Hard to complain...

Miami Basketball wraps up the 2007-2008 season with a 23-11 record after Sunday's loss to No. 2 seed Texas. As the title above says, it's hard to complain when the Canes finally found their way back to the Big Dance, won their first game and battled back so valiantly in round two.

Down 11-points at the half, Miami outscored Texas 40-32 in the second half and battled back from a 17-point deficit to pull within three, losing 75-72.

There are no moral victories in the world of sports. That's just a cute little term people throw out there to give the loser some solace after a hard-fought battle. That said, if there were moral victories, Miami earned one on Easter Sunday.

The Canes were outmatched by the Longhorns, but never quit. A late barrage of unlikely three-pointers by Raymond Hicks in the final minutes, as well as Lance Hurdle getting it done at the free throw line. Jack McClinton was an ace behind the stripe as well and hit a few big threes of his own. Miami chipped away at the stone and simply ran out of time. Another few possessions and the Canes are in the Sweet Sixteen.

A stellar effort from coach Frank Haith and this team. A very successful year for Miami Basketball and sky is definitely the limit for 2008-2009. This team will be that much better and that much more exciting.

Check back later this week for a season recap from Kartik Krishnaiyer.

Kudos to coach Jim Morris and Miami Baseball, which continues rolling through the ACC, as well as beating up on non-conference talent. The Canes are now 18-2 and ranked #2 in the nation. Miami took the weekend series with Wake Forest, including a 23-2 drubbing. Miami was up 9-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning of Sunday's make up game, but it was called due to weather and won't be made up.

Miami worked Bethune-Cookman, 10-5 last night and will wrap up the two-game series at Mark Light Stadium this evening. Up this weekend, a road trip to Duke and next week, some local rivalries when Florida Atlantic rolls to The Light and then a 'road trip' to FIU the following day.

A great streak for Miami Baseball. Let's hope the pitching remains strong and the bats stay hot as the ACC schedule gets tougher in April with road trips to Georgia Tech and Florida State, while Clemson and Virginia both head to Coral Gables.

On the football front, Randy Shannon and his squad are continuing with the rebuilding process. I've said it a few times, but I'll reiterate it again - it's great to see all these new names on the roster and hear about the young influx of talent having an immediate impact. It feels like it's been forever and a day since the Canes were significant and things finally feel like they're headed back down the right path.

Other Canes Football tidbits...

With one last week of spring practice left on the books, a final scrimmage will be held this Saturday at Lockhart Stadium at 10am, with an autograph session taking place beforehand. The session is slated to kick off at 9:15am, so get there early as long lines will interfere with a short signing session.

Glenn Cook will give up his 'assistant coach' duties as his sixth year of eligibility was approved, according to Shannon. Cook donned headsets last season and was seen in huddles, helping with some play calling and assisting his teammates as sort of a player/coach.

Cook will have a lot more competition at the linebacker position in 2008 than he saw in 2007 from the sidelines, but his experience is a plus as most of Miami's talent are underclassmen with little to no game experience.

Freshman quarterback Jacory Harris is supposedly up to 175 pounds, though he still looks like he's blow away if a stiff wind arose.

Special teams coach Joe Pannunzio has a new tight end on his roster for 2008. Former WR Daniel Adderley and his 6' 6" frame will line up at TE this season and compete for a starting job with Dedrick Epps and Chris Zellner now that DajLeon Farr has left the program.

If Adderley was buried on last year's depth chart at wide out, things looked that much scarier entering 2008 as upwards of seven receivers were signed a few weeks back. Aldarius Johnson is already earning rave reviews and much is expected out of the 6'4" Tommy Streeter as well. For Adderley to get on the field, this seemed a logical move - as discussed by fans for months now.

McClinton's career-high guides Canes in first round...

Down five at the half, No. 7 Miami rallied behind the heart of Jack McClinton and pulled out a 14-point victory over No. 10 seed St. Mary's, 78-64.

Miami trailed St. Mary's 32-27 at the half. Over the next 20 minutes, McClinton and the entire St. Mary's squad were each good for 32 points.

