It's Radio Tuesday: We'll be back in-studio with LeBatard and Stugotz today at 3 p.m. on 790 The Ticket and FM 104.3. Ears welcome.
1) It is TUESDAY, JUNE 18. We'll have our Heat-Spurs G6 post right here later today. By the way Uncle Fester I mean Joey Crawford (both pictured) will be among the referees tonight. 2) Bengals on Hard Knocks is further proof that series is struggling for teams to participate. People in Cincinnati are barely interested in the Bengals. 3) Thanks to Paul & Young Ron for having us on Big 105.9 this morning. Always fun. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat G5 loss, Faith Healers, NCAA/UM mess, Miguel Olivo, Sad-O-Meter.
Blog held hostage: Almost, folks. We've been mighty Heat-intensive as you'd expect throughout this playoff run, with no apologies. But right after the championship parade as soon as this thing ends, one way or the other, we'll be back to more of a smorgasbord format. Patience.
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FINALS G6: SPURS @ HEAT: THE FIVE KEYS TO WINNING TONIGHT: 1) Heat must use the crowd for a high-energy fast start. Dwyane Wade has lamented how Miami tends to start off slow; he's right. 2) A
great and efficient game from LeBron James. He shot 56.5% during the season but it's 43.6% in the Finals. And if you take away his
superb Game 4 it's 38.1%. Miami needs LeBron back to his normal (dominant) self. 3) Wade and Bosh must continue to complete a big Big 3 as they've down lately. 4) Better point-guard play. Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole are slumping simultaneously. Stop that! 5) Back to Birdman! Whether Mike Miller starts again or they go back to Udonis Haslem is not as important, to me, as significant doses of Chris Andersen off the bench. Miami remains a betting favorite (see below), even though only three previous times since the 2-3-2 Finals format began in 1985 has a team trailed 3-2 and won two straight at home as Miami must now do. Those were the 1988 Lakers, 1994 Rockets and 2010 Lakers.
WILL THE HEAT DO IT?: Yeah I know, this is another poll predisposed to be Miami-friendly given its place in a MiamiHerald.com blog. But we also know from experience that about half of all votes in our polls come from outside of Florida and that the last time we did a Heat-Spurs poll a huge number rolled in from Texas. Besides, our readers have always been pretty good about voting what they really think more than what they hope. You are challenged again. Will the Heat win two in a row and a repeat championship? Vote now and say why.
Heat still a betting favorite for crown: Despite trailing 3-2 in the Finals Miami still is a 4-5 betting favorite via Bovada, with San Antonio at 21-20. MVP odds entering Game 6 are LeBron James 4-5, Danny Green 2-1, Tony Parker 5-1, Tim Duncan 10-1 and Dwyane Wade 15-1.
CRAIG SAGER BOBBLEHEADS: The minor-league Fort Myers Miracle are planning a Craig Sager Bobblehead Night on June 29, with a scheduled appearance by the sartorially ghastly broadcaster himself. This is a blog. Could I say it if it weren't true?
SAD-O-METER BACK IN HIBERNATION: Marlins have won two in a row -- see, Heat, it isn't that hard! -- and six of past 10 to vault to a .319 winning percentage. The Sad-O-Meter will return if and when the Marlins fall back below 300.
Click back. Will be updating/adding much to this latest blogpost...
1) It is TUESDAY, JUNE 18. Watch for a new Heat-Spurs Game 6 blogpost very soon. 2) Congrats to the Panthers' Jonathan Huberdeau, the club's first-ever NHL rookie of the year. 3) Thanks for NBC Sports national radio for having us on again to talk Heat. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 4 win, Dolphins poll result, Marlins Sad-O-Meter.
New column from San Antonio and Game 5 Heat loss: Click on It Don't Come Easy for my latest column, on the job Miami has left itself with a 3-2 series deficit.
FINALS G5: SPURS 114, HEAT 104: POOR SHOOTING, BAD DEFENSE PUSH MIAMI'S BACK TO WALL: Heat shot only 43 percent Sunday night in the Game 5 loss but giving up 114 points and 60 percent shooting to the Spurs was worse. Can't blame the Big 3, which combined for 66 points. And Ray Allen had 21 off the bench. Miami simply must play more tenacious defense, especially against Danny Green, whom they have allowed to score an NBA Finals-record 25 3-point baskets in five games. Heat now have gone 12 consecutive playoff games this year without back-to-back wins. But they won't repeat as champs unless they end that slump and win the next two at home. Winning Sunday could have made things so much easier. But what fun is easy, right? Watch for my column from San Antonio off tonight's loss online. ..... Original post: Strange, isn't? This Heat team won a club-record 66 games including 27 in a row but the question attached to Miami tonight is, "Can they
win two in a row?" They haven't since the second round of this postseason, an 0-5 stretch after wins that has this NBA Finals
knotted 2-2. That must change if a repeat title is to happen, because if they don't win a second in a row in tonight's Game 5, they'd need to win two in a row back in Miami in Games 6-7. I still feel like the far greater pressure is on San Antonio tonight. In a 2-2 Finals, Game 5 winners have won the title 20 of 27 times, and that likelihood would be even greater for a Miami team with two straight chances at home. Miami is expected to continue its small-ball starting lineup with Mike Miller in place of Udonis Haslem. All breakdowns of analytics show Miami is better when Chris Bosh (or Birdman Andersen or Haslem) is the only "big" on the floor. That stretches the Spurs' defense and provides space for LeBron and D-Wade. Should be an emotional night in central Texas, as San Antonians might be seeing their own Big 3 on the home floor for the last time. The Heat need to send them home quiet to lock down another championship.
