tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69450837356449911642024-03-14T00:47:33.189-07:00Motor City Mad Mouth InsightsI talk about Sports and Non Sports Related Subjects.Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.comBlogger585125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-72722574469173893492024-03-12T01:04:00.000-07:002024-03-12T01:04:48.578-07:00Gloor’s Road To New Orleans<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>One of the things that I’ve enjoyed doing prior to FAU’s Men’s Basketball Games is interview the oppositions announcer.</p><p>It started on January 28 when I spoke with Hank Dickenson of the North Texas Green Wave. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Corey Gloor, who is the Director of Broadcasting/“Voice of the Tulane Green Wave.”</p><p>If you’re a good announcer, then you need to be able to wear multiple hats. I learned this when I became friends and colleagues with the late Chris Roberts, who was the voice of the UCLA Bruins, who called football, basketball and baseball.</p><p>Gloor began his broadcasting career on Janesville, Wisconsin where he served as a co-host for “Jock Talk” a nightly sports talk show. </p><p>I began my career as a producer in 1979 as a producer at WXYZ in Detroit for the late Ron Cameron’s “Sports Talk” and it’s quite the challenge listening to the fans frustrations when things weren’t going well when Detroit’s Sports teams were struggling in 1979.</p><p>Gloor also served as the play-by-play voice of the Beloit Snappers—Single A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois.</p><p>Most recently, Gloor has spent the last six years as the radio play-by-play broadcaster for East Carolina University baseball on LEARFIELD’s Pirate Sports Network. During those six years, Gloor called four of ECU’s NCAA postseason tournament runs.</p><p>One of the things I like to do is speak to the visiting announcer to get a feel for that team and what that individual thinks about the FAU Owls.</p><p>Prior to FAU’s 79-73 victory over Tulane on Saturday, March 2, I spoke with Gloor and we went over his journey to Tulane University. He talked about working in Wisconsin and what it’s like to be an announcer in “The Big Easy” plus what’s in store for him down the road.</p><p>The video in this story is not only designed to tell Gloor’s story, but also give aspiring announcers some ideas of what they want to do to reach their goals.</p><p>VIDEO</p><p><br /></p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/x @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, just subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>Also, Scott’s new book “Lesson’s From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble. He talks about Old School Media vs New School Media.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-17081867863013316372024-03-05T00:15:00.000-08:002024-03-05T00:15:52.251-08:00Owls Are Built For March MadnessBY SCOTT MORGANROTH<div><br /></div><div>If anyone thought that the Tulane Green Wave was coming to the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton with a 13-14 record to get blown out on Saturday, they were totally wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before the game, I spoke to Green Wave Broadcaster Corey Gloor and he said the team was having a tough luck campaign. Tulane entered the contest on a five-game losing streak with the intent to snap it. </div><div><br /></div><div>With 8:26 left in the first half, Tulane led 24-19 and shot 58% from the field against an FAU team that had six days off and shot 40 %. FAU’s offense went through center Vladislav Goldin, who had eight points.</div><div><br /></div><div>With 3:47 left in the first half, FAU finally grabbed a 33-26 lead and led 36-29 at halftime. FAU shot 12-27 from the field (44%) and was 5-13 from the three-point line at 64%.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tulane’s numbers plummeted to 13-32 from the field for 41% and 1-9 from three point land for 11%.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the 14:51 mark in the second half, the Owls built their lead to 50-33 and also led 74-62.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Tulane kept battling but came up on the short end of a 79-73 decision to drop to 13-15 and saw their losing streak reach six games.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Owls were led by Goldin, who amassed 21 points and had 12 rebounds. Alijah Martin had 13 points along with 11 rebounds followed by Jalen Gaffney 13 points and Nick Boyd with 10. Multiple players in double figures is how this team finds a way to win.</div><div><br /></div><div>FAU’s best player Johnell David had eight points but fouled out with 44.3 seconds left in the contest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just to explain to you how hard fought this game was, FAU led 36-29 at halftime, but Tulane outscored FAU 44-43 in the second half.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were eight lead changes and the game was tied five times.</div><div><br /></div><div>FAU dominated the boards with 42 rebounds while their opponent from New Orleans had 32.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if there is one area that FAU knows it has to get straightened out it’s with turnovers as the Owls led in a category that you don’t want to lead, 18-9.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the game was over, I asked Coach Dusty May if his team felt a bit rusty with six days rest coming off Sunday’s 78-74 loss in Tennessee vs the Memphis Tigers. My question and all of the comments can be heard in the video in this story.</div><div><br /></div><div>As selection Sunday approaches, the Owls have their hands full this week as they face North Texas 16-12 on the road and have Memphis 22-8 at home on Saturday.</div><div><br /></div><div>FAU defeated North Texas 66-63 on Sunday, January 28 and I just mentioned Memphis win 78-74 win.</div><div><br /></div><div>May knows that to get back to the NCAA Tournament, these are vital basketball games with the American Athletic Conference Tournament next week.</div><div><br /></div><div>It won’t be long to find out whether FAU returns to the NCAA Tournament, but the Owls have a pair of tough games this week and those contests will go a long way in making that determination.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday’s game versus Memphis starts at Noon ET and will be Senior Day. We’re going to learn a lot about an FAU team that currently owns a 22-7 mark and see if the “Owls Are Built For March Madness.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can watch his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, Scott has a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” that talks about Old School Media vs New School Media. You can purchase it on Amazon and Kindle.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-75105079710727115732024-02-29T02:58:00.000-08:002024-02-29T02:58:22.067-08:00The Largest Streaming Deals<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>The streaming industry continues to take some interesting twists and turns and it’s hard to believe that as we put February to bed, what lies ahead for the rest of 2024?</p><p>During the NFL Playoffs, The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium was streamed and not shown on national television. We were actually fortunate that living in Broward County, Florida that the game was seen on local television.</p><p>During the past year, the PAC-12 attempted to negotiate a streaming package with Apple-TV but none of that came to fruition and 10 schools decided to leave, therefore leaving the league down to two schools with Washington State and Oregon State. Whether the conference is able to rebuild in the next two seasons or be dissolved remains to be seen.</p><p>On the February 28, 2024 edition of the Sports Exchange, My crew consisting of Myself, George Eichorn, JB Ellis and Jacob Christner talked about the latest developments in streaming.</p><p>As I begin work on “Lessons From The Microphone” part two, hoping to release it by the end of 2024, this very subject in this story will make it between the front and back covers.</p><p>As the year unfolds, I’m sure this is a subject that I’ll be updating since this is a topic that is fluid.</p><p>On Wednesday’s show, we broke down numbers with Prime Video, MLS Season Pass, You Tube TV and Netflix. </p><p>I’ll mention the numbers here but if you want to hear our viewpoints, then I encourage you to watch the video included in this story. Each of my panelists has an excellent perspective that they bring to the table that will keep your wheels turning.</p><p>*Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football Package is $1.2 Billion Annually.</p><p>*MLS Season Pass is paying $250 Million Annually.</p><p>*YouTube TV’s Sunday NFL Ticket is paying $2 Billion Annually.</p><p>*NetFlix WWE Raw is paying $500 Million Annually.</p><p>These numbers are all over the map pertaining to the sports that we’re talking about but they’re extremely interesting as we find out more updates about future contracts with other sports.</p><p>That’s why this is something that I’ll be monitoring all year long.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida You Tube Channel.</p><p>Also, Scott’s book “Lessons From The Microphone” which talks about Old School Media vs New School Media, is available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-36103261048133700712024-02-28T02:17:00.000-08:002024-02-28T02:17:41.282-08:00Talking USF Bulls with VP of Athletics, Michael Kelly<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>The University of South Florida Athletic Program has gone through some tough times in the past few years and has had to replace its football and basketball coaches.</p><p>But things are looking up at My Alma-Mater in Tampa.</p><p>In Alex Golesh first season, the Bulls had a 7-6 record and were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl. USF thrashed Syracuse 45-0 and the fans that took the four-hour trek down I-75 South enjoyed every minute of this game.</p><p>The basketball team is led by first year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim and his squad is currently on a 13-game winning streak. The Bulls record stands at 20-5 with a lot of basketball left to be played.</p><p>When I returned to the Yuengling Center (The Sun Dome) on February 18, 2024 for a game vs Florida Atlantic University, it was great being in a building where I earned my BA Degree and haven’t been there in over 30 years.</p><p>Sometimes as a writer, luck just goes your way.</p><p>When I was sitting in the media lounge, Bulls Vice President of Athletics, Michael Kelly introduced himself to me. We talked and just like that, he agreed to do an interview with me as we talked about the USF Athletic Program.</p><p>We talked about the Football, Men’s Basketball and Baseball programs, plus much more.</p><p>Before the interview, he knew where my loyalties are and it was great for an alumnus to talk to an athletic director on so many different topics as Kelly graciously answered all of my questions.</p><p>The entire interview is in this story it’s very insightful.</p><p>This game vs No.24 FAU was televised nationally by ESPN and USF held on to win 90-86 in front of a record crowd of 10,659. </p><p>When I went to the Sun Dome in the mid 1980’s, our crowds were between 2-3000 and USF didn’t have a football program.</p><p>Homecoming was held at the Sun Dome for Men’s Basketball games.</p><p>How things have changed and I’m glad that I can monitor them living in South Florida.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>Also, Scott’s Book “Lessons From The Microphone” is available on Amazon and Kindle.</p><p>He talks about his beginning in the media which began in 1979. </p><p>if you’re looking to gain an understanding of the industry, this is a good read with the theme Old School Media vs New School Media.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-7703251990376902672024-02-27T08:17:00.000-08:002024-02-27T08:17:07.631-08:00February Fireworks at USF<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>Every time I return to the University of South Florida Campus in Tampa, I get chills down my spine.</p><p>On Sunday, February 18, 2024, this was a day that I’ll remember for numerous reasons.</p><p>It’s been over 30 years since I stepped foot in the Sun Dome (Yuengling Center) as I earned my BA Degree on this Floor in what went down as one of the greatest days of my life.</p><p>When I was a student at USF, Lee Rose was the head basketball coach and I used to go to a lot of games. In fact, there was no football team so our Homecoming Event was during a Men’s Basketball Game.</p><p>At the time, we we drew crowds of 2-3,000 per-game and even made an NIT Appearance under Rose. At the time, I wasn’t covering the Bulls so I sat in the student section. But in the 1990’s, when I started covering the Detroit Pistons, I would get to know Rose as he was an assistant coach in the NBA.</p><p>The best player on the Bulls team was Charlie Bradley who went on to play for the Sacramento Kings.</p><p>On this day, once I stepped in the building, My photographer Candy Ebling was taking photos of me everywhere she could as I was reminiscing about the good old days. </p><p>When I went to the Media Lounge, I met Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly and we did an interview together which will be a future story.</p><p>When the schedule came out, I circled this date on my calendar as the FAU Owls were coming to town.</p><p>Little would I know that the Owls and Bulls would be a nationally televised game at Noon ET on ESPN. Entering the contest, FAU was 20-5 (10-2 AAC) and USF was 18-5 (11-1 AAC).</p><p>The Owls were in the 2023 Final Four under coach Dusty May, who has complied a 121-65 mark for the Boca Raton, FL school. Meanwhile, USF Head Coach Amir Abdur Rahim is in his first year at the helm for USF.</p><p>USF leads the series 14-2 and is 10-0 vs FAU in Tampa. The last two times these squads met was on 12-29-19 when the Bulls clipped the Owls 60-58 in Tampa.</p><p>What would we see between two teams that are now rivals in the American Athletic Conference?</p><p>First of all, USF set an attendance record of 10,659 and they gave the crowd plenty to cheer about.</p><p>In the first half, it looked like the Bulls were going to run the Owls out of the building by taking a 46-31 lead. The crowd was chanting “Overrated” not showing respect for their opponent. At one point, the Bulls had a 25-point lead.</p><p>But that didn’t phase FAU as the Owls outscored USF 55-44 in the second half. That wouldn’t be enough as the Bulls held on to win the contest 90-86. USF won it’s 11th straight game. USF now leads the overall series 15-2 and 11-0 at home.