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Practice fields were crap

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wspcane said:
1) So we are now lumping an article from ESPN, local media, etc. that is a fact with a bunch of unsubstantiated rumors? Just want to check how far the rabbit hole we are going to defend our AD. Apparently it was Ed Reed possibly being benched 19 years ago. No one is saying this is the end of the world or to shut the program down. People are saying it is just another way that 1) our AD looks cheap and 2) our AD looks incompetent.
2) The field's condition is ancillary. The bigger issue is the school got into a public spat with the NFL and two of its teams that had to be mediated. It is amateur hour and bush league. Further, you are naive if you don't think this would come up in recruiting. Whether it changes anyone's mind, who knows, but we have enough chips stacked against us with bags and our inability to develop players.
3) None of those other fields are supposed to be hosting NFL teams or Super Bowl practices. This was not a last minute thing that they sprung up on the school. So the fact that other schools are under snow or not usable right now is 100% irrelevant and a straw man argument to end all straw man arguments.
4) I am going to go with Kaaya and Richards experience and first hand knowledge over you talking out of your *** to defend BJ and Hecht.
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I could care less if Blake got fired so no, I’m not defending him.

What I’m saying is that three years ago there was an article before Super Bowl 50 about the field at Levi stadium being total trash.

This year there was another article saying the same thing about the same field for the NCAA championship last year.

Nobody cared.

Just like no one will care about this a week from now. Like no one cared about Manny’s tweet or the countless other things people here have insisted in the last month is the final straw that broke the program.
 
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hoops156 said:
i doubt it was sad. they recruits there the last few weekends. theyre not showing them torn up fields. its subjective to what was wrong with the fields considering no one reported what was actually seen on the field when they toured it
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well, anyway IPF is still an eye catcher for recruits FWIW
 
skyman said:
3 different entities came and deemed the field unsatisfactory. This is not about 49ers, this is about UM knowing that their facilities were going to be used by NFC winner well before, have no issues promoting that on their IG but when told their field needs upgrading for world class athelets use, UM throws their hands up and says we dont give af about our kids? See how that sounds, our already struggling recuiting coaches might have to deal with this negative type of PR.
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49ERS just EXPOSED a big big headache. You should be happy. Maybe the issue will be resolved. Love it.
 
Go Canes!! said:
I could care less if Blake got fired so no, I’m not defending him.

What I’m saying is that three years ago there was an article before Super Bowl 50 about the field at Levi stadium being total trash.

This year there was another article saying the same thing about the same field for the NCAA championship last year.

Nobody cared.

Just like no one will care about this a week from now. Like no one cared about Manny’s tweet or the countless other things people here have insisted in the last month is the final straw that broke the program.
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Again, perception is reality. And regardless of last year's field or not, the perception is now that Miami has an unsafe practice field and fought the NFL tooth and nail on this. Fields can get chewed up and in bad condition. It happens. Getting into an argument with the NFL and two of the thirty teams is not a normal way to conduct business. If BJ and the school handled this behind closed doors, like adults, and negotiated the new field without having to have local leaders and Super Bowl officials intervene, there would be no problem and it could have been spun any which way. Instead, yet again, the school lost the narrative.
 
The point spread moved from 1 to 1.5 that is because of this whole field issue go 49ERS
 
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Turnoverchaincane said:
Wow!! Just wow!! So now you're gonna lean on Al Golden to prove a point? There's a portion of this fan base that is soft as ****. **** Al Golden!!! **** the 49ers and **** the greedy *** NFL and their shiity product. Once upon a time not too long ago. Fans would celebrate the fact that our kids got a brand new practice field installed courtesy of the NFL for free. Not today though. These cats today will find almost anything to ***** about.

Go Canes!!!!!!!
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Sure we got a practice field for free but the optics pushes out what people already think of this university, that we're cheap, lazy, broke, and always under performing. It a bad look period. When teams start to opt to practice at FIU or FAU 2 program who should be no where near you when it comes to facilities it will be an indictment.

Why do we have to wait for a lawsuit or NFL teams to tell us to get our sh*t together?

Did you not once ask WTF are we doing with the ACC, Adidas money to not have a field safe for use?
 
wspcane said:
While this is true, you know the NFL is spending a **** of a lot more time and money on safe practice fields to protect their most valuable assets - the players. I do not understand why you would not want to replicate the benchmarks and standards that the industry leader sets. It is akin to a hospital discarding best practices set by the CDC or AHA and doing less than that.


Is there any aspect of your life in which you are not naive. If Ahmmon Richards, a player who had his career sidelined by injuries and is currently suing the school, is talking about the field conditions and injuries it caused, that is a problem. Your point is fair that it is a new field since then, but this is a new issue. If anything it shows a pattern of unsafe conditions.

Yes, having a player stand on the field will easily refute a team saying "Don't go to Miami. You will be running, cutting, spending most of your time on a field that two NFL teams and the league itself did not meet their safety standards." Sure, not a problem at all. You truly are an absolute nonce.
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It's not "doing less", it's not spending money that could be better used elsewhere on getting a field ready for athletes who do not represent the University of Miami. This is us paying for somebody else's practice for the sole reason that some fans are embarrassed by the situation.