For those who wondered which Canes team would show up in the post-season, that question has been answered. Miami came to play and looks like they're getting hot at the right time. Next up, an Easter Sunday showdown with No. 2 Texas.

For those who haven't heard by now, Miami head coach Frank Haith was an assistant under Texas head coach Rick Barnes. The two are best friends and neither looks forward to the match up, for the sake of taking the other out of the tourney.

For Miami to pull the upset, the Canes will need more than a heavy dose of McClinton. Other role players need to step up. Pulling down rebounds and winning the battle from the free throw line are equally as important. Miami is one of the ACC's best from the stripe and that needs to continue if the Canes want to advance. Conversely, Texas' Damion Jones struggles from the line, which is a weakness of the Longhorns.

Another interesting subplot - the Haith vs. Barnes coaching battle. Can the pupil best the teacher? How much did Haith learn from Barnes? How much does he remember regarding Texas' philosophies and tendencies? When you look at this match up it definitely puts the pressure on the Longhorns. The Canes truly have nothing to lose.

Sunday's tip off is 2:15pm EDT on CBS. Tune in to see if the Canes can shock the Horns and shake up a few more brackets. 

Miami Basketball: NCAA Tourney Preview...

By Kartik Krishnaiyer for allCanesBlog.com

On Friday, Miami returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002. Those Canes were supremely talented, but were unprepared for the tournament and fell off the national map the next season with an 11-17 record thanks largely to head coach Perry Clark's ineptitude. This year's Canes arguably have only one player that would've started on that team, but are on the upswing - and unlike the 2002 team - have a coach who has a sense of how to do things correctly.

St Mary's is the opponent Friday in Little Rock. Like most No. 7 v. No. 10 match ups in the NCAA's first round, this is an even game with perhaps even a slight edge to Gaels. St Mary's has an athletic, quick team and shoots the 3-pointer very well. That means Miami's perimeter defense must play better than it has for much of this season.

Here are some other key's to Friday's first round game:

Consistent Point Guard Play: In my mind, the Canes would be nowhere near the NCAAs if Lance Hurdle had not emerged as a go-to point guard late in the season. At the midway point in the ACC campaign I was unsure if Miami was even worthy of an NIT bid as they looked so slow and dysfunctional on offense. Furthermore, their 2-3 match up zone defense had been exposed.

Hurdle's emergence in the stretch of games that began in Blacksburg and culminated in a resounding win at home over Maryland. It changed the Hurricanes season and the way they moved the ball on offense. Since those games, Hurdle has been inconsistent. He was terrible at Clemson, @ FSU, and non-existent Friday against Virginia Tech.

He came to play against Virginia, Boston College and in the ACC tourney against N.C.State. When Hurdle is on, the Hurricanes have won seven straight. When he's been off, they haven't won since January.

Hurdle was 'on' against Duke, so Miami slayed a the giant. He was off against FSU - twice - giving the Noles a sweep of their biggest league rival. Against St Mary's he must push the tempo and also play lockdown D on Patrick Mills, the Gaels best player and one of the best freshmen in the nation.

Mills stars for the Australian national team and is the type of point guard than reminds me of Raymond Felton and Tauren Green - the last two national championship point guards. He's comfortable going to his right or left off the dribble and is a lights out shooter. Focusing on Mills often times means that other St Mary's players get open looks.

Collins must post up and be aggressive on the boards: Dwayne Collins poor play the last four games has been mystifying. After dominating in the paint the whole month of February, March has shown Collins to be a step slower and even worse, a step lazier. Too many off the ball fouls and an unwillingness to go strong at his man to the basket. Collins also has failed to set a single effective pick the last three games.

Simply put, I fear the big man has run out of gas. Omar Samhan the Gaels best big man is tough to defend in the paint, but he's certainly not as strong as some of the post players Collins has matched up with in the ACC.

Asbury Must Show Up: Brian Asbury is a swing man who is difficult to guard when his head is in the game. Asbury can blow by defenders on the dribble and also hit outside jumpers. He is also the only decent man to man perimeter defender on the team and thus Frank Haith has had to resort to play almost purely zone this season. But Asbury often times doesn't show up. He was benched midway through the season and on regular occasions simply takes the day off.

