CORONAVIRUS Sports Tracker: Frequent Updates

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The widespread coronavirus outbreak has impacted professional and collegiate sports across the nation.

Most recent at the top….

Hey, finally some good news!

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THE MASTERS is now postponed. Could mark first time in history that the tournament is not played in April.


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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP is now cancelled, along with every PGA event till the first week of April.

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Charles Barkley is among the latest to self-quarantine.

 

The Heat are working on something to help arena workers. More details to come.

 

Some NBA teams are doing the right thing.

 

Dwyane Wade doesn’t understand what the local school officials here are doing.

 

The XFL has caved. So much for the rebirth… for now.

 

It’s now infecting international soccer.

 

NBA will be suspended for 30 days.

Essentially that means the regular season is over.

 

Goodbye March Madness.

 

More details on the NBA coming soon.

 

Dan Gilbert is ahead of Micky Arison on something.

One league seems intent on outlasting all the others.

The entire ACC has postponed spring practice for all teams, which may also put the Hurricanes spring game in jeopardy.

 

Fans of the Marlins will have to wait a few extra weeks…

The American Airlines Arena has canceled all major events for the rest of March.

 

There will also be no NFL Spring meeting in Palm Beach for the time being.

 

 

The National Hockey League has suspended their season as well.

 

 

 

The Florida Atlantic University basketball season is over….

NFL now headed for a shutdown. Hard to see how free agency proceeds as scheduled…

So much for that InterMiami home debut.

Yes, it is already affecting prep for the NFL draft.

We are now waiting on the NHL.

A second NBA star has been diagnosed.

 

After it was learned Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, the NBA has suspended the season indefinitely.

 

The NCAA had already announced that all men’s and women’s basketball tournaments would be held without fans.

 

Locally, besides the Miami Heat other sporting events are being cancelled or postponed including the upcoming Miami Open.

 

Dwyane Wade continues to add onto his HOF L3GACY! 

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Athlete. Father. Social Activist. Fashion Icon. Champion. Author. Documentarian. Rapper? 

Flash leads the Miami Heat in several categories: Field goals, points, games played, minutes played, free throws, and now BARS!

This weekend, Wade County will honor the historic career of Miami’s greatest athlete, with a 3-day celebration centered around his much-deserved jersey retirement. To kick-off the festivities, Wade and UD linked up with fellow local legend and hip-hop icon, Rick Ross, to shock the world with a new single titled “Season Ticket Holder.” 

The Port of Miami rapper has built a strong relationship with Dwyane and Udonis over the years. In fact, you can often spot him sitting courtside at the AAA (is it still called that?) wearing a custom pair of Li-Nings and dapping up players as he walks towards the Hyde Lounge for refreshments. So, it’s no surprise that Ricky Rozay would find a way to get involved in what will be, one of the most fun and nostalgic weekends in HEAT history. Make no mistake, Rick Ross does the heavy lifting on this track, whereas D.Wade is more of a featured guest. But just like they alluded in the teaser video released earlier this week, this is for Miami, for the culture, for the fans, and for fun. 

So let’s take a minute to breakdown how Flash holds up in what will now be regarded as the theme song for Wade’s L3GACY weekend! 

Intro … Right off the bat, Udonis sounds like he belongs in the booth, whereas Dwyane’s voice… catches you off guard a bit. They shout out their history together and a nod to the three rings on their fingers before the beat drops.

1st Verse … D.Wade hits us with a strong opening line to get the track started. I’m the son of a saint, still considered sinner reaks of Rick Ross’ finest creative greenery, but credit to Flash for nailing the delivery. He weaves through the 1st verse like it’s a classic pick-n-roll, making nods to his stats, fashion, and overall game. Always bet on your homies, then go buy the casino highlights how uplifting of a teammate Wade was. Much better than Dion Waiter’s selfish bet on yourself and then double-down, style of play. His energy really picks up when he gets to the topic of his wife. It’s almost as if you can hear the smile on his face after he mentions her. He then closes out the verse by mentioning his Lamborghini, sneakers, private jets, and money — the basics.

Rick Ross takes over the rest of the track doing what he does best. The lush production hits another level when the hook comes in, sung by Raphel Saadiq. It’s absolutely worth the listen and a cool way to jump-start a memorable weekend for the Miami Heat fans and franchise. Make sure you stick around till the end and catch D. Wade and UD once again resurfacing for the outro to remind us of how hard they worked for 16 seasons.

Three Championship banners in the rafters, three rings on their fingers, and one new single to go with it.

Miami Sports…are They Becoming Good Again?

