Amidst the fumes from The Beach at The Branch, FIU introduced Anthony Evans as its new men's basketball coach. Packing the suite were coaches (including Ron Turner, Rita Buck-Crockett and Cindy Russo), some of last season's FIU team and a plethora of folks connected with the athletic department, past and present. More people there than at the start of the FIU-FAMU game.
"For the recruits in the South Florida area, we're going to recruit you extremely hard," Evans said. "We want to build this program on local talent, so we can get this community energized and behind this basketball program."
Evans said he thought he was close last year to getting the FIU job that went to Richard Pitino. "Obviously, Richard has a great reputation as a recruiter. I know that's something (FIU athletic director) Pete (Garcia) was huge on." Garcia said Evans lost to Pitino "by a nose."
Evans thanked Pitino "for saying great things about me. For being an advocate for me getting this position and for building a solid foundation moving forward for years to come." He also thanked South Carolina (and former Miami High) coach Frank Martin and Marquette coach Buzz Williams, whom he called "great friends," for recommending him to Garcia.
Evans said he liked The Beach at The Branch: "I love it. Naw, it's unique. if Pete had anything to do with it, I knew it would be unique...I think it sets us apart from other schools and I think that's what you want."
Garcia said FIU would tour Spain for two weeks in August.
Evans explained afterwards that the APR bouncing during his time as Norfolk's head coach was the result of players not adhering to the structures and rules in place and not being made to do so by the coaching staff. And by "coaching staff" he made clear he meant himself, not any assistant.
The team's leading three-point shooter, guard Malik Smith, might not be transferring as he indicated on Twitter and via Instagram the night Minnesota announced Pitino's hiring.
Evans hadn't made any decisions yet on how many of his Norfolk assistants he's bringing with him.
On vaca, so my recently sporadic updates from weeks of Doral-nursing-a-dying laptop will seem like breathless Tweets from the front for the next week. Unless they fire or lose a high profile coach, which is what happened at the end of my daughter's 2012 Spring Break.
So, here's some stuff for you to masticate for the next few days...
SWIMMING
Johanna Gustafsdottir finished 49th in the 100 backstroke and Sonia Perez came in 39th in the 400 individual medley Friday at the NCAA championships. Gustafsdottir swam 54.92, well off her seed time of 53.94, and Perez swam 4:16.25, also slower than her seed time of 4:10.54. Judging from times up and down the prelims, the IU Natatorium pool in Indianapolis is part sludge this year.
Both will be in the 200 back this morning. Last year, only Gustafsdottir qualified for the NCAAs among FIU's swimmers, which qualify by time and not conference position. (Sabrina Beaupre qualified as a diver, but opted for ankle surgery instead of the NCAAs).
TRACK
Freshman Marcus Ghent won the long jump with a jump of 23 feet, 8 3/4 inches at the UCF Invitational Friday.
So it was back out to Camp Mitch Wednesday night for the FIU-Florida A&M basketball game. I'm one of the few people who can say that on a night with school still out, the Heat playing at the Jetsonsesque Triple A and the University of Florida getting battered in the Sugar Bowl by Louisville.
Richard Pitino has said he wanted his team ready to play whether the crowd was five or 5,000 and after a shaky first few minutes, FIU looked happy to be home against Florida A&M. The women's hoop team dealt FAMU some pain in Tallahassee with Jerica Coley's 35 points and Finda Mansare hitting a shot with six seconds left for a 70-69 win.
At The Branch, 5-9 Deric Hill played defense like a one-man gnat swarm, deflecting 20 passes by FIU's count and making an official seven steals. At least two other times, his pressure led to steals by others and FAMU's shot clock violation came after Hill discombobulated a possession by deflecting a pass. Meanwhile, forward Tymell Murphy had the rare 20-20 night, 24 points and 20 rebounds, one game after having zero rebounds.
"No," Pitino laughed when I asked him if he saw this night coming from Hill. "He plays very hard and he's a disrupter defensively. He's always given us a lot, but giving us seven steals and eight assists is something I didn't anticipate."
At times, play rambled along with the raggedness and barely controlled speed of a hooptie with turbo. FIU's aggressiveness on defense eventually carried the day as the Panthers pulled away late to a 88-72 win. FIU forced 25 turnovers and ran to a 21-6 advantage in fast break points.
"This is the way I want to play," Pitino said. "I want to play a lot of guys, pressure teams, speed them up. Try to create offense from our defense. And we did that. We had almost 100 offensive possessions. We really got out and ran. We tried to emphasize that because the pace was too slow. We don't want to do that. We want to make conditioning a factor."
Marco Porcher Jimenez also gave FIU valuable minutes, especially in the first half when he had nine points and two rebounds in just six minutes.
"We've got very good walk-ons. Marco's a very good player, Juan (Ferrales) is a very good player, Deric Hill's a very good player," Pitino said. "The thing about Marco I love is he knows how to play, he guards and he can shoot. If you can shoot in our system, you normally are going to be successful. And he's not scared to shoot, too, which I love."
After six consecutive road games, the Panthers were happy to be back in their own house even if there was only about a house party's worth of folks there. (Official attendance was 778. By a late first half count, 278 is closer to actual attendance.)
"I'm very happy with that performance," Pitino said. "We haven't played great at home. We haven't played much at home. But when you're trying to rebuild a culture, you want to show your fans the brand of basketball you're trying to play. With the people who showed up today, they go home, they tell people and they come back and I think that's the way you build your program the way you want to build it."
A couple of conference gatherings, the Sun Belt and Conference USA, will be in South Florida soon. Look for this possibility: FAU and Middle Tennessee making the jump from The Belt to C-USA this coming academic year with FIU and North Texas instead of 2014. Apparently, there's been tension between those schools and The Belt. Middle-philes found it awfully suspicious that their 8-4 team, which finished tied for second in The Belt, played in the winner-take-all game for The Belt title and had beaten Georgia Tech soundly, got left out of the bowl party while 7-5 Western Kentucky went to a bowl. Shortly before bowl bids were announced, Middle announced it was moving to Conference USA.
SEARCHIN'...
Some athletic department staff allegedly were told Wednesday that the football coaching search could go another seven to 10 days. That does put it close to the Jan. 15, when Butch Davis will get another $592,000 from the University of North Carolina. What Davis' lawyer told me via e-mail was posted here previously. After almost two decades waking up next to a lawyer (Harvard Law '82, same class as John Roberts and Alberto Gonzales), I know that lawyers who started practicing before e-mail almost reflexively avoid putting things into e-mail that aren't certain.
