Oct. 30, 2006
The News Argus
Sports
Tougher punishment needed
in Miami- Fill brawl case
Mike Jensen
MCT WIRE SERVICE
PHILADELPHIA
It doesn't really matter
what University of Miami
administrators say or don't
say right now about the job
status of football coach
Larry Coker.
Coker's gone. That was
true even before Saturday's
spectacle against Florida
International. Coker already
had lost the support of
many former Hurricanes
stars and probably had lost
some of his current players
— and he almost lost to
Houston.
His fate now is obvious.
We'll see what direction the
school takes next, since the
current 'Canes image is sud
denly out of control again,
and the quote of the year in
college football came
Saturday from the Comcast
SportsNet Southeast cable
TV booth.
"Now, that's what I'm
talking about," Hurricanes
football analyst and former
Miami player Lamar
Thomas said as the brawl
raged. "You come into our
house, you should get your
behind kicked. You don't
come into the OB (Orange
Bowl) playing that stuff.
You're across the ocean over
there. You're across the city.
... I was about to go down
the elevator to get in that
thing."
The one-game punish
ments handed out for 12 of
the 13 suspended Miami
players — one got an indefi
nite suspension — are inad
equate. It doesn't help that
the one game is against
Duke, which has lost 17
straight Division I-A games.
The outside world sees it
like this: Miami itself isn't
punished at all by these sus
pensions.
"This university will be
firm and punish people who
do bad things," Miami pres
ident Donna Shalala said.
"But we will not throw any
student under the bus for
instant restoration of our
image or our reputation. I
will not hang them in a pub
lic square. I will not elimi
nate their participation at
the university. I will not
take away their scholar
ships."
Actually, she will, next
time. Shalala announced on
Tuesday that any athlete
who fights during a game
will be dismissed from the
team. She called it a "new
standard," referring to a
"zero tolerance" policy.
"It's time for the feeding
frenzy to stop," Shalala said.
"These young men made a
stupid, terrible, horrible
mistake, and they are being
punished."
There was plenty of room
between one-game suspen
sions and getting rid of peo
ple. An NFL defensive line
man, Albert Haynesworth of
the Tennessee Titans, was
recently suspended for five
games for stomping on
another player's head.
Taking part in a near-riot
must be worth a couple of
games.
Coker said after the game
that he had been concerned
going in about the potential
for trouble, given that many
of the players on Florida
International were local
ones who hadn't been
recruited by nearby Miami.
Since his concern made
sense, why did Miami
schedule the game in the
first place?
Long before Saturday's
brawl, Coker had been try
ing to distance himself and
the program from its chest-
beating past. But if you
want to break with tradi
tion, you better win. Coker
won a national title in 2001,
and almost won another one
in 2002, but those were with
players inherited from the
Butch Davis era.
One rumor had Butch
Davis returning next year.
But now Shalala and other
decision-makers are in a real
tight spot. A lot of fans
wanted a return to the U vs.
the World swagger the
'Canes used to bring. That's
out, obviously. They need to
find a coach who keeps his
players out of brawls and
out of jail, but doesn't com
pletely alienate former
greats. He also needs to win.
(>5
H
Photo courtesy of MCT Wire Service
Miami’s Lance Leggett catches a Kyle Wright pass into the endzone for a touchdown
as FlU’s Robert Mitchell fails to defend as Miami beat Florida International 35-0
October 14 in Miami, Florida.
Photo by Sharrod Patterson
After years of playing in the CIAA the Rams will go into the MEAC.
Rams prepare for upcoming season
Steven J. Gaither
SPORTS EDITOR
On their second day of
practice, the Rams basket
ball team opened up with
the Lord's prayer. That's
ironic, since no one else
gives them a prayer this
season because of their bru
tal schedule. The Rams will
play 22 of their 27 games on
the road.
"We've addressed the
issue of being mentally
tough," said new head
coach Bobby Collins. "The
way you get mentally tough
is to stretch yourself, inside
and outside of the class
room."
One tactic that Collins is
using to instill toughness in
his Rams is early practices.
On Tuesdays and Thurs
days the Rams will gather
for practice at 5 a.m.
The Rams' first practice
took place on Oct. 13. The
practice was open to the
public, as part of the
Division I kickoff, and
billed "Ram Madness."
Collins says he was pleased
by the fan support. He also
said he was impressed at
the effort the players gave,
especially since it was pret
ty much just entertainment.
This season provides
many challenges for the
Rams. It is their first season
in Division I, and they
have a intense schedule.
They only have five home
games, and they will have
to travel to play such
national powers as Kansas,
Georgetown, and Georgia
Tech. They also changed
coaches in the off-season, as
Collins replaced the depart
ed Phillip Stitt.
"He's a player's coach,"
said junior forward Darrell
Wonge.
Collins said that although
the players are smaller than
he is accustomed to, he sees
a lot of potential in this
team. "Jamal Durham is an
undersized post player that
I'm going to have to
depend on to carry the
team early on," said
Collins. Other players he
said he was depending on
to carry the load offensively
were Wonge and guard Roy
Peake.
Collins knows that the
Rams have a tough road
ahead. He said that a suc
cessful season for the Rams
would be going .500 on the
road. "No one expects us to
(go above .500) because of
the type of teams we are
playing, but I really want to
go above .500."
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