Canespace

Smash And Dash

If you follow football then you probaly have heard of several dynamic running back combinations that go by the name  of "Thunder and Lightning".

One of the first combinations involved former college football star Ron Dayne and NFL player Tiki Barber when both where with the New York Giants in 2000.  Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 and his career rushing total remains an NCAA record. 

College running backs Reggie Bush and Lendale White reintroduced the "Thunder and Lightning" moniker once again while at USC in 2006.  Of course that was before the NCAA eventually stole the lightning from its thunder and the Trojans got severely spanked.

Another even more recent example of the feared combination of power and speed was Clemson's James Davis and CJ Spiller (the known Hurricane killer). Those two were declared dangerous in 2008.

 
Sure Thunder and Lightining had its day but now all of the talk is about Smash and Dash. What, you haven't heard about that tandem yet?  Well you should have and believe me if you haven't then you most certainly will this football season.

Many experts agree that the Miami Hurricanes will have one of the most talented duos in all of college football this season.  The terrific twosome at UM will consist of Mike "Smash" James and Lamar "Dash" Miller.

 
Because of the universally recognized NFL talent at running back this year at Miami and with UM expected to dedicate its offense  to the running game this season we thought we would profile these two outstanding athletes that will hold down the backfield for the Hurricanes in 2011.

In this two-part series we will feature each of the featured backs for the Miami Hurricanes this season.  Today we look at "Smash" otherwise known as UM running back Mike James.

We first met Mike James back in 2009 when he was a serious looking, bright eyed freshman on National Signing Day who had arrived at UM as a relatively lightly recruited running back from Ridge High School in Davenport, FL near Orlando. 

 
This is James' high school summary found at www.hurricanesports.com:

HIGH SCHOOL:Enrolled at UM in January ... No. 18 best running back prospect by Scout.com, No. 21 best running back prospect by Rivals.com and No. 33 running back by ESPN.com ... Named The Ledger's All-County First Team running back ... Press Register's Super Southeast 120 ... FSWA Third Team All-State Honorable Mention ... Ran for 1,300 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior while also returning a punt return and two kickoffs for touchdowns ... Rushed 198 times for 1,108 yards with 15 touchdowns as a junior and had four receiving touchdowns ... Coached by Richard Tate.

The three things that stand out when you meet Mike is his solid physical build, his polite, respectful manner and his never ending smile that would earn him the nickname of "Smiley" at UM.

 
Since arriving in Coral Gables in 2009 James has been a busy football player. 

He played as a true freshman in his first season at UM and managed to break into the Hurricanes backfield that was then loaded with co-starters Javaris James and Graig Cooper.

Then in 2010 he shared duties once again with Cooper and new starter Damien Berry.  James' record, even as a backup player, is still quite impressive since arriving at UM:

2009 (FRESHMAN): Played in all 13 games for the Hurricanes, spending the majority of the season playing fullback ... Carried 15 times for 46 yards and one touchdown ... Averaged 3.1 yards per carry ... Also had 15 receptions for 105 yards ...Also returned kicks and had 17 returns for 363 yards including a 40-yard return against Georgia Tech and 41 yard return against Florida A&M ... Had three returns for 75 yards at Wake Forest and four returns for 82 yards at North Carolina.

2010 (SOPHOMORE): Played in all 13 games, starting three...Carried the ball 70 times for 398 yards, third most on the team... Scored three rushing and one receiving touchdown on the year...Had the most catches of any Hurricane running back with 13... Averaged 4.3 yards per catch and 5.7 yards per carry.

 
In spite of losing his mother in a tragic car accident over a year ago Mike has managed to maintain his positive attitude, his incredible work ethic and his ever present smile. 

Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Mike simply stepped up his game and re-dedicated himself to his sport stating that this is exactly what his mother would have wanted.

This Spring, as he sat under the bleachers at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and answered questions, he looked like a man on a mission.  He is a clearly man with vision, a certain purpose and a clear destiny for his future.

 
Mike James is the type of son every mother would want.

He is the type of person that every fan cheers for.

And he is the type of football player that every coach loves.

But then who wouldn't love a guy like Mike James?

U Jaded Me

By any standards, the University of Miami football team's record over the last four seasons has been anything less than stellar.   Some fans would even go as far as to say that the Hurricanes' record was completely unacceptable given the level of talent on the team.