The American Football Coaches Association convention is Sunday through next Wednesday. Usually, that's a bonanza of interviews as everybody tries to get their staffs filled out before recruiting (college) or free agency (NFL). Mario Cristobal's staff remains technically in FIU's employ and will remain so until the new coach is hired. Then, whomever that person is will be given the option of what to do with the staff.
TRACKING SEARCHES...
To those who don't like the use of "sources," you obviously haven't followed a coaching search before. If you've noticed, rarely does a candidate for a job admit on the record that he's even looking for a job, much less has interviewed for it. Nor do schools or franchises often admit on the record who they're going after, especially if the group of folks running the search is small (as is the case here). What the Dolphins did last year, announcing interviews, is far from the norm. More the norm was Dallas offensive line coach Tony Sparano being almost the only person in Dallas who wouldn't talk about Tony Sparano as the next Dolphins head coach in the 24 hours after the Cowboys lost in the 2007 NFL playoffs. I think he was introduced as Dolphins coach two days later.
As I don't spend all waking hours at Camp Mitch -- wouldn't mind it some days -- nor am I Gene Hackman's character in The Conversation or Enemy of the State, several somebodies likely are going to see things I don't and hear things I don't. So I see what I see and sift through a lot of "you didn't hear it from me, but..." or "off the record, I heard..." Sometimes, people are honestly wrong. Sometimes, people lie.
Today, I told you about the two very different things I was hearing about Danny Hope. Back in the days before blogs and 24/7 reporting, I wouldn't have written anything. Or, maybe if this search hadn't gone on for a almost a month, I wouldn't have written anything. I've done coaching searches for over two decades, but this is my first with a blog.
For those who think I'm angry about things said in the comments, I'm not. Tired and undercaffeinated, yes, maybe a little miffed in a "Seriously?" way, but not truly angry. I'm too old for that (stuff).
Take care of yourselves out there -- there's stomach virus going around, dropping kids and adults like Sonny Liston in a bad mood on a good day.
They might still be hammering, painting and punch-listing stuff inside The Branch as the entrance renovations and suite(s) debut today. And it won't look finished until there's no more oversized Tonka stuff digging up the northeast corner of the arena area or the landscaping is truly finished on the southeast side.
But, hey, this is Miami-Dade County, where basic contracting has recently advanced all the way to 1968 ("Maybe the gate to the garage doesn't work because your windshield is too thick") and waiting for projects to finish could've been the inspiration for the Chinese Restaurant episode of Seinfeld. So, while we have the Acronym Agony Shootout inside today between two men's teams just trying to get themselves together for the Sun Belt Tournament, FIU should count itself lucky the building's Just For Men treatment got done in time.
Speaking of today's men's game, it's on The Sun Belt Network and (my shallow understanding is) blacked out locally on ESPN3.com because it's on The Sun Belt Network. That's mimosas and white sangria if you have Comcast Cable, which has The Sun Belt Network. It's you and the kid with a stomach virus if you don't.
TV's also why the men's game open's for the women's game today. Of course, had the scheduling been done by record, it also would've been a situation in which the women's teams, the two with the over .500 records, could've told the men, "Go warm 'em up for us."
As mentioned, neither FIU or FAU, the men's preseason conference favorite, is having the level of success of even its most reasonable hopes. Some of you have asked about Isiah Thomas' job security. My sense is Thomas, who'll have two years left on his contract after this season, is more likely to fire FIU than FIU is to fire Thomas. Dealing with off court, paper wrangler mistakes such as the eligibility problems of forward Tola Akomolafe, who didn't stumble in any of his classes according to an athletic department source familiar with the situation, are the type of thing that can cause someone who doesn't need the job to say, "To Compton with this crap."
FIU sports long have been hindered on the field/court/pitch is that the school always seems to be playing catch up in the offices and board rooms. They went Division I in basketball without the proper infrastructure. They did the same in football. They've lost tournament bids, favorable rulings on transfers, etc. out of political weakness. Whatever you want to say about Pete Garcia, he brings a political savvy and a knowledge of relationship value to the FIU athletic department that's been arid in that area for years.
On Garcia: he feels there are certain sports FIU just should be winners in just on being in South Florida -- golf, tennis, soccer (I'd debate that one), baseball, football. And he wants to be a power in sand volleyball, which the NCAA has added for spring.
"I've emphasized it and here's why: I want to win," Garcia said. "It's a new sport. No school has a 100-year head start on us. No school has a winning tradition over us. No school has better facilities than us -- everybody's building the same facilities. And, there's only a couple of regions in this country that can have as good a weather and South Beach for sand volleyball. You add that up and we should be very competitive, very quickly at the highest level because we don't have those things to overcome. We're not trying to catch anybody and we have some advantages they don't have at Nebraska. Michigan."
I asked him why FIU basketball games aren't on the radio anymore. FAU's on 760AM up in Palm Beach. Even Nova Southeastern has its games on the air, 640AM.
"You've got to be a superfan to listen to FIU radio basketball. And if you're really that superfan, we've got to do everything we can to get you here," Garcia replied. "And remember, radio is expensive -- they're not paying us. We'd have to pay them to be on the radio. You've got to buy the time. It's an expense. How much are you getting out of that expense? Are you better off spending that money on marketing, promotions, the low hanging fruit. What's our low hanging fruit? Our students, right there in the dorms. Let's use that money, buy pizzas, let's do this or that, let's promote it over there right across the street and let's get them to come."
TENNIS
FIU got the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead on No. 14 Clemson in the women's tennis season opener. Then, Clemson went West Virginia-on-Clemson on FIU, taking the six singles matches to win 6-1. Karyn Guttormsen and Giuletta Boha won their doubles match and Lisa Johnson and Christine Seredni won theirs.
RIP
She threw it down on so many tunes for so long. But this is the one that, to me, not only fit romance (wife and I had a second "first dance" to it at our wedding in 1999), but for any athlete who ever won a long pursued championship.
Accident that FIU's three-game losing streak ends with DeJuan Wright's return Thursday night at South Alabama?
