Minkah Fitzpatrick

Minkah Fitzpatrick seeking trade away from Miami Dolphins

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After the rout at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, multiple reports came out that several Dolphins players wanted out. The locker room emptied out almost instantly. Players contacted their agents desperately seeking help to find an escape route. Now, at least one player is confirmed to be part of that group. 2018 first round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick has been granted permission to seek a trade, per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

A Dolphins official informed ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe that while the team is not actively shopping Fitzpatrick, they have not denied his agent, Joel Segal, permission to talk with other teams. So if some teams offers up a king’s ransom like the Dolphins got for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills, it’s likely Fitzpatrick will be the latest casualty of Miami’s tanking process.

Miami is reportedly looking for a return on their first round investment on Fitzpatrick. Teams seem unwilling to part with such a valuable asset for the former Alabama standout, but stranger things have happened.

Fitzpatrick is highly regarded for his versatility. However, Miami’s desire to use him in multiple roles has been a point of contention for months. Back in August, Fitzpatrick’s mother came out to express her displeasure over her son being misused. Fitzpatrick himself later confirmed he felt the same. He had hoped that a new regime would offer clarification on what his position in the defense was. Instead, things got even cloudier.

As a result of this position juggling, Fitzpatrick has been unable to settle in. His level of play is diminishing as he cannot focus on one thing at a time. He played four different positions against Baltimore, including linebacker. That sort of responsibility is too much to ask of almost anyone, let alone a second-year player.

Potential Consequences

Under these circumstances, it’s hard to imagine the Dolphins’ plan working out. The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reports that at least one other veteran wants to leave. That player will never admit it publicly, but it’s easy to speculate. Reshad Jones, Kenyan Drake, Albert Wilson, they all have something to offer contenders. Minkah Fitzpatrick is an elite level nickel cornerback. Miami doesn’t want to let him sit there, despite uprooting Bobby McCain from there to supposedly let Fitzpatrick take that role.

No matter which way you slice it, this is a bad look for the Dolphins. This comes just days after players like Davon Godchaux and Jerome Baker took to social media to support “trusting the process,” so to speak.

As of this moment, Fitzpatrick is still scheduled to play against the New England Patriots, in the same role he’s been in so far. If what happened last week happens again, the locker room mutiny could continue to grow out of control. Brian Flores needs to find a solution, and fast.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

The Heat’s Jimmy Butler, 11th in NBA?

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Ever since the Miami Heat began to seriously pursue Jimmy Butler, there’s been a debate about exactly what he is. A star? A superstar? Something in between?

The general consensus put him roughly 15th in the NBA, with Butler getting credit for being one of the league’s few true two-way players, along with Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and Paul George – and certainly not James Harden.

Sports Illustrated thinks higher of him, however.

In their rankings of NBA players, they have him 11th, and it’s hard to argue with the classification. A few guys beneath him have a case (Kyrie Irving when healthy, engaged and reasonably happy), but really, it looks like Jimmy Butler belongs about where he is.

And the Heat need that, because only one other player (Bam Adebayo, #93) made this list. Josh Richardson (#71) is gone, Goran Dragic is coming off a season in which he tailed off some when available, and Justise Winslow apparently hasn’t captured the national imagination yet.

Jimmy Butler is actually the third guy on the list, behind just Giannis and Joel Embiid. And he’s a surefire All-Star, returning to Chicago for that weekend.

Now look at the rest of that list…

Blake Griffin is No. 19. Bradley Beal isn’t on it, though you can certainly say he should be.

If the Heat can land either, with the No. 11 player in the league, and this coaching staff?

This rebuild — or reload — may lead to repeat appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. At least.

 

Buy your Jimmy Canastas Cinco Razones t-shirt clicking here! 

 

Porn site bids to name Heat’s arena

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Porn sites naming the most important arena of the state.

Only in Miami.

If you haven’t heard, the Miami Heat and American Airlines Arena have ended one part of their relationship, as far as the arena on 601 Biscayne Blvd.

The Triple-A is no more.

So what about the Double Ds?

