Even ESPN can’t dispute this one…

ESPN has gotten into the blogging game this college football season, assigning writers by conference. The ACC was landed Ms. Heather Dinich, an Indiana grad who’s covered the Big Ten and most recently worked for the Baltimore Sun.

Dinich self-admittedly has taken some shots at the Miami Hurricanes. Ranking them seventh in the ACC power poll is forgivable for an outsider, but her credibility took a hit when she ranked Maryland third, calling them a ‘darkhorse’ – the same Terps bunch many have picked dead last in the Atlantic division.

Last week Dinich gave some predictions for 2008 and when it came to to the Canes, she said “somebody at Miami will win rookie of the year… but somebody else will be ineligible or in trouble”.

Could Dinich be anymore cliche, while also stating the obvious? ESPN ranked Miami’s most recent recruiting class No. 1 in the nation, so calling for a ‘rookie of the year’ with the Canes talent-starved offense is hardly going out on a limb.

At one point, Sam Shields was said to possibly be ineligible (grades) but Randy Shannon squashed out that notion in a recent press conference. Safe to say Dinich went for the easy lay up, assuming Shields was still in the doghouse.

As for the cheap shot regarding a troublemaker, it’s 2008, not 1988, darlin’. Dinich covers Florida State for the ACC, yet never a stab at St. Bobby Bowden and his merry band o’ thugs – yet quick to point the finger of blame at the Canes.

All of which makes today’s column that much more surprising. Dinich gave credit where credit was due today, regarding The U and academics:

“Since I came down hard on Randy Shannon earlier this month for having a handful of players who were struggling to qualify, it’s only fair I report the good news, too.

This just came in from Miami’s sports information department:

– Of the 23 seniors on this year’s squad, 13 have already earned degrees, while the remaining 10 are all on course to graduate either in December of 2008 or May of 2009.

– In 14 of the past 16 years, Miami’s graduation rate far exceeded the national average of the American Football Coaches Association’s member schools. Since 1991,
UM’s average AFCA graduation rate is 71.52 percent, well ahead of the national average of 58 percent.

– This past spring, the NCAA released its annual Academic Progress Report (APR), and the Hurricanes football team scored 969, the eighth-highest mark out of the 119 Bowl Sub-division football programs.

– Last season, Miami had 12 early graduates — the second-highest total nationally behind Boston College.

Kudos to the Canes.”

Regarding that ‘handful of players who were struggling to qualify’, like most media vultures, Dinich jumped the gun. ESPN’s talk of eight signees not making the grade, now looks like upwards of three headed to prep school as Gavin Hardin, C.J. Holton, Andrew Smith, Ben Jones, Jeremy Lewis and Joe Wylie are all officially on campus.

Nothing like that late breaking news that several Canes won’t qualify and then barely a retraction when the majority of them do.

While today’s blurb doesn’t make up for two months of cheap-shotting the Canes, at least Dinich finally reported the truth, proving that Shannon and staff aren’t running a football factory.

Side note… our buddy Lamar Thomas has been hired as an assistant coach at Boynton Beach High, reuniting with his former Gainesville High coach Rick Swain. Congrats to LT and in honor of this Canes graduation-themed post, we wanted to show one of our all-time favorite Canes a little bit o’ love regarding his recent graduation from The U.

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