FOR HEAT'S BIG 3, GAME 4 WAS ABOUT RESTORING FAITH: It wasn't the how as much as the
who that restored so much faith in that Finals-tying Game 4 win the other night. The Heat's Big 3 collectively -- and LeBron James,
Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh individually -- hadn't been themselves much of this postseason. Doubts crept in. But Thursday they made all of that go away. Thursday the Big 3 were exactly what we were cheering in that arena celebration three summers ago: Dominance. Not one, not two, but three stars, all aligned. They must be that twice more for Miami to repeat as champs, but I think everything changed with Game 4. Title likelihood swung back to Miami, and trust in the Big 3 blueprint was restored. I explore this fully in my Saturday column from San Antonio. Click Restoring Faith to read.
NCAA WILL COME OUT OF THIS PROTRACTED MESS LOOKING WORSE THAN CANES: So the NCAA infractions committee hearings on the UM/Nevin Shapiro case are finished and now we wait six weeks
for the verdict on possible additional lpunishments, and then likely more time as Miami appeals the decision. The question now: Which will end first? This saga that has already dragged on more than three years, or Shapiro's prison senetnec? (He's serving 20 years). I am as convinced as ever that the NCAA, with the bungled, corrupted investigation by its enforcement wing, will come out of this with its reputation damaged far more irreparably than The U's. (I took this photo of NCAA headquarters while in Indianapolis for the Heat-Pacers series. Based on recent history, the side of the building should have had a giant red clown nose affixed to it).
CATCHER OLIVO QUITS ON MARLINS: Speaking of clowns, catcher Miguel Olivo walks out on the Marlins in the middle of the national anthem. He was upset about lack of playing time and team had ignored his request for a release. Dude, you're 34 and hitting .203. What a punk move. Whatever "professionalism" means, this act was its antonym.
SAD-O-METER IS BACK! (BARELY...):We have this blog feature we update as long as Marlins' winning
percentage is under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. Well, after the briefest hiatus, and by the barest of margins, last night's loss brings us back! Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record 20-47, .299. Season projection: 48.36 wins, 113.64 losses.
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1) It is FRIDAY, JUNE 14. Meal of the trip so far was lunch (right) at Bill Miller's BBQ, a cafeteria-style joint as unpretentious as its name, but a San Antonio legend. (At least to me). Green beans some of the best I've had. 2) Thanks to ESPN's Mike & Mike for having me on the radio. Did it at 6:45 a.m. in San Antonio. That's an ungodly hour. I looked out my hotel window while doing the show and saw the devil rummaging through a dumpster. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 3 loss, SI on UM/NCAA, Dolphins poll, Pats recycle Tebow, Shula No. 3, 'I Just Shipped My Pants.'
Click on Welcome Back, Big 3 for my column from San Antonio off last night's Heat Game 4 victory.
FINALS G4: HEAT 109, SPURS 93: TOUR DE FORCE EFFORT FOR WADE, JAMES and BOSH: LeBron James 33 points, 11 rebounds. Dwyane Wade 32 points, 6 steals. Chris Bosh 20 points, 13 rebounds. Welcome back, Big 3. What an emphatic, tremendous performance in Game 4 by those three individually and as a troika. Redemption is theirs. They saved the season last night. A team never has overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a title; that was the mountain Miami avoided. Now it is assured this Finals will end back in Miami, on the Heat's home floor. See link directly above to my Game 4 column from San Antonio. ..... Original post: Bench Wade! Trade Bosh! How 'bout we try this first: Wake LeBron! Surprised the panic hasn't yet reached a level where somebody in the
national media is suggesting Pat Riley swoop in and take over for Erik Spoelstra. It's only a 2-1 series, folks. If Miami wins Game 4 tonight -- which seems likely, based on the Heat not
losing consecutive games since Jan. 10 -- then an all-is-well calm will sweep once more across South Florida. If not, OK, then we panic. As I write in today's column (link is above), Miami needs its Big 3 to be big again, starting with LeBron. He wore a T-shirt cape-style yesterday (pictured), which had better be an omen, because Miami needs its Superman back. The league MVP is averaging 16.7 points on 38.9 percent shooting in the Finals. That cannot continue. James must assert himself offensively. And the time to do so is growing frightfully short. The Lakers' Metta World Peace said he thinks the Spurs are mentally stronger. He said, "I think LeBron and Bosh, they want it to be given to them. I don't think they're taking it upon themselves like a Jordan would have done." Ouch. As much as it pains me to lend credence to a man calling himself "Metta World Peace," the onus is on LeBron, Bosh (and Wade) to prove all the critics and doubters wrong, all over again. Tonight.
