I'm not giving @CanesBaseball a pass; this program has been a shell of itself since Jim Morris was extended in 2012 (after getting run out of the Coral Gables Regional by Stony Brook and Missouri State)—two internal hires since and 14 years later, Miami has never been more in need of new blood. All that to say, we have to acknowledge that college baseball as a whole has changed and yesterday's powerhouses are as ripe for upsets more than ever before in history. Our fans made a big to-do that Miami lost to Troy ... only to see the Trojans craws out of the losers bracket to beat Florida—in Gainesville—in back-to-back games, outscoring the Gators, 26-13 in those two games. Florida State also got wiped out of their Tallahassee Regional as St. John's is advancing to the Super Regionals. No. 1 UCLA got knocked out by St. Marys; No. 2 Georgia Tech was sent packing by Oklahoma. Southern Cal took out host Texas A&M; Ole Miss took out host Nebraska. Little Rock won the Hattiesburg Regional; Southern Miss losing a home regional again (Miami advanced last year)—and they're taking on Troy, in what most expected to be a Florida / Southern Miss match-up. Does it suck that Miami baseball is a shell of itself; absolutely—but for all the shit the Canes ate on Saturday night from Gators and Seminoles fans, their seasons ended within 24 hours of Miami's as both got run out of their home regionals by much lesser programs ... a reminder that baseball is a fickle sport where getting hot at the right time is everything, and a slew of underdogs advancing was a much bigger story this weekend the the Canes not being the power they once were.

I mean the easiest way to debunk this bullshit from the click-bait site #TheNILstandard is to just bring up that @CanesFootball is a private university and this type of information isn't available the way it would be a public or state school ... so no. They are also lumping the $4,000,000 payment to Duke to reimburse #DarianMensah's NIL deal in Durham this fall. Most-aggressive, they really believe that Ethan O'Connor is making $719,262 and #MarkFletcher is really only at $685,428—coming off of last year's #CFP run and returning as a senior team leader and heart and soul of this team? GTFOH. I also don't buy #MalachiToney at $1,500,000 and Matthew McCoy is at $1,100,00? There is so much bullshit being thrown at the wall here—and none of it is sticking; a joke of a hit-job to shame #Miami for big spending.

Q: “How long have you been a Miami fan?” A: “The tie I wore to senior graduation after that fourth ring; it had Sebastian with the pipe and bandage.”

