Playoff Predictions Update

A little over a month ago I posted my predictions for the entire NBA postseason. Usually, I'm way off on these things, case in point my failed NCAA brackets. However, this year I managed to screw myself over in a new way. I didn't bet on my picks.

Sure, I didn't get any of the series lengths correct. And yes, I didn't do much in picking upsets. Regardless, I'm pretty proud of the fact I got every series correct leading up to the much ballyhooed Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals that I would say is going to be over in 5. Expect Kobe and the Lakers to be celebrating on their home court in a couple of weeks. They're that good.

I wonder what kind of payoff I would have gotten from dropping a bet on my entire postseason predictions. It kind of sucks that for once in my life I was right about a sports prediction, but I got nothing from it. Although I suppose these playoffs were relatively predictable aside from the Boston-Detroit ECF, the Spurs-Suns first round series and the Spurs-Hornets 2nd round series. The rest were pretty much easy picks.

Canes Defeat Bethune Cookman

Miami took care of business today in Game 1 of their CWS Regional. Much had been made of the fact the Canes got the #1 overall seed but still somehow received the toughest draw of any of the teams hosting a regional. I still don't understand it, but what can be done? Maybe the hatred of the football team spilled over onto our baseball team, who knows.

Regardless, Miami has to win to prove they are among the elite. It didn't really matter who they were matched up against. Today's game vs Bethune Cookman was key. BC held a 9th inning lead against us earlier this year, and was the regional's 4th seed, so you can imagine just how difficult a draw this was for the hometown Canes.

The 7-4 victory was hard-earned, but still welcome when every win counts and 2 losses sends you packing. Enrique Garcia gave us a good outing, which is good news because we can now send in our aces Chris Hernandez and Eric Erickson out for games 2 and 3 of the regional and give us a good chance of advancing to the Super Regional.

Dorsey, Riley, and the #2 pick

You might have heard about the Joey Dorsey comments regarding his belief that Derrick Rose is the #2 pick in the draft. He has "inside sources", but really, who is to say he isn't full of it. Then again, why would he lie about his teammate falling below the #1 spot. I don't know what to make of the situation. I can only hope the Bulls go and take Beasley (hardly a bad move on their part) so we can rest easy and take Derrick Rose.

Ira's recent blog brings up an interesting point as well. We aren't working out Brook Lopez or Jerryd Bayless, so maybe Riley really has decided on picking Beasley if Rose is taken. It could also mean Mayo is a definite option at #2 or in a trade-down scenario. Because otherwise it would seem odd for Miami not to work out several Top 5 caliber picks to gauge its options.

One scenario would have us trading down to get Mayo, while unloading contracts and getting back a C/PG starter. If we could get Al Jefferson to move down to 3, I might consider bypassing Beasley. Otherwise, no thanks. Even then I'm not entirely sure that would be a wise move, and I seriously doubt the Timberwolves would make such a deal, but hey, I'm allowed to speculate.

Marlins Lose Series to Mets, Cling to Lead

The Mets series was the start of a crucial NL East road trip that would determine whether or not the Marlins belonged on top of the standings.

It started off well enough, but Florida blew two leads in the rubber match and ultimately lost in extra innings to drop to 30-22. It's not really a big deal, despite having our division lead shrink to just half a game. We've shown we can be competitive in the division; all that Florida needs to do is stay consistent and they'll be fine.

It is still way too much to ask of this young ballclub to make the playoffs. Philly has a ridiculous lineup, the Braves have some bats and Tim Hudson, and the Mets were preseason picks by many to make the World Series, having added Johan Santana. Still, the Marlins have managed to piece together a spectacular 1/3rd of a season and by now we can start having hope that they'll keep up the pace.

The Marlins don't play tonight but start a 3 game series at Philly to determine who will be leading the division at the start of the new week. Hopefully our ragtag bunch of starters can keep the Utley-Howard-Burrell combination off the scoreboards. That should be a tough assignment considering the recent offensive surge being made by the Phillies.

2nd Ranked Canes Take Home ACC Crown

The Canes baseball team rebounded from a disappointing season ending loss to the top ranked Tar Heels by beating all comers to win their first ACC title with an 8-4 win over UVA today.

Miami had been given the #1 seed and easily routed Clemson 8-1, before needing a late 9th inning rally to top Georgia Tech 15-12.

The ensuing game was a close 5-2 victory over NC State that featured a refreshing 7 scoreless innings from starter Enrique Garcia and a 3 run shot from 2B Jemile Weeks. The win propelled Miami to what was today's title game against Virginia that was never really in doubt.

