Canespace

Volleyball Is All The Rage

University of Miami senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali has been named VolleyMob National Player of the Week, the publication announced Tuesday. The recognition solidifies senior's status of one of the top players at her position. She entered this week ranked fourth nationally with 5.46 points per set and fifth with 4.86 kills per set.

"This is the first time I'm National Player of the Week and it's just very exciting for me," Strantzali said. "It means that other people see my hard work and they recognize it. It just motivates me to keep trying even harder."

Strantzali, who also earned her second ACC weekly honor Monday, picked up two double-doubles over the weekend to lead the Hurricanes (14-4, 8-4 ACC) to sweeps over then-conference leader NC State and defending ACC champion North Carolina. She tallied match-high performances with 20 kills Friday and 15 kills Sunday and complemented those performances with 11 and 10 digs, respectively.

In addition to orchestrating her seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season, the Pylaia, Greece, native tallied two blocks and an assist in each match, as well as a total of three service aces in Miami's statement victories. The senior enjoyed the most effiecient weekend of her season, hitting a fantastic .500 despite combining for a team-high of 62 swings against the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels.

How High Can U Go?

The University of Miami men's basketball team will begin the season as No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball coaches poll, the publication released Thursday.

The Hurricanes (21-12, 10-8 ACC last season) finished in the top half of the 25-team poll after collecting a total of 383 points, 34 more than No. 13 Cincinnati.

This is the fourth time that Miami begins the season in the USA TODAY preseason coaches poll. The No. 12 ranking is the Hurricanes' highest preseason ranking ever and the team's highest ranking since the final poll for the 2015-16 season, during which the Canes made a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Miami was the third-highest Atlantic Coast Conference team in the poll. Duke topped the poll with 20 out of the 32 first-place votes for a total of 774 points. Defending national champion North Carolina was ranked ninth with 515 points. Last season, the Hurricanes defeated both the Tar Heels – 77-62 on Jan. 28 – and the Blue Devils – 55-50 on Feb. 25 in ACC play.

No. 14 Notre Dame (305 points) and No. 16 Louisville (295) concluded the ACC representation in the poll.

The Hurricanes open the 2017-18 season on Nov. 10, against Gardner-Webb at the Watsco Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Best Team Ever

The 2017 Miami Hurricanes football team is clearly the best team ever.

They are so powerful, dominating and ruthless that no team has a chance.

The fact that they barely beat a 1-7 UNC team is completely irrelevant.

They would beat the 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1991 National Championship teams.

Mark Richt is by far the best coach UM has ever had hands down.

The offense is unstoppable. The defense is impenetrable. 

The University of Miami will be the National Champions in 2017 no doubt!

Go Canes said so and so we all have to believe it completely and absolutely.

They are the best team ever.

Any questions?

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

If anyone ever asks you if you know the "Five P's" you better damn well tell them that you do. They are not really very hard to remember and in fact they make perfect sense when all things are considered.

Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.

The five Ps can be applied to any business, task, plan or project and in this case a game plan or a football team. When applied effectively the results can be amazingly positive and productive. We like this concept.

Miami Beats North Carolina 34-13. 

Why Are U So Consistently Inconsistent?

Totally confusing.

Utterly ridiculous.

Completely crazy.

Absolutely frustrating.

These are the terms used to describe your Miami Hurricanes Football team in the parking lot of Hard Rock Stadium after games this season.

To be honest, nobody, not a single fan I have met seems to have any confidence or clue about this 2017 UM team. But then who really does?

In fact, if I sold rocking chairs for a living, I think I would be a very rich man by now. But I don't, and I am not. Yet still, I am as baffled as anyone about this Miami Hurricane football team. 

One minute they look like world beaters. The next they look like, well, dog poop. On some drives scoring is simple. Then on the next, well, more dog poop.

With this team, you really have to watch your step. So that you literally do not "step in it". That dog poop smells awful.

The game against Syracuse started out nicely with the Canespace Family all gathered together to witness the victory that we were sure would follow. The first half left us feeling a bit light headed and even giddy as the Hurricanes dominated the play.

Malik Rosier looked better than ever and the play calling was crisp and efficient as it looked like the Canes were well on their way to a solid, easy win if not a blowout of the team that had just de-clawed the Clemson Tigers.

But that would be way too easy for this team and their loyal and confused fan base. The Canes attempted to do their best to spoil a delightfully pleasant afternoon by experiencing a momentary lapse of reasoning in relation to play calling and going completely brain dead when it came to execution.

