Miami, FL
Miami has a star at QB in Cam Ward and a confident team capable of special things
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Cam Ward was in a giving mood after the Miami Hurricanes opened their season Saturday by stomping the rival Florida Gators in The Swamp.
He offered some advice for the 90,000 fans who were screaming at the top of their lungs at him and his teammates.
“If you’re gonna be loud, be loud when we’re huddling,” Miami’s star quarterback said. “You can’t just be loud when we break the huddle. There’s no point. We heard the play and communicated already.”
The Gators didn’t lose, though, because their home crowd let them down. The 19th-ranked Hurricanes did it the old-fashioned way — by obliterating Florida on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Done broke that gator jaw 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/v4pQXB3nTO
— Hurricane t2y (@T2yHurricane) September 1, 2024
Ward looked bored at times standing behind a wall of offensive linemen with enough time to sign NIL deals, sip tea and pick apart Florida’s secondary. He made one mistake early — an errant throw behind his receiver — and finished with 385 passing yards and three touchdowns while completing 26-of-35 pass attempts. He sidestepped Florida’s secondary with ease the two times he took off for long runs and was sacked only once.
Ward’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Jacolby George in the back of the end zone to make it 38-10 with six minutes left in the third quarter was his masterpiece.
“Yeah, he’s not bad,” Cristobal said of the Washington State transfer. “He’s just scratching the surface.”
The Hurricanes might be, too.
GO DEEPER
Billy Napier beware: Florida has not historically been patient in rebuilds
They were nearly perfect in the much-anticipated opener. Sure, Ward’s pick wasn’t ideal. And two Miami defensive players took a bad angle on a 71-yard touchdown run by Florida’s Montrell Johnson. Oh, Andy Borregales missed a field goal. Other than that? Not much to complain about.
The Canes held Florida to 261 yards of offense and outgained the Gators by 268 yards. And that was with Rueben Bain, their best defensive player, going down with a soft-tissue injury on the first play of the game. Starting cornerback Damari Brown was also sidelined early with a similar injury.
Don’t worry, Canes fans, Cristobal said he expects both players back in a week or two. The way the Hurricanes looked on Saturday, Bain and Brown could take the next month off. Florida A&M, Ball State and South Florida are up next on the schedule.
Miami should be 4-0 when it opens ACC play at home on Sept. 27 against Virginia Tech — a team that lost to Vanderbilt on Saturday. You probably have to glance ahead to the trip to Louisville on Oct. 19 to find a game the Hurricanes might not be favored to win.
“We’re playing Miami football now. We’re starting to look like Miami in a lot of different respects,” Cristobal said. “No one ever really likes to talk about the starting point. These guys have been through a lot and made the decision that they’d had enough. They proved it by the way they played the game.”
At ACC media days in July, Miami was picked to finish third in the league behind defending conference champion Florida State and the Clemson Tigers. Earlier on Saturday, Dabo Swinney’s team got run off the field in the second half by Georgia in a humbling 34-3 loss in Atlanta. Florida State needs to beat Boston College on Monday to avoid an 0-2 start.
With Ward at the helm, the Hurricanes are oozing confidence.
“He’s ridiculous. He’s amazing,” said Xavier Restrepo, who led Miami with seven catches for 112 yards and one touchdown. “He has the same love that we all have for the game. So it’s easy, you know, to do something for someone that loves football as much as you do.”
Ward, meanwhile, has no issue giving Gators and SEC fans a parting gift to chew on.
“I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed, but it was louder than this,” Ward said. “I played at Oregon. It was louder than this. Washington was one of the loudest environments I’ve played in. The Pac-12 is misspoken for. The Pac-12 is where I feel real football is played.”
(Photo of Cam Ward: James Gilbert / Getty Images)
Miami, FL
Equestrian Event With Insane Prize Pool Draws Out Big Names in Miami
The Global Champions Arabians Tour (GCAT), the world’s premier Arabian horse championship series, hit Miami, Florida, where the celebrities were out in force.
The GCAT is an exclusive, high-stakes international championship show designed to showcase the beauty, form, and movement of Purebred Arabian horses.
Over this past weekend, the event transformed Miami Beach into a world-class equestrian stage, welcoming over 100 horses and handlers from across the globe to compete for crucial GCAT points and a share of the Americas circuit’s $2.7 million prize fund.
It also was quite the party featuring surprise sets by 50 Cent and Sean Paul, and a Closing Ceremony performance by Jason Derulo.
Other big names in the sports world showed up, including influencer and former Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen’s ex-wife Larsa Pippen, former Miami Hurricanes star and New Orleans Saints Super Bowl champion Jonathan Vilma, and professional golfer Paris Hilinski.
