Senior catcher Peter O'Brien's appeal accepted by NCAA -- huge boost for the Canes; Also, National Signing Day party for football

Great news today on the UM baseball front. The NCAA approved former Bethune-Cookman star catcher Peter O'Brien's appeal to compete for the Hurricanes during the 2012 season. O'Brien, 6-5 and 225 pounds, is a senior, so he needed the OK to be able to finish out his career with the Canes without having to sit out the customary season. He was drafted this past summer in the third round -- 107th overall -- by the Colorado Rockies, but did not come to terms with the Rockies on a contract offer by the Aug. 15 deadline. O'Brien is a big-time Major League prospect. He was never recruited by UM, and flourished with the Wildcats. He grew up in Miami Gardens and played at Braddock High. His numbers last season at Bethune: .304 batting average with 14 home runs and 69 RBI. He was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2010, and was a freshman All-American from Louisville Slugger in 2009.  "It was awesome,'' O'Brien said of the decisio...