When the legendary CaneFreak puts together a compilation of video clips in making his annual "pump up" video he simply does it better than anybody else.
All Miami Hurricane fans eagerly await the release date of his pre-season highlight video much like young children await Christmas Day: with great excitement and anticipation. It builds and builds until it fills the air all around CaneNation until finally the day has arrived.
And lucky for U, today just happens to be that day.
So sit back, turn up the volume and prepare to be PUMPED UP!
As U can clearly see, nobody does it better.
It kinda makes U feel sad for the rest, now doesn't it?
The story about the humble beginnings and later phenomenal success of University of Miami offensive lineman Jon Feliciano cannot be overstated.
From being the first in his family to graduate from college to being a starting guard (and tackle) on the Hurricanes' offensive line Jon has consistently set the bar very high for himself, his family and his teammates.
His mother, the always friendly and personable Mrs. Feliciano, is always fun to hang out with at tailgate parties at Sun Life Stadium.
We have had many meaningful and insightful conversations with her before and after games in recent years.
So from all of here at Canespace we want to say that we appreciate Jon and his significant contributions to the UM football team.
His strong commitment, incredible dedication and consistent performance on the field have been a steadying force for the Hurricanes.
And even more than that we want to say that we respect him for what he has achieved in his life so far and wish him the best in whatever his future holds.
The 2014 spiny lobster season opens with the two-day recreational sport season July 30 and 31, followed by the regular commercial and recreational lobster season, which starts Aug. 6 and runs through March 31. Planning on catching some of these tasty crustaceans? Here is what you need to know before you go.
No one wants a small lobster for dinner. Make sure you check the size. Measuring devices are required, and lobsters must be measured while they are in the water. If the carapace length is not larger than 3 inches, it must be left in the water.
To protect the next generation and your future chances to have lobster for dinner, harvest of egg-bearing females is prohibited. Lobsters have hundreds of thousands of eggs that are easily visible and attached under the tail. While most lobsters have completed reproduction by the start of the fishing season, finding lobsters with eggs is common in July and August.
Bring a cooler big enough to hold the entire lobster. Spiny lobsters must remain in whole condition until they are brought to shore. Also, do not take spiny lobster with any device that might puncture, penetrate or crush its shell.
Stick to the bag and possession limits so there will be enough lobsters for all your friends and family. During the two-day spiny lobster sport season, recreational divers and snorkelers can take up to six lobsters per person daily in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park waters and 12 lobsters per person daily in other Florida waters. You may possess no more than the daily bag limit of lobsters when you are on the water. When you are off the water, you may possess no more than the daily bag limit on the first day of the sport season and no more than double the daily bag limit on the second day. See the chart for an easy-to-read guide on the two-day sport season bag limits. During the Aug. 6-to-March 31 regular season, the daily recreational bag and on-the-water possession limit is six spiny lobsters per person.
Two-Day Sport Season
Where?
Daily bag limit and max number you can possess while on the water
Max number you can possess off the water – July 30
Max number you can possess off the water July 31
Monroe Co. and Biscayne National Park
6
6
12
All other Florida waters
12
12
24
While the waters may be less crowded at night, diving for spiny lobsters after the sun goes down is not allowed in Monroe County during the two-day sport season.
Have the proper paperwork. A recreational saltwater fishing license and a spiny lobster permit are required to recreationally harvest spiny lobsters unless you are exempt from recreational license requirements. Information about these licenses and permits is available online at MyFWC.com/License.
Divers, even those who wade in, should stay within 300 feet of a properly displayed divers-down symbol (red with a white diagonal stripe) on a flag or buoy when in open water and within 100 feet of a properly displayed divers-down flag or buoy if on a river, inlet or navigation channel. Boat operators must slow to idle speed if they need to travel within 300 feet of a divers-down flag or buoy in open water or 100 feet of one on a river, inlet or navigational channel.
Divers-down flags displayed on vessels must be at least 20 inches by 24 inches, and a stiffener is required to keep the flag unfurled. The flag must be displayed from the highest point of the vessel, must be visible from all directions and must be displayed only when divers are in the water. So when the divers are out of the water, don’t forget to take it down. Divers-down symbols towed by divers must be at least 12 inches by 12 inches. More information on divers-down flag requirements is available online at MyFWC.com/Boating by clicking on “Boating Regulations.”
Additional information on recreational spiny lobster fishing, including how to measure spiny lobster, is available online at MyFWC.com/Fishing by clicking on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Lobster.”