</p><p>Leading the way for USF was Corey Walker with eight points and 10 rebounds. Selton Miguel amassed a career high 25 points and Chris Youngblood had 23 points. Youngblood did his damage at the free throw line going 12-13.</p><p>FAU had a balanced attack led by center Vladislav Goldin, who had 23 points and was perfect at the free throw line going 7-7. Future NBA player Johnell Davis had 20 points, five assists and six rebounds. He was 6-6 at the charity stripe. Alijah Martin had 17 points while Nick Boyd had 16.</p><p>When the contest was over, both coaches demonstrated mutual respect for one another and are aware they could meet again in the AAC Tournament.</p><p>I pressed Abdur-Rahim on whether he felt the crowd chanting “Overrated” fueled FAU’s comeback as you’re going to see in the enclosed video.</p><p>As for May, he said the loss stung but was proud of the effort his team displayed as you’re going to see at his post-game press-conference.</p><p>Both coaches know that there is a lot of basketball ahead for their teams.</p><p>The Owls rebounded on Thursday in Boca Raton by defeating SMU 80-70 but lost a heart-breaker Sunday, 78-74 on the road in Memphis. FAU hosts Tulane on Saturday at Noon and this contest can be seen on ESPN U.</p><p>As for USF, their latest wins over UTSA in Texas 66-61 and a home triumph over SMU has the Bulls winning streak at 13 games. The Bulls are looking to extend that streak to 14 games on Saturday at Charlotte.</p><p>Before you hit March Madness, there has been a lot February Fireworks and the plot will only get a lot more interesting in the coming weeks.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at Southfloridatribune@Gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no cost.</p><p>His new book, “Lessons From The Microphone” is available on Amazon and Kindle. This book emphasizes changes in Old School Media vs New School Media. Everyone can learn from this book.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-2524424682868735352024-02-06T02:19:00.000-08:002024-02-06T02:19:21.360-08:00Baseball Lifer, Andy Barkett<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>When the time comes and I get around to write my baseball book, Andy Barkett is going to get in.</p><p>Since I started working with New Media, I’ve depended on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to get guests. Some of these individuals I’ve known for a long time and had to find out where they lived while others, I messaged and asked if they wanted to come on a show.</p><p>The list of Baseball Lifers that I’ve come in contact is way too long but that’s the reason why I have enough stories to create a book.</p><p>Barkett is a great story.</p><p>He’s been with five MLB organizations at the age of 50. Four of them have been playing baseball for over 100 years.</p><p>On Wednesday, January 31, I was looking for a good baseball guest and didn’t care if the NFL was stealing all of the storylines.</p><p>I contacted Barkett on LinkedIn and set him up for 9 ET.</p><p>While I’d say at least 90% of the broadcasters would go for a gridiron guest, my philosophy of being different is was led me in this direction. </p><p>Before I get into the show, let’s talk about Barkett, the latest Baseball Lifer that I’ve interviewed.</p><p>He began is career with the Detroit Tigers from 2006 and stayed until October 2010. He was a minor league manager for the Tigers Florida State League team in Lakeland and also managed the Oneonta Tigers in the short-season New York Penn League.</p><p>Barkett moved on to the Miami Marlins where he was the AA Manager from October 2010-October 2014 for the Jacksonville Suns. He was also the assistant hitting coach and spent five years and one month with the fish.</p><p>His journey took him to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization where he was the AAA Manager from November 2016-October 2017. Once again, he also served as the assistant hitting coordinator.</p><p>Barkett moved on to the Boston Red Sox from October 2017-October 2019 and he was the assistant hitting coordinator. This time his work was done in MLB and as a result, Andy won a World Series Championship with the Bosox.</p><p>One player that stands out for me who went from the Red Sox to the White Sox was catcher Carlton Fisk. Fisk had his number retired in both places playing in Boston and Chicago.</p><p>Barkett has taken the same route as he was the Chicago White Sox hitting coordinator from September 2021-October 2023.</p><p>Barkett was also an assistant coach for the University of Central Florida for 1.3 years and spent a couple of months managing in the Dominican Republic.</p><p>He’s well respected in baseball as a top-notch hitting coach and has his own hitting academy. </p><p>During his appearance on the Sports Exchange, which is included in this story, myself along with my crew asked him what it was like to be away from his family, the places he stayed in, the championship season in Boston, the art of hitting and a lot of other things.</p><p>I guarantee you won’t regret watching this interview.</p><p>It’s that time of the year when guys like Barkett are waiting for the phone to ring to see where he’ll be spending this season.</p><p>In the meantime, I was impressed with his social media following on Twitter/X as he follows 2,800 while his followers are 12,800.</p><p>This guy is learning New Media and since he lives in the Orlando Area, I look forward to the day that we’ll meet in person.</p><p>Meanwhile, I’m just looking forward to having him on future shows and he takes the same path that former NFL Assistant Coach John Bonamego took and that’s join us frequently to keep his name out there and then he gets hired.</p><p>I’m extremely gratified that Bonamego lasted an entire season on Inside The Pigskin. </p><p>I’m not holding my breath that Barkett will spend an entire summer on 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk because I expect him to be employed elsewhere, but I’ll be thankful for what we get. </p><p>I’m a student of the game of baseball. I’ve learned so much from all the baseball guests through the years.</p><p>Barkett coaches a craft that’s one of the most difficult things to do: hitting a baseball.</p><p>If you don’t believe me, then look up the numbers for the greatest NBA Player of All-Time Michael Jordan and Florida Gators standout QB Tim Tebow. They’ll tell you they made the right decision to stay with their respective sports.</p><p>At the age of 50, there is a lot of baseball left in Andy Barkett. The only question is where will he land next?</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.</p><p>To see his broadcasts, there is no cost to Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune.</p><p>Finally, Scott released a new book called, “Lessons From The Microphone” which you can purchase on Amazon and Kindle.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-51657020935608109892024-02-05T21:48:00.000-08:002024-02-05T22:00:29.043-08:00It’s Not Over Until It’s Over, FAU Men’s Basketball’s Version<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>A lot of us know that New York Yankees Hall of Fame Catcher Yogi Berra coined “The title of this story” many years ago, to the point that it’s a well known cliche in sports.</p><p>On January 28, 2024, In addition to myself, a packed house at the Eleanor R Baldwin Arena, in Boca Raton, FL., got to see it first hand.</p><p>All afternoon, the No.22 FAU Owls found themselves in a dogfight with their long-time rival North Texas as the game was nationally televised on ESPN 2. </p><p>FAU entered the contest with a 16-4 mark while the visiting Mean Green came to South Florida with a 12-6 record.</p><p>What the fans saw in the first half was a defensive struggle and North Texas took 28-26 lead into the intermission. Mean Green Guard Jason Edwards led his squad in scoring with 11 points and grabbed four rebounds</p><p>FAU Guard Johnell Davis played 16:50 of the 20 minutes and led the Owls with 11 points and three rebounds. There wasn’t much to talk about as both teams played smothering defense. </p><p>The second half opened up a little bit and there would be seven lead changes in the contest. The biggest lead in the game was by North Texas at seven points while FAU led by three points.</p><p>The last basketball game that I’ve seen during the past six years was when the Detroit Pistons lost to the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena and this was the last time I saw Dwyane Wade play. Due to busy schedule. I just haven’t had time to see basketball games because I’ve been busy with football and baseball.</p><p>I came to see my friend former ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Dave Barnett who is the voice of the Mean Green. Prior to the game, I did an interview with his color analyst Hank Dickensen.</p><p>What all of us would see was an outright classic buzzer beater.</p><p>With 0:00.5 seconds remaining in the game, Davis nailed a three-point shot which gave FAU a 66-63 win as the crowd absolutely erupted. Davis led all scorers with 28 points and he amassed eight rebounds to go along with a pair of steals. </p><p>FAU outscored North Texas 40-35 in the second half.</p><p>When you break down the time with the lead, North Texas led for 29:07 while FAU had it for 3:16. What a disparity and in the eyes of Yogi Berra, this is what happens between the lines.</p><p>After the contest, Davis and Coach Dusty May met with us to talk about this thrilling contest for what Dickenson would say, “they’re bunk buddies.” May elaborated on that and was proud that his team battled to a hard fought win. </p><p>I encourage you to watch this video in the story so you can gauge everything about this game.</p><p>While both teams played at a championship levels, we’re glad that our work was done by 4 PM as it was the week of the NFC and AFC Championship Games. </p><p>The Lions visited the San Francisco 49’ers and the Kansas City Chiefs were in Baltimore to face the Ravens.</p><p>The Owls had plenty of time to enjoy the win as they hosted Tulsa on Saturday Night and crushed the Golden Hurricane 102-70.</p><p>FAU’s record now stands at 18-4 and is first in the American Athletic Conference while Tulsa (12-9) is 10th.</p><p>FAU moved to No.20 in the polls and now they visit the UAB Blazers Thursday Night, who are 14-8 and fifth in the AAC.</p><p>When you put this game into perspective, the game was tied at 63-63 until Davis hit the shot to avoid overtime. Then again, after FAU’s Final Four run last season, the Owls are used to these close games and they know they’re going to have plenty more this season.</p><p>As for Berra, this game was over thanks to Johnell Davis.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>Also, his book, “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle. He talks about Old School Media vs New School Media. This book is good for aspiring podcasters, journalists and any other people that want to know the inner workings of the media.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-90099224215434146972024-01-31T03:29:00.000-08:002024-01-31T03:29:24.815-08:00NGBN-TV’s Mission To Save Lives<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>I have been involved in a lot of media endeavors through the years, but this latest one intrigues me quite a bit.</p><p>My colleague JB Ellis of Sideline Sports got me involved in this one as he met Ian Hill at the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana a year ago.</p><p>At the age of 58, Hill is trying to beat the long odds of Father Time by attempting to make a comeback in college football despite dealing with a myriad of injuries over the years. Hill has been diligently working out to make this happen and I wish him well in pursuing this aspiration.</p><p>But there is a bigger picture here with Hill. </p><p>He’s launching a network on something that’s “never been done before” that involves Men in the age range between 40’s and 60’s. </p><p>Hill is using this platform by providing programming that gives these guys an entertainment outlet to unwind and enjoy the various shows to take their mind off of one of the most underrated diseases on the planet. </p><p>Suicide. Yes, I said suicide. Suicide is a silent killer!</p><p>There is no doubt many of us that are having dark moments have considered or attempted this.</p><p>I have to admit that in 2000, when I had marital issues with my first wife, she drove me so far off the edge that I overdosed on sleeping pills that I nearly died in a Phoenix, Hospital. </p><p>I’m not going to talk about the medical bills for a one night’s stay. I was 38 when I made this decision. </p><p>There have been other times when I considered it but I looked for another outlet and that was writing as a way to dig in and just vent with my deep feelings and thoughts.</p><p>The first time I became aware of suicide was on January 29, 1977 when actor Freddie Prinze Sr., who was an American stand-up comedian and actor, and the star of the NBC-TV sitcom Chico and the Man from 1974 until his death in 1977 took his life.</p><p>Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened in the weeks after his wife filed for divorce. Prinze would put a gun to his head and shot himself. A promising career that ended tragically. </p><p>I was 16-years old when he took his life. </p><p>In his honor, I owned a parakeet and named him after Prinze’s character on the sitcom and called him Chico.</p><p>In 1988, the ugly “S” word reared its’ ugly head again as my step-grandfather Sidney Jacobs overdosed on sleeping pills at the age of 67. </p><p>Jacobs was frustrated that after he retired, he wanted to travel with my grandmother, but because she didn’t like to go on trips that much, he wasn’t satisfied with working part-time in the home improvement business and being a caretaker for my great grandparents. He didn’t simply want to “exist.”</p><p>Suicide was his outlet and there was a history of it in his family.</p><p>But Jacobs fell into the age bracket that NGBN-TV is promoting and the target market as I fore mentioned 40’s and 60’s. </p><p>In a recent interview with Hill, I told him his concept was excellent, but I reminded him that it’s important that we think about all ages and genders and he acknowledged that. </p><p>Moreover, I told him that if there are spouses of men between his targeted audience that it’s important to recognize their emotions and what lies ahead.</p><p>In my time working with Hill, there is a tremendous connection and respect between the two of us!</p><p>He’s 58 and I’m 61. </p><p>I’ve been in the media for 44 years and he’s told me that he’s real happy that I’m a part of this network. I’ve told him that I like what you and the company stand for.