Sports Agenda for Friday (2/4/11)
Big Story:
If you didn't catch the Heat's 4 point victory over the Orlando Magic last night, you missed quite a performance from LeBron. The King dropped 51 points on the Magic. If you recall the Magic took plenty of pot shots at LeBron after he signed with the Heat. Yeah, about that Orlando, let's think about that for a second…let's really tick off the best player in the NBA. To quote the Guinness beer guys….BRILLIANT!!!
Heat: @Charlotte Bobacats (7:00 p.m. on Sun Sports)
Well, LeBron is starting to solidify himself as a strong contender for another MVP award. He's leading the Heat and is playing whatever part is needed to help the Heat win. He'll have strong competition from two other players: Manu Ginobli of the Spurs and Amar'e Stoudemire of the Knicks. Stoudemire is probably the strongest competition after what he has done to give new life to the moribund Knicks franchise.
Still, LeBron has the Heat leading the Southeast and running second in the Eastern Conference as the All-Star break approaches. Between LeBron and Wade, the Heat are sailing along towards the playoffs. Amazing what two players can do from one year to the next.
Another reminder: if you can get a ticket to Sunday's game against the Clippers….DO IT!!!! You need to see the Clippers Blake Griffin in person, trust me.
Dolphins:
It's all quiet on the Dolphins front as the team tries to figure out if they have any player that needs to be hit with the franchise tag. The franchise tag is used when a team can't negotiate a long-term contract with a player they feel is key to the franchise.
It essentially works like this: the tag is given to a player, the player is then given a one-year contract worth the average of the top five most expensive contracts for that particular position, from there the player can either sign the contract or can try to push for a trade. The problem with a trade is that the franchise tag often carries with it a guaranteed value of two first-round draft picks. This can change if the team really wants to dump the player, but it's not often.
The bigger question is will the franchise tag exist. The NFL said it will but the NFLPA isn't so sure.
On the NFL Draft front, I'm finishing up my mock draft and am looking at several players for the Fins including: QB Ryan Mallet & Cam Newton, RB Mark Ingram, OT Gabe Carimi & Nate Solder, OLB/DE Aldon Smith, and a few others that are piquing my interest.
Panthers: @ New Jersey Devils (2/4/11)
The Panthers continue their northern swing after dropping two in Canada when they take on the Devils on Friday night.
I'd like to get excited for the game, but it's a game between two really bad teams with no shot of getting into the playoffs at this point.
The Panthers should win, but with it being a road game, never assume anything.
Marlins:
T-Minus 13 days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. Baseball though will be on the back burner until the Heat's season ends, which is unfortunate because the Marlins can sometimes come out of the gates strong…well, except for last year.
