Sports Agenda For Monday (2/21/11)
Big Story:
Lots of big stories from the holiday weekend. First, a 20-year-old won the Daytona 500. Trevor Bayne outgunned Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and others to become the youngest winner in the 53-year history of the Daytona 500. Not bad for a guy who can't even take a drink to celebrate his victory.
The Heat were well represented in the NBA All-Star snoozefest, particularly LeBron James. LBJ finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. I believe he became the second player ever with a triple-double in the all-star game. FYI – the other is Michael Jordan.
Stop the press, the Panthers won. Oh wait, they beat the Sunshine State's other hockey team….nevermind!
Finally, there's big news on the NFL labor front….so on to the agenda.
Heat:
The Heat are now squarely in playoff mode and the best news is they have all the key players healthy, with the exception of Mike Miller. While the Heat would love for Chauncey Billups to get released as a true free agent to give the team a solid point guard, that's not likely to happen. So, the Heat will likely have to make the stretch run towards the Finals with what they've got. As long as D-Wade and LeBron stay healthy, it looks like the Heat can go a long way….or at least until they play Boston.
The other big NBA story is the 'Melo drama. I'm talking about where Carmelo Anthony will end up. The New Jersey Nets have set the trade bar very high for Anthony and if the Nuggets can do it, they should dump him for the Nets deal ASAP! But, there's this other pesky New York team who wants Melo, the Knicks. Melo wants to play for the Knicks but could be warming up to the Nets. Either way, the Nuggets need to cut bait and take as much as they can get and be done with it, because like the rest of the followers of the NBA….I'M SICK OF IT!!!!!
Marlins:
Well, the Marlins are rapidly approaching their first spring training game on March 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Leo Nunez said he's brought back his slider to help keep hitters off balance, and if he can control it, that will be a big help to the rotation. Position players report to training camp with the Marlins Monday and the first full-workout will be Tuesday.
The Marlins want everyone to know that there are still plenty of season tickets and single game tickets on sale now.
If you're looking for some good games to catch, look at the May 8-10 series against the Phillies, any series against the Braves, or any series against the Cardinals…just to see Pujols play.
Panthers:
As mentioned above, the Panthers took to the ice Saturday to battle the Tampa Bay Lightning and won the game 3-2. That's a good win against the best team in the Southeast division, but it's only one win and the Panthers are still tied for 11th place in the conference, well out of the playoff picture.
They take on the last place New York Islanders today and if they win that one, it'll be two in a row and the Panthers will be threatening a winning streak and they could squeak above .500 for the season!
NFL Labor:
Here's the good news: the two sides have spent 7 hours a day negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement since last Friday. So at least they're showing they both want a deal done.
Now the bad news: the NFL wants the judge who has overseen the labor situation with the league since 1987 removed since he's consistently ruled in favor of the union on any issue. Of course the union is not going to budge on that one, at least not yet.
If a deal can be struck, it will quickly be ratified by both sides. It will have to be done as soon as possible because D-Day for the league is 12:00 a.m. March 4.
Dolphins:
Not much here, but a couple of players of note have hit the free agent training.
The main player of note is former Rams safety O.J. Atogwe. He's been a sold pro for a few years now, but after being franchised by the Rams the last two years I believe, they decided to go with a cheaper alternative. He could be an interesting player to look at, but his price is too much and he'd take away from the development of Chris Clemons who performed well down the stretch last season.
Another player is Shaun Rogers. He's about 350 pounds and has had the injury bug last year, but when he's healthy, he's about as dominating a nose tackle as you'd see this side of Casey Hampton and Vince Wilfork. If he isn't wanting top-notch money, he could help the Dolphins fill the middle if they don't want to pay Paul Soliai the big money he's going to want.
It would allow the Dolphins to keep Randy Starks at end and put an end rotation of Starks, Langford, Odrick, and Merling to take shape. That's 4 guys north of 300 pounds to play in the 3-4 at defensive end and all of them can move well. Translation: one heckuva defensive line.
Plugging in Rogers would also allow the Fins to focus more energy on the interior offensive line, running back, and another inside linebacker.
Another player the Fins should look at VERY CLOSELY is free agent running back DeAngelo Williams. He's going to be released by the Carolina Panthers and has shown the ability to be a breakaway running back. There's also Ahmad Bradshaw and Darren Sproles. If you signed Williams, it would allow you to concentrate completely in the first three rounds on offensive linemen and tight end.
Here's what you need to know about the Dolphins right now when it comes to personnel:
They need a good young running back, a couple of good interior offensive linemen, and a playmaking tight end. All of that can be found in the draft, if the Fins can put together a good free agency period.