Now that is one bad combination my friends. 

In the end the good guys from Miami settled the score with the visitors from New York and left victorious with their perfect record intact and their pride still safe for another week. But that was more than we could say for our Canespace family at the tailgate.

You see the evil one showed his ugly head once again.

The revenge of Canezilla launched a nasty surprise attack that could not be repelled until the fans, some Canespacers and eventually the authorities were called in to intervene on my behalf. 

I lived to talk about it but I will never ever never leave my back unattended.

Especially when guys like Canezilla are lurking.

Worry Is Like A Rocking Chair

A very wise person once told me: "Worry is like a rocking chair. It may keep you busy, but it gets you nowhere."

But if it makes you feel better to worry about your Miami Hurricanes game against Syracuse on Saturday then be my guest.

And if you think that worrying is a productive behavior that will produce positive results then by all means please worry. 

However, one thing I will tell you is that worrying is not going to change the outcome of the game on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

So rather than worrying why not relax, take a deep breath, have an adult beverage and think positive thoughts about the outcome of the game?

I know that is exactly what I will be doing while enjoying every minute of Miami's convincing win over Syracuse on Saturday.

PREDICTION: Miami 34 - Syracuse 13.

It Is Better To Be Lucky Than Good

Some people simply don't believe in luck.

Some people think that you make your own luck.

Some people think the harder you work the luckier you get.

No matter whether you believe if Lady Luck exists or not, if you attended or watched the University of Miami's game against Georgia Tech on a sloppy, rain soaked field at Hard Rock Stadium you may have to accept that the Hurricanes got more than a little bit lucky in beating the Yellow Jackets by one point.

Yes, somehow, someway, and maybe with some luck, UM squeaked out a 25-24 victory over GT and move their record to 5-0 on the season and remain in the hunt for their first ACC Championship.

Another slow start and lackluster first half performance by Miami that has characterized Mark Richt's tenure at UM and especially during the 2017 season left the heavily favored Hurricanes looking desperately for a little luck to swing in their direction late in the game.

So we now fast forward to late in the fourth quarter when your Miami Hurricanes were in as bad a position as they have been all season, a season already filled with some seriously lucky second half comebacks. UM got the ball at it's own 10 yard line with just 2:30 left on the clock and one last chance to, well for lack of a better phrase, get lucky.

UM QB Malik Rosier, who had been dodging the Tech defense and the sudden but intermittent rain showers all day long, had looked anything but impressive during the game in front of the hyped up and very loud home crowd.

Yet after a couple of safe, quick screen passes to WR Braxton Berrios and TE Christopher Herndon he led the Hurricanes to near midfield. Things were looking up and Lady Luck appeared to be smiling on the team from Miami.

Then, after a couple of incomplete passes and a really curious play call on third down and 11 (run draw play), the Canes were down to their last chance to really see if luck was on their side. And sure enough, on fourth down and 11 to go, Lady Luck showed up and blessed Miami with Darrell Langham. 

Yes, the same tall, fiesty wide receiver who just happened to catch the game-winning touchdown pass with just six seconds to go against FSU last week in Tallahassee. Maybe luck comes in pairs, who knows?

Rosier dropped back to pass on the sloppy, chewed up field and with good protection heaved a long pass down the right sideline in Langham's direction.

Two Tech defenders were all over the play in tight coverage and converged on the ball as it seemed to hang in the air for a very long time. It looked as though the ball may be intercepted or at least fall incomplete and that the Canes would finally be out of luck and any chance at an ACC title.

It was at that very moment that lovely Lady Luck removed her lace veil and kissed Langham squarely on the lips.

The ball first bounced off of Langham's hands, then off the helmet of one of the Yellow Jacket defenders and then up in the air just high enough so that he could manage to snatch it out of the jaws of defeat and into his waiting arms as he fell backwards onto the muddy turf.

Langham's remarkable, spectacular, no make that lucky, first down catch would propel the Hurricanes to a 24 yard, game winning field goal a few seconds later by Michael Badgley with only four seconds to play. 

When it was over, it was hard to tell if one team deserved victory more than the other. But it was pretty easy to see which one was luckier than the other.

PREDICTION: Canes Will Wreck Tech 34-13

Clemson got complacent. Clemson lot their edge. Clemson got lazy.