In looking back, apparently one of the early warning signs was when Miami lost to Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando back in December 2009.  By that time it was clear that even the Badger mascot (seen below looking quizzical) appeared to know that something was up and that the end may be near for head coach Randy Shannon.

 
By the end of another disappointing season in 2010 the on the field results spoke for themselves and directly led to a head coaching change at the end of last season.  Randy Shannon was out and Al Golden was brought in to replace the once loved and respected former Hurricane player and coach.

As a result many Miami football fans have felt a wide range of strong emotions about their team.  Many still feel hurt, confused and disappointed.  Some fans even feel jaded by the recent results of their beloved football team. 

One of those so-called "jaded" fans is my good friend, kayaking expert, fishing guru and original Canespacer Solarcane.

 
Solar uses the Canespace blog for exactly what it was designed for: To promote the free and open flow of opinions,positive and negative, about UM sports.  He often shares his insights about Hurricane players and coaches and occasionally speculates about past, present and future of the Hurricane Nation.

SolarCane (seen at L below with OcalaCane at C and Old Skool at R) loves nature, and mountains and waterfalls.  Well, let's make that most waterfalls.  He is a kind, patient, thoughtful and gentle man. There was a even time when he used to write "Peace" after every comment he made on the blog. 

 
He is not the kind of guy who uses the word "hate" very often.  But Solarcane pretty much hates the word: POTENTIAL. 

He, like all Hurricane fans, wants to see results. He wants to see them on the field, and he wants to see them now. And he definitely wants to see them before he puts himself at further risk of drowning by jumping into the deep end of the pool of "potential" (seen below). 

 
Solarcane is indeed a patient man but he, like all of us, has suffered through all of the hyperbole and hoopla from all of the hooligan's on Canespace over the last six seasons and to put it bluntly it now appears as though he has had enough of that nonsense to last a lifetime.

While most UM fans are currently interested in knowing IF the current players on the team (inculding some of the new recruits) are in any way different in attitude or have changed their previous poor work ethic or negative patterns of behavior, Solar has no time for that.

He could care less about any ridiculous predictions about which players will be stars or any completely unfounded prognostications related to the Miami Hurricanes' 2011 football season record.

SolarCane is jaded.  He just doesn't have the time or energy to care about things that are beyond his control.  Simply put,what Solarcane wants is this:

1. A respectable team that plays hard on every play of every game. 

2. The Hurricanes to beat teams convincingly (but especially the Tar Heels). 

3. Miami to finally win their first ACC title. 

4. For UM to play in and win a meaningful bowl game in January. 

5. A BCS title in the not so distant future would be nice too.

When you come to think of it, some may consider Solarcane to be a bit jaded, but then aren't we all?

When you come to think of it, what the kind, friendly, kayak fisherman who now lives in the rural mountains of Northern Georgia really wants is what we ALL want, isn't it?  So, I guess that in the end, it turns out none of us like feeling jaded after all, now do we?

Heavy Weights

On Thursday the University of Miami issued the following press release: "We are proud to announce the formal naming of the Mark & Jason Squillante Strength and Conditioning Center."

Earlier this year UM announced the Squillante's initial gift to the Hurricane Athletic Department.  Back in February the University released an article (which can be found at the UM web site at  www.hurricanesports.com) that told us about this important and significant donation to The U:

Mark and Jason's love for UM has continued to grow since childhood and now the brothers have stepped forward in a very big way for University of Miami athletics. Thanks to a generous donation the Hurricanes' strength and conditioning facility in the Hecht Athletic Center will be named the Mark and Jason Squillante Strength & Conditioning Center.

The Squillante's decision to provide support for the new building and have their name attached to the strength and conditioning center is not surprisingly tied back to their childhood. Jason said the three facets of UM football that he most remembers growing up were The Orange Bowl, the Greentree Practice Fields and the team's weight room - the three locations most critical to the Hurricanes' storied success on the gridiron.

 
"We're not doing this because we want to be a part of a program that is on top of the college football world at the moment," Jason said. "We are doing this because we're convinced that [the University] and the athletic department truly have the vision, the work ethic and the culture to get us back to the top by doing it the right way."

