Is That A Spring In Your Step?

The 2012 Miami Hurricanes Annual BankUnited CanesFest and Spring Game will take place at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, April 14th. The event, which caps off the spring season, is free and open to the public. 

The day will be filled with activities for the entire family like tailgating and some quality time with our good friends Fran and Jean (notice the shirts!).

A complete guide to the BankUnited CanesFest and Spring Game follows:

The Game: The annual BankUnited Spring Game will kick off as soon as the serious tailgate party buzz wears off which is otherwise known as 2:00 PM.

Parking Lots: Parking is free and the lots will open when CutlerRidgeLaz gets to West 13 to set up the #CanesFam tailgate which also known as 10 AM.

Stadium Gates: Gates? Who needs any stinkin' gates, it's a Spring Game! We will go around, pole vault over, tunnel under or simply avoid the gates altogether. But if you do need to enter the stadium in a traditional fashion then Gates F, G and H will be open for fans to enter Sun Life Stadium. The gates will open at 11:30 AM.

Select-A-Seat: In conjunction with the BankUnited CanesFest, the UM Ticket Office will be hosting the annual Select-A-Seat event. As a special incentive this year if you buy more than 20 seats you will be eligible to take home Sebastian The Ibis or any Hurricane cheerleader of your choice.

The best available season ticket seats will be on sale for the first time on Saturday morning at 11:30. The UM Ticket Office will tag prime seats for fans that want to upgrade, switch sections or pick out tickets for the first time. Any ticket purchase comes with a free bottle of Patron tequila.

Canes fans are invited to arrive early at Sun Life Stadium and select available seats for the upcoming season that features home games against Florida State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, USF and Bethune-Cookman.

As for Bethune, recent transfer and current UM catcher Peter O'Brien could beat their entire football team all by himself with only with his pinky finger on his left hand. I'm jus sayin.

If you would like to speak with a ticket sales staff member about available ticket options before the event, call 305-284-2263 during standard business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) this week. They will not give you directions or talk dirty to you but they will sell you tickets, I can promise you that.

Radio: The game will be broadcast live on the Hurricanes flagship 560 WQAM. Joe Zagacki (homer) and Don Bailey Jr. (major homer) will have the call and Josh Darrow will report what it smells like on the sidelines. The game will also be broadcast on UM’s student station, 90.5 WVUM.

Television: The game will be televised on CSS on Sunday, April 15 at 4 PM. ESPN3.com will have a live stream of the game beginning at 2:07 p.m.

Autograph Session: The 2012 football team take part in an autograph session from 12:15-1 p.m. on the north side, 100 level concourse. Players have been advised not to sign any body parts but the Hurricanes will supply autograph posters to be signed and fans are asked to only bring one extra item for autographs. I am bringing four just in case J12 and Kenny Dorsey show up!

Raising Canes: The third episode of the series, “Raising Canes” will be shown on the video board in the stadium beginning at 11:30 a.m. The episode will also be on a continuous loop throughout the concourse. 

Breaking News: If you have seen these two men and their gorilla please report them to your nearest law enforcement official as soon as possible.

Trust me, the gorilla thanks U!

Comments

[Montreal-Cane]

1

[SOUP]

Can U smell what Spring is cookin?

[j.w.]

Damn, 3. Needed some good news after listening to the Lying Maloof news conference and aftermath all day. Anaheim, KC, or Seattle, good luck with these clowns. If you do business with them, you'll get what you derserve.

[Montreal-Cane]

New design...SOUP if i am not mistaken, Canespace will celebrate it's 5th year anniversary in june 2012. Congrats...

[HawaiiCane]

I say slogan #3 for my first Canespace shirt, but I'm just happy to be getting one.

After that poor mid-week showing, I'm glad the Baseball Bunch got a win in Hokie-Town... we need a sweep though.

For all of you headed to the Spring Game tomorrow, wave to us on ESPN3 and let us know your thoughts!

[SOUP]

Headed down to the 305.

Lead, follow or get the F%$& outta the way!

[usagainsttheworld]

gino torretta (where'd he go anyway? not on qam anymore).

[fran]

Soup ...thanks for reminding me what I looked like at 230# am now 204 with 195 as a target.
Go Canes
Jean & Fran

[SinisterCane]

What channel is the game on?

[CANEDOLFAN386]

Soup i just wanna thank you for all you do man. Im super excited about this game. Cant wait to see our boys in todays game. Thanks again, I know I dont post much, but Im always reading. I hope you guys have fun today down south. I wish I was there with you. Go canes

[Felipe]

*Round of applause for Sebastian5706*

[SinisterCane]

ESPN say game maybe blackout? I live in Jax anybody seeing this?

