Sports Agenda for Monday (4/24/12)
Big Story:
The NFL Draft is just days away, so don't believe anything; the Heat take to the court in Boston; the Marlins are back at it against Mets; and the Panthers look to take a playoff series for the first time since I was a senior in high school!
Lyrics of the Day:
"People can no longer cover their eyes. If this disturbs you then walk away. You will remember the night you were struck by the sight of ten thousand fists in the air." – from the song "10,000 Fists" by Disturbed.
Dolphins/NFL Draft:
I chose those lyrics because that may be as many fans as the Dolphins draw next year.
So I posted the CBSMiami.com mock draft yesterday and here's the process I used to make the Dolphins pick.
I weighed the talent of the players available, weighed the Dolphins needs, weighed the contract costs, and thought about selling tickets.
Here's who I seriously considered with the pick:
Luke Kuechly, Ryan Tannehill, Quinton Coples, Melvin Ingram
Kuechly would be the perfect middle linebacker in a 4-3 and would solidify the position for a decade and keep Dansby and Kevin Burnett on the outside.
Coples and Ingram would fit on the outside of the defensive line as pass rushers opposite Cameron Wake.
Tannehill, he's a quarterback, nothing more needs to be said.
I went with Tannehill, but with a MAJOR caveat.
He's only the pick if Mike Sherman is sold on him, and I mean completely sold on him.
It's not going to surprise me at all if Tannehill tumbles if the Dolphins pass, much in the mold of Brady Quinn.
The difference is Tannehill is a superior athlete to Quinn, but I'm still not 100 percent sold on his ability to grasp an NFL offense and make quick decisions.
That was my gut pick yesterday.
Having had 24 hours to think about it, I'm actually leaning a little bit more defense….just a little lean though.
Here's who I think the Dolphins will pick from on Thursday night: Tannehill, Coples, Ingram, Michael Floyd, and possibly Justin Blackmon if he slips.
I don't have Kuechly on that list, but I'm telling you that kid is a beast pure and simple.
He's an every down linebacker who excels in pass coverage.
Now tell me, wouldn't you love having a middle linebacker who excels on coverage if you play Gronkowski twice a year?
I'm just saying.
Heat: (@ Boston Celtics, 8 p.m., TNT/Sun Sports)
If you were expecting Dwyane Wade to suit up tonight, don't waste your time.
I'll be shocked if Bosh suits up again during the regular season, but if he does, tonight will be the night.
I think LeBron will play tonight to fortify his MVP candidacy and then take Thursday's game off to rest, since it's essentially pointless.
The Heat are already turning their focus to the first round opponent, the New York Knicks.
New York is a tough out to start, but the Heat play great at home and exceptionally well in Madison Square Garden.
I'm interested to see if Amar'e Stoudemire can get it going, but I think the smart move is to continue starting Bosh at Center.
He's excelled there and his ability to space the floor at the 5 gives LeBron and Wade more room to penetrate.
It'll be interesting to see the Heat at full strength in the playoffs.
They'll have everyone suited up and ready to go, assuming Wade's finger is alright.
What I'll be watching for is if the Heat can continue to get out on the break in the playoffs and if not, how does their half-court offense look.
Marlins: (@ New York Mets, 7:10 p.m., Fox Sports Florida)
Yknow, I loathe most New York teams, but I have to give the Mets some serious props tonight.
They will honor Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes for his contribution over the years to the Mets.
That takes a big team to do that and it's no easy thing to pull off.
So kudos to the Mets for doing that.
As for the game tonight, you'll see a matchup of two staff aces in Josh Johnson and Johan Santana.
It'd be nice if Johnson can keep from giving up a few runs as well, considering his ERA is 5.94 heading into tonight.
Both have seemingly gotten in going in their last couple of starts, so it should be a good pitching matchup.
For the Marlins, they are just 0.5 games behind the Mets for third place in the NL East, so a victory tonight would be helpful.
It would put them 1.5 games behind Atlanta for second place as well.
I really want to see the Marlins do a little more with Reyes and Bonifacio on the base paths.
It should be a great game, even if no one shows up to Citi Field….google the game from yesterday and you'll see why I said that.
It made Sun Life Stadium look full when the Marlins were really, really awful…also known as last year.
Panthers: (@ New Jersey Devils, 7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network)
Finally, the Panthers are thisclose to clinching the first round playoff series from New Jersey.
The Cats have to go back to the Devils' den tonight to try and win Game 6.
It's going to come down to which goalie will show up for the Panthers and Devils….Theodore in Game 5 or Brodeur in Game 4.
Here's some things that happened the last year the Panthers made it past the first round of the playoffs in 1996:
Gallon of gas - $1.22
Avg. cost of new car - $16,300
Minimum wage - $5.15
Bill Clinton was in his first term
DVD's were first introduced
Windows NT 4 was introduced
Ebay was opened
And I was a senior in high school.
WOW!!!
I think the Panthers can win, especially if New Jersey plays desperate and out of control.
We'll see, but hopefully we'll get more playoff hockey for a second round series with the winner of the Bruins/Capitals series.
Hopefully for Florida…it'll be the Capitals!
All that and more on CBSMiami.com/sports today.
Follow me on Twitter @timkephart33 for the latest sports, politics, and news