Larsa certainly stood out in this red dress:
Meanwhile, Vilma was back in Miami where he played for some of the best ‘Canes teams from 2000-2003.
Also, the likes of DJ Khaled, Bethenny Frankel, Kiki Barth, Mario Carbone, the Mayor of Miami Steven Meiner, Daymond John, Romero Britto, Stephanie and Masoud Shojaee, Terrence J, Oliver Trevena, Miami Beach Commissioner Joe Magazine.
It was quite the weekend.
“Miami Beach has once again proven to be an extraordinary stage for the Global Champions Arabians Tour,” said Faleh Al Nasr, Chairman of the Global Champions Arabians Tour. “The energy, the international audience, and the level of competition we witnessed this weekend reflect exactly what GCAT stands for. To see this sport brought to life in such an iconic destination, alongside world-class hospitality and entertainment, is incredibly meaningful as we continue to grow our presence across the Americas.”
Miami, FL
Hawks sitting all usual starters against Miami
Kevin Chouinard: Hawks missing lots of players tonight. For tonight’s game at Miami: Mo Gueye (right shoulder inflammation) is questionable. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (right great toe sprain) is out. Dyson Daniels (left great toe sprain) is out. Jalen Johnson (rest) is out. Jonathan Kuminga (left knee injury management) is out. Jock Landale (right high ankle sprain) is out. CJ McCollum (rest) is out. Onyeka Okongwu (left index finger sprain) is out. Gabe Vincent (left knee inflammation) is out.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Hawks sitting all usual starters against Miami
Miami, FL
Who is Rueben Bain Jr\ufeff? Miami Hurricanes draft prospect visits Bengals
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor at the NFL’s annual meetings
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor discussed a number of topics at the NFL’s annual meetings during the AFC head coach breakfast
2026 NFL draft prospects Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech and Rueben Bain Jr. of University of Miami visited the Cincinnati Bengals on April 10, according to NFL Network, along with fellow Miami Hurricanes edge Akheem Mesidor.
Nicknamed “Hurricane,” Bain is expected to be selected in the first round of the upcoming draft, and could be gone when the Bengals are scheduled to select at 10th overall.
Todd McShay has said he expects the Bengals to strongly consider Bain with the 10th pick. Yahoo! Sports’ Nate Tice has the Bengals taking Bain at No. 10.
“The Bengals go with the antithesis of their first-round selection from a year ago, trading the high-end tools and low-end production of Shemar Stewart with the top-end production and effort but lack of ideal length of Bain,” Tice wrote. “If Stewart taps into even a small portion of his talent and with Boye Mafe joining in free agency, the Bengals’ edge spots could be more impactful in a hurry and feel a lot different soon.”
What to know about Bain, who was a college teammate of Bengals offensive lineman Jalen Rivers for two seasons:
Bain played three seasons for the Hurricanes.
As a junior in 2025, Bain was named second-team Associated Press All-American, ACC defensive player of the year and first-team All-ACC.
Bain started all 16 games in his final season at Miami, recording 54 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss with 9.5 sacks, an interception, a pass breakup and a forced fumble).
Bain earned the Ted Hendricks Award, given annually to college football’s top defensive end. He was a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, given to the nation’s top defender with Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, Tenacity.
As a sophomore in 2024, Bain was named honorable mention all-ACC. He started nine games, and missed four games because of an injury.
A freshman All-American, Bain was named third-team all-ACC and ACC defensive rookie of the year in his first season with the ‘Canes. He led the team that season with three forced fumbles, and tied for the team lead with 7.5 sacks.
Lance Zierlein’s NFL comparison for Bain is the Philadelphia Eagles’ Brandon Graham.
“Note taker, grudge holder and block destructor with a compact frame and defensive tackle play strength,” Zierlein wrote in Bain’s NFL.com draft profile. “Bain is ill-tempered with his take-ons, hitting blockers with heavy hand strikes. … Bain’s explosive power and toughness should translate, giving him a high floor as an NFL starter.”
Daniel Jeremiah compares Bain to former NFL linebacker Melvin Ingram.
A USA Today mock draft had Bain going ninth overall, to the Chiefs.
Interestingly, Bain visited Kansas City one day before his reported Cincinnati visit.
Bain has dismissed post-combine discussion of his arm length. At 30 7/8 inches, Bain’s arms are among the shortest in the class.
“I didn’t hear it until later in the year, but it kind of surprised me because I never heard it all my life,” Bain said at the combine. “I don’t give it the time of day, honestly.”
“Mike Tyson, he wasn’t the tallest guy, wasn’t the longest-limbed guy, but when you felt him, you felt him,” Bain told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “You kept your distance.”
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