Sports Agenda for Tuesday (2/1/11)
Big Story:
If you ever wondered just how good LeBron James was, I give you exhibit A, the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs came to Miami to battle LeBron, Wade, and company Monday night. The Cavs went from a finals contender with LeBron last year, to the absolute worst team in the NBA. The Heat pounded the Cavaliers 117-90 last night and pushed the Cavaliers losing streak to 21 straight games. The Cavs have lost 31 of their last 32 games.
So explain to me again why LeBron should've stayed in Cleveland with a team that bad instead of coming to South Beach and joining Wade and Bosh.
Maybe Cleveland fans should be burning the owner in effigy instead of LeBron.
Heat:
Well, there's not much that can be read into beating the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seriously, that's akin to beating NBC6 in the ratings, not exactly the most difficult thing in the world to pull off. But, it's still good to see the Heat beating the teams they're supposed to beat. They've got a much bigger challenge coming on Thursday when they travel up the Turnpike to Orlando to take on Dwight Howard and the Magic.
If the Heat win that game, it'll go a long way towards getting a little more respect.
By the way, if you want to see the most dynamic player in the league, grab a ticket to the Heat's game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. You'll get to see Blake Griffin, who is a human highlight reel. (with all due respect to Dominique Wilkins)
Dolphins:
Well, hours after my article was posted about the fact that the Dolphins can't explore trades until after a new collective bargaining agreement was agreed on, the Sun-Sentinel did a similar article and agreed with my basic premise. It's all about the quarterback and whether or not Chad Henne is the guy. Remember though, I can tell you for a fact, Kevin Kolb of the Philadelphia Eagles is not the guy. The Fins would be better off drafting Cam Newton or Ryan Mallett than trading for Kevin Kolb. And that's even with the fact that Ryan Mallett ain't the sharpest tack in the drawer from published reports.
College Football:
It's less than 24 hours until National Signing Day, do you know where your school stands? Well, if you're a Florida State fan, you're sitting pretty right now atop the national rankings for the 2011 recruiting class. The Noles are poised to bring in one of the best recruiting classes since the school's epic run in the late 80's and early 90's. Apparently there's something in the water in Tallahassee and the recruits are all ready to drink it.
UF will pull in a good class as well and could finish in the top 10 in the nation.
"The U," well, better luck next year guys. UM has fallen way behind in recruiting this year and if Al Golden doesn't hit the ground running a bit harder this year, UM will be the also ran in the state of Florida.
Panthers: @Toronto Maple Leafs (7:00 Fox Sports Florida)
The good news: the Panthers didn't lose last night. The bad news: the Panthers didn't play last night. But, the Maple Leafs are just as bad as the Panthers so there's a good chance for a victory for Florida tonight.
Marlins:
17 days until the Marlins are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs….er….pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. Hard to believe, but baseball season is almost here. The Marlins will be going through the motions this season and planning for next year when they officially open the new Marlins Stadium in Little Havana.