Canespace firmly believes that the Brothers Squillante will be glad to know that their donation is NOT going to waste at the University of Miami. 

UM Strength coach Andreu Swasey reportedly has received completely new marching orders under new head football coach Al Golden.   But even with those orders from Golden it turns out that Swasey's new strength and conditioning program isn't so new after all.

Golden asked Swasey to bring back the old school UM conditioning program that led to a record five National Championships in less than 20 years. 

 
Since the time that the brash, pipe-smoking Howard Schnellenberger took over the floundering UM football program in 1983 and all the way through Miami's last BCS title in 2001, the Hurricanes were the most feared, most intimidating, toughest and longest lasting team on the field .

That was back when Miami players started the tradition of holding "Four Fingers" high above their heads going into the fourth quarter.  To opponents it meant four quarters of in your face football. 

When opposing teams came to Miami to play the Hurricanes in the 305 they knew they better be ready for 60 minutes of hard core, non-stop, bone crushing football.

It is clear that Mark and Jason Squillante are definitely Miami Hurricane heavy weights in every respect.

They hope, like all Hurricane fans that have a strong respect for the past, that their team will be a college football heavyweight once again.

And soon.  Really, really soon.

Ranking The Recruits: Part II

On Sunday we posted the University of Miami's top 15 recruits of 2011 as selected by Twitter guru "SaveUMFootball" (Papa Cane). 

But with all due respect we have some differences with his rankings.  So today we are posting the Canespace rankings of the 2011 recruits. 

Here is our list and a few comments about each player:

#15: DT Corey King:A wide-bodied (6-1, 270) space eater who will be called on to provide depth along the DL behind expected starters Forston and Regis. King is also living a dream.  This class of 2011 prospect had committed to FIU a week before national signing day, but the Panthers had to back off because King needed to receive a qualifying score on his ACT.  He took the test again and scored an 18 which was good enough to get an offer from the Miami Hurricanes, his dream school since the sixth grade.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it Super Mario!

#14: DE Olsen Pierre:An New Jersey native who became the first recruit ever signed by Golden at UM.  He is an early enrollee who was recruited by Golden while he was still at Temple.  Pierre found his way to Coral Gables this Spring where he has managed to get himself acclimated to his new coaches, teammates and surroundings.  In spite of his head start on the rest of his 2011 classmates we think Pierre may redshirt this season due to the solid depth at DE at UM in 2011.

#13: ATH/LB Eddie Johnson: A three star recruit who played his high school football in Alabama and Georgia. Played both RB and LB in high school.  Another candidate for the MLB spot even though it has been rumored that Golden may give him a shot at RB.  He will likely redshirt this season.

#12: LB Antonio Kinard: Another three star prospect from Ohio who arrived at UM by way of Hargrave Military Academy.  This big boy (6-3, 215) is a tackling machine that runs a 4.6 40 yard dash.  Will provide much needed depth at LB for Miami in 2011. 

#11: DE/LB Ricardo Williams:A local talent and versatile player who was the all-time sack leader at UM LB coach Michael Barrow's high school: Homestead in South Dade.  Williams fits the 3-4 scheme that D'Onofio and Golden are rumored to want to implement at least on a part-time basis at UM.  He gave a strong "Butch" slap to North Carolina head coach Butch Davis when he chose Miami over ACC rival UNC.  We like that! 

#10: WR Rashawn Scott: Another early enrollee at Miami who in our opinion will turn out to be the "sleeper" of this class. Big, tall WR with excellent hands who we strongly believe will impress beyond many fans' expectations. Somebody write that down, OK?  No seriously, write it down!

#9: OL Taylor Gadbois:What's a kid with a hockey name like this doing playing football in Georgia?  Well we like his name and we love the impressive size of this big, burly Peach State product.  We are counting on Swasey and Kehoe to turn this physical offensive lineman into a road grader.  The Canes are solid along the OL so a red shirt is likely in 2011 for this North of the (Florida) border player.

#8 WR Phillip Dorsett:This St. Thomas Aquinas product was another huge "get" for the Miami this year.  Some say that Dorsett reminds them of Roscoe Parrish.  I say he reminds me of former Hurricane Reggie Wayne.  Dorsett has great hands, excellent technique and above average speed to go along with those gifts.  Suddenly, with Miami's WR depth now in question Dorsett could see some playing time this season.

