Congratulations go to Jimmy Johnson, who was named yesterday as one of the 17 former players and coaches that will be inducted into the 2012 class of the College Football Hall of Fame!

During his time at UM from 1984-88, Coach Johnson defied humidity with his hair and led the Hurricanes to a 52-9 record including a  National Championship in 1987and a perfect season, triumphing over six nationally ranked teams including the famous game against then-No.1 Oklahoma and The Boz at high noon in the beloved Orange Bowl.  I think that wonderful time in Miami history is best captured by this clip from “The U.”

Johnson becomes the third coach from the Hurricanes to earn such an honor, joining Jack Harding (1980) and Andy Gustafson (1985); and the ninth man with ties to UM to be selected into the College Football Hall of Fame, including players Don Bosseler (1990), Ted Hendricks (1987), Gino Torretta (2009), Arnold Tucker (2008), and Bennie Blades (2006) and Russell Maryland (2011) – both of whom were coached by Johnson. Please join me in congratulating one of the most beloved men to ever step foot on the ‘Canes sideline, Jimmy Johnson, for this much deserved honor.

“I was born and raised in south Texas; I went to school at the University of Arkansas, won a national championship on an undefeated team; but my HOME is south Florida and my SCHOOL is the University of Miami.” Jimmy Johnson

Although many of my Facebook friends simply posted the link to numerous articles, several posted personal memories of their time and experiences with this very accomplished man.  Between reading from UM’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Pat Whitely, how supportive he was of her and that Dee was a “true Hurricane and gentleman always,” to a former ‘Canes cheerleader describing Dee as a “class act” to Brian “The Beast” London’s article on the allCanes Blog about the interesting start to his great friendship with Dee, I felt lucky to read more from our mutual friends about this man who I only knew from a handshake, but whose career and legacy with Miami athletics I dreamed of emulating.

Dee, a Palm Beach county native, first came to Coral Gables in the early 1970s to earn a masters degree from the University of Miami after fleeing a jorts-infested town to our north.  After earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law in 1977, he clerked for a local judge and entered private practice.  He came back to UM in 1981 to serve as its Vice President and General Counsel and eventually earned the position of Athletic Director in 1993. 

What immediately comes to mind about Dee’s tenure is the three team national championships (baseball in 1999 and 2001, football in 2001) won during that time.  However, what cannot be discounted is that Dee was taking over a football program whose death was being called for by, inter alia, Sports Illustrated, facing severe NCAA sanctions.  Despite these seemingly crippling obstacles, under Dee’s watch Hurricane Football rose like a phoenix from its all-but-certain death and fielded what is widely recognized as the greatest college football team of all time:  our 2001 National Champions.

The success on the field is indicative of what Dee was doing behind the scenes.  Under Dee’s watch, the University of Miami athletic program received a makeover with the following improvements: construction of the BankUnited Center, renovation of baseball’s Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, new football fields at Greentree Practice Fields, construction of Cobb Stadium, renovation of football locker and equipment rooms, renovation of the athletic training room, renovation of athletic department offices, construction of academic study hall facility, construction of the weight training facility , construction of football meeting rooms, construction of locker rooms for track, soccer and volleyball.

When Dee stepped down as UM Athletic Director in 2008, he professed his love for the Orange Bowl, recalling his first trip there as a 10-year-old, and vowed to continue rooting for the Canes. “UM is my life,’’ he said.

In memory of Paul Dee, please join me in thanking him for his commitment and dedication to the University of Miami and making its athletics something that consume our lives as well.

TGIF!  And not just because it means we can all crack open a cold one soon.  It’s also time for the weekly installment of “The Streak.”

Today we will examine weeks 66-70, which encompasses weeks 12-16 of the 2006 NFL season.  With playoff positioning a high priority these weeks, let’s see how our boys did.

Week 66

Week 12 of the 2006 season saw 5 Canes hit pay-dirt.  Up in Buffalo, the Canes were the busiest. Willis McGahee scored twice: once on a 4 yard run, and again on a 30 yard run.  Not to be outdone by his teammate, Roscoe Parrish scored on an 82 yard punt return.  The Bills needed all the scoring they could get as they squeaked by the Jaguars 27-24.  Continuing from last week, Reggie and Peyton where up to their old tricks connecting from 11 yards out as the Colts got back on the winning track 45-21 over the Eagles.  Andre Johnson had a 3 yard pass reception for a score against the Jets but his Texans came out on the short end of a 26-11 loss.  Also on the short end of the scoreboard was Frank Gore’s 49ers losing to the Rams 20-17.  Frank contributed with 134 yards rushing including a 12 yard td run.  And in Chicago, Devin Hester did not score this week but it still did not stop Rex Grossman from throwing 3 interceptions.

