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.

Dolphins get outgained, Rams get outscored

If you were to simply glance over the Team Stat Comparison of the Miami Dolphins vs. St. Louis Rams game, it would appear lopsided.

• The Rams gained 270 more yards than the Fins (127 more passing yards and 143 more rushing yards).

• Sam Bradford earned a Quarterback Rating (QBR) of  77.3, more than 16 points more than Tannehill earned (60.9). 

• Three Rams (Richardson, Jackson, Bradford) gained more yards on the ground than Reggie Bush, Miami's leading rusher. 

Despite all that, the Rams couldn't cross the plane of the end zone until it was too late. Three missed field goals by the Rams aided the Dolphins to a 17-14 victory. 

Stat of the Day

JJ Watt capped off Monday Night Football with a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage as the clock expired. Watt now has 8 tipped passes through five games this season. No NFL player had more than ten tipped passes last season.

The 23 year-old also leads the NFL with 8.5 sacks.

The Texans have started the season 5-0 for the first time in the history of the franchise.

Stat of the Day

The Inzadex is back from summer vacation!

Welcome back football, college and pro.

Saturday, September 15, the Penn State Nittany Lions defeated Navy by a score of 34-7. This is the first win Penn State has officially recorded since November 22, 1997, when they defeated Wisconsin 35-10. This drought is due to the vacated wins, as a part of NCAA Sanctions, between the 1998 and the 2011 seasons.

Penn State had gone 5,411 days without an officially recorded win. Back then, gas prices averaged $1.36/gallon, Bill Clinton was President of the US, the Florida Marlins was a month removed from winning their first World Series and Mike Trout was in 1st Grade.

Stat of the Day

Jose Reyes' 26-game hitting streak ended Thursday afternoon at the hands of R.A. Dickey and the Mets, in the Marlins 6-1 loss in New York.

Reyes' streak was tied for the second longest in franchise history. Emilio Bonifacio also strung 26 consecutive games with a hit last season. Luis Castillo has the franchise record with a 35-game hitting streak in 2002.

During the streak, Jose Reyes hit .365 and in August he was hitting .483 before Thursday's game.

Dodgers Acquire Shane Victorino

Hours before the MLB Trade Deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers made another move that landed them Philadelphia CF Shane Victorino. This move came five days after acquiring Hanley Ramirez from the Marlins.

Victorino provides some offense from both sides of the plate. He is coming off a 2011 season where his  On-Base Percentage was .355. This season it has dropped a bit to .324. Los Angeles could use a bit of a jump start with Victorino getting on base and bringing him in with one of their big bats. The Dodgers are a mere 19th in the majors in OBP at .318.

Another strength that the Flyin' Hawaiian provides is energy and speed. Despite having 70 stolen bases as a team, their Stolen Base Percentage is 67.3%, which is good for 26th in all the majors. Victorino has 24 stolen bases while only being caught stealing 4 times, a SB% of 85.7%.

The Dodgers are hoping to take back the NL West this season. They are at a virtual tie with the Giants for the division lead.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Marlins have dropped eight of their last nine games and have fallen to 45-54 and clinging to 4th place in the NL East.

In their recent slide, they have traded off their starting 2nd baseman, 3rd baseman, a starting pitcher and a lefty reliever. They have not scored more than 3 runs in any of their last nine games. The Fish have not scored a run in the fifth inning or later in each of their last seven games.

Marlins fans, may I direct your attention to London....

Enjoy the Olympics!

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Heat will sign Ray Allen, the all-time 3-Pt shooting champion, on Wednesday, away from the Boston Celtics.

The Heat were 20th in the league last year with 5.6 3-Point Field Goals made per game. Boston was 21st with 5.5. Ray Allen alone made 2.3 3PT last season. If you attribute Allen's 2.3 3PM to the Heat, Miami would jump up to a tie for 3rd most in the league with 7.9 3PM and Boston would drop to dead last in the NBA with 3.2 3PM.

While Ray Allen's field goal attempts in Boston would get distributed to other shooters, it is unlikely that Boston would actually drop that far down. However without Allen, Boston loses it's only reliable sharpshooter and it gives Miami another weapon to support LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Useless Stat of the Night

The San Francisco Giants have just completed a three-game sweep of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers were shut out in all three games of the series. The Dodgers have lost eight of their last nine games and are currently scoreless in their last 30 innings. They have averaged 1.4 runs per game in the last nine games.

The Dodgers are still atop the NL West but now share 1st place with the Giants.

Deja Vu?

The Miami HEAT took a commanding 3-1 series lead Tuesday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. They will have a chance to end the season and win their second championship in franchise history in Game 5 on Thursday.

The Florida Marlins won their first World Series championship on October 25, 1997. Six years and one day later (October 26, 2003), Josh Beckett pitched a complete game two-hitter in Yankee Stadium to guide the Marlins to their second World Series championship.

The Miami Heat won their first NBA title on June 20, 2006. Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals will be played on June 21, 2012. Six years and one day later....

Useless Stat of the Day

Until Tuesday, June 12th, Emilio Bonifacio led the entire major league in stolen bases with 20.
Remarkably, Bonifacio hadn't played a game since May 18th against the Indians, where he injured his thumb.

