Canespace

Ooh, Ooh That Smell

Hey, you there, do you smell that?

Yeah that nasty, sour and totally smelly stench that surounds you?

That is the smell of your Miami Hurricanes football team that just crashed and burned into the turf of Yankee Stadium in New York City.

They stunk up the joint with another slow start, too many turnovers, poor special teams play, horrible play calling, atrocious tackling and another lackluster effort in just another bowl game. Status quo I guess.

This team plays like a couple of uncoached, unprepared, young silly school girls acting wild and crazy. Fun to look at, but not really fun to watch.

This UM football team couldn't find their way out of a punch bowl much less a bowl game. Now, they are no more that a punch line in a joke. "How many bowl games did the Canes lose?" Well, as many as they play I guess.

To put it simply, Greg Schiano and Rutgers pinstriped Miami and Mario Cristobal.

It was sad, embarrasing and shameful. No, maybe it was worse than that.

It showed that regardless of the time, preparation and planning that Miami's coaching staff has no clue. And there is no indication that it will get better.

Ooh, that smell
Can’t you smell that smell?
Ooh, that smell
The smell of death surrounds you

Million Dollar Mario is now 12-13 over two years.

Hell, Manny could have done that at half the price.

My Pinstripes Are Orange And Green

For the better part of the last week, they’ve enjoyed a truly unique experience.

In between practices, the Hurricanes have had the chance to explore New York City, taking in the holiday lights and sights all around Manhattan ahead of their Thursday matchup with Rutgers in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

They’ve wandered through Times Square. Enjoyed a New York Rangers game. Visited Radio City Music Hall and taken in the somber history at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

The Hurricanes also got some work in at the home of the four-time Super Bowl champion New York Giants, and some had the chance to help ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, while others visited with pediatric patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer City.

It’s been a whirlwind of activity that the Hurricanes hope ends with another memorable New York moment: a win over the Scarlet Knights at Yankee Stadium, site of Thursday’s game.

“We haven’t won a bowl game in a minute. I don’t know when that was, but it’s been a minute. It’s important to just change that trajectory of us not winning bowl games,” said Hurricanes fourth-year redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jalen Rivers. “This will be an important step in the right direction and it’s a step in the right direction leading into next year as well, so we can showcase what we have and what we put on film right now so we can have a better opportunity, a better confidence going into next year.”

Added linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, “Every game is important. This bowl game is just as important as any game in the season. We want to go out with a bang. That’s the plan. That’s the goal. … We’re always motivated and reaching for a W. We have no other option but to win. That’s how we are attacking this bowl game.”

Miami ended the regular season on a positive note, snapping a three-game losing streak with a convincing 45-20 win over Boston College in November that put the Hurricanes two games above .500 heading into the postseason.

But the team that takes the field at Yankee Stadium on Thursday will look different than the one that beat Boston College, with several of Miami’s veteran playmakers including safeties Kam Kinchens and James Williams and offensive linemen Javion Cohen and Matt Lee announcing their intentions to bypass the bowl game to start preparing for the NFL Draft.

Roster departures like those mean Thursday’s game will be an opportunity for some of Miami’s younger players to step up and compete, including quarterback Jacurri Brown, who will make his season debut under center.

Brown has served as one of the Hurricanes’ reserve quarterbacks behind former Miami signal caller Tyler Van Dyke, who left the program after the end of the regular season and Emory Williams, who was lost for the year after getting hurt against Florida State.

But the sophomore quarterback is no newcomer to college football.

Last season, Brown appeared in eight games and made two starts. In his first start, he led the Hurricanes to a 35-14 win over Georgia Tech, completing 14-of-19 passes and throwing for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

Canespace Prediction: Miami 27 - Rutgers 20.

We Will Never Lose Another Game

At least according to this. So we will see what we see, when we see it.

2024 Miami Hurricane Signees

NAME	POSITION	HOMETOWN	HIGH SCHOOL / PREVIOUS
Judd Anderson	Quarterback	Warner Robins, Ga.	Warner Robins
Zaquan Patterson	Defensive Back	Miramar, Fla.	Chaminade Madonna
Juan Minaya	Offensive Line	Newark, N.J.	Paramus Catholic
Elias Rudolph	Defensive Line	Cincinnati, Ohio	Taft
Ryan Mack	Defensive Back	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	St. Thomas Aquinas
Chris Wheatley-Humphrey	Running Back	Dania Beach, Fla.	South Broward
Daylen Russel	Defensive Line	Miami, Fla.	Christopher Columbus
Nino Francavilla	Offensive Line	Ontario, Canada	Cheshire Academy (CT)
Isaiah Thomas	Defensive Back	Ontario, Canada	Clearwater Academy International (FL)
Jordan Lyle	Running Back	Sunrise, Fla.	St. Thomas Aquinas
Chance Robinson	Wide Receiver	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	St. Thomas Aquinas
Ny Carr	Wide Receiver	Moultrie, Ga.	Colquitt County
Romanas "OJ" Frederique	Defensive Back	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	St. Thomas Aquinas
Markel Bell	Offensive Line	Cleveland, Miss.	Holmes Community College
Cameron Pruitt	Linebacker	Theodore, Ala.	Theodore
Justin Scott	Defensive Line	Chicago, Ill.	St. Ignatius
Booker Pickett	Defensive Line	Tampa, Fla.	Wharton
Cole McConathy	Defensive Line	Spanish Fort, Ala.	Spanish Fort
Abram Murray	Kicker	Shreveport, La.	C.E. Byrd
Dylan Day	Defensive Back	Baton Rouge, La.	Southern University LAB
Artavius Jones	Defensive Line	Blountstown, Fla.	Blountstown
Marquise Lightfoot	Defensive Line	Chicago, Ill.	Kenwood Academy
Elija Lofton	Tight End	Las Vegas, Nev.	Bishop Gorman

NativeCane Knows His History

From time to time we have been known to feature a few of our long time Canespacers here on the blog. We like to recognize our contributors.

