dry but the signs of the tears that welled up still evident. I just didnt kno

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Robert Wright is permanently scarred from Miamis win over Duke last season .And he was on the winning side.Anyone familiar with Miamis game-ending kickoff return for a touchdown at Duke last season knows all about the eight laterals, the wild scene when Corn Elder reached the end zone, the lengthy review from the replay booth, the officiating mistakes and the Hurricanes wild celebratory reaction when they were declared winners.Turns out, there was so much more than what was seen on the field that night. With the Hurricanes set to host Duke on Saturday in the teams first meeting since that still-debated 30-27 win by the Hurricanes, some of the principals involved in The Miami Miracle recalled this week how it happened.---SETTING THE SCENEMiami was at its lowest point that week.Coach Al Golden was fired on Sunday, a day after the Hurricanes lost to Clemson 58-0. Star defensive back Artie Burns mother died in the days before the Duke game, and quarterback Brad Kaaya was ruled out with a concussion.It was a rough week, said Kaaya, who didnt even make the trip to Duke.There was more, too. A backup player was arrested that week on suspicion of domestic battery, and police came to practice on Tuesday to talk to some graduate assistants after the home they shared was burglarized on Monday night.But practice went on and something Miami installed that week was a throwback-pass kickoff return that the Hurricanes had run a couple of times in Goldens tenure, including in his first game at Maryland in 2011.The plan was to run it at Duke. They ended up running something else .We wanted to run what we called `Music City, for the Music City Miracle, said Wright, a graduate assistant coach for Miami last year and now an assistant at Illinois, referring to the throwback-pass kickoff return that lifted Tennessee over Buffalo in an NFL playoff game in January 2000. But when we called it, the GA who was on the field lost the card and we couldnt show it to players.So they scrambled and came up with a new play on the fly.I just remember thinking, `Its going to work, Elder said. We were going to win.---THE PLAYDuke scored its go-ahead touchdown with 6 seconds left -- some at Miami still say the Blue Devils didnt cross the goal line -- and everyone knew the ensuing kickoff would put the Hurricanes in a desperate spot.With Music City off the table since the card was lost, Miami set up a different throwback return. Its now known as Desperado, though that name was apparently given after the fact.Dallas Crawford fielded Dukes squib-kick at the Miami 26. Crawford was a last-second addition to the unit, after Miami scrambled to come up with something to replace Music City. His job was to get the ball across the field to Elder, which he did -- twice, actually, the second of those being the eighth and final lateral.Elder took that last one 91 yards to the end zone. The play wound up taking 49 seconds. What happened next took nearly 9 more minutes.When Corn cut inside of the last defender, my natural instinct was just to like run, so I ran out of the coaches booth and started running around going crazy, Wright said. We all took off down four stories to get to the field.Thats when they saw the flag.Miami got called for a block in the back, with Mark Walton being flagged at the Duke 25. The game wasnt over. Miami was getting an untimed down.Theyre going to have to bring him back, Duke offensive lineman Casey Blaser remembers thinking, as he watched from the sideline. Even if they get one play, our defense will stop them.Maybe he would have been right. But that play never happened.---THE REVIEWConfusion reigned, but after a few minutes -- with replay still going on -- Miami figured that at worst, it would have a 57-yard field goal attempt to try to tie the game.Kicker Michael Badgley was told to get ready. There was so much chaos on the sideline, though, that Badgley didnt have enough space to warm up by kicking into the net behind the bench.So he kicked into the woods.I dont know what happened to those footballs, Miami sports information director Tom Symonds said.Finally, the word came from referee Jerry Magallanes: After review, there was never a knee down by any of the runners of Miami. However, the block in question was from the side, not from the back. Its a legal play. Touchdown. Games over.The officials and those in the replay booth were suspended for two games for botching how the play was handled, but the score stood.Miami 30, Duke 27.There had to be 35 people watching with us on TV, said Kaaya, who was watching in Coral Gables at a teammates apartment. Trick-or-treaters kept coming to the door. I was having all the candy I could eat. And then Corn took off and the whole house went crazy. People threw stuff everywhere. Dudes were running outside. It was awesome.---THE SCARAn hour after the game, Wright was changing out of his coaching attire to get ready for the joyous flight home -- one on which everyone was taking photos with the football that Elder carried into the end zone (and should have been returned to Duke, technically, since it was the Blue Devils ball).Thats when he saw the blood.Turns out he smashed his shin into a metal bench during the chaos and didnt even realize it.I now have a permanent scar right there, Wright said.An unneeded reminder, from a game hell never forget.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25Cheap Custom Cubs Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Custom Cubs Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. http://www.customcubsjersey.com/ . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Custom Cubs T-shirts . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Authentic Custom Cubs Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from.RIO DE JANEIRO -- One long-held truism of the Olympics is there are no medals for fourth place, only the crushing disappointment of coming oh-so-close to a life-changing step up the podium.If there were, the U.S. road cycling team would feel much better about the Summer Games.There have been six road cycling events the past two Olympics, including the mens and womens road races over the weekend. Three times the Americans have finished fourth, including the stirring and heartbreaking finish by Mara Abbott along Copacabana Beach on Sunday.After animating the race on the final climb of Vista Chinesa, and sweeping into the lead when Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten crashed hard on the descent, Abbott tried in vain to hold onto a slim advantage against three strong riders working together to catch her.They reached her within sight of the finish line.I knew it was probably going to come down to the wire, Abbott said later, her eyes dry but the signs of the tears that welled up still evident. I just didnt know which side.The two-man squad of Taylor Phinney and Brent Bookwalter hardly had aspirations in their race Saturday. The course suited neither and Phinney pulled out midway through to save himself for the time trial, though Bookwalter still finished 16th in what he considered a positive result.Still, it left the Americans ruing their misfortunes.At the London Games four years ago, Phinney was beaten by Alexander Kristoff in a sprint to the finish at Buckingham Palace for bronze. Four days later, he posted the fourth-fastest mark in the time trial at Hampton Court Palace to again finish just off the podium.That in part is why Phinney, a track cycling world champion, skipped the Touur de France and spent the past six weeks training specifically for Wednesdays time trial.ddddddddddddIt was a tough decision to pull out (Saturday) but I ultimately came to the conclusion that Im here to win a medal in the time trial, he said. Im not just here for the Olympic experience.The U.S. road team hasnt struck out entirely.Kristin Armstrong has won the past two Olympic time trials, and came out of retirement early this year to chase a third. She also pulled out of her road race before the finish.I thought I was going to have a really hard time whether I should pull out, Armstrong said, but I gave everything. I didnt have a second here I thought I could go any farther or harder.So I was just hoping and praying that my teammate could make it to the line and win gold, she said. I cant imagine being in her shoes right now.It was hardly a surprise that Abbott was in position to medal.The American womens road team was favored to win gold, but mostly because of the worlds top-ranked rider, Megan Guarnier, and world hour-record holder Evelyn Stevens. Yet the hard course with its brutal ascents was tailored perfectly for Abbott, one of the sports strongest climbers.The image of Dutch gold medalist Anna van der Breggen, silver medalist Emma Johansson and bronze medalist Elisa Longo Borghini chasing her down certainly made for captivating television.It also proved to be another gut-punch for the U.S. team.It feels awful, Abbott said, but at the same time, youre supported by a team thats worked so hard to help you win. We had a really amazing team here. ' ' '