Former Rams Linebacker Mel Owens A Winner On And Off The Field

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

During the next couple of weeks, expect to see more stories come from the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit held from April 25-27.

There are times when you have to hunt for stories and others when they fall into your lap.

I’ve covered the NFL Draft in four different ways.

First, in the early 1980’s, I covered the Miami Dolphins and worked with legendary coach Don Shula. For a young guy that was 19-years old, it was an unforgettable experience.

Second, later in the decade and into the 1990’s, I worked with the Detroit Lions and covered the draft many years under head coaches Wayne Fontes and Bobby Ross. I’ve never seen more press releases, bios, etc…than I did during these years. I can only imagine how many trees were cut down with the amount of paper that I read. The Lions PR Department did an outstanding job keeping us up to date, fed us great and there were plenty of interview opportunities.

Third, I had the opportunity to cover the Jacksonville Jaguars. I met a lot of great media people, the PR Staff was extremely hospitable, no shortage of food and there were good press conferences with key football people. By this time, a lot of the bios and press releases were online and not much paper.

This latest experience was my first time covering the event nationally. 

I’ve covered four Super Bowls and am familiar with the big stage. 

During the week leading up to the event, I participated on Zoom Calls and on my podcasts, utilized all the information that I compiled. It was great covering it in my hometown!

When you’re covering a big event, there are some things that you can’t prepare for and that’s what your strategy is because you don’t know what individuals will be around.

I’ll go back to my favorite movie of all-time, Hoosiers and take a comment that actor Gene Hackman used when assessing his new job, “Let’s see what hand I’ve been dealt.”

During the Super Bowl, if you’re roaming around radio row, the media area or everywhere, there will be no shortage of interviews.

But in this case, I struck early on the first night.

Jeremy Ballreich was covering his first event for the South Florida Tribune. I told him to follow my lead and he’ll have a productive weekend. To ensure my credibility, I had to set a great example.

I wasted no time approaching former Michigan Wolverine and Los Angeles Rams Linebacker Mel Owens. 

On last nights edition of Inside The Pigskin, I found out from my panelist Mel Farr Jr. that he was a teammate of Owens with the Rams. Mel was impressed that I was able to talk to Owens on the first night.

Ballreich, one of my prize pupils was impressed with how I went about my business in a no-nonsense manner. I’m hoping as his time in this business continues, he’ll develop that same tenacity to think on his feet, although he has come a long way in the year we’ve worked together.

As far as Owens is concerned, he has the qualities that I look for in a guest, and he was more than happy to give me whatever time that I needed. We did the one-on-one in an area where there were no distractions.

Mel Owens was born on December 7, 1958. 

Ironically, he shares the same birthday as my late mother and he is just four years older than myself.

How much time did I have to prepare for this interview? 

None.

Owens played for the Michigan Wolverines and had a successful nine year career with the LA Rams.

After his NFL career, he’s a partner and attorney at Law for Namanny, Byrne & Owens, protecting players rights to receive Workers Compensation.

Owens brought a great balance of success on and off the field.

During our interview, we talked about the Michigan Wolverines National Championship, Jim Harbaugh, his playing career, what he’s doing now, etc…

Once you view this interview you’re going to learn about a man that defines the term, (Student Athlete) and has mastered it to perfection. 

When the interview for the Motor City Mad Mouth Show was completed, I gave Mel a signed copy of My Book, “Lessons From The Microphone.”

My goal is to stay in touch with him going forward and hopefully reunite him with Mel as well as have him on other shows.

Vanessa Williams had a song called “Save The Best For Last.”

In this case, I “Saved The Best For First” because what I learned about the NFL Draft is you better get as much done on the first day. As the draft continues, a lot of people come for the first day and leave for the last couple of days.

The National Networks are scattered all over the place so it’s hard to land those individuals where the Super Bowl is a huge candy store.

I’ve always felt that some of my favorite interviews were the ones that had no preparation. 

