said Larranaga. “He is an outstanding strength and conditioning coach. He is also a competitive power weightlifter, and I know he will relate well to our players because they will see in him what can be done if you devote enough time and energy to becoming strong and in great shape.” 

 
Krumpos previously served as the associate director of performance enhancement for the University of Arizona from 2008-2011. He was the head strength and conditioning coach for the men’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s golf, women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams. 

Krumpos designed and implemented workouts that focused not only on strength but on speed, agility, explosiveness, balance and conditioning.  He earned his excellent reputation from producing sport-specific programs that included technique instruction, testing and evaluating and effectively rehabilitating injured student-athletes in conjunction with the sports medicine staff. 

Prior to his work at Arizona, Krumpos was the director of the strength and conditioning program at college baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton in 2007-08 where he designed and implemented the year-round strength and conditioning programs for all 13 NCAA sports. 

Krumpos also spent four years as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at UNC Charlotte from 2003-07, working with the women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and men’s and women’s tennis teams. 

Over his career, he has also worked with athletes in all levels of professional sports – including the NBA, NFL, MLB, arena football and minor league baseball, in addition to Olympic medalists. 

(Note: Some information for this article was acquired from: www.hurricanesports.com the official web site of the University of Miami.)

Riding The Storm Out

Storm Johnson is no longer a Miami Hurricane.  Ho-hum, what a shocker. 

For some fans, and for a few weeks now, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time.

 
Johnson, who undeniably had a lot of talent, apparently also had a questionable attitude and a less than desirable work ethic as he found himself mired deep in the UM backfield depth chart. 

The fact of the matter is that he was not going to play much this year behind starter Lamar "Heisman Trophy" Miller or Mike "Smiley" James, who by many accounts, may be the most complete back currently on the Miami roster.  

 
Not only that but he knew that the uber-talented incoming freshman Kevin Grooms may threaten to take his place this year.  And then he would have to deal with the speedy and elsuive Duke Johnson the year after that.

In a statement released today from UM, head coach Al Golden said:

“As of this afternoon, Westleigh Storm Johnson is no longer a part of the University of Miami Football program.  When these situations arise, we always assist the student-athlete and his family in the transfer process.  We wish Storm success in all future endeavors.” 

 
Thank you for your time Mr. Johnson, may you find greener pastures elsewhere.

Miami Finds No Love In Virginia

Their well known State slogan proudly proclaims that "Virginia is for Lovers". 

Unfortunately, the University of Miami baseball team found absolutely no "love" in the great State of Virginia. 

By going to Charlottesville it appears that the Huricanes went looking for love in all the wrong places and wound up striking out in matters of the heart, especially when it mattered most.

After taking the opener on Friday 6-2, Miami lost two close, heart breaking, one run games on Saturday (3-2) and Sunday (5-4) to drop the crucial ACC series to the top ranked Cavaliers.

The 16th ranked Hurricanes trailed, but rallied vailantly, in each of the weekend games. 

Miami mounted late, ninth inning comebacks to close the gap to just a single run but could not manage to push across the equalizer and finish the job. 

On Saturday it was the two (and seemingly all too common) errors by Miami that led to two unearned runs for Virginia and cost the Canes a victory.  The Canes fought back and scored two runs in the ninth but it was just not enough as the Cavs evened the series at one game apiece.

The storyline on Sunday was the eery silence of the Hurricane bats against the Cavaliers that left the Miami players feeling the hate from the Virginia faithful at sold out Davenport Field. 

It wasn't until the UVA closer took the mound in the ninth inning that the UM battery woke up and made some noise. 

Just like the previous day the Hurricanes scored two runs to get within one but simply could not finish the deal and wound up losing 5-4.

The two consecutive losses dropped Miami to 32-18 overall and 17-9 in the ACC while Virginia improved to 45-6 and 22-5 in the always highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Hurricane will face FAU at home on Tuesday before taking on the Duke Blue Devils next weekend also at ARP at MLF in the final series of the regular season.

Canes Crush Cavaliers

Your University of Miami Hurricanes put up a five spot in the first inning and then managed to keep their foot firmly on the gas pedal as they easily drove away from and beat the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, 6-2 on a cool, dreary Friday night in Charlottesville.

 
Miami was facing the nation’s top-ranked team and one of the Country's best pitchers for the second time this season (the Canes lost to Hudson Randall and the  No. 1 ranked Florida Gators earlier this season) and this time the good guys came out on top in the crucial ACC match-up.

This time out the Hurricanes were facing Virginia pitcher Danny Hultzen, who had not allowed more than one run in the first inning all season.  Hultzen came into the Friday the 13th game leading the competitive Atlantic Coast Conference in several statistical categories. 

But the Hurricanes were having none of that as they turned the first inning into a gruesome horror show for the Cavalier's hard throwing hurler. 

 
Miami improved their season record to 32-16 and also moved to 17-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  On Friday night the Hurricane hard ballers were clearly NOT intimimidated by the Cavaliers, the sold out crowd or the significance of this critical conference series on the road.

The Hurricanes speedy lead-off hitter Zeke "Beep-Beep" DeVoss started the game off with a double and later scored on an error when Virginia catcher John Hicks threw the ball into center field in a failed attempt to get Miami's Rony Rodriguez stealing second.  