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The ever changing Miami sports landscape has been on a steady trend downward since the end of the “Big 3 era” of Miami Heat basketball.

Now there were some amazing moments since then, such as Dwyane Wade’s Last Dance and the Miami Miracle.

Those fleeting instances have been sandwiched between years of mediocrity.

The Marlins tore it all down, again.

The Heat had a bloated, ineffective roster.

We all know where Adam Gase left the Dolphins.

Manny Diaz is trying to bring the Hurricanes back.

Even the Panthers, a team with legitimate playoff aspirations recently, has disappointed.

Expecting anything different has become an annual disappointment.

Until now.

Dolphins Vision Unfolding

All of a sudden there is exciting and competitive football being played by the Miami Dolphins.

Who for once are actually exceeding expectations.

Yet we still aren’t happy.

Brian Flores has steadily guided a team lacking NFL level talent across multiple positions into a disciplined and passionate group.

Flores and his coaching staff are developing players and proving it “Takes No Talent” to compete.

Chris Grier has a war chest of draft capital, and actual capital of about 140M to quickly add top tier free agents.

With a shot at a franchise quarterback to boot.

For once the Dolphins have a plan and the cast to execute and deliver a winner.

Culture Shock

The Miami Heat seem to have figured out their roster around a true star in Jimmy Butler.

And are interesting as hell.

 

Getting back to their defensive identity and bringing back the “Culture” led by Butler has galvanized a young roster.

Currently the Heat rank fourth in defensive rating and third in steals per game (9.6). Miami also ranks in the top ten league wide in points-per-game allowed (105.7, 6th) steals (96, 5th) and overall defensive FG% (.437, 9th).

Smart perimeter defense has been key, the Heat lead the NBA in 3-point FG% allowed at just 28.9%. Only Miami and Oklahoma City are holding teams under 30% from deep as of November 13th.

 

Hassan Whiteside went to Portland which paved the way for Bam Adebayo to become the all around catalyst we see before us. Before being sidelined with a concussion, Justise Winslow was taking a huge step forward as well.

Finally the Heat have a cohesive roster that fits their style of play and identity, in a wide open Eastern Conference the Heat are suddenly poised for a home playoff series if they stay on track.

Cardiac Cats

In Sunrise the Florida Panthers under new coach Joel Quenneville are playing exciting, action packed hockey. Florida has won their last two games by an 11-9 margin…that’s a lot of goals!

After making franchise history with a four goal rally against Boston this week, the Panthers are showing tremendous toughness and resolve in late game pressure situations.

 

In the two wins against Boston and New York the Panthers outscored them 5-0 in the third period. Despite shaky goaltending and defense the Cats have found a way to get it done in the final 20 minutes.

It helps to have a top ten offense on your side, Aleksander Barkov has points in six straight games entering Thursday’s action and the power play continues to dominate.

Florida ranks second with the man advantage, converting 26.8% of their power play opportunities.

If the Panthers can figure out their issues on the blue line and in goal to support a dynamic offense, they have a great chance of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.

Hurricanes’ Season a Tale of two Teams

The Miami Hurricanes football team has had a polarizing season to say the least.

From quarterback uncertainty and losses against inferior teams early in the year, to blowout wins and record breaking performances – the 2019 Miami Hurricanes have kept fans on the edge of their seats.

After an uneven start to the season on offense, Jarren Williams has settled in as QB1 and hitting the big plays that were missing earlier in the year.

 

The Hurricanes have won three straight in ACC play by a combined margin of 95-49, after starting conference play 1-3 the turnaround has been drastic.

On the other side of the ball the defense has been wrecking house led by new and older names alike.

Senior linebackers Michael Pinckney and Shaq Quarterman have experienced a resurgence of energy and effectiveness.

While Gregory Rousseau went from out of the starting lineup to the best defensive lineman in the ACC, and one of the best in all of college football.

 

The Hurricanes have a star in the making both under center and at defensive end, two of the most important positions in football.

And they are both freshman.

With a coaching staff starting to figure it out and a favorable ACC Coastal division to call home, the sun is shining bright in Coral Gables.

Don’t Forget About us!

While the teams that are in action in November are getting all the attention, there are more great storylines in Miami sports on the way.

The Marlins have quietly built one of the best farm systems in all of baseball.

Oh yeah, we are getting professional soccer too!

We could be saying this time next year “what a time to be a Miami sports fan”

A statement that is well deserved and long overdue.

Follow us on Twitter for all things Miami sports @FiveReasonsSports and @SportsWaveDave.

Photo by Tony Capobianco.