Poll results: Dolfans oddly optimistic: We asked how optimistic you are the Dolphins will be a playoff team this season, and a plurality of 46.1 percent voted "somewhat/60% chance." Another 30.4 percent voted "very/80%" and only 23.5 percent voted "marginal/40%." We call that oddly optimistic because 76.5 percent thinking playoffs does not jibe with the Vegas over/under of 7.5 on Miami wins. That isn't a playoff number.
RETURN OF SAD-O-METER!: We have this blog feature we update as long as Marlins' winning percentage is
under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. It had tipped up over .300 briefly, but last night's 10-1 loss to Milwaukee restores order. Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record, 19-46 (.292). Season projection, 47.35 wins, 114.65 losses.
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1) It is WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12. I'm no apologist for athlete misbehavior, but it feels like Chad Johnson just got a 30-day sentence for a pretty silly reason. 2) "No, I don't watch 'Game of Thrones,'" he said rather proudly. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 2 win, poll result, Marlins Sad-O-Meter.
New SI report on UM, NCAA: Click HERE for the new Sports Illustrated special report on the Miami Hurricanes/Nevin Shapiro scandal now being deliberated by the NCAA. It is entitled, "The Hurricane That Blew Through Miami Flattens the NCAA." SI details how Shapiro used inside information to gamble, and also outlines the overriding ineptitude of the NCAA's handling of this case.
FINALS G3: SPURS 113, HEAT 77: MIAMI IN 2-1 HOLE AS BIG 3 MANAGE ONLY 43 POINTS: A worst playoff loss in franchse history does not happen without an avalanche of bad stuff happening, and it did for Miami in San Antonio Tuesday night in a rout that has the Heat down 2 games to 1 entering Thursday night's Game 4. The Heat's defense allowed an NBA Finals-record 16 3-point baskets. Allowed two guys named Danny Green and Gary Neal to beat them. On the other end, LeBron James managed only 15 points on 7-for-21 shooting. Dwyane Wade (16) and Chris Bosh (12) also were below their season averages. Mario Chalmers followed a 19-point game with zero Tuesday. Honestly, other than Mike Miller going 5-for-5 on 3's, just about everybody and everything sucked for Miami. The Heat can bounce back Thursday -- it is what Miami does -- but, once again, the Big 3, and especially LeBron himself, simply must do more on the offensive end. Watch out for my Game 3 column from San Antonio. ..... Original post: Click on LeBron Good Even When He's Bad for my column off Miami's series-tying win. Tonight comes the first of three in San
Antonio, and Heat fans are longing for the days when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were good for a bankable 60-plus combined points. Wade and Bosh's below-average post-seasons offensively continue. Even LeBron has scored only 18 and 17 the first two games of the Finals. Somebody needs to break out. The pressure is most on Wade. Doesn't help that ESPN.com asks whether Miami would be better off using Wade as a sixth man, as the Spurs deploy Manu Ginobili. Bench Wade? I don't think you make that seismic move in an even Finals, coming off a big win. Major chemistry issues are in play. Miami must win at least one of the next three to stretch the series back to Miami, and can seize real control by taking two of the next three. Every game in a seven-game series is bigger than the last, tonight no exception.
DOLPHINS OFFSEASON POLL: IS THIS A PLAYOFF TEAM?: Dolphin stage a three-day mini-camp this week amid a general consensus that, between free agency and the draft, the offseason has been good to Miami. GM Jeff Ireland with rote optimism says he thinks the team has "closed the gap" on AFC East beast New England. There seems to be a disconnect, though. The 2013 Las Vegas over/under on Dolphins win is 7.5. That is not a playoff number. So which is it? Let's get an early pulse-read on optimism, Dolfans. It's only June but you have a sense of it, right? And I know that you'll once again answer the call to vote what you honestly feel right now, in the gut, not what you wish. Let's go!
PATS RECYCLE TIM TEBOW: New life breathes into Tim Tebow's formerly forlorn status as an out-of-
work, future-less NFL phenom by his signing today with none other than Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Since anything Belichick does is genius, that makes Tebow great again. (Right?) Wildcat redux? We'll see. Chances are Tebow will be waived by late summer and on the side of the road with his thumb out again, but, for now, the imprimatur of Belichick -- NFL devil, the pro Nick Saban -- means America's favorite Christian is baa-aaack!