The wild throw over the head and out-stretched arms of the UVA second baseman allowed Rodriguez to take second while DeVoss scored easily from third to stake Miami to the early 1-0 lead.

 
UM kept pounding the ball in the first as Harold "H-Mart" Martinez broke out of his recent slump and drove in Rodriguez with a sharp single to right. The Hurricanes then quickly stretched out to a three-run lead courtesy of a Dale "Don't Call Me Mariah" Carey, who hit a hard  grounder to short that led to the second costly Cavalier error of the inning as it allowed Martinez to score on the play.

Before Virginia could figure out what was happening Miami led 5-0 and the game was basically over due to the fact that Miami's had their own ace in pitcher Brad "B-Rad" Radziewski in perfect form and ready to roll from the bump.

Virginia (43-6, 20-5 ACC) cut into Miami's lead in the fourth inning when the Cavaliers lead-off hitter doubled, and then two batters later was driven in with a double to left that made the score 5-1. 

The Cavs made it 5-2 later that inning but that was all the runs they could manufacture against B-Rad and the Canes solid and efficient bullpen.

 
Radziewski was replaced in the eighth by  Travis "No Relation To Lamar" Miller who threw 2 innings in relief and allowing just two hits.  Miami Killian product Sam "Smokey" Robinson came in to get the final out and earned his sixth save of the season.

The Canes will face the Cavs again Saturday at Noon in the “ACC Game of the Week” televised on Fox Sports.  Miami will throw Eric Whaley (7-3, 2.99 ERA) while Virginia will toss Tyler Wilson (5-0, 2.85 ERA) in a match-up of righties after Friday's contest featured lefties for both teams.

Live stats for the game will be provided through Game Tracker at HurricaneSports.com. Fans can also join the live chat, provided by Cover It Live, by visiting HurricaneSports.com as well.

For more information on the University of Miami baseball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com.

To follow the UM Baseball Team via twitter, please navigate to Twitter.com/CanesBaseball. You can also access the official UMiami Baseball blog at TheUBaseball.com.

Fans can keep up-to-date with all UM Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/HurricaneSports.  You can also become a fan of the Hurricanes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.

Newman Alumni Center Is More Than Impressive

I have spent more time than most people on the beautiful campus of the University of Miami. 

 
Between 1981 and 1986 I attended "The U" and after graduating I spent three years working as a manager in the facilities maintenance department for academic facilities and later in the residence halls area of campus. 

As a result of these many unique and rewarding experiences I have been in, around and through practically every building on the UM campus. 

 
As a fan of Hurricane athletics I have regularly returned to the lovely Coral Gables campus to attend the many UM sports events held on campus. 

While attending UM baseball and basketball games I have often admired the many new and/or upgraded facilities and the incredible lush, tropical landscaping that makes the University of Miami campus so special.

 
Recently I once again had the opportunity to be on campus to attend the UM vs FSU baseball game. 

I took advantage of the opportunity to attend the UMAA "Burgers and Baseball" event at the the new Newman Alumni Center which is located directly across the street from the recently and completely renovated Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.

 
The new Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center is top shelf in every aspect and is truly nothing short of spectacular. The 72,000 square foot facility that opened in October of 2010 is an attractive, well designed and highly functional building that is packed full of comfortable spaces. 

Built at a cost of $25.2 million the Newman Alumni Center was constructed completely from the generous donations of UM alumni and supporters. 

With more than 9,500 square feet of indoor event space and over 4,000 square feet of outdoor event space the Center is the ideal location for all kinds of events both large and small. 

 
There is a spacious living room that is comfortably furnished and has a large wall mural (seen above) reflecting the history of the University, a lushly landscaped courtyard area, a large multi-purpose room, a cozy library complete with fireplace, a smaller formal executive conference room and a business center with six computers for alumni to use when they visit (seen below). 

 
The appropriately named Sebastian's Cafe is a small, casual eatery at the front of the facility for those looking to grab a quick bite before, during or after events at the Center.

I had the chance to speak briefly with the always friendly and energetic Tricia Brodeur, the Executive Director of Alumni Programs at UM, and also managed to catch up with Andy Vittor, a friend and fan of Canespace who also works for the UMAA at the sparkling new Newman Center.

 
"We love our new home!" Brodeur was eager to say about the new UMAA facility.

"It is a wonderful place for UM alumni to visit, work, celebrate and remember.  We have already hosted numerous special events at the Newman Alumni Center which has so many great spaces to utilize.  This outstanding facility gives us the opportunity to host several different events at the same time."

 
Brodeur was also confident that the UMAA mission would be enhanced by the new facility. 

"We see the Newman Alumni Center as a great place for UM alumni to reconnect to the University in a very positive way.  Our goal is to create a comfortable, welcoming environment that will encourage all of our 156,000 alumni to visit our constantly growing and incredibly beautiful campus." 

Brodeur continued by stating, "This new facility and really the entire campus is one that all UM students, alumni, employees and fans can be very proud of." 

 
And I couldn't agree more. 

In fact, if you have a chance, I recommend that you visit the Newman Alumni Center as soon as possible.  Having been in and around every building on campus I can tell you from experience that it is a very special place on a very unique and beautiful campus.

 
And really, what more could a University of Miami Alumni and Hurricane fan ask for?