The ever popular SolarCane had his Day. CanesGirlNC (CGNC) wore the infamous green dress that set the blog on fire. Esteban had a weekly video feature here at one time and OrangeandGreenInTheVein (OGV) has contributed weekly articles (Short Road To South Beach) and had his time in the spotlight too.

More recently Terrance (seen below), our resident Ladies Man, had his 15 minutes of fame. Then KYCane (Rob) was featured here on the blog when we attended the Hurricane home game at Hard Rock. Wally (seen below) and Old Skool (seen below) are also some of our long time friends and contributors.

Today we feature longtime Canespacer NativeCane (Wally). He is such an interesting character with such a long and amazing history and record of acheivement that it is hard to know where to start or where this article will end. But we will give it our best effort all while trying to go to far astray.

The more you know or learn about Wally the more you realize that his NativeCanes blog name is very appropriate and perfectly fitting. You see of all the people I know, NativeCane knows his family history in Central Florida much better than anybody else.

You see, my friend Wally's family tree dates back as far as the late 1800s in Central Florida area around the small rural towns of Lithia, Durant and Keysville in West Central Florida east of Tampa. He is a original native Floridian.

NativeCane still lives here and calls the Alafia River corridor his stomping grands. Last week on my way back from Tampa, I got slightly turned around and found myself at Alderman's Ford Canoe Launch where I stopped for photos. I posted these photos to Facebook and got an immediately got a response from Wally saying "You gotta call me bro, I live five minutes from there!".

So to avoid any serious retribution, I quickly set up an lunch meeting today at The White Oak Cottage and Bistro in Lithia. The restaurant is best described as a Southern gourmet bistro using locally sourced ingredients, time tested recipes with a down home atmoshpere that welcomes you in like family.

You are greeted by a warm Southern accent, a genuine smile and a freindly family style seating arrangement. The menu is wide ranging and full of "something for everyone" dishes of Southern style food with a slightly current twist. It is all good so you can't go wrong.

But enough about that, let's talk about Wally's street cred as a Canespacer and Miami Hurricanes Fans. NativeCane has been around the blog for about as long as I can remember. He is a hard core Canes fan living in Gator Country.

But more importanly than that, he has frequently attended many UM games with us Canespacers at multiple locations over many years. We have conquered FSU in Tallahassee on more than one occaision, USF in Tampa on another and several home games at Sun Life, I mean Hard Rock Stadium, over the years.

While in Tallahasse, Wally walked with Canes Freak to the Stadium straight down Fraternity Row as his body guard. Some people said you couldn' tell who was who but we did. Safety was first and the goal was achieved.

Then when we entered Doak Campbell Stadium, NativeCane decided to simply conquer the crowd and collect a whole gaggle of FSU cheerleaders as his own. But who was going to deny him, right? His goal was achieved once again.

One of the best memories that I have of NativeCane is when on our way back from an FSU game in Trailernasty we shared a cabin with our significant others at Suwannee River State Park. As usual Wally brought his guitar and we lit a large campfire. He played a song by Marshall Tucker Band titled "Can't You See".

We called it the interview version of the song because as Wally played and sang I "interviewed" him about the upcoming lyrics. The women were literally laughing out loud at our rendition of this classic song. It was good times.

So here's to my good friend Wally, an old style Southern gentleman, a very rare breed these days. He is a simple man who believes in his Faith and Family.

He is a man who praises God, loves his Country, will eat a big 'ol bowl of grits and grow his own greens.

And he is a man that I am proud to call my friend.

Canes Get A Bite Of The Big Apple

The University of Miami football program announced Sunday that it has accepted a bid to the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl and will take on Rutgers at Yankee Stadium in New York on Thurs., Dec. 28.

The game will be aired live at 2:15 p.m. ET on ESPN, 560 WQAM and americaradio 1260AM.

“We are excited to accept a bid to the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl in venerable Yankee Stadium,” Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “Visiting New York to play in a bowl game at such an historic venue is a great reward and a memorable opportunity for both our student-athletes and our fans.”

Miami’s appearance in the 2023 Pinstripe Bowl marks the 45th time in school history the Hurricanes have competed in a bowl game. Miami owns a 20-24 overall record in 44 previous bowl games.

Miami’s matchup with Rutgers (6-6, 3-6 B1G) is the first meeting between the two programs since 2003 – a 34-10 win for the Hurricanes. Miami leads the all-time series, 11-0.

The Hurricanes (7-5, 3-5 ACC) are making their third overall bowl appearance in New York. Miami fell in the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl to Wisconsin and also competed in the 1962 Gotham Bowl in the original Yankee Stadium, losing to Nebraska, 36-34.

For more information on the 2023 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, visit https://www.mlb.com/yankees/pinstripe-bowl.