Running Diary: The Day After A Huge Canes Win

Yesterday was a great day for the Miami Hurricanes and their fans. The win over Texas A&M was huge and needed to happen for everyone: Coach Cristobal, his players, the school, the fans, high school and transfer recruits, everyone.

September 9th brought plenty of excitement in the college football world outside of South Florida as well. The day started with Colorado improving to 2-0 after their home-opening win against Nebraska. The Buffalos look really good and have playmakers on offense that can win them games. The night ended with Texas upsetting Alabama in Tuscaloosa, ending the Tide’s 21-game home winning streak. Canes fans always love seeing a home winning streak end. I went to bed in a great mood last night; slept like a baby. No doubt, the mood and sleep was helped by the unhealthy food and several beers in my system.

Sunday, September 10th 7:18 AM EST - Woke up feeling like a hundred bucks. Seven solid hours of sleep (plus the 45 minutes I had on the couch passed out before being woken up by my wife to come to bed) gave me a pep in my step this morning. I came downstairs and put on YouTube TV to catch the second half of College Football Final on one of the ESPN networks. Side note: I really like that show. Matt Barrie does a great job hosting, they provide solid analysis, and have some entertaining segments.

8:00 AM - Switched over to regular YouTube to watch the Canes highlights. What a game. The first quarter was an unmitigated disaster. After that, it was all Miami. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson made all the right calls. TVD delivered every throw. The offensive line did their jobs. The defense flew around and made big plays. A tour-de-force performance by my favorite team in sports.

8:20 AM - I never watch SportsCenter anymore, but since I have YouTube TV for football season, I threw it on to kill some time. After thirty minutes, I realized I don’t miss SportsCenter at all. The anchors this morning were cheesier than ever. Their catchphrases either didn’t make sense or were totally lame. I did enjoy watching Paul Feinbaum being forced to talk about Alabama’s loss.

9:00 AM - First half-an-hour of College Football Final on ESPN2. Another round of Texas, Colorado, and Miami highlights. Yes please. Joey Galloway provided some decent analysis on the Canes and their return to relevance. By this time, I have absorbed as much college football content as I could. It’s Sunday and time to get ready for the first full day of NFL football.

9:42 AM - Holding my baby while the wife makes breakfast for my stepchildren. He is so cute and so funny! My boy!

10:14 AM - Is it too early to drink a beer? Yeah, it is. I’ll wait for everyone to leave before having a cold beverage to start the day.

10:50 AM - We’re back after a break to shower, brush teeth, and clean up. Otherwise, I would be a dirty mess all day in front of the TV. Gotta keep it clean.

10:56 AM - I don’t like any of the NFL preview shows. I tolerate NFL Network’s the most, so I am sticking with them until 1 PM, or I get bored and put on YouTube or a movie. I started watching Gangs of New York the other night. I forgot how entertaining that movie was. I also forgot the Irish accents tried by Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio..yikes.

11:00 AM - I’m very much looking forward to RedZone today. In my opinion, it’s the best way to watch the NFL. For those of you who say it’s the multi-view on the NFL Sunday Ticket, I’m not going to disagree with you, I’m just too cheap to pay for it.

11:05 AM - How do we feel about Scott Hanson on NFL RedZone? He is definitely passionate but seems to make a few mistakes every Sunday. That said, it’s probably difficult not to make mistakes on a live show like that. I can’t tell if I like him or not. I do know I am jealous of him. What a fantastic gig. Please let us know what you think in the poll below.

11:09 - Not sure how much longer I can last watching the NFL Network pregame show. It’s soooooo boring and uninformative.

11:13 - Ian Rapoport says the Jets contacted the Rams about trading for Matthew Stafford when talks stalled with the Packers over the summer. “Rams coach Sean McVay assured the Jets that Stafford was his guy.” says Rapoport (I’m paraphrasing). Okay. Who cares?! Nothing happened. That’s not news. And if that is considered news, it’s old news. The first NFL Sunday is kicking off in less than two hours and he’s talking about a non-story from the summer. (Sigh). What else is on?

11:18 - I’m going to torture myself and check in on the other NFL pregame shows. Should be fun. Commercials on FOX. Let’s check ESPN..and they’re going to commercial. There is a preview of Dolphins coach Mike McDaniels’ interview where he opens up about his past drinking. Good for him for being honest.

11:23 - FOX has Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski tell a story about Gronk using the Lombardi trophy as a bat at Fenway Park. They then re-enact it on set. Wow. This sucks. No wonder CBS doesn’t start their pregame show until noon.

11:32 - Caught the tail end of the Mike McDaniel interview. Seems like a very honest guy. It’ll be interesting to see what he can do in his second year with the Fins. It’s all up to Tua staying healthy this season.

11:35 - I am one of those people who root for the Canes, but not the Dolphins. I don’t root against them, I’m just not a Fins guy. How common is this among Canes fans? Time for another poll!

11:38 - Former quarterback Alex Smith is on the ESPN pregame. I like him. He’s smart and played fairly recently. Good hire by the possibly dying network. What’s that? Have you heard of the war between ESPN and Charter Communications? Please look it up. At least they changed my mind on having the least bad NFL pregame show.

11:51 - I am now looking at the clock every few minutes to see how much closer it is to 1 PM EST. The first NFL Sunday is turning me into a child; I don’t really know how time works.

12:00 - Cowboys vs. Giants tonight. Should be a great matchup. Plus we get to hear Chris Collinsworth speak. Great way to end the weekend.

12:06 - Alex Smith rips Dallas coach Mike McCarthy for wanting to run the ball more this season in order to rest the defense. The Cowboys could be a big underachiever this season with McCarthy calling the plays on offense.

12:17 - “Try the new hands-free Sketchers!” Hahaha. I love Sketchers commercials.

12:18 - I prefer the Peyton & Eli broadcast when watching Monday Night Football. How about you? One more poll baby!

12:23 - ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio said he received a text this morning from Eagles coach Nick Sirianni from their hotel in Providence, RI. Providence? I know everything is close in New England, but why aren’t the Eagles staying somewhere in Massachusetts? Come on 1 PM, I need to stop thinking about these inane things.

12:33 - No interesting videos in my “Recommended” tab on regular YouTube. Back to commercials on ESPN. I feel like I’ve gone back in time every football season watching commercials during these pregame shows before RedZone.

12:47 - Game picks. We’re getting close to kickoff! Maybe it’s because it’s so close to 1 PM, but watching each guy on the panel explain their pick is excruciating.

12:53 - Last commercial break before kickoff. Fitting that I have to suffer through a GEICO commercial featuring Desmond Howard. Ugh.

12:58 - Super Bowl predictions from the ESPN crew: Rex Ryan and Randy Moss pick the Jets to win it all. Okay. Whatever. I don’t remember who anyone else picked. I’m too excited for NFL football.

12:59 - We made it! It’s time for domestic beer, bacon (thawed some out for lunch because there’s not much else to eat in the house), and football. America! Enjoy the games!