Week 67

Did someone say Hester?  Devin came back on week 13 of the 2006 NFL season with a 45 yard punt return for a touchdown to help the Bears defeat the Vikings 23-13.  The Bears really needed a boost offensively as Rex again struggled, going 6 of 13 for 34 yards and again getting the interception trifecta. (I’m really starting to believe that Jacory is a pro caliber QB after looking at Rex’s numbers).  The Bills took a tough loss at home that pretty much dashed their playoff hopes losing to the Chargers 24-21.  Willis McGahee scored on a 2 yard run but this game belongs to LT, who had 178 yard rushing.  Santana had an um . . . “Santana-like” performance for the Redskins,  catching a 42 yard TD from Jason Campbell.  Santana finished the day with 7 catches for 123 yards but his Redskins still fell to the Falcons 24-17.  The Giants and the Cowboys squared off in the Meadowlands this weekend and Jeremy Shockey started the game with a 17 yard pass from Eli.  It was a great game played by these 2 teams with the Cowboys prevailing 23-20 on a late field goal by one of those Gramaticas with 6 seconds left.

Week 68

Making it 3 weeks in a row is Willis Mcgahee.  Willis had 125 yards rushing, including a 57 yard scamper as the Bills put a damper on the Jets playoff hopes with a win in the Meadowlands 31-13.  Back from last week is Jeremy Shockey.  Jeremy connected with Eli from a couple yards out that put the Giants up for good 27-13.  The win pushed the Giants to 7-6 and kept their playoff hopes alive.  Edgerrin James joins us once again as the Cardinals defeated the Seahawks 27-21.  Edge had 115 yards that included a 7 yard touchdown run.  The Bears played on primetime Monday night this weekend.  Primetime always seems to bring out the best in certain players.  The top of that list of special players should begin with Devin Hester.  Devin had 246 return yards for the night including a 94 yard kick-off return for a touchdown.  This put Chicago at 11-2 and in good position to make a home field run in the playoffs.

Week 69

Week 15 of the 2006 NFL season had 5 Canes scoring.  Back from a brief absence, Najeh Davenport scored on a 13 yard pass as the Steelers crushed the Jaguars 37-3.  Keeping with receiving end of things, Santana Moss and the Redskins scored on a 31 yard pass from Jason Campbell as the Redskins defeated the Saints 16-10.  And can we really talk about receivers without mentioning Reggie Wayne?  Reggie and Peyton hooked up on an 18 yard completion helping the Colts defeat the Bengals 34-16.  It’s really going to be tough looking up stats on Monday mornings going forward and not seeing these two greats linked.  Also having a big day was Frank Gore, ripping off 144 yards as the 49ers defeated the 24-14.  The pride of Deerfield Beach scored on a pass of 20 yards from Alex Smith.

Week 70

Starting week 16 where we left off on week 15, Frank Gore had 2 short touchdowns runs but was upstaged by Edge’s Cardinals 26-20.  Edge didn’t score but had 105 yards for the day.   And in a heartbreaker in Buffalo, Willis McGahee’s touchdown early put the Bills up on the Titans 10-7.  The Titans then scored 10 unanswered points in the 4^th quarter in a battle of 7-7 teams to win 30-29 keeping the Titans’ playoff hopes alive and knocking Buffalo out of contention.

Like I said earlier: its Friday so I hope you are all enjoying this article while pausing a moment to sip on something cold.

Enjoy and GO ‘CANES!

A few years back when I first moved to South Florida, one of the things I was excited about was the fact that I would get to improve upon my golf game.  That lasted about 3 months when on a rainy day my fairway plans got washed out.  Luckily, a neighbor was headed out of my development and stopped by to say hello.  I explained my dilemma to him and he invited me to head offshore with him to do some fishing.  I thought about it for a second and figured it was that or hang around my apartment all day.  I choose to head out for my first day of deep sea fishing.  That day changed my life.  I’ve really only played golf about 10 times in the past 15 years.  Given the choice, I’ll take a rod and reel over a set of clubs 7 days a week.  If you share this same passion as I do, then you will equally be excited about the upcoming University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame 2012 Celebrity Dolphin Tournament  June 29 -30.  Yes, that’s the Hall of Fame with 5 national championships, not two or three.

The goal of the tournament, other than to raise money for the UM Hall of Fame renovations, is to benefit 2 local charities:  The Shake-A-Leg of Coconut Grove and The Habitat for Humanity of the Upper Keys. All participants will have the chance to fish along side of a few legendary Canes including, but not limited to, Warren Sapp, Bubba Franks and Brett Romberg.  Now Brett is originally from Canada, so I suspect he honed his fishing skills fighting salmon when he was younger but now has used these skills in South Florida to catch bigger game.