But the key to any good interview is have a lot of great core questions then make sure your follow up questions are strong. Before you know it, you’ve spent a sufficient amount of time with the individual and provided your fans great content.

When you have an intelligent individual like Owens and a 44-year veteran in Sports Media like myself, I know that’s a strong combination. 

Experience is priceless. You have to know when to capitalize on opportunities when they come your way and move quickly!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Finally, Scott wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” and you get purchase it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

As The Marlins World Turns

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The last Miami Marlins game that I attended was on Sunday, April 14, 2024 when the Atlanta Braves scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to earn a 9-7 triumph.

What a difference a few weeks makes.

When you keep scoresheets, you never know the last time you’re going to see the player and my latest one will hit a frame and go into my office.

Why is that the case?

It’s simple. 

This was the last time that I saw last year’s National League Batting Champion Luis Arraez in the Miami line-up. During this game, he had one hit in five plate appearances.

This was a game that saw Jake Burger leave the contest with a left oblique injury and starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo was fortunate that despite giving up five runs, he got a no decision.

After this game, the Marlins dropped to 3-13.

The following series saw the San Francisco Giants win it 2-1 from April 15-17. The Marlins hit the road and played four contests on Chicago’s Northside and earned a 2-2 split with the Cubs from April 18-21. The Braves proceeded to sweep Miami (3-0) from April 22-24 in Georgia. 

The Washington Nationals are a team that Miami has fared well against in the past but this didn’t prove to be the case from April 26–29. The team based out of the Nations Capital earned a 4-0 sweep. 

But when you play a team that’s struggling as the Colorado Rockies are, you hope that you can find a few wins and Miami did just that earning a 3-0 sweep in a series that was played from April 30-May 2. The Marlins bats came alive as the Fish earned 7-6, 4-1 and 5-4 wins.

Could the Marlins keep the momentum going in their final series at the Oakland Coliseum vs the A’s? The answer was no as Oakland managed to win the series 2-1. Oakland mustered up a 3-1 and 20-4 wins while the Fish won the finale on Sunday 12-3.

During this series, for which the Marlins left the Bay Area with a 10-26 record, we found out very quickly whether the Marlins were going to be buyers or sellers.

Marlins President Peter Bendix went on record saying the team is unlikely to make the playoffs this year. He wasted  no time moving his best player as he sent Arraez to the San Diego Padres for outfielders Dillon Head (19) , and Jacob Marsee (23), reliever Woo-Suk Go and first baseman Nathan Martorella (23). 

The Marlins are paying Arraez’s contract down to the minimum in the deal, a source told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. Arraez is making $10.6 Million this season and is arbitration-eligible in 2025.

So the question is, why would the Marlins make the trade in May instead of at the trade deadline?  According to Bendix, moving the 27-year old Arraez now instead of later in the campaign enabled him to get a bigger prospect package.

With Arraez hitting .354 last season, along with 43 extra base-hits in 147 games, this propelled the Marlins to get into the playoffs in 2023. He’s off to another productive start at the plate this year hitting .299 with eight doubles, and five RBIs in 137 at bats.

Through the years, the Padres have never been shy when it comes to spending in free agency. This time, they swung for the fences with this trade.

This move has paid early dividends for the Padres as Arraez wasted no time making history as he entered his new team’s record books with a dominant day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He led off as the DH, became the first Padres player to record a four-hit game in his debut with his new team.

He went 4-6 with two runs scored and an RBI as the Padres slithered the snakes 13-1. His average improved to .315 through 34 games. For Arraez, he’s going to benefit by having a lot of protection around him with Fernando Tatis, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado.

Could this protection lead to a third consecutive batting championship for Arraez? 

I wouldn’t bet against it. 

But the reality of the situation is will an early season move of this magnitude lead to perhaps another one by Bendix? 

I wouldn’t bet against this since if the President isn’t afraid to be a seller in May could be a bigger return, who knows what’s on the horizon?

But the reality is, this is a tough situation for Manager Skip Schumaker, who is in the third year option on his contract was voided by the club. Thus, the rebuild is on and the Miami fans have seen this drill after trips to the post-season. 