#7: DB/S Dallas Crawford: Not quite as as fast as Grooms but has excellent footwork, is very quick in and out of breaks and has excellent cover skills. Will be looked at to provide depth at the glaringly thin and unsettled CB spot for Miami in 2011. Will be counted on to push the starters and either Crawford or converted RB Eduardo Clements may even work their way into a starting role by the end of the season if one of the upperclassmen (Chambers, McGee, etc.) falters or stumbles.

#6: DT/DE Jalen Grimble:A five-star signing day steal for Golden, Carroll and company. Two words: Unlimited Potential. Some think he will get some playing time this season and may even be the he next Warren Sapp. I think he has an excellent chance to be a great player for the Hurricanes but am not ready to anoint him the next anything until I see him make a spectacular play while wearing "The U" on his helmet. We will all be eagerly watching his progress this Fall as he bulks up under Swasey and gets coached up under D'Onofrio.

#5: LB Gionni Paul:OK, OK I know what you are probably thinking: "That is way to high a ranking for this player!"  My response is: "Wanna bet?"  Another one of the early enrollees for 2011 who has UM defensive coaches openly admitting that they have a man crush on and are salivating over.  Insiders that have seen him at practice tell me that he is not only among the fastest and most athletic LBs in this class but also that they have see in Coral Gables in severalyears.  It will be hard to keep him off of the field at WLB and we predict that he will play early and often in 2011.

#4: RB/PR/KR Kevin Grooms: If speed kills then Kevin Grooms is a lethal weapon. We think that Grooms plays this year primarily on special teams as a kick off or punt returner.  He is a game breaker and a difference-maker type of talent that is as elusive as he is fast.  Blink and you will miss him. We think opposing defenses will blink.

#3: DB Thomas Finnie: An early enrollee at UM from Miami Central HS that was headed out of town to attend college before Golden re-programmed and changed the trajectory on this Rocket. Everyone has to love a player that Golden recently claimed was "The hardest working Hurricane." We like that, yeah we like that a LOT! That and the fact that he plays CB, a position at UM that needs all of the "hard workers" it can find in 2011.

#2: LB Denzel Perryman:This Coral Gables high product will wear #52 at Miami but reminds me of a player who wore #51 at The U: Jonathan Vilma.  Either way many insiders believe that he will become the type of impact player at MLB that the Canes have been searching for over the last several years.  I look forward to seeing #52 live up to the number he will wear and give me several reasons to agree with those "in the know", and soon!

#1 DE Anthony Chickillo:What else can we say about 3G that hasn't already been said?  Beyond his obvious talent on the field he appears to have many of the intangibles to also be a leader in the locker room.  Even if he plays up to only half of the hype he received coming out of HS Hurricane fans will be in for a treat watching "Chick" wreak havoc in opposing team's backfields for the next few years.  Chickillo is the surest bet of any of the players in this class to play early and often in 2011 and be a starter in 2012.

Ranking The Recruits

Recently one of the most respected and recognized Miami Hurricane fans that can be found on Twitter made his best effort to rank the 2011 UM recruits. 

We thought we would give Papa Cane, who goes by the name of "SaveUMFootball" on Twitter, some well deserved credit and some front page recognition here on Canespace by re-posting his rankings for Hurricane fans to discuss and debate.

Here is how Papa Cane ranked UM's top 15 signees of 2011:

#15: DT Corey King, athletic and high energy player that might have to redshirt in order to gain size and technique.

#14: DE Olsen Pierre, tall player with lots of athleticism at 6'4'' and 255 lbs. Big frame.

#13: Antonio Kinard, who at 6'3'' and 205 lbs, is considered very athletic and an excellent strong side LB.

#12: DT/DE Jalen Grimble - 5 Star prospect with through thr roof potential but might have to redshirt. Needs size.

#11: LB Gionni Paul, who is physically ready to play and has a Pagani Zonda-like motor (look up the car). No redshirt

#10: WR Rashawn Scott, a possession receiver who has great size and good hands but did not play at elite level in HS.

#9: RB/PR/KR Kevin Grooms who is a Ferrari on the football field. Not too big, but a "see-ya" type of player

#8: DB/S Dallas Crawford who originally committed to Michigan. Excellent technique, great hands, OK speed. Leader.

