'The Beast' interviews Damien Berry...

'The Beast' caught up with senior running back Damien Berry after practice on Friday. Check out the audio interview:

No. 4 Duke 77, Miami 74

Kudos to the Canes, who gave it a hell of a run in the ACC tourney.

Wins over Wake Forest and Virginia Tech set the stage for a Saturday semifinal match up with top-seeded Duke. Miami gave it a run, fought back from large deficits and gave the Blue Devils all they could handle.

In the end the team that was supposed to win did, but the Canes proved they were better than their 4-12 conference record this season.

Next up a NIT bid and hopefully a few more wins. Congrats on a great run in Greensboro.

Canes Basketball breaking hearts at ACC tourney...

Don't look now, but the Miami Hurricanes have awoken from their ACC slumber and as a 12th seed have found themselves in a Saturday showdown with top-ranked Duke.

The Canes upset fifth-seed Wake Forest on Thursday, delivered a colossal 83-62 beat down and followed it up with a narrow win over fourth-seed Virginia Tech on Friday, 70-65. Next up, a 1:30pm ET match up with the Blue Devils.

Miami actually held a 37-25 halftime lead against Duke on February 17th, but faded down the stretch when the Devils' defense clamped down.

From 4-12 in conference during the regular season to 2-0 and in the ACC's "final four" in the post-season. Kudos to the Canes for showing some fight as the season comes to a close. Most likely NIT-bound, at least they've made the past two days exciting.

Latwan Anderson signs with Miami...

Is it too late to ask for a recount regarding 2010 signing day class rankings?

The Miami Hurricanes got a late gift this Wednesday morning when Latwan Anderson, one of the nation's top prospects finally made it official and signed with The U.

The 15th-ranked overall prospect and Ohio product lists Ohio State as his favorite program, but it came down to Miami and West Virginia this morning. Anderson originally committed to the Mountaineers but never signed a letter of intent.

A big reason Anderson went with the Canes was a desire to run track. He placed second in Ohio last year in the 200-meter dash and will take a track scholarship, but will also play football for UM. He will technically 'walk on' to the Miami football team, but could still make an immediate impact as a true freshman.

Miami signed 29 new players last month, but will gladly make room for Anderson on the defensive side of the ball. What was originally thought to be a top fifteen class just got a shot in the arm with the addition of Anderson and could still receive another in the coming weeks.

Top-ranked offensive line prospect Seantrel Henderson verballed to Southern Cal but also hasn't signed his letter of intent. Henderson's final visit before signing day was a trek to Coral Gables over Pro Bowl weekend. Henderson and his family loved UM but went with USC, his long-time front runner.

With sanctions looming in Los Angeles, there's a legit chance Henderson chooses The U when all is said and done. Maybe even more so now with the addition of fellow Midwestern stand out Anderson now on board.

Welcome to The U, Latwan.

ACC crown or Shannon gets the boot?

I've been reading some of the comments on the blog here, as well as some other message boards and sites with Canes-themed articles.

The general consensus regarding a successful season? Randy Shannon and his Hurricanes not just getting to the ACC title game, but winning it and reaching a BCS games.

As a long-time Cane, I can appreciate the high expectations, but the 'all or nothing' mentality is bogus.

Miami went 9-4 in 2009 and even a 10-2 regular season wouldn't have gotten the Canes to Tampa for the conference title games. Georgia Tech lost one ACC game last season - to Miami - and with losses to Virginia Tech and Clemson, the Canes were technically out of the conference race by late October.

For all the knocks against the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Coastal Division proved competitive last year, with little margin for error. Should that again be the case in 2010, how can a fanbase run a coach out of town should he improve the program four a third straight season, should he not deliver a conference crown?

In 2008, Virginia Tech made the ACC title game with a 8-4 record (5-3 in conference). There was more margin for error that season, but Shannon's Canes went 7-6 (4-4 in conference), beating the Hokies in mid-November. A year prior, Miami stumbled to 2-6 in conference (5-7 overall) while Virginia Tech rolled to a 7-1 conference record and ACC championship.

The last two seasons UM knocked off the eventual ACC champ, but stumbled along the way and was out of the race by late November. Little solace at the end of the day, but a step in the right direction.

Even more puzzling than the 'win or go home' mentality, where does this sense of entitlement come from regarding just piling up ACC titles left and right?

In their hey day, Florida State racked up eleven ACC titles in thirteen seasons (1992-2003). Over the past six seasons, one title - after a 7-4 regular season and upset of Virginia Tech in the inaugural ACC Championship game.