[Sebastian5706]

Im seeing the samething and I live near St. Pete

[SinisterCane]

Blackout in Jax, why even list ESPN >:(

[Sebastian5706]

I was just informed that it is being blacked out in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina

560wqam and 90.5 wvum will be broadcasting live

[SinisterCane]

Thank God the other 47 states can watch the game, I HATE ESPN

[Sebastian5706]

Their announcers and hosts are horrible

This just adds to my disgust with them

[elliott]

What is up with ESPN 3? I live in NC and it is saying game is blackout? WTF?...

[SinisterCane]

http://www.justin.tv/testaccount112#/w/2920387936

[Sebastian5706]

Thanks SinisterCane

[SinisterCane]

Tackling is MUCH improved

[SinisterCane]

Oline not so much

[Sebastian5706]

Big hits by Denzel on those last couple of plays

[Sebastian5706]

Not very creative on offense today

The 1st team defense is really swarming the offense

The incoming freshmen on offense will need to produce to help out the depth and give the big play threat

[SinisterCane]

Clive should be bench for the long slant post TD, enough with tha BS

[myndraize]

Damn shame,O-line has been garbaggge for a decade

[myndraize]

It would be nice if Davon Johnson actually show up and contribute for once

[CaneAddict]

Stephen Morris!!!!

[SinisterCane]

Damn shame,O-line has been garbaggge for a decade

Posted by: myndraize | April 14, 2012 at 05:12 PM

Art Kehoe in 2013??????

[CaneAddict]

Art Kehoe? I didn't see any big problems with the oline. I wouldn't be so quick to jump on him. The offense was out of sync and there were too many drops. The QB play was pretty bad which is expected with the freshmen but Williams was below average and was staring down receivers. I was expecting a lot more from him.

[CANEDOLFAN386]

Im in tenn and they didnt show the game on espn. It sux anyways the D looked good offense needs work. I hope some of these frosh aka dUke can make an impact right away. I hope our D is as good as they look, and that our offense isnt the problem? The team looks bigger. And they need to give cleveland the ball more, i like that kid

[4-Real]

My buddy informed me that 2013 dt's Ivery & Briscoe headed 2 prep :(

[SinisterCane]

Would that be 2012 Jacoby Briscoe :(

[4-Real]

When it rain it pours Sinister :(

[SinisterCane]

Damm I had i the 2 deep roster

[SinisterCane]

Was it Ncca or Miami entrace standard?

[Sebastian5706]

`Canes can take a few hits to the defense its on the offensive side where they need every single body they can get

[SOUP]

Scrimmage Update:

Defense: Good news all around. Solid, consistent, good tackling, DL and LB play was excellent and coverage was again better than expected with several INTs and fumble recoveries.

Offense: Running game average, passing game decent, execution fair. Clements looked good today, Scott still looking good but had a few drops today and Dorsett had the one big play.

Kicking game: 1-3 on FGs,not good enough. The wind was really swirling.

Tailgate: Above average but not a real blowout. Saw several Spacers and met some good people.

We needs some skill players and playmakers on offense and more consistent play by the QBs. Williams looked good today as did Crow, at least when he was not throwing the ball to the defense. LOL

[CaneAddict]

What game did you watch. Williams looked average at best, even with the drops. He did too much staring down of the reveivers for a sophomore QB that started last year. Crow looked like a frosh and Dewey actually looked better. Not by a lot but still better. Dewey had problems with his feet for some reason.

[SinisterCane]

Team still looks small

[Sarasota 'cane]

It's a work in progress. One way to win is to build a team around a solid defense, and Al Golden is doing that. I'm not saying that offense is not important, but I will note that Trent Dilfer has a frickin' Super Bowl ring!
I still think we are a year away from the type of play we delusionally expect year in and year out, but I do like what I see on the "D"!
Suprise Freshman of the spring: 87 WR Garrett Kidd! "Steve Tasker" like abilities over the middle.
As for the fan support...Yikes!

Go 'canes!

[TJL]

Silvio "the cuban comet" Cardosa

Pride of Hialeah!

[SOUP]

As you can all tell I deleted a bunch of comments from earlier today for obvious reasons. I know it is hard when people U care about are being attacked but rule #1 is: Please do NOT respond to trolls.

For ALL who defended The Space and U know who U are: Thank U!

For those who want to attack Canespace and for all of the haters out there I'll just say this: I had no idea there was so much hate in the world that it could make some people utterly delusional.

Wow, just wow.

To the stalker: If you are so convinced U are right then why don't you come clean and tell us who U are and stop it with the ever changing IP address and fake email address?

NOW BACK TO HURRICANE SPORTS...

[IraqiCane]

Rashawn Scott!!!

[j.w.]