#7: DB Thomas Finnie, who has a big frame, excellent speed and a killer instinct. Coached by Uncle Luke in HS.

#6: OL Taylor Gadbois who is projected to play RT. He is 6'8'' and weighs over 280 lbs. Big man and motor.

#5: DE/LB Ricardo Williams who was recruited by Butch Davis (good enough for me) and is athletic. Needs size.

#4: WR/PR Phillip Dorsett who is a die hard Cane. Elite speed, great hands, Roscoe Parrish-esque but taller.

#3: LB Eddie Johnson who at 6'1'' and 220 lbs is very strong, has elite level athleticism and a 6th gear. Will play.

#2: LB Denzel Perryman from Coral Gables. Lifelong Cane. Super LB prospect. Future leader. Recruited by everyone.

#1: DE Anthony Chickillo, Mr. 3G, no one in HS could stop him. Dominated Army AA game. Instant impact. Mack truck.

I always appreciate Papa Cane's news updates and personal opinions that he often expresses on Twitter.  While I have grown to respect his views, I do disagree with some of his player rankings on this list. 

In fact, we agree on a few selections at the top and bottom of the list but after that, not so much.  So on Tuesday I will give you the Canespace rankings of the Hurricane 2011 recruits.

Until then tell us what U think about the rankings. 

Who would you rate higher or lower on this list?

Which players do you expect to contribute this season? 

Which new recruits will redshirt this year?

The Hampton Inn: Stay Here, Play Here

If you are traveling to sunny South Florida for a University of Miami football game this year then we highly recommend that you stay at the designated Canespace hotel for these events: The Hampton Inn - Plantation.

This award-winning, luxury hotel is situated in an ideal location just West of University Drive and just a few blocks north of I-595. The Hampton Inn is located near numerous restaurants and several sports bars, is in walking distance to the Broward Mall and only 20 minutes from Sun Life Stadium.

Hurricane fans from near and far literally take over the hotel lobby and patio before and after UM home games. There are always opportunities for car pooling to the game, purchasing tickets and snatching up one of the prized Canespace T-shirts.

Canespace usually throws a "Party On The Patio" after every home game with free food, beverages and prizes for UM trivia contests. With a lush, tropical setting and a large pool and jacuzzi, the Hampton Inn patio is THE place to celebrate each Hurricane victory in 2011!

The special Canespace Rate is $89 and includes a FULL hot breakfast.

For reservations please contact the hotel front desk or speak to:

Susan Stern, Director of Sales, Hampton Inn - Plantation: 954-382-4500

Or reserve your room on line with Canespace Corporate Code 0002702804 at:

www.ftlauderdaleplantation.hamptoninn.com

We look forward to meeting U at the Hampton Inn - Plantation this season.

GO CANES!

TE U: Who Will Revive The Tradition In 2011?

The University of Miami football team has been called many names over the last three decades, some of them true some not so true.  One thing that IS true is that Miami is accurately known as "Tight End U".

Don't believe me?  Then just read this partial list of former Hurricane TEs that have gone on to do great things at the highest level of competition in the NFLU:

Glenn Dennison: Drafted in the 2nd round of the 1984 NFL Draft as the 39th pick, and played for the New York Jets (1984) and the Washington Redskins (1987). 

Alfredo Roberts: Drafted in the 8th round of 1988 NFL Draft as the 197th pick, and played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1988–1990), and the Dallas Cowboys (1991–1993). 

 
Bubba Franks: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2000 NFL Draft as the 14th pick and played for the Green Bay Packers (2000–2007) and the New York Jets (2008). 

Mondriel Fulcher: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2000 NFL Draft as the 227th pick and played for the Oakland Raiders (2000–2002). 

 
Jeremy Shockey:Drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft as the 14th pick and played for the New York Giants (2002–2007), and the New Orleans Saints (2008–2010). Shockey currently plays for the Carolina Panthers (2011-present). 

Kellen Winslow: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2004 NFL Draft as the 6th pick and played for the Cleveland Browns (2004–2008), and currently playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–present). 

 
Kevin Everett: Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2005 NFL Draft as the 86th pick, and played for the Buffalo Bills (2005–2007), suffered a career ending cervical spine injury in 2007, was not removed from the active roster by the Bills until 2008 so he could qualify for full pension. 

