March Madness CaneSport Style: Round 1, Games 17-20
March Madness CaneSport Style: Round 1, Games 1-4
March Madness CaneSport Style: Round 1, Games 5-8
Who says there is not gonna be March Madness?
We can't let the coronavirus take away March Madness.
So CaneSport has created its own tournament.
Miami Hurricane style.
Welcome to Round 1 with a field of 64 contenders aiming to be the national champion of Hurricane lore. Here are games 17-20.
We are will slowly eliminating the pretenders down to the Round of 32, the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final Four and then the championship.
The subscribers at CaneSport.com have the voting power on the message boards of CaneSport.com.
Who or what will emerge as the greatest Cane of all.
The coming days will provide the answer.
So get your votes in in the threads in the War Room message board and may the winners advance
Then we will move onward to the next round until we crown a champion.
GAME 17. ED REED VS. SEAN TAYLOR: More impactful Cane Safety
THE CASE FOR ED REED: One of the greatest safeties of all time, Reed was a major leader on UM's 2001 national championship team after deciding to come back for his senior year to help the Canes win a title (he redshirted in 1997 and played from '98-'01). He led UM with 9 tackles in that 37-14 Rose Bowl title win over Nebraska and had nine interceptions during the season. He holds Miami records for career interceptions (21), most career interceptions returned for touchdowns (4), most career interception return yards (389), and most season interception return yards (206 in 2001). He also had 288 total tackles in his career, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. The accolades are many: named a Consensus (AP, AFCA, FWAA, Football News, Sporting News, Walter Camp) All American in both 2000 and 2001; Consensus All BIG EAST in 2000 and 2001; 2001 Big East co-Defensive Player of the Year; named 2001 National Defensive Player of the Year by the Football News; 2001 Jim Thorpe finalist; 2001 Bronko Nagurski semi-finalist; 1999 All BIG EAST second team; 1998 Freshman All American by the Football News and Sporting News. He was drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens (24th overall) and was a nine time Pro Bowl selection, 5 time All First Team Pro Bowl selection and was named the 2004 NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press. His 1,590 interception return yards is an NFL record, and he had nine defensive TDs in his pro career. Reed currently serves as Manny Diaz's Chief of Staff, tasked with helping turn around the Cane program.
THE CASE FOR SEAN TAYLOR: Sean Taylor lives on the hearts and minds of Hurricane fans as one of the greatest ever to wear a Cane uniform. He played at UM from 2001-03, and in his first year helped the Canes to a national title off the bench with 26 tackles. In 2002 he replaced Ed Reed in the lineup and was named First Team All-Big East. He had 87 tackles (53 solo), had 4 interceptions returned for 122 yards, and also returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown against Pittsburgh. Then, as a junior in 2003, Taylor would lead the nation with 10 interceptions (returned 184 yards, second most in school history) to Bennie Blades’ school record. He set a UM record by returning 3 of those picks for touchdowns, and had 77 total (57 solo). He was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the nation's best defensive back, and was named a consensus All-American. His 306 interception return yards and his 3 touchdowns on interceptions returned, are both second all-time at Miami behind Reed (389 yards and 4 TD's). Sean is fifth all-time with 14 career interceptions, and his streak of interceptions in four consecutive games is second-longest in Canes history. In the 2004 NFL Draft he was selected 5th overall by the Washington Redskins and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and was leading the NFL in interceptions with 5 at the time of his death at the tender age of 24 in Nov., 2007.
GAME 18. MICHAEL BARROW VS. DAN MORGAN: More impactful Cane MLB
THE CASE FOR BARROW: Barrow earned two rings as a member of the 1989 and 1991 National Champion Hurricanes. In his senior season Barrow shined the brightest. After wins against Florida State and Arizona, Barrow turned it up against the Nittany Lions at Happy Valley. He had 19 tackles with three for losses, including the potential game saver on fourth-and-one at the Miami five. After his stellar final campaign which saw him lead the team in tackles (136-80 solo), Barrow was selected as an All-American, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and finished seventh in the Heisman balloting. He also won the University of Miami's 1992 Jack Harding MVP award. Barrow finished his UM career (1989-1992) with 401 total tackles and assists, keeping him in the top-5 in the Miami record books.A second-round draft pick of the Oilers in 1993, he played 13 seasons in the NFL and amassed 1,125 tackles and 43 sacks. After retiring he hit the coaching ranks, including at UM from 2007-13.