Clinching the title should give Miami all the confidence it needs heading into the College World Series, which starts on Friday. They've already been selected to host a regional for the 22nd time in school history, and we will find out who our 3 opponents will be tomorrow afternoon.

It is safe to say that for this team, it is title or bust. They have as much pro-level talent on this team as any other in the country, if not the most. The starting staff has been solid, with freshman Chris Hernandez being spectacular all season. The bullpen has had up and downs but is a strong point of this team and there is no weakness in the lineup. I fully expect Miami to contend for the National Title, if not outright win it.

Gregg, Uggla Highlight DH Sweep of Giants

Maybe the Marlins should be in the NL West? After all, the first place Fish sweep the vaunted Diamondbacks before winning 2 of 3 at home vs the lowly Giants.

Things didn't look good in either game, but the Marlins rallied in both to come out on top 8-6 and 5-4. The opening game of the doubleheader featured 4 home runs by the Florida lineup and a clutch save by closer Kevin Gregg, who has been solid all season.

Gregg appeared later in the doubleheader, keeping a 4-4 tied heading into the bottom of the 9th before eventually picking up the win. His contributions have been key to the Marlins' success this season. It's amazing how Florida always seems to milk saves out of their closers, even when they are nobodies. From Armando Benitez, Urbina, Borowski, Todd Jones, all of these guys are hardly Mariano Rivera's. They still seem to produce career years in the closer role for the Marlins though.

However, the hero of the day was Dan Uggla, who hit his Marlins record 12th home run of the month in the first game of the doubleheader. He then continued his valuable production with the 2 out bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th that clinched the series. I really hope that Dan will get some recognition if he keeps it up. The announcers mentioned Chase Utley as a shoo-in for the All-Star spot at 2B, but I would think Uggla will make people think twice.

The Marlins are now sitting pretty at 29-20, half a game back of several teams for the best record in baseball. Little by little, the season is ticking away and the Marlins remain on top of the leaderboard. It really is an amazing story, now with almost 1/3rd of the year in the books.

The Jason Taylor Saga

Something I've neglected to give my thoughts on recently has been the Jason Taylor soap opera. After finishing 2nd in the Dancing With the Stars competition, it became public that Taylor will not be attending any of the Dolphin's offseason training activities.

Clearly, the situation has become messy--- far messier than I would have liked to see. Luckily the team is awful so if this is a distraction, it isn't going to make much of a difference on the performance of the football team. I have always been one to defend Jason, especially when he made the decision to start looking at opportunities off the field.

However, I think it's time to start placing some of the blame on his shoulders. I understand that he is unhappy and that he would prefer to play for a contender. The problem is that by publicly distancing himself from the Dolphins, he has screwed them over. His value on the trade market has been greatly decreased because now there is either the threat that he simply retires or the possibility that the Dolphins will outright cut him (won't happen).

The Dolphins organization might not have handled this in the best way, but I wouldn't go so far as to say both sides are completely wrong. They have their priorities, and catering to Jason isn't one of them. It shouldn't be. He should have been traded at the draft for whatever fair deal we were offered. Hell, I would have taken a below-average market offer for Jason, considering the alternative we are faced with now: either a 4th round pick or him never playing for anyone again.

What the situation has shown us is that the NFL is still a business. As much as it hurt to see Zach Thomas leave to Dallas, the departure was amicable enough and handled well. As fans we have a similar attachment to Jason, but this time around the breakup has been ugly. Jason has been showing that he has placed his playing future and his life after football as his priority. Maybe that's being selfish, maybe it's being smart. I wish he would put a little more thought into how he is hurting the team he's played for all these years, but he has stood by the Dolphin's side for years as they churned out awful teams and wasted his career.

Hopefully we'll be able to unload him for a conditional pick at some point in the next month or so. Both parties have much to gain from the split.

Heat Have Offers for Beasley

The rumors continue to swirl about the Bulls being ready to take Derrick Rose with the #1 pick in the draft. Bad news for Heat fans who wanted that Wade-Rose backcourt. But Beasley is hardly a consolation prize, as he is technically the better talent.

However, the Herald reports there is a chance the Heat trade out of this pick. They've gotten offers from several teams ready and willing to trade up to get Beasley and I think they are pretty serious about making a deal. The thought of it terrifies me because I want one of the two elite guys in the draft. I don't want retreads or veterans that will clog up cap space.

What Riley is looking for is to move down a bit in the Top 10, and receive a top point guard or center starter, as well as dumping Mark Blount's salary to boot. That doesn't sound like such a bad deal. You can still draft a guy like DJ Augustin and get back a starter in return, while opening up some cap space for 2009. However, I simply can't shake the fact that Beasley is there for the taking. A deal might help us out in the short run, but I hate passing on once-in-a-decade talent.