The best practice argument doesn't work here...the beneficiaries of the fields being ready right now are not our clients. They aren't our athletes or recruits. They're a bunch of guys who will never give a dime or otherwise help the University of Miami in any way. We're not obligated to spend money for the benefit of people with no association with us, nor should we be.
 
So, 9 pages, and still, no one has any evidence of what exactly was "wrong" with the field in the NFL's eyes, but we're still using it as another excuse to spew vitriol at the team we claim to be fans of, acting as if our guys practice on a slab of concrete with potholes. Cool, cool.

Oh, and players get hurt on the practice field at all levels of football, whether the field is officially sanctioned by the NFL or not. It happens all the time. Want to guarantee no one gets hurt on the practice field? Don't practice, then, because that's the only way. Or, let's hold practice in a swimming pool and run plays slow-motion water-aerobics style........maybe that'll be low impact enough.

This is just stupid.
 
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kryptonite said:
It's not "doing less", it's not spending money that could be better used elsewhere on getting a field ready for athletes who do not represent the University of Miami. This is us paying for somebody else's practice for the sole reason that some fans are embarrassed by the situation.

The best practice argument doesn't work here...the beneficiaries of the fields being ready right now are not our clients. They aren't our athletes or recruits. They're a bunch of guys who will never give a dime or otherwise help the University of Miami in any way. We're not obligated to spend money for the benefit of people with no association with us, nor should we be.
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There are a couple of issues. One, I agree the NFL or 49ers or whoever should be paying for it. My main issue is the university allowing this to become a public issue that they were going to lose in the court of public opinion. Whether that is justified or not is really irrelevant. That is how it has played out, and predictably so. It is like a restaurant responding to a negative review on Yelp. Reach out and deal with it privately.

Two, if we were being paid for the right to use the facilities, then they kind of are our clients. In any case, they certainly went through a contract negotiation. Set this as a term within it... if the NFL or its teams do not like the condition of the field, then they pay to replace it. Based off of the Arkansas St contract issue and litigation with multiple former coaches, I have little faith that our attorneys have any idea what they are doing.

Three, no one forced Miami to host these teams. If this was really such an issue, then say thanks but no thanks and let them go practice elsewhere without getting into a public spat over it.

Four, I agree that the money could be used better elsewhere, but why was it not done correctly in the first place. I can't imagine the field was chewed up with no activity in the last month. So was the issue how it was originally done? Back to point number one, it really doesn't matter because the school comes out losing in the court of public opinion.
 
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TheOriginalCane said:
It can cost up to $4 million to hire your Defensive Coordinator back from the job he took 2 weeks ago.

So f-ing what? Why do you insist upon putting a price tag on something that involves PLAYER SAFETY?
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Can you name a single player who’s injury has in any way been even remotely attributed or connected to the condition of the field we installed a year ago?
 
Go Canes!! said:
Blake just got us a brand new $300,000 field for free.

Cry more.
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Nobody is denying that, and nobody is complaining about that.

PEOPLE ARE TAKING ISSUE WITH BLAKE'S REFUSAL TO RE-SOD THE FIELD. He didn't dispute it was unsafe. He just wanted "the old field" because we spent so much time and effort watering it.

Again, if Blake would ever stop acting like a baby in, literally, EVERY NEGOTIATION, maybe the rest of the world wouldn't publicize his penny-pinching.

--MULTIPLE coaches have been shafted on their severance.
--Arkansas State took us to court over the hurricane cancellation.
--NFL had to hold a gun to our heads to re-sod the practice field.
--Blake had to set up a Go Fund Me page to get the last of the IPF funds.
--Negotiations with Alonzo break down, in part, over salary, a salary that a BOT member was going to pay.

It's a pattern. Blake James is a walking disaster, he makes UM look bad in EVERYTHING that he does.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Nobody is denying that, and nobody is complaining about that.

PEOPLE ARE TAKING ISSUE WITH BLAKE'S REFUSAL TO RE-SOD THE FIELD. He didn't dispute it was unsafe. He just wanted "the old field" because we spent so much time and effort watering it.

Again, if Blake would ever stop acting like a baby in, literally, EVERY NEGOTIATION, maybe the rest of the world wouldn't publicize his penny-pinching.

--MULTIPLE coaches have been shafted on their severance.
--Arkansas State took us to court over the hurricane cancellation.
--NFL had to hold a gun to our heads to re-sod the practice field.
--Blake had to set up a Go Fund Me page to get the last of the IPF funds.
--Negotiations with Alonzo break down, in part, over salary, a salary that a BOT member was going to pay.

It's a pattern. Blake James is a walking disaster, he makes UM look bad in EVERYTHING that he does.
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No one is disputing anything about Blake. He is a disaster.

That doesn’t change the fact that no one cares about this whole field thing.

No one.

By game time it will be completely forgotten.
 