Bonifacio still leads the league in stolen base percentage, with a success rate of 95.2%.

Emilio Bonifacio hopes to return to the outfield for the Marlins after the All-Star break.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Oklahoma City Thunder defended home court in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a 105-94 win over the Miami Heat.

In the Big 3 Era, the Miami Heat have won every playoff series in which they have LOST Game 1.
Additionally, in their two previous Finals appearances, the Heat won the series in which they lost Game 1 (2006) and they lost the series in which they won Game 1 (2011). Panic time? Not quite yet.

Game 2 will be on ABC at 9 p.m. on Thursday night, as the Heat look to even the series and steal home court.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Marlins took the series against the Phillies after a 5-1 win on the road Sunday. Carlos Zambrano got the W, as well as his first home run as a Marlin.

Carlos Zambrano is 4-3 with a 2.81 ERA. Big Z has really shined on the road. In six road starts, Zambrano is 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA, 35 SO's and only 13 BB's. In his five home starts, by comparison, he is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA, 21 SO's and 15 BB's. His only complete game is on the road (at Houston).

Big Z is also swinging the bat better on the road. He has a .231 average on the road and a .100 average in Miami. Zambrano strikes out less frequently away from home. He averages 2.5 at bats per strikeout at home and 13.0 at bats per strikeout away. And as previously mentioned, he hit his only home run yesterday at Philadelphia.

Useless Stat of the Day

With one game left in the month of May, the Miami Marlins have already clinched the franchise record for wins in any month (20). This historic month has been led by superb pitching and Giancarlo Stanton.

Stanton has hit 11 home runs, 28 RBI, and scored 22 runs this month, all of which are career bests for any month. Also career bests are Giancarlo's slugging percentage and OPS (on-base plus slugging) at .743 and 1.164 respectively. Stanton has a batting average of .333 is also his career best average for a month. For everything that is made of Josh Hamilton's monster season, Stanton's stats for the month of May are nearly identical in every category (except Giancarlo has more broken scoreboards).

The Marlins find themselves tied for second place in the NL East. They look to close the gap tonight versus the first-place Nationals as Josh Johnson takes the mound.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Heat have defeated the Indiana Pacers in six games to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade dominated the last three games of the series, but they have their three-point shooters to thank.

In the first three games of the series, the Heat shot 5-for-42 (11.9%) from three-point range. In the final three games of the series, Miami shot 21-for-48 (43.8%). When Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller are consistently contributing, this Miami team is tough to beat even without the help of All-Star Chris Bosh.

Useless Stat of the Day

Of the nine games played so far in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals (Celtics v. Sixers, Heat v. Pacers), the team that has led after the 1st quarter has gone on to lose every single one of the games (0-9).

By comparison, of the nine games played in Western Conference Semi-Final (Spurs v. Clippers, Thunder v. Lakers), the team that had led after the 1st quarter is 5-3 (one game was tied at the end of the 1st quarter).

Useless Stat of the Day

The Heat have allowed 82.6 points per game this postseason, more than 10 points fewer than their regular season and the best of all 16 playoff teams. Of all 16 playoff teams, the Heat have the second-highest +/- differential at +10.8. The Spurs are the only team above them with a +16. All five of the Heat's playoff wins have come by at least 9 points while the two losses have been by a combined 5 points.  The majority of those games have come with Chris Bosh in the lineup. He will be unavailable once again tonight. Miami has lost their only full game without Bosh this postseason.

The Miami Heat take on the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Final tonight. The series is tied 1-1.

The Key to Heath Bell's Success (Or Failure)

To say that Miami Marlins Closer, Heath Bell, is struggling is an understatement. The $27 million man has an ERA of 10.03 and 4 (officially) blown saves along with other blown ties.

Heath Bell has not been 100% awful. There is a silver lining. When Heath Bell has an outing with at least one strikeout, he is a completely different pitcher. In the combined outings where Bell strikes out a batter, he has gone 7 innings pitched while allowing only one earned run (ERA of 1.29). In outings where Bell fails to record a strikeout, he has lasted 4.2 IP while allowing 12 earned runs for an astronomical ERA of 23.14.

The Marlins Closer has only pitched one inning where he has not allowed a run nor recorded a strikeout.
Bell’s ERA In outings where he walks a batter? 13.50

While many suggest that Bell’s signing was a complete failure, to me it appears to be either hit or miss. If he records a strikeout, he turns into a dominate pitcher, however those outings without a K, cover your eyes.

Useless Stat of the Day

Sunday afternoon, the Miami Marlins improved to 18-16 with a walk-off Grand Slam by Giancarlo Stanton. It was already the 5th walk-off victory for the Fish, which is tied for the major league lead.

The Marlins are now 10-2 in the month of May, after finishing April with a record of 8-14.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Marlins lead the MLB in stolen bases (34) and stolen bases percentage (85%). The Marlins are led by Emilio Bonifacio with his Major League leading 15 stolen bases and still has yet to be caught stealing.

The Fish are also tied with the Colorado Rockies with the most blown saves (8) in the majors and are the worst in save percentage (38%). Out of their 13 save opportunities, only 5 have been successfully closed out.