Marlins Hand Webb First Loss

Now there's something you don't see every day. It's amazing how the Marlins continue to prove everyone wrong. After a lackluster week or two, the Marlins have rebounded to win the series against baseball's best team. Tonight they squeezed out a win against the Diamondback's ace, the previously undefeated Brandon Webb.

The victory today, coupled with a win over Micah Owings (despite 10k's) yesterday assures the Marlins of the series win and I'm sure some respect in league circles. They hadn't beaten a team with a winning record in May and people were starting to question their hot start (including myself) on a cupcake schedule. Somehow they continue to keep winning. I know it's a line I keep repeating, but I still don't know how they're doing it, especially with Hanley Ramirez slumping.

The win puts the Marlins within 1.5 games of the 'Backs and Cubs for the best record in baseball. Imagine what a sweep of the NL favorite Diamondbacks would do for this young team's confidence. I know I would be impressed, especially because they would have faced the heart of the Arizona rotation. The Marlins are up against ace Danny Haren tomorrow, so it won't be easy to finish off the sweep.

Now That We Have The 2nd Pick

What happens next?

That's probably a good question. No doubt I wasn't the only one relieved as hell to see the Timberwolves' logo on the 3rd envelope. That meant we had assured ourselves of either Beasley or Rose. The problem is that I'm not entirely sure Beasley is our guy and the Bulls present a threat to take Rose.

I personally like the idea of picking 2nd. You take whichever guy is left over and call it a day. No 2nd guessing down the road if the player you missed out on ends up being a superstar or wins a title. I would be ecstatic to have either player. My preference is Rose to team up with Wade in the backcourt, but that's up to Chicago now.

I would hope the Bulls know better than to pick the hometown guy in Rose. They have 2 or 3 solid point guards, and a whole lot of money tied up into that position. They also have no frontcourt scoring ability, so Beasley presents a very enticing option. I don't see why they wouldn't just draft Michael. However, there are rumblings that they like Rose and might end up taking him.

I would be fine with that, if we were to take Beasley that is. I've read rumors that Miami is less than enamored with Beasley and would lean towards trading the pick if it isn't Rose. That scares the hell out of me, to be honest. Only once a decade or so do you get a gift like this. Unless we get a proven, relatively young All-Star and a good backup or two in the trade, then we seriously need to just take Beasley. Figure out what to do with Haslem or Marion later.

I will be very pissed if we trade the pick instead of taking Beasley. I'm tired of Riley's anti-youth personnel decision-making. And speaking of Marion, apparently he is looking to opt out, according to ESPN. So that puts us in a position where drafting Beasley would be a no-brainer. Regardless, I'm a little antsy about the whole thing because it's no longer assured we will get Derrick Rose. I don't want a situation where we pass on a can't-miss prospect in favor of some retreads and cap space. Maybe picking 2nd isn't so great after all. Had we just gotten that first pick it would have been Rose all the way.

Tom Brady Clobbered

I figure since things haven't been too great for us South Florida sports fans I figured I would bring up some good memories of a recent game that made us all smile. Music sucks, but whatever.

Uggla's Future with the Marlins

I read this piece yesterday and I thought it brought up an important issue.

Dan Uggla has certainly been a nice surprise for the Marlins these past couple of seasons. A Rule V selection, nobody saw his emergence as a reliable power hitter coming. The problem is that Uggla doesn't quite fit in with the whole "defense wins championships" mantra. He also strikes out quite a bit, but then again so does the entire Marlins roster.

Does he deserve a long-term extension? I'm not sure yet. It's difficult to find a 2B with his kind of offensive production, but he is still a liability on defense. The article suggested moving him to 3rd, which isn't a bad idea considering Jorge Cantu is a stopgap option at best. The Marlins did just draft Matt Dominguez last year, but he is not an option anytime soon.

If we do offer an extension, I'm not sure he merits one in the 30M dollar range. A 4 year, 20M dollar deal seems fair enough considering his limitations on defense. Considering the fact we just broke the bank for Hanley and expect to have new revenues pouring in once the stadium is built, the Marlins have few excuses to give Uggla. Then again, they could say that the Ramirez's deal took up any excess cap space they felt like giving away. We'll see.

Heck, if anything, maybe the Marlins will take a look at Jemile Weeks from UM at 2nd base in the upcoming MLB Draft. I wouldn't be opposed to that at all.

Dolphins Sign 4

The McKinney deal has finally gone through, which is good news. He should be a nice fit as the 5th starter on the offensive line, barring a stellar training camp by one of the two rookies.