Buck Ortega: Played for the Washington Redskins (2006), Cleveland Browns (2007), Miami Dolphins (2007), and currently playing for the New Orleans Saints (2008–present). 

 
Greg Olsen: Drafted in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft as the 31st pick and currently playing for the Chicago Bears (2007–present). 

Jimmy Graham: Drafted in the 3rd round of the 2010 NFL Draft as the 95th pick, by the New Orleans Saints. Played four years of college basketball at Miami and only one year of football at The U. Currently plays for the New Orleans Saints (2010–present). 

 
Dedrick Epps: Drafted in the 7th round of the 2010 NFL Draft as the 235th pick by the San Diego Chargers (2010). Currently plays for the Miami Dolphins (2010–present).

This year there are so many players battling for time at tight end that no clear front-runner stands out.  The final depth chart at the end of Spring practice was actually pretty interesting considering that the players competing for the position were simply listed alphabetically.

The little talked about and seemingly unheralded Clive Walford may have been the most promising of the group in the Spring. He played extremely well in the scrimmages and in the Spring Game. Walford showed great ability to catch passes in traffic and the willingness to battle for the ball in the air.  Many Hurricane insiders have already warned us that Walford is the man to beat at TE for Miami in 2011.

Asante Cleveland was not able to play this Spring due to injury although if he had he certainly would have been able to show his many skills. Cleveland showed big time ability late last season, but missing the Spring could hurt him a lot, especially with a new coaching staff in place.

Blake Ayles, John Calhoun, Corey White and Chase Ford are also in the mix. 

Ayles is a tall, lanky pass catcher mutch like Greg Olsen. He transferred from USC under the NCAA rule allowing Trojans to transfer without the usual one year requirement to sit out a season.  Ayles impressed some with his excellent route running this Spring.

Calhoun is a converted fullback and White is a converted OL trying to find playing time at TE in 2011.  Both are devastating run blockers.  

Ford is entering his Senior season in his second year at Miami after transferring from a JUCO.  At the beginning of last season Ford was seen as the answer to the TE position at Miami but had a disappointing year that included several drops along the way.

With continued questions at QB this year Miami is expected to keep the ball on the ground a lot in 2011 so it will be especially important to have tight ends that can block effectively in the running game.  

In fact we expect the Hurricanes to play two tight ends at the same time in certain situations early in games and with the lead late in games making the TE position critical to this season's success.

Still the question remains: Who will be the next great tight end at TE U?

Hope Springs Eternal

This article was written for Canespace by blogger HerbIbis...

Here are my hopes and wishes for the 2011 season:

I hope Golden can turn this cluster f%$# around.

 
I hope these guys will play four quarters for him.

I hope our QB realizes that he plays for Miami and stops throwing the ball to the other team.

 
I hope the receivers can catch the ball consistently.

I hope we can get the refs to keep their rags in their back pockets.

I hope we realize that is okay to take sometimes instead of giving.

 
I hope we play with some major motivation and serious passion.

I hope we finally play up to our potential and quit playing down to the competion.

I hope we get in the end zone more often when we are in the red zone.

 
I hope we go better than 7 and 6.

I hope we recruit better than we have.

I hope Golden is truly Golden.

 
I hope we can tackle better.

I hope I know more about football than a "chic", enough so that I believe we have a chance (with some breaks) to possibly go undefeated.

Well at least I can hope, right?

Some Scars Never Heal

"Do you still feel the pain, of the scars that won't heal."

Back in the 1970's the talented and eclectic songwriter Elton John sang those lyrics in a song titled "Daniel".  It turns out that the so honored "Sir Elton" apparently knew what he was talking about.

Today we see the true meaning of those lyrics that were written so many years ago come back to life in some of the minds and bodies of University of Miami fans. 

To put it simply there are some UM football fans who feel so hurt, so betrayed, so lost and deserted by their team and so completely overwhelmed by so many recent losses and mediocre seasons that they simply cannot bring themselves to believe in the Miami Hurricane football team any longer.

There have been some bloggers who have expressed their opinions about their dissatisfaction with the Hurricane football team in many different ways.  Yet there is none that has even remotely come close to the level of negativity expressed by the original and now infamous Canespace blogger Canechic.

