Sports Agenda For Thursday (3/17/11)
Big Story:
Well, that was fun while it lasted. The Heat came crashing down to earth again last night when they laid an egg versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The past few games we saw a coordinated offensive attack with the ball going inside to Bosh who would then turn to kick it out or go to the hole. D-Wade and LeBron would slash to the basket and feed the ball around the half-court offense.
Last night, we saw the same old tired routine of the Heat settling for jump shots from D-Wade and LeBron while Bosh was swinging and missing more than a drunken Mike Tyson.
The bench contributed, but Chalmers and Dampier played roughly 36 minutes combined and had 1 point! 1 FREAKING POINT!
I'll get into it a little more later, plus, Christian Ponder is moving up draft charts, we're going to be treated to another Panthers loss tonight and the Marlins, well, they're going to challenge the Panthers and Dolphins for worst South Florida team.
On to the agenda.
Heat: (next game Friday @ Atlanta Hawks)
Lots of people will look for what keyed the Heat's latest blunder. For me, there were a few things that stood out above the rest.
First, the third quarter was absolutely pathetic for the Heat. There's no excuse for the Big Three to combine to hit 2 field goals in a quarter. NO EXCUSE.
But, that's only one cog of the FAIL wheel.
The next problem came from behind the arc. Here's a scary thought….LeBron, Wade, Chalmers, and Miller combined to hit 1 more three point shot last night than I did. The team shot a combined 17.6 percent from way downtown. Bibby was 50 percent, or the team would have hit 1 three pointer for the entire game.
Stats don't lie, and that stat tells the story. The Heat lost by 11 points, but they were 18 points behind from 3 point land. Hit a couple of more threes and we have a different ballgame.
But alas, we're treated to more bricks than the pyramids. But, at least Bosh got his double-double!
Panthers: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (Fox Sports Florida)
So the Panthers take the ice tonight against another Canadian team. We all know how great the Panthers are, please note the sarcasm. Just to let you know how bad they are…they're website is still advertising for the Cadillac Championship…from last weekend. Way to go there guys!
But, the Panthers will now battle it out to try and get all the way down to last place. They're in next to last place now in the Eastern Conference, so it's within reach. C'mon guys, don't let us down!!
Marlins: (@ St. Louis 1:05 p.m.)
The Marlins continued their losing ways Wednesday when they dropped a second straight game to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (yes I know they're the Rays, but Devil Rays sounded much cooler). The Marlins haven't won since March 8, and haven't scored more than 3 runs since then either. The Marlins have won four games in March.
So, um, Mr. Marlins owner, want to reevaluate that winning 80-90 games prediction?
NFL & Draft:
Well, since I'm sick of writing about the labor fight, let's talk a little draft.
The quarterbacks are getting their fair share of attention. Wednesday, Christian Ponder threw for Scouts and I trust Mike Mayock of the NFL Network who said that Ponder performed well and might slip into the top of the second round. He has the arm strength and the ability to work from under center like he did at FSU. But, injuries are his biggest concern.
Today, the best quarterback in this year's draft, Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, throws for scouts. He ran around 4.6 in the 40 at the combine and has the best arm strength in the draft. He has a little problem with the deep ball accuracy, but that can be corrected. He's a lock to go in the top 10 and if he does well today, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go number 1.
I mean, there aren't that many qb's at 6'5", 240 pounds who can run 4.6 and throw a frozen rope to a small window.
NCAA Tournament:
I am 3-1 so far, but today the real games kick off.
So let's see who I picked!
I've got Clemson over West Va.
Kentucky over Princeton
Missouri over Cincinnati (c'mon, did you think I wouldn't be a homer?)
UConn over Bucknell
Penn St. over Temple
San Diego State over No. Colorado
Florida over UCSB
Mich. State over UCLA
BYU over Wofford (fear the Jimmer!!!!)
Gonzaga over St. John's
Wisconsin over Belmont
K. State over Utah St.
Old Dominion over Butler
Pitt over NC-Asheville
Vandy over Richmond
Louisville over Richmond