Pretty wild how 25 years later the 2001 Miami Hurricanes GOAT argument still rolls on—these guys with their top five teams who might've been able to beat 'The U'. 2019 LSU predictably tops the list; laughable that the Tigers were all offense and no defense that year—so Miami is putting up points, while that defense comes to play. Again, a secondary with three first rounders in Ed Reed, Mike Rumph and Philip Buchanon—while James Lewis balled and went third ... first rounders like Jon Vilma and DJ Williams at linebacker ... recency bias kicks in with the explosiveness of that LSU team, but the adage "defense wins championships" exists for a reason and that 2001 Canes defense wasn't playing. 1995 Nebraska always enters the chat, but again when has a stout Miami defense ever had issues with an option quarterback or that Huskers' one dimensional ground-based offense? Never. Great team, but a pedestrian regular season schedule and then took on Florida and Spurriers' "Fun N Gun" in the Fiesta Bowl, with a barely above average defense ... Frazier gets a spy and Miami's secondary ball-hawks his ass anytime he goes to the air. 2005 Texas with Vince Young on this list over 2004 Southern Cal didn't make sense—and being that Miami stuffed Michael Vick in a locker in 2000, again, full faith in that 2001 defense going up against Young. 2017 Alabama and 2018 Clemson made the list; those were both loaded rosters—and the minute peak-era Nick Saban was on the other sideline, it's a conversation ... but again everyone making this argument against the 2001 Canes always leaves out the x-factor and it takes true Miami fans of that era to remind them of what was. Outside of UM being on a mission in 2001 after feeling snubbed of a title shot in 2000—losing a close early game and then going on to beat No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Virginia Tech in the regular, as well as No. 7 Florida in the Sugar Bowl—Miami knew they were the best team in the country by year's end, but didn't get to prove it. Butch Davis convinced Ed Reed and Bryant McKinnie to return for their senior seasons, as the key pieces for a title run ... before Miami's top brass dropped the ball on the sixth-year coach's contract and he left for the NFL. Had Davis stayed on in 2001, the entire season would've been a revenge tour and college football would've been put on notice—a disciple of Jimmy Johnson, Davis would've been out to prove a point. Lest not forget, this man took over in 1995 and was blindsided by sanctions he didn't know were coming—the Sports Illustrated article that June with a "why Miami should drop football" cover story ... followed by sanctions, probation and the loss of 31 scholarships over a three-year run—Davis was the fall guy in fans' eyes. The "From Champs To Chumps - Thanks Butch!" banner that flew over in 1997 during a loss to West Virginia—in a season that ended 5-6 and had a 47-0 loss to Florida State mixed in—it was a five-year slog for Davis, before turning a corner in 2000. Country Club Larry stepped in as to not mess with the formula; but Coker was a nice guy who hadn't had a head coaching job since 1978 at Claremore High in Oklahoma—the man was tossed the keys to a Ferrari when all he'd ever drive was a Ford Tempo. Miami opened the 2001 season at Penn State and was up 30-0 at the half, before Coker took the foot off the gas for a 33-7 win, as to not upstage Joe Paterno. 38-7 win over Troy ... 38-0 over Temple ... Coker didn't care about style points or running it up; he wanted to get in and out without any fanfare. Miami rolled into Tallahassee mid-October and was in a 21-13 game at the half—where they should've been rolling Florida State; the iconic intermission speed where Reed went off about being hurt and not "dominating" before players took over and outscored the Noles, 28-14 down the stretch. That too close for comfort win at Boston College— a wind-tunnel at Alumni Stadium where Ken Dorsey threw four interceptions and four red zone trips ended in field goals, before Reed put the game away—the next few weeks were the only time the foot went on the gas and players seemed to take over ... and there were now questions surrounding this team's greatness and a wake-up call in place after getting so close to pissing things away. No. 1 Miami 59, No. 15 Syracuse 0 a week later ... and when No. 11 Washington came south for a revenge game from 2000 ... the top-ranked Canes kicked the ever-loving shit out of them, 65-7. Coker danced with the devil once again; almost blowing a 26-10 early fourth quarter lead and not putting the game away—it coming down to a deflected two-point conversion to escape 26-24—before a Rose Bowl that looked and felt a lot like Happy Valley in the opener; up 34-0 at the half before cruising to a 37-14 win, as Nice Guy Larry from Oklahoma didn't want to embarrass a proud Nebraska program. Long story longer, 2001 Miami's legacy is only ever questioned because Lay-Down Larry took over a team he didn't build, so didn't have the same fire, vengeance or point to prove that Davis would've as the face of this program for half a decade of that probation era. Davis was part of the Johnson era at Miami—as well as two Super Bowl runs in Dallas—and with the Canes finally back going into the 2001 season; it would've been kick-ass-and-take-names time. Going back into Doak Campbell where Miami hadn't won in a decade? Four years after the embarrassment of 47-0 and out to break the Noles' 54-home game unbeaten streak? That game would've been circled on the calendar all summer and sure as shit wouldn't have been 21-13 at the half—it would've been a massacre in Trailerhassee and a point to prove. Same with the opener at Penn State; that 1998 late-game home loss and 80-yard bomb—after that bad fourth-down spot where the Canes looked to have put the upset away—and it's a 27-23 loss to the second-ranked Nittany Lions. Anyone thinks Butch gives two shits about JoePa's feelings and not showing him up in Slappy Valley? 30-0 at the half doesn't end 33-7; it's 54-0. Same for that Rose Bowl against Nebraska; it would've been a fucking clinic and a 58-7 type game like he saw Jimmy drop on Notre Dame in 1985—to hell with the blue bloods or traditional powers. 2001 Miami remains the greatest team in history; the only shame is that it got there with a substitute teacher as head coach, opposed to the mad scientist who rebuilt a squad that put 38 kids in the NFL and produced 17 first rounders. After six years of eating shit, that 2001 squad—snubbed the year prior—was kicking the ass off of anyone who lined up against them on January 2nd, 2002. Period, full fucking stop. #MiamiHurricanes #HurricanesFootball #TheU #CollegeFootball #GreatestTeamEver facebook.com/reel/2042935259…

