Canespace: June 2013

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CanesFish Tournament Is A Huge Success

What makes a winning combination? Try this formula and what do you get:

The Florida Keys + Fishing + Miami Hurricanes + A Good Cause = Success.

The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame held their annual Canesfish fishing tournament in Islamorada this past weekend. The event was a huge success as a floatilla of around 80 boats were officially entered in the tournament that is gaining serious popularity among former Miami Hurricane football players, UM fans and the South Florida fishing community at-large.

On Friday night I had the opportunity, along with over 500 other hard core Hurricane fans, to attend the Captain's Meeting at the Ocean View Pub and Inn, which just happens to be owned by former UM football player and Pittsburgh Steeler Gary Dunn.

Known to the locals as simply "The OV", it is a cozy, casual and always welcoming nine-room Inn that is adjacent to the Pub where friendly staff, great views, good food and cold drinks are always readily accessible.

The natural salt water pool with waterfall is surrounded by tropical plants and comfortable seating areas that provide a lovely backdrop to the stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico just beyond the mangroves. Sunsets are a popular daily event that both tourists and the locals flock to The OV to see.

Some guy I never heard of who supposedly played for the Hurricanes and the Baltimore Ravens named "Ray Lewis" was the Honorary Host for this years event. Apparently, this Lewis guy is a pretty big deal based on the large entourage around him that tried to keep the crazed crowd somewhat at bay from the popular player.

The large crowd seemed to follow him from place to place, desperate for a photo or autograph. He very graciously tried to oblige as many of the fans as he could but in the end it was hopeless.

Someone in the gathering crowd even said that this Lewis guy was the Super Bowl MVP last year, but I wasn't buying any of that nonsense.

Last year some big dude named Warren Sapp hosted the event. I never heard of him either but he was also very popular and very largely present at this year's event where he comfortably mingled among the crowd and took several photos with adoring fans in the relaxed, "Keys Casual" setting.

The tournament participants actually stayed just across the street from The OV at the newly renovated Post Card Inn. This is where the awards dinner was held on Saturday evening and also where the weigh-in and fishing boats left from the Famous Islamorada fishing docks.

If you have never been to what has traditionally been known as the famous Holiday Isle location, it is just a beautiful. The famous tiki bars that serve the infamous Rum Runners (with a 151 shot) and the beaches and sandbar area just offshore are something everyone should experience during their lives.

Trust me when I tell you to put this on your bucket list. No really, trust me!

Finally, from the looks of this photo, UM athletic Director Blake James and his team did pretty well, hooking and boating a 29 pound dolphin for his team.

Now, go and filet that, dip it in some egg and bread crumbs, and fry it up!

Posted at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (107)

Gone Fishing

The much anticipated University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame fishing tournament will be held this weekend on June 28-29 in Islamorada in the beautiful Florida Keys!

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In keeping with the UMSHoF mission to recognize, showcase and celebrate the achievements of the athletes that brought acclaim to our beloved University, the tournament will give anglers the opportunity to fish alongside some of their favorite 'Canes All-Stars.

This year Ray Lewis, Ted Hendricks, Warren Sapp, Brett Romberg, Bubba Franks, Gary Dunn, Jim Kelly and Damione Lewis will be among the dozens of celebrity participants.

The tournament weekend will kick-off the evening of Friday, June 28th with the Captains’ Meeting hosted by UM Hall of Famer Gary Dunn at his Ocean View Pub & Inn located in Islamorada.

The newly renovated and world famous Postcard Inn at Holiday Isle will provide the backdrop for the Weigh in, Awards Dinner and After Party on Saturday, June 29th.

On behalf of the UM Sports Hall of Fame, we invite everyone, whether you are a diehard Canes fan, salty angler, or just someone looking for a great weekend away in the Keys, to participate in our event. We feel we have all of the makings for a fun and memorable weekend.

Even if you can't enter the fishing tournament you can purchase tickets to attend the Captain's Meeting on Friday night at the Ocean View Pub ($30) and/or the Awards Ceremony and Dinner on Saturday evening at The Post Card Inn ($50). Both events give you a chance to mingle with former Miami Hurricane players and coaches and food and drinks will be provided.