If the once conference dominant Seminoles have lost ground in the ACC, why is it so hard to accept the fact the Hurricanes don't have the right to simply "expect" conference titles?

- Georgia Tech won the ACC in 2009, their first conference title since 1998.

- For all the recruiting hype and high preseason rankings over the years, Clemson hasn't won the ACC since 1991.

- Wake Forest surprised with a conference championship in 2006 - their second in school history and first since 1970.

- Virginia split the 1995 title with Florida State, their first since 1989 and second overall.

- North Carolina hasn't won the ACC since 1980, even with all the recent Butch Davis hype. NC State hasn't won since 1979.

- Maryland won it in 2001, their first since 1985. Duke took home the 1989 crown, their first since 1962.

- Virginia Tech is the surprise, bringing home three ACC championships since joining the conference in 2004. Many expected Miami to have the impact Tech has, but as fate would have it the Canes joined their new conference just as the then Coker-led program was beginning to backslide.

Winning the ACC should be Miami's goal at the beginning of every season. Absolutely. You have to win your conference before you can start thinking about national championships. Year four of the Shannon Era, getting to the ACC title game is a plausible goal. The talent is returning, the conference schedule is favorable (Florida State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina at home) and the ACC has proven it's fair game the past few seasons.

That being said, it's not how you measure the progress of a Shannon-led team.

Miami was run off the field by several squads in 2007, Randy's first season. 51-13 at Oklahoma. The 48-0 beatdown by Virginia in the Orange Bowl finale. Railroaded 44-14 at Virginia Tech a week later. Embarrassing losses where the Canes were outcoached, outtalented, outmotivated and were never in the game.

A year later, no real signature win but the Canes showed more grit, starting with a dogfight at No. 3 Florida which lasted three quarters before UM was taken down. A defensive collapse and stagnant offense did Miami in weeks later in a heartbreaker against North Carolina. A slow start against Florida State was the difference in a 41-39 loss. The Canes strung together five straight wins, with a shot at the ACC, but got worked at Georgia Tech and lost the following week at NC State.

Year three wrapped up 9-4 and many were miffed with the bowl loss to Wisconsin, forgetting about the progress made in 2009. A strong start at Florida State was impressive, no matter where the Noles ended the season. Ten days later a thorough thumping of Georgia Tech. Early October a win over No. 8 Oklahoma, a week after losing at Virginia Tech.

The Canes proved they could bounce back in '09. Lesser teams would've folded after the loss in Blacksburg. Miami circled the wagons and went toe-to-toe with a good, albeit injured, Sooner team.

Turnovers did Miami in against Clemson and North Carolina. You're not going to win football games with seven interceptions and three pick sixes over eight quarters. Still, the Canes closed strong with November wins over Virginia, Duke and South Florida. 3-1 down the stretch was improvement over a 2-2 final month run in '08 and 0-4 skid in '07.

Entering the 2010 season, logic needs to prevail... which is proving difficult as the Canes' skid is running over half a decade now. The natives are restless - and understandably so. Still, it's not the 1980s and this entitled mindset or cliche sayings ("we only play for national championships at Miami", etc.) - it has to go.

Fans need to accept this program for what it is and it's time you take note of the current landscape in college football - a game with much more parity now than ever. How else do you explain the success of a Boise State, TCU, Utah, Cincinnati or another flavor of the year? Smaller schools have become more competitive and money plays a huge factor.

While other programs continue to upgrade facilities, overpay coaches and put their focus on creating another football factory, the University of Miami - a private institution - continues to have to negotiate a different terrain en route to achieving success.

"UM has long struggled to pay coaches because of limited resources," said the Sun Sentinel's Shandel Richardson. Miami's top brass says they support Shannon, but still haven't broken open the checkbook. Virginia's new coach Mike London will reel in $1.7M this coming season and first-year Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher will earn $1.8M.

There's a ton of talk surrounding Shannon's 21-7 record - 9-4 in his last thirteen games after going 12-13 years one and two. Whatever the record, it's still better than 0-0, which is where London and Fisher are combined, yet making more than Shannon. Same to be said for Derek Dooley, the new Tennessee leader who will earn upwards of $2M this coming season. Not only are all three higher paid with less experience, but they're all believed to be making more than Shannon has even been offered.

Shannon has three years on the job and has improved his record annually. His first two recruiting hauls were impressive, but some have knocked the under-the-radar types that were brought on board year four. Some feel the lack of a contract hurt recruiting efforts down the stretch.

“A lot of times kids will say it’s coaching stability,” Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg said. “I could see how it could become an issue.”