Despite all that, the Marlins are in fourth place in the NL East with a record of 16-15. They are only 2.5 games back of the Nationals and Braves for first place.

Useless Stat of the Day

The New York Knicks have gone 4,024 days without winning a playoff game. Their last playoff victory came on April 29, 2001 in a First Round Game 3 versus the Toronto Raptors. They would go on to lose that series along with an NBA record 13 consecutive playoff games after that.

New York is one game shy of being swept out of the first round by the Miami Heat. In the three games of the series, the Knicks are averaging 77 points per game while allowing 97 points per game to Miami. Carmelo Anthony has shot 22-for-64 (34%) with 6 assists and 13 turnovers in the series.

Game 4 will be on Sunday at 3:30 PM in Madison Square Garden. If they fail to win on Sunday, the Knicks will go at least another year without being able to snap the streak of futility.  

Useless Stat of the Day

The 2012 NBA Playoffs are in full swing. For the second straight year, the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs top their respective conferences and own the #1 seed and home-court advantage through their Conference Finals.

For the past nine seasons, since the 2002-2003 season, only one top seeded team in the Eastern Conference has reached the NBA Finals. The '08 Boston Celtics were the only team to reach (and win) the NBA Finals as a #1 seed in the East since 2003. In that span, six #2 seeds, one #3 seed, and one #4 seed have went on to win the East.

The Miami Heat were the top seed in 2005 but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons. Both times the Heat went on to the NBA Finals, they were seeded #2 and beat the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference Finals despite not having home-court advantage ('06 Pistons, '11 Bulls).

This pattern appears as though it might continue this year. The #1 Chicago Bulls have already lost the heart of their team in Derrick Rose for the remainder of the playoffs and the beginning of next season. The Miami Heat are current favorites in the East and are aiming to be the seventh #2 seed to make the Finals in the last ten seasons.

The Miami Heat Answer their Critics

Monday night, the Heat took a 2-0 hold of their first round playoff series versus hated rival New York Knicks. After winning Game 1 by 33 points, the Heat would not slow down yet only winning by a mere ten points, 104-94. Heading into the playoffs, the Heat have heard their fair share of doubts and concerns. Most media outlets supplied several reasons why the Heat will be unable to hoist up the Larry O'Brien trophy at the end of the season. Two games in, the Heat answer back.

Bench Scoring
No one doubts the brilliance of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, however everyone else is a mystery. The Heat have looked their best this season when their bench is productive. Two of the most important bench players, Mike Miller and Shane Battier, are averaging 10 and 9.5 points per game respectively after the first two games. Miller averaged 6.1 ppg and Battier averaged 4.8 ppg in the 2011-12 season, both well below their career averages.

Turnovers
Dwyane Wade admitted that for the Heat to be the most successful they need to protect the ball. Through the first two games, the Heat have turned it over a combined 22 times. In comparison, Miami has forced the Knicks into 37 turnovers so far this series.

Chris Bosh
The least respected player of the Big 3 (oftentimes called "The Big 2" as a slap in the face), Chris Bosh is considered the Wild Card for this team. He has been called the most important player that will key the Heat's success by Head Coach Erik Spoelstra. While relatively quiet in Game 1, Bosh shot 7-for-12 in Game 2 and got to the line eight times while netting 21 points.

3PT Defense
The Heat's 3-point defense is at times considered their Achilles Heel. They are fifth-worst in the league in 3pt percentage against. With the playoffs in the air, the Heat's defense has been nothing short of suffocating. New York has shot 12-for-36, 33.3% on the series. Only five teams in the league allowed less than 33.3% on the season.

"Clutch" Time
Although there was no opportunity for clutch time in Game 1 since the game was over by halftime, the Heat held on in clutch time in Game 2. From 1:37 left in the 3rd quarter, until 4:52 left in the 4th quarter, the Knicks made only one field goal. With the game largely in hand, the Heat still outscored New York 25-20 in the first eleven and a half minutes of the last quarter (NY added five points in garbage time in the last 30 seconds).

It has only been two games, but it is a great start to the postseason for the Miami Heat. They have won games by playing solid all-around team basketball. If they maintain this level of play for the next two months, expect them to parade down Biscayne Boulevard in late-June.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Marlins look to wrap up the month of April on a strong note and split the series with the Diamondbacks today at 12:40 p.m. April has not been too kind to the Marlins. They are 8-13 with three blown saves, although they have also had three walk-off wins.

The Marlins are currently undefeated on Monday's this year. They are 1-0 with a win in the Phillies home opener to the 2012 season. Since then, the Fish have not played on a Monday until today.  Mark Buehrle takes the mound for the Marlins as the D-Backs counter with rookie Patrick Corbin, who will be making his MLB debut.

Useless Stat of the Day

This week, since Monday, April 23, all the South Florida Professional sports teams (Heat, Marlins Panthers) are win-less at 0-7.

The Miami Heat are 0-2 falling to the Celtics and Wizards, although without the Big 3.
The Miami Marlins are 0-3 on the week, getting swept by the New York Mets, with the help of Heath Bell. The Marlins are riding a five-game losing streak dating back to last Friday.
The Florida Panthers are 0-2 and eliminated from the NHL Playoffs after last night's 2OT loss to the Devils.