SHULA: "WE'RE NO. 3! WE'RE...": ESPN's experts-panel list of all-time greatest NFL coaches slots Dolphins icon Don Shula No. 3. The top 10 is 10-Curly Lambeau, 9-Joe Gibbs, 8-Tom Landry, 7-Bill Belichick, 6-Paul Brown, 5-Chuck Noll, 4-George Halas, 3-Shula, 2-Bill Walsh and 1-Vince Lombardi. (Well, No.1 will be announced Tuesday, but if it isn't Lombardi I'll Prancercise from here to Green Bay). Also notable: Bill Parcells 11th, Jimmy Johnson 13th. I think Shula third is fair, although I'd bet it tweaks him being behind Walsh.
"I JUST SHIPPED MY PANTS!" (K MART HAS A BRILLIANT AD AGENCY): You could only get me into a K Mart at gunpoint, but I'd admit the discount retailer has hit twice in a row now with gone-viral advertising videos. Click on I Ship My Pants and Big Gas Savings to see. They are unbelievably low-brow and sophomoric. Why do you think I like them so much!? "Ship" here sounds like a variation ending with a 't' and "big gas" sounds like 'big ass' and it's intellectually dumb but an absolute hoot for 30 seconds.
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1) It is MONDAY, JUNE 10. The Monday live blog chat remains on hiatus, today because we are off prior to our trip to San Antonio. Stay tuned for the chat's return. 2) Click Random Evidence for our latest Sunday notes column, leading with the Heat-Spurs Finals and the toll it exacts on fans. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 1 loss, LeBron on NBA 2K14, Heat confidence-level poll, Marlins win in 20, Serena wins French, List: Big 3 vs. Big 3.
FINALS G2: HEAT 103, SPURS 84: BALANCED OFFENSE, BIG D LIFT MIAMI: Mario Chalmers as the leading scorer with 19 points is not the common Heat recipe for success, but it works when you have seven players with 9 or more points and you play terrific defense, forcing 17 Spurs turnovers and allowing only 41 percent shooting. It also works when Mike Miller and Ray Allen are popping three 3's each. And it works when the combo of this balanced offense and great D are fashioning a 33-5 second-half run. LeBron James had only eight points on 3-for-13 shooting entering the fourth quarter but still managed to end up with 17 and create the game's most memorable play -- his emphatic fourth-quarter block of Tiago Splitter's attempted dunk. We are constantly reminded how great Le Bron is. Here's the latest reminder: LeBron's so great, even his bad games are good. (Watch for my column off the game online). ..... Original post: Miami is 4-4 in it past eight playoff games and 0-1 in the Finals heading into Sunday night's Game 2 here. Something isn't right, and we don't need an arcane bog of analytics or sabermetrics here to figure out what it is. Break it down to three men and bottom-line numbers. 1)
Dwyane Wade's regular season to playoff averages have cascaded from 52.1% shooting and 21.2 points to 44.8% and 14.3 points. 2) Chris Bosh's numbers have tumbled from 53.5% and 16.6 points to 44.9% and 12.3 points. 3) Shane Battier's 3-point accuracy has fallen in half, from 43.0% to a startling 21.9%. He is 14-for-64, one postseaeson after leading the NBA with 42-for-110. Battier's icy fingers can be compensated for if Ray Allen or Mike Miller (who has taken his minutes) are hitting, but Wade and Bosh together (pictured) are 11.2 points per game off their season averages -- and that's huge. In a sport, at a time of year, where just a few points are the difference between wins and losses, championships and disappointment, that's huge. LeBron's season-to-playoffs numbers in those two categories also are slightly down -- 56.5% and 26.8 to 51.0% and 25.7 -- but he does so much overall that he is absolutely the last guy you'd target for doing too little. Overall, though, Miami's BIg 3 scoring average has lost 12.3 points from its season average, and that's been tough to overcome. Dwyane's right knee has troubled him and Bosh's ankle isn't perfect, but history won't care. If Miami fails to repeat, history will only note that LeBron didn't get enough help. The chances to set this right are growing small.
Poll result: Heat fans still confident but Texas votes skew overall numbers: We asked in previous blogpost how confident you are Heat still win win championship after a Game 1 home loss (you may still vote), and results were split. Slightly more than half remain confident ('very' 26.6%, 'fairly' 25.3%). Slightly less than half are less so ('not at all sure' 19.8%, 'not optimistic' 28.3%). However! A breakdown of votes is telling. More than half of votes have come from Florida and Texas, in that order. In Florida, the combined very/fairly confident vote is 70.1%. In Texas, those voting 'not at all sure' or 'not optimistic' (as if they were Heat fans) totaled 78.5%. No matter. Our blog knows no borders, and all are welcome. God Bless America!