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wspcane said:
There are a couple of issues. One, I agree the NFL or 49ers or whoever should be paying for it. My main issue is the university allowing this to become a public issue that they were going to lose in the court of public opinion. Whether that is justified or not is really irrelevant. That is how it has played out, and predictably so. It is like a restaurant responding to a negative review on Yelp. Reach out and deal with it privately.

Two, if we were being paid for the right to use the facilities, then they kind of are our clients. In any case, they certainly went through a contract negotiation. Set this as a term within it... if the NFL or its teams do not like the condition of the field, then they pay to replace it. Based off of the Arkansas St contract issue and litigation with multiple former coaches, I have little faith that our attorneys have any idea what they are doing.

Three, no one forced Miami to host these teams. If this was really such an issue, then say thanks but no thanks and let them go practice elsewhere without getting into a public spat over it.

Four, I agree that the money could be used better elsewhere, but why was it not done correctly in the first place. I can't imagine the field was chewed up with no activity in the last month. So was the issue how it was originally done? Back to point number one, it really doesn't matter because the school comes out losing in the court of public opinion.
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I would add something else.

The NFL using the UM facilities wasn't some last-minute AirBNB reservation. These things are arranged FAR in advance, and there is usually a contract (and a contract that is FAR better worded than our horrible UM-Arkansas State game contract).

I am certain that the NFL had provisions in the contract that call for an inspection of the facilities, as well as some language specifying "satisfaction". Even if you WANT to believe that the UM facilities "weren't as bad as the NFL claimed", Blake still agreed to the terms. And I'm quite sure that this document was the critical element that ultimately convinced Blake to do the right thing.

Nobody disputes that UM was probably the "best available" spot left in South Florida, nobody is claiming that FIU or FAU were superior. And if that was the case, Blake had leverage. BUT HE STILL AGREED TO THE RE-SODDING, which is an indication that it really wasn't a choice for him to make, if the agreement gave the inspection and satisfaction clauses to the NFL.

I don't give a **** who pays for it. UM isn't suddenly going to cut the price of tuition because Beta Blake masterfully negotiated a $300K savings.

The issue is that AN ENTIRE SPORTS LEAGUE AND ONE-SIXTEENTH OF THE TEAMS IN THAT LEAGUE said that our field was "dangerous". I don't need to see some detailed report that says the grass roots only went down 5/16 of an inch when the NFL requires 7/16 of an inch.

There are a lot of dopes on this board who think that the "headline" on this story won't be used against UM. That we can just change perception with one glance at the beautiful new (NFL) sod.

Insanity. People can go back through both of these threads and take note of the posters who "rarely post" or who "only post positively". It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is all Hecht employees and Hecht apologists, and I don't even believe in conspiracy theories.

But this is not the first time that an organization has made a concerted effort to impact an online poll or an internet message board.
 
TheOriginalCane said:
Nobody is denying that, and nobody is complaining about that.

PEOPLE ARE TAKING ISSUE WITH BLAKE'S REFUSAL TO RE-SOD THE FIELD. He didn't dispute it was unsafe. He just wanted "the old field" because we spent so much time and effort watering it.

Again, if Blake would ever stop acting like a baby in, literally, EVERY NEGOTIATION, maybe the rest of the world wouldn't publicize his penny-pinching.

--MULTIPLE coaches have been shafted on their severance.
--Arkansas State took us to court over the hurricane cancellation.
--NFL had to hold a gun to our heads to re-sod the practice field.
--Blake had to set up a Go Fund Me page to get the last of the IPF funds.
--Negotiations with Alonzo break down, in part, over salary, a salary that a BOT member was going to pay.

It's a pattern. Blake James is a walking disaster, he makes UM look bad in EVERYTHING that he does.
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Ark St. lawsuit was bullsht. They wanted to get paid for a game we skipped for a legit reason. I understand that money was very important to them, but it was still a BS lawsuit.
 
Go Canes!! said:
No one is disputing anything about Blake. He is a disaster.

That doesn’t change the fact that no one cares about this whole field thing.

No one.

By game time it will be completely forgotten.
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Plenty of people care.

I care. I am a UM alum, I have given the school tens of thousands of dollars, and I am tired of a negligent employee making my alma mater look horrible.

The annual cost of attendance at UM is nearly $75,000. That means that ONE football player's scholarship for 4 years costs $300K.

If we have an Athletic Director who puts the health and safety of our players at risk SIMPLY TO SAVE $300K, then he should be fired immediately.

I don't care if "most people" won't remember this story in a month. The ones who matter (coaches, players, alums, recruits) will remember this.

They are the ones who matter.
 
kryptonite said:
Ark St. lawsuit was bullsht. They wanted to get paid for a game we skipped for a legit reason. I understand that money was very important to them, but it was still a BS lawsuit.
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I'm not arguing otherwise, I was fully against paying Arkansas State a penny. I am pointing out that ALL OF THESE THINGS pile up, and it becomes harder and harder to explain each one away.

The bigger issue is whether Miami is House Lannister, and always pays our debts. F Arkansas State, I hope they burn in ****, but you can't deny the existence of a pattern.
 
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