We saw how mentally fragile Asbury was as a freshman when the Canes were looking for any sort of bench scoring to make an NCAA push. As a sophomore he was the best player on a bad team. As a junior he has been a non-factor more often than not on a likely tournament team. Asbury's career he's been frustrating and ineffective when Miami needed him most - yet great when the games haven't mattered. This game matters and Asbury must step up.

However Friday plays out, Miami Basketball is back where it feels it belongs after years of putting in the heavy lifting and building a program. Whether Miami wins or loses against St. Mary's, it feels oh-so-good to be dancing yet again.

Like 1998, when Leonard Hamilton used a one-and-done Tournament effort to build a winning culture which sustained the Canes for several more years, 2008 should set up the next several seasons of Miami Basketball.

Coming off that Tournament appearance in 1998, Hamilton was able to sign a top national prospect: John Salmons of Philadelphia. Salmons subsequently became the leader of the 2000 Canes Big East Champion team and is the best former Cane in the NBA since Rick Barry.

This year Haith has already landed top recruit DeQuan Jones from the Atlanta area. He's the swingman in a Corey Brewer mold that the Canes hoped Asbury would be.

Thanks to this year's run, look for more good signings in the next few years. Some of the best in the nation, headed south. The modern, soon-to-be expanded arena and soon-to-be-completed state of the art practice facility will give Miami Basketball and advantage Miami Football never had.

And lest not forget, membership in the best basketball conference in the land and the first NCAA appearance in five seasons.

It's a great time to get behind Miami Basketball.

March Madness shirt in stock for U...

Click here for the official Canes March Madness tee - as sported by the team as they watched Selection Sunday! $18.99 and in store first thing Monday morning!

Canes earns #7 seed; facing St. Mary's on Friday...

The Canes are in. Even better, The U is a #7 seed instead of the predicted #10 we've heard all week. Miami will take on #10 seed St. Mary's on Friday in the South (Houston) bracket in Little Rock, AR.

A win and Miami will most likely face #2 seed Texas in the second round.

The South bracket is no cake walk. The Sweet Sixteen would pit Miami against the Stanford/Marquette winner and from there, the winner of the Memphis/Pittsburgh.

Hard to tell how much gas the Canes have in the tank after going 2-2 down the stretch. Which Miami shows up in Little Rock this week? The hungry bunch with something to prove earlier this season or the team who had a mid-season skid?

We'll see. Either way, Miami is in as a #7 seed and allCanes will have March Madness shirts in store first thing Monday!

Go Canes!

Putting the "U" in U-G-L-Y...

No possible way to put lipstick on this pig. This one was ugly top to bottom. Miami was never in control and Virginia Tech had the Canes playing catch up almost the entire game.

In the end, the Hokies trounced the Canes, 63-49 in a fashion few expected. Seeing the highlights of North Carolina's 82-70 win over Florida Sate - and hearing the commentators talk about how 'evenly matched' Miami and Virginia Tech were - like most, I expected a close one. In the end, the Canes lost by 14 and the Noles proved a better match for the Heels than The U did for VT.

Pretty pathetic with so much on the line.

Truth be told, Miami didn't even look that hot yesterday in a 13-point beatdown of the N.C. State. The Canes were sloppy, but a solid effort from the free throw line proved the difference maker.

Today, nothing went right.

Jack McClinton led all Cane scorers with 16-points, going a paltry 4-of-17 in field goals and 3-of-11 from behind the arc. 5-of-5 from the line helped, but McClinton needed a Superman-esque performance and all the superheroes were on the other team.

A.D. Vassallo killed Miami. 7-of-14 in field goals made and 1-of-5 from behind the arc, but all his points seemed to come at crucial times when the Canes needed a stop or to snatch back momentum. Vassallo had 15 points, as did Malcolm Delaney.

Deron Washington wasn't far behind with 14 of his own - including a few in-your-face dunks to drive it home that the Canes are headed back to Coral Gables instead of advancing to the next round.