UPDATED SAD-O-METER: MARLINS WIN IN EXTRAS AGAIN: We have this new blog feature we update as
long as Marlins' winning percentage is under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. However, in honor of Saturday's 20-inning win and last night's in extras, both over the Mets, we have temporarily replaced our Sad Baseball Face with a happy face. Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record, 18-44 (.290). Season projection, 47.03 wins, 114.97 losses.
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1) It is SATURDAY, JUNE 8. LeBron James finally has the one little career honor that had eluded him. He's on the cover of NBA 2K14 (pictured), his first time fronting that video game. Click here for the brief trailer promoting the Oct. 1 release. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NBA Finals poll, Heat-Spurs betting odds, Biogenesis baseball scandal, UM football title chances, Marlins Sad-O-Meter.
POLL: WHAT DOES A GAME 1 HOME LOSS DO TO A FAN'S CONFIDENCE?: Heat fans are wrestling with themselves, down 1-0 in these Finals, home-court advantage squandered. Is confidence unwavering and seeing this as a mere minor blip? Or is confidence shaken to a point Miami feels like the underdog now? Or is it somewhere in between? I wonder if fans can really even be honest with themselves. If one wants so badly for a Heat repeat-title, mustn't wishful thinking be part of any claim to continued supreme confidence. All of this is worth gauging today. So vote and say why you feel as you do. And vote honestly. If you can...
FINALS G1: SPURS 92, HEAT 88: MIAMI TIRES, SQUANDERS FOURTH-QUARTER LEAD: The Heat had five turnovers in the fourth quarter. San Antonio had four the entire game. You want a telling stats? There it is. LeBron and D-Wade both blamed the loss at least in part on physical condition, with Miami coming off a 7-game conference finals series and San Antonio with a week's more rest. "We were a little fatigued," said Wade of the late going. "We looked like a team coming off a seven-game series." James corroborated, saying, "I could see it in a few of our guys' faces." Well, get lots of rest the next two days, fellas. Game 2 Sunday. Look for my column off the Game 1 loss online. ..... Original post: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh vs. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Only 52 percent in an ESPN SportsNation poll say Miami's
Big 3 is better. (See a stats comparison in The List below). And, although Miami is favored by betting odds, 51% in that same national poll say San Antonio will win and 65% are rooting for the Spurs to win. All of this fine is fine if you're a Heat fan because you know your team tends to play very well when challenged
or doubted. (In that spirit I would throw in that a landlside 86% called SA's Gregg Popovich a better coach than Erik Spoelstra. I too think Pops is a great coach, although we Gregs secretly resent Gregs who feel the need to add that second 'g' to the end of the name. It's uneccesary. It's haughty. It's like Tom calling himself 'Thom'. Where was I!?) There is a strain of thought that Indiana gave Miami a harder time than San Antonio will. That's false. Spurs are not as physical and don't rebound as well but are a better all-round team, especially offensively. How the Heat guard Parker (mostly with Mario Chalmers) will be as important as how Kawhi Leonard fares defending LeBron. The key, of course, will be Wade ansd Bosh performing better overall than they did most of the Eastern finals, and I think San Antonio presents a better matchup for that than did Indy. Finals prediction: Heat in 7.
Uh oh. Gamblers flocking to Spurs: This from Kevin Bradley, sports book manager for Bovada: "The fact that the Heat had to go to 7 games with the Pacers seems to have left a negative impression with our bettors who have been increasingly betting more on the Spurs for the Series." Bradley said 66 percent of the public is on the Spurs against the line, and that just over 60% of the money was on San Antonio plus-5 points in Game 1. "It is not often during the regular season we are fans of the Heat here at the book," Bradley said, "but during the playoffs they have given us some great results so far."
Poll result: Heat in six games (and in general): We admitted all along that a poll in a Miami Herald blog (you may still vote) naturally is skewed heavily toward the Heat, and sure enough 86.4 percent picked a Miami championship, with most (55.2%) calling it in six games. Votes rolled in from 44 states and 40 countries. Not surprisingly, after Florida, most votes came from Texas, where 59.5% overall picked the Spurs.
MARLINS WIN IN 20 INNINGS: Longest game in Marlins history. That's blog-worthy. Fish win at Mets today 2-1, in 20. Shouldn't that count as two wins? Marlins could use the help.
"U-S-A!" SERENA TAKES THE FRENCH: This morning in Paris Serena Williams dusted Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 to become the first American to win tennis' French Open since Serena herself did way back in 2002. A truly remarkable career adds another page.