Kirby Hocutt and Donna Shalala, pay the man already as the lack of a signed contract is going to inevitably hurt the program. Don't ink a Paul Dee-like extension akin to the one Coker received prior to the 2005 season, but do something to send a message to recruits that you believe in your guy. You can't talk out of both sides of your mouth, verbally supporting Shannon in the media, but being sticklers behind closed doors.

Those of you anti-Randy, what are your thoughts on the contract? Furthermore, defend your "ACC crown or bust" stance should Miami improve to a 10-2 regular season, yet possibly getting snubbed from a shot at a conference title.

Lastly, for those of you ready to run Randy off, enlighten us with your plausible game plan. Who is your replacement? What should he be paid? Why will he be a better fit and how long should it take him to turn it around? Some of you balk at a five-year rebuild for a head coach who inherited a dog of a team. What's your take on a timetable for Shannon's replacement?

The Beast's Random Spring Football Thoughts...

I've been out to spring practice a few times the past few weeks. So far I've learned that Miami has very loose hamstrings and can run sprints as well as any team in the country.

In other words, I've seen as much football as a Norwegian salmon farmer.

Although it's possible there are some diehard Jan Stenerud fans over there, what does this mean? It means I don't find it particularly beneficial to lie and give you my list of who's hot and who's not and I don't see how anyone else in the media can either.

Sure, I can talk to players and coaches and get their thoughts - and I have - but I'm one of those crazy media types that likes to see the goods for myself, which can be pretty tough around these parts.

A side note, as much as I respect this university and love Randy Shannon, I'll never understand the paranoia that forces coaches to act like spring ball is some sort of nuclear sub exercise in the Pacific. I have no problem with a Thursday practice before FSU being shut down, but to close it all down in March, seems a bit excessive. That's just the humble opinion of this media member.

Saturday brought us the first full scrimmage of the spring. (Stats are below.) Pay no attention to any of it. What the stats don't tell is that the receivers had a gazillion drops.

"The guys we're depending on at receiver had too many drops and the tight end position had too many drops. Just as a total offense, we had too many dropped passes." That was according to the head coach.

Another Shannon sentiment; the defense didn't get their job done.

"We had too many missed tackles. We had opportunities to make tackles. Yeah, we've got running backs that can make people miss, but we have defensive players that should make those tackles. I'm very disappointed by the way we tackled. I thought we chased the football hard on defense, but that's the first scrimmage. You're going to miss tackles. We have a long ways to go," said Shannon.

Ask me if I'm worried about either of these things. C'mon, I dare you.

It's spring and I really have a hard time making any kind of correlation between what goes on in March and what goes on in September. Think of spring ball like the first exhibition game in the NFL. I remember Brandon London looking like Andre Johnson at Fins training camp last season. By the end of the first week in September he was looking for a job.

Don't get caught up in what goes on now. Am I excited about what I'm hearing about Lamar Miller, Storm Johnson and Damien Berry? Yes. Am I going to pencil in any of their names on the Heisman Trophy yet? Of course not.

Because we are such diehard fans, we tend to look at every moment of Hurricanes' football as if it were the National Championship game. Sometimes you have to take a step back and say, "we talking bout practice."

Just some other things in no particular order:

- I'm almost glad Jacory Harris is hurt and can't throw this spring. There's nothing more scary than an unused, unprepared backup quarterback coming into a game. The fact that A.J. Highsmith, Stephen Morris, and Spencer Whipple are taking all of the snaps is a good thing. They are getting more reps now with the first team than they will ever get when Jacory is healthy.

- If you're already thinking about how Randy is going to find enough playing time for the running backs, don't. Running back is the number one position when it comes to getting "nicked." It will take care of itself.

- Who plays what linebacker position in March is not important. I am going to bet that Kylan Robinson is not the starter when we get to opening day. Don't fret.

- I really like the two coaching hires. Rick Petri is old school and I want my line coaches old school. He's rugged, brash and he's been here before. He's gonna be great for our boys up front. Don't be surprised if our d-line starts drinking that raw egg shake that Rocky was drinking before he went for his run.

As for Mike Cassano. That's my boy. Being that I grew up in Beantown, I'm partial to the guy that's from the streets of Andover. Plus there are too many Yankee fans on the staff, so to have a fellow member of Red Sox nation in the house makes me feel better about the fall. In all seriousness, I've seen Mike coach for a while, here and at FIU. He's great and now is the time that we need a great running backs coach, with all the talent present at that position.

