My take on Beckham's new stadium in Miami and what it means for UM

The following is per the Herald on the new MLS Stadium in Miami and my take on it

The following is from Alyce Robertson, chief executive of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority, who said and I quote in reference to a stadium at the Port of Miami:

“If we think in a traditional manner, then there’s going to be some challenges on the transportation,” This was in reference to the cars that people are used to taking in for games. Robertson added that you can walk and take the Metromover to Heat games. 

The questions on whether UM should get in with Beckham on sharing a new stadium are these:

1. Gameday Traffic - Now, picture Game Day vs FSU, and you have 45-50K fans for a Noon game. You have a potential for a nightmare as some on Twitter have mentioned already, especially the Saturday Morning cruise ship arrivals at the Port of Miami. If I'm Donna, one of the questions I'm asking myself: "Is it worth it? "
2. Parking - According to the City officials, "limited parking" could be built underground, like the AAA. Another question, UM officials would have to ask here: How much more parking space would be available? How much parking would be set aside for Hurricane Club donors? Would tailgating be allowed at the lots? If you believe Deputy Mayor Chip Iglesias,  he says that "some fans could park in the same Biscayne Boulevard lots they use for Heat games and then walk over the bridge to the port." 
3. Capacity - Now Iglesias thinks that 25 acres could be available, enough for a 25,000-seat stadium with expandable seating for various events. My thinking on the various events would be yes, that stadium could be expanded for UM football, if we join in with Beckham and his group. The question, I would be asking if I were Donna is how much expansion could work at the new stadium? I would believe 35K for UM football?, with expansion to 45-50K for big games like FSU. Also, he says that there would be a  mega-yacht marina and perhaps a waterfront promenade. Another question would have to be asked here too. How much boat parking would be available on gameday?
4. Mass Transit - I'll go back to Alyce Robertson's quote and believe that for this to work, Tri-Rail needs to have more trains for Night games in the new stadium going back to Broward and Palm Beach. This has to be an effort with BCT and Palm Tran in order for this to happen. MDT can make this work without question. 

If I'm Donna, those are a few things I would be asking Beckham and his group if I'm going to have UM join in. 

You can read the story in its entirely:  http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/26/3780446/beckham-group-consider-soccer.html#storylink=cpy

Feel free to chime in on this. What are your thoughts? Should we (CANES), join Beckham in his new stadium? 

NCAA report to be released tomorrow 10 a.m.

As you've heard by now, the NCAA will release the final report tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., with a press conference an hour later. UM will get the report first at 10 a.m. Look for some statement from somewhere in the Ashe Building (re: Donna) sometime after that. 

There's a real possibility we could get hit with another bowl/postseason ban, but that's very unlikely. What is likely however is going to be scholarship reductions and show causes for former CANE coaches. Here's something to remember here: We'll have 15 days to appeal any or all of the sanctions that the the NCAA announces. I don't expect any more postseason bans. 

Here's my take and what I expect to happen tomorrow. Look for a reduction of 'ships (I would say 3-5 a year for 3 years). They're going to be show causes (I suspect Clint Hurtt would be one of the main ones getting a show cause). There will be a hit tomorrow, but I don't expect it to be a big time hit (i.e., postseason ban), but I do expect a hit on 'ships end tomorrow. 

After tomorrow, we can put this behind us and get back to the business at hand of winning National Championships again. 

No letdown for Hoops squad

after last night's 71-47 thrashing of the Noles in front of another sellout at the BankUnited Center. We had the edge on the boards 44-32 and 15-2 on 2nd chance points, meaning we dominated on the offensive glass, in fact, of the 44 rebounds we had, 12 of them were offensive. We held FSU to 31% from the field (16-52) and 18% from the land of 3 (3-17). 

If there's a concern I have, its from the charity stripe. We were just 64% from there (9-14). In close games, we need to be better from there. FSU did go to the line 17 times and made 12 of them (71%). Fast break points is something we're going to have to defend a little better against. We were outscored there 9-4 in that category. We need more production from the bench, FSU's bench outscored our bench 28-19.

It was an impressive win, but we need to be better in a few areas, because if we want to make a deep run in March, we have to improve a few areas. More production from the bench, and better transition defense are two key areas we need to shore up. Reggie was just 1-8 from the field in 22 minutes of action. 5 points, 6 boards, but also had 2 blocks. In March, that won't cut it, Reggie has to be a bigger force down low and we must get him the ball and ride him as much as we can. 

Overall, big win for us, we'll enjoy it a little bit today, but come Wednesday night, its back to business, this time on the road in Blacksburg, VA vs the Virginia Tech Hokies at 9 p.m. 

As for the rankings this week, I don't think we'll hit the Top 10 yet, I think we'll hover around say 12-15 when the rankings come out.