THE CASE FOR MORGAN: Morgan was the cornerstone of a Miami defense that led the way for the reemergence of the Hurricanes football program, and was the first college player in history to capture the 3 major national awards for defensive players. He actually arrived at UM as a running back prospect and didn't switch to linebacker until just days prior to the 1997 season opener. Morgan set the Miami career record for total tackles with 532 in his 4 seasons, including 309 solo tackles and 223 assists, both UM records. He led the team in tackles 3 of his 4 seasons. In 2000, he had 90 solo and 138 total tackles, including recording 20 total tackles twice, and at least 15 six times. His best game was a 21 total, 14 solo tackle effort against Virginia Tech in 1997. In 2000, he won the Butkus Award for the nation's top linebacker, the Bednarik Award for top defensive player, and the Nagurski Award as the College Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named a consensus First Team All American, named to 10 different squads, and was the unanimous selection as Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He was a three time All Big East first team selection, and even made the 2nd team his sophomore year, though he played most of the season with a broken thumb. A first round selection (11th overall) by the Carolina Panthers in 2001 NFL draft, Morgan played seven seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2004.
GAME 19. JON BEASON VS. DARRIN SMITH: More impactful Cane LB
THE CASE FOR BEASON: Beason played at UM from 2003-06. After beginning his career at fullback he moved to linebacker as a redshirt freshman, and Beason finished his career with 187 tackles, 3.5 sacks and an interception. As a full-time starter in 2005 and 2006 he combined for 132 tackles with 15.5 for losses. Drafted by the Panthers with the 25th overall pick in 2007, he played in NFL from 2007-15 and was a three-time Pro Bowl pick and ended with 706 tackles, four sacks and 10 interceptions.
THE CASE FOR SMITH: Smith has the rare distinction of holding two College Football National Championship rings (1989 and 1991) and two Super Bowl rings (Super Bowl XXVIII, XXX with the Dallas Cowboys). During his days at the U in the late '80s and early '90s, Smith was known for being one of the fastest linebackers in college football and a tenacious tackler. He, along with fellow linebackers Michael Barrow and Jesse Armstead, formed one of the greatest linebacking corps in college football history called The Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle, playing together from 1990 to 1992, were an integral part of Hurricanes teams that had a 29-game winning streak. During his four years playing at Miami he was a two-time first team All-American as a Junior and Senior (1991 - UPI, Football News and 1992- UPI), 2nd team All-American (1991- AP), 1st team All-BIG East (1992), Big East co-Defensive Player of the Year in 1992, and a two-time Butkus Award semi-finalist. Smith was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2nd round of the 1993 NFL Draft and played a total of 12 years in the NFL. He finished his pro career with 788 tackles, 24 sacks, and 11 INTs.
GAME 20. RAY LEWIS VS. JESSIE ARMSTEAD: More impactful Cane LB
THE CASE FOR LEWIS: One of the most intimidating Hurricanes ever, Lewis' dominating field presence changed the way teams prepared to play the Canes. Lewis holds the UM individual season record for tackles by a MLB with 95, and in his three-year career 1993-95) had 388 tackles. Not many recall he was the recipient of the very last scholarship available in 1993. Lewis had two of the most prolific seasons in history to his name, having recorded 160 total tackles in 1995 and 152 in 1994. A two-time Super Bowl champion and 13-time NFL Pro Bowler, Lewis was drafted in the first round by Baltimore in 1995 and played all 17 seasons with the Ravens, compiling over 2,000 career tackles. After the 1995 season Lewis opted for the NFL and became a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the NFL's defensive player of the year in 2000, was a 13-time Pro Bowl pick and won a pair of Super Bowls. He ended his pro career with 2,061 tackles, 41.5 sacks and 31 interceptions.
THE CASE FOR ARMSTEAD: Armstead played at UM from 1989-1992 and had an immediate impact as a freshman to help UM win its third national title. He started the first four games as weakside linebacker as a sophomore before a season ending knee injury, then as a junior he started all 12 games at linebacker after overcoming reconstructive knee surgery and finished with 99 tackles. His strong defense helped lead the University of Miami to its 12-0 season, a 22-0 win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and its fourth National Championship. In his senior year he was 1/3 of the lethal linebacking crew of Armstead, Darrin Smith and Micheal Barrow, leading the 1992 team to a consensus No. 3 final ranking and Miami's 51st consecutive victory in the Orange Bowl. He was taken in the 8th round of the 1993 draft by the New York Giants and played 12 years in the league. He was selected to play in five Pro Bowls and had 967 tackles, with 40 sacks and 12 interceptions in his professional career.