I'm pretty pleased to see that the Fins have already signed about half of their 2008 rookies. Granted, one was a given in Jake Long and the other 3 were low round guys that might not even make the team, but it's a start. I really hate seeing rookies hold out into training camp and miss out on the really important first few weeks of their NFL careers. I don't know of many players who have done that who didn't end up struggling in the NFL (see Jason Allen).

We won't have that problem this year because usually it is the first round picks that hold out and we already have ours locked down. I expect Merling to take a little longer than expected because he was a first round grade and was drafted in the 2nd, but it shouldn't be too much longer. Everyone else would be wise to sign their deals and get into camp as soon as possible.

Dolphins to Sign McKinney

No, not Seth, thankfully. Instead the Fins are on the verge of signing his brother, C/G Steve McKinney.

It looks like the Dolphins might not have all that much faith in their drafted guards. That or they are just being careful and making sure they have a veteran option available should the young guys struggle to make the transition to the NFL. I would certainly be more comfortable having Steve in at RG than an unproven rookie. Then again, I'd like to see what the rookies have to offer, because we had a lot of holes on this team and used two picks on guards, so I expect something to come from that.

Dolphins Cut Mormino

This week's cutting of Drew Mormino was a bit of a surprise to me. Going into the draft, I felt comfortable with our young line, having Vernon Carey, Samson Satele, Justin Smiley, and Jake Long as 4 of the 5 starters. Any 5th guy, even if serviceable, would be enough for the Dolphins to put out a top 1/3rd offensive line next season.

I fully expected us to draft a guard, and indeed the Dolphins picked up two. However, I fully expected Drew Mormino to be the guy starting at right guard. He had impressed last year in training camp before getting hurt, but I guess the front office felt he was another Joe Toledo. Toledo if you remember, had also impressed, but failed to stay healthy while a Dolphin. It's a shame, but if Jake Long can be effective, it doesn't really matter who is playing at right guard. Plus, they drafted those two guys for a reason right? We'll just have to trust their judgment.

I'm more interested in who will be the QB. Drafting Henne meant John Beck is on a short leash. If he can't beat out McCown for the job, don't look for Beck to be on this team past 2009. Henne is someone that Parcells is comfortable with and who he feels will fit the system. Beck has shown promise, but also has a long way to go before becoming an effective NFL QB. If he can't beat out a journeyman like Josh McCown, then the future doesn't look bright for either him or the Fins. I don't think we'll get 6 wins with any of the QBs at the helm, much less a guy like McCown.

Canes Lose First Series of the Season

This was a pretty disappointing end to the regular season. This afternoon's 12-11 loss to UNC gave Miami their first series loss of the year and should (at least in my opinion) drop them to 2nd in the polls, considering the Tar Heels were ranked 2nd coming into the weekend.

Things started off well, with a 12-2 blasting of UNC on Thursday night, thanks again to the solid pitching performance of freshman Chris Hernandez. However, the team's ace, Erik Erickson, got rocked on Friday night for 7 runs in just 5 innings. UNC tallied 16 hits and the early deficit was too much to bear and Miami fell 10-6 despite a pair of home runs from Mark Sobolewski and Yonder Alonso.

Today was the all-important rubber match that saw UNC barely edge Miami 2-1 in the series. Unfortunately, Enrique Garcia couldn't seem to shake his struggles and the Tar Heels took advantage. So far it has seemed that UM's only weakness this year has been their Sunday starter in Garcia. More often than not, the offense has had to bail him out and today it wasn't enough.

Garcia allowed 6 runs (4 earned) in only 3 innings, creating an early hole for the Canes to dig themselves out of despite their early offensive explosion. However, the blame isn't solely on him, as David Gutierrez allowed 6 more in just over an inning of work before the rest of the bullpen plugged the leak. The loss lies squarely on their shoulders, but I'm sure they've beaten themselves up more than I intend to.

You can't really blame the offense at all, for dropping an average of almost 10 runs on the #1 pitching staff in the country. It was just our pitching staff that dropped the ball, forcing our offense to do too much. It for sure wasn't Yonder Alonso's fault. He hit his 19th homer this afternoon and it was nearly enough to keep the Canes in the game.

Though the loss was disappointing, the Canes did clinch the ACC regular season title on Thursday night and will have the top seed entering the upcoming ACC Tournament. The goal is to win that and secure the top overall seed heading into the College World Series.

Marlins Top Royals, Snap Losing Skid

The Marlins finally picked up another win after an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the lowly Cincinnati Reds and a loss to the Royals yesterday. The 7-3 victory was much needed, because the once solid bullpen has been leaky of late and was not able to make up for the starter's lack of production.

