Two games into the 2013 MLB Season and the Miami Marlins are already making their mark. The Fish have started 0-2 and rank dead last in every offensive category.

In 18 innings, the Marlins have totaled zero runs and only seven hits. Maybe the Nationals superior starters are to blame. Maybe it's the Marlins weak offense. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez combined for 13 IP, 0 R's, 8 K's, and 5 hits. The remaining five scoreless innings have come at the hand of the Nats bullpen.

The Marlins are last in the majors in runs scored (0), batting average (.123), on-base percentage (.180), and slugging percentage (.158).  The 5 thru 9 batters in the Marlins lineup are a combined 1-for-28.

Is the season over yet?

Kobe Bryant's Bittersweet Season

At 34 years old, most athletes experience a decline in their personal statistics as they face the tail end of their careers. Kobe Bryant, however, is not most athletes. Kobe is having a season statistically superior to his past four seasons. He is averaging 29.2 points per game, his most since the 2007-08 season (31.6) when he won his only NBA MVP award. He is also shooting 46.4%, his 2nd highest field goal percentage in his past 11 seasons, and his shooting efficiency is at a career-high 51.4%

While Kobe is having an anomalous season for his age, the Lakers are having an anomalous season for their history. The Lakers are off to their worst 41 game start (17-24) since Kobe has been a Laker. Los Angeles sits in 12th place in the Western Conference, four games behind the 8th place Houston Rockets. The Los Angeles Lakers are projected to need 45 wins in order to reach the postseason. In order to do so, they must go 28-13 for the remainder of the season.

The Lakers travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies, Wednesday at 8:00 PM EST (Kobe Bryant averages 32.2 PPG on Wednesdays, more than any other day of the week).

Congratulations, Udonis Haslem!

On November 21, 2012 versus Milwaukee, Udonis Haslem eclipsed Alonzo Mournings franchise-record of 4,807 rebounds. Haslem became the first undrafted player to lead a franchise in rebounding.

For the first six seasons of Haslem's career, he was the reliable starting Power Forward for the Miami Heat. Starting in the 2009-10 NBA Season, Haslem's role would change and he would have to get used to coming off the bench for Miami. Although he has seen a reduction of minutes the past four seasons, his production has actually increased. Since being relegated to the bench, Haslem has averaged double digit rebounds per 36 minutes, a feat he never accomplished in his 6 seasons as a starter.
  

Udonis Haslem
Season	Reb	Mins	Reb/36min
2003-04	473	1795	9.49
2004-05	726	2675	9.77
2005-06	634	2491	9.16
2006-07	654	2483	9.48
2007-08	443	1805	8.84
2008-09	618	2560	8.69
2009-10	629	2177	10.40
2010-11	106	345	11.06
2011-12	470	1589	10.65
2012-13	66	228	10.42

Congratulations, Udonis Haslem! Your hard work and loyalty to the Miami Heat is greatly appreciated and we hope to see you on the Heat until you hang 'em up!

Stat of the Day

Wednesday night, the Miami Heat trounced the new-look Nets 103-73. Brooklyn's newest franchise has started the season 1-2 with a couple of games with the Magic lined up for this weekend.

The Nets have been outscored in their last six quarters, dating back to Monday's 107-96 loss where they squandered a 22-point lead in the defeat.

In the second half of Monday's game combined with their performance Wednesday night, the Nets have been outscored by a combined 56 points in the last six quarters.

Stat of the Day

Wednesday night marked the season opening games for 16 more NBA teams, including the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets would start two of their big offseason acquisitions, Jeremy Lin and James Harden. James Harden proved he is worth every cent of his $80 million deal. He put up 37 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block. That stat line has only been achieved by three other players in the history of the NBA (Dwyane Wade, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan). Jeremy Lin had a solid game, tallying 12 points, 8 assists and 4 steals.

Jeremy Lin also led the entire NBA on Wednesday night with a +23 point differential with him on the floor for Houston, in their 105-96 win over Detroit.
On the other end, Zach Randolph had an NBA low -25 differential with Memphis in their 101-92 loss to the Clippers.

Welcome Back, NBA!

The NBA opened their doors to the 2012-13 Season with three games: Wizards @ Cavaliers, Celtics @ Heat and Mavericks @ Lakers.

In the opener, the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrated LeBron's first championship by beating the Wizards, 94-84. In the game, Anderson Varejao collected a career-high 23 rebounds. 12 of his rebounds were off the offensive glass. In the Celtics/Heat matchup, there was only 12 total offensive rebounds grabbed by both teams combined.

Well done, Anderson.



P.S.: The Heat beat the Celtics 120-107.

If only every inning was the 9th inning...

The New York Yankees have scored 11 runs in the 9th inning alone of the eight postseason games they have played. In all other innings, they have managed only 10 runs.

Of all the 9th innings combined, New York is averaging 14.1 Runs/9 Innings.
In all other innings (1st-8th plus extra innings), 1.2 Runs/9 Innings.

The Yankees trail the Tigers 3-0 in the ALCS and are facing elimination Wednesday night at Detroit.