The ACC Network package of Atlantic Coast Conference football games syndicated by Raycom Sports will be available to nearly 80% of the United States this fall, covering over 90 million TV Households.
This includes all Top Ten TV markets in the U.S., and 21 of the Top 25. Only ESPN and ESPN2 reach more households, among all sports networks. Specifically, 90,822,490 U.S. households, representing 78.4% of the U.S., will receive the ACC Network.
Traditionally, ACC syndicated football and basketball games have only been available on television stations within the ACC geographic footprint. However, since fall of 2011, the games have also been made available to stations throughout the nation.
Since the ACC Network began syndicating beyond the ACC footprint, the household coverage of the ACC Network has grown from 27 million to 90 million, an increase of 230%.
“Our goal is to continue delivering ACC content to as many fans as possible,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “We are proud of our partnership with ESPN, Raycom and the Fox regional networks. It’s these relationships that allow us to maximize the exposure for our schools and conference.”
“The ACC is one of the most prestigious conferences in the country, with a fervent fan base nationwide,” said Ken Haines, president & CEO of Raycom Sports. “This broad exposure for ACC football and basketball games provides the ACC with the most over-the-air broadcast coverage of any conference in the nation. With our longtime partner ESPN, we are proud to continue to expand the over-the-air television presence of the ACC throughout the nation.”
Well, all of that except the hunting and parachuting. But we have all that planned for next year. God willing.
Earlier in the year we brought you "Four Play" where a few of us Canespacers went to Coral Gables for four UM sports events (2 basketball, 2 baseball) in just four days. We toured the beautiful UM campus, won 3 of the 4 games, met some of the nice young ladies from UM tennis team and spent a lot of quality time discussing all things orange and green at The Titanic.
So when some of us Canespacers decided to take a little camping and kayaking trip into the heart of bear country in Central Florida we thought that "getting outdoors" was a good idea. Little did we know that bears and humans frequently come in contact to, and often clash, in their own environments.
At Wekiwa River State Park just north of Orlando near Longwood we set up two large tents and sat back around the campfire looking for a little rest and relaxation in the great outdoors. KYCane and Old Skool took turns swinging a large axe to chop wood for the fire until they got tired.
The best news to come out of that little exercise was that no injuries were observed or reported and everyone left with their limbs, fingers and toes still intact.
This is about when NativeCane decided to break out the old chain saw he just happened to have in the back of his truck to expedite the process. It wasn't more than 30 seconds or so after he cranked up the big, loud, gas-powered beast that Ranger Rick (as we called him), the always present and ever popular and friendly camp host, drove up in his little golf cart and told Native: "We don't do that here son."
And with that we were officially placed on the "close watch" list by Ranger Rick and our little expedition was off to a really great start.
RaizeCane showed up to join the party and we grilled skewers of bacon-wrapped venison and shrimp over the open wood fire. NativeCane played guitar and we sang along with the songs we knew. We ate and drank late into the night until the fire, and our energy, burned out.
The next day we rented several kayaks at the park's concession store and went kayaking on the natural and scenic Wekiva River. The trip started out nice enough going downstream with the current generated by the heavy flowing spring, floating you along at a pleasant 2-3 mph.
We stopped along the way at the Wekiva Outpost for a break and to ensure proper hydration criteria were being met. This little hideaway is a really neat place to spend an afternoon eating, drinking and watching the world float by.
After our little break we decided to head back to the park to return our kayaks within the required 4 hour time frame. Unfortunately, the trip back is against the same tough current that had easily powered us downstream on our way out.
About halfway back I was hot, tired and started cramping up worse than Lebron James in the NBA finals. But we finally made it back and got our feet back on solid ground.
Later that day we took a dip in the cool main spring at the park. The chilly, crystal clear water that flows up from deep in the earth stays at 72 degrees year-round, which makes your intial plunge a bit of a shock to the system.
But once you get acclimated it feels great in contrast to the 90 degree heat and is very pleasant and enjoyable. Putting on a mask and snorkel you can swim directly over and look down into the deep, large vent in the rocks from which 1.8 million gallons of water flow every year.
It wasn't until later that night that things really got interesting. But the part about big black bear that almost ate one of us will have to wait until part II.
On Canespace we have a blogger who posts his comments as "The Dude".