Again, can this finally kill @CanesFootball fans' and those with their bullshit narrative about how taking portal quarterbacks is going to be detrimental to recruiting the position at the high school level? .@LukeNickel5 in 2025 ... @DereonColemanQB a massive pick-up in the 2026 ... and now the highly-coveted @IsraelAbramsQB7 for 2027. Only quarterback who tapped out—after #CamWard to #CarsonBeck and now #DarianMensah—was #EmoryWilliams, who stuck it out with the program for three full years and all three portal pick-ups before transferring. Again, a reminder to trust in the process, the culture, the locker room, Greentree and everything @Coach_Cristobal is building at #TheU—enough of the naysaying when going back to the portal a third year in a row to get one of the top gunslingers in the game and you're made-up narratives that doing so is going to scare off high school quarterbacks. Maybe the betas who don't want to compete and expect the job to be handed to them ... but the real ones don't flinch and are all about fighting for starting jobs downs south in Coral Gables. Welcome home, Israel. #MiamiHurricanes

Someone jumped on the @WaybackMachine and screen-grabbed the old #Grassy homepage back in the day—1998 season, when "Bello's Column" was a thing and ol' Bryan Knoll had me back for year two covering @CanesFootball. Time absolutely flies—Grassy now better known as @CanesInSight with #DMoney, @PeterAriz and the boys going next-level with their barrage of podcasts and content.

.@michaelirvin88 … I’ve had this for years—wanted to get it signed by The Playmaker for the Canes’ wall in the office. Anywhere I can send this (and pay postage to get it sent back?) 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

Been on the @TopoChicoUSA train since traveling to #Austin for work back in 2014. @CocaCola bought the brand back in 2017 ... and here we are almost a decade later and there's a temporary halt in production for “facility upgrades at the water source and production facilities in Mexico." What are the odds the beverage comes back as-was later this year? The way these brands are going in the new world, have to believe this is going to be some cost-cutting measure where they change the formula and tried and true product—the brand having sourced its mineral water from the same wells in Monterrey since its inception in 1895, where they first sold bottled mineral water in Mexico throughout the 1920s. Something stinks here ... and willing to bet when the product comes back in a few months, something will be different. Book it. people.com/there-is-a-topo-c…

35 years history with @MrCanesLegend—from 5831 Ponce de Leon in 1991 to these new dope digs down the way (@MiamiHTS)—long overdue reunion and such a blast to do it with @CanesFootball back on top. 🙌🏽