 
Now before we get ahead of ourselves we first have to qualify her credentials.  Canechic has some serious street creds around here.  There is absolutely no doubt that Canechic has been a solid UM fan.  And by that I mean she is a long time, heavily invested fan who has deep roots at "The U".  Not only that, she comes from a family that has a long line of members of the Hurricane Nation.

I have attended many UM games and other related events with her, her husband (Canespace blogger AngryCane) and her two children (all seen below) and have seen her enthusiasm and her disappointment first hand.  Our friendship and history is well established as we have attended events together as part of the Canespace blog dating back to 2007.

 
Yet, if you have read her comments over the past 12 to 24 months then you would know that she really believes that most, if not all ,of the current UM players are lazy and worthless. In fact, she recently openly claimed that 80% of them are poorly motivated and generally good for nothing.

Seriously.  No really, SERIOUSLY!

 
And even beyond that, she believes that absolutely NOTHING will change this season.   She confidently believes the players will not change, that they will not care, will not try or play harder and that their new "CHIEF" cannot make any difference in this team's level of effort or motivation.

Well, I personally (and many of the fans here at Canespace) completely disagree.  I believe the following factors will make a difference between last year and this year regardless of other factors:

1. A new Head Coach and assistanty coaches at every position.

2. A new conditioning program that is completely different in every aspect from last year.

3. A new approach, a new attitude and completely new sense of commitment and teamwork.

4. Several new recruits with talent, speed and most importantly old school Hurricane work ethics.

5. Completely new offensive and defensive schemes. 

6. An emphasis on committing fewer turnovers and fewer costly penalties.

7. More fans in the stands and more players of the past glory days in attendance at games.

The bottom line? If you have no hope for change, then you have no hope at all. 

Yet it seems ironic that Canechic, who seemed to believe in both hope and change at one time in her life, is all of a sudden thinking that hope and change is so shall we say over-rated? 

Well I completely disagree.  It is my opinion that your Miami Hurricane football team has significant hope and will see a significant change in performance for the 2011 season.

 
Canechic thinks this current Miami team is doomed to a 5-7 season. 

I think that the Hurricanes will be much improved and go 9-3 in 2011. 

Let's split the middle of those predictions and ask U what do U think:  

Will Miami win more or less than 7 games in 2011? 

To Pay Or Not To Pay: That Is The Question

There is a raging debate among some fans of college athletics as to whether or not the NCAA should approve of a policy that would allow student-athletes that play college football to be paid a monthly stipend of various amounts ($300 has been mentioned by a few) to compensate them for their extra effort and time commitments required to participate in collegiate athletics.

Those that argue for the stipend insist that the Universities are making big money from college athletics, primarily from revenue generated by their football teams, and are not fairly sharing the wealth with the student-athletes that are generating that revenue. 

This group often calls the treatment of college athletes "abusive" and even goes as far as to compare their treatment to "slave labor".

Those that support paying college athletes claim that the stipends would reduce or even eliminate the illegal payments often received by student-athletes in violationof NCAA rules.  They cite the fact that many of the college athletes come from backgrounds of poverty and therefore can't afford even simple expenses associated with college life on campus and away from home. 

Those that oppose the payment of college athletes cite the fact that a recentstudy releasedby the NCAA stated that only fourteen (14) Universities out of 120 D-1 schools reported a profit from the activities of their athletic departments.  

They also claim that these student-athletes at private schools like the University of Miami are receiving approximately $50,000 a year in direct benefits from their scholarships that include tuition, room and board, meals, books and other expenses.  

This group argues that student-athletes on a full scholarship to major universities all across the U.S. are actually "privileged" and are given a chance to earn a college degree that they would never have had access to without playing college sports.

Those opposed to paying college athletes also claim that it would be unfair to pay athletes of any one sport and not pay all athletes. They claim that college tennis players, lacrosse players, swim team members and even cheerleaders also make similar sacrifices of time and effort.  

They also state that it would be unfair to pay college athletes and not other students who may be in school on an academic scholarship and in similar financial situations as many of the college athletes themselves.

So, now we ask you the fans to vote on this issue: Should college athletes be paid?  To pay or not to pay: that is the question...