THE LIST: BIG 3 VS. BIG 3: Miami's vs. San Antonio's based on regular-season and playoff averages for points, rebounds and assists entering The Finals:
MIAMI Regular-season Playoffs
LeBron James 26.8 - 8.0 - 7.3 26.2 - 7.3 - 6.4
Dwyane Wade 21.2 - 5.0 - 5.1 14.1 - 4.9 - 4.9
Chris Bosh 16.6 - 6.8 - 1.7 12.3 - 6.6 - 1.2
Totals 64.6 - 19.8 - 14.1 52.6 - 18.8 - 12.5
SAN ANTONIO Regular-season Playoffs
Tim Duncan 17.8 - 9.9 - 2.7 17.8 - 9.2 - 2.1
Tony Parker 20.3 - 3.0 - 7.6 23.0 - 3.9 - 7.2
Manu Ginobili 11.8 - 3.4 - 4.6 11.5 - 4.5 - 5.4
Totals 49.9 - 16.3 - 14.9 52.3 - 17.6 - 14.7
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THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS!: San Antonio's own Big 3 is on a regional Sports Illustrated cover this week, and is labeled 'The Biggest 3.' Ouch. Take umbrage, Heat Big 3. Take umbrage and seethe. Take umbrage, seethe and be fueled.
1) It is THURSDAY, JUNE 6. Watch for Heat-Spurs Finals Game 1 preview post in the blog by early afternoon today. 2) A Panthers/Sunrise arean source told me this Saturday's Fleetwood Mac concert has been canceled. 3) R.I.P. Deacon Jones, iconic name, QB-plunderer who coined the word "sack." 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 7 win, List: Home Game 7s, Marlins Sad-O-Meter.
"A Florida woman, Gloria C. Mackenzie, 84, has claimed that $590 million Powerball jackpot. The happiest people on Earth today? Her heirs." --Greg Cote
Click Heat: Rising for my column off team's Game 7 victory.
THE NBA FINALS POLL: HEAT OR SPURS? HOW MANY GAMES?: Yes, I know. A Heat poll appearing in a Miami Herald blog will obviously skew toward Heat fans and hardly be a scientific cross-section. Sort of like taking a favorite-fast-food survey in a McDonald's. Nevertheless! Our polls generally draw about a 50/50 breakdown of votes from Florida and from elsewhere; more than just fans of Miami teams are readers here. In addition, you all have shown an impressive ability to answer honestly when I put out a call -- as I do here -- to please vote what you honestly predict will happen, not what you hope will. Besides, it's just a blog poll! Vote and say why.
Heat, LeBron top Finals betting odds: Our friends at Bovada have Heat a 5-12 NBA Finals betting favorite, with Spurs 2-1. LeBron James is a huge MVP pick at 4-9, followed by Tony Parker 9-2, Tim Duncan 7-1 and Dwyane Wade 8-1. Series scoring over/unders include LeBron 27.5, Parker 21.5, Wade and Duncan both 17 and Chris Bosh 14.5.
MIAMI AT CENTER OF LATEST BASEBALL SCANDAL: Various reports are that stars Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun are among some 20 players who will be suspended by MLB for their involvement in the Biogenesis Clinic scandal. A-Rod of course is Miami-raised, Braun is a UM alum and the clinic was located in Coral Gables. This story has us written all over it. Rodriguez, near the end of what should have been a first-ballot Hall of Fame career, could see that Cooperstown future obliterated by steroids. Braun, nearer the beginning of a promising career, also will never fully overcome the stain. Sad, sad.
CANES FOOTBALL A RISING DARKHORSE FOR NATIONALTITLE: It's funny. The Dolphins are getting the hype this offseason but the betting odds (7.5 over/under on wins) says it's unjustified. That's a non-
playoff number. The Miami Hurricanes have gotten far less local hype, but these numbers suggest they merit much more: Bovada's new national-title odds have UM tied for 11th at 28-1. Alabama a big frontrunner to repeat at 3-1, then it's Ohio State and Texas A&M at 13-2 and Oregon at 7-1. (Florida is 20-1, FSU 33-1). Canes also making noise in Heisman Trophy odds, with RB Duke Johnson (pictured) at 14-1 (tie/8th) and QB Stephen Morris 25-1 (tie/15th).
Adjusted baseball odds: Also from Bovada, Tigers now the World Series fave at 13-2, ahead of Braves and Cardinals at 8-1 and Rangers at 17-2. Marlins dead-last at 5,000-1. Any takers?
UPDATED SAD-O-METER: MARLINS BACK ON LOSING TRACK: We have this new blog feature we update as
long as Marlins' winning percentage is under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. Now, three straight losses have set things wrong, putting the team back near pace to challenge the Mets' loss record. Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record, 16-44 (.267). Season projection, 43.2 wins, 118.8 losses.
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Me on ESPN's OTL: Thanks to ESPN's Outside The Lines for having us on yesterday to talk Heat-Pacers Game 7. Dan Le Batard texted me this screenshot without explanation. It's how we make fun of each other.
1) It is TUESDAY, JUNE 4. Watch for a new blogpost by late morning today. 2) Hall of Fame QB (and former Cane) Jim Kelly is battling cancer in his upper jaw. We wish him all the best. 3) Forgettable season for UM baseball by that program's standards. 4) Have not forgotten about the Monday live blog chats. They are on temporary hiatus; stay tuned. 5) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 6 loss, Marlins Sad-O-Meter.