So, now there will be bouncy vibe around the team going into Saturday's acronym showdown with FAU. If FIU didn't expect to be 5-13 (2-4) coming into Saturday, FAU, the preseason conference favorite, certainly didn't expect to be 6-12 (2-3) going into Thursday night's game at Troy.
Both the men's and women's games Saturday, the premiere of the upgraded U.S. Century Bank Arena, will be shown on ESPN3.com.
This is my first post since last week because I've been doing that Hanukkah/Christmas thing with the family as well as being stuck in Dolphinland up in Davie. The latter is where I'll be spending this week, back around Camp Mitch more next week (I hope).
But, as for this week...
A) Despite the doubts of a lucid commenter on a previous post, I still trust my sources close to Mario Cristobal who say progress is still being made on an extension. I'm curious to see if the school pusts a little more financial bass in the escape clause.
B) The women's baskteball team's Sun & Fun holiday break tournament offers two chances during the holidays to see sophomore guard Jerica Coley. FIU opens against Albany Thursday night and faces either Charlotte or Auburn Friday.
C) Men's ball heads to the last place in the Sun Belt anyone wants to go when they're having basketball trouble, Middle Tennessee State. This team that's been on the road for all but three games so far plays one half like they just listened to "We're An American Band" and another as if they just listened to "Turn The Page" with little pattern.
While Akron product LeBron James dunked at FIU, FIU turned a dunk into a 15-foot jumper in Akron.
At halftime of "LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh present The South Florida All-Star Classic at FIU," Isiah Thomas presented a $50,000 check from the Mary's Court Foundation, the beneficiary of the game's proceeds, to the First Generation Scholarship Fund.
Saturday in Akron's old school, new design stadium was drier in every way than at FIU's U.S. Century Bank Arena.
Love that Akron dresses across the street at the field house and walks across to the stadium.
Nobody bounced or skipped out of the FIU locker room late Saturday afternoon. For the most part, the addidas clad players and coaches emerged with faces set from grim to resigned. You can see the same looks on 6 p.m. weekday shuttle flights between LaGuardia and National worn by business folk returning from getting the job done without distinction.
Even the ever enthusiastic Mario Cristobal couldn’t put much rah-rah into FIU’s fourth win of the season. Oh, he pointed out 4-2 was FIU’s best record ever at this point in the season and they finished their non-conference schedule at 3-1, the best FIU ever has. Cristobal did so not exuding the testosterone and adrenaline of great victory nor while controlling his plastique temper, as he seemed to be at times after the loss to Duke. Instead, with a result that inspired neither of those energizing emotions, he seemed drained by the game.
Akron hadn’t held a lead on a Division I (FBS) opponent this season. The Zips are a running team with a depleted offensive line. They have a bend-but-don’t-break-too-easily defense. FIU ran for over 200 yards, passed for over 300 yards, yet still won only 27-17.
Defensively, they did the job. FIU stuffed Akron’s base running game – 55 yards on 19 rushes for running backs Jawon Chisholm, Karl Bostick – and often met Chishold or Bostick shortly after the handoff, like a bunch of angry closetalkers. The defense came up with its first turnover and first sacks in three games.
Individually, defensive end Tourek Williams abused his blockers, whether on the run or the pass, and at least three times blasted quarterback Clayton Moore as he threw. Williams and Jordan Hunt were ubiquitous early and throughout, although the official statistics might not show it for Hunt, who made a few tackles for which he didn’t get credit.
Wesley Carroll threw the bubble screens and short crosses to his 308 yards. T.Y. Hilton, who was limping on his ankle but figured he’d be fine in 10 days, caught a school-record 12 passes despite playing on a gimpy ankle through the second half. He ran out of the Wildcat set once for 8 yards. Kedrick Rhodes ran for 126 yards on 22 carries. Darriet Perry picked up 85 on 20 carries.
Still, you felt some truth when Rhodes said after the game he thought FIU played down to its opposition too often so far this season.
There were the penalties, 10 for 80 yards, most of them pre-snap penalties on the offensive line…the missed touchdown opportunities inside the Akron 20…the dropped passes and general sloppiness…against most other teams on their schedule, had FIU played this way, they’d have been the recipients of an underwear-nightmare humiliation.
FIU outgained Akron 265 to 101 in the first half, 120 to 18 in the second quarter. The scoreboard read 13-10 as Akron came out for the last seconds of the first half with a kneel down clearly in mind. One Ohio-based reporter quipped, “Going into the ‘Victory Formation.’” Another reporter in the press box quipped, “Yeah -- Moral Victory Formation.”
FIU seemed to be right on pace to duplicate the Duke loss. The red zone problems that dogged them at Duke followed them to Akron, slightly adjusted.
“Similar situation,” quarterback Wesley Carroll said. “We were able to move the ball, but we need more points. It’s evident. Wev’e got to score better in the red zone and we’ve got to make more plays. I’ve got to put the ball on the money. Receivers got to catch it. Line’s got to block.”
Cristobal said, “Against Duke, I though execution (in the red zone) was the problem. Here, it was penalties, although I guess you could say that’s part of execution, too.”
Out of the 20 drives directed by Carroll on which FIU got to the 15 or closer, they have touchdowns on 11, field goals on five and got bupkiss on four. That’s not good enough, especially when you play in the points-by-the-peck Sun Belt. Not picking on Carroll, but if it’s the quarterback’s job to get the team into the end zone and it’s a spread option offense, a chunk of the problem gets put on his desk. Then again, he can’t make everyone’s block or catch his own passes.
Nor, can he put a starting gate on the line of scrimmage to keep linemen from jumping the count. Six illegal procedure penalties by my count Saturday.
It got to the point when I wondered aloud, “Are they telling the line the snap count?”
Cristobal was referring to the pre-snap penalties when he mentioned, “a lot of penalties that are unacceptable some have to deal with focus and concentration.”
No penalties to blame for the first red zone failure. FIU marched smartly to the Akron 8 on its first possession. A pair of Kedrick Rhodes runs moved all of 2 yards. On third down, Carroll didn’t see wide receiver Willie Wright alone over the middle, instead underthew running back Darriet Perry on a checkdown. Jack Griffin hit the right upright on his chip shot field goal.
The next possession, a third and 2 from the 15 became third and 7 from the 17 after an illegal procedure call on FIU. So a layup first down against a terrible run defense became a passing down. Carroll threw incomplete FIU had to call on Griffin again.