The victory gives the Marlins sole possession of the division lead again, less than a week after they owned the best record in baseball. Tomorrow's rubber match is one we have to win, because the Royals are about as bad a team as the Marlins will get to play this season. They should have looked at this Cinci/KC 6 game stretch and thought about coming out of this 4-2 or 5-1. Instead at best the Marlins will take 2 from a pair of last-place caliber teams.

It'll be a tough matchup though, as the Marlins will face KC's best pitcher so far this season in Zach Greinke. Zach is 4-1 with an impressive 1.93 ERA and has been great for the Royals. Burke Badenhop will need to have his best stuff out there to give the Marlins a good chance to win this game.

New OT/TE Commit for Canes

The Canes got their 6th 2009 commitment today in Cory White, an OL from Florida. White has received a number of offers, but it looks like this kid is being looked at as a diamond in the rough. Miami is the only BCS school to offer him, despite his interest in UF, FSU and Penn State. That's probably because the offensive lineman weighs only 235 pounds. I know Jason Fox was on the light end when he came in, but this is pushing it.

I trust the coaching staff to recognize talent when they see it. But apparently White wants to play TE. He does run a 4.8 40, so he is pretty athletic enough. However, we already have a commitment from Billy Sanders and are going hard after Orson Charles. If White will play TE, then I will get worried about our chances with Charles, who is pretty much the TE stud of this class. I really want him on this team.

Other than that, the Canes have been offering lineman left and right. OL and DL are probably the big need positions in this class, so it's wise to offer out to as many talented kids as you can.

Marlins Rally, Lose Anyway

Well that was a tough series to swallow. The final victory this weekend put the Marlins at a sparkling 23-14 and gave them sole possession of the best record in baseball. Instead of continuing the momentum, Florida squandered their position on top and got swept by the lowly Reds.

I'm not sure what this series proves. We've been beating up on weak teams to fatten up our record so far, and losing to a sub .500 team doesn't make us look any better. That being said, anybody is really vulnerable to getting swept by anybody else in baseball. It's not that hard. Happens all the time. Because of that, I wouldn't panic quite just yet if I were you.

However, I wouldn't be completely unconcerned about the state of this team. They've been overachieving for quite some time now and the lack of talent will start to bite this team in the ass. The starting rotation just isn't good enough to hold up against the rigors of a 162 game season. They really need Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez to come back quickly and at their game to continue to contend for a playoff spot.

The Marlins should consider the previous paragraph a compliment because I would have considered them out of contention for a wild card spot on Opening Day, much less a fourth of the way through the season. Fredi Gonzalez has done a great job in his sophomore year as our coach. If anything, the Marlins putting together some wins has rejuvenated sports in South Florida, at least until the NBA Lottery next week.

Everett Waived

This is actually a good thing. Buffalo was great to our former Cane, but obviously they need to move on with their roster and placed Kevin on the waived/failed physical list. I believe this means they don't have to pay him his 400,000+ dollar salary, but in turn allows him to collect a 225,000 dollar a year disability payment from the NFL.

Because the Bills paid him his entire salary last season, he became eligible for an NFL pension, receiving about $1500 a month. It might not seem like a whole lot, but combined with his disability checks and I think Kevin should be taken care of for the rest of his life assuming the hospital bills aren't too high.

This is one of the few examples where you see the system work. The NFL is notorious for not taking care of it's older retired players, many of which are extremely disabled due to years of brutal play in the NFL. This is a nice story to hear. Best of luck to Kevin, who is an inspiration to everyone and presents hope to all those who have been paralyzed.

Canes Stay Atop Polls

Despite losing a game to lowly VT this weekend, the Canes baseball team remained the consensus #1 in the country. Miami won 2 of 3 in the series, but suffered a disappointing loss on Saturday to a below average team. Regardless, the polls made Miami the consensus #1 for the 6th week in a row.

Miami continues to roll thanks to the efforts of 9-0 pitcher Chris Hernandez, who pitched well again on Friday, allowing only 2 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Hokies. The team is so well-balanced that it is extremely difficult for them to lose on any given day. Many are saying this team has the most professional level talent than any other team in the country, some even go as far to say they are the most talented team in years.

The praise will be put to the test this weekend, when the 2nd ranked Tar Heels come to town. This will be the 2nd time Miami has been part of a 1 vs 2 matchup. I'd like to see how often that's happened before in college baseball. I know it rarely happens in the regular season in college football, but I don't know that much about baseball history.