It will be interesting to see how these new players pan out and what guys in the organization will step up and become the core of this franchise.

While there will be no shortage of losses, there will be no shortage of intrigue as this season plays out as to what Bendix will do next.

Meanwhile, the Marlins next three series will be at the LA Dodgers, at home vs the Philadelphia Phillies and they’ll travel to Motown to face the Detroit Tigers from May 13-15.

It will be interesting to see what players will be on the next scorecard and see if the Padres can soar in the standings in the National League West, as Marlins fans will be scoreboard watching  to cheer for Arraez, whose time in South Florida was short and sweet. 

The man he was traded for, pitcher Pablo Lopez has found a home in Minnesota with the Twins.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. Also, his book, “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Google.

The Marlins Stunning Start

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

What a difference an off-season makes.

To say that I was surprised that former GM Kim Ng leaving the organization turned out to be a major a major understatement. 

The team just came off an 84-78 record which landed them an NL Wild Card Berth, but owner Bruce Sherman elected to restructure the front office, and she’d have no part of it. The Marlins hired Peter Bendix to lead their baseball operation from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Last season, Miami was 33-14 (.702) in one-run games. With all the stats in baseball, this is the one that you can gauge a successful year because the main reason is attributed to the bullpen doing its job especially in the late innings.

Going into the season, the Marlins knew they would be without the services of Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara. But there would be more injuries to come on the pitching staff with the most impactful one coming to Eury Perez, who will also miss the 2024 campaign.

A couple notable subtractions from this years roster include slugger Jorge Solar, who departed as a free agent to the San Francisco Giants, and the Fish traded speedy infielder Jon Berti to the New York Yankees before Opening Day.

The Marlins opening week couldn’t have started any worse. 

They were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a four-game series during Opening Day Weekend, then the Los Angeles Angels tacked on three more losses leaving the Fish with a franchise record 0-7 start. 

For Pittsburgh, the four-game opening weekend sweep was the first time they had accomplished this since 1903.

There is nothing worse than starting out 0-7 and sending your fans a message that this could be a tough season. Miami put themselves in the record for all the wrong reasons as the Marlins became the first team in MLB History to start 0-7 coming off a playoff year.

With that said, how long would that losing streak continue as Miami hit the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees?

It would reach 0-9 and on Sunday, April 7, the Marlins would finally get a “W” thanks to Jazz Chisholm and Nick Gordon Jr. who hit three-run homers in a six-run first inning as they trounced the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3.

Miami had been the first team to start 0-9 since Atlanta and Minnesota in 2016. The Marlins avoided becoming the first team to lose its first 10 games since the 2002 Chicago White Sox began 0-11.

Their stopper in this game was Max Meyer (1-0), a 25-year old right-hander, who got his first major league win in his fourth start and appearance. 

Meyer allowed one-run and three hits in six innings, striking out three and walking one. 

He had Tommy John Surgery on August 9, 2022 and returned to the mound on April 1, when he pitched five innings without a decision against the Los Angeles Angels. Meyer retired his first 13 batters.

With this streak lifted off of their shoulders, it was time to travel to the Bronx for a three-game series with the New York Yankees.

Things didn’t start out well for Miami as the Marlins dropped back-to-back decisions by 7-0 and 3-2 scores. 

But on Wednesday Night, Miami took a 5-2 win back to South Florida as it got a much needed day off on Thursday as they’ll host the Atlanta Braves this weekend.

The game we attended was the finale against Pittsburgh on March 31, 2024 as the Marlins jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the Pirates scoring all of the runs in the first inning. Chisholm hit a grand-slam homer. Trevor Rogers pitched five solid innings, giving up seven hits and striking out six.

But things would go down hill from there as the bullpen was unable to hold the lead and the Marlins lost 9-7 in 10 innings.

By no means this isn’t the time of the year to play the blame game yet. 

The Marlins did void the club option on Manager Skip Schumaker for the 2025 season as it was reported that he was upset with the departure of Ng. Time will tell if management will let him continue to pilot the club if the team continues to lose.