Griffin’s next field goal followed Carroll not seeing a very open Jonathan Faucher at the goal line in the middle of the field and threw it away not far from that direction. I find it strange FIU doesn’t look for the tight ends more in the red zone. They did last week and got a touchdown catch from Faucher. When the small spaces around the goal line limit FIU’s speed, it’s time to bring the size and athleticism of your tight ends into play.
One play that won’t show up anywhere, but nearly turned the game – and got referenced in the postgame by Cristobal – was Dominique Rhymes drop on third and 5 from the FIU 23 in the third quarter. FIU began the drive on their 8, up 20-10. A touchdown puts Akron away, a field goal on the ropes, but a three-and-out gives Akron life. A defensive hold drawn by Hilton gave FIU a first down at the 18. Carroll split Rhymes numbers in the tummy, in stride on a post about 15 yards downfield. Drop.
I thought of Pierre Garcon’s second quarter drop in the Colts-Saints Super Bowl that proved a major turning point of that game. Similar pattern, although Garcon’s was deeper and more of a cross. But, the plays were alike in that both had running room and came on third down with their team driving to make a nice lead fat. Sure, enough Akron took the punt and drove 62 yards in four plays to cut the lead to 20-17.
The roughing the passer calls, while goosing two Akron drives, seemed more forgivable if only because they were so questionable.
“Until you see those on tape, it’s hard to tell,” Cristobal said. “They said on one we hit him in the head (Tourek Williams) and the other we hit him late (Andre Pound). On the last one, I thought (Denzell Perine) came in low and it was a shoulder to shoulder type tackle, but it wasn’t.”
The call on Williams nullified an incomplete third down pass caused by Williams two plays after he caused another incompletion by brutalizing Moore in the mid-motion.
“I wasn’t expecting that because when I hit him, I hit him with my hands in the chest,” Williams said. “but the play before when I hit him, I kind of hit him a little high. And they just wanted to come back with something the next play. It is what it is. I let the refs ref and I just play the game.”
This week, while FIU could harrumph about the roughing the passer calls, they also got two big breaks of their own from the zebras. The third-and-6 that immediately preceded Akron’s field goal saw Clayton Moore overthrow Antoine Russell deep behind Sam Miller. Officials fortunately for FIU, didn’t see Miller hold Russell’s near arm for half the time the ball was in the air.
In the third quarter, as Kedrick Rhodes turned a safety valve into a drive-saving 14-yard gain to the Akron 4, officials somehow missed Caylin Hauptmann committing an egregious hold. The entire press box saw it, gave varying exclamations and waited for Rhodes nifty play to come back. But no call came.
No gritting teeth over the officials this week. This week, the team that frustrated FIU was FIU.
Afterwards, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts took over the field for a camp out.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris --- look, you know what game I'm talking about. Now, there's television information and a change in time.
FIU announced late Monday night that Satuday's all-star game at U.S. Century Bank Arena will be televised on both CBS 4 and My TV 33. When CBS primetime programming starts at 8 p.m., Channel 4-WFOR will go to that and Channel 33 will stay with the game. The game will also be streamed on CBSMiami.com.
The game time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30, an important point for those of you with Upper Deck General Admission seats. I already heard one pair of women talking about getting to The Bank at noon Saturday for the upper deck land rush.
Some of the proceeds from this event going to Mary's Court Foundation will go to FIU's First Generation Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid to students who'll be the first generation in their families to earn a college degree.
Serious hoits: Apparently, suddenly getting work with the ball can be hazardous to your health.
Wide receiver Glenn Coleman will miss his second consecutive game with a shoulder injury suffered against Louisiana-Lafayette while catching four of his eight receptions this season. Wide receiver Jacob Younger’s two catches for 26 yards against Duke, one pass completion for 44 yards to Dominique Rhymes and two key penalties apparently came with a shoulder injury. He’s officially questionable for Saturday.
Don’t expect Coleman or free safety Chuck Grace back this week. Guard Curtis Bryant (thumb sprain) is questionable.
The Line: FIU opened a 19-point favorite. It’s up to 19.5 or 20 depending on which sportsbook you check. Translation: some light FIU money by serious bettors who like to get down on games before the sportsbooks figure out they might’ve miscalculated on a line.
Timeouts and such: As I forgot to ask about the timeout usage in the postgame and had Monday off, I brought it up to Mario Cristobal Tuesday. He gave a full explanation of those and threw in a side swipe at me for questioning in the blog them not running Perry on third and 1 in the fourth quarter on the play Wesley Carroll bounce passed a hitch to Wayne Times. One of you tattletales definitely told him about the latter and probably the timeout section, too. I couldn’t help envisioning some guy my age in t-shirt and khakis yelling in Eric Cartman voice down Collins Avenue, “Coach Cristobal! Coach Cristoballll! David just said you waste timeouts and, for the third time in three weeks, called out your running back usage!”
(How do I know someone told him? He said someone called him on the Perry thing. When I expressed mock disappointment that he didn’t read the blog, he gave an explanation that could be summed up thusly: I don’t know enough to make it worth his while to read me. I thought, “Aw, SNAP.”)
After I stopped laughing at all of that, I thought of this…
Anyway, as he’d said Saturday after the game about the second timeout in the second half, a player got rocked and disoriented. The first timeout of the half, off the fourth and 1, he said was caused by “a personnel issue.” He wouldn’t elaborate, but I have the feeling that it wasn’t all about FIU’s personnel.
The first half timeout on a second and 3, he said, “They jumped into something that was very foreign and did not match up with the play or the check to it. We hoped that they were bluffing or disguising something and they didn’t. So we used it for that purpose.”
He did admit they perhaps would’ve liked to have had one of the first half timeouts back. While talking timeouts, without segue, he jumped to:
“And third down over here, that is a run play. I know you had written that it was a throw out on third down with Perry getting hot. It is a run first play. That’s a read option. When there’s six guys in the box, plus a seventh safety coming in the corner where we’re playing it, you’re outnumbered by two. It’s all option football. So you have to pull it. You keep it there, you’re going to get blasted for minus two.”
SOCCER STUFF
For shutting out No. 21 Kentucky 1-0 on six saves in his first collegiate game, freshman goalkeeper Rodney Greiling got the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honor. Usual starter Eric Reyes got sidelined by an illness, moving Greiling's debut up by several games.