North Carolina consistently produces a Top 5 team and should be a tough challenge for the Canes. I'll say the same thing I said before the FSU series: if we can take 2 of 3, there is no shame in losing that 3rd game. Winning the series is crucial to both our confidence, and our national ranking. I doubt that pollsters will overlook losing a series to the #2 team. Not that it matters, but it's always nice to see Miami on top of the world.

Patchan Shot

My friend at the Bull Gator mentioned this to me yesterday.

I've said my piece about Matt Patchan's decision to become a Gator. I think it was a mistake and I don't understand how he could have committed to UF. However, nobody deserves getting shot at, especially when it's for no reason.

Patchan has the bullet lodged in his shoulder and the doctors decided not to dig it out. Supposedly he should be back on the field in no time, but who knows. I don't think getting shot anywhere is ever good for football players.

Let's just hope this shooting was incidental and that somebody doesn't have it out for Matt. He should consider himself lucky that the bullet didn't hit him in a worse place. Good luck for his recovery.

Marlins Win 7th Straight

Ladies and gentlemen, the Marlins now own the best record in the major leagues. Fredi Gonzalez has to be the early frontrunner for Manager of the Year, because this ragtag bunch belongs on the bottom of the standings, not at the top. Still, somehow the Marlins have managed to put together a 23-14 record, continuing the best start in team history.

Today was a sweet victory, coming back from a late 4-1 deficit to win thanks to a pair of Dan Uggla home runs (no help to my fantasy teams who faced him in both leagues). The win complete a sweep of the lowly Nationals and again, ties the Marlins with the Diamondbacks for the best record in the majors despite only a +14 run differential. And that's including yesterday's 11-0 pounding in Washington.

The success is in most part due to some solid hitting and excellent work from the bullpen. It's an exciting start to the season because our young hitters will get better and the starting lineup should benefit from the return of Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez later on in the season. What a Cinderella story it would be if the Marlins could actually contend for the playoffs with such a low payroll. Making the postseason with this roster would be arguably as impressive as winning the World Series back in 2003.

Shandel's Interviews

I'll be the first to admit I miss Omar Kelly's coverage of the Canes on the Sun-Sentinel. Ever since he was moved to the Dolphins beat and replaced by Shandel Richardson, I've felt that the quality of the coverage has dropped off substantially. Omar was closer to his readers and gave us good stuff. Shandel isn't bad, but he had some pretty big shoes to fill. On top of that, he has some stiff competition from the Herald's Manny Navarro, who often has the the latest news up really quick.

However, Shandel has recently stepped it up big time. He knows what the deal is. All we care about down here is football. The baseball team is amazing and should be poised for a title, but nobody really cares. The basketball team was a few seconds away from a Sweet 16 appearance, but they too have to step aside for football. In the South, football is king. Anyway, Shandel has responded to this by providing one on one interviews with several incoming freshman recruits from Miami's heralded 2008 class.

Here is one with Davon Johnson. I encourage you to read up on the other ones on the blog. As Bruce Feldman point out on his ESPN blog, the most interesting comment was from CJ Holton, who said he got numerous death threats about decommitting from FSU and committing to Miami. I wish I could say this sort of behavior is exclusive to Noles' fans, but I've seen some pretty nasty stuff online from Canes fans when our guys switch commitments as well.

Ramirez to Get Extension

Hallelujah! The Marlins finally are breaking the bank for a top player. Sadly, the generous financial stance taken by the front office comes too late, as we have already traded a perennial All-Star in Miguel Cabrera in exchange for a strikeout machine (Maybin) and a struggling rookie pitcher. At least now we know the cornerstone of the franchise will be locked up for the future.

Supposedly the contract extension is for 6 years and 70 million dollars. That's not too shabby for what will eventually be one of the game's 5 best players. I'm sure that contract won't hold up towards the tail end. It's too much of a bargain. Hopefully by then we will be able to afford other talented players to put alongside Hanley. This year's early success has been nice, but we can't rest our laurels on a 20-14 record.

It's Not Great to Be A Florida Gator

Simply because I don't have the energy to whip out the statistics and the usual bleeding heart Canes-against-the-world soapbox talk, I'll be short and sweet about the latest Gator in the news. Safety Jamar Hornsby has been arrested and accused of credit card fraud. This wasn't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill fraud you might find yourself guilty of if you find someone's lost wallet. Hornsby had been using a dead girl's identity. Not only that, but she was a close friend and girlfriend of former teammate Michael Guilford, who alongside Ashley Slonina died a few months ago in a tragic car accident.