...and the Miami Dolphins drafted Ryan Tannehill. That is kind of like a loss.

Useless Stat of the Day

Winless in his last nine starts, dating back to last season, Josh Johnson, has not received more than 3 runs of support while on the mound for the Marlins. In those nine starts, JJ has gone 0-3 with six no decisions. Of the six no decisions, the Marlins are 4-2, finding no problem giving run support to the bullpen. JJ's ERA is a solid 3.18 in that span, lasting an average of 6.1 innings per start.

Tuesday night was a prime example of Josh Johnson as of late. Johnson left the game one out shy of completing 7 innings and leaving a man on first base. The bullpen walked the next three batters, allowing a run, which kindly gets awarded to JJ, while the Fish's offense only muster up one run in a 2-1 loss to the Mets.

Perhaps Josh Johnson should spend a little extra time in the batting cages so he can provide himself some offense.    

Useless Stat of the Night

The Miami Marlins fell in New York to the Mets 2-1 on Tuesday night. The Marlins have now scored 1 run or less in 6 of their 16 games and, subsequently, are 0-6 in those games.

When the Marlins score 5 or more runs, they are 7-1. They are 0-8 when failing to reach 5 runs scored.  

Useless Stat of the Day

Monday, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, will announce his retirement after playing 21 seasons on 6 different teams. More than half his career was spent behind the plate for the Texas Rangers. The 14-time All-Star won the AL MVP in 1999 and collected 7 Silver Slugger and 13 Gold Glove Awards.

Rodriguez spent one season (2003) with the Florida Marlins. In that one season, Pudge won more postseason series' (3) with the Fish than the rest of his career combined (2). In '03, Pudge won his first and only World Series with the Marlins.

Useless Stat of the Day

Thursday night, the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls 83-72. These two teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the East and are expected to clash in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls played without Derrick Rose and the Miami Heat held out Chris Bosh from last night's showdown.

Chris Bosh has always been considered the wild card for the Heat's success. Many believe that Chris Bosh needs to be a scoring and rebounding threat for the Heat to win the title. Although Bosh did not play last night, his impact versus the Bulls is noticeable. 

Defensively, Bosh shuts down the Bulls mid-range game. This season, when Bosh is on the court, the Bulls shoot 29% from the distance outside the paint and inside the arc. In that same range, the Bulls shoot 47% with Bosh on the bench. Bosh's presence on the court accounts for an 18% difference defensively. 

Marlins Report: Two Weeks Later

The Miami Marlins have anticipated the start of this season and the opening their very own ballpark for nearly a decade. Heading into the off season, the usually stingy management decided to open their wallets and invest in a new coach and some new talent to make the 2012 season more exciting. Opening day came and went, and the Marlins found themselves near the bottom of the NL East with a manager suspended half their games for his controversial comments.

Two weeks into the season and the Marlins are not where they thought they would be. With a 5-6 record, they are in last place in their division (even though that same record would be good for 2nd place in the Central). Their offense has been stagnant, newly acquired closer, Heath Bell, has blown two saves, and Josh Johnson has looked like anything but an ace. Despite their shortcomings, their have been some bright spots for the Fish.

Surprises

• Emilio Bonifacio leads the Marlins with a .341  average and a .449 on-base percentage. He's also tied for the most stolen bases in the majors with seven.
• Omar Infante has more home runs (4) than Hanley Ramirez, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gaby Sanchez combined (3, all by Ramirez). He leads the club with nine of his thirteen hits being extra base hits.
• The Marlins Bullpen has been superb (aside for the closing woes). Steve Cishek, Chad Gaudin, and Randy Choate have allowed a combined zero earned runs in 16 innings pitched. The Bullpen has accounted for three of the five wins.

Room for Improvement

• Giancarlo Stanton is doing his best Albert Pujols impression and is homer-less in his 40 plate appearances.
• Gaby Sanchez is batting a mere .200. Last season Gaby averaged 5.9 at bats/strikeout. Already this season, he has struck out 11 times and is averaging 3.6 at bats/strikeout.
• Josh Johnson allowed 21 hits and 9 earned runs in his first two starts. He did not allow his 21st hit and 9th earned run until his seventh start in the 2011. JJ settled down Tuesday night against the Cubs, lasting seven innings pitched and allowing only two earned runs.

The Marlins are in no position to panic, things have started to come together as of late. They are one blown save away from having a 4-game winning streak. With the end of the starting rotation looking solid, it is only a matter of time for front end to sharpen up. Only thing to say here: 151 games left.

Useless Stat of the Day

Ozzie Guillen makes his return tonight after serving his suspension, in Marlins Park as the Fish host the Cubs.

Guillen led the Marlins to a record of 2-3 before being suspended for five games. With Joey Cora managing the club, the Marlins also went 2-3. Heath Bell decided not to play favorites either and blew a save that took a win away from Carlos Zambrano under both managers.