She didn't get Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, but few players have been as tangibly hot as freshman forward Ashleigh Shim. In the women's team's current five-game winning streak, Shim's picked up a point in four games and her two goals Sunday against South Alabama gave her four goals and an assist in the streak.
ALL-STAR GAME TICKET SALES
A line at FIU for basketball tickets? A line two or three times greater than the actual attendance for most of the games I’ve covered at FIU? I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see that. So I swung by Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium at Camp Mitch Monday morning after dropping the kid off at school. Ticket sales for "LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh present The South Florida All-Star Classic" figured to be amusing, at least.
Some snapshots from the morning.
Two young women left the southeast window with Lower Bowl reserved seats, which were sold out in about 40 minutes. Immediately, a guy in a white shirt and sunglasses descended on them asking if they would sell. “No.” He left.
I said to them, “You didn’t even want to hear his offer?”
One said, “No! We just paid $100 a piece for these!”
And probably could’ve sold them right then for at least $200. I understand you camp out for royalty seats to what you think is a once in a lifetime event that’s going to be The Scene, man. Been there. I’m not sure how much money you would’ve had to offer my 9-year-old butt for my 1977 Indy 500 ticket, but you don’t have it on you and probably can’t get your hands on it. But I was 9.
As a college student and as a full adult, with food to buy and rent to pay, I’ve at least thought about going for the money – Publix and FPL don’t cash memories. To not even listen to the man’s offer says you have too much money or too little sense.
It was nice meeting those of you who stopped me to say hi or ask if I knew what was going on as far as if or when they would stagger the opening of the windows. Oh, for those of you who saw me being so absorbed doing a crowd estimate count that I went on the wrong side of the open gate at the southwest corner of the stadium and ran into a fence: I hope you saw the whole thing and laughed really hard.
At first, surely to create buzz and a great scene for media, tickets were to be sold only at the Fieldhouse University Credit Union Box Office. Great idea, I thought. About as pure as it gets, gives an advantage to students and the scarcity of tickets in the hands of ticket brokers would really drive up the secondary market prices, multiplying the buzz.
Upon rolling up Monday, I saw lines running from ticket windows on the south side of the stadium, in addition to the one at the main box office. And two of the south side ticket windows had signs announcing “Upper Level GA $50 CASH ONLY” while others were marked “Lower Reserved $100 Upper Level GA $50.”
Uh, oh.
This is where old school concert ticket buying training would’ve come in handy. Back when TicketMaster was young, jheri-curls were cool and if somebody said an album dropped, we figured it broke, concerts meant camping out at a record store with a TicketMaster machine and as much cash as you could scrounge. Nobody used credit cards to buy tickets. Too much could go wrong with credit cards. Machines could get slow (happened Monday at one window) or just stop working. And, a cash transaction was faster, a big consideration when a few seconds could cost you a few rows or even a section.
(Besides, you couldn’t give up your credit card to the person buying your tickets. You never bought your own tickets. There was a 12-ticket per person limit. As we were suburban spawn but no longer in an area so rural we had fields that needed tending by a large brood, nobody had that many brothers and sisters. So, the first person in line bought their ticket, their best friends’ tickets and probably those wanted by No. 2 in line. The No. 2 person did the same and so on. For Van Halen in 1984, I was 16th in line at the Georgetown Road Karma, but my money was up at No. 4. A lot of camaraderie and trust in those concert camp outs, now that I think about it. Each of us in line was holding hundreds of OPM (Other People’s Money), but beyond No. 3 or 4 in line, most of the people whose money we held, we had met at the camp out. Once, when I had to work a Mickey D’s shift a 15-minute drive away, I was given a ride and marked as present for the eight hourly attendance checks of my shift.)
What ensued Monday was predictable. First, came the complaints from those in the main box office line about the other windows opening at the same time. The main Fieldhouse box office opened approximately 20 minutes early, I’m told (I left at 11:15 to run an errand and came back at noon). And heeeere come the complaints from those in Upper Level Only lines that they didn’t know this line was Upper Level Only until they got near the window (reading is fundamental, folks.). Some of that group complained when they weren’t allowed to slide over into the front of the All Tickets Cash or Credit line. And, predictably, those lines moved more ponderously than Vince Wilfork does with a football.
When the cash only lines cleared quickly, the remaining desperate ticket brokers whipped out cash and lumbered through a couple more times. In the following video, you see a stampede for the last open window.
Angry folks still without tickets at the 1:49 p.m. announcement of "sold out!" griped they didn’t know there would be separate lines or that it would help to have cash or that some tickets were flipped on the spot for decent whip-out. My brow wrinkled with incomprehension -- how could they be surprised? – before I realized most of these students were used to buying tickets online.
“It’s socialism!” shouted one young man whom I hope isn’t a student.
No, son, it’s about as pure a form of capitalism as you’re likely to see.
Saturday's loss to Duke didn't hurt recruiting. FIU's engaged to be engaged to a couple of more prospects.
Lemarq Caldwell, a 6-0, 210-pound Tampa Bay Tech High running back making his visit this weekend, verbally committed to FIU Sunday, according to sources around the Mitch Madique Campus. Caldwell's a power back as well as the kind of taller, heavier durable back that FIU would like to add.
Sources around Camp Mitch confirmed that Tampa Jefferson wide receiver Adrian Jenkins also has committed verbally to FIU. Jenkins is 6-3, 195 who looks like a possession receiver among the class of pass catchers the Panthers have coming.
Interesting stat: With Wesley Carroll at quarterback, FIU has 9 touchdown plays of 15 yards or longer, 3 touchdown plays shorter than 15 yards and 3 field goals shorter than 32 yards.
So when FIU snaps the ball inside the opposing 15-yard line with Carroll at quarterback, they're as likely to get a field goal as a touchdown.
THE SOCCERS
Freshman Roberto de Sousa's goal with 33 seconds left in the first overtime pushed FIU over No. 21 Kentucky 1-0 and pushed FIU (4-4-2, 1-1) back up to .500 Sunday afternoon.
Following de Sousa's heroics, another freshman, Ashleigh Shim, scored twice to lead the women's soccer team to its fifth consecutive win, 2-0 over South Alabama.