OK, that’s the last lame joke I’ll make here.

The tweets can take it from here.

So, $10 million, eh?

That’s a lot more than Mia Khalifa claimed she made in the porn industry?

Anyway, the reaction came quickly.

We will let our Simon Clancy of Three Yards Per Carry finish this out…..

Wearing Yelich’s jersey, Ryan Braun homers to secure sweep

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In a way to honor a fallen teammate, Ryan Braun wore Christian Yelich’s jersey under his own and hit a two-run homer to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 3-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday to secure the series sweep.

“I threw up the double deuces for him,” Ryan Braun said of his message to Yelich as he crossed home plate. “He texted me, “It’s about time you hit a homer.’ Forty-fifth homer hit in this jersey this year.”

It was Braun’s 19th home run this season but the former Miami Hurricane didn’t hit a single home run at Marlins Park (which opened in 2012) before his last game of the season in Miami.

“I didn’t know that, but they are all big at this time of year,” Braun said.

Brewers starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez also scored on the home run after getting his first hit of the season. The Marlins tried to appeal that he did not touch second base on the home run but was denied.

“I know I haven’t been on the bases but I’m 100 percent sure I touched that bag,” Gonzalez said. “It was a backhanded slap is how I felt. But it’s OK. I can smile about it.”

Gonzalez allowed two runs and seven hits in four innings while pitching in his hometown. The Brewers are 78-68 while riding a seven-game winning streak. They are 10 games over .500 for the first time since mid-June and are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the second wildcard spot.

“What’s within our picture is keep playing well,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The other stuff doesn’t matter right now. Keep playing like the past week we’re going to put ourselves in a good spot.”

The New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Arizona Diamondbacks are within 3.5 games. The Marlins will play all three on the road to close out the season, with a three-game home series with the Washington Nationals, who are on top of the wildcard chase.

Dolphins place DE Jonathan Ledbetter on IR, sign Tank Carradine

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Jonathan Ledbetter put on enough of a show in practice and preseason to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. However, his season is coming to an abrupt end. On Thursday, the Miami Dolphins placed him on injured reserve as he battles an ankle injury he suffered during Wednesday’s practice.

After six weeks, Miami is eligible to bring back two players from IR. In the meantime, the Dolphins re-signed veteran Tank Carradine to take Ledbetter’s place.

Carradine, a six-year veteran, performed fairly well during the preseason for Miami, even though he only recorded two tackles and five QB hits on the stat sheet. Now, Carradine will likely take starting responsibilities again. He started three of the Dolphins’ preseason games.

Instead of keeping Orchard or Carradine, Miami elected to go young along the defensive line. Ledbetter, Charles Harris, and Avery Moss – who was claimed off waivers from the Giants – were their opening day defensive ends. Ledbetter made four tackles and half a sack against the Ravens.

As an undrafted free agent out of Georgia, Jonathan Ledbetter is a hard worker and offers a relentless motor. He is a prime candidate to return from injured reserve, along with rookie linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. If they can develop into decent defenders for the 2020 season, that will be a success for them. The Dolphins apparently intend to earn the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, but currently project to pick fifth. To get where they want to be, youth is the route they will continue to take. Carradine is merely filling an open hole. A strong showing could help his future in the NFL.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

Diaz and Cooper homer but Marlins bashed by Mike Moustakas

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Mike Moustakas celebrated his 31st birthday by hitting two home runs, including a tiebreaking, two-run shot in the ninth inning to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Miami Marlins 7-5 Wednesday night.

“Obviously two homers is pretty cool no matter what day it is but on your birthday it’s pretty special,” Moustakas said. “But even more so is the win, especially with Yeli going down. Everyone has to step up even more.”

In his first full season with the Brewers, Moustakas has more than 30 home runs for the second time in his career. His career high is 38, achieved in 2017 with the Kansas City Royals.

“He’s having a big year,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Moustakas. “He hurt us in Milwaukee a little bit. I think we left a changeup up the first time. I’m not sure if [Jose Urena] was trying to go in. He’s a pretty good fastball hitter.”