Equally as detrimental to the Canes was the lack of production from everyone not named McClinton. Anthony King got his nine points and three rebounds, but for the most part the Canes were going through the motions and never woke up. Look no further than Lance Hurdle and Dwayne Collins combining for an 0-for-13 performance, zero points and a handful of rebound. Hurdle has looked like a Jr. McClinton at times, but was nowhere to be found today.

The commentators talked about Tech 'wanting it' more than the Canes. I guess so. You'd think that at this level and with one tourney victory under their belts entering today, Miami would simply show up and not go through the motions. The Hokies want in the NCAA tourney - but the Canes were jockeying for position.

An NCAA berth seems like a lock, but nothing is guaranteed. Especially if some of these mid-majors keep pulling upsets. Hell, same could be said if a Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech finds a way to take out powers like Duke or North Carolina.

Miami is said to be a 10-seed right now and a win today would've helped their cause even more. Very frustrating to see the Canes bow out - not only to a hated rival, but to a team they beat on the road earlier this season. Everything is on the table right now and the Hokies proved they were the money team today. The Canes seems to be fading down the stretch.

Has this team overachieved? I there anything left in the tank? I don't know. The bleeding hearts will defend these Canes to the death, but from what I saw the past two games this looks like a team simply happy to have gotten to the Big Dance - even though it's not even written in stone yet.

Frank Haith needs to regroup - if that's even possible. Impossible not to be proud of this team and what's been accomplished this year, but Miami looks like a team that started hot and faded as the season went on. 8-8 in conference during the regular season isn't anything to write home about. Nice, but hardly stellar.

Conversely, watching Virgina Tech and hearing how Seth Greenberg rallied the troops, turned things around and even came up with a cheesy contract for the players to sign mid-season - it showed the difference between a team ready to make a run and a team that might've reached their finish line.

Miami is now 3-3 in their last six games and sputtered down the stretch even in games they won - almost blowing a 10-point lead in under two minutes at Virginia. The win against Boston College was huge and the team showed some grit that night, but a few days later fell to a sub par Florida State team that didn't make the NCAAs.

A lethargic win yesterday and a lopsided loss today don't help Miami's cause.

On the other hand, Virginia Tech is following that 'getting hot at the right time' methodology to a T. The Hokies won four of their last five regular season games. The lone loss, a 70-69 setback at Clemson. Now they're 1-0 in the ACC tourney and have a showdown against the same North Carolina team that whooped 'em 92-53 before they went on that late season run.

The Heels are obviously a big favorite, but can't take much solace in facing an improving, hungry and revenge-minded Tech team. Tomorrow's game could be interesting.

As for the Canes, back to the confines of The U to regroup, prioritize and wait for Selection Sunday. Miami has one last shot this year to prove it belongs. Success in the ACC tourney would've been nice, but it's time to put that behind and hope there's still some gas in the tank for a rare March Madness run.

ACC Tourney: Miami 63, N.C. State 50

Miami Basketball lives to see another day at the ACC Tourney in Charlotte.

After blowing their shot at an opening round bye, losing a fourth straight to rival Florida State last Saturday in Tallahassee - the Canes responded with a 63-50 beat down of the Wolfpack.

Two months ago N.C. State took down Miami - in overtime - on a fluke play. An errant inbounds pass was the difference in a 79-77 loss. Today, there'd be no fluke or down-to-the-wire finish.

The Canes jumped on the Wolfpack early - an 11-2 advantage barely eight minutes into the contest.

It was all Miami from there. The Canes held a 24-17 advantage at the half and led by fifteen with just over twelve minutes to play.

James Dews led the Canes with 14 points, going 8/8 from the free throw line. Lance Hurdle wasn't far behind with 13 points and 6/8 from the line.

Miami was only 1/9 from three point land and The Assassin, Jack McClinton was 2/6 on the day with 8 points, going 4/4 with free throws.

The Canes were 26/30 regarding free throws but only 18/49 in field goals made.

Next up, #5 Miami gets a shot at #4 Virginia Tech. The Hokies earned the first round by the Canes lost after stumbling in Tallahassee last weekend. Miami and Virgina Tech met once during the regular season (Feb. 9) with the Canes taking a 74-71 victory in Blacksburg.