I'll say it a million more times; it should've been @Metallica at #SuperBowlLX in San Francisco—a legendary Bay Area band still massively relevant here in 2026. #Metallica had their 40th Anniversary tour a few years back—where they're still selling out stadiums full of old school fans, as well as kids and grandkids of us fossils—not to mention younger generation that always finds their way to good music. A few years back "Master Of Puppets" was featured on 'Stranger Things' and it shot that 1986 metal classic up to No. 1 on the Apple charts while streams of the song went up almost 500% overnight—again, because good, timeless music resonates. 2026 is also the 35-year anniversary of "The Black Album" and Metallica's conscious effort to become the biggest, commercial metal band in history—their fifth studio album LP selling over 30,000,000 copies worldwide. Understandably, it wouldn't have made sense to use a #SuperBowl halftime show for some of the band's earlier thrash songs—but this self-titled album was chock full of bangers that are still relevant today. #VirginiaTech has used "Enter Sandman" as their entrance song for over two decades, while songs like "Sad But True", "The Unforgiven", "Wherever I May Roam" or "Nothing Else Matters" all would've made for an awesome medley last night. Again, look at what happened to rock n roll last summer when everyone came together in the UK to celebrate and say goodbye to @OzzyOsbourne—a reminder that rock is far from dead; Yungblud, NunoBettencourt and the boys just winning a #Grammy last week for their live cover of "Changes". Would've been really cool to see some no-frills, in-your-face, global hard rock last night with a Bay Area band (whose still rolling four decades later) playing a Super Bowl halftime—opposed to another artist like #BadBunny, who only fits a targeted demographic and is celebrated by Gen Z and Millennials; one where an elaborate production was needed as the songs and music don't stand on their own. Again, check out Lane Stadium exploding pre-kickoff when those opening notes of Kirk Hammett's guitar ring out, Lars Ulrich's thundering beat starts up and James Hetfield kicks in with the main riff and snarling vocals. Hard-hitting football deserves hard-hitting music that makes you want to run through a wall ... fact. youtu.be/YC8LLYMp4M4?si=Hv5B…

I mean for all the shit the college football world has to listen to regarding #NotreDame and their highly-vaunted NBC television contract—or skipping a lower-tiered bowl to not give ESPN the "ratings"—the #Irish really were the 16th-most watched team for the 2025 season ... while the #MiamiHurricanes were only second to #Alabama? #Florida thinking they're God's gift; 18th-most watched team last fall—#FloridaState bringing up the rear at 23rd? #Colorado's hot-shit ride is over, too—32nd-most watched ... but damn, love 'em or hate 'em, all eyes remain on #TheU.

Literally told every one of you dork #Duke social media wannabe lawyers that it was all going to come down to a settlement and #DariahMensah was going to #Miami. All that tough-talk from the Blue Devils’ top brass last week; posturing from administrators to give the impression to fans and alumni that they “weren’t going to take this lying down”. No different that Pete Bevacqua and his performative theatre when #NotreDame was left out of the #CFP; the snarky athletic director parading around on his PR tour—trashing the #ACC and talking about “permanent damage” being done; big talk and bigger threats … and then what? Nothing. Days later Bevacqua and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips worked through all the nonsense, the Irish remained in their current deal with the conference and life went on. Duke had no power over Mensah, as players are not employees of a university—and the NCAA didn’t want that smoke where the Blue Devils tried to prove otherwise—so it ALWAYS came down to a settlement number to work out the NIL deal and to send the kid off to greener pastures, as he no longer wanted to play for the Blue Devils. Mensah got his wish, Duke gets their settlement money, Miami gets it’s quarterback … and the selective-outraged, virtue-signaling clowns who call themselves college sports fans—they’ll all keep painting the Hurricanes as the villains, while not giving two shits about the Lane Kiffin types, or other grossly-paid players (and coaches) choosing self-interest and self-preservation in the Wild West that is this current NIL and transfer portal landscape. 🙌🏽

Great call-out here the day after Jordan Seaton took that LSU bag—weeks after Kiffin pulled into Sam Leavitt for a bigger check, too. There is no "evaluation" process going on in Baton Rouge; it's blank check season and Lane is just grabbing the most-expensive products left on the shelves. Cristobal and staff aren't afraid to spend big by any stretch—but they're also showing discernment and really analyze deeply before making a purchase. The minute news dropped that Seaton was at LSU, wanted to stay around a few more days—but had to go to Oregon because Uncle Agent had booked that trip for him (a paid visit, no doubt) ... you know this kid was off to Baton Rouge and that Miami would pivot elsewhere in their search—battling out and beating Texas for Jamal Meriweather, formerly of Georgia. Meriweather chose great money and better coaching—Seaton was all about the bag and SEC brand. Seriously, look at those numbers and think back to this time last year when you first heard about Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas coming on to help beef up that secondary—compared to some other names out there who wound up elsewhere. Scott was the 714th-ranked player in last year's portal and Thomas was 261st—and both put on MVP-like performances in 2025. There is everything to be said about process, culture, evaluation and spending both big AND wisely.

