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5 This is a serious Hurricane warning. The Miami Hurricanes have provided another jolt to college football. In the past, they did it based on great players, swagger and huge wins. Now, they've been reduced to stealing the headlines from the other cheating college football institutions. I've never seen an off-season in college football like the one we've experienced so far in 2011. It has been wild, crazy and unpredictable. Just when you thought it was going to settle down after all the fodder provided by USC, Ohio State, LSU, Oregon and UNC just to name a few.....here come the Canes, to take it up a notch. The fact that a con-man like Nevin Shapiro is at the heart of the matter makes it so perfect when it comes to the "U". A convicted felon spills the beans on the University of Miami....something about that statement seems about right. Former "U" and Dallas Cowboy Hall of Famer Michael Irvin called Shapiro a "rapist" and a "snake". We're talking top-of-the-line entertainment, folks. I read the great investigative piece written by Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports. It was an amazing report. I have no idea if what Nevin Shapiro says is true, but my instincts tell me that the guy wasn't playing around. People can claim that Shapiro has an agenda, and I think he'd be the first one to tell you that it is true....however, that doesn't mean the info he is providing is fictitious. I mentioned on the SiriusXM "College Sports Saturday" show that before everybody puts dirt on the mighty University of Miami football program, I think it is imperative that you wait and see what the NCAA investigators find in their investigation. I have no doubt that the Yahoo story will only put more pressure on the NCAA folks to turn up some answers to some serious accusations. Many folks that have emailed me and called into the show demanded the "Death Penalty" to the Canes' football program. I can't see that happening.....times are different than they were back in the 80's when SMU got destroyed by the NCAA. Today, the new TV deals and championship games that generate tens of millions of dollars have a bigger impact than the game of college football in the 80's. I understand that you have to separate right from wrong, and if it turns out that there are dozens of "wrongs", then you must punish accordingly. I have a feeling that will happen, but it won't include shutting down the program. Since the "U" has joined the ACC, I have been disappointed at their inability to compete in football. The Canes have yet to produce double-digit wins in any one season, and their overall conference record is 30-26. Thank goodness the Canes are 6-0 against Duke, otherwise they would be sucking wind in the ACC. It's not like the ACC has taken it to a new level in the sport, since expansion. Granted, the Virginia Tech Hokies have done a great job dominating the league, but they've been a bust in the BCS and against Top 5 teams. Miami has been a no-show, and now when you throw in what could potentially be the biggest scam in NCAA history, it really makes you wonder what John Swofford and the ACC were thinking? It's one thing to say you've got the Miami TV market, but the Canes don't draw flies....unless FSU and Florida are coming to town. Or unless Nevin Shapiro is hosting a party on his yacht or at the local strip joint. You can bet that Ohio State and UNC are thanking the Canes for taking them out of the headlines. I just wonder what former Miami AD Paul Dee is thinking, these days? It was Dee that was also the Chairman of the NCAA Committee of Infractions that laid down the law to Southern Cal during the Reggie Bush fiasco and declared, "High profile players demand high profile compliance". If I didn't know any better, I'd say he must have taken a page out of the Holden Thorp playbook. I'll announce next week my plans for the upcoming college football season. I still have a couple of details that need to be cleared up this week, and then we'll be good to go. I'm really excited about what lies ahead and I look forward to telling you about it on this blog and on my twitter account (MarkPacker). The AP and Coaches Pre-season polls have been released, and to be honest with you....I just don't care. The pre-season polls really provide me with absolutely nothing other than a segment or two on the SiriusXM show. I've always contended that the first college football poll should be released the first week of October. By then, we have seen every team in America get pushed and challenged and it would give us a better handle on telling the contenders from the pretenders. I did notice one thing in the AP Poll....and that was that the Virginia Tech Hokies will not play a single game against a team ranked in the pre-season AP Top 25 poll....not a single game. The flip-side is that the defending champion Auburn Tigers will play against 7 pre-season Top 25 teams.....count 'em, 7! Maybe this is the year that Frank Beamer runs the table and sneaks into the national title game? The only problem is that eventually you have to play against one of the big boys....you can't hide all year long. I had a tough weekend trying to watch my beloved San Francisco Giants trying to score a run against anybody. It has been an ugly month of baseball for the World Champs, as they continue to place their best players on the DL and in the meantime find ways to score a run every now and then. Just when I thought it was tough watching them, I had to catch the Carolina Panthers' effort at Miami on Friday night. I was encouraged with a bunch of things in their pre-season home opener against New York, but the effort against the Fins was brutal. After the first 30 minutes of the exhibition, I had to do everything in my power to turn it back for the 2nd half. It might have been the worst-looking 30 minutes of August football that the franchise has ever produced. Outgained 301 yards to 90.....only 3 first downs.....and both lines were pushed all over the field. It was brutal. But it's only August football. I still plan on watching Thursday night, when they travel to Cincinnati and play the Bengals. Everybody seems to be on the Cam Newton bandwagon, but eventually the rookie needs to get the team to convert a 3rd down and he also needs to find the end zone....right now, he's 0-for-2. I still think it is the right move to give him the reps and the ball and get him acclimated to Sunday football ASAP. As if the sports world isn't crazy enough, now we've got thugs firing bullets into people tailgating at Candlestick Park before the Niners-Raiders game? Give me a break. When I first heard the story, I thought some LA Dodger fans were in Frisco to catch a game.....since they don't have Major League Baseball or the NFL in their town, you never know? It is inexcusable for this crap to happen at any event in this country. "Street cred" is BS...and so are the actions of a choice few that think it's cool to pop a cap into somebody because of the clothes they wear or the team they root for; it is senseless. When they find the thugs responsible, it's time to eliminate their privileges in every sense of the word. Finally, I thought my eyes were deceiving me when I saw the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team on a "Goodwill Trip" to China to spread the word of democracy and sportsmanship to China. The only problem is that we had a good, old-fashioned, bench-clearing brawl in the process. How embarrassing....for both parties. Eventually everyone kissed and made-up the following day, but you had to laugh. By the way, in the Georgetown game, the Hoyas might have been getting a few bad calls....the Bayi Rockets had attempted 57 free throws to only 15 for the Hoyas at the time of the brawl. In case you needed to know, the score was tied up at 64. I know you are thinking that you only see those kinds of numbers involving games at Cameron Indoor Stadium or the Smith Center.....ironically, Coach K has his team in China playing exhibition games as well. The Blue Devils are faring a little better than Georgetown. Duke won their first two games, but they also got a dose of home cooking. Coach K's guys have been to the line 25 times the first two games....the Chinese teams have attempted 72 free throws. It's time for me to create the "Infamous Great Wall Index Card". |
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