I'm Learning To Fly, But I Ain't Got Wings

As Tom Petty would say: "And coming down, is the hardest thing."  

Tom Petty was very prophetic when he wrote this song.

Well, the good old days may not return
And the rocks might melt and the sea may burn

I'm learning to fly 
But I ain't got wings 
Coming down 
Is the hardest thing 

Sure he was messaging a different audience and he had a different meaning but when I heard it it made me think about our current situation and circumstance.

None of us have ever been here before. None of us knows if we will make it out alive. Coming down is bad, but is clearly not our greatest concern.

Well, some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I've started out for God knows where
I guess I'll know when I get there

I'm learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up, must come down

It is the crashing, burning and dying that we so much want to avoid.

The sports activities and arenas we all loved are vacant right now.

The real life activities and survival of the fittest are taking center stage.

A month ago I joked about attending the "Last Game Ever". 

And now it doesn't seem so funny, does it?

I'm learning to fly, But I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing.

I will see you at the next game, whenever, and IF ever, that is...

Comments

[58 Straight]

I wish I knew.

I wish I had a clue.

I have no information other than you.

Together we live or together we die.

That is how we ride...

[alpine]

58 straight -talk

really well done

thank you!!!

[Harry Miller]

Where will thus ride end?

/

[pb]

Good stuff Tom.

I expect massive losses in the market today and unfortunately record deaths in New York.

Pray this heinous virus is reaching it's peak but in my opinion is not the case. Unfortunately catastrophic mistakes were made by everyone in New York from their Governor to their imbecile of a Mayor to the leadership of their Public Health Department.

Far darker days ahead for that city and it's surrounding areas I believe.

Hope all of you are tucked away in your homes. To all our older friends here, please be extra cautious and stay away from EVERYONE, including your own family for now.

Good luck going forward everyone. Be safe!

[alpine]

Posted by: pb | March 30, 2020 at 07:32 AM

that's right, pb
. . . and luckily, our president was waaaay out in front of this thing after getting early intelligence in january on the coronavirus . . . otherwise, our whole country might be in trouble and not just those libtard new yorkers

[solarcane]

Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped
Look at that low plane, fine, then
Uh oh, overflow, population, common group
But it'll do, save yourself, serve yourself
World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed
Tell me with the Rapture and the reverent in the right, right
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light
Feeling pretty psyched
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine

R E M

[alpine]

- thank you solar

- and congrats! . . . following you on this blog, you seem to have reached the place where you don't get pulled down into the mudfight;
and yet, you retain your dignity & respect by being engaged and not covering ears, eyes & mouth

. . . not an easy place to reach

[Terrance M Sullivan]

Another Masterpiece Soupster! Lord Willing We Will Have Our Canespace Fall Weekend Scheduled As Of Now For October 23-25!

[solarcane]

Thank you Big Al, that meant a lot to me.

[solarcane]

Miami Spring Game 20 20 run through EA Sports on PlayStation by Inside The U

Seeing the Canes divided into two equel teams going at it, good commentary by Inside the U.

https://youtu.be/ssKI8Gaeass

[roachcane77]

Nice blog SOUP. 👍🏼

BTW Wimbledon to be canceled for this year. (First time since WWII.)

[58 Straight]

Thanks for all of the compliments on the blog. Funny how songs I have heard dozens of times all seem to have slightly different meanings now.

Just wanted to let you all know that I have been putting off having my mid-life crisis for several years now. I have selected the current time to have it, which I guess it is as good as any, right? I will be self medicating until further notice.

Be calm and blog on!

[AeroCane]

Solar
I saw that
Lol but king, Martell the new receiver smith all looked good
Obviously so did Rousseau
Kosi was the same
The lb’s will be better this year (not the ‘names’) but faster, and way more athletic
Sure wish lingard had stayed

PS 86 - everyone has said it, but thanks for the great blogs!

[solarcane]

Big Al,
I enjoyed the commentary , I think it was Steve Lake but I wasn't paying attention til I saw it was going to be entertaining.
Did you check out the stands in the background?
About 70 or 80 thousand people for a Miami spring game might be a tad optimistic.

[Old Skool]

Time to buckle down folks.

Statistical models for the coronavirus peak expect it to occur somewhere around April 15.

One of the ones used by the White House
(https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections)
predicts over 2,200 people will die on the day and that there'll be a shortage of over 15,000 ICU beds on that day

By August 4th, it calculates that the virus will have killed over 82,000 people.