Diaz and Cooper, just as Moustakas

For the Marlins, the loss spoiled a night in which progress was made with some of their young players. Isan Diaz and Garrett Cooper hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to tie the game 5-5. Diaz is hitting .162 since being called up on Aug. 5, but has hit 26 home runs with a .305 batting average and .973 OPS in Triple-A New Orleans. Of his 19 hits in the big leagues, three of them are doubles and three are home runs.

“I think that’s what happens when you stick to your plan and put a good swing on the ball,” Diaz said. “I was very fortunate with that, brought some momentum to our side. We tried to keep it rolling, but we fell a little short tonight.”

Cooper now has 15 home runs and 50 RBI and is slashing .282/.346/.449 in his first full season in the big leagues. He batted .306 before the All-Star Game but .258 afterwards. His home runs have been the same between the two halves.

“I think the second half has been more of a learning curve for me, trying to drive the ball a little bit more,” Cooper said. “I think my hard-hit percentage is way up this half. You teeter on trying to get your hits, and you teeter on trying to drive the ball.”

The Marlins now have 127 home runs on the season, which is the fewest in MLB. Miami has 66 homers at Marlins Park, which is 27th in the league at home, and as spacious as the fairly new ballpark is, visiting teams don’t seem to have any difficulty hitting bombs there. It’s nights like this that make it seem like these youngsters are close to turning the corner.

Patriots RB James White looking to show out against Dolphins

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Local product James White is coming to town, hoping to lead the New England Patriots to victory.

As the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, a familiar face will be recognizable from the opposing sideline. New England Patriots running back James White will undoubtedly be a part of the game plan for New England. A Florida native, this is sort of like a homecoming game for him. Given that the Patriots and Dolphins are division rivals, he has been back several times as a member of the opposition.

Playing high school football at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, White certainly excelled. In three years of varsity football, he accumulated 1,679 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. Averaging 9.1 yards per play, he accumulated 57.9 rushing yards per game. His best season came in his senior season of 2009-10. As some may remember, he had a great year. Playing 11 games, he carried the ball 102 times for  979 yards and 11 touchdowns. Averaging 9.6 yards per carry, he averaged 89 yards a game.

A different type of running back

So far in his tenure with New England, White hasn’t really been a pure running back. In fact, he has become one of their best receiving backs. Take for instance his 14-reception, 110-yard receiving game against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. A Super Bowl MVP award was the result of what was an incredible display of pass-catching. New England patriots Fans had obviously seen what he can do. The Super Bowl performance was a coming-out party for him on the national level.

He has made a living of catching the ball out of the backfield for New England. Fantasy owners love him, and the Patriots have been able to find the perfect niche for him in their game plan. The last time New England played Miami, White rushed the ball four times for 13 yards. He also caught the ball two times for 15 yards. With how crowded the New England backfield is, it’s important for each player to make the most of their snaps. White has certainly done that over the years.

He is the perfect type of running back for this era of football. Running backs that are pass-catchers are often times even more valuable than one-dimensional running backs.

In the New England Patriots season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, White had a great game. he rushed the ball four times for 26 yards, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

He will certainly need to keep up that level of production against a Miami team that has given New England trouble at home. Wherever your rooting interests lie, there is no denying that it is great to see a local kid make it.

 

One and done: The USA Celtics lost to France and are out of World Cup

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We were waiting for it to happen, and it did. But earlier than we expected. The USA Celtics lost in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup and will be coming home empty-handed.

This “national” team never really had a lot of support here in Miami

The reason: too many Celtics and zero Miami Heat players.

Weird, but reasonable I guess. Some people might actually be happy this Team USA lost.

Bam!

The USA is out.

— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) 11 de septiembre de 2019

The United States lost to a French team that is used to play this type of competition together, while the US took their fifth best team (or worse) to the second most important international event, after the Olympics.

Are you, as an American, happy your national team lost?

Hard to believe.

Even though I know here in Five Reasons nobody really cared about this team.

Serbia and the United States, the two favorites to win it all, are out in the round of 8.