VOLLEYBALL
Defending Sun Belt champion Middle Tennessee State walked into U.S. Century Bank Arena, spanked FIU 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-18). This left FIU (10-5, 2-2) 0-2 on the weekend, 0-6 in sets against Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. Jovana Bjelica had a team-high 10 kills. Judging from following this match on Twitter, you took about as long to read this summary as long it took Middle Tennessee to wax FIU Sunday. Must have been angry over having to miss church.
The first part of this is a rerun from Friday afternoon's blog post. If you saw that, feel free to skip past this to the football, volleyball, futbol or whatever ball-type thing gets you groovin'.
PSEUDO-NBA BASKETBALL
The NBA put an All-Star Game in Miami in the second year of the Heat and Miami Arena, a building that was outdated about 15 minutes after it opened. Why the NBA hasn't brought it's winter showcase back to Miami, despite American Airlines Arena downtown on the bay and South Beach nearby (maybe that's the reason), is a mystery. Which makes it all the more ironic that the next time a near all-star game gets played in Miami, it's at a small college arena in the suburbs.
Tickets for that game, "LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh present the South Florida All-Star Classic" at FIU's U.S. Century Bank Arena, 7 p.m., Oct. 8 will go on sale Monday at noon at the University Credit Union Box Office on the first floor of the Fieldhouse adjacent to at FIU Stadium. No phone or online orders will be taken. Tickets will cost $50 for upper bowl general admission, $100 for lower bowl reserved. Fans can buy two tickets per person until 3 p.m., four tickets per person after that.
The game, which Wade billed on Twitter as DWade vs. King James, will include the Heat's Big Three, the Knicks Carmelo Anthony and A'mare Stoudemire, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, New Orleans' Chris Paul, and many other stars.
Proceeds will go to Mary's Court Foundation, a foundation established by FIU coach Isiah Thomas in honor of his strong-willed mother, the late Mary Thomas
FOOTBALL
This is going to look like a Reader’s Digest Condensed Book version of my usual pregame posts. I’m tired, have a stuffy nose, a Long Island waiting and a dissatisfaction with how much I’ve seen of Duke.
This is the kind of wacked team that drives fans and coaches crazy, makes prognosticators look stupid and keeps bettors away from like the team came Chernobyl-dipped. Losing to Richmond (what?), drilled by Stanford (expected), then punking Boston College (everybody’s doing it) in a comeback win, then blowing Tulane off the field.
Take that BC game. Duke allowed BC only three first downs on the ground, but trailed BC 19-7 in the third quarter. They came back to win 20-19 after a last second BC field goal attempt went awry.
When a line finally came up for this game after FIU coach Mario Cristobal said quarterback Wesley Carroll would play, it was FIU by 3. That’s moved to 3.5 to 4, depending on where you look. Translation: some money on FIU, probably not much, and even less on Duke. Bettors are staying away from this one.
Duke lost defensive end Kenny Anuike, their best pass rusher, to injury early against Tulane. FIU will be without free safety Chuck Grace (right knee) and wide receiver Glenn Coleman (shoulder).
Duke undoubtedly saw the trouble Louisiana-Lafayette caused FIU with the quick wide receiver screen. FIU’s defensive backs couldn’t get off the Lou-La wide receivers’ blocks, thus allowing at least 5 to 7 yards before ball carrier contact. Eventually, they’ll draw FIU up, fake a hitch and throw the go. Until you prove you're not a fool, you'll get played for one.
FIU failed in both ends of its pass defense last week, but the pass rush gets the bigger they pass/you fail grade because that grew into a given after three weeks. When it didn’t get there last week, even by blitz, the secondary couldn’t maintain coverage. FIU coach Mario Cristobal uses “big” to describe every offensive line the Panthers face. But for Duke’s, he also used “long.” Long arms…that’s what scouts look for when searching for linemen that’ll keep the quarterback from being treated like a piñata at Westchester triplets birthday party. Cristobal’s worried about the pass rush getting erased for a second consecutive week.
One thing Lou-La did to loosen up FIU that the Dukies will do just because it’s their wont is throw on first down.
Duke allowed only eight rushing first downs against Tulane and BC. Take away the sacks and they allowed a combined 161 rushing yards on 43 carries, 3.7 per carry. Not overly permissive, but not The Great Wall of Durham, either. Richmond ran for 95 on 31 carries (no sacks). Duke coach David Cutliffe felt Tulane and BC were more straight ahead, physical teams. Cristobal called defensive tackle Charlie Hatcher “as good as we’ve faced” and, remember, Duke lost defensive end Anuike.
Add it up and I see another game where the shifty Kedrick Rhodes gets the bulk of the carries for FIU.
Wesley Carroll’s back at quarterback for FIU. Despite an ankle that might still be bothering him, he needs to be a better passer than the Wesley Carroll who played against Central Florida and Louisiana-Lafayette. Against UCF, he was just a bit scattershot. Though the play calling got stale against Louisiana-Lafayette after the opening drive, Carroll’s decision-making wasn’t exactly Manning-esque before his injury. Carroll takes too many Ken O’Brien sacks/hits, where he holds onto the ball too long. By contrast, one play last week, he threw a panicky pass with the nearest upright Lou-La player pondering Kierkegaard on the sideline.
As well as Jake Medlock – the name just sounds like it should be followed by “A Quinn Martin production” – played against Lou-La, there were moments when Carroll would’ve made better reads. Against Duke, FIU needs to put more of the game in Carroll’s hands and he needs to be the senior leader in performance he can be. The plays -- small, medium, large and T.Y. Hilton – were there against Louisville and should be there against Duke.
Richmond’s Tre Grey got Duke for eight catches and 129 yards. That’s a secondary that should fear Hilton, even at 80 percent Hilton, or Wayne Times.
Let’s say both teams move the ball well. There’s been a defensive score in every FIU game so far, so figure on one here by FIU – a jumped route, a post-reception fumble, something along those lines. That score could wind up being the difference in a game where the punters should be able to spend the game arguing with the cheerleaders over who's the better athlete.
FIU 38, Duke 35.
But that’s just one black man’s opinion. I could be wrong (and have been the last two weeks).
VOLLEYBALL
In less time than it took my daughter to finish two bowls of matzoh ball soup, Western Kentucky swept FIU out of U.S. Century Bank Arena 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19). Jovana Bjelica had 13 kills and Chanel Araujo had 14 digs as Western left the former Sunblazer Arena with a win for the second consecutive season.