</p><p>It’s our responsibility to make sure that we provide entertainment that inspires, educates and entertains his audience. We both have a lot of common ground in that area. </p><p>I just sent Hill My Book, “Lessons From The Microphone” because I know that guy will not only read it, he’ll use the information as knowledge to make his platform much stronger, in addition to promoting it as well. He’ll see a part of me that I can’t tell him in a typical phone conversation. </p><p>I mentioned him that if we’re saving lives and making money together, that I’ll be here as long as he wants me. I also told him that I’m open to coaching other younger and aspiring broadcasters.</p><p>I want you to notice that I mentioned saving lives first and making money second. </p><p>That’s what this is all about by having a Vision to make a positive impact on Everyone’s Lives!</p><p>What the South Florida Tribune is sending to the NGBN TV Network is our signature show the Sports Exchange. </p><p>Take a look at the promo that we have created for you. </p><p>As the Motor City Mad Mouth, I’m passionate of what I do. The primary commentators include, Myself, George Eichorn, JB Ellis and Jacob Christner.</p><p>In addition, we produce Pundits, Pundit. The commentators on this show include Myself, George Eichorn, Jacob Christner and Denzel Snipes.</p><p>Candy Ebling is behind the scenes producing these shows and everything on the South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network. She’s also built our website from scratch and self taught herself.</p><p>I always joke around with Hill, that it’s my job to make sure we have A+ Content. I’m the last person that you want doing any production technical or any other tasks where my mouth isn’t working overtime. He laughs and says, I get your point and it’s all good.</p><p>Now Candy has formed a great working relationship with Jenna Ganje and these two make a dynamite one-two punch.</p><p>Also included in this story is an interview that I did with Hill. There is no question that when we go on the air together, there is never a dull moment!</p><p>On Monday, January 29, 2024, NGBN-TV had a “Sneek Peak” where Hill, Brian Jodice Ganje interviewed the show owners so we could market our shows and give the audience a preview of what to look for. We had our promotional video during every hour and to no surprise, I was the loudest of them all. </p><p>Who was interviewing me? You guessed it, Hill! He laughed extremely hard when I said the words, “Corn hole Baby!” </p><p>That’s just who I am because I love what I’m doing and that’s the message I want everyone in and out of the company to know.</p><p>The Sneak Peak turned out to a successful way to not only market the network but to send a message that we care about saving lives! Also, it wet their appetite about the shows on the network.</p><p>It’s easy to back something like this based on what I’ve mentioned in this story.</p><p>But there are roads to conquer and as Hill has mentioned this has “never been done before.” </p><p>But for me, through the years, this is familiar territory.</p><p>I like building situations from scratch or taking a bad one and turning it around.</p><p>Life is one big challenge. Now it’s a matter to take the ups and downs and learn from them to take negatives and turned them into positives.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. His broadcasts are on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel and there is no cost to subscribe.</p><p>His book “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-16109851323588672032024-01-31T01:15:00.000-08:002024-01-31T01:22:15.797-08:00Fire Up Florida, North Texas Hoops Color Analyst Hank Dickenson<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>When the FAU Men’s Basketball schedule came out, I circled the date January 28, 2024 as I was looking forward to meeting former ESPN Broadcaster Dave Barnett, who is now the play-by-play voice for the North Texas Mean Green.</p><p>The Mean Green are Barrett’s Alma-mater and after a celebrated career in the national media, he decided to go home and do what he loves doing.</p><p>I did meet Barnett before Sunday’s game and we took a picture together. Barnett did an interview with me for the South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network and anytime that I do a show, it’s my goal to eventually meet that individual.</p><p>I was hoping to do a pre-game interview with Barnett but he was busy preparing for the game. </p><p>But as classy as he is, Dave said my color analyst Hank Dickenson would be more than happy to talk to you. I was totally grateful for the opportunity to interview his color analyst, who has been behind the microphone broadcasting Mean Green Hoops for 28 years.</p><p>This worked out great as Dickenson and I talked about the following subjects:</p><p>*The Transfer Portal</p><p>*The two smaller schools playing in large metropolitan areas.</p><p>*The rivalry between the universities.</p><p>*Dave Barnett.</p><p>*Name, Image, Likeness (NIL)</p><p>*Big Name Coaches.</p><p>*Conference Changes.</p><p>*FAU Coach Dusty May and the Owls rise to an elite program and much more.</p><p>Enclosed in this story is the interview I did with Dickenson where we talk about the North Texas Hoops program. Dickenson had a lot of worthwhile and insightful comments.</p><p>During the course of the interview, I was totally amazed at the schools’ rivalry. He has seen a lot of change in the way the NCAA does business as evidenced in some of the things we spoke about.</p><p>I learned a lot about a program that is probably the best kept secret in Texas since there are a lot of renowned schools in the state.</p><p>Going into this game, FAU was (16-4, 6-1 in the AAC) and was ranked 22nd in the polls. The Owls were in second place.</p><p>Meanwhile, North Texas was in fourth place in the AAC with a (12-6, 5-1 mark).</p><p>The game was televised nationally on ESPN 2 and these two teams didn’t disappoint as FAU won a classic thanks to a buzzer beater by Johnell Davis with 0:00.05 left in the game enabling the Owls to come away with a 66-63 win.</p><p>After the game, I thanked Hickenson for his time and managed to speak with Barnett for about five minutes. I thanked him for his time when we did our show together. I told him that I wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” and he was extremely encouraging. I also mentioned to him how much I learned from him during our interview and he was extremely pleased to hear this.</p><p>If there is a lesson to learn from this story is that even if your first plan doesn’t come to fruition, then it’s important to make sure that you go with the flow and see what falls into your lap.</p><p>It was great to interview Barnett initially and quite gratifying to do a show with his color analyst. </p><p>These type of situations are what keeps my passion for what I enjoy in the media. The ability to meet new people, build relationships and see that all of these aspects of content hunting successfully so that it’s a win-win-situation all the way around.</p><p>January 28, 2024 was another productive day at the office.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>His book, “Lessons From The Microphone” is available on Amazon and Kindle.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-62878464900933579152024-01-26T04:11:00.000-08:002024-01-26T04:11:34.105-08:00Dallas DramaBY SCOTT MORGANROTH<div><br /></div><div>On last night’s edition of Pundits, Pundit, we had a topic that talked about whether Cowboys QB Dak Prescott deserved a new contract and whether Coach Mike McCarthy should have his extended.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were mixed feelings from all the crew members that consisted of Myself, Candy Ebling, Denzel Snipes and Jacob Christner. I have to give Christner a lot of credit because during every episode I usually find one topic where I echo the famous words from Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) of Sanford and Son, are you crazy?</div><div><br /></div><div>The crew has a lot of fun when I do this and to Christner’s credit, he takes everything in stride.</div><div><br /></div><div>On last night’s episode we addressed the Cowboys QB situation and I said that Prescott didn’t deserve to get extended. The guy is 2-3 in the playoffs and in 2022, I saw him make some key mistakes in a Cowboys loss late in the season to the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Stadium.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier this season, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones made a trade with the San Francisco 49’ers to acquire Trey Lance, who was drafted in the first round, third overall in the 2021 Draft out of North Dakota State.</div><div><br /></div><div>Injuries plagued him during his tenure with the 49’ers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ahead of the 2023 Season, Lance was named the third-string backup behind Brock Purdy and free agent acquisition Sam Darnold.</div><div><br /></div><div>Shortly after adding Darnold, the 49’ers traded Lance to the Cowboys for a fourth-round pick and he was named third-string quarterback. Jones was very transparent that Lance would just hold a clipboard, which I think all young signal callers should do and just learn.</div><div><br /></div><div>That’s exactly what Lance did and as I pointed out to my crew, how do you pay a starting QB $60 Million for two playoff wins. Jones didn’t become a billionaire by being stupid.</div><div><br /></div><div>His only real gaffe during his Cowboys Ownership was letting Hall of Fame Coach Jimmy Johnson go after he guided them to a pair of Super Bowl wins and he should have had a third. That Super Bowl was gift wrapped to Barry Switzer.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a day and age where teams are overpaying QB’s, these signal callers will find it tough to earn this money unless they produce in the post-season. You can’t be in a bad situation with the salary cap and not be able to fill out the rest of your roster.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I’ll say this, Pundits, Pundit is one our best shows on The South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network because we tackle a lot of tough topics in and out of the sports world.</div><div><br /></div><div>It just so happens this Prescott topic will be talked about a lot in the off-season and you never know when Trey Lance will eventually become the starting QB and all the Cowboys had to give up was a fourth round pick for a guy that can be their signal caller of the future.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com.</div><div><br /></div><div>To see his broadcasts, just subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, Scott’s new book, “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-17209983463634658092024-01-18T04:55:00.000-08:002024-01-18T05:55:07.935-08:00Proud To Be A USF Bull<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>I’ll say one thing about the Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Stadium.</p><p>Every time I cover this game, it’s always an adventure.</p><p>Part of the adventure is seating or lack there of in the FAU Press Box since it’s too small to accommodate the overflow media.</p><p>During the 2020 game where BYU, led by New York Jets QB Zach Wilson, demolished the University of Central Florida 49-23 in front of 6,000 fans, myself and other local media had to sit outside in one end zone. Many of us were tired of that after the first half so we went back to the Press Box and watched the game from the media dining area.</p><p>Once again, this event turned out to be a challenge.</p><p>My alma-mater, the University of South Florida Bulls (6-6 overall, 4-4 AAC) faced the Syracuse Orange (6-6 overall, 2-6 ACC) on December 21, 2023. </p><p>I was approved for my credentials quite quickly, but couldn’t pick them up until the day before the game, thus I wasn’t able to attend some of the pre-game press conferences.</p><p>When I went to the game, once again there was no seat in the Press Box and had to sit in the auxiliary section instead. This wasn’t as bad since it was below the Press Box. It was neat sitting amongst the fans and during halftime, I went to the media lounge on the first floor and left my bag there.</p><p>While I didn’t have the luxury of stats to work with because there was no table in the auxiliary section, I didn’t need one as USF blew out Syracuse 45-0.</p><p>USF out gained Syracuse in total offense 407-159.</p><p>The Bulls led in first downs 21-9.</p><p>The rushing advantage by USF was staggering 161-20.</p><p>USF’s passing game advantage was 246-139.</p><p>What did this add up to for Syracuse? A long night at the office.</p><p>On this night since I had no photographer, I enjoyed writing, being the photographer and shooting the video at the post-game press conference, and once again, it was great to see my former editor Joey Johnston, who is the radio play-by-play announcer for USF. Joey is also a USF alumnus.</p><p>It was neat taking some photos with some USF Bulls fans and alumni since I’m one of them. </p><p>A crowd of 20,711 had an opportunity to see this domination.</p><p>In this game, the Bulls defense rose to the occasion, swarming Syracuse from the outset forcing four punts (including three, three-and-outs) and three turnovers including a pair of scoop and score touchdowns. USF limited the Orange to 91 first half yards (including -15 rushing) in pinching USF’s first, first half shutout 21-0, since 2019.</p><p>Syracuse finished with 159 yards, 10 punts and just nine first downs (going 1-of-17 on third down) as the Bulls posted their first complete game shutout since 2009 and didn’t allow the Orange to reach the redzone in a complete domination.</p><p>Daauan Evans was named Defensive MVP after posting five tackles, two for a loss, a sack, and forcing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.</p><p>Meanwhile, Aamaris Brown-Bunkley was named Special Teams MVP after returning a botched field goal attempt for a touchdown and added three tackles.</p><p>Redshirt freshman QB Byrum Brown was named Offensive MVP , started the game 10-of-11 before finishing 19-of 26 for 214 yards and three touchdowns, posted a team-best 64 yards rushing on 14 carries, and caught a 21-yard pass from Sean Atkins. </p><p>He became just the second Bull to surpass 4,000 total yards in a season, finishing with 4,101, and second only to Quinton Flowers’ 4,342 yards posted in 2016.</p><p>Sean Atkins became the Bulls first 1,000 yard receiver, as he grabbed six passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns.</p><p>The 45-0 victory marked USF’s largest margin of victory ever in a bowl game and its fourth win over a “Power” Conference Program.</p><p>USF improved its bowl record to 7-4.</p><p>After the game, it was neat to finally meet and talk to Head Coach Alex Golesh as he talked about this game, and the future of his program that includes an on campus stadium that will open in the next few years along with playing in South Florida.</p><p>In this video, you’re going to hear Golesh and the key players of the game.</p><p>I was totally impressed with Golesh’ candor and the energy he brings to the program, something that USF has lacked the last several years. You’re going to see it in this video.