MIAMI DT DEAD

What an awful blow to the extended Cane family (and to Prata’s family).

What has been an awful football season both on and off the field for the Canes suddenly became far, far worse. It’s gutwrenching to see a young life so shamefully ended.

I heard about this over XM radio on my way home this evening. Simply awful to lose anyone like that. Condolences for his friends and family.

Obviously this transcends the standard shit-talking.

My thoughts and prayers are with Prata’s family and the Cane family tonight.

I’m glad they are thinking about not playing Maryland. Kinda hard for them to think about football at a time like this.

Peace be unto him and his family. Tragic.

…given all of the sad news in college football today, I thought it might be appropriate to interject some unrelated football humor.

Everyone knows that Alabama and Auburn fans have an intense rivalry; what happens when an Alabama Fan puts up his SECCG tickets on Ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/4-2006-SEC-CHAMPIONSHIP-TICKETS-Exclusive-Loge-Level_W0QQitemZ230045716150QQihZ013QQcategoryZ16122QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Of particular interest is the auction related question from an Auburn fan; kudos for the reply of the Alabama Fan
Q: I am an huge Auburn fan. You have no problem selling them to me do you?
        
A: Not as long as you don’t have a problem watching Arkansas play Florida.

Don’t mess with FIU!

Poor kid. My heart’s with his family and friends.

Some interesting quotes from the article there:

4 players dead in the last decade! Damn! Tell me FSU & UF don’t use that as a recruiting tool.

Also did you read between the lines at the statement at the end of the article?:

Several Miami players, including Pata, said that incident was a robbery attempt, and cautioned other teammates to always be aware of their surroundings.

“We’re targets because we play for the University of Miami. … These guys, they know who we are,” Miami linebacker Jon Beason said shortly after the Cooper shooting.

HUM? Why would players for “The U” be targets? Maybe because THEY’RE REOTCH BEOTCH!

Guys, all seriousness here. There’s a 22 year old boy dead, whose mom will never tuck him into bed again, or fix him chicken soup when he’s sick. Yes, he did have some God-given talent to be able to run down guys smaller than him, and not only stop them dead in their tracks, but do so with authority. Yes, there’s one less young man eligible to be an instant milionaire on Draft Day. Maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens, and there is a family left behind. Allow them the decency to grieve.

Honestly this is tragic, and if this turns out to be anything more than a random act of violence, should especially considering the other recent incidents lead to serious institutional review. In all fairness, I can’t remember a time a major university seemed this out of control (not even 80’s U approached the seriousness of these incidents and SMU’s violations were pretty much contained to athletics, i.e. bribery etc., this is life and death stuff and frankly it seems to be part of a larger picture).

p.s. That may have been a little harsh, while tthe U’s violations are more numerous, it is inarguable that Baylor’s were more egregious— especially the actions of the Coach involved.