Such a great callout on @CanesInSight—it the hate for the #MiamiHurricanes on full display in the way no feel-good story ever works in #TheU's favor. #Miami doesn't bring in #FernandoMendoza in 2022; a 3-Star project of a quarterback (with offers from a few Ivy League schools and FIU before Cal offered)—talking to the #MannyDiaz camp and a preferred walk-on, before Diaz is fired and #MarioCristobal was hired in December 2021 ... safe to say Cristobal had a full plate trying to rebuild his alma mater and understandable that a walk-on quarterback wasn't a priority—yet the media narrative all week was Mendoza and revenge against the hometown team. The flip side is #JeremiahSmith to #OhioState and Miami working every possible path to get him to stay home in December 2023—right down to that letter-of-intent getting set in after sundown that night ... and again, it was still somehow a slight on the Canes and Smith getting revenge against the hometown team ... because they weren't good enough when he signed so he went elsewhere? Same narrative with the portal. Nobody cares when #Duke poaches #DarianMensah from #Tulane—but Miami goes after Mensah a year later and it's a lawsuit and "tampering". Meanwhile, Miami kids hitting the portal just before or after the national title game—#EmoryWilliams and #RayRayJoseph are at #EastCarolina within minutes ... and now the day #GirardPringle hits the portal, he's immediately tied to #Alabama within hours ... but not one media report, tweet or social media post about "tampering". On one end, them "hating" on the Canes is proof of being "back"—as before it was nothing but indifference; nobody gave a shit when Miami was going 7-5 annually ... but the hypocrisy and ignorance really is next-level, while the bias is already exhausting.

It's still wild how the #MiamiHurricanes has so many fans who bask in the good, but are so confused by moments like this. This was always the rub when #GirardPringle got that late-season playing time and showed his freshman skills set; all eyes were fast on him and you know good-and-hell-well that offers were going to be made post-season. #Miami will have their dollar-amount for what they're willing to pay Pringle, and he knows depth chart-wise he's a great counterpunch to tough running from #MarkFletcher and #MartyBrown—but the reality is another opportunity will come along where a different school will be willing to pay top dollar AND offer more reps ... and that's how situations like this happen. It's also why #MarioCristobal and staff are so hell-bent on bringing in "Miami guys" and culture warriors who want to be part of this thing; that is the x-factor that ends up playing into the bigger picture. Yes, those guys will still get paid handsomely by the #Canes—no one is here for 'love of the game' anymore—but it's the combination of playing for Miami, building something, being a part of of the culture and getting paid. Pringle could've negotiated for more money and come back to be a part of this thing; featured more in 2026 and being 'the guy' in 2027. Curious to see how this plays out; is it off to an Alabama or Georgia; other finalists in his recruiting —or it is a smaller opp, a bigger check and more reps? Or does Miami up the ante and this portal jump is just part of a process to field offers and set value? The portal giveth ... and the portal taketh away—but in the case of #TheU, there have still been countless more wins than there have been setbacks in this paid-mercenary era of college football.

Duke fans acting like Twitter lawyers all morning … hilarious. Darian Mensah; next stop portal — then off to Coral Gables.

Rocking the old man’s shirt from the 1984 Orange Bowl for good luck… orange-out. #MiamiHurricanes #NationalChampionship

Wherever ol, Degeneration X guy (who won this stare-down with Cade McNown after upsetting No. 2 UCLA in 1998) is—hope you’re at HardRock tonight, player. #MiamiHurricanes #NationalChampionship