Useless Stat of the Day

Tuesday, Josh Johnson takes on Ryan Dempster as the Marlins (4-6) host the Cubs (3-7). JJ has not pitched against the Cubs since August 15, 2008, where he gave up 3 runs in 6 innings pitched in a losing effort.

In his first two starts of the 2012 season, Josh Johnson has allowed a combined 21 hits and 9 earned runs. Last season, Johnson did not allow his 21st hit and 9th earned run until his 7th start on the year on May 5th. With an ERA of 8.38, Johnson's ERA has not been this high since June 29, 2007, after his 3rd start of the 2007 season (10.97).

Useless Stat of the Day

Tonight, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat take on the Chicago Bulls at 8:00 pm at the United Center.

In their only other visit to his hometown this season, Dwyane Wade scored a season high 36 points while making a season high 16 field goals. Wade averages 22.4 PPG vs. the Bulls in his career, almost three points lower than his career average.

Useless Stat of the [Night]

The Miami Marlins are currently 0-2 when playing on national television. They fell 4-1 to the Cardinals on Opening Night and fell 7-1 Wednesday night to the hands of Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies. In both games Josh Johnson collected the loss while the team scores only one run in each.

The Marlins are 2-2 in all other games. Thankfully for Marlins fans, the Fish don't have many more nationally televised games for the season. The next one coming on May 12th when the Marlins host the New York Mets.

Useless Stat of the Day

Many people and media outlets are making a big deal of the Heat's recent slump (if you even consider going 13-8 being in a slump), however a crucial factor has been missing during said "slump". Mike Miller returned to the Heat lineup Sunday night against the Pistons after missing the previous 15 games due to an ankle sprain on March 10th versus Indiana.

With Mike Miller on the floor, the Miami Heat are 24-5. That is a win percentage of .828, higher than the Heat's .727 win percentage throughout the entire season.

Without Miller, the Heat are 16-10, a mere win percentage (by Heat standards) of .615.

Detroit Tigers Dominate Opening Weekend

Three quick games into the 2012 MLB Season and the Detroit Tigers have already displayed signs of dominance. Sitting atop the relatively thin AL Central division with a 3-0 record, the Tigers swept the opening series against the Red Sox and they are the team with the most runs (26), most RBI's (24), most home runs (7), highest batting average (.345), and highest slugging percentage (.593) in the majors. Of the top fifteen players in OPS (on-base plus slugging), four of them are Detroit Tigers (Cabrera, Avila, Jackson, Fielder).

Last season, the Tigers offense was fourth in the majors in runs scored. That potent offense just got more powerful with the off-season acquisition if Prince Fielder. Prince is already helping out his new ball club with 2 home runs, 3 RBI's, and a .417 batting average.

In three quick games the Tigers have proven:

• They have the best offense in the big leagues. See above. 
• You can't count ever count them out. The Tigers faced a multi-run deficit in the bottom of the 9th as well as in the bottom of the 11th and still came back to win Sunday afternoon. 
• The best pitcher in the whole world is a Tiger. Cy Young winner and AL MVP, Justin Verlander pitched a gem in shutting down the Red Sox and allowing only two hits and no runs in 8 innings on Opening Day to show that he has not lost a step.

The Detroit Tigers should walk away with the AL Central without much of a fight. They might even clinch before the All-Star break. The only concern with this team is the pitching staff. Aside from Verlander, they need to prove the rest of the starters and the bullpen are capable and will not become a liability on the team. Who knows, maybe even a sub-par staff and bullpen won't matter if they keep putting up 9 runs a game. 

Look for this team to make a run to break some offensive records and seriously contend for a championship. 

Useless Stat of the Day

After getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays to open the 2012 MLB Season, the New York Yankees sit at the bottom of the AL East (alongside the Boston Red Sox). The New York Yankees are currently amid a 7-game regular season losing streak dating back to last September, as well as a 7-game losing streak to the Tampa Bay Rays. Time to panic?

...maybe not.

The Yankess visit the Orioles (3-0) Monday night at 7:05 pm with Ivan Nova on the hill. They don't play the Rays again until May 8th in New York.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Florida Panthers clinched a playoff berth on Thursday night, despite losing 4-2 to the Washington Capitals, thanks to a loss and elimination of the Buffalo Sabres from playoff contention.
It was their first playoff berth since 2000.

Panthers Claw Out Of Obscurity

There are now only six teams in the four major sports that have gone longer than the Panthers without a postseason bid.

	League
Buffalo Bills	NFL
Baltimore Orioles	MLB
Kansas City Royals	MLB
Pittsburgh Pirates	MLB
Toronto Blue Jays	MLB
Washington Nationals	MLB

  -- The Associated Press

Useless Stat of the Day

For today's useless stat, we're going to revisit one of the first useless stats, the Miami Heat's Back In Black success. Wednesday night's match up against the Thunder was not originally selected at the beginning of the season as a Back In Black game, however it was later penciled in due to the implications and hype of this game.

Miami HEAT "Back In Black"
1/19 vs. Lakers	W 98-87
1/29 vs. Bulls	W 97-93
2/19 vs. Magic	W 90-78
2/23 vs. Knicks	W 102-88
3/29 vs. Mavericks	W 106-85
4/4 vs. Thunder	W 98-93
4/10 vs. Celtics

Including last night, the Heat are now 6-0 in their all-black jerseys, winning by an average margin of 11.2 points per game. Although the Heat have played all of these games on their home court, the strength of schedule in these promotional games is an impressive .633.

