A shameful situation at The U
I don't know what makes me more upset - the brawl from Saturday night's Miami-Florida International game, the series of one-game-only suspensions that followed, or the news that a former UM player who was serving as a color commentator on a regional broadcast of the game apparently wanted to get some cheap shots in himself.
OK, so it's Lamar Thomas, hands down.
Thomas, who went on from his time at The U to play six seasons in the NFL, offered his own brand of on-point analysis on the brawl that broke out in the third quarter of the Hurricanes' 35-0 victory over FIU.
"Now, that's what I'm talking about," said Thomas of the brawl, which led to the suspensions of 31 players overall, including 13 'Canes, and featured players wielding helmets, crutches and at least one bodyslam.
"You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked," Thomas said. "You don't come into the OB playing that stuff. You're across the ocean over there. You're across the city. You can't come over to our place talking noise like that. You'll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing."
The comments about Florida International being "across the ocean" and "across the city" referred to the schools being separated by only nine miles of South Florida real estate.
"The OB" is the Orange Bowl, Miami's home stadium.
"I say, why don't they just meet outside in the tunnel after the ball game and get it on some more? You don't come into the OB, baby," Thomas said after the brawl had begun to die down.
"We've had a down couple years but you don't come in here talking smack. Not in our house."
So that's bad - egregiously bad. But as far as the suspensions of the 13 Miami players, who will have to miss the team's matchup with Atlantic Coast Conference doormat Duke, well ... this borders Thomas opening his mouth on the Ridiculous Scale.
Honestly, if you've seen the fight, you might agree with my contention that the game should have been called a double-forfeit - it was that bad. And the reason it was that bad should be apparent if not obvious.
Listen to the tape of Thomas if you have any questions there.
This is what Miami football is all about, ladies and germs - and it has no place in college football, and certainly not in the ACC.
But instead of telling the folks at The U to go shopping around for another conference, we're condoning this kind of thing?
Shame on you, John Swofford, for giving these thugs carte blanche to do whatever the hell comes to mind when somebody looks at one of them the wrong way.
- Chris Graham