Just watched the spring game (busy all day with the kids activities) and am posting this without seeing any comments ( I did read the twitter feed as the game was going on, and a couple of newspaper articles).
I didn't think it was as bad as some of the bloggers on twitter. Yes, the offense looked awful, often, but there were some good things. This is a big if, but if the penalties aren't hamstringing us every single series I think we're better. Need production from the freshman RB's and WR's, no doubt, but James actually ran well and looked better than ever. He isn't a game breaker but he could pound a good team into submission.
The QB's are the best backups we've had in a while. We don't want to see any of them starting IMO. Just not enough consistency, although I was impressed with 11's resiliency. I actually thoguht Crow looked better than I expected, but the expectations were very low based on Six's assessment. He could be Buck Ortega for us.
TE's looked bad on too many plays. FB was a pleasant surprise.
Can't figure out what the problem is with our top OL, they just don't open holes like I thought they would.
On D- loved the play of the front seven and was again surprised by the DB play- not great, but much more competent than last year. 52 is a flat-out stud, best MLB play we've had in a decade. Outside LB's weren't bad, but I'm still not seeing much with Gaines.
I was really impressed with the conditioning, toughness of the D, and hustle. This team hasn't got the talent of say the 2009 team but if they play like this every week they can at least match that team's record. And tackling looked much improved.
Love to hear more comments, so now it's time to read the rest of the posts.

[CaneAddict]

### Quarterback: Williams (15 for 27, 169 yards) threw two interceptions Saturday (only one was his fault) and made some mental errors, according to Golden. He did nothing to change Stephen Morris' position as the clear front-runner.

Golden said Gray Crow was ahead of Preston Dewey heading into Saturday, but added they're "very close" now. Dewey (6 for 12, 56 yards, no picks) had the better showing in the spring game. Crow (12 for 21, 95 yards) threw two interceptions.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2012/04/um-spring-football-postscripts-dolphins-draft-notes-heat-issues-marlins.html#storylink=cpy

- Barry Jackson Miami Herald

This is close to what I was saying about he QB play.

Stephen Morris!!!!!

[SlingBlade]

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- A couple of dozen sandwiches sat a few feet from North Carolina's team bus on the sidewalk, all waiting to be picked up by Tar Heels players.

There was no time for a fancy dinner, and you couldn't blame Tar Heels coach Mike Fox for wanting to get to the airport and leave Miami as quickly as possible after his team was swept by the Hurricanes last weekend.

Fox was obviously disappointed about the way his team -- which entered the series with a No. 3 national ranking -- was handled by Miami, which allowed just three runs against UNC, two of them earned, in the three games totaling 32 innings.

[+] EnlargeEric Erickson
Richard C. Lewis/Icon SMIMiami pitcher Eric Erickson and the Hurricanes are hopeful last weekend's sweep of North Carolina propels them to a strong finish.

But Fox was gracious in defeat and sought out Canes pitching coach J.D. Arteaga after the series was over.

"They pitched incredibly," Fox said of Miami. "I told J.D. that we have not been dominated like that on the mound in quite some time."

It's been a long time for the Canes (24-9), too, who swept a team ranked in the top three for the first time since they took down Florida State in 2001, which was the last year they won the College World Series. Miami also pitched two shutouts in one series for the first time since Harvard in 1998 and for the first time ever against an ACC team.

It's no wonder the Canes moved from No. 13 to sixth in this week's USA Today/ESPN national poll.

The irony is that the Canes entered the UNC series in a mini-slump, having lost three of their past four games and averaging less than two runs per game during that stretch. And in Miami's only previous games this season against a top-10 team, it had been swept, at home, by Florida.

"This could be the turning point of our season," said Eric Erickson, Miami's ace pitcher.

Erickson, mind you, said those words after leading Miami to an 8-0 win in the first game of the series on Friday. He had no way of knowing that the Canes were to beat UNC 4-3 in 14 innings on Saturday night in a game that ended at 12:40 a.m.

The teams were back at Alex Rodriguez Park the following day for a 1 p.m. Sunday start, and the Canes sent UNC home with a 4-0 loss.

Just how far can that momentum take the Canes going forward?

No one knows the answer, of course, but we can look for clues in three key areas:

• The pitching rotation: Left-handers Erickson (5-3, 2.94 ERA) and Steven Ewing (4-0, 2.08) and right-hander Eric Whaley (3-2, 2.32) are standouts on the weekend. But last week, the Canes lost sophomore lefty Bryan Radziewski (2-0, 3.08), their midweek starter, after he was ruled out for the year after shoulder surgery.

There are only three midweek games left, and the Canes appear to have a solid fourth starter in Javi Salas (3.08 ERA). But come the postseason, pitching depth is crucial, and losing Radziewski could be an issue.

• The bullpen: Closer E.J. Encinosa is the team's best power pitcher and heads a 'pen that has allowed just two earned runs in the past 25 innings. The top setup men are AJ Salcines, Eric Nedeljkovic and Adam Sargent.