The next scheduled Back In Black game is set for next Tuesday, April 10 as the Heat try to avenge Sunday's loss to the Celtics. 

Anybody know the theme of this year's playoffs yet?

Big Night in Miami

Many Miami sports fans have waited for April 4, 2012 for quite some time. Marlins fans have been waiting years, while Heat fans have been waiting months (perhaps more intensely in the past ten days). The rest of the country took note as the Marlins Opening Night aired on ESPN and the "Finals Preview" aired simultaneously on ESPN2.

The night began in Marlins ballpark while the team put on a spectacle to debut the new park for the team with a new name and new uniforms. They flashed the homerun feature, they introduced the player with showgirls, and they brought in the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. If you stopped watching right after Josh Johnson threw out the first strike in the ballpark to thousands of flashing camera bulbs, then you would not have been happier. Perhaps the Marlins forgot that they actually had to play a baseball game after the festivities. The defending champs, even without Albert Pujols, showed they are champs for a reason. Kyle Lohse shut down the Marlins as the Cards cruised to a 4-1 win to open the MLB season on the western hemisphere.

There was still a basketball game to be played. In a game considered by many to be a preview of the NBA Finals, the Heat and Thunder both brought their "A" game. This game was physical and had a definite playoff atmosphere. LeBron James and Kevin Durant seemed to be playing 1-on-1 for much of the game as they fought to prove who is worthy of the coveted MVP award. LeBron led the way with 34 points and 10 assists as the Heat avenged their loss to the Thunder last week with a 98-93 win. If this match-up does end up being the NBA Finals, the country will be satisfied.

Let's not forget the Florida Panthers are 1 point away from clinching their first playoff berth in 11 years.

....and did the Dolphins just draft another Offensive Lineman?

Useless Stat of the Day

On Wednesday night, the Miami Marlins open their new ballpark against the defending Champion, St. Louis Cardinals at 7:00 on ESPN.

In the past five seasons, the defending World Series Champion is 1-4 on Opening Day. When the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006, they also lost their Opening Day game in 2007 6-1 against the New York Mets. 

Useless Stat of the Day

On Tuesday night, the Miami Heat take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Chris Bosh, while he has been struggling of late, should be excited to play this game. Bosh shoots 60% from the floor on Tuesdays, as well as 67% from behind the arc, his highest percentages of any day of the week. He averages 21.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in the ten Tuesday games of the season.

If useless stats mean anything, expect Chris Bosh to have a solid game tonight.

Marlins Park Review

Over the past two days, the Miami Marlins opened up their new stadium for a pair of games against the New York Yankees. After seeing the ballpark with my own eyes only one word came to mind: Beautiful.

I have been attending Marlins games since before I can even remember. All of which coming in Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins/Land Shark/Sun Life Stadium. Although it was a football stadium, it was the only stadium I had witnessed baseball in for most of my life and I was used to it.

After visiting Camden Yards in Baltimore, I saw what a real baseball stadium is supposed to look like and how beautiful it can be. The Marlins Park reminded me of the awe that captured me when entering Oriole Park. This is how baseball is meant to be played.

The retractable roof was a must for this stadium and it was perfectly executed. I entered the ballpark with the roof closed and the temperature inside was perfect. Prior to the start of the game the roof was opened yet I did not feel one degree warmer or cooler. In the hot summer days, as well as rainy days, the air conditioning and roof will make watching games in South Florida bearable.  

Next, the concourse level is open. As you walk around the park or wait in line in the concession stands, you can always view the field, contrary to their previous home. The open area makes more for a homey feel. It is more inviting and makes the fans always feel a part of the action.

Even if you get upper deck seats, you still have great seats. every seat in the building has the feeling that you are right on top of the field. The multiple decks are pressed up and sit right atop the field. You may sit a little higher but you are still right on the field, much closer than you would be in Sun Life (or whatever they decide to call it now).

Most importantly, the ballpark is great because of the team on the diamond. The Miami Marlins is a young and extremely exciting team to watch. With the additions of characters like Ozzie Guillen and Carlos Zambrano, and the signings of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell, and along with all the players back from last year, this team has enormous potential. Fans want to see a team that wins and this team should do plenty of that.

Useless Stat of the Day

In Sunday afternoons 91-72 loss to the Celtics, the Miami Heat outscored the Boston Celtics by 11 points with LeBron James on the bench.

Useless Stat of the Day

This year's Men's Division I Basketball Championship marks the first time since 2009 that the Butler Bulldogs are not playing in the game.

Heat/Raptors Recap

In the Heat's 113-101 over the Toronto Raptors, Miami had a season-high 14 dunks. Their previous season-high was ten.

Useless Stat of the Day

Saturday night, the Kentucky Wildcats face off against in-state rival, Louisville Cardinals and the Kansas Jayhawks square off against the Ohio State Buckeyes in New Orleans to determine who will get the chance to play for a National Championship.