A World Championship that should be always for the United States, the country with the best basketball players of the world, by far, is now in the air.

Arthur Freyre and our Lasner Sport had an interesting exchange about what happened with the American team and what should the USA do for the next competitions.

What do you think? Should we care more about this?

 

 

 

Canes Concern: What’s Wrong With Jeff Thomas?

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Josh Darrow brought up a great point in the latest 5 Rings: A Canes Thing podcast when mentioning Jeff Thomas.Everyone always talks about how much talent Thomas has, but having talent and being talented is different. Having the potential and being a difference-maker or game-changer are different things and I think that’s where we are with Thomas right now.

Big Time Players Make Big Time Plays

He was once thought of as the next Santana Moss type player. While he did show flashes last year, making NFL-type catches, it was tough with a mediocre quarterback throwing you the ball. Then came the quitting. It was only days after a big win against Virginia Tech, in which Thomas ran a punt back for a touchdown, that we learned he would be leaving the program. At that time it was considered a huge blow for the Canes program. How were we going to replace a player like that? He was a game-changer. Rumors and hearsay suggest his relationship with former coaches had soured a bit and it ultimately led to him leaving the program. 

It’s Just a Slow Start…

Now, it seems like he has taken a step back and has not regained that moniker. He doesn’t look like the same guy. At this point in his career, we should be talking about the plays he is making, not the plays he was making. He hasn’t looked terrible (well except for the muffed punt against Florida), but he hasn’t looked great. Am I being too hard on the kid? Can we maybe just chalk it up to a slow start? Sure, but is that the “standard” these coaches are holding the players to?

The Guy

If Jeff Thomas wants to be “the guy”, he needs to make catches like the one in the endzone against the Gators. As tough a catch as it may have been(and it was a great throw by Williams), those are the catches he needs to make. 

What is clear to me, is that Thomas moves to the beat of his own drum. Is it possible that he lacks focus and discipline? Possibly – and maybe he isn’t who we thought he was. Teams do not fear him like they used to. That needs to change.  If Jeff Thomas is not at his best then the Canes aren’t either.

 

Follow me on Twitter at @jazzsantana for all your Canes news and more.

For all your Canes insider news and exclusive content, check out the @5Rings_Canes podcast.

Go Canes!

Tankathon has Dolphins drafting twice in top-10

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WTF, Tankathon?

After the worst loss at home in franchise history, the Dolphins would certainly be the worst team in football, right?

Wrong.

Despite having no answer for Lamar Jackson and getting routed at home 59-10, the Dolphins currently hold the 5th-pick in the 2020 draft.

That is all according to Tankathon –who will be tracking this development as the season progresses. (As will I)

Now, it’s obviously foolish to think this draft order holds any merit on September 11th. #NeverForget

But let’s look at the list.

Jacksonville is starting Gardner Minshew. The Giants are in love with Jared Leto and Indianapolis is very good at sucking for Luck.  Not to mention Winston did not look good and if Carolina is in the top-5, it’s because Cam Newton’s arm fell off.  Miami is far and away the worst team in the NFL.  Which is a great success when you think about how hard they have tried to get here.  But like we expect with our favorite football team, disappoint and letdown is sure to follow.

If this is the same top-5 draft order in January, I may be more upset than missing out on the playoffs.

Personally, I love the A.J Epenesa pick.

The verdict is still out on Herbert.  However, he does fit the three Houtz QB commandments.

  • Big arm
  • Moves well
  • Wears visor

It is Tua or bust, or so we think.

What we do know is that the Dolphins are going to be scouting all of these top QBs, as are we.

Because after all of the heartache, they have a chance to get a guy that could turn this franchise around, much like Marino did back in 1983 draft.

Or you can be like me, and hold out hope that Josh Rosen is the guy.  Either way, this story ends in heartbreak.

Would you be happy if the Dolphins drafted Oregon QB Justin Herbert @ 5 and Iowa EDGE A.J Epenesa @ 7?

Josh Houtz (@houtz) is a die-hard fan of the Miami Dolphins.