The Hokies enter the ACC Tourney 18-12 and are 4-4 in their last eight games. They have a road record of 3-8, while the Canes are now 7-7 away from home - including their three wins in the Puerto Rico Tip Off and today's road win in Charlotte.

Today's win absolutely assures Miami of getting an NCAA bid by the end of the weekend. The only question remaining is their seeding. A win over Virginia Tech would help even more. Should that happen, the Canes faces the winner of tomorrow's Noles/Tar Heels showdown.

Big win today. Celebrate. The Canes are going dancing and are still alive in the ACC.

FYI - Shameless Plug Of The Day - A little Ibis told me that official March Madness shirts will be in store first thing Monday morning after things are official Sunday night. Swing on by or get yours at www.allCanes.com! 

New at The U: Baseball, Basketball & Football...

A good news/bad news weekend for University of Miami athletics. Actually, more a good news/missed opportunities-type week for the Canes.

Big ups to Hurricane baseball for taking care of business against Boston College. Nursing a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh on Friday, Miami bats rattled off a school record four home runs that inning en route to a 10-7 victory. The bats stayed alive the duration of the weekend as the Canes rolled 8-3 on Saturday and 7-1 on Sunday, sweeping BC, improving to 9-1 and sitting pretty at #6 in the rankings.

Next up, Penn State (3/11) and Maine (3/12) in some out of conference action before the first road trip of the season - N.C. State, this coming weekend.

Speaking of the Wolfpack, Miami basketball takes on N.C. State in the opening round of the ACC tourney this week in Charlotte. The Canes lost a 79-77 overtime battle up in Raleigh-Durham back in January - their lone meeting with with Wolfpack this season.

N.C. State limps in riding an eight-game losing streak, yet confident they can beat Miami - as they have. Even more frustrating, Miami falling in overtime at Florida State this past Saturday, 75-72. On paper, just another rivalry game and season finale. In reality, much more was on the line.

Had the Canes beaten the backsliding Noles, it'd have guaranteed Miami a first round bye in the ACC tourney as well as a better seeding in the NCAA tourney when the field is announced next week.

At 21-9 and 8-8 in the ACC, it's been a stellar year for Miami basketball. Respect. That said, a win over Florida State was a must... even if it wasn't "technically" a must.

I know head coach Frank Haith questioned the officiating. How can you not when the Noles go 32 of 42 from the line and Miami, 19 of 24. A slew of missed calls and no calls in this contest - especially late against Jack McClinton. Still, a loss is a loss and it came at a pretty brutal time down the stretch. Florida State has now beaten Miami five straight and this one changes the outcome of the ACC and the NCAAs. That sucks.

The winner of Miami/N.C. State will face #4 see Virginia Tech. The winner of that game most likely gets #1 North Carolina in the semi-finals. No easy ride and tough to really expect Miami to win more than 1-2 games - but at bare minimum a win over N.C. State is a must if this team is even thinking NCAAs. Should be a done deal going .500 in conference this year, but if the Canes are on the bubble a 1-2 record down the stretch isn't really going to help their cause. Step up, fellas.

On the Miami Football front, it's still a feel-good fest and I'm hoping that Canes fans abroad are enjoying the ride after the hellish run this program has had since posting a 13-15 mark in its last 28 games.

This is a new Miami team and I believe even the harshest critics are finally starting to come around. At least for now. We're finally hard-pressed to find anyone who won't give Randy Shannon a mulligan for 2007. When knee-deep in the midst of last year's 5-7 campaign, many hoped a new mindset and rah-rah mentality would be enough to will these Canes to a few more wins. That obviously wasn't the case.

With all the new talent on board after this year's recruiting class and a handful of early enrollees, youth is being served at The U. Miami has a long road ahead, but there's reason to be excited again. There were signs of life in last week's spring game. Hurricane quarterbacks are throwing the ball around, big time receivers are stepping in and making plays and there's reason to believe.