And here I thought Fred Rouse breaking into his teammate's apartment was some serious betrayal. Try having your teammate ruin your girlfriend's credit. Hornsby is lucky that Guilford didn't survive the crash, because this situation is just sick. On top of being morally reprehensible on every level, Slonina's family had enough to deal with before getting hit with the charges to her credit card. That's just a cruel thing to do.

Of course, nothing substantial will come of this in the big picture. Hornsby has been kicked off the team, obviously, and should serve some jail time for his crimes. However, you won't see an SI cover imploring the University of Florida to shut down their program. I'd be willing to be their last 18 months have been far worse than anything that ever went down here in the late 80's. It's sad but the reality is Miami will never shed the Thug U image no matter how dirty things get elsewhere.

Pats Taped Dolphins

Apparently, some time between 2000 and 2002, the New England Patriots videotaped games of the Miami Dolphins for future access in stealing our signals. They also taped 4 other teams in 5 other games. This revelation comes from Matt Walsh, who's saga continues now with more evidence that the Patriots are bigtime cheaters.

Granted, they are likely not the only team to have been doing this. Regardless it should be interesting to see what kinds of punishments they will face for this if the NFL finds them guilty of cheating. I personally don't know what they were doing taping the Dolphins, when Wannstedt's offense was run left, run right, run backwards, and his defense was straight up cover 2 man.

Hopefully they'll get more than a slap on the wrist. It would be fun to see some real chaos in the NFL, with a Super Bowl title stripped from those damn Patsies.

Noles OL Ineligible

Right off the heels of OLB Marcus Ball's departure from FSU, the Seminoles have lost another important starter in Daron Rose. It's been a pretty rough 6 months from a Noles standpoint, what with the academic scandal going around and all. Poor Geno Hayes leaves early for the NFL and gets drafted in the 6th round. Oops.

Don't forget there are several players suspended for the first two games of next season. FSU will be hard-pressed to keep up in the ACC with all of these issues looming over their program. However, things will probably be fine in Tally in the long run. They just finished locking up a decent 2008 class and so far have one of the top 2009 recruiting classes in the country.

I look forward to the day when we can see another 6-0 Miami vs 6-0 FSU matchup that actually means something. Beating the Seminoles is that much sweeter when they are relevant.

Olsen Pitches a Gem

Had the opportunity to catch part of the Marlins' victory last night over the Brewers 3-0. Scott Olsen somehow has found his groove after being statistically the worst regular starter in the NL last season. He is now 4-1 with an excellent 2.22 ERA and a sparkling 1.05 WHIP.

I particularly enjoyed the late stretch where Olsen got fired up after failing to give himself run support. Somehow the Marlins, with a 3-0 lead, had the bases loaded with no outs and got nothing out of that situation. Olsen struck out with 1 out in the inning and returned to the dugout livid with himself. Throwing stuff, the usual. Looks like his anger problems haven't entirely gone away.

However, whatever he's done to control that anger has been working. Usually, he might have lost his focus and begun to pitch poorly. Instead he walked up to the mound and smoked Prince Fielder for a strikeout, eventually leading the team to a victory with 8 2/3 innings pitched.

With the Philly loss, this puts us back in a first place tie atop the NL East. It's a nice place to be, even if it is early May. You have to like what the young lineup and the bullpen are doing to make up for the pretty weak starting rotation.

So Much For Marvin Harrison

It's funny, I just finished writing a piece on the modern athlete last week and praised Marvin Harrison as one of those quiet hard-working guys who is all business. I wasn't aware of a previous incident when he supposedly choked a young fan asking for an autograph (then again I've heard horror stories from fans regarding everyone from Dan Marino to Alonzo Mourning). All it took was a couple of days for Marvin to make me look pretty dumb.

The ongoing investigation into a shooting involving the Colts' receiver has now turned up shell casings from a gun that belongs to Harrison. Oops. I'm not entirely sure what a guy like Marvin is doing with such a powerful gun (armor piercing? Jesus), but I'm going to refrain from making any judgment on that until we get a little more information. Regardless, this is quite the PR nightmare for him.

I thought it was an interesting situation because the timing of my article was perfect to illustrate how we can't idolize these guys too much. We hear about how great Zach Thomas is, how he studies film so diligently, buys a hyperbolic chamber in the offseason to improve his performance, and how he takes football incredibly seriously. You see him at charity events and raising a family. But do you really know him? It's tough, because we often look up to these guys growing up as kids not knowing anything about their personal lives.

The fact is football players and other athletes are human beings. They make mistakes and nothing is ever black and white, good and evil. Everyone hates on T.O for being a prima donna, but how many fans know he was raised by a cruel grandmother who wouldn't let him go out, or how he fell in love with the girl down the street before the girl's father showed up one day and said Terrell couldn't date her because she was his sister. That's bound to screw you up.