G7: HEAT 99, PACERS 76: LEBRON, WADE, DEFENSE LEAD BACK BACK TO NBA FINALS!: Emphatic. Impressive. Pick a word. Miami rose up like the champion it is Monday night in routing Indiana in Game 7 for the Eastern Conference title and a third straight trip to the NAB Finals. LeBron was LeBron with 32 points. The key was Dwyane Wade's active night producing 21 points -- and ending his career-worst streak of 12 straight without 20. Just about everything worked for Miami. The Heat out-rebounded the taller Heat and played terrific defense. Watch for my column off the game posting online. Original post: We'd settle for the Big 2 tonight, wouldn't we? For Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh -- if not both -- to be the players Big 1 LeBron James came here to join? Bosh has had three straight games of 7, 7 and 5 points, worst stretch of his NBA career at the worst moment, a very big man going very small. And Wade, limited by that bruised right
knee, is on a career-worst streak of 12 straight games failing to score 20 points. At least one of them needs to come up big tonight or there is a real chance it will be the
underdog Indiana Pacers advancing past this Eastern Conference finals. There have been indications of internal discord in the buildup to tonight. LeBron after Game 5 saying he "went back to my Cleveland days" by doing it all himself offensively was all but saying he doesn't have enough help. Then after the Game 6 loss LeBron gently called out Wade and Bosh, saying it was "obvious" they were struggling. Wade invited controvery by saying he needs more "opportunities," meaning more shots, more plays called for him. And he took a gentle swipe at LeBron trying to do too much by saying the team can't be just one man trying to "self-will it." Wade calling for a bigger role is curious because A) his knee is limiting him, and B) he isn't making enough of the shots he is getting. (Chicken-and-egg thing, perhaps. Start hot, Dwayne, hit a few early, and chances are the normal flow will see you more involved). All of this stuff will be drowned out by celebrating noise and forgotten if Miami wins tonight and sails on to the NBA Finals vs. San Antonio. But a loss would send everything crashing. The sky would fall. The national media would declare the Heat's great Big 3 experiment as "one (championship) and done." That is why tonight is simply one of the biggest games in South Florida sports history. Delicioso!
Manners, please: Pacers center Roy Hibbert fined $75,000 by NBA for his postgame tirade after Game 6, when he used the words "homo" and "motherf---er."
THE LIST: HOME GAME 7'S: Tonight will be only the eighth playoff series Game 7 played at home in the history of the Heat, Marlins or Panthers. A reverse chronology:
Date Result Situation
6-3-13 Heat vs. Pacers Conference finals
6-9-12 Heat 101, Celtics 88 Conference finals
4-26-12 Devils 3, Panthers (2OT) First round
6-6-05 Pistons 88, Heat 82 Conference finals
5-4-04 Heat 85, Hornets 77 First round
5-21-00 Knicks 83, Heat 82 Second round
10-26-97 Marlins 3, Indians 2 (11i) World Series
6-18-97 Heat 101, Knicks 90 Second round
UPDATED SAD-O-METER: MARLINS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT: We have this new blog feature we update as
long as Marlins' winning percentage is under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. Well, nine straight losses have been followed by three straight wins. Much more of this and the S-O-M will go into hiatus. Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record, 16-41 (.281). Season projection, 45.47 wins, 116.53 losses.
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1) It is SUNDAY, JUNE 2. R.I.P. Jean Stapleton. The beloved Edith Bunker from TV's All In The Family has died at 90. 2) Click on Random Evidence for today's latest Sunday notes column. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Best/Worst: LeBron and Loria, Birdman suspended, Sad-O-Meter, Prancercise, Exxxotica.
Pacers' Hibbert loses mind in postgame news conference: He referred to his teammates scratching each others' backs and felt the need to add, "no homo." Asked why he finished so low in defensive player of the year voting, he blamed "motherf---er sports writers" who didn't watch him play. Hibbert has since apologized, but I'd expect a league fine prior to Monday's Game 7.
On NBA's caging of Birdman: I can't argue that Heat supersub Chris (Birdman) Andersen did not deserve a suspension from Game 6 for his thuggery upon Pacer Tyler Hansbrough the previous game. Bird lost control; it was quite ridiculous. What I do dislike is retroactive punishment, a day later.