If you know something about movies "The Dude" is a character played by Jeff Bridges in a movie that has become somewhat of a cult classic called The Big Lebowski. If you never have seen the movie well then you should. Here is a brief summary of the plot from WikiPedia:
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 crime comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler nicknamed "the Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, the Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski. When the millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is kidnapped, he commissions the Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release. The plan goes awry when the Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the full ransom.
The Big Lebowski was a disappointment at the U.S. box office and received mixed reviews at the time of its release. Reviews have tended towards the positive over time and the film has become a cult favorite, noted for its idiosyncratic characters, dream sequences, unconventional dialogue, and eclectic soundtrack.
In Miami there was this guy who played basketball that was apparently known as "The King".
Lebron "King" James helped bring two NBA titles to South Florida in the last four years but has now decided that simply wasn't good enough for him.
So, he has taken his talents with him back to his native Ohio. James finally and formally announced yesterday that he is going to leave the Miami Heat and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Who leaves sunny, warm, beautiful Miami to go to old, cold, dank Clevelend?
So while "The King" may have abdicated his throne in Miami, "The Dude" still abides on Canespace. What lessons we may all learn from these events still remains to be seen.
Based on my extensive statistical research of the 2013 college football season, I have developed the following "Canespace Rules" (READ: identified criteria for winning) for the Miami Hurricanes during the 2014 season:
Canespace Rule #1: Offensive Points/Game Must Increase. On offense UM must go from 33.8 ppg in 2013 to 37 ppg in 2014, a difference of +3.2 ppg. In 2013 all of the top 20 offenses averaged 37 points or more per game led by Baylor. Regardless of who starts at QB in 2014, Miami has the offensive weapons and firepower to score and score often.
What the Hurricanes need is one more successful scoring drive per game that leads to at least a field goal and they will achieve this goal. Coach Coley must find a way for his offense to comply with the the Canespace 37 point rule.
Canespace Rule #2: Defensive Points/Game Must Decrease. On defense UM must go from allowing 26.8 ppg to 24 ppg, a difference of -2.8 ppg. Historically is has been shown that teams have been able to win a National Championship by holding the opposition to an average of under 27 ppg over the course of a season and UM did that in 2013 (26.8).
Eventually the UM defense has to at least partly resemble the Hurricane defenses of old if they are to win and win big. Increasing sacks and turnovers while also preventing explosive plays of 20 yards or more are the key ingredients in making the defensive turnaround at The U. Coach D'Onofrio must find a way for his defense to comply with the Canespace 24 point rule and we highly recommend that he do it now.
Canespace Rule #3: Offensive Third Down Conversion Rates Must increase. According to several of our bloggers on Canespace this may be among the most important rules of all. Many like to complain about the swiss-cheese like defense UM defense but few point their finger at the repeated three-and-outs that the offense racked up time and time again in 2013 that left their defensive brethren tired, beaten and exposed.
On offense UM must go from a .352 conversion rate up to a .420 rate. By keeping the offense on the field it protects the defense and keeps them rested, prepared and ready to rumble which leads us to...
Canespace Rule #4: Defensive Third Down Conversion Rates Must Decrease. On defense UM must go from a .419 conversion rate allowed down to a 3.50 rate. This is another critical area according to many of our bloggers. The Hurricane defense must find ways to stop allowing so many third down conversions and be able get off of the field in 2014.
The UM defense must find a way to re-instill fear into opposing offenses that find themselves in third and long situations. That is because if I see a DB lined up 10 yards off of the ball and back-pedalling on a third and seven or they give up one more first down on third and 17, then I cannot be held responsible for my actions. Or those of OGV either. No, seriously.
Canespace Rule #5: Defensive Turnovers and T/O Margin Must Increase. This rule is also known as the Canespace "20/30 Rule". That means that UM cannot have more than 20 turnovers on offense (22 in 2013) and must have at least 30 takeaways on defense (27 in 2013) to be successful in 2014.
The Hurricanes were a +5 in turnover margin in 2013 but that is simply not good enough to compete with the top teams in the Nation. Many of the best teams were at least +10 or higher and that is the company the Miami needs to keep if they are to re-ascend to their once lofty perch of competing for National titles and not in a second tier bowl game at some dank stadium in Orlando.
Canespace Rule #6: Penalties and Penalty Yards Must Decrease: This rule is also known as the Canespace "5/500 Rule". That means UM must limit their penalties to 5 or fewer per game (from 5.46) and have under 500 yards (from 582) in penalties this season.
If Nick Saban can do it at Alabama then Al Golden can do it at Miami. Yes indeed, we strongly suggest that the he and his Hurricanes do it, and do it now. Either that or you will be penalized by more than just the referees.