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Some of the prooceeds from the event also help support the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Habitat For Humanity. For more information or to register, please visit: www.canesfish.com or call us directly at (305) 925-3660 or email us at info@canesfish.com.

Posted at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (72)

Camping With The Stars

More than 2,000 campers attended the annual Al Golden Football Camp Presented by foru. A total of 2,072 campers visited the Coral Gables during the five camp sessions, including approximately 1,000 athletes during the final sessions June 22 and 23.

For the second consecutive year, UM established attendance records for its five one-day camp sessions and one specialists camp session. It also marked the third consecutive year that more than 1,700 campers attended the camp. Miami's previous record set in 2012 was 2,054 campers.

"Thank you to all of the 2,000 high school and middle school aged student-athletes who attended our camps this season,” head coach Al Golden said. Our main goal is to ensure that each camper receives first-class fundamental instruction while also providing them the total ‘Train Like A Cane’ experience. The takeaway from our camp is that each camper competes to the best of their ability and can apply what they learned and improve fundamentally for their upcoming season.”

Campers have traveled to the Coral Gables campus from 32 states as well as Washington, D.C, bringing more than 5,000 visitors annually to the University of Miami campus.

"I am truly grateful to all of the student-athletes, coaches, parents and families who dedicated their time this June to making the Al Golden Football Camp synonymous with energy, passion and toughness." said Camp Director Ryan McNamee. "The effort and energy provided by the coaches and campers was electric and the competition among the campers was at an all-time high "

Each camp session was staffed by the Miami football coaching staff as well as full-time coaches from Division I FBS, FCS, II, III and premiere high school coaches from the Southeast Region. The student-athletes worked with some of the best coaches in the region and offered the campers maximum levels of skill development, technique and instruction for their dollar. Each camper was also exposed to the University of Miami campus, the football facilities and training techniques used by the current Miami Hurricanes football team.

Mark your calendars for the 2014. Camp dates for the Al Golden Football Camps have been announced for next year – June 1, June 7, June 8, June 21 and June 22. Camps are open to all participates in grades 6-12. For more information on the Al Golden Football Camps, visit www.algolden.com.

The Miami Hurricanes open the 2013 season at home Aug. 30 against Florida Atlantic for an 8 p.m. ET kick on ESPNU and ESPN3.

Posted at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (254)

All Aboard!

In case you were not paying attention the first official weekend of Summer just ended. During this time of year many people like to take some time off from their hectic lives and busy schedules and simply get away from it all by enjoying the beautiful outdoors and the many attractions across Florida.

College football fans are no different as the time between Spring practice and Fall preparations for the upcoming season provide an opportunity to decompress, disconnect and take some time away from the game to recharge their batteries before the tailgating and game day activities resume.

So just in case you were out kayaking on a spring-fed lake in North Florida, or maybe on your annual Summer family vacation at Disney World in Central Florida, or or taking a leisurely stroll on a sunny beach in South Florida, or just hiding under a the shade of a big oak tree at Bok Tower trying to avoid the oppressive heat, you might have missed it.

Canespace would like to bring you this very important public service announcement, especially for all of you talented and aspiring high school football players out there:

If U want to be a Miami Hurricane then U better get on board quick, because the train is leaving the station, and once it is full and moving down the tracks, it ain't stopping or coming back for anybody.

Al Golden and his staff landed a freight train load of talent this weekend with, count them, not five, not six, not seven, but as many as EIGHT new verbal commitments during the last week with most coming this past weekend. Now, no matter how you dissect or analyze it, that is impressive!

During the last of several Golden Football Camps on the lovely UM campus in Coral Gables the scholarships were being snapped up by talented recruits at a record breaking pace. By most estimates the Hurricanes now have around 16 solid verbal commits for the 2014 class and it is only June!

Al Golden and his staff have done miraculously well in spite of the difficult circumstances that stem from the on-going NCAA situation surrounding the athletic department off the field and from several years of middle of the pack performance on the field.

So that begs the question: When the NCAA mess is finally over (should be soon) and the Hurricanes start winning and competing for ACC titles and national championships again on a regular basis (should be soon) what will Golden and his staff be able to do then?

Posted at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (140)

CanesFish Tournament To Offer Fun, Sun and Fishing

The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame (UMSHoF) Celebrity Dolphin Fishing Tournament returns next week for the third year with anglers, fans and a record number of former Hurricanes athletes heading to the Postcard Inn Beach Resort at Holiday Isle in Islamorada, Florida, June 28 and 29.