This year, the 2nd year of the tournament, will begin at UM Hall of Famer Gary Dunn’s place called “The Ocean View Pub & Inn” in Islamorada on Friday night June 29th where the Captains’ Meeting will kick off the tournament.  Gary himself will be hosting the event.  The next day, after the lines are pulled from the water, angler will take their catch over to the Post Card Inn at Holiday Isle.  There, the fish will be weighed and hopefully, fillet and consumed!  I had the opportunity to stop by the Post Card Inn a few weeks ago while down in the keys and was fortunate to get a glimpse of just how breathtaking this place was.  It will be the perfect place for the awards banquet and after tournament party.  Heck, even if you can’t make it down for the tournament I would recommend this place for a weekend stay.

If you are interested in entering the tournament, please see the link below.  It is very reasonably priced at $450 per boat which would include 4 anglers.  That is only $150 per person  (let’s face it, you’re probably doing the math but the guy whose boat your using gets picked up by the other 3).  And if you decide you want to add an additional angler, it’s only an additional $100.  If you can’t make it out on a boat (like myself unless someone needs an extra) there will still be plenty of activities, including auctions for all sorts of Canes merchandise, trips and probably a few surprises.

http://www.canesfish.com/schedule.html

Tight Lines!

Happy Friday! We are back with you for the next installment of The Streak.  This week we will look at weeks 7 thru 11 of the 2006 season.  No new entrants this segment, but we do have a new way of scoring.

Week #61

This week was the week of the receivers as no Canes running backs scored.  Andre Johnson had a big day for the Texans as he caught 8 passes for 106 yards including a 35 yard pass from David Carr as the Texans defeated the Jaguars 27-7.  Reggie Wayne also eclipsed the century mark helping push the Colts to 6-0.  Reggie had 7 receptions for 122 yards including a long of 51 yards from Peyton as the Colts defeated the Redskins 36-22.   Also winning on Monday night by the same score (if you can believe it) was the Giants beating the Cowboys.  Jeremy Shockey got in on the action with a 13 yard pass from the other Manning.

Week #62

Week # 8 was another strong week for the receivers especially Reggie Wayne.  Reggie had a Santana Moss type performance with 10 receptions for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Reggie’s TDs came from 12, 5 and 19 yards, all in the second half as the Colts defeated the Broncos in a thriller at Mile High 37-34.  The Colts won the game on a field goal by Adam (Benedict Arnold) Vinatieri with 6 seconds left.  Andre Johnson scored again, this time on a 10 yard pass from Sage Rosenfels.  However, it just wasn’t enough as a 53 yard punt return by Pacman was the difference maker in a 28-22 loss to the Titans.  Kellen Winslow had a big game for the Browns who defeated the Jets 20-13.  Kellen had 7 receptions for 76 yards including a 30 yard strike from Charlie Frye.  Keeping the running backs in the mix for the week was Edgerrin James, who scored on a 1 yard plunge in a 31-14 defeat at the hands of the Packers.

Week #63

Week #9 brought back one of my favorites to the Streak.  Ed Reed scored on a 25 yard pick-6 at the hands of Matt Stover as the Ravens defeated the Bengals 26-20.  Another fan favorite, Jeremy Shockey, had a 4^th quarter game-winning touchdown as the Giants defeated the Texans 14-10.  Shockey’s score came on a 3 yard pass from Eli.  And back after a slight absence, Clinton Porter’s 38 yard run helped the redskins defeat the Cowboys 22-19 at FedEx Field.

Week #64

The 10^th week of the season gave the world a new perspective on just how good some of the players coming out Miami are.  Most of us already knew this, but this week was special.  A 52 yard field goal is well within the range of Giants kicker Jay Feely.  But lurking under the goal post was none other than Devin Hester.  As Feely’s field goal attempt fell short, Devin fielded it and ran it back 108 yards.  This helped the Bears defeat the Giants 38-20.  It was nice to see the Bears finding ways to score, especially with Rex Grossman throwing another 3 picks.  Reggie Wayne did not have a huge day against the Bills but did contribute with a 1 yard pass from Peyton.  It was well-needed as the Colts squeaked by the Bills 17-16 to improve to 9-0.  Also contributing was Frank Gore, who rushed for 159 yards including a 61 yard scamper to open the scoring as the 49ers defeated the Lions 19-13.

Week #65

Week #65 was one of those weeks we need to thank Reggie (and Peyton) for doing what they do best.  There was only one touchdown scored this week by a Miami Hurricane, but it was enough to keep the streak alive at 65 games.  Another streak did fall and that was the one of the Colts, who dropped their first game of the season to the Cowboys 21-14 thanks in part to two 4^th quarter touchdowns by Marion Barber.