On Monday’s edition of 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk which you’re going to find in this story, one of my analysts Mark Maradei offered some insights about the Marlins slow start. You’re going to find his comments to be very insightful.

To say this weekend’s series vs division rival Atlanta is important is once again a major understatement, especially since Miami went winless in the opening home stand. For the Marlins, they’re 0-7 at Loan Depot Park. The last thing they want is another long streak lingering over them. But that’s where we’re at.

After Atlanta, the San Francisco Giants come to town. So we’ll find out whether this home stand provides good home cooking or time to continue the head scratching early in this campaign.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on X @TribuneSouth and to see his broadcasts, Subscribe to The South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Finally, Scott’s book “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased at Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

A New First For This Media Man

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

In a year where everything I write is likely heading to the second part of “Lessons From The Microphone,” what happened on Saturday April 6, 2024 at Chase Stadium was a First For Me.

During the pandemic in 2020, when I started covering the Miami Marlins, I used to kick myself in the rear-end because I regretted not taking Spanish in High School or College. The Media Availability was broken down into two parts, English and Spanish.

I’m thinking, geez, how much good information am I missing because I don’t understand Spanish?

Well if I had another reason to satirize myself for this very reason, then my return to covering Inter-Miami Football Club of MLS topped the Marlins act. It wasn’t even close to the first time.

It’s one thing to be shut out because there isn’t enough time to ask the newsmaker a question. 

On this night, I was shut out for a much different reason. 

Senior Manager of Communications Rafael Cabrera is one of the fairest people that I’ve ever worked with. 

Due to medical reasons, I wasn’t around this team but what made my return on April 6th, Cabrera and VP of Communications Molly Dreska welcomed Myself and photographer Candy Ebling back with open arms. It’s always nice to be where you are wanted!

What has changed since I covered the team?

There has been a lot of roster turnover, a coaching change and more importantly, Inter-Miami landed Soccer Legend Lionel Messi. 

They’re able to charge their fans more money because of this generational player. They’re making a lot of money off concessions and merchandise sales. The team will be moving into their new soccer specific stadium that holds 25,000 in Miami at the start of the 2025 season. Also, landing Chase as a sponsor is huge.

Messi made his return to the line-up after spending time on the injured list due to a hamstring injury.

He made his return during the second half vs the Colorado Rapids, a match that turned out to be a 2-2 draw.

Messi’s impact was felt immediately as he scored a goal just 12 minutes into his return as Inter-Miami tied the contest 1-1. He would be involved in the go ahead goal that gave the team a 2-1 lead.

Colorado scored a goal late in the game and came out of South Florida with some points.

Inter-Miami’s record is now 3-2-3 (12 points) in the Eastern Conference while Colorado is 2-2-3 (nine points) in the Western Conference.

But back to the post-game interview with Coach Gerardo Martino.

Inter-Miami beat writer Michelle Kaufman, also, a professor at the University of Miami, brought a lot of her students to cover the game. What she told he students was something I was unaware of.

The entire Press Conference was going to be in Spanish and the Zoom Availability was going to be translated in English.

As I kept attempting to get a question but getting shunned by my colleagues, I’m thinking, I wanted to ask the coach a question about his squad facing Colorado for the first time, how did they prepare and train for this opponent? That opportunity never came.

Afterwards, I asked Cabrera about this and he told me what had taken place and then I quipped with him, I guess after being away for a year and a half, things have changed. We both smiled and took a picture together. It was a light-hearted moment with a guy that’s one of the nicest people in our business.

This guy has a tough job especially since Messi has arrived. 

Inter-Miami is getting with tons of publicity, and media credential requests that it could never have imagined. 

I can only imagine how many e-mails that he’s unable to return these days. But he takes it all in stride and makes the best of it.

As for myself, to have an All-Spanish Press Conference, I couldn’t have ever anticipated that I would ever see in my lifetime. But it goes to show you that when you cover events in the field, anything can happen. And boy did it on this night.