</p><p>It was also nice to be able to proudly wear My USF Shirt and seeing the game just 15 minutes from my front door in Deerfield Beach.</p><p>After going to this contest, my plan is to cover more USF Games in 2024.</p><p>On this day, I was “Proud To Be A USF Bull” as it was a moment that I didn’t mind being in the Press Box and instead being where I could hang out with individuals that wear the green and gold proudly.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>Scott’s book, “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-5483332258605530972023-12-30T02:44:00.000-08:002023-12-30T02:44:56.832-08:00Miami Hurricanes Wrap-up<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>The road back to respectability for the Miami Hurricanes has taken its share of twists and turns under Coach Mario Cristobal.</p><p>Going into their home game vs the Louisville Cardinals on November 18, the Hurricanes entered the contest at 6-4 and qualified for a bowl game. </p><p>The Hurricanes were 6-0-1 all-time vs the Cardinals at home. A win for Louisville would give the Cardinals a spot in the ACC Championship Game. Moreover, this was a game where there would be a piece of hardware that would be given to the winner.</p><p>That piece of hardware was the Howard Schnellenberger Trophy as the legendary coach masterminded turnarounds for both programs. </p><p>The game was played with a temperature of 70 degrees under cloudy skies with winds at 10 MPH and the relative humidity at 79%.</p><p>The Cardinals entered the game as the No. 10 team in the country while Miami was unranked and ninth in the ACC.</p><p>During the first half, the Hurricanes didn’t look like an unranked opponent as they took a 21-20 lead at half at halftime. They also outscored Louisville 7-3 in the third quarter to take a 28-23 at the end of the stanza.</p><p>But the biggest Achilles heel for Miami all-season is not playing well for an entire 60 minutes which resulted in the Cardinals outscoring the Hurricanes 15-3 in the fourth quarter.</p><p>In what would turnout to be his last home game, QB Tyler Van Dyke had a strong outing with a 24-39, 327 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Van Dyke entered the transfer portal and will be the signal caller in 2024 for the Wisconsin Badgers.</p><p>Running back Mark Fletcher made his presence felt by with 17 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught one pass for 25 yards.</p><p>As he’s been all-season, Xavier Restrepo had a monster contest with eight receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>Finally, kicker Andres Borregales proved why he’s one of the best kickers in by kicking one field goal for 51-yards and converted all four of his extra point opportunities. Expect to see him in the NFL in the future.</p><p>The Hurricanes amassed 486 yards in total offense, but penalties plagued the team as Miami had five for 50-yards.</p><p>The end result was a 38-31 Cardinals triumph the loss law Miami drop to 6-5 heading into its final game on the road against Boston College. The Cardinals would face Florida State in the ACC Title Game.</p><p>Check out the videos inside to see what Coach Cristobal, Van Dyke along with other players had to say. </p><p>How would the Hurricanes fare in New England on Friday, November 24?</p><p>Much better.</p><p>Miami rolled to a 45-20 win and led 28-7 at halftime.</p><p>In what would turn out to be his final game, Van Dyke was 23-36 for 290 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 149.9.</p><p>The touchdowns came all over the place.</p><p>Running back Henry Parrish had 11 carries for 111 yards and two scores. Ajax Allen gained 68 yards and had a touchdown. Mark Fletcher’s number included 12 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown, Donald Chaney had three carries for 11 yards also added a touchdown. </p><p>After this game, Chaney entered the transfer portal and like Van Dyke wouldn’t play in the Hurricanes Bowl Game.</p><p>On this day, Xavier Restrepo had six receptions for 117 yards, Jacolby George had six receptions for 89 yards along with a touchdown. Finally, Colbie Young amassed three carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>Once again, the Hurricanes rolled to an easy win and outscored Boston College 10-6 in the final quarter.</p><p>Miami was invited to the Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium) and took its 7-5 record to face the 6-6 Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the Big Ten. This would be essentially a home game in New York City for Rutgers on December 28, 2023.</p><p>As I mentioned earlier, the break between the Boston College game and the Pinstripe Bowl saw Van Dyke and Chaney depart via the transfer portal. There were other injuries to Miami as well.</p><p>This left Miami with Jacurri Brown as the starting quarterback and he was playing his first contest of the year. </p><p>He didn’t look bad as he was 20-31 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also factored into the ground game by rushing for 57 yards and two touchdowns.</p><p>There was talk all-game by the ESPN announcers that Brown is contemplating the transfer portal to find a team that will give him more playing time. We’ll see how this plays out in the coming weeks.</p><p>Prior to the game, Rutgers had never defeated Miami.</p><p>Despite Restrepo’s 11 receptions for 99-yards and a touchdown, this would be the extent of Miami’s offense. Fletcher left the game in the first quarter due to an injury and you could see the frustration in the Canes face.</p><p>Meanwhile, Scarlet Knights running back Kyle Monangai led the ground attack and impressed the scouts with 25 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>QB Gavin Wimsatt proved to be the ultimate game manager as he was 7-15 for 84 yards but also had nine carries for nine yards with two touchdowns on the ground.</p><p>The result turned out to be a 31-24 win and Rutgers earned its first win over Miami in the series. The Hurricanes final points occurred with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter.</p><p>Miami has only won one bowl game in the past 12 seasons and you can rest assure it’s going to be an arduous off-season in Cristobal’s third year with the program. </p><p>One positive development in what would turnout to be a 7-6 season was the decision for Restrepo to return for the 2024 season. He was eligible for the 2024 draft.</p><p>The redshirt junior recorded 85 catches for 1,092 yards and six touchdowns. You can rest assure that he will return to the Hurricanes as the team’s top target. It remains to be seen as to see who Restrepo will be catching passes from.</p><p>To say that the 2023 season was a roller coaster ride is understating the obvious. </p><p>There is no doubt that Miami had two quality wins versus Miami (Ohio) and Texas A&M had the season going in the right direction in September. A win over Clemson during the ACC also helped.</p><p>But this is a team that was marred by inconsistency and if they was to keep the fan base, alumni interested, there has to be marked improvement in 2024 or the catcalls will be out for the ouster of Cristobal.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out in over the next 12 months.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.</p><p>Also, to see his broadcasts, by Subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>Also, Scott wrote his first book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon and Kindle.</p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-88102113871189276582023-11-18T00:09:00.000-08:002023-11-18T00:09:04.486-08:00Veterans Day In Florida State Capital<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>TALLAHASSEE, FL</p><p>I’ve covered some football games on Veterans Day in the NFL, but not in College Football until last weeks contest featuring the Miami Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, November 11, 2023.</p><p>Prior to going to the game, I predicted on the External Bum Podcast on Friday that the 14 point underdogs, Miami Hurricanes would lose the game, but I was hoping the Canes would keep it close. Miami did just that as the Canes and Seminoles were tied at 10-10 at the end of the first half and lost 27-20.</p><p>Miami decided to start freshman QB Emory Williams to give the team a spark. The Canes figured his mobility could stretch the Seminoles defense. Williams did amass five carries for a negative seven yards but one of those carries was a sack. </p><p>Williams was a factor in the passing game as he went 8-23-0 interceptions and had two touchdown passes for 175 yards and was sacked twice. One of those passes was an 85 yard strike to Jacolby George. His favorite target was George, who had five receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns.</p><p>Leading the Miami rushing attack was Donald Chaney Jr. He had 12 carries for 85 yards with a long of 29 followed by Mark Fletcher Jr. He had 16 carries for 55 yards.</p><p>The numbers definitely told the story of this game. </p><p>Miami definitely dominated on the ground 34 carries for 131 yards, while FSU had 31 carries for 57 yards, however, QB Jordan Travis was sacked for 30 yards. Trey Benson led FSU in rushing with 80 yards and a pair of touchdowns. One of his touchdowns was a 38-yard rush.</p><p>FSU more than made up for it in the passing yards as Travis was 19-31, 0 interceptions, 265 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked three times. Leading the receivers for FSU were Johnny Wilson, 5-82, Keon Coleman 4-24, one touchdown, JaKhi Douglas three for 69 yards and Jaheim Bell three for 41 yards.</p><p>Miami out gained FSU in total yards 335-322. FSU led in time of possession 30:40-29:20 and first downs 17-13. Miami was penalized seven times for 40 yards while FSU three times for 35 yards.</p><p>The Hurricanes had a chance to win the game late, but unfortunately Williams was injured and was carted off the field. The Canes turned to Tyler Van Dyke, but he wasn’t able to lead his troops to the end zone . Van Dyke was 2-7 for 29 yards and one interception.</p><p>Kicker Andy Borregales kicked two field goals, one of 27 yards and the other was 51 yards, plus converted his pair of extra points.</p><p>Florida State got more than it bargained for, not covering the 14 points and once again, escaped with a 27-20 win.</p><p>The talk after the game centered around Williams——————————injury and while Coach Mario Cristobal was pleased with the effort of his squad, a moral victory in the State Capital isn’t what he was looking for as you’re going to see and hear in the video enclosed.</p><p>He did say that he’s delighted as to what the Canes QB situation looks like in the future.</p><p>All of the videos are available from the Miami post-game press conference. </p><p>This was my first trip to FSU and it was quite an experience. </p><p>From the long walk starting with the Media Garage to picking up my credential, walking around the stadium taking a photo at the Bobby Bowden Statue to getting into the game and just observing the environment in the press box was worth the seven hour trip.</p><p>There was a long walk to the other side Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Walker Stadium going on the field and into the Miami Interview Room, engrossed into the sights and sounds of the sellout crowd of 79,560 fans.</p><p>If you like college football, this is a place you have to get to. It was that electric. </p><p>Meanwhile, the loss dropped Miami to 6-4 while FSU improved to 10-0. They are ranked fourth in the College Football Playoff.</p><p>The Hurricanes, whom are bowl eligible wrap up their home schedule at Noon at Hard Rock Stadium face the Louisville Cardinals (9-1) for the newly created Howard Schnellenberger Trophy. The Canes will also honor for QB Gino Torretta, who won a Heisman Trophy while playing for “The U.”</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at Southfloridatribune@Gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see all of his broadcasts, there is no charge to Subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p>Also, Scott has a new book called “Lessons From The Microphone” that can be purchased at Amazon or Kindle.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-89029193485966019882023-11-06T03:54:00.004-08:002023-11-06T15:04:18.251-08:00What’s Ahead For The Canes?<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>Regardless of the opponents record there is no way you can take your opponent lightly in the Atlantic Coast Conference. </p><p>The Miami Hurricanes found that out on October 7, when they lost to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who were 2-3 going into the matchup, and lost the game in the final seconds as by not using victory formation, the Canes lost a fumble that led to a 23-20 loss at Hard Rock Stadium. Head Coach Mario Cristobal owned up to his mistake a couple days later.</p><p>Would the Hurricanes (25) bounce back the following week in Chapel Hill facing the North Carolina Tar Heals (12)? That would not be the case as North Carolina Head Coach Mack Brown had his club up 35-17 by the end of the third quarter and cruised to the win. North Carolina won the contest 41-31.</p><p>To this point, the Hurricanes were 0-2 in ACC Competition and were looking to snap that streak against the Clemson Tigers, but they would have to do it without starting QB Tyler Van Dyke, who missed the game do to an injury.</p><p>Enter Freshman QB Emory Williams who was getting his first start. The youngster showed no fear and he completed 24/33 151 yards along with one touchdown pass, plus an interception.</p><p>He had some help from running back Ajay Allen, who had 16 carries for 54 yards and scored a touchdown.</p><p>Wide receiver Colbie Young caught six passes for 26 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>Clemson took a 17-7 at the end of the third quarter but Miami took over in the fourth quarter in the fourth quarter and overtimes out scoring Clemson 21-3 and pulled out a 28-20 triumph vs Dabo Swinney and his club.</p><p>Could the Hurricanes add another win against the Virginia Cavaliers (2-5), to close out October and reach Bowl Eligibility?</p><p>For the second straight win, the Hurricanes went to overtime and won 29-26 over the Cavaliers.</p><p>It was a tough night for Van Dyke who was 20/30 163 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.</p><p>Ajay Allen was a factor in the ground game with 11 carries, for 67 yards and a touchdown. Miami’s leading receiver was Xavier Restrepo, who had three receptions for 48 yards.</p><p>But the man of the night was kicker Andres Borregales, who kicked three field goals and made his only two extra points.</p><p>This victory improved the Canes to 6-2 and the team reached Bowl Eligibility.</p><p>This set the stage for a road game on Saturday as Miami went to Raleigh, NC to face the North Carolina State Wolfpack.