Then #2 Clemson went down to Syracuse Friday night in shocking fashion.

Trust me, that will not happen to your Miami Hurricanes when they face ACC rival Georgia Tech Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

We will be on hand to watch Miami spray some of their nasty defensive poison on the Yellow Jackets and kill them off quickly and easily in a 34-13 win.

It says right here in my official and authorized Canespace manual for 2017 that the Canes will win the ACC. The tide is clearly turning (FSU is on the outgoing tide) and the times, they are a changing (Clemson is losing badly).

Now it is up to the University of Miami football team to do their just and sworn duty and return the Cane Nation back to National prominence.

#WeReady

Rally In Tally

It took 59 minutes and 54 seconds, but the Miami Hurricanes prevailed over the Florida State Seminoles, 24-20, to remain unbeaten in 2017.
 
The annual rivalry matchup between the No. 13/12 Canes and Noles was full of excitement in the second half, as the two teams combined for 41 points and five lead changes before a loud crowd of 78,169 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday. 

"We had a wonderful celebration in the locker room," Miami head coach Mark Richt said. "It was a long time coming for our players, coaches, administration, but certainly a long time coming for our fans. I am probably most happy for them because they are a true orange and green fan base. The ones that were here today especially; got here early, were loud and proud the whole time, pregame warm-up, kicking butt. Their presence was felt by our team, and by me personally. It doesn't matter how you win a game like this. Really, quite frankly, it doesn't matter how you win any game if you just do it within the rules because wins are hard to get and especially in this series. I am just thankful. Praise the Lord." 
 

But it was redshirt junior Darrell Langham, who was on his second offensive snap of the night, who dove at the goal line to score a 23-yard touchdown catch on Florida State's star corner Tarvarus McFadden with six seconds remaining that snatched a victory from the Seminoles and sent the Hurricanes home victorious.  

"I didn't know if I was in or not," Langham said. "I was just happy I caught the ball and was just trying to get in the end zone. The whole way through that play just goes back to practice for me. Coach [Ron Dugans] is always telling me to be big, use my body, go for the ball. I'm just happy I came down wit the ball and happy I ended the streak."

The path to victory was a roller coaster ride for Miami (4-0, 2-0 ACC), who went into the locker room down, 3-0, at half time. The Hurricanes struggled to get much going offensively in the opening 30 minutes, tallying just 57 yards of total offense. But their attack began clicking after the break.

Pansies And Promises: Everybody Gets A Trophy

Pansies are so cute and pretty and colorful. But not absolutely necessary to our daily lives.

Promises often seem so sincere, honest and well intended. But they are also so often broken. 

And today, nobody can be ever be criticized and everybody gets a trophy for just participating, right?

Criticism seems so suddenly unacceptable. But, in fact, it is an essential part of life. UM QB Kirby Freeman was called jitters for his lack of presence in the pocket. UM 5 Star QB Kyle Wright was called turf face for the sacks he often took. And nobody blinked an eye when that was said back in the day. 

In fact, every UM fan LIKED it, no LOVED it, when those things were said to explain the tragic demise of their once proud and beloved program. When people criticized Larry Coker nobody said: "Stop picking on your Elders!" When people criticized Randy Shannon nobody said: "You are a racist!"

Now today, all of the pansies who were promised a safe and acceptable "Fan Space" can't take any of the players who ever wore the orange and green or "The U" on their helmet could be anything less than perfect or the best player to ever grace the college football field.

So here is a "News Flash": You people are not in touch with reality! And now this is where I call total BS. Brad Kaaya was a good player for Miami who never did diddly squat. Deal with it, accept it and move on.

For those of you too young, or too ignorant or stupid to recall, UM Heisman trophy winning QB Vinny Testaverde who did more for University of Miami sports than Brad Kaaya could ever dream of doing was criticized badly, and roughly and thoroughly for his Fiesta Bowl loss performance against Penn State.

Nobody shed a tear. Nobody went into a crying position over that fiasco. No, you see back then we were mature adults, grown men and women who could take wins and losses and hard core CRITICISM without crawling into a corner.

But not now. No, now we are so concerned over our "feelings" that we can't even get out of bed or be fans because some player was criticized for not doing his job or living up to his potential. So seriously, you people really need to get a grip on reality and move on.

Shake it off. Grow up. Handle your business.

And accept criticism when it is due. That is the best advice I can offer you.

Otherwise, pansies and promises is all you can ever hope to have.