Dwyane Wade for MVP

     There may be parochial bias here, sure, but the Heat's Dwyane Wade should win the NBA's MVP award. Nobody else has meant so much to his team. Wade has carried Miami through its many injuries and through Shaq's decline. His average is up and his turnovers down. He may be the best two-way player in the league.

     Wade is top-10 in scoring, steals and assists. Most remarkably, he has raised his game to that proverbial other level, averaging 33 points on 55 percent shooting the past two months.

     ESPN.com analyst Will Perdue, who played with Michael Jordan, says: "A lot of players have been compared to MJ over the years, but Dwyane Wade is the closest to having the game and charisma to carry it off."

     The MVP is not Steve Nash, not Kobe Bryant, not Tony Parker, not Dirk Nowitzki, not Chauncey Billups, not LeBron James, Elton Brand, Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, Gilbert Arenas or anybody else.

     The MVP is Dwyane Wade.

     Nash probably will win (again). But Wade should.

     Who are your picks for will win, and should win?

Romario still kicking, and locally

     Romario was the most celebrated name in international soccer in a large chunk of the '90s, a national hero in Brazil. Now he has signed with Miami FC, a new team in the second-tier United Soccer League. The team also signed for Brazilian star Zinho.

     Romario is 40 and Zinho 38. Does anybody among us outside of nostaglic Brazilians still care?

     Having said that, it took a deep-pockets Brazilian ownership to make it happen. What say you guys write a check to the Marlins and earmark "new stadium" in the lower-left corner?

Wacky Anna divorcing Kris

     And it's official: Orioles pitcher Kris Benson has replaced Lou Gehrig as the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Ahoy! NFL grounds showboats

     You know what? I can't work up any outrage against the NFL for voting to sock choreographed end-zone celebrations with a 15-yard penalty.

     They're not saying you can't spike the ball or say "Yay!" or do your little dance. They're saying leave the props out of it. Otherwise, before long, Chad Johnson is shooting fireworks from a shoulder rocket, Joe Horn is playing a trumpet, and Terrell Owens is wearing a Carmen Miranda hat.

     I've always sort of thought that scoring a touchdown in a packed stadium on national TV was its own reward, one not requiring the punctuation of a contrived celebration of self. I could be wrong.

Serena, super-sized

     No. No, we are not starting a rumor that Serena Williams, the tennis player, is among American Idol finalists, performing as Mandisa. However, we will admit that Serena has put on a noticable amount of weight and that her lack of fitness was a big reason she is not playing in the Nasdaq-100 on Key Biscayne.

     Serena's outside interests (acting, clothing design, snacking) have taken away from her tennis in a way that is annoying the sport's Old (Lady) Guard. Martina Navratilova criticizes Serena for wasting her prime. Now Chris Evert chastises her in an open letter in the May issue of Tennis magazine.

     I say it's Serena's life and let her live it. I say she can have it all: Win Wimbledon; design a godawful dress; accept a role in a movie we'll never see; have another Whopper; rally to upset Chris on Idol ... you go girl!

Dolphins feeling Super; are you?

     "They play the Super Bowl here next year, and I'll be damned if we're not the ones playing in our own stadium." -- Receiver Chris Chambers.

     "I agree with Chris." -- Owner Wayne Huizenga.

     "We will be champions in South Florida again." -- Coach Nick Saban.

     All of that optimism has been uttered in the past few days as a sense of momentum builds in South Florida toward a Dolphins team that ended last season with six straight wins and whose offseason improvements have included QB Daunte Culpepper.

     Is the leap of faith from 9-7 to Super Bowl talk justified and realistic? Here is my question for Dolfans: Do you expect to be in the Super Bowl this season? Not hope or wish but expect.

Two words: Joey Harrington?

     Joey Harrington is all but getting booed out of Detroit, which is why the Lions are shopping their four-year starting QB and have put a price tag on him that's the NFL equivalent of pocket change.

     Miami is interested. And should be -- despite Harrington's unimpressive accuracy (54.7% career) and proneness to picks (62 in 59 games).

     The Dolphins need an experienced backup, especially with Daunte Culpepper's availability for the opener still not certain. Harrington is that. And if you can get a healthy QB who's a former high-No. 1 draft pick coming into his physical prime for a low-round pick, well -- go get him before somebody else does.

On Diaz's go-pro decision

     UM guard Guillermo Diaz announces he'll skip his senior season for the NBA Draft, which ranked just behind this morning's sunrise on a list of the day's surprising events.

     To me, unless you're a top-10 pick (which he won't be), you're better off coming back. but the injury risk and the lure of money always weigh heavily.

     I'm not at all sure Diaz will make an outstanding pro. Are you?

Baseball honors Cubs pitchers

     NEW YORK (GC) -- Major League Baseball honored oft-injured Chicago Cubs starters Mark Prior and Kerry Wood today.

     "We think we have chosen an appropriate name, given that injuries have so often reduced two men known for throwing hard to the past-tense," said commissioner Bud Selig in announcing the Prior-Wood Disabled List.

     The NBA last year similarly honored one of its own in christening the Grant Hill Injury List.

Bonds: "My life is in shambles"

     Question: Do you feel sorry for him? Or are the shambles of his own creation?

     Do you believe the book or Barry? Are you rooting for him to pass Ruth and Aaron?