If UM can find a way to comply with these 6 simple rules and make the minor improvements in each of the categories I have identified then I predict that the Hurricanes will win at least 10 games, play for an ACC title and maybe even more in 2014. And please remember: Failure is NOT an option.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1969) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1967).
A 2013 All-ACC First Team selection, Perryman started all 13 games at outside linebacker for the Hurricanes, registering a team-leading 108 total tackles including 69 solo stops. In addition to earning All-America honorable mention honors fromSI.com, Perryman was the recipient of the Hurricanes 2013 Hard Hitter Award and Defensive MVP award.
Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced November 3 and the three finalists will be unveiled November 24. The winner of the 2014 Bednarik Award will be announced December 11 as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
The watch list candidates have been chosen by the Maxwell Football Club's selection committee, which analyzes both past performance and future potential. The Club reserves the right to make additions and deletions to these lists as the 2014 season unfolds. All members of the Maxwell Football Club, NCAA sports information directors, FBS head coaches and selected national media are eligible to vote for the awards.
Miami (9-4, 5-3 ACC) opens the 2014 season Sept. 1 against new ACC member Louisville at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Secure your seats to Miami’s home games vs. Florida State and North Carolina (Homecoming) today with a Two-Game Mini-Plan. Plans start at just $108 and include the same seat to both games plus a complimentary hat ($30 value). For more information or to order online, visit CanesTix.com.
Over recent years there has been a significant increase in interest related to the massive amounts of data collected in sports during the relatively new and more enlightened digital age. Computers now track and collect almost every movement that an athlete makes during a competitive sports event and sometimes even during practice.
The industry of "quality control" in sports has blossomed during this technological revolution and the resulting statistical analyses of the data that may produce reliable predictive indicators of wins and losses in football in particular has enveloped both coaches, players and fans alike.
I recently learned that Brian Billick, the former offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, actually developed a philosophy that simplified all of the data and numbers into two key concepts:
1. Winning the turnover battle; and
2. Making more explosive plays (plays of 20+ yards) than your opponent.
In Billick's simple paradigm, teams that are consistently successful in these two areas tended to win significantly more games than teams that were lacking in these areas. Billick eventually labeled this philosophy the ‘toxic differential.’ Here it is broken down in his own words from a 2011 article he wrote:
"People are constantly looking for the right combination of stats to indicate the probable success of a team. What are the key factors to winning? Is it sacks, third-down conversions, first-down efficiency, the ability to run the ball and stop the run, total passing yards? All are important, but none are a precise indicator of success."
"Beginning in 1998 when I was the Vikings' offensive coordinator, I used a formula that I called the "toxic differential" as the best barometer for our team's success. Simply stated, the toxic differential is the correlation between turnovers and explosive plays."
So I thought that it might be interesting to compare FSU, last year's National Champion, with your Miami Hurricanes to see just how they stack up against the best competition. So let's have at it, shall we?
FSU was ranked #3 in turnover margin at +17. UM was ranked #32 in T/O margin at +5.
(NOTE: Houston was ranked #1 overall with a turnover differential of a whopping +25. Louisville, the team that beat Miami handily in the Bowl Game was ranked #2 also with +17 T/O margin)
FSU was 1st in fewest passing yards allowed at 9.8 per completion. UM was #90 in passing yards allowed at 12.2 per completion
(NOTE: This would also indicate that Miami allowed more pass plays of 20 yards or in other words allowed more "explosive plays" on defense).
FSU was #4 in passing yards on offense. UM was #5 in passing yards on offense.
(NOTE: This statistic also indicates MIami's ability to match FSU in "explosive plays" of 20 yards or more while on offense during the 2013 season.)
Miami was only close to FSU in one of the three categories: explosive plays on offense. So to improve their "Toxic Differential" rating and close in on competing with the Seminoles the Hurricanes MUST:
1. Increase their Turnover Magin by at least 10 this year (from +5 to +15).
2. Decrease the passing yards allowed by about 3 yards per catch or 90 yards/game or about 1000 yards this season and reduce the explosive plays (20+ yards) allowed by the defense.
3. Maintain the ability to continue to put up the explosive passing plays (20+ yards) on offense.
If Miami does these three things then according to coach Billick, the Hurricanes can "flip the switch" on their 2014 season and once again run with the big dogs of college football.
Hurricanes fans would like that. Yeah, we would really like that a lot.