The term 'stats are for losers' is taking a new and grim turn.

[Old Skool]

While I'm playing the grim poster, here's one more bit of potentially bad news.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, said in a Sunday tweet that "Florida is at risk of becoming major epicenter of epidemic spread of #COVID19 in the coming weeks."

He added that "Miami appears to be a major hot spot. The outbreaks were apparent there weeks ago. And the state was slow to implement mitigation steps, and probably exported a lot of its infection."

[solarcane]

Sorry, I meant Aero, I was typing a comment to alpine then I read your reply Aero. I think Cabin Fever has me about whacko now.

[AeroCane]

I didn’t notice the stands but that’s funny
Yes, I enjoyed the commentary as well
Our OL still looks porous

[solarcane]

Our OL still looks porous

Posted by: AeroCane | March 30, 2020 at 05:28 PM

Yea even in a simulation they cant get out of each others way. Cam Harris had moves like the cartoon Road Runner getting around them a couple times.

[86Cane]

PS 86 - everyone has said it, but thanks for the great blogs!

Posted by: AeroCane | March 30, 2020 at 04:13 PM

Thank U Sir!

[TheWordFromTheHerb]

Remember this dude. Travonte Valentin, DT that verballed to Goldie Locks only to flip to LSU, well this dude turned out to be a big pain in the azz.
Kicked off LSU
Kicked off Arizona Western Jr. College.
Went to last chance U, Mississipi.
Back to Lsu and got kicked off again.
Grades, drugs, etc.

[solarcane]

if you want to kill some time while being amazed at the same time
Here is Bo Jackson greatest athlete of all time
highlites

https://youtu.be/n7dwzVYh5Ng

[BigWindyCane1]

Great article Soup! You are on a serious roll! Tom Petty sums it up!

[solarcane]

End Of The World As We Know It COVID19 version

https://youtu.be/VrzzhxdJ1cE

[solarcane]

Todays Herald Miami Hurricanes Football

What stood out to a Miami Hurricanes coach about first four practices, Ed Reed’s comment
BY BARRY JACKSON
MARCH 30, 2020 02:56 PM

▪ It took only four spring practices to get UM people very excited about the potential of this offense.

Cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph, from his defensive perspective, was thoroughly impressed with quarterback D’Eriq King and new offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee’s up-tempo system.

With King, what stood out to Rumph was “his leadership, one,” Rumph said. “Every time he would come off the field, he was coaching someone. The running backs, o-line, he was always explaining. That was my first impression.

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“What stands out even more is ball placement. He knows how to place the ball away from corners. I haven’t seen that type of [touch and accuracy] in a minute.”

Meanwhile, Rumph said, “I love what Lashlee is doing. We had to step our game up on defense. Rhett puts pressure on us every day. When he’s going fast and you don’t know one little aspect on defense, he is going to expose us.”

The up-tempo, attacking style “makes players play hard and us coach harder,” Rumph said.

▪ A couple of other observations Rumph made from the offense during the four spring practices:

Freshman running back Jaylon Knighton “didn’t look like a freshman. He ran with a nice lean, keeps his feet moving forward.” He also said Cam’Ron Harris remains impressive.

Among the freshmen receivers, “Xavier Restrepo did a really good job” establishing position and making “good catches,” and Keyshawn Smith “caught a deep ball or two. The kid can flat-out run.”

Among the older receivers, “Mark Pope was really consistent the first two days. Dee Wiggins is always a threat. Jeremiah Payton struggled a little bit, but going against scout team last year he gave us fits.”

▪ Rumph is excited about his two freshman cornerbacks who will enroll in the coming months: Marcus Clarke and Isaiah Dunson.

With Clarke, what stands out is “speed,” Rumph said. “The kid can roll. He really wants to learn and asked a million questions at camp [for high school prospects last year].”

Rumph said before last season, “I went to watch another player — I won’t say his name, but I didn’t go to see Marcus — and I was like, ‘who is number 8?’ He was just making plays.”

It was Clarke, of course, excelling for Winter Park High School.

“He’s a throwback player, waiting for the offense to come on the field when he’s on defense [and vice versa],” Rumph said. “I call him a hash player, because he waits for the new team to come on the field. A lot of coaches don’t take that into account; to see him playing offense and defense and returning and to see him running hard [continuously] says a lot about the kid.”