With that being said, of Final Four teams, the highest seeded team remaining has won the National Championship 10 of the last 13 seasons, including each time in the last five seasons. Additionally, a #1 seed has not lost to a lower seeded team in the Final Four since #2 seed Connecticut edged out Duke 79-78 in the 2004 Semi-Final game in San Antonio.

No "I" In Team

Heading into Thursday's game versus the 2011-12 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, the Miami Heat point guards have been under heavy scrutiny since the All-Star break. Both Chalmers and Cole have been struggling to find their shot and assist the Big 3 in the running of the offense. Tonight, the point guards put up a combined 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals while only committing only 3 turnovers.

Another usual staple for the Heat over the past decade has been the consistency of Udonis Haslem. This season has been by far Haslem's worst shooting season of his career.  It appears as though he has found his mid-range jumper. Haslem finished with season-high 16 points on 6-10 shooting and in his last seven games he is shooting 57%. With the assistance of Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem also helped shut down Dirk Nowitzki in the second half. After shooting an unreal 8-10 in the first half, Dirk was held to 1-9 in the second half.

Thursday night was the second time in the Big 3 Era that the Miami Heat did not have a 20-point scorer. The first time was December 1, 2010 versus the Detroit Pistons. In both instances, the Heat enjoyed victories of at least 29 points. The Heat look most impressive when they aren't relying on any single player to provide the majority of the offense. On this night, the recently quiet bench chipped in with 36 points.

The Heat enjoyed a nice comfortable victory against a good team in the Dallas Mavericks. This was the kind of win that could give this team their confidence back (if they ever even lost it). Could we all agree and just start the playoffs already?

Useless Stat of the Day

Cuban Defector and Oakland Athletics centerfielder, Yoenis Cespedes, is either tied for or leads the league in:

• Doubles
• Extra Base Hits
• Homeruns
• RBIs
• Strikeouts
• OPS (On Base Percentage + Slugging)
• Hit by Pitches

Maybe Billy Beane wasn't that crazy to uncharacteristically throw all that money at Cespedes. 

AL Dark Horse?

The Kansas City Royals are one the teams making the biggest noise this preseason. While its difficult to accurately gauge what a team or a player will look like when the games begin to matter, several Royals have made their mark in Spring Training.

Out of both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues, a pair of Royals outfielders claim the first and third places with the best average. Twenty-five year old, Lorenzo Cain leads all players with a .431 AVG and the five-year veteran, Alex Gordon is third at .426. The outfield is not the only place Royals have been successful. Last season, Eric Hosmer proved to Kansas City that he is the first baseman of the future. This preseason, he is  picking up where he left off. Hosmer leads all players with 22 RBI's, three more than the next closest player. 

To quote Buster Olney's twitter, "If there was a Cy Young Award for spring training, this guy would win it --[insert link of a picture of Luis Mendoza here]-- and he's with the Kansas City Royals."   Mendoza has been the most impressive pitcher for any team this preseason, winning a league-high 4 games and a sporting a league-low 0.54 ERA. Due to his dominant performances, he has been granted one of the two final spots in the Royals rotation.

While it is preseason, Kansas City possesses promising young pieces that can make an impact in the season if they can remain healthy. Look for the Royals to make a strong push for one of the two Wild Card spots. 

Useless Stat of the Day

This NBA Season the Miami Heat announced they will be featuring all-black uniforms for six games this season as a part of their "Back In Black" promotion presented by Adidas. The Heat have played four of the six and are a perfect 4-0 in the games donning all-black.

Miami HEAT "Back In Black"
1/19 vs. Lakers	W 98-87
1/29 vs. Bulls	W 97-93
2/19 vs. Magic	W 90-78
2/23 vs. Knicks	W 102-88
3/29 vs. Mavericks
4/10 vs. Celtics

Despite the Strength of Schedule of the four games being an astounding .637, three of the four victories have been by double digits. Miami hosts Dallas in black tomorrow, March 29.

Maybe the Heat should wear all-black for the entire postseason. Hello, Larry O'Brien trophy. 

Miami Marlins Preview

Two months into the 2011 MLB Season and the Florida Marlins were one game back in the loss column for the best record in the National League behind Philadelphia. Heading into June, this young club had a 3-game lead for the Wild Card. Of course there were still over 100 games to be played in the season, but it was a promising beginning for such a young team. We have seen previous Marlins teams reach improbable success in the past and just maybe this 2011 team had the potential to make a run.

The end of May, however, saw some key Marlins go down with injuries. Through nine starts, Josh Johnson had an ERA of 1.64 and a FIP of 2.64. To give you some perspective, only Roy Halladay, Clayton Kershaw, and Cliff Lee finished 2011 with a lower FIP than JJ. AL MVP and Cy Young winner, Justin Verlander, finished with a 2.99. Unfortunately, those first nine starts would also be his last nine starts. Johnson pitched his last game in 2011 on May 16th. Hanley Ramirez also went down on May 29th. H2R would go on to miss the next 14 games.