</p><p>Once again, it was a tough night on the gridiron for Van Dyke as he went 21/38 for 173 yards, 0 TD and three interceptions. </p><p>Mark Fletcher had a solid game on the ground with 23 carries for 115 yards while Jacolby George had five receptions for 59 yards,</p><p>The big numbers that stood out was Miami was 4-15 in 3rd down efficiency, six penalties for 55 yards. The Hurricanes out gained NC State 292-231 yards and Miami led in time of possession 35:16-24:44. Miami also had a fumble loss. </p><p>There is no doubt that this was one of the worst performances of the year against an opponent that no has the same record, 6-3. The Hurricanes lost the game 20-6.</p><p>Now the stage is set as Miami travels to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles. Game time is 3:30 PM ET.</p><p>The Hurricanes open up as 14 point underdogs on the road at Florida State for Week 11.</p><p>There is No/Over/Under listed at open.</p><p>If the Hurricanes even have a chance to win this game, Van Dyke must play his best game ever.</p><p>Otherwise. If the struggles continue, No. 4 Florida State (9-0-0) could turn this game into a scrimmage.</p><p>There is no doubt there will be lots of bowl representatives and scouts in attendance at Doak Campbell Stadium.</p><p>Now the Canes have a chance to let the country know that the program is progressing under Mario Cristobal.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com </p><p>You can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth and to see all of his broadcasts, Just subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-70292766696969012252023-11-04T09:07:00.004-07:002023-11-04T09:19:05.485-07:00The New Game In Town<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>Up until the past two weeks, I had never heard of the University of Fort Lauderdale (UFTL), but when an administrator brought it to my attention, then I became curious to see if this school had a football program.</p><p>After that, I went through the proper channels and proceeded to do some research on this school which is located in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Lauderhill, FL which is 30 minutes west off Sunrise Blvd.</p><p>The University of Fort Lauderdale has an enrollment of 450 students.</p><p>It competes in the South Region of Division I of the NCCAA and fields eight teams.</p><p>When I found out that this university is named the Eagles, it brought memories when I graduated high school from the Lakeland Eagles in 1981 back in Milford, MI.</p><p>The most intriguing part of doing this story is that I have a passion for covering new sports programs.</p><p>I started working with the Florida Atlantic Owls in 2007 and reunited with Head Coach Howard Schnellenberger, whom I worked with at the University of Miami in 1982. I’ve watched the progression of FAU as the Owls have grown into playing in the American Athletic Conference.</p><p>There is no better person to build this program than a local coach, who knows how to recruit South Florida.</p><p>Miami native Damon Cordell, 48, joined UFTL as head coach in 2022.</p><p>Prior to joining UFTL, Coach Cognell had many successful coaching jobs at the High School level and collegiate ranks such as West Virginia University (WVU) and the University of South Florida.</p><p>Cordell was a standout linebacker at West Virginia, lettering in 1997 and 1998. </p><p>He posted 66 tackles as a senior and finished his career with 107. He earned his bachelors degree from WVU in 1999.</p><p>He went on to start at linebacker for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League from 2000, 2001 and was part of the Lions 2000 Grey Cup Championship.</p><p>Cogdell’s best coaching stop occurred at Miramar High School from 2002-2013, serving as head coach and defensive coordinator since 2007, and defensive coordinator throughout his stint. He also served as the school’s athletic director.</p><p>Cogdell compiled an impressive 72-19 record as head coach and led Miramar to the 2009 Class A State Championship and a 2011 runner-up finish. </p><p>He was selected the 2009 High School Coach of the Year by Nike, the Black Coaches Association of America, the Miami Herald and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.</p><p>Cogdell was the first runner-up for National High School Coach of the Year by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2012. Miramar’s 2009 defense gave up just 122 yards per-game, while the 2011 team gave up just 143.</p><p>He coached more than 50 players that went on to play collegiate football, including West Virginia standouts Geno Smith, an All-Big 12 quarterback in the second round of the NFL Draft by the New York Jets, and wide receiver Stedman Bailey, a first team All-American selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the St.Louis Rams.</p><p>There is no doubt that Cogdell is the best kept secret in the coaching circles.</p><p>In addition to his role as head coach, Cogdell is the Athletic Director for UFTL. He’s the one tasked into building this program in the manner he sees fit. I can relate to what he’s doing because I’ve enjoyed taking a bad situation and turning it around, or building a situation from scratch.</p><p>On Thursday, Coach Cogdell and I spent time together and talked about his vision for UFTL.</p><p>Check out the video in this story. I know that many of us can appreciate where he’s coming from and the challenges he faces.</p><p>Cognell knows that he has a chance to set a good example for African American Coaches that aspire to inspire others to pursue their dreams.</p><p>There is no better place to start and this is “The New Game In Town.”</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.</p><p>To see his broadcasts, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-65362035855583372182023-10-28T03:37:00.000-07:002023-10-28T03:37:13.991-07:00Canes Get Signature Win Vs Clemson<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>The month of October hasn’t been very kind for the Miami Hurricanes.</p><p>Miami dropped a heart breaking loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday, October 7, 23-20 when Coach Mario Cristobal called a running play that led to a fumble loss instead of kneeling down with about 30 seconds left in the contest. He owned up to the costly mistake a few days later.</p><p>A week later, The Hurricanes hit the road and lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 14, 41-31 as QB Tyler Van Dyke sustained a lower extremity injury and was limited during the week of practice.</p><p>These pair of losses knocked Miami out of the polls as the Hurricanes headed into Saturday’s showdown vs the Clemson Tigers.</p><p>Prior to the game, Cristobal decided to not play Van Dyke as Emory Williams took the majority of the snaps during practice.</p><p>When you have a new QB, coaches tend to look toward the running game to take the pressure off and that’s what occurred.</p><p>On the opening drive of the contest, Clemson was driving the ball down the field but the drive stalled as the Canes forced a fumble into the Tigers end zone enabling the Hurricanes to take the ball at their own 20-yard line. </p><p>It took all of 14 seconds for Miami to turn that turnover into points as running back Brashard Smith ran 80-yards for a touchdown to give the Canes a 7-0 lead and this would be the margin at the end of the first quarter.</p><p>Clemson proceeded to score 17 unanswered points as the Tigers led 17-7 by the end of the third quarter thanks to the combination of QB Cade Klubnik who went 18/34 for 314 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Jake Briningstool was targeted 10 times, had five receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Briningstool looked so impressive that he could be on a future NFL roster playing on Sundays.</p><p>On a 79 degree night with clear skies, the Hurricanes showed no quit as they outscored Clemson 10-0 in the fourth quarter.</p><p>With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Williams hit Colbie Young for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-14. The time of the drive was 15 plays, 75 yards and 9:01</p><p>The Hurricanes followed this drive up with another one that went went 10 plays, 43 yards and lasted 5:15 leading to a 38-yard FG by Andres Borregales as the score was tied 17-17.</p><p>Both teams exchanged field goals in the first overtime making the score 20-20.</p><p>In the second overtime, Ajay Allen, who had 16 carries for for 54 yards scored his lone touchdown, but the decisive one, a three-yarder to give Miami a 26-20 lead, and a successful two point conversion increased it to 28-20.</p><p>This set the stage for Clemson’s next drive which would come up short as the Tigers were unable to score on three straight short running plays. </p><p>On the game’s final play, needing no more than a yard for the end zone, Klubnik faked a handoff and rolled left, only to have no chance of getting past Miami linebacker Corey Flagg, who made the tackle and the Hurricanes sprinted onto the field in celebration.</p><p>A year ago, lost on the road to Clemson 40-10 where the Tigers tacked a touchdown on with 16 seconds remaining.</p><p>The loss means that Swinney has to wait until today before becoming the school’s outright leader in wins. He remains tied with Frank Howard for the most in Tigers history with 165.</p><p>Going into this game, Clemson had been 16-3 in the Swinney era in regular season games following a bye week, 47-10 in night games since the start of the 2015 season. Clemson had also blown out Miami in each of the last four seasons between between the schools by a combined score of 178-30.</p><p>As for the Hurricanes, they were 0-5 in home ACC games since the start of last season. That matched the longest home losing streak in conference games, dating back to the Big East Days. The Hurricanes dropped five straight ACC games at home during a stretch spanning 2007 and 2008.</p><p>Miami dominated the rushing yards by out gaining Clemson 211-21. Meanwhile, the Tigers doubled up the Canes in passing yards 314-151. Miami led in total yards 362-335. Time of possession went Miami’s way as the Canes led 34:54-25:06.</p><p>The Hurricanes were hit with eight penalties for 90 yards while Clemson mustered up seven for 38 yards.</p><p>The Tigers had four fumbles, two lost and one interception while Miami had a pair of fumbles but none of those lost to go a long with one interception.</p><p>There was no question that this was a hard fought, physical football game as a crowd of 48,562 observed. Miami improved its record to 5-2 while Clemson dropped to 4-3.</p><p>There were also representatives from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, in addition to the Senior and Hula Bowls.</p><p>After the game, Coach Cristobal and the players made available in the post-game press were unquestionably in a much better mood than they were after the Georgia Tech game. I asked Cristobal about the final play. Williams comments were unbelievable as he told every media member that what we were asking, “Good Question” and you’re going to see this in one of the videos.</p><p>The Miami Hurricanes face the Virginia Cavaliers today at Hard Rock Stadium at 3:30 PM with a chance to become bowl eligible.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.</p><p>Also you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-45337915440603951122023-10-23T05:06:00.000-07:002023-10-23T05:06:09.199-07:00Catching Up With Marlins Jody Reed<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>The best part about covering baseball on all levels, especially the Minor Leagues, are the relationships that you build throughout the years.</p><p>I’ve been very fortunate to work with the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers Minor league clubs in Fort Lauderdale, FL, Tampa, FL, and Gastonia, NC. I covered the Yankees for the Hallandale Digest, Reds for the Tampa Tribune and worked as an administrator for the Rangers.</p><p>I have interviewed a lot of players and many of them reached the major leagues. Some of the ones that standout include Brian Butterfield, Rex Hudler, Joe Oliver, Dean Palmer, Sammy Sosa, Jose Rijo and many others. When they made it to the major leagues, our paths would cross during Spring Training as well as during the regular season. </p><p>Other names worth mentioning are Kevin Rand, Lenny Harris and Barry Foote.</p><p>When I was working for the Tampa Tribune, my editors wanted me to write a story on local product on second baseman Jody Reed. At the time, he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and was playing for the Class A, Florida State League’s Winter Haven, FL.</p><p>I did exactly that and caught up with him at Al Lopez Field, the home of the Tarpons. Reed was a hot prospect. He would make his MLB Debut on August 22, 1997 and would play in the majors for 10 seasons.</p><p>His stops were with the Red Sox (1987-1992), Los Angeles Dodgers (1993), Milwaukee Brewers (1994) San Diego Padres (1995-1996), Detroit Tigers (1997).</p><p>During his career, Reed hit .270, with 27 homers, and 392 RBI.</p><p>When the Marlins decided to make a managerial change replacing Don Mattingly with Skip Schumaker, there was an addition to the new coaching staff that stood out.</p><p>That was Jody Reed.</p><p>During this enclosed video, I had the opportunity to reminisce with Reed during the summer. This was a classic trip down memory lane.</p><p>As I mentioned early in this story, when you have great relationships in baseball, they last forever, these individuals don’t forget about you and as a result, wind up as interviews, photos, etc…</p><p>What makes baseball even better than many of the other sports is you can run across these people on all levels, especially the minor leagues.</p><p>One of my plans for 2024 is I’m hoping to write a book on the Greatest American Pastime. So stay tuned.</p><p>In the current book that I’m on the verge of completing, “Lessons From The Microphone” Tuning Into The Enduring Wisdom Of Visionary Leaders, there are a lot of baseball mentions, including Jody Reed.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.</p><p>Also, you can find his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. There is no cost to subscribe to the channel. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-22497172906411993362023-10-21T02:25:00.000-07:002023-10-21T02:25:05.345-07:00Not The Homecoming I Expected<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>My first and last Homecoming I attended at Raymond James Stadium was when the USF Bulls defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats and I was covering this game for the Detroit Monitor.</p><p>The Head Coach for USF was Jim Leavitt, who was the first one in the history of the program. Leavitt piloted the program from its inception in 1997 until 2009, compiling a record of 95-57.