Defending Sun Belt champion Middle Tennessee State visits Sunday at noon.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Since the humiliation by Oregon State two weeks ago, the women footballers have run off four in a row, the latest a 3-0 spanking of Troy Friday that gets them to 3-0 in the conference. They’re also 6-5 overall, their first time above .500 this season.
Chelsea Leiva and April Perry, striking early and late, each got her second goal of the season. In the middle, sub Deana Rossi sent FIU into halftime with a 2-0 lead off an assist from Kelly Ann Hutchinson. Hutchinson and Nicole DiPerna, who set up Leiva’s goal, are tied for the team lead with three assists.
Tickets for the"LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh present the South Florida All-Star Classic" at FIU's U.S. Century Bank Arena, 7 p.m., Oct. 8 will go on sale Monday at noon at the University Credit Union Box Office on the first floor of the Fieldhouse at Alonso Field at FIU Stadium. No phone or online orders will be taken. Tickets will cost $50 for upper bowl general admission, $100 for lower bowl reserved. Fans can buy two tickets per person until 3 p.m., four tickets per person after that.
The game, which the Heat's Dwyane Wade billed on Twitter as DWade vs. King James, will include the Heat's Big Three, the Knicks Carmelo Anthony and A'mare Stoudemire, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, New Orleans' Chris Paul, and many others.
Proceeds will go to Mary's Court Foundation, a foundation established by FIU coach Isiah Thomas in honor of his strong-willed mother, the late Mary Thomas
2. Between paying attention that game, Rosh Hasannah -- Christian me read the first night prayers for our house in English and bad Hebrew off my BlackBerry in my right hand while hodling a Heineken in my left and had a great second night dinner at a friend's house -- football, furloughs and such, I've slept on a huge night for volleyball at The Bank Friday.
Yarimir Rosa, FIU's first four-time All-American, will have her number retired after the first big deal home match of the season, 6:30 against Western Kentucky. FIU's desire for an undefeated season at home gets perhaps its stiffest pre-Sun Belt tournament challenge here. Western's 15-1 and got five votes in the last Top 25 poll. Not only did this school spike FIU out of the 2010 Sun Belt tournament, 3-0, but it handed FIU its only home loss of the 2010 season, 3-2.
Western calls its women's teams, "Lady Toppers." I refuse to use a nickname that manages to be both archaically sexist and oxymoronic.
3. The Swimming & Diving team opens its season at 6 p.m. up on the Biscayne Boulevard Campus against Florida Gulf Coast. FIU's 2011 recruiting class ranked 23rd by collegeswimming.com.
4. Women's soccer, which opened Sun Belt conference play with a pair of wins last week and evened their overall record at 5-5, hosts Troy at 7:30. Senior defender Kelly Ann Hutchinson leads the team in scoring with three goals and two assists, but during FIU's current three-game winning streak, freshman Ashleigh Shim has two goals and an assist.
FIU students, South Florida NBA fans, South Florida fans of just being Where It's At (a number exponentially larger than the first two groups put together) have been asking for ticket prices about the virtual NBA All-Star Game (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony) Oct. 8 at FIU.
Early in the day, I was told details are still in the works and an announcment might be coming this evening. Now, I've been told nothing will be released until Thursday morning. If that's the case, the information won't appear on this blog until Friday. Thursday isn't just a day off for me, I'm not allowed to do any Herald work or even be contacted by my editors. I suspect the information will appear over on the Heat blog or elsewhere on The Herald site.
Also, my Twitter account, http://twitter.com/DavidJNeal, is mine and nothing says I can't Tweet what I learn. Maybe you'll want to check there on the morrow.
How do you fill US Century Bank Arena? Looks like you just have an NBA lockout and shove a bunch of big NBA stars into the joint.
Source at the Mitch Madique Campus texted me in the wee hours Tuesday morning that the Oct. 8 charity basketball game, possibly featuring the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, isn't a completely done deal yet to be placed at US Century Bank Arena. When I asked when things would be official that FIU would host, I was told to check back Wednesday.
It was first reported Monday night by the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds that FIU was a probable site for the game.
FOOTBALL
Wide receiver Glenn Coleman has a sprained shoulder and definitely will be out against Duke.
Apparently the news that quarterback Wesley Carroll is feeling better prompted some Vegas sports books to put FIU-Duke up, installing FIU as a three-point favorite. Leroy's, Stations and The Wynn all kept the game off. Carroll, Jake Medlock split practice snaps evenly, according to Cristobal, with third-string quarterback Lorenzo Hammonds getting a few seven-on-seven reps.
I had a chance to catch up with FIU athletic director Pete Garcia Friday afternoon. We touched a on number of different subjects during our chat. I posted a few notes below.
Football
What are a few things FIU fans can look forward to this coming athletic year?
"We are very excited No. 1 with what’s happened with the foundation built by our coaches and our student athletes. Going into this year we are excited about our football program. First time we are playing six games at home. With teams like UCF and Duke coming in it should be an exciting season."
What are some of the plans to continue increasing attendance at football games?
"Attendance went up dramatically last year. We are bringing in higher quality teams. A UCF team that won the conference and an ACC team in Duke. Our student body is getting more involved in the program. ESPN networks are carrying 6 out of our first 8 games. That’s unheard of for our conference."
Ticket sales?
"It’s going to be safe to say we are going to have over 10,000 season tickets sold this year."
Any word on when the next phase of stadium construction will begin?
"We are stating to have discussions in regard about closing off the north side of the stadium," Garcia said.
Garcia was clear that the talks were just beginning and that plans should become more clear in about "six months."
Is the plan to continue using the arena and the stadium for outside events?
"The Arena is used about 95 percent of the time. A lot of it is outside events that bring in money for the athletic department. The Gold Cup is a perfect example. Those revenues also go into the athletic department.We keep increasing it every year. We could still use the stadium more. We have a number of high school games at the stadium including Belen and Columbus."
Men's basketball
Work on the 2011-12 basketball schedule is underway. According to Garcia, the Panthers will be traveling to Maryland and Dayton next season. Dates will be announced sometime this month.
With much speculation in the national media about the future of basketball coach Isiah Thomas, I figured I'd ask Garcia about the possibility of Thomas taking a head coaching job in the association next year.
"[Thomas] is here and he’s working and recruiting. He’s very excited about his upcoming year," Garcia said.
What are some the changes coming to the basketball arena?