Ray Lewis, a former Hurricanes linebacker and two-time Super Bowl winner with the Baltimore Ravens, is set to host the activities. More than 60 former high-profile Hurricanes athletes and coaches, including Warren Sapp, Gino Torretta, Melvin Bratton, Michael Irvin, Craig Erickson, Alonzo Highsmith, Randal Hill, Bubba Franks, Brett Romberg and Don Soldinger, will participate in the activities.

A portion of the tournament proceeds will go to The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, Habitat for Humanity of the Upper Keys and the UMSHoF.

Tournament and Awards Dinner Ticket Information

All tournament information is available online at www.canesfish.comVisit the tournament on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CanesFish.

Tickets for the June 29 awards banquet and auction are available for purchase in advance and on site at $50 each. Contact John Routh at john.routh@canesfish.com to purchase tickets.

About the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame (UMSHoF)

Nestled on the Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami, the UMSHoF is a 501(c)(3) corporation whose sole purpose is to recognize those student athletes, coaches and administrators who have contributed the most to Hurricanes Athletics over the years. The showcase for the UMSHoF and repository of the great sports traditions of the University of Miami is the Tom Kearns Sports Hall of Fame Building, next door to the Hecht Athletic Center on San Amaro Drive.

Posted at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (170)

Some Serious Love For Larranaga

This summer more than 700 youth will be on the University of Miami campus for the 2013 Jim Larrañaga Basketball Camps, held at the Fieldhouse on the Coral Gables campus.

With two weeks of instruction nearly complete, UM coaches, players and staff will hold four more weeks of summer camps, all of which are sold out.

“Coach Larrañaga and his staff did such an amazing job of winning the ACC regular season and tournament championships that the camps sold out in less than 10 hours after we posted the dates,” said Adam Fisher , director of camps and recently hired director of basketball operations.

“The success he has had here at Miami both on and off the court can be seen in the community, and they come out and support the camps. That’s the reason it’s sold out.”

Campers receive daily individual instruction, game play, all-you-can-eat lunch, unlimited sports drinks, a camp t-shirt and a camp basketball. In addition, there are tremendous guest lecturers, many awards given with each age group and a championship series played on the final day.

“It’s great that our student-athletes come and coach these camps because the kids look up to them – they are their heroes,” added Fisher. “To be able to see Rion Brown or Angel Rodriguez at camp, and be coached by them and learn from them, means so much to the kids. The Miami student-athletes are teaching the young campers skills on the court, but also teaching them to have a great attitude, to come every day, work hard and want to get better.”

Posted at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (83)

ESPN 2014 Top 30 Team Recruiting Rankings

ESPN recently updated their team recruiting rankings based on the most recent verbal commits for 2014. Here are some of the observations and current findings based on that list:

FSU is ranked #5 with 15 verbal commits.
Florida is ranked #9 with 10 verbal commits.
Clemson is ranked at #10 with 12 commits, the second highest ranked ACC team after FSU.
Miami is ranked at #12 and has 11 commits, third highest in the ACC after FSU and Clemson.
The ACC is well represented on the ESPN Top 30 list with 8 teams overall.
VT (#23), UNC (#24), BC (#25), UVA (#27) and NCST (#29) also made the ESPN Top 30 list.

As we looked futher down the list for any unusual anomolies, we surprisingly found the following:

First off, typical SEC cellar dwellar Kentucky was shockingly high at #11.

Baylor, yes Baylor, was not far behind at #16.

Penn State, a school we thought was left for dead, is at #17.

Northwestern, once only an academic school, is surging right up to #19.

Vanderbilt is making some serious progress in the SEC and is currently at #26.

For a complete list of current ESPN 2014 team recruiting rankings click here:

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings

Posted at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (115)

ESPN Top 300 Players

ESPN recently updated and released their Top 300 player list for the 2014 recruiting class. Upon quick review, here is what we found out about the class of 2014 players verbally committed to the Miami Hurricanes:

UM has a total of 6 players verbally commited that are on the ESPN Top 300 players list.
Three of the players are ranked in the top 150 at #20, #45, #133.
Three players are ranked between 151-300 at #216, #253, #289.
Miami's highest ranked players are RB Yearby (#20), OT McDermott (#45) and OT Darling (#133).
Miami also has OT Reilly Gibbons (#216), QB Brad Kaaya (#253) and WR Darrell Langham (#289) on the list.