</p><p>After the game, I approached Leavitt for a one-on-one interview by introducing myself to him. He was hesitant for the moment and I told him that I want to promote MY ALMA-MATER in MY HOMETOWN, of Detroit, MI. You had two intense individuals and I had the most intense eye contact that you could have with anybody. Leavitt did agree to do the interview and we left as friends and exchanged hugs.</p><p>The best part of having an alma-mater is it’s a place that you choose and I’m proud of the fact that I got my undergraduate BA Degree in Communication in 1986.</p><p>USF will always have a special place in my heart and when I return to campus, I try to update some of my clothing and wear them when I can.</p><p>On Saturday, October 14, at Raymond James Stadium, it was neat approaching the stadium. </p><p>There was a different feeling as I saw lots of people wearing the green and gold colors.</p><p>I really felt like I was back home and saw my former colleague, Joey Johnston, who does broadcasting for the Bulls as I entered the press box. We took a quick photo together. Next on the photo list was the Director of Communications Brian Siegriest. Brian put the South Florida Tribune on the Media Distribution list when we just started the publication. I really appreciated his faith in me that I was going to build something special and I wanted my alma-mater involved.</p><p>On this day, Jim Leavitt wasn’t in the building. He’s the defensive coordinator for SMU, but did have a one-year stint at FAU in 2020 in that same role.</p><p>The opponent for homecoming was, you guessed it, The Florida Atlantic Owls. With Central Florida leaving for the Big 12, FAU figures to be the new instate rival for USF and this is the Owls first year in the American Athletic Conference.</p><p>Going into the game, USF led the all-time series 3-1. The last time these two schools met was in 2013, and FAU defeated the Bulls 28-10 in Raymond James Stadium.</p><p>When I saw there would be no conflict with the Miami Hurricanes, there was no way I was going to miss this contest. </p><p>While USF is my alma-mater, I also have a deep connection to FAU since I’ve been covering the Owls since 2007 when program founder and father figure Howard Schnellenberger was roaming the sidelines. My relationship with Schnellenberger was truly incredible going back to our days working together in 1982-83.</p><p>During the week, I was open on Social Media that there was no way I was going to lose this game.</p><p>This season, I’ve developed an excellent working relationship with FAU Football Coach Tom Herman. The ice breaker was he really liked my “Motor City Mad Mouth” Hat and I’m currently in the process of getting him one.</p><p>During the video enclosed in this story, you’re going to see how much fun we have when we talk and during the post-game Media Availability, we took a photo together.</p><p>As for the game itself, FAU led USF 21-14 at halftime. </p><p>FAU QB Daniel Richardson had an outstanding afternoon by completing 31/38 passes for 382 yards, had three touchdowns and one interception. Richardson used his legs on one play by rushing for 22 yards.</p><p>Running back Larry McCammon had 18 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown while wide receiver Tony Johnson had eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>I’m not going to get into any major game details. Instead, we’ll enclose the final stats off of stat cast to list all of the details of what turned out to be a 56-14 rout of the Bulls, who dropped to 3-4.</p><p>Prior to the FAU game, USF traveled to UAB and the Blazers defeated the Bulls 56-35 in Alabama.</p><p>When I asked Herman off camera if the UAB game was a good way to scout the Bulls, he said a little, but pointed out that he’s more interested in gauging his teams’ progress all-season against every opponent.</p><p>The one thing that both homecoming games at USF had in common was the flamboyant exchanges with two coaches that were very enlightening and enjoyable.</p><p>When you compare the two football programs, FAU has an on campus stadium while USF will finally get one in 2026. I’m looking forward seeing this.</p><p>When I was attending classes at USF, our homecoming was at Men’s Basketball Games at the Sun Dome. How things have changed. </p><p>But now that these two schools are in the same conference, I look forward to seeing them compete more often. I do remember a time when Kevin Cooney was the head coach of FAU’s Baseball team and I covered a game vs FAU, and we had a good time talking about my mixed allegiances.</p><p>The once common denominator is that when I do attend games featuring USF vs FAU, I wear neutral colors. That’s the way it has to be.</p><p>As for what’s ahead, USF travels to Connecticut and faces the Huskies at 3:30 PM ET looking to snap a two-game losing streak.</p><p>Meanwhile, FAU has a two-game winning streak and hosts the University of Texas San Antonio Road Runners (3-3) at 6 PM. FAU is 3-3 and the Owls are looking to increase their winning streak to three games.</p><p>But as the title of this story says, “Not The Homecoming I Expected” means I didn’t expect a rout of this magnitude but it was real special being back in on of my home town covering my alma-mater. This was a memorable day as I look at the entire experience, beyond the score.</p><p>I have to admit, that since I live in South Florida, I would have gone after my masters degree at FAU since the school has grown immensely if I was 10-15 years younger. </p><p>But, my Niece Bria Morganroth is on the verge of getting her degree with the Owls.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter @TribuneSouth. Also, if you want to see his broadcasts, then Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no cost.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-3581019478686229312023-10-21T01:06:00.002-07:002023-10-21T01:06:58.212-07:00Miami Hurricanes October Reality Check<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>When you’re a Power Five School and have a history of winning like the Miami Hurricanes, when you’re winning, all it takes are some key wins to get National Championship consideration. </p><p>The month of September saw the Miami Hurricanes defeat Miami (Ohio), Texas A&M, Bethune Cookman, and Temple. The Hurricanes were ranked as high as No.17 in the polls. The Hurricanes offense scored 38, 48, 48 and 41 points respectively during that stretch.</p><p>Their next opponent Georgia Tech on October 7, was coming off a 38-27 loss to the Bowling Green Falcons. So as conventional wisdom would lead you to think, this was a Miami rout waiting to happen.</p><p>But that’s why you play the games.</p><p>When you look at the game offensively, Miami led in total yards 453-250.</p><p>As I watched the contest, I was surprised that the Canes only led 3-0 at halftime. Where was this high-powered offense that could potentially produce future NFL players?</p><p>The one thing that will kill any team is turnovers as Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke completed 24/36 for 288 yards, one touchdown and tossed three interceptions. </p><p>The Hurricanes also lost two fumbles including a play that will be talked about for years to come. In the waning seconds of the contest, with Georgia Tech out of timeouts, all Miami had to do was kneel down in victory formation and the Canes would improve to 5-0. Instead, Coach Mario Cristobal elected to run the ball and Donald Chaney, who had 24 carries for 106 yards with a 4.4 average fumbled the ball and Georgia Tech took over. </p><p>The Yellow Jackets put together the miraculous winning drive of four plays, 74 yards in 25 seconds to win the game 23-20. The winning touchdown came when Georgia Tech QB Haynes King threw a 44-yard touchdown pass Christian Leary.</p><p>This was a contest that saw Miami dominate in first downs 23-13 and Yellow Jackets QB King was 12/25 for 151 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Hurricanes self destructed as they were penalized six times for 80 yards. Miami led in Time of Possession 35:24-24:34.</p><p>Going into the game, Miami was a 19.5 point favorite and the over/under was 56.5. But that’s not the performance the crowd of 58,045 witnessed.</p><p>Instead, the fans saw a team lose because of a coaches gaffe and this loss saw Miami drop from 17-25 in the National Rankings. A day later, Cristobal owned his mistake that he should have had two kneel downs in victory formation. Unfortunately for Cristobal, this same mistake occurred when he was coaching at the University of Oregon.</p><p>This blunder was talked about during the following week in the National Media knowing full well that this loss took the Canes out of National Championship consideration and cost the programs millions of dollars in the process where they’re College Football Playoff aspirations took a hit.</p><p>After the game, I was in sponge mode and decided to let my colleagues ask the questions to the select players and Cristobal. All five videos totaled about 11 minutes combined. What was there to say about a heart-breaking loss that will be talked about for years?</p><p>I appeared on a couple of podcasts that week and I told the audience that the crowd was stunned, in addition to members of the media. </p><p>But now the question would be, how would the Miami Hurricanes respond the following week in Chapel Hill, to face the No.12 North Carolina Tar Heels?</p><p>The Hurricanes held their own in the first half by taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. But the third quarter was the difference in the ballgame as North Carolina scored 21 unanswered points to take a 35-17 lead and proceeded to win the game 41-31.</p><p>Van Dyke went 31/48 for 391 yards, had four touchdowns and two interceptions. Henry Parrish led the Canes in rushing with 13 carries for 73 yards while Xavier Resptrepo had 11 receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. In the Georgia Tech game, Restrepo had 12 receptions for 123 yards.</p><p>The key final number vs North Carolina are as follows: </p><p>*Miami led in first downs, 28-24.</p><p>*North Carolina dominated in rushing 235-91.</p><p>*Miami led with passing yards 391-273.</p><p>*North Carolina led in total yards 508-482.</p><p>*Interceptions, Miami had two and North Carolina had zero.</p><p>*Penalties, North Carolina 14/147 and Miami had 7/60.</p><p>*Time of Possession, 30:04-29:56.</p><p>The Hurricanes loss dropped them to 4-2 and they head into tonight’s must win home contest vs the Clemson Tigers (4-2). Miami needs this win in the worst way as it wants to regain some national respect in an attempt to make it to a higher tier bowl game.</p><p>At the Georgia Tech Game, there were representatives from the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, three from the New York Giants. From a Bowl standpoint, there was a representative from the Senior, two from the Pop Tarts and one from the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.</p><p>I’ll be curious to see who comes out tonight at Hard Rock Stadium as game time is 8 PM.</p><p>But as I’ve mentioned, this is a must win for the Hurricanes against a program that has been a national power under coach Dabo Swinney. </p><p>We have videos in this story and encourage you to watch them.</p><p>It was a tough night, but heart-breaking losses are a part of all sports even though they sting the most at times like this.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on Twitter @TribuneSouth and see his broadcasts by Subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-22544665457472666222023-10-07T05:26:00.001-07:002023-10-07T05:26:36.700-07:00Tale Of Two Games<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>When the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Texas A&M Aggies 48-33, on Saturday, September 9 at Hard Rock Stadium, the Canes sent a message to the college football world.</p><p>Coach Mario Cristobal earned a signature victory in his second season and Miami will be a force to be in reckoned with during the 2023 campaign.</p><p>Miami had a quick turnaround as it faced visiting Bethune Cookman on Thursday, September 14 at Hard Rock Stadium. </p><p>When you go into a game that figures to be lopsided, how do you prepare for it?</p><p>The only way that Miami could and jump out to an early lead and hope the lead is big enough so you can rest your regulars without the risk of injury.</p><p>When these two teams met on September 3, 2022, Miami thrashed Bethune Cookman 70-13. During the week, I wondered if Miami would score 80 points. But that wasn’t the case.</p><p>The only thing this game had in common with the Texas A&M game was the amount of points that Miami pinned on the visiting Wildcats and that was 48. Miami mauled the Wildcats 48-7. By the end of the first quarter, the Canes led 14-0 and led 34-0 at halftime.</p><p>Tyler Van Dyke had another fine game as he went 19/23 for 247 yards and passed for two touchdowns. When the game is a rout, it’s a good opportunity to use the backup quarterback and Emory Williams went 9/11 for 102 yards.</p><p>On the ground, Donald Chaney had seven carries for 73 yards, Ajhay Allen amassed 12 carries for 68 yards and Henry Parrish added seven carries for 52 yards. Chris Johnson had seven carries for 40 yards. The Hurricanes ground attack was definitely balanced.</p><p>Xavier Restrepo led all Miami receivers with six receptions for 120 yards. Brashard Smith added three catches for 55 yards, Colbie Young had five catches for 55 yards and Jacolby George had five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.</p><p>From a team standpoint, the Hurricanes out gained Bethune Cookman 589-165. Miami’s time of possession was 35-02-24:58. The Canes had 32 first downs and the Wildcats had eight.</p><p>When the contest was over, the Canes were glad to finish 3-0 in their first three contests at home, 3-0. Cristobal and the players available to us knew they took care of business at home as you’re going to find out in the videos included in this story.</p><p>As I mentioned, Cristobal had an opportunity to see more players which could come in handy as Miami sizes up its depth.</p><p>Miami was also looking forward to hitting the road the following week by going to Philadelphia for a road contest versus the Temple Owls.</p><p>With what many would call a mini bye-week since the Bethune Cookman was played on a Thursday, Miami cruised to a 41-7 win over Temple. </p><p>The offensive leaders for Miami included Van Dyke who went 17/24 for 220 yards, Parrish had 16 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns and Restrepo caught seven passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns.</p><p>In the month of September, Miami scored 38, 48,48 and 41 points and finishing the month 4-0.</p><p>The schedule worked out for Miami and myself. The following week, Miami had a bye and I had surgery as well as both of us would get ready as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bring a 2-3 record to town.