G6: PACERS 91, HEAT 77: NO HELP FOR LEBRON, MISERABLE SHOOTING DOOM MIAMI: Heat shot a sorry 36.1 percent Saturday, but here's what ever worse. Take away the 10-for-18 on 3-point shots, and Miami shot 29.6 percent (16-54) on 2-point shots. LeBron James with 29 points was even more a one-man show than usual lately. Nobody else had more than 10, by Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers. And wade was off again, shooting only 3-for-11, while invisible Chris Bosh whispered in five points on 1-for-8 shooting. Don't you dare blame the loss on Chris (Birdman) Andersen's suspension. Joel Anthony filled in capably with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Birdman was not the difference. Sub-30% shooting on regular shots was, along with LeBron being stuck on an offensive island again. Original post: Heat success starts with LeBron and with defense, not always in that order. LeBron in the third quarter and defensive intensity the
entire second half are what won crucial Game 5 and gave Miami the chance to close it out tonight in Indianapolis. That intensity needs to be there from the start. The suspension of important reserve Chris
(Birdman) Andersen challenges the team to replace his intensity, but also allows Miami to flex its bench, one of its strengths compared to Indiana. "We have to accept it and move on," coach Erik Spoelstra said after this morning's shootaround, of the suspension. "Next man up." We'll also see who steps up to help LeBron. Still waiting on Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to bust out of their offensive slumps despite neither being 100 percent healthy. Miami would be favored in a Game 7 if needed, of course, but tonight is all about avoiding that and gaining a couple extra days' rest.
UPDATED SAD-O-METER: MARLINS ON A ROLL (RELATIVELY SPEAKING): We have this new blog feature we update as
long as Marlins' winning percentage is under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. Well, nine straight losses have been followed by two straight wins. Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record, 15-41 (.268). Season projection, 43.39 wins, 118.61 losses.
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1) It is SATURDAY, JUNE 1. Watch for our Heat-Pacers Game 6 post from Indianapolis by early-mid- afternooon. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat Game 5 win, Heat biggest-problem poll, LeBron fined, Hands-Free Whopper Holder, Armando Salguero, Sad-O-Meter.
Birdman suspended by NBA from Game 6: David (Gramps) Stern did not like Chris (Birdman) Andersen shoving Indiana's Tyler (Annoying) Hansbrough last night. He "should have been ejected," the commissioner said Friday. "A serious review of his activities is called for." That suggested a possible suspension from Game 6 Saturday -- which the league handed down today. Will likely mean more minutes for Joel (Forgotten) Anthony.
THE BEST AND THE WORST. MIAMI HAS BOTH ON FULL DISPLAY: Mentioning Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in the same sentence as Heat superstar LeBron James is a bit like spooning a pile of dog poo onto the plate beside the filet mignon, but it occurs to me Miami has the absolute best and worst in all of sports -- the greatest of all and the most vilified of any -- and that both men are on full display right
now, doing what they do. Last night, LeBron's 30 points and tour de force third quarter were carrying the Heat to a 3-2 Eastern Conference finals lead over Indiana and closer to a second straight NBA championship, just the freshest evidence that nobody in any American sport is greater or more dominant than LeBron right now. Around the same time, the
Marlins team ruined by the hated owner Loria was losing a ninth consecutive game and is now on pace to lose more than even the woe-standard '62 Mets. (See our Sad-O-Meter feature below for the unfortunate quantification). Loria somehow thought he could get away with betraying the public who built him a new ballpark by decimating his team payroll again. He either thought his cheap, minor-league-quality roster would somehow win or that fans would blindly show up anyway. He's been dead wrong on both counts. Loria has made the Marlins a laughingstock and left fans no choice but to count days until he is gone. Sports' two extremes -- both ours. You know what, though? If this is our deal with the devil, we'll take it right? If I told you the new stadium had transformed Loria into a big-spending, likeable owner of a competitive ballclub but that meant LeBron never took his talents to South Beach ... would you make that trade? Joy is more powerful than heartache in the sports arena. Happiness trumps anger. Among all of the benefits and pleasures of calling LeBron James our own, there is this: The success he embodies and pride he brings to South Florida make it a little easier to stomach -- or better yet ignore -- Loria and his kingdom in ruins.
SAD-O-METER: NINE LOSSES IN ROW HAVE MARLINS HURTLING TO IGNOMINY!: We have this new blog
feature we update as long as Marlins' winning percentage is under .300 -- as long as the New York Mets' infamous 1962 record of 40-120 (.250) is within dubious reach. Well, nine straight losses now have the S-O-M exploding on record pace. Updated Sad-O-Meter: Current record, 13-41 (.241). Season projection, 39.0 wins, 123.0 losses.
MEET 'PRANCERISE': A strange-looking woman with 1970s Texas hair (pictured) has developed an exercise program called Prancercise. It is the marriage of slow jogging and fey dance steps to a little bit of an equine beat. (Or is it a cameltoe beat? OY!) Click HERE for the video but be warned: It as as creepy as it is unintentionally funny, and you may never be the same for having watched it. It would be bizarre to see a woman in a park actually doing this. The word has not yet been invented for what it would be like to see a man doing this.
EXXXOTICA EXPO: The annual festival devoted to sex (and if necessary, love) moves from South Beach this year to the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale today through Sunday. Pictured: Adult-film star Teagan Presley rocking the Birdman-like tats. Odds Teagan Presley has heard of Chris Andersen: 15-to-1.
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