Sports Agenda For Wednesday (3/23/11)
Big Story:
Well, I was going to try to write something nice about the Florida Panthers here. Really, I was. But then they go and lay an egg last night and get shut out. So, let's talk about the only South Florida team that has shown the ability to win in the last 18 months, the Miami Heat.
The Heat are coming off their toughest stretch of the season. While they didn't play well at the beginning, they were on fire by the time the stretch was coming to an end. The wins included a victory over the Lakers, a thumping of the Spurs, a whoopin of the Hawks and a nice victory over a hot Nuggets team.
The Big Three are really starting to gel, I hope. They played lights out against the Spurs and Hawks and came together well to beat Lakers.
Tonight the Heat travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons in what should be a string of victories for the Heat. The Heat play the Pistons, Cleveland, Washington, and Minnesota coming up, so that should be 4 victories right there.
Personally, I've got April 10 circled on the calendar. That's when the Boston Celtics come to town. Now, the Celtics and Heat have clinched playoff spots, and there won't be much to play for in that game. Still, if both teams play their stars, it will be interesting to see if the Heat can finally get over the hump against the Celtics.
Plus, the Fins get fined, the NFL changes rules, the Panthers are still as bad as the NFL's Panthers, the Marlins are on a winning streak?
Marlins: (vs. Atlanta 1:05 p.m. [No TV])
I figured I'd start with the Marlins because they've won 4 of their last 5 games after losing for most of March. Today, the Marlins take on the Atlanta Braves who look to be the number two squad in the NL East. Josh Johnson looked like the number one starter Tuesday when he pitched five shutout innings on just 86 pitches. Nolasco will go for the Fish today against the Braves.
NFL Rules Changes:
Basically, the NFL made a few changes to the kickoff rules and replays. Here's a write-up of it from yesterday.
Heat: (@ Detroit Pistons 7:30 p.m. Sun Sports)
Fun Facts: Mike Bibby has only been with the Heat for 10 games, but for the season, he's the fourth leading scorer on the Heat's roster (including his time in Atlanta).
LeBron is averaging 26.4 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and nearly 1.5 steals per game this y ear.
D-Wade is averaging 25.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1 block per game.
Bosh is averaging 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and is shooting 81 percent from the free throw line.
Panthers: (@ Chicago Blackhawks 8:30 p.m. Fox Sports Florida)
Once again, the Panthers take the ice hoping to avoid the embarrassment of being in last place. Ottawa is closing in on the Panthers. The Senators are currently in last place.
Fun Fact: since the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993, there's been the McSorley curse in place. It stems from the Canadiens coach saying the stick used by Marty McSorley of the LA Kings was too curved. The stick was ruled illegal and the Kings lost the game. The McSorley curse was born.
Since then: no Canadien team has won the Stanley Cup.