There were two fans that ran on the field to meet Messi, and were arrested and taken into custody. On our way out, Messi had a police escort to leave Chase Stadium.

As for myself, this reminded me of Spring Training and I’ll know this the next time. If this happens again, I’ll have a Plan B so in case this happens again, I’ll be better prepared for it.

In the meantime, it was great to laugh at myself for not taking Spanish in school because when you live in South Florida, you’re in deep trouble without it.

During past press conferences when both languages were used with a player that didn’t know English, Cabrera was there to bail me out. There was no bailing out or an English question to be asked. 

I did accomplish one thing. This will be another story for part two, of “Lessons From The Microphone.”

It’s not all that bad.

I took everything in stride and as a result, the lesson to be learned is turn a negative into a positive.

The coaches Spanish Press Conference is also in this story so check it out.

Who knows what the next First For This Media Man will be. Stay tuned.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gamil.com and you can find him on X @TribuneSouth.

If you want to see his broadcasts, the there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.

Also, his book, “Lessons From The Microphone” is available at Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Return To Sebring An Adventure

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I have to admit that when I came to the Sebring Raceway a few years ago, I was overwhelmed about covering a different form of racing. 

This was my first time covering Endurance Racing and I didn’t know any of the drivers. 

I learned that this form of racing was more about teamwork with 3-4 drivers per-car and it was more about the manufacturer's. 

This circuit has a lot of money when you have Rolls Royce, Porsche, Lamborghini, Cadillac’s and others racing for long periods of time in the various classes of competition. NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson found this track to be quite challenging.

I had a great teacher in track historian Ken Breslauer showing me the ropes, in addition to Kelsi Miller, who has invited me to cover a race at Road America in Atlanta, GA., which I have on my bucket list.

Every year at Sebring, they always have a different set up for the media and I’m not going to dwell on that in this story.

Last year, I took Sebring Off and tackled the Rolex 24 Hours at the Daytona International Speedway. This was taken off my bucket list and I had to come up with a strategy to survive this experience on my first try by asking various members of the media at the preliminary races how to do it. I received different opinions and then successfully got the job done.

This year, I returned to Sebring with the Rolex 24 Hours experience under my belt and over the two days I was at this historic racetrack, this situation was extremely easy, but there were different sets of challenges.

On Friday, March 16, I did run into Breslauer again and we exchanged books. I gave him a signed copy of mine, “Lessons From The Microphone” and he returned the favor with his second book, “Sebring 1983” and we reminisced about my first couple of races in Endurance Racing. We also exchanged ideas on how to promote our books.

I also talked to Ken about the frustration that I had with Daytona International Speedway Communications Director Steph Harris and her arrogant attitude when we covered the Rolex 24 and Daytona 500. 

This woman had the gall to call our website a fans website and it was evident she never went to it which was so far from the truth.

I told Ken about our seating accommodations this year as the press box was eliminated and the media was divided up into three different rooms in the paddock area and two rooms at the track hotel. He told me to call him next year and he’ll make sure the situation is much better.

My second day was spent at the track hotel. 

For the two days I was in the area, I commuted 90 minutes each way from Fort Pierce, FL. 

That situation will change next year as I will be leasing a new van this summer and will stay at the racetrack.

During the week, I was contacted by the publicist of “The Heart of Racing Team” Haleigh R Jordan and she asked me if I was interested in interviewing some of her drivers. I told her yes and she set up a pair at 4 pm that day. I hung around their trailer and these drivers were Zachorie Robicon and Roman DeAngelis.

Both of these drivers had won IMSA Championships and Robicon won at Sebring. They were signing autographs for the fans.

Jordan came up to me if I wanted to do these interviews closer to 3:30 PM and that suited me fine.

DeAngelis was absolutely fantastic. We did the interview and took a photo together. 

Unfortunately, there would be no interview with Robicon as a drivers meeting unexpectedly came up.

Where I struggle with Jordan’s professionalism was we began with five possibilities, then two and landed one. She never came up with a time to reschedule Robicon.