</p><p>This game is at 8 PM on the ACC Network and another victory gets the Hurricanes closer to Bowl Eligibility.</p><p>The Month of October after Georgia Tech has three TBD’s, To Be Determined on the game times but you can rest assure that playing at North Carolina, hosting Clemson and Virginia will tell us a lot of how the Canes have progressed in as I mentioned before, the second year of Cristobal.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and to see his broadcasts, there is no cost to Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-79690269128938936642023-09-24T14:08:00.000-07:002023-09-24T14:08:03.062-07:00Sunday’s At The Ballpark<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>It’s hard to believe that in my 40 years of covering MLB that I’ve only covered two opening day games. One was the last game ever when the Detroit Tigers closed down their iconic stadium and the other occurred when they faced the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.</p><p>Meanwhile, I’ve covered my fair share of home finales.</p><p>The most memorable one was on Sunday, September 29, 2013. Henderson Alvarez threw the 282nd no-hitter in MLB History, in a game against the Detroit Tigers in a 1-0 win. He became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter on the final game of the regular season since Mike Witt in 1984, when he did it for the California Angels.</p><p>This was the first and only no-hitter that I’ve ever seen in person.</p><p>These days, I spend a lot of time doing shows, therefore, the only times I can get to the ballpark is mainly on weekends. Every now and then, if it’s an afternoon game during the week, I’ll come to the ballpark.</p><p>I’ve seen a lot of interesting games, and performances on Sundays. </p><p>There are too many to mention at the moment. But every now and then, there is a game worth mentioning.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————</p><p>On Sunday, August 13, 2023, the Marlins had a day they’ll never forget versus the New York Yankees. </p><p>Yankees starter Gerrit Cole pitched six strong innings, yielded two runs and struck out six.</p><p>What happened in the ninth inning was extremely climactic as the Yankees bullpen imploded and give up five runs enabling Miami to come a way with an incredible 8-7 victory in front of a record crowd of 35,043 fans. Jake Burger’s game-ending single capped the incredible epic ending. Burger had three hits in the contest.</p><p>Yankees reliever Clay Holmes gave up the five runs and in 0.1 innings and saw his record drop to 4-3.</p><p>Marlins rookie starter Eury Perez gave up four runs in four innings, but managed to escape with a no-decision.</p><p>Jorge Lopez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to improve his record to 6-2. Since this game, the Marlins released Lopez and he’s a member of the Baltimore Orioles.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————</p><p>On September 17, 2023, the Miami Marlins were looking to sweep their NL East Division nemesis, Atlanta Braves. The Marlins needed these games in order to stay in the NL Wild-Card Hunt.</p><p>In nine of their last 10 games versus the Braves, Atlanta outscored Miami 83-29. Would there be more of the same during the weekend series which occurred from September 15-17?</p><p>No. </p><p>The Marlins swept this series and out scored Atlanta 36-11. It was a much needed sweep for the Marlins.</p><p>But the game that had the most fireworks occurred on Sunday, September 17th, the one that I attended. </p><p>The Marlins slammed the Braves 16-2 and amassed 17 hits and left 10 men on base. </p><p>The offensive barrage came from a lot of different sources, but the big blast of the day was from center-fielder Jazz Chisholm. He hit a grand slam home run and hit one the day before in Miami’s 11-5 win over the Braves, thus becoming the first player in club history to hit one in consecutive days. This led to a five-run fourth inning. Chisholm also had three walks.</p><p>In the Saturday game, he also stole three bases to go along with the grand slam, and as a result, was the second player in MLB History to do that.</p><p>What else would we see during the 16-2 rout?</p><p>The Marlins chased Braves starter Charlie Morton with six runs and six hits in 4.2 innings as he dropped to 14-12.</p><p>Miami’s power surge included home runs by Jorge Solar, Jake Burger and Nick Fortes. Luis Arraez also added three hits.</p><p>This run support was all Jesus Luzardo needed to improve his record to 10-9 as he struck out eight in six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and walking two. Catcher Jacob Stallings pitched the final inning and didn’t allow a run.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————-</p><p>On Sunday, September 24, the ducks lined up for a memorable afternoon as Miami hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. To this point, the teams split the first two games. </p><p>The Brewers crushed the Marlins 16-1 on Friday Night and clinched a playoff berth. On Saturday, the Marlins stayed in wild-card hunt and prevented the Brewers from clinching the NL Central by taking a 5-4 decision. Miami improved its record to 80-75. </p><p>While Milwaukee didn’t get the win, Carlos Santana hit the 300th homer of his career and former Marlin Christian Yellich had career hit 1,500 for Milwaukee.</p><p>This has set the stage for another interesting Sunday memory.</p><p>If the Marlins win this contest, they would be assured of not having a losing season under first year manager Skip Schumaker. Meanwhile, a win for the Brewers would enable them to clinch the NL Central Division.</p><p>In a game that took 2:46 minutes, the Marlins reached the 81 win mark by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers and won the series 2-1. A crowd of 17,538 were on hand for Fan Appreciation Day.</p><p>The Marlins roughed up Brewers starter and loser Freddy Peralta for four runs and nine hits in three innings. Reliever Julio Teheran gave up a pair of runs in three innings. The Marlins amassed 17 hits during the afternoon.</p><p>Luis Arraez took the day off but the Marlins didn’t miss a beat at second base as rookie Xavier Edwards amassed three hits and stole two bases. It was the first three hit career game in his career. </p><p>The Marlins had three home runs in the contest as Josh Bell had one while Jon Berti had two. It was Berti’s second career multi-home run game of his career with the first one occurring on May 4, 2022 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.</p><p>Left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott struck out the side in the 9th inning becoming the second reliever in Marlins history to reach 100 strikeouts in a single season. He is the first left-handed pitcher reach that feat. He joined Kyle Barraclough, (113, 2016) as the only two relievers in Marlins history to have 100 strikeouts in a season.</p><p>The Marlins have had their fair share of pitching problems this season.</p><p>Cy Young Award Winner Sandy Alcantara is done for 2023. Eury Perez is on the 15 Day IL, Jesus Luzardo has pitched in a career high 171.1 innings as has Braxton Garrett with 155.2. Going into this game, Marlins relievers tossed 98.1 innings in September which is second most in MLB.</p><p>On this final Sunday of the regular season, Edward Cabrera pitched five solid innings yielding just one run and five hits, had two walks and five strikeouts as he improved his record to 7-7.</p><p>The Marlins finished their 2023 regular season home schedule going 46-35, becoming the 6th team in franchise history to win at least 46 games at home.</p><p>The last time the Marlins won more games at home in a regular season was in 2003, when they went 53-28.</p><p>As the Brewers division title waits for at least another day, it won’t happen on this Fall Sunday afternoon in South Florida. The Marlins will conclude their regular season with successive road trips at the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————</p><p>The only disadvantage of covering the Sunday games is because of the early contests, there are no Media Availability with the Manager prior to the game. But as I list game coverage on the game application, there has been no shortage of quality storylines between the lines.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can watch his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no cost. There are a lot of broadcasts to suit a variety of interests.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-30778483291962680132023-09-14T03:15:00.000-07:002023-09-14T03:15:17.371-07:00Miami Hurricane’s First Acts<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>Do the first three weeks of a season give you much of an indication of what type of team you are?</p><p>In many instances, major programs schedule weaker schools in what figures to be winnable games, plus a large payday for the smaller schools. These paydays enable smaller schools to pump revenue into their athletic department. There are times when the smaller school pulls off an upset.</p><p>What have we seen thus far in the opening weeks of the 2023 Season for the Miami Hurricanes?</p><p>On September 1, 2023, I felt that I was seeing double when the Hurricanes faced the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. Two Miami schools facing off in the opener.</p><p>As I was driving to the game, I actually had vibes that this game would be close since the Redhawks play in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). When you talk about one of the best mid-major conferences in the country, this one is it. Very seldom are teams looking to leave the conference like others are around the conference. The MAC has its own championship game at Ford Field in Detroit.</p><p>Any thoughts of this match-up being close were eliminated early as the Canes jumped out to a 16-0 first half lead and never looked back. </p><p>The Hurricanes set the tone early with an impressive first drive that was three plays for 56 yards and lasted 1:25. QB Tyler Van Dyke connected with Colbie Young for a 44-yard touchdown. Young would amass four receptions for 79 yards.</p><p>Kicker Andy Borregales added three field goals of 34, 32 and 43 yards to finish the first half.</p><p>In the second half, the Hurricanes road to pay dirt was with the running attack. In the third quarter, Mark Fletcher rushed for a 26-yard touchdown. The Hurricanes got a pair of rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter from Henry Parrish for 12-yards and Donald Chaney had a 20-yard scamper.</p><p>Parrish led the Miami rushing attack with nine carries for 90 yards.</p><p>Van Dyke looked solid by completing 17-22 for 201 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the Canes rolled to a 38-3 win.</p><p>There was one major teaching moment and I asked Coach Mario Cristobal about it during the post-game press conference. It occurred when Leonard Taylor committed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty with Miami (Ohio) pinned at its own 4-yard line that moved the ball to the 19-yard line.</p><p>You can see that answer in the video inserted in this story.</p><p>The numbers don’t lie in this game, as the Hurricanes dominated offensively holding a 493-215 advantage. The Hurricanes out rushed Miami (Ohio) 250-51 and as I mentioned earlier, they had three rushing touchdowns. Defensively, the Canes made life difficult for Redhawks QB Brett Gabbert, sacking his three times.</p><p>The Hurricanes entered the game as 16.5 point favorites and they lived up to that prediction to start the season 1-0.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————</p><p>Eight days later the No.23 Texas A&M Aggies came to town as 3 point favorites and the over-under was 50.5 points. </p><p>In their previous match-up on September 17, 2022, Aggies Coach Jimbo Fisher and his team defeated the Hurricanes at home 17-9. This year, the oddsmakers gave the Hurricanes a 56% chance to win.</p><p>Before the game, I paid close attention to ESPN’s College Game Day Crew to gauge what they thought of this early signature contest for the Hurricanes.</p><p>Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit, Joe Namath and Desmond Howard had the Aggies winning the contest. The senior member of the crew Lee Corso picked the Hurricanes.</p><p>The Aggies jumped out to a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Miami’s lone score was a Van Dyke touchdown pass for three yards to Young.</p><p>Texas A&M stretched its lead to 17-7 as Amari Daniels rushed for a nine-yard touchdown. But the Hurricanes closed out the first half by scoring 14 unanswered points as Van Dyke hit Isaiah Horton for a 52-yard touchdown with 11:08 left in the quarter. The Hurricanes struck again with 13 seconds left as Van Dyke Jacolby George for an 11-yard touchdown.</p><p>Early in the game, the Hurricanes had two major penalties and had a punt blocked. One of those penalties was for unnecessary roughness. Miami had a defensive holding penalty that paved the way for Texas A&M to take a 10-0 lead.</p><p>The Aggies got the ball in the second half and at the 9:09 mark, Randy Bond kicked a 28-yard field goal to trim the Canes lead to 21-20.</p><p>In the first half, special teams wasn’t the Hurricanes friend as a muffed punt by Davonte Brown at the Miami seven, led to a two plays, nine yard drive that gave the Aggies a 17-7 lead.</p><p>Special teams became the Hurricanes friend in the second half as Brashard Smith had an answer for Bond’s field goal by taking the ensuing kick-off 98-yards giving Miami a 28-20 lead at the 8:55 mark. Borregales proceeded to add a 34-yard field field and Miami extended its lead to 31-20 at the 5:42 mark.</p><p>The Aggies didn’t quit as they rounded out the scoring in the third quarter as Connor Weigman threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Earnest Crownover to cut the deficit to 31-26. The two point conversion failed.</p><p>The Hurricanes poured it on in the fourth quarter as Van Dyke threw for two touchdown passes. Both were to George for three and 64-yards. Borregales added a 50-yard field goal between the pair of touchdowns.</p><p>After the game, I asked Xavier Restrepo, who plays offense and special teams what he thought about the overall unit’s performance.</p><p>I also asked Van Dyke that with Miami’s 48-33 win, did this win send a message to college football fans that the Hurricanes should be taken seriously in 2023. We also talked about that if this signature victory will enable the Hurricanes draw higher crowds as the season progresses. Miami drew 49,024 vs Miami (Ohio) and 48,792 against Texas A&M.</p><p>You can see those videos in this story.</p><p>When you break down this contest by the numbers, Texas A&M held the first down advantage 26-16 and led time of possession 32:05-27:55. The Hurricanes led in total yards 451-433 but self destructed by amassing 10 penalties for 115 yards.</p><p>Individually, Van Dyke was 21-30-374 yards and five touchdowns. He didn’t throw any interceptions for a passer rating of 229.7.