The Cooler

The 'Canes are back on the front page as Irene plows northward. Here's your morning Cooler.

A- Herald: Going to the 2nd string.

The University of Miami declared eight student-athletes — all believed to be football players — ineligible Thursday and has asked the NCAA to initiate the reinstatement process, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Quarterback Jacory Harris and star linebacker Sean Spence are two of the ineligible athletes, the source said.

Another five football players were not declared ineligible by the university because it is believed the impermissible benefits each allegedly received from former UM booster Nevin Shapiro totaled less than $100 — meaning they can pay it back, usually by donating to a charity. However, UM could impose additional penalties, including suspensions.

In order for UM to ensure that those deemed ineligible have a chance to play Sept. 5 in the opener at Maryland without risking severe penalties by the NCAA, UM had to declare them ineligible.

B- Herald: Greg Cote on the news.

I continue to believe Miami will not and should not receive the “death penalty” for this scandal, meaning the abolishment of the football team for a season or two. But having said that, there is no way that Thursday’s development can be seen as anything other than a darkening of the cloud now pregnant over the program.

The possible long-range impact has been well chewed and debated. Miami likely faces years of sanctions — probation, reduced scholarships, bowl banishment — for having allowed Shapiro to lavish players with improper benefits, undetected for years.

But Thursday’s development locks the immediate impact into focus.

C- Herald: Morin.

D- Herald: They write letters.

Perils of biking

Re the Aug. 22 story South Miami turning into a bike rider’s haven: South Miami’s a two-wheel town? Are you kidding me? To get exercise, save money and reduce pollution I ride my bike to the bank, restaurants, library, grocery store and Dante Fascell Park. I take my life in my hands while doing so. Riding on Sunset Drive is impossible.

Cars are parked next to the sidewalks, forcing the biker into a car lane. If one retreats to the sidewalk, one has to dodge posts, planters and sidewalk diners, not to mention pedestrians who firmly believe bikes cannot be used on sidewalks. Equally hard to navigate are 64th and 80th streets, and both have room for a bike path.

Once I reach a destination, there is no place to lock up a bike, except at the library. How bike friendly is that?

It’s pleasant to bike down side streets and around my neighborhood, but if we’re going to get serious about bike riding, city planners have to get serious about bikeways and bike parking.

Karen Kerr, South Miami

E- Sun-Sentinel: Tom Jenkins is voted best barbecue. No news there.

So proficient are their cooking skills, however, that Tom Jenkins' Bar-B-Q was voted the best barbecue eatery in South Florida by online Sun Sentinel readers.

"It's really an awesome feeling," says Harrell. "It really is a labor of love for Gary and I. We've been selected best-of several times, but it never gets old to us. We always want to stay as consistent as possible and put out an excellent product. It feels great when someone acknowledges it."

F- Sun-Sentinel: A South Florida success story.

It was "the Candy Man" who schooled two bad-boy rich kids in 2007 on how to make a fortune. His advice? Start a pain clinic.

The unnamed physician, nicknamed by cops for his large volume of pill prescriptions, launched Wellington twins Jeffrey and Christopher George, then 27, to start a pill mill empire that raked in $40 million in two years in Broward and Palm Beach counties, officials say. On Tuesday, the Georges and 31 co-conspirators were arrested on charges ranging from murder to racketeering to fraud.

The brothers had sold 20 million pain pills by the time police and federal agents shut down their four clinics in March 2010, prosecutors said in a 123-page indictment.

Each clinic made up to $50,000 a day. Employees carried the receipts to the bank in garbage bags. Their mother – who worked in a clinic and got arrested with her sons – kept about $4.5 million of their spare cash in two safes in the attic of her house on Primrose Lane in Wellington.

The George boys spent their riches on six-bedroom houses, a shopping plaza, four-figure Rolex and Patek Phillippe watches, boats and fast cars, such as Jeff George's yellow Lamborghini Murcielago.

G- NBC Miami: Serial fake doctor, allegedly.

A Miami clinic owner has been arrested one day after her her husband was charged with practicing medicine without a license, Miami police said.

[...]

Signs posted at the clinic said they offer gynecological and physical exams as well as free back to school vaccinations for children.

Teobaldo Fuentes was in Miami-Dade court Thursday and ordered held on $5,000 bond.

Broward County court records show Teobaldo Fuentes was arrested in 2009 and charged by Fort Lauderdale Police with trafficking oxycodone. His next court hearing in that case is Oct. 7.

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