Encinosa has been outstanding since a March 4 meltdown in a loss to Florida, lowering his ERA from 10.38 to 2.50 during that stretch to go with a 2-1 record and seven saves. Encinosa also pitched six perfect innings of relief in Saturday's win over UNC.

"That was the biggest pressure situation he has been in since the Gators series," Canes coach Jim Morris said of the UNC game. "It takes a special person to pitch with the pressure of a closer."

Encinosa, the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week, was a setup reliever as a freshman and a starter as a sophomore. This is his first year as a closer, and he seems to be making the adjustment.

• The offense: Senior catcher Peter O'Brien, who is one of the top power hitters in the country, is clearly the key. Teams haven't pitched around him too much -- at least not yet -- but that may start to happen if the Canes don't get more support in the lineup.

Morris thought his cleanup hitter would be left fielder Rony Rodriguez, who led the team with 13 homers last year. But Rodriguez, who was batting sixth on Saturday, has only one long ball so far.

He missed four games with kidney stones and has missed the past two games due to a bruised left hand after he was hit by a pitch.

It's been that type of year for Rodriguez, who might have had a grand slam Saturday if not for the wind -- estimated at 25 mph.

Morris said Rodriguez's problems started last year, when he was not selected in the MLB draft.

"He was disappointed, and I was disappointed for him," Morris said. "I think he's putting a lot of pressure on himself. He's got to relax.

"His hand is OK. It's just going to take a little bit of time because it's bruised pretty bad. Thank goodness it wasn't broken."

Morris said while Miami has made progress, there is still work left to be done, which was evident in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Florida Gulf Coast.

"We have to get better on defense," Morris said of the Canes, who are 11th in the 12-team ACC in fielding percentage. "We're also not scoring enough runs -- we're leaving too many runners on base."

[WindyCane-Forecast1]

- Barry Jackson Miami Herald

This is close to what I was saying about he QB play.

Stephen Morris!!!!!

Posted by: CaneAddict | April 15, 2012 at 07:05 AM

I was optimistic about Williams, given his state championship at Miramar and his decent freshman season at Memphis. I thought he was going to be very good, and would perhpas start.

Now I have seen Williams play live at this level, and I think he is good, but not as good as Morris. I saw Morris play last spring and I compare what I saw from Williams this spring, and I believe Morris is certainly ahead. We will see what happens in the fall, but Williams has to get a whole lot better.

That said, I still think it was a great scrimmage. Rather than focusing on the score, I focused on what I saw in the trenches and other little things. This team will be better than people think.

The defense dominated, and in a spring scrimmage, it should have. Tackling and execution on defense have improved. Chick will be very good. Perryman has the potential to be all ACC. The defense can be special.

Unlike the last spring scrimmage in Ft. Myers, I thought the offense had more opportunities and simply failed to execute. I am sure GOlden and Fisch know that execution on offense has to improve. If the WR/TE could hang on to their drops, elimiate fumbles and the others could execute their blocks, the offense would have looked more explosive yesterday.

Again, I still think the Canes need a few more playmakers on both sides of the ball, and aside from Morris and Hurns, the incoming freshmen will add to that. Duke (who will be a special playmaking RB) and Howard will add playmakers, and some of the other incoming freshmen will also emerge. I hear Dillard is very good, but I have never seen him play live so I cannot comment.

I really like Golden's recruits. He has an eye for talent, and it appears from what I saw yesterday that Golden is developing that talent when it arrives on campus.

However, the offensive line really needs to start dominating. The talent and size is there. Hopefully, they will develop some continuity and chemistry by the start of the season.

The Canes should suprise some people.

[SOUP]

New blog later this PM. More photos and findings from the scrimmages.

The penalties (false starts) and turnovers were discouarging for the offfense but it was not as bad as some made it out to be. Our defense does look MUCH improved over last year.

[CoCane]

Without Morris, Hurns, Duke & the frosh Wr's coming this summer. The defense was supposed to dominate yesterday.

Porter, Smith, Perryman & Chick are The M*THA F*CKIN DEAL!

The secondary will WAAAY better this year. Gunter is physical & fast. Finnie is coming along & had a pick. Telemaque, Ray Ray & McGee had INT's too. McGee played like he wants to start & go to another level this year

RAY RAY WAS IN POSITION ALL DAY! FINALLY... He also had a FR that was forced by Gunter

The RB's ran hard. I like Clements more than James.

Scott is awesome. He dropped a tough catch & fumble at the end of a 40+ yrd catch. He's still the clear starter with Hurns & will be a playmaker.

As for Ryan Williams starting over Morris. Lmao. STOP DA MADNESS. He's healthy competition, nothing more. Hopefully he'll improve & be ready when it's his turn.

The o-line held thier own...

I say 8-10 wins this year. But... It's just spring.