</p><p>George had five receptions for 94 yards and three touchdowns.</p><p>There was one moment at the 1:58 mark of the fourth quarter that looked worse than it subsequently became. Kam Kinchens was carted off the field due to a serious injury. </p><p>He was taken to the hospital but during the post-game press conference, Cristobal became more upbeat that the injury wasn’t as serious as it looked. The Hurricanes Medical staff did a great job taking precautionary measures as both teams looked at Kinchens with deep concern.</p><p>——————————————————————————————————————————</p><p>Cristobal was still excited about the win against a top caliber opponent and going into tonight’s contest against vs Bethune Cookman 1-1), Miami is now ranked 22 in the polls. </p><p>It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s expected to occur tonight.</p><p>On September 3, 2022, the Hurricanes crushed the Wildcats 70-13 at Hard Rock Stadium.</p><p>I’m not expecting much different in this contest. All Miami can hope for is keeping the key players sharp and seeing others get playing time for depth purposes. </p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. There is no cost to Subscribe.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-44567422903947347762023-08-25T11:07:00.003-07:002023-08-25T11:12:45.033-07:00Florida Hockey Now<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>There is one thing that I’ve enjoyed about being in the media for over four decades. The relationships you meet with your colleagues, players, coaches and others is what keeps the fire burning.</p><p>I’ve interviewed a lot of my colleagues on different types of broadcasts and the one thing I’ve learned is when we start talking, you’re going to be entertained with tons of stories. The shows are longer because we’re never at a loss of words.</p><p>I’ve tried to emphasize to my team on the South Florida Tribune Broadcasting Network that it’s not how many clicks that you get with your videos, but the connections/contacts you make. With this generation, that’s a tough message to convey.</p><p>During the Fall, I had South Florida Sentinel University of Miami writer Adam Lichtenstein on Fire Up Florida. He was great! We see each other at Media Days along with Games. I plan on bringing him back this Fall.</p><p>A couple of weeks ago, I brought on another colleague that I met during the Covid-19 Season when I covered the Florida Panthers. </p><p>He’s the owner of Florida Hockey Now. </p><p>If you’re looking for a person that knows everything about the Florida Panthers, his name is George Richards. I recently saw him at a pair of Miami Marlins games and invited him to come on Fire Up Florida. George accepted and we had a great time!</p><p>The timing was great because even though George said he would gladly come on anytime I needed him, doing a show in August was a No-Brainer. This is the time of the year he had more time and the slow period for news with the Panthers. Things will start to ramp up in September with training camp and the regular season gets going in October.</p><p>We talked about the Panthers winning the Presidents Trophy a couple years ago. George told me that he didn’t feel the record for the Panthers would be as good, but they were a playoff team. He had his I told you so moment when we talked.</p><p>The Panthers did their talking when they made the playoffs on the last day of the season. Florida benefitted from the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky as well as some key offensive performances. Florida upset the Presidents Cup Winner the Boston Bruins to begin its ride to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights.</p><p>The thing that stood out to me on our show was when we talked about Lionel Messi joining Inter-Miami and Richards considered MLS Soccer as AA Minor League Soccer. </p><p>As I analyzed what he said, I agreed with him. The MLS is supposed to help groom talent for the USA Men’s National Team for the World Cup. Unfortunately, in the last World Cup, the USA Men’s National team could only muster up four goals and underachieved again.</p><p>When you think of how popular soccer is around the world, then it’s easy to see why Richards takes his position. </p><p>In the story, if you’re a Florida Panthers fan, I encourage you to watch Fire Up Florida in its entirety. We go into a lot of depth with the team and this will get you revved up for the 2023-24 Season.</p><p>As I said, the NHL Season on the Frozen Pond is just around the corner.</p><p>George Richards is just another example that not only do you cover events in the field, but he’s the latest colleague which has turned into a great friend!</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and X, formerly Twitter @TribuneSouth. Also, by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune at no charge, you can see all of his broadcasts.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-34403853519751802992023-08-24T11:42:00.003-07:002023-08-24T14:36:18.115-07:00Yankees Struggles Started In Miami<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>When people talk about New York Yankees top rivals, they often refer to the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers.</p><p>If you’re looking for a Yankees nemesis, pencil in the Miami Marlins.</p><p>In 2003, the Marlins defeated the Yankees 4-2 to win its’ second World Series in franchise history. Jack McKeon out managed Yankees skipper Joe Torre.</p><p>To date, there have been five Hall of Famers that came out of this Fall Classic. Ivan Rodriguez came from the Marlins while Derek Jeter, Mike Messina, Mariano Rivera and Torre from the Bronx Bombers.</p><p>During the Covid-19 Season, the Marlins won key games to reach the post-season under former pilot Don Mattingly.</p><p>These two teams squared off again during the weekend of August 11-13 and the Marlins were winners in more ways than one. </p><p>They lost to the Yankees 9-4 on Friday, August 11th.</p><p>But the objective of a season is to win series and that’s what the Marlins proceeded to do.</p><p>On Saturday, August 12th, Miami saw Sandy Alcantara throw a complete game shutout, yielding just five hits, two walks and amassing 10 strikeouts to defeat the Yankees 3-1. Alcantara improved his record to 5-10. The reigning Cy Young Award winner coaxed 11 groundouts before a season-best crowd of 33,980.</p><p>A two-run blast by Luis Arraez in the first inning that went 409 feet against Yankees starter Michael King bounced off the first row of upper deck seats in right center. This homer was the longest round tripper of his career. King dropped to 3-5. He was lifted after two innings and 41 pitches.</p><p>In the rubber match on Sunday, August 13th, the game we saw on paper looked like a game the Yankees should have won. The Yankees were sending right-handed hurler Gerritt Cole (10-3, 2.75) to the hill against fellow right-hander and rookie Eury Perez (5-4, 2.79).</p><p>But games aren’t decided on paper. </p><p>Cole did his part and showed why he’s an elite pitcher. </p><p>He hurled six innings, yielded six hits, two runs and struck out six.</p><p>Perez had a rocky outing by tossing four innings, gave up four runs, four hits and walked a pair. He also amassed five strikeouts and was replaced by Huascar Brazoban. The Yankees scored a three runs off Brazoban in 2.2 innings and led 7-2 at the end of six innings.</p><p>But all-season long, the Marlins have shown no quit in them and that proved to be the case.</p><p>Newly acquired Jake Burger’s game ending single capped a five-run, ninth inning comeback against Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle giving the Marlins an incredible 8-7 win. This was the 31st comeback victory of the season for the season. At one point the Marlins trailed 7-1, thus had a six run deficit for the largest comeback of the season. Perez was fortunate enough to get a no-decision.</p><p>The Marlins bullpen tamed the Yankees in the latter innings.</p><p>AJ Puk worked 1.1 innings and stuck out four while newly acquired Jorge Lopez went one inning to pick up the win improving his record to 6-2.</p><p>A crowd of 35,043 was the third highest crowd at LoanDepot Park. The game lasted 3:08 and the Marlins fans got their moneys worth, but can’t say the same for the many Yankees fans in attendance.</p><p>In addition, the Marlins were winners at the gate as a total of 100,001 was the largest crowd in Loan Depot Park History in a three-game series. There is no question that when the Yankees come to town, it’s easy to expect large crowds.</p><p>The Marlins won the series 2-1 and it would be a tough ride out of town for the Bronx Bombers.</p><p>New York proceeded to have an extended losing streak of nine games for the first time in 41 years.</p><p>The Atlanta Braves swept them in Georgia with 11-3, 5-0 and 2-0 wins from August 14-16. </p><p>The Boston Red Sox added to the grief with successive 8-1, 6-5, and 2-1 triumphs from August 18-20. </p><p>The Washington Nationals added to the streak as Tommy Kahnle allowed a go-ahead homer to CJ Abrams leading to New York’s nine consecutive defeat. In this contest, the Nationals won for the 13th time in 19 games and got their latest win after Manager Dave Martinez agreed to a new two-year contract.</p><p>The grief finally came to an end on Wednesday as the Yankees Aaron Judge homered three times and tied his career high with six RBIs, almost single handedly breaking the Yankees dreadful losing streak by shellacking the Nationals 9-1. </p><p>However, The Nationals got the best of the Yankees by winning 6-5 on Thursday, taking the series 2-1.</p><p>This run support made a winner out of Luis Severino as he went 6.2 innings and blanking the Nationals. By the end of the evening, Judge’s homer total reached 27.</p><p>As of this post, the Yankees are in last place with a 61-66 record and are in last place in the AL East. Time is running out for the Bronx Bombers.</p><p>Meanwhile, Miami (65-63) returns home for a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, who are 59-69. The Marlins are two games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the final Wild-Card Playoff spot.</p><p>There is no question that this will be a pivotal weekend for the Yankees and Marlins.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can catch his broadcasts by Subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.</p><p><br /></p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6945083735644991164.post-13631300712456933602023-08-12T12:11:00.000-07:002023-08-12T12:11:09.336-07:00Marlins vs Tigers Series One To Remember<p>BY SCOTT MORGANROTH</p><p>The Miami Marlins should be very thankful that MLB reduced the amount of division games and increased inter-league contests.</p><p>If there was ever a series that paid huge dividends, it was when the Detroit Tigers came to Miami for a three-game series vs the Marlins from July 28-30. </p><p>The Marlins promoted this is Miggy Weekend, as they celebrated the return of legend Miguel Cabrera, who was a vital contributor in the Fishs’ 2003 World Series Winning squad.</p><p>We attended two of the three games of the series, electing to take Saturday off.</p><p>From my standpoint, it was great seeing colleagues from my hometown working for the Tigers as I’ve covered the organization for 40 years. I came to the Marlins during the 2020 Covid-19 Season.</p><p>Tigers Radio Play-By-Play Announcer Dan Dickerson, Bally’s Sports On Field Reporter Johnny Kane and former Tigers outfielder Craig Monroe were the primary individuals that I enjoyed reminiscing with.</p><p>Former Tigers Broadcaster Rod Allen is a teammate of mine here in Miami and does the Marlins broadcasts for Ballys Sports. There was no doubt that Allen was going to be the color analyst for these three games.</p><p>In the past few years, injuries have hampered Cabrera. In Miguel’s final season, he’s been celebrated by all of the opponents and has managed to stay healthy.</p><p>Luck was on the Marlins side as Cabrera played in all three contests.</p><p>In the Friday game, Cabrera was hit by a pitch and reached by an error by third basemen Jean Segura. </p><p>In Saturday’s contest, he had two hits and scored a run in four at bats.</p><p>During the finale on Sunday, Cabrera had one hit and drove in two runs in three at bats, before he was replaced by a pinch runner as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He was replaced by a pinch runner twice in this series and the fans demonstrated their appreciation for the Future Hall of Famer.</p><p>The opening game saw the Marlins jump out to a 4-0 lead through three innings off of Tigers starter Reese Olson. The Tigers proceeded to score four unanswered runs and the game was tied at 4-4 until the bottom of the eighth inning.</p><p>That’s when the Marlins answered back with a pair off of reliever Jason Foley and took a 6-4 lead into the ninth inning. Detroit answered with a run, but the Tigers came up short as Foley dropped to 2-3. Detroit’s major downfall is it left 10 men on base and lost 6-5.</p><p>Akil Baddoo and Riley Greene homered, and five pitchers combined on a seven hitter as the Tigers beat Miami 5-0 on Saturday. Cabrera doubled and singled in four at bats in a game that was promoted as Venezuelan Heritage Day. Cabrera is a native Venezuelan and he didn’t let down his countrymen in front of a crowd of 32,936, the largest crowd for a Marlins game since April of 2017.</p><p>A lot of people wondered if Cabrera would take Sunday off. He didn’t let the crowd down by being productive in a Tigers 8-6 loss to the Marlins as I mentioned earlier. Once again, what doomed the Tigers was leaving 10 runners on base.</p><p>Before Garrett Cooper was traded to the San Diego Padres, he and Segura homered, newly acquired relievers Jorge Lopez and David Robertson played key roles in Miami’s win. Cooper’s two run shot gave Miami a 7-6 win and drove a 1-2 pitch from Tigers reliever Tyler Horton (0-2) over the left-field wall for his 13th homer of the season. The Marlins increased their lead to 8-6 with Segura’s shot in the eighth inning.</p><p>During the weekend, not only did the Marlins win the series, but they won at the gate.</p><p>Miami drew successive crowds of 15,918, 32,936 and 18,207 for a total of 67,061.</p><p>Before the game, Marlins Manager Skip Schumaker talked about Cabrera’s return and much more during the inserted video.</p><p>With Cabrera making this a memorable weekend, there is one last piece of business to be taken care. The Marlins need to make Cabrera the first jersey ever retired by the organization.</p><p>Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com or on Twitter @TribuneSouth. Also, to see his broadcasts, you can find them on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel and there is no cost to subscribe.</p>Scott Morganrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10610898806028440266noreply@blogger.com0