Par for the course with Shannon, Miami is still looking ahead to 2009 regarding potential recruits and the Canes are picking up verbals while planting seeds with others. In this past week or so, The U has offered scholarships to the following:

Nick Alajajian - OT - Naples High School (Naples)
Carlos Hyde - RB - Naples High School (Naples)
Antwan Lowery - DT - Columbus High School (Miami)
Craig Roh - DE - Chaparral High School (Scottsdale)
Gabe Lynn - CB - Jenks High School (Oklahoma)
Abry Jones - DT - Warner Robins Northside High (Georgia)

Some interesting backstories regarding this half dozen. Alajajian and Hyde of Naples High both drove over to Miami for the spring game at Traz Powell Stadium last week. It was an unofficial visit and Alajajian already had been offered, Hyde received an offer when checking out UM's campus during the day, before the game. Both were thrilled to receive offers from The U and have Miami listed in their favorites but both will wait until after their senior seasons to announce their intentions.

Lowery is a local kid and a long-time Canes fan. Getting the offer from Miami was a dream come true for the Columbus DT. Older brother Antonio Lowery is at RU, so no mystery the Canes are Scarlet Knights are the front-runners for Antwan. Lowery has stated he'll wait until after his senior season to announce his intentions.

Roh is Miami's second trek into the desert in the past month. A few weeks back, Miami landed a commitment from Brophy Prep High School TE Billy Sanders. Roh is being recruited by the typical Pac-1o powers as well as OU and plans on pulling the trigger before his senior season to avoid distractions.

Lynn has over two dozen scholarship offers from big time universities, but states that Miami has as good a shot as anyone else. Lynn hints that he'd like to make a commitment sooner than later.

Jones might be the most intriguing storyline of the bunch, though. The Warner Robins product is currently coached by Conrad Nix, father of Miami offensive coordinator Patrick Nix. This has allowed the Georgia-bred DT to have some early discussions with the younger Nix regarding The U and his future. Jones is being recruited by several big time programs in SEC and ACC but lists Miami and Georgia as his front runners.

March 2008 and Shannon & Crew are already trying to reel in the nation's best for 2009, while rebuilding a program that faltered in 2007. The Canes are on the mend and the haters are started to recognize. U gotta love it...

Clutch 33... Miami goin' dancin?

Ice cold. Tight. Unclutch. Looking at a fourteenth straight loss to Boston College. That's really the only way you could describe the first half twenty minutes of Miami's home finale this evening.

Talk about a tale of two halves.

Jack McClinton was again your superhero. Stifled the first half and scoreless, #33 was unfazed down the stretch. Like all clutch players, it only takes one money shot to turn the tide. 17 of his 21 points came in the final twenty -12 of which were ridiculous three-pointers, all proving to be daggers at the right time.

Jimmy Graham proved another instrumental figure and was a huge reason Miami was only down seven at the half. Early on it was a handful of Graham offensive rebounds, steals and put backs that kept the Canes in the dogfight.

Later in the game, it was a steal and eventual bodyslam of Graham that woke Miami from its slumber. Keeping his cool, #00 made one of two technical free throws and on the ensuing play, McClinton buried his first three-pointer of the night, putting Miami up 41-40.

Down 41-36, BC's Shamari Spears chucked Graham to the hardwood after a steal, in an effort to stop an easy lay up. Moments later, a five point swing and the Canes first lead since 3-2 early in the first.

Lance Hurdle came up big for the Canes, scoring X on the night and going 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the game's final moments. Hurdle had 19 points seven rebound and wound up a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.

Up next, the season finale at Florida State and a little bit o' revenge on Miami's mind. The Canes were punked by the Noles on February 6th, but have gone 6-1 since. FSU is 3-3 since and has zero shot at an NCAA bid after a 5-9 run since mid-January.

Miami? All but in the big dance. 21-8 and 8-7 in the ACC, the Canes look to have done enough to make the final 64 at season's end. A win in Tallahassee will simply be the exclamation point and one last shot of momentum entering the ACC tourney.

Congrats to The U. This bunch overachieved early on and smacked up some lesser competition, only to have their noses bloodied, going 1-6 between January 15th and February 6th - the losing streak ironically starting with BC and ending with FSU.