I made the best of the situation and made the decision that when I cover this race or any other endurance again, I wouldn’t do business with her again.

My goal for late 2024 is when I write the second part of my book, I would be only covering events that would give me enough stories to make the next one better than the first.

Day two on Saturday, March 17, was an experience in itself as I spent the entire time at the Seven Raceway Hotel. 

There were two rooms that I could have worked out of for the over flow media. There was one that had three monitors where I could see the race while the other one didn’t have monitors.

I was unable to find a spot in the room that had monitors so I opted for the other room.

There were approximately 350 press credentials issued and space for 200. That’s why this hotel was utilized. 

After a frustrating Friday, there was no way that I was going to get just one story for the weekend. 

When you’ve been in the business for 44 years, you simply don’t settle for anything less than what you want.

In life, you have to make the best out of a situation or turn a negative into a positive. That’s exactly what I did as I sought very different feature stories.

My first story was about a Cuban born journalist named Luis Martinez. We talked about his upbringing in Cuba and how he got into racing. You can watch the interview in its entirety in this story. I was fascinated by everything he said and we ate dinner later that afternoon. Martinez is based out of Rochester, NY.

I decided to do a story with his photographer Anthony Joseph Bristol and we talked about all of the endurance races that he’s covered. His experiences were outright amazing.

Considering how loud it is to find a quiet spot to do interviews, this last one was really neat. 

I spoke with native Metro Detroiter and now Naples resident Karen Burrow, who rented a conference room in the hotel to have an art gallery. 

I made a deal with her that if she let me use the room for one hour, then I would promote her Automotive Art Gallery. 

She was absolutely fantastic as I used her room from 1-2 PM. We did a show for about 15 minutes and she was extremely elated! This was the ultimate win-win situation!

You couldn’t find stories more different than these and once again, you’ll be able to view these videos in this story. 

I find it outright amazing that when you have so much time with these endurance races whether it be 12 or 24 hours, it’s amazing what type of content a person can come up with.

Since I didn’t have my photographer Candy Ebling with me on this project, I sought other individuals to take key photos and do the videos.

What I did like about the hotel set-up was I enjoyed taking photos during the day and at night of the back of the race-track. The hotel is nice and one day, I might decide to rent a room just to get a way for a weekend.

Sebring isn’t known for the best internet connection, but heck, if it’s adequate enough to do basic things, that works for me.

When it was all said and done, this was a race where I didn’t know who won it because there was no monitor to watch the end. Then again, I didn’t know the drivers with the exception of the Heart Racing Team. 

This experience will make me a bit smarter when I return in 2025.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel. He can be found on X at @Tribune South.

His book, “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Miami Hurricanes Pro Day 2024

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I’ve always made it a point that when there is something important with the Miami Hurricanes Football Team, I don’t miss it!

That proved to be the case on Monday afternoon as the Canes held their Pro Day featuring players that could be on NFL rosters, or perhaps land with the Canadian Football League.

NFL scouts, player personnel and coaches were on hand at the Canes indoor practice facility to see this year’s group led by safety Cam Kinchens.

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce was also in attendance as well as former Canes TE Will Mallory, who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts, to support his former teammates.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell coined a phrase that said, “what do you learn when a player is in shorts?” This obviously refers to the players not involved in contact drills.

Canes Head Coach Mario Cristobal was in attendance to not only support his players but to also provide information about his players. Former Miami Dolphin and current Canes Coach Jason Taylor did the same.

But there was one player that didn’t work out for the scouts, but will likely do so in 2025.

His name is Xavier Restrepo, the 21-year old wide receiver who is a native of Coconut Creek, FL, who attended Deerfield Beach High School.

The 5-10, 198 pounder is a Fifth-Year Senior and was First-team All-ACC in 2023. 

He was Miami’s leading receiver in 2023. 

He delivered one of the best seasons by a wide receiver in Miami history, starting all 13 games and set a program single season record with 85 catches. Restrepo recorded 1,092 yards and six touchdowns, only sixth 1,000-yard season by a pass catcher in program history.