Here's a tidbit; on a college staff, many times the running backs coach is the weakest link. He might be a recruiter or he might be a guy that's just learning the ropes. Hell, he might be a guy that the head coach lost a poker game to. On a lot of staffs, the running backs coach is like the Ambassador to Barbados. Most of the time you're just making sure your tan is good. This is not the case with Cassano. This guy can flat out coach. He can motivate, he can recruit and he knows the mind of Whipple from their time at UMass. Just a 'wicked awesome' hire, in my opinion.

- Finally, can we get the head coach a contract please? Who knows if the numbers that are being reported ($2,000,000) are accurate? I don't, but, I do know this - the salaries of coaches are going up by the day.

Is Randy going to take a home court discount? Most likely in the end, but if market value for a head coach of a decent D-1 program is $2M, then pay the man his money. Randy has done more than enough to warrant the going rate.

Remember how you felt when we lost to Virgina in the last game at the Orange Bowl? That's not going to happen again under Randy. This program has improved. The kids are staying out of trouble. They are graduating. He is accomplishing what MOST other Division 1 coaches can't . At some point we, the diehards, have to put some pressure on the university to get him signed.

I don't think Randy is asking for some ridiculous amount of money. He's not going to do that to his alma mater. Give the man most, if not all, of what he wants and let's get on with the football. Word out of the Hecht is that there is a likelihood of LOSING recruits because Shannon doesn't have a deal. It's all fun and games until you start losing recruits. Sign the man... NOW.

Canes305 set up thebeast@allCanes.com so you guys can get a hold of me. I'm going to interview players and coaches this spring/fall and welcome your suggestions or questions.

I hope to see most of you at the OPEN practice On Thursday night at Lockhart. As promised, here are the stats from Saturday's scrimmage:


Rushing
Lamar Miller - 9 carries, 32 yards, 2 TD
Damien Berry - 8 carries, 48 yards
Mike James - 6 carries, 46 yards
Storm Johnson - 6 carries, 34 yards
Pat Hill - 2 carries, 13 yards

Passing
A.J. Highsmith - 9-for-18 95 yards, 3TDs
Spencer Whipple - 2-for-10 60 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Stephen Morris - 6-for-11 63 yards

Receiving
Travis Benjamin - 4 catches, 49 yards, TD
Thearon Collier - 3 catches, 19, TD
Leonard Hankerson - 2 catches, 50 yards, TD
Kendal Thompkins - 2 catches, 32 yards
LaRon Byrd - 2 catches, 30 yards, TD

Kicking
Jake Wieclaw - 3-for-3 field goals (32 yards, 25 yards, 22 yards)

Scoring
Highsmith - 5-yard TD pass to Hankerson
Miller - 9-yard TD run
Highsmith - 17-yard TD pass to LaRon Byrd
Whipple - 15-yard pass to Travis Benjamin
Highsmith - 14-yard TD pass to Thearon Collier
Miller - 3-yard TD run

Defense
Colin McCarthy- 5 tackles, fumble recovery
Vaughn Telemaque - 5 tackles
Shayon Green - 4 tackles
Steven Wesley - 3 tackles, 2 sacks
Ray Ray Armstrong - 3 tackles, 1 INT
DeMarcus Van Dyke - 3 tackles, 4 pass breakups


Brian "The Beast" London is one of the foremost insiders on all things Miami Hurricanes. He was on the Canes broadcast crew for more than a decade. He hosts a daily online radio show on SoFloRadio.com.

Hurricanes v. Gators all weekend at A-Rod Park

A full-on jorts alert this weekend in Coral Gables as the Gators are invading. No. 5 Florida is headed to A Rod Park for a three-game series with No. 10 Miami.

GAME 8: FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 7 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI - LHP Chris Hernandez vs. FLORIDA - LHP Alex Panteliodis
RADIO: 560 WQAM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES, 90.5 WVUM

GAME 9: SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 7 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI - RHP Jason Santana vs. FLORIDA - LHP Brian Johnson
RADIO: 90.5 WVUM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES

GAME 10: SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 3 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MIAMI - LHP Eric Erickson vs. FLORIDA - RHP Tommy Toledo
RADIO: 560 WQAM, 90.5 WVUM, 1450 ESPN DEPORTES TV: SUN SPORTS

The Canes are averaging eleven runs per game through seven contests this year and heads into the weekend with a 6-1 record. The Gators roll in 5-1.

Miami is relatively untested, having swept Rutgers, winning two of three against Manhattan and taking the one-game series against South Florida. Florida's lone loss came against No. 3 Florida State, while its five wins came against South Florida, Central Florida and Siena. Rankings aside, this is anyones series.

Head on out there to support your Canes this weekend!