Here's a shot to close out the 2007-2008 regular season 22-8 and riding a wave of momentum into the NCAAs. Tune in Saturday - 12pm ET.

Canes beat Gators; big week for men's hoops...

I wonder if the tool above was lurking around Mark Light Stadium this past weekend as the Canes took the series against his beloved Gators...

Miami smacked up Florida on Friday and Saturday night with 8-4 and 8-5 victories entering Sunday's content. The Gators took the finale 6-2 after an eighth inning grand slam. Still, Miami took the home series and improved to 5-1 after this weekend.

FYI - all three games were played in front of capacity crowds, for the UiF contingent who lives to pull the 'attendance card'.

On the football front, the Canes practiced for two hours on Saturday, donning full pads and getting after it for the first time this spring. Defense seemed to be the name of the game, though the offense won some important small battles - most notably in the third-and-long situations.

In an effort to determine a winner after a neck-and-neck battle, coaches employed the Oklahoma Drill as the tiebreaker, which the defense won. Doesn't sound like a big deal until you realize the 'losing' squad has to do sprints.

Again, the tempo, attitude and mindset of Miami's practices are starting to get that old school Canes feel again. It's been missing for years, but it appears to be back.

The Canes landed another verbal for the 2009 class. Randy Shannon and staff continue their tear, this time landing Miami American High defensive end Oliver Vernon. Vernon announced his commitment after the weekend and is fired up to join The U Family. He chose Miami over two dozen others, including Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina and Florida.

Vernon is 6-foot-3, 23o lbs. and had 4.8-second speed. Some have called him 'the next Jason Taylor' according to message board fodder. Time will tell. Either way, another big catch for the Canes.

Men's basketball is about to embark on it's biggest week of the season. Granted, the importance of this week is due to a February 9th to 23rd stretch where Miami went 4-0 against Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Duke and Maryland - all that is for not if the Canes can't close.

On Wednesday, Miami gets Boston College in Coral Gables for the home finale. 7pm ET and live on ESPN U. Come Saturday, the road and season finale at Florida State.

For those who play the stats game, Miami has lost 13 straight to BC and four straight to FSU. Neither number works in the Canes' favor. Numbers that do? The Eagles are in the midst of a skid of all skids, going 1-10 in their past eleven games while the Noles are 5-8 the past thirteen times they've taken the court.

Stats aside, Miami needs to seize the moment. When this season started, all the talk was about an NCAA berth. Twenty-eight games later, all that stands in the way are two unranked conference foes - one at home and one at a familiar venue in Tallahassee.

The Canes have already overachieved a bit this year and exceeded expectations. This was the first 20+ win season in almost a decade and some epics wins are in the books, most notably the upset of Duke.

All that said, with an NCAA berth looming this team absolutely has to step up and at minimum go 1-1 down the stretch in two very winnable games. Anything less is unacceptable.

Tune in Wednesday for more.

I don't care if "it's only baseball" - a wins a win over UiF

Miami 8, Florida 4 in last night's series opener at Mark Light Stadium. In a battle of the undefeateds, the Canes prevailed. Eric Erickson struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings while Blake Tekotte and Jason Hagerty racked up six hits in front of a sold out Coral Gables crowd.

Saturday's action kicks off 7pm ET with Miami's Enrique Garcia going against Florida's Patrick Keating. The Canes look to take the series tonight and get another shot Sunday afternoon if the fall this eve.

Funny how my idiot Gator buddies always downplay baseball, as if it's meaningless. I'm sure it has nothing to do with Miami's four National Championships to Florida's zero. UiF is first and foremost a football school and conveniently started caring about 'other' sports like basketball when they started winning. With no baseball tradition to speak of, Gator fans love turning a blind eye towards anything that happens on the diamond. Typical. 

A win is a win against the hated Gators. I don't give a damn if it's baseball, football or Connect Four. Give UiF a "L" in the loss column and I'm thrilled.

Side note, a little bit o' history for you... last night's win against Florida was Miami's 1,200th win at Mark Light Stadium.