Canes 1st Media Day

Big news out of ‘Canes practice today, Kirby Freeman named starting Quarter Back for the Marshall game. After that game things get a little hazy, one minute Coach Randy Shannon is saying that Freeman will not be graded game to game. Two minutes later, when asked if Freeman would start at Oklahoma, Shannon scoffed at the question and said its a few weeks away.


A few other stories from the day, Sam Shields is suspended for violating team rules and Javarris James will share time with Greg Cooper at running back. In fact the depth chart says “or”, so it seems that the true freshman Cooper has a chance to start.

Three major themes from the day, Shannon is about discipline, competition and playing through pain. The later, was defined as the difference between being hurt or nicked and being injured. Shannon explained that “it’s nothing personal, but if you’re hurt, you don’t have value to the team.” That makes me wonder if that was a veiled shot at Kyle Wright, who missed time with a “sore” knee, maybe Shannon wants to send a message about not letting a little pain keep you out of practice.

The other two themes, competition and discipline, are evident in the suspension of Shields and the multiple position battles this team is having. We all know about QB and RB, but there is also a competition at Safety and in the O-Line.

My impressions of the team and Shannon hasn’t really changed after their Tuesday practice, they are a seven to eight win team, with no shot a ACC title much less NCAA. That doesn’t mean I don’t think Shannon will turn things around, on the contrary, I think Shannon is why this team wins seven not five games.

Make sure to check out theedgeosports.com if you want to hear audio of the confrence and make sure to read on Saturday when I will have blogs about the 'Canes and FAU.

Bye Bye to a Dump

Maybe it's because I'm not a native Floridian but I don't see why the Canes leaving The Orange Bowl is such a big deal. I know the stadium has been around since the 50's and there a ton of memories there, but its not a historical landmark.

The Orange Bowl has seen Satchel Paige pitch, Joe Namath throw and countless Hurricane memories, but many other stadiums also had memories. The Orange Bowl was nice, now it's a dump and a 200 million dollar Extreme makeover will just leave it looking like Courtney Love. I love Soldier Field and the Bears ruined it by landing a space ship on top of it. Baseball is the only sport that has stadiums that have remained relatively unchanged and relevant since their inception, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Those are the only two stadiums that I can think of that would be a tragedy if they are destroyed (I would say Yankee stadium, but it is being destroyed).



A positive for the Orange Bowl being abandoned, a new team, like the Marlins can tear it down and build a new stadium. I'm not a Marlins fan, but a dream scenario for the Fish is to be playing on the old Orange Bowl site with Hanley Ramirez in Center and Miguel Cabrera at First.

Beck-A-Pa-Looza

David Beckham is impressive; there is no doubt about it. Tonight he had two assists in front of 66,000 soccer fans in NY Giants Stadium. Beckham is not going to turn me into a fan of his sport…but I do watch Sports Center to check on his progress and see his highlights, which is more than I’ve ever done for any other soccer player.



Beckham is a more than a soccer star, he is a superstar and he is a compelling person who I believe can help American soccer more than anyone else ever has in history. Soccer will never be a “Big 3” sport in America…but who says soccer can’t overtake the sport formally known as hockey.

Hockey is not an American created sport, their rules and style of play of play are similar and soccer is far less brutal than hockey.

My point is, don’t underestimate the effect Beckham is having on American soccer. If his sport can move past hockey, than it’s only a homegrown star from moving past golf and NASCAR. Think about it, what is Golf without Tiger Woods. Want a relevant example of a sport dying in America without native stars…tennis.