Miami Hurricanes 2008 Preview Show

The Miami Hurricanes preview show was quite the shocker. I discovered two things, both of which I will let you read about in the post. As always, these are running diaries of the preview shows, and not the actual team previews which will come in before conference play.

Minute 1: Well, we’re all ready to begin with our good friend Heather Catlin serving as the show’s hos??????!!!! Wait a second! That’s not Heather Catlin. When did Kristen Stewart get the hosting gig for these ACC preview shows? Does Heather know this? Did she get kidnapped? Where is the search party? Where is Heather Catlin?

Minute 1: Okay, only a few pieces of furniture have been demolished. Cooler heads are prevailing as I notice that this is a Fox Sports Florida production, not Fox Sports Atlantic. Whew!! That was a close one.

Minute 2: It’s a whole new crew, as Frank Forte, aka not Jen Hildreth, brings us the Miami year in review.

Minute 2: Interestingly, Frank Haith is not wearing a coat and tie, and he’s being interviewed in the locker room vs. in a made up set. This Florida crew is laaaiiiiddd back (with their mind on their money and their money on their mind).

Minute 5: More devastating news. No Hardees’ sponsorship. You know what that means… no Thickburger commercials. Where else am I going to get my arteries clogged just by looking at the TV.

Minute 8: This Fox Sports Florida crew really has their own style, and I like it. We currently are getting shots of practice and Frank Haith instructing the players. Did anyone else realize that Miami won 6 of their last 8 conference games? When was the last time a team not named UNC or Duke came through in the clutch like that? Maybe NC State in Hodge’s senior year.

Minute 9: Mr. Haith expresses his lack of interest for preseason rankings. He mentions that the only useful purpose for them is to show recruits. Yeah, you could show them preseason rankings. Or, you could show them South Beach with loads of beautiful women in bikinis. I would bet mortgages on which one of those tools was more effective in attracting recruits.

Minute 12: Okay, ladies and gentlemen. It’s man-crush time. The winner is … Frank Haith. This guy is awesome. He’s not wearing a shirt and tie for the interview. He’s so laid back, and yet it is obvious in 12 minutes how much his players respect him. I see him interacting with fans. This guy is fantastic!

Minute 15: Hurricane Hoopfest – This is an event to promote Hurricane basketball in which literally tens of people show up to get autographs, meet the players, and watch practice. The men’s and women’s “teams practiced in front of a crowd.” Crowd?? I’ve seen more people gathered at the DMV. The interesting thing is that every time they pan the crowd, the camera stops after about two seconds, because it’s obvious the camera guy is about to run out of fans to shoot.

Minute 16: The best part is the fan interviews. They show two alumni and a couple of high school kids. Only one actual student is interviewed. One fan states, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” In looking at the kid, I don’t think he has a lot of other options.

Minute 17: There is now a profile of Haith’s Faithful. This is a healing support group in the Miami area. Oh, wait. No, it’s not. It is the Frank Haith fanclub. The students for this have a t-shirt and everything. One Haith Faithfulite mentions the following perks of being in the club: “[We get priority seating in the first two rows, and we don’t have to wait 4 hours for tickets for the big games like Duke and Carolina.]”

Okay, there are a couple of things wrong with this. First, they only need two rows for a student fan club section? I think there’s more interest in the school’s chess team practices. Second, 4 hours?? That’s it. I had to wait longer than that for my two hernia surgeries. At most other schools in the conference, 4 days is more like it. Miami simply has no fan base.

Therefore, I will take up the Miami cause. While no team will take UVA’s place as number one in my heart, I try to pick a team or two in the ACC that I can really get behind. For the last couple of years it was Clemson. This year it is the Hurricanes. I love their coach. McClinton is exciting, and let’s face it. They need the fans.

Minute 18: Allison Williams gives us a profile of James Dews. This is one cool cat. He won the Taekwondo Jr. Olympics at the age of ten. He actually seems like he goes to class and has a brain (McClinton does too). He sings on camera, and he dances in the weight room. Finally, he has a special connection to Michael Jordan. Jordan called him out to play one-on-one when, at the age of 10, Dews was at Jordan’s basketball camp. One other little note, Dews beat Jordan!!! Of course Dews realized years later that Jordan probably let him win.

So for those of you who were playing Atari 2600 or Jordan vs. Bird on the NES at the age of ten. James Dews was winning Taekwondo tournaments and defeating the real Michael Jordan. And you wonder why I’m getting behind the Hurricanes this year.

Minute 23: Holy Crap! When Fox Sports Florida comes back from commercial the analysts are no longer Werme and the G-man. It’s going to be John freaking Crotty!!! I loved John Crotty. He was my college point guard idol in the late 80’s. He was a lefty 3 point marksman, who led UVA to a tourney upset over #1 seed Oklahoma to make the Elite 8 in ’89. He didn’t take crap from anyone, and he had the most underarm hair I had ever seen. He gave hope to 13 year old late bloomers like myself who were waiting for their own underarm hair to arrive.

Minutes 24-30: Sorry, everybody. I spent the last 6 minutes thinking of late 80’s, early 90’s UVA teams with Crotty, Stith, Ted Jeffries, Brent Dabbs, KennyTurner, et al. What great memories!

Thank you Fox Sports Atlantic!