Then on came June. Without JJ and Hanley, the fish began to flop. Florida lost the first eight games of June and 19 of the first 20. The Marlins entered the month of death at 31-22, and exited with a 36-45 record. Florida only won 5 of their 28 games in the month, found themselves in last place in the NL East and virtually knocked themselves out of any October action.

With a new name, a new logo and a new home, the Miami Marlins look to make a splash in 2012. With the additions of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell, and if Miami can stay (relatively) healthy, it seems as though the Marlins should be able to recapture the early success they enjoyed in April and May of 2011 and definitely make a run for the 2012 Playoffs. Keep in mind the playoffs have expanded to 10 teams with an additional Wild Card spot. The dynamic new manager, Ozzie Guillen, will keep this season exciting and interesting til the very end. All in all, expect the Marlins to be playing relevant games the last week of the season and at the very least compete for one of the two Wild Card spots.

The Miami Marlins host Opening Day 2012 on April 4th against the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals at 7:00 EST on ESPN.

Useless Stat of the Day

The Miami Heat are an unimpressive 2-4 on the second night of a road back-to-back. They only have one more road back-to-back left this season when they visit New York and New Jersey on April 15 and 16.

Thankfully road back-to-back's do not occur in the postseason.

Miami Heat 90, Indiana Pacers 105 - Postgame Reaction

Point Guard Play
Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole continue to struggle since the All Star break. Chalmers brought up the rear with the worst +/- differential in Indiana with -23. He did score 13 points but had trouble containing Darren Collison, who finished with 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Norris Cole pitched in with a whopping 0 points on 0-4 shooting, finishing this three game road trip on 1-12 shooting.

3 Point Shooting
It appears that every team have their best 3 Point Shooting games against the Heat. Indiana seemed to take advantage of every Heat miscue by draining a 3. They shot 55.6% from, as Jason Jackson likes to call it, the land of milk and honey. Miami turned in a good game from beyond the arc despite still missing their best sharpshooter, Mike Miller. Dwyane Wade picked up some slack with his best 3PT Shooting game making 4 of his 8 attempts, despite only making six all season prior to Sunday.

No Rebounds, No Rings
A championship has never been won in March, but game after game a direct correlation seems to exist between rebounding and wins. The Pacers dominated the boards and had a "W"  to show for it. Chris Bosh has yet another disappointing night on the glass. When you have the fewer rebounds than 6'0" Darren Collison and you are the tallest player on the floor for your team 99% of the time, there is cause for concern.

The Hustle Board
The Heat seemed to lack in all the areas of the game that require a little extra effort. Pacers outscored the Heat 11-4 in fast break points. Pacers out-rebounded the Heat on the offensive glass 14-9. Pacers forced more turnovers than the Heat 17-14.

Conclusion
Miami tends to lose in bunches. This marks the fifth time the Heat lose following another loss. This marks the first time in the Big 3 Era that the Heat lose consecutive games by double digits. This is no reason to panic, Heat fans. We are still in March. It's a long road to the finals and you know the Heat will be ready come the postseason.

Miami Heat - Double Digit Losses (Big 3 Era)

The South Florida media is making a big deal over Sunday nights 16-point loss to Western Conference favorite, Oklahoma City Thunder. This game was highly anticipated and was considered the "2012 NBA Finals Preview".  While unpleasant to watch for Heat fans, was this loss really telling of what may come of a Finals match-up between these two teams or was it merely a poorly played game?

Going back to the start of the 2010-11 season, or as I like to call it, The Big 3 Era, the Heat have suffered 13 double digit losses (postseason included).

Date	Opponent	Next Result
11/22/2010	vs IND	W by 5
11/27/2010	at DAL	L by 2
1/13/2011	at DEN	W by 5
3/4/2011	at SA	W by 30
3/16/2011	vs OKC	L by 16
3/29/2011	at CLE	W by 7
5/7/2011	at BOS	W by 8
5/15/2011	at CHI	W by 10
6/12/2011	vs DAL	W by 11
1/13/2012	at DEN	N/A
2/8/2012	at ORL	W by 12
3/4/2012	at LAL	N/A
3/25/2012	at OKC	N/A

In the rematch of the double digit loss game, the Heat have responded and won 80%  of the games (8-2).  The two losses were the Mavericks 2 point win in Miami to halt the Heat's 12 game win streak and last night's Thunder victory in OKC, although this "rematch" was held over a year later. 

The Heat have proven to be able to bounce back from big losses and learn from their mistakes, most noticeably last season's Eastern Conference Finals. Miami responded to the Bulls 21-point drubbing of the Heat in Game 1, only to come back and win the next four straight and solidify their spot in the NBA Finals. After the Mavericks embarrassed the Heat in the finals, winning by double digits only in the final Game 6, Miami regrouped in the extended off-season and made a statement in a huge win to open the 2011-12 season. 

Spoelstra and the coaching staff have done a superb job in addressing what went wrong and turning it around the next time. Anybody remember the Heat's 30-point loss to the team with the best record in the Western Conference last season in the Spurs? Ten days later they came back with a 30-point win of their own. The Thunder may be the team with the most talent outside of what is featured on South Beach, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. The regular season has its ups and downs and Sunday night was unfortunately one of the low points of the season. The have bounced back before and you can count on them bouncing back again.