With Miami in desperate need of some "big uglies" in the middle of the defensive line we payed special attention to that position in the Top 300 list. Here is what we found in our brief review of that list:

There are a total of 23 defensive tackles in the ESPN top 300 players.
Eleven of the DTs are listed in the top 150 and twelve are ranked between 151 and 300.
Of the 23 DT's on the list only 8 are currently verbally committed, with UF and FSU having one each respectively. UM has none.
Only 4 of the 23 defensive tackles on the Top 300 list are from the State of Florida.
UF has a verbal from #167 DT Anthony Moten from Fort Lauderdale and FSU has a verbal from #209 DT Demarcus Christmas from Bradenton.
Miami is thought to be the leading school for both #147 DT Kahiri Clark from Hollywood and #150 DT Travonte Valentine from Palm Bay. In case you didn't notice, both players are ranked higher than the players that verbally committed to UF (#167) and FSU (#209).
In addition, according to ESPN, Miami has offers out to Top 150 DTs #3 Andrew Brown from VA, #85 Thomas Holley from NY and #108 Garrald McDowell from LA.

In addition, we found out that ESPN reviewed just 1,000 players to get to their Top 300 rankings. With an estimated 1 million high school football players in the U.S. we found that fact very interesting. Based on this fact it is clear that there are still many diamonds left to be found in the rough.

Furthermore, there were a total of 13 players that garnered the coveted five-star rating, up from 11 during the first evaluation period. And, among the top 300 players, it was not surprising that Florida had the most players on the list at 51, followed by Texas with 35, then California and Georgia with 29.

For a complete list of the ESPN 2014 Top 300 players list click here:

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/playerrankings/_/view/rn300/sort/rank/class/2014

Posted at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (112)

Fish For Fun And Support A Good Cause

There are only two weeks left to enter the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame fishing tournament to be held on June 28-29 in Islamorada in the beautiful Florida Keys!

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In keeping with the UMSHoF mission to recognize, showcase and celebrate the achievements of the athletes that brought acclaim to our beloved University, the tournament will give anglers the opportunity to fish alongside some of their favorite 'Canes All-Stars.

This year Ray Lewis, Ted Hendricks, Warren Sapp, Brett Romberg, Bubba Franks, Gary Dunn, Jim Kelly and Damione Lewis will be among the dozens of celebrity participants.

The tournament weekend will kick-off the evening of Friday, June 28th with the Captains’ Meeting hosted by UM Hall of Famer Gary Dunn at his Ocean View Pub & Inn located in Islamorada.

The newly renovated and world famous Postcard Inn at Holiday Isle will provide the backdrop for our Weigh Inn, Awards Dinner and After Party on Saturday, June 29th.

On behalf of the UM Sports Hall of Fame, we invite everyone, whether you are a diehard Canes fan, salty angler, or just someone looking for a great weekend away in the Keys, to participate in our event. We feel we have all of the makings for a fun and memorable weekend.

Even if you can't enter the fishing tournament you can purchase tickets to attend the Captain's Meeting on Friday night at the Ocean View Pub ($30) and/or the Awards Ceremony and Dinner on Saturday evening at The Post Card Inn ($50). Both events give you a chance to mingle with former Miami Hurricane players and coaches and food and drinks will be provided.

Some of the prooceeds from the event also help support the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and Habitat For Humanity. For more information or to register, please visit: www.canesfish.com or call us directly at (305) 925-3660 or email us at info@canesfish.com.

Posted at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (71)

We Will Pump U Up!

When it comes to Miami Hurricanes "pump up" videos nobody does it better than the infamous CANEFREAK. Anybody who knows UM football also knows about the incredible video editing he is capable of and the digital compositions he is known for producing on a regular basis.

So we went to YouTube to find three of his latest masterpieces and we did not come away disappointed. We found a 2012 highlight film, a 2013 pump up video and a 2013 recruiting class highlight reel for your entertainment pleasure.

So make some popcorn, grab your favorite beverage and sit back and enjoy some of the "Best of CANEFREAK":