I think we have to be careful and try hard to distance ourselves from athletes as heroes. For all I know, Zach eats baby kittens for breakfast. I'll still always love the guy for what he's done for the fans and for the city of Miami, but I know from experience that my kids' role model will be someone he knows and understands, not some guy on TV that could end up disappointing you when he doesn't turn out to be the ideal person you thought he was.

Celtics Dominate, Advance

It certainly took longer than expected (I had them sweeping), but Boston dismantled the outmatched Hawks in Boston today to advance and meet the Cavs in Round 2.

This means I was 8-8 in my predictions for Round 1, albeit none of the predictions of the length of the series were on the mark. That's not too much to brag about, as I went chalk for the majority of my predictions, save for the Spurs topping the Hornets in 6 in Round 2. Yesterday's shellacking didn't do much to support my opinion that the Spurs are a better team than New Orleans. Then again, I doubt Tim Duncan will be held to 5 points and 3 boards ever again in the playoffs.

I'll stand by my original predictions because not much has changed my mind since Round 1. Boston showed they have some serious weaknesses and it has to be a bit disturbing that they couldn't close out Atlanta on the road. Regardless, they should still send Cleveland home packing pretty quickly. I still say it goes down in 5, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it go 6 or 7 based on the success that Atlanta had.

Detroit also easily took care of their second round opponent, but I don't think the Pistons are 20 points better than the Magic every night. Dwight Howard will dominate, especially at home, and I still think the series goes 6 or 7.

The Lakers are taking care of the Jazz as we speak, but the game isn't over and Utah is an excellent team. Some have them as a darkhorse to win it all and I couldn't disagree with that choice. I still think LA wins this series but I fully expect it to go the distance.

And even with the Spurs' disappointing Game 1 loss yesterday, I think they will pull it out and win the series at home in Game 6. San Antonio is an excellent home team and I don't expect them to lose there in this series. I think they take the next 3 before losing Game 5 and finishing the Hornets off in San Antonio. New Orleans has been playing better than I thought they would, and Chris Paul is ridiculous, but they are still relatively young and the experienced Spurs know how to get it done in crunch time.

Hernandez Shines as Canes Top Gaels

Fresh off a week that saw the Canes lose a disappointing game to FIU before sweeping ranked Virginia, the Miami baseball team continued to roll yesterday with a 10-6 victory over St. Mary's.

I was sure that the loss to FIU would drop the team from the top spot in the rankings, but apparently the pollsters were sufficiently impressed by the sweep of a Top 25 team that the Canes were again the consensus #1 team in the country.

With the ranking came a much needed midweek rest where we didn't have to play a Tuesday or a Wednesday game. That should have given the guys some time to rest up and study a bit for final exams. It seems the mini break was productive, as Miami did a nice job of handling the Gaels yesterday. Chris Hernandez held them to 1 run over 5 innings, as he has been our most consistent and impressive starter so far this season. The freshman has impressed me and probably will have caught the eye of most MLB scouts by now.

The game also saw Jemile Weeks break the school record for career triples with 18. That's a nice touch to Weeks' spectacular career here, which looks to end this season as he is projected to be a 1st round pick in the MLB Draft. Yonder Alonso also contributed to the rout (the final score was much closer than it should have been) with his team-leading 13th home run of the season. He should also be playing his final season in a Canes uniform, as he has joined his teammate in most 1st round mock drafts.

Marlins Top Padres, Regain First Place

Today's 6-4 victory over Justin Germano and the Padres was a big win for the Marlins. The recent sweep at the hand of the Dodgers erased our division lead and raised concerns that maybe the Marlins were finally starting to show their true colors. Surely they can't keep it up much longer, right?

Well as long as the Ws keep piling up, keep the faith. I don't know how they piece together wins, but whatever they've done has worked. Today's heroics were provided by Dan Uggla, who homered twice off Germano to give Mark Hendrickson enough support to win. Speaking of Hendrickson, I've only watched a pair of his outings and wasn't impressed. Still, he has managed to pitch well enough to post a 5-1 record so far.

I'd have to say much of the reason for the Marlins' early season success is thanks to their all-world shortstop Hanley Ramirez. The young infielder is on pace for a .320, 45 HR, 100RBI and 55 stolen base season. Those are MVP numbers, and I don't doubt his ability to keep it up. The homers should probably settle at around 25-30, but Ramirez has proven he's got some pop. What's amazing is that Ramirez is batting at such a high level and still striking out so much. Once he develops a little more patience, it's scary to imagine how impressive his numbers will be.