As for the Georgia-based Dunson, Rumph said he has “tremendous length and a really good knack for the game. He has speed, plays physical. And in his area, they play very competitive [high school] football. There’s lot of tradition there. He’s a worker.”

▪ Rumph, on his two most experienced cornerbacks, DJ Ivey and Al Blades Jr.:

“With DJ, I’ve seen him step it up in the film room as far as paying attention. He takes detailed notes in the meeting room. He’s more focused now.

“When we saw every single snap from last season, he had a few plays where he was out of place, but for the most part, he looked very comfortable and we saw bright things with his tackling. We know he can cover and run. We wanted him to be more physical and he’s done that. The sky is the limit for him. He’s got an inch of height on Al. They both can run fast.”

With Blades, “he leads by example,” Rumph said. “He is going to show you with his work ethic and understands what the defense is trying to do.

“When a lot of people look at Al as a corner, he’s not a blazer, he’s not the strongest, he’s not the biggest, but he consistently works in the film room and works after practice each day. We had a scrimmage last year and the game was over and the lights were off and we were on the field and he stopped me and started going over all the details of what he did in scrimmage, and what he could do better. That’s what sets guys apart. He’s done a good job. He can be really good because he’s a person that works for everything.”

▪ Rumph said Hall of Famer Ed Reed, the UM football program’s new chief of staff, already has addressed the players once in a group “and said a cool thing: ‘You can achieve your individual goals through team goals — it’s as simple as that.’”

Rumph said “one day Ed Reed was out there talking to our players as we finished practice and I made a couple corners come back out there and I told them to ask him a question every time they see him. When you have greatness around you, it’s your job to learn as many things as you can when he’s there.

“The thing that sets him apart is he can change the culture on a whole program. He’s that guy — when he speaks — everybody listens. I can compare that with Bill Walsh when I was with the 49ers. We would do that when he talked. Ed Reed can be that guy within our program.”

▪ Rumph, Reed and assistant director of recruiting DeMarcus Van Dyke are the three former Canes players with jobs in the football program, and Rumph doesn’t take that distinction lightly.

“It’s a huge responsibility,” Rumph said. “I put my trust in the Canes in 1998 and it changed my whole life. I feel it’s on me and DVD and Ed to bring a championship here. I have seen the Hurricanes as a player, a fan sitting in the 400 [section at the Orange Bowl]. I’ve seen them as a high school coach and as a Hurricane coach.”

He’s encouraged after the additions made by UM during this abbreviated offseason.

“When I saw the moves [coach] Manny [Diaz] was making, I was going, ‘That’s a guy who wants to win,’” Rumph said. “Those moves had perfect timing. Now we have to put it all together.”

[alpine]

soup ladelling
skool schooling
solar shining/warming
herb spicing

alpine weirding out

[86Cane]

Great article Soup! You are on a serious roll! Tom Petty sums it up!

Posted by: BigWindyCane1 | March 30, 2020 at 10:14 PM

Thanks buddy! Even a blind squirrel...

[solarcane]

15 highest paid Hurricane NFL Players

https://247sports.com/college/miami/LongFormArticle/Miami-Hurricanes-Football-Top-15-Highest-Paid-Miami-Players-In-The-NFL-2020-145510882/

[roachcane77]

YAY, Estela!

A true Cane, (and NCAA) Champion!

https://hurricanesports.com/news/2020/3/31/womens-tennis-one-more-year.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0ic12KFjnI8gIXXNH5A9H5UIXMrUS8E3Tw-QNNwFSFSEZR0vmx2AM3pIw

[solarcane]

So the NCAA lets the SEC teams start virtual coaching between players and their coaches this week.
Georgia already going all in.
Wonder when the ACC will get around to it?

[HerbieIbis]

The Herb is wondering when the SEC is going to 16 teams. Most definite they would ask Clemson to join.

[solarcane]

The Herb is wondering when the SEC is going to 16 teams. Most definite they would ask Clemson to join.

Posted by: HerbieIbis | March 31, 2020 at 07:29 PM

I remember when South Carolina and Clemson where talking about switching conferences heads up.
Give Clemson a chance to get rich, spank a bunch of SEC teams and give the Gamecocks a chance to be competitive.

[58 Straight]

The Herb is wondering when the SEC is going to 16 teams. Most definite they would ask Clemson to join.

Posted by: HerbieIbis | March 31, 2020 at 07:29 PM

DUMB.

Clemson has it made. Why would they want that?

[58 Straight]

NEW BLOG IS UP!