"New lockers. Brand new entrance with suits. Multipurpose rooms that will be used for suits on game day and other University functions when we are not playing."
Softball
How is the search for a new softball coaching coming along?
"We are doing a national search for the softball coach. We are confident we can find someone that can build on what Beth did and take the program to the next level."
TAMPA -- Apparently, FIU baseball brings out a much more spirited debate than some people thought. The 2010 season is just 6 days away when the Panthers open next Friday, Feb. 19 against Maryland at University Park Stadium.
Went out to another intrasquad game the other day and this time caught four innings. Since FIU baseball brings out such passion in some of our readers, there will be a comprehensive FIU baseball blog on the next post. And you can look for the Herald's FIU baseball preview in next Thursday's paper.
But for now will let you catch your breath from the last post whether you were talking baseball or talking about which school has the better apple pie in their food court.
Yours truly is in Tampa for the weekend working a soccer tournament, but here's a little mix of FIU sports stuff going on in case you missed it.
Three members of the FIU football coaching staff are among some of the candidates being considered for the open running backs coaching job. Among them are special teams coach Apollo Wright, who coached Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook at Villanova. Grad assistant Dennis Smith and director of football ops Juan Navarro.
Congratulations to FIU receivers coach Frank Ponce (above left making a "W" sign for Willis Wright, thanks to Alex J. Hernandez photo) who was named by ESPN as the top recruiter in the Sun Belt for securing ManChild to join the Panthers. Former FIU OC James Coley, now the OC at Florida State, was named the ACC's top recruiter. Click on this link: Top College Football Recruiters for more info and notice that it looks like ESPN used a mug shot of Coley wearing an FIU coach's shirt.
HOOPING IT UP
A pretty inaccurate article in the new times about FIU hoops. Hey, we're in America and you can express whatever opinion you want, but when you use facts (i.e.: actual numbers and actual people that said certain things -- "Isiah Thompson") at least get those right in a story.
PG responded to the article on Friday and here is a short story that is expected to run in the Herald at some point:
FIU athletic director Pete Garcia fired back at a recent New Times article on FIU basketball.
Garcia noted several inaccuracies about the story which chronicles Golden Panthers coach Isiah Thomas’s first season and the program’s ticket sales.
Among some of the misinformation from the article that has Garcia perturbed is FIU basketball’s average attendance numbers.
Garcia is also upset about the article’s writer misidentifying FIU President Mark Rosenberg as the person to wrongfully introduce Thomas at the coach’s hiring news conference.
Former FIU provost Ronald Berkman, now the president at ClevelandStateUniversity, introduced Thomas as “Isiah Thompson” at the April 15, 2009 news conference.
Rosenberg was not working at FIU at the time. Since the Times article was published Wednesday, the error was corrected to Berkman mis-introducing Thomas.
“This is a classic example of irresponsible and sloppy journalism from someone who uses inaccurate numbers and inaccurately quotes President Rosenberg with introducing Isiah Thomas at his hiring press conference which he never did,” Garcia said. “This is the end result and it’s unfortunate, because the quality of journalism in South Florida is among the best in the nation and this one story won’t ruin the good journalism that takes place in South Florida on a daily basis.”
The Times article states “. . . the basketball team has averaged a paltry 120 attendees per home game this season. The arena seats 6,000.”
U.S. Century Bank Arena, which seats 5,000, has averaged 1,163 fans per FIU basketball game this season, according to figures FIU ticket operations manager Jeremy Lamb provided the Miami Herald.
Lamb added it’s an increase from the 2008-09 FIU basketball season’s average attendance of 487 fans per game. Lamb said FIU has also sold 46 of 50 courtside seats added to the arena this season.
The Panthers are 7-20 this season, but Thomas has signed the No. 17 2010 recruiting class in the nation.
WARMING UP IN THE BULLPEN
Catch your breath yet about FIU baseball? Apple pie? (Cracker Barrel has a pretty good one). Ok, then.
FIU was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt by the conference's coaches on Friday. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky were picked ahead of the Panthers. But don't take the SBC coaches word for it, you decide in our poll question below.
FIU first baseman Tim Jobe (left, thanks AJH photo and for Zeke photo above, right) was selected to the preseason All-Sun Belt team. Jobe was a member of the 2009 All-Sun Belt team.
Several publications and websites are picking FIU baseball to finish near the top of the conference, but I think you have to wait and see how the Panthers starting rotation and bullpen shake out.
FIU is going to miss projected No. 2 starter Logan Dodds (academically ineligible). Dodds -- like Scott Rembisz 2 years ago -- was the Florida JUCO Pitcher of the Year last season at Miami Dade College. R.J. Fondon, Corey Polizzano and Daniel DeSimone are going to have to step up.
A bigger concern could be the Panthers bullpen. It could be a closer-by-committee until someone nails down the job. Among the candidates are freshman Alberto Cardenas, last season's part-time closer Jorge Marban and third baseman/pitcher Garrett Wittels.
Eric Berkowitz (a.k.a "Harry Potter" as his teammates call him, because of the Potter-like glasses he wears) is likely moving to middle relief where he had some pretty good outings last season.
PANTHER PAWSE
Will have a Happy Blog Hour 2-for-1 special in LIVE BLOGS next week. Log on to theGPP on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7:54 p.m. for a LIVE BASKETBALL BLOG of FIU/Hooters basketball when the Hooters from Del Boca Vista Phase 2 visit the Bank for game two of the Pat Riley Classic this season.
Then log on to the GPP the next night, Feb. 19 at 6:56 p.m. for a LIVE BLOG BASEBALL of FIU's season opener against Maryland from the House that Mike Lowell Built. Yes, I know she is one of the FIU Witches.
Q&A
Gooch7: Pete: Who will the closer be? Any input about him?
PP: Hope the two paragraphs above at the end of the baseball section of this post answers your question.
Yandro: Pete, thanks for the update. Do we know who the starters will be come Opening Night, or are positions still up in the air with a week left?
PP: Competition still going on at several positions. Will have TT come on here next week and give you an update straight from the head coach's mouth.
Wes Kendall: Hey Pete, I've heard rumors that Rosenberg is rebranding FIU, which might again lead to another logo change/color change. Have you heard anything?
PP: Nothing to it. The university changed their logo to block letters not too long ago and the athletic program went to block letters with a more fierce Panther just 2 years ago.