He led the team in all-purpose yards with 1,149 and he had five 100-yard games over the course of the season.

As I spent the entire workout seeking players to interview, the light went off in my head to speak to an individual for whom I’ve spoken to so many times.

What intrigued me about talking to Restrepo is he was sponging the Pro Day and I could tell by his body language that he wanted to get a feel of what he’s likely to participate in during the Spring of 2025.

I decided to approach him and he was very nice to give me a few minutes just before he had to go to class. 

We talked about the Canes off-season and what he was learning from the event. 

When you listen to the interview, you’re going to be rooting for him to have a sensational year and look forward to seeing him play on Sundays.

What I’ve learned through the years about finding stories is that certain ones just fall in your lap and when the opportunity presents itself, you simply pounce on them. 

I learned this lesson covering a lot of Spring Training Games.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

His broadcasts can be seen by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Scott just published a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Owls Looking To Take Care Of Unfinished Business

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The FAU Owls Men’s Basketball Team is back in the NCAA Tournament with unfinished business. 

This is a veteran team that joined the American Athletic Conference and played not only a tough non-conference schedule which did include a win over Arizona, but fared well in the AAC. 

The Owls finished the season with a 25-8 record and was second in the conference.

FAU’s last loss occurred on Saturday as the Temple Owls nipped their Owls counterparts 74-73. Temple finished the season with a 16-20 mark and was 10th in the AAC.

Prior to the AAC Tournament, the Owls were battle tested.

On February 25, Memphis edged FAU in Tennessee 78-74.

On Saturday, March 2, I attended the FAU vs Tulane game and the Owls defeated the Green Wave 79-73. 

I asked Head Coach Dusty May how he felt about his team and he was extremely positive but knew he had a tough week ahead of him as his squad needed to win the final two regular season games to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

FAU did just that as it won on the road vs North Texas 80-76. Johnell Davis led the team in scoring with 29 points with five rebounds, and four assists. Nick Boyd added 13 points and center Vladislav Goldin amassed 11 points to go along with five rebounds.

On Saturday, March 9, the Memphis Tigers came to town on Senior Day and the Owls looked like a poised and possessed squad in the rematch at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

Led by Goldin, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds, FAU defeated Memphis 92-84. 

FAU out rebounded Memphis 40-28 and controlled the offensive boards, 16-10. FAU led in points in the paint 46-24 and second chance points 20-13. FAU scored 16 points off turnovers while Memphis had nine.

This game was nationally televised on CBS and before the game Athletic Director Brian White told me that this was the biggest game in FAU Men’s Basketball history. 

This victory sent a message to the NCAA Tournament Committee that the Owls deserve to return to the “Big Dance” which subsequently happened.

Despite the University of South Florida winning the AAC Regular season title, the Bulls inability to win the conference tournament sent them to the NIT.

After the game, I asked May if he felt better than he did a week ago about his team and you can see his response in the video.

Meanwhile, Memphis Coach Penny Hardaway was pleased with his team’s 22-10 record which was fifth in the AAC. 

But he was impressed with the Owls and is optimistic that FAU can make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

You can see Hardaway’s comment in this story as well.

The Owls defeated North Texas 77-71 in the first round of the AAC Tournament on March 15, then lost to Temple the next day. 

FAU’s opening round opponent is the Northwestern Wildcats who were 21-11 and fourth in the Big Ten.

Northwestern is 6-4 in their last 10 games, and are coached by Cris Collins, the son of former NBA player and coach Doug Collins.

The Owls enter this game as the eighth seed while the Wildcats are ninth. FAU is 7-3 in their last 10 contest.

The game on Friday starts at 12:15 PM.

This year’s NCAA Appearance is the Owls third in program history.

There is no doubt that the rumors are going to be swirling about whether May will be coaching next year. But FAU is looking to prolong any speculation at least for a few weeks.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com. You can contact him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

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Scott has a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.