Sports Agenda for Thursday (3/29/12)
Big Story:
The Heat hit the court again tonight, the Panthers try to make it two in a row, Jeff Ireland is on the road again, and why you should care about Wrestlemania.
Lyrics of the Day:
It would have been my father's 66th birthday today, so here's some from one of his favorite groups:
"Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. Because a vision softly creeping. Left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain. Still remains. Within the sounds of silence."
Heat: (vs. Dallas Mavericks, 8:00 p.m., TNT)
LeBron's finger has probably never gotten this much attention, but it's not what is ailing him.
When I saw him crash to the floor over a week ago against the Suns, I immediately said to my wife, his elbow is hurt and hurt badly.
He'll never admit it, but there comes a time as a coach and team president that you need to sit him down and rest him for a week or so.
Is it ideal?
No, but when your goal is the NBA title, sometimes you have to override the idea of toughness in your players.
Tonight's game will be a re-match of the NBA Finals from last year, but neither team is hitting on all cylinders, especially the Heat.
I wish I had something witty to say here, but I'm running out of ways to say the Heat are struggling.
Let's just say this….
Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers have to get past the proverbial wall or this team isn't going anywhere in the post season.
Chris Bosh needs to try and put his offcourt distractions aside and concentrate on being a difference maker in the games.
Please put Turiaf in over Joel and let Anthony bring the intensity off the bench.
And remember guys, just because they are outside the 3-point line doesn't mean you have to quit guarding them!!!!
Panthers: (vs. Minnesota Wild, 8:00 p.m., Fox Sports Florida)
There are times when a team simply must win a game and that time is now for the Panthers.
They come into Minnesota on the cusp of claiming a playoff spot for the first time since Bill Clinton was in office.
Minnesota is the third worst team in the Western Conference.
Shoulder be a no-brainer victory right?
Not with these Panthers.
This is the same team who played the worst team in the Eastern Conference and needed a shootout to win.
Now, a Panthers victory tonight and Friday night should essentially clinch the Southeast Division.
Right now, Florida is five points ahead of Washington.
If Florida can get four points over the next two games with two victories, that will push them to 93 points.
Which means Washington would have to go on a massive tear and Florida would have to get no points in the month of April for the Capitals to catch them.
I'm not saying Florida's officially in yet, but they can go ahead and make reservations for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Once the playoffs begin, all bets are off on who might wind up hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup.
Course the smart money will be on the Rangers, Penguins, Blues, Canucks, or Red Wings.
Dolphins:
General manager Jeff Ireland is on the road again today heading out to scout quarterbacks Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler.
Seeing as Missouri has played both quarterbacks, I have a unique perspective on both.
First, Tannehill is a strong-armed, mobile quarterback who throws well on the run.
I've always questioned his accuracy, but perhaps it can be tweaked with a little improvement to his footwork.
Here's what I don't like about Tannehill:
He typically came up short in big games and when things started to go bad for the team.
Last year, Texas A&M had Mizzou dead in the water, yet the Aggies defense and a sputtering offense in the second half let the Tigers storm back and win.
Trust me, I watched, after the first two quarters, Mizzou had no business winning that game.
But Tannehill and the Aggies were supposed be off the charts last season but stumbled early and often and ended the season with the coach getting fired.
Now, offense was part of the main problem as the Aggies have produced some stellar defenders.
Quick, name me an Aggies skill position player in the NFL from the last three years?
I rest my case.
Now, maybe Tannehill fits a West Coast offense better than a spread-passing attack.
But, if that's the case, wouldn't you think the head coach (read: Mike Sherman, Dolphins Offensive Coordinator) would have seen that and adapted the offense to fit that?
As for Brock Osweiler, he's the classic case of a quarterback who needed two more years of college.
He's a massive quarterback, standing roughly 6'7" tall, has a strong arm, but has questionable accuracy at best, bad footwork, and doesn't make quick decisions in moving through his progressions.
Oh yeah, and he played for Dennis Erickson at ASU.
He's not a franchise quarterback I can tell you that, but he's a good guy to have on the bench if your starter goes down.
But, I'm beginning to think Tannehill may not make it to the Dolphins drafting position and that the Cleveland Browns may snatch him up.
Ah draft season, it is so much fun!
Just call me Kiper, which is what the guys at the AP used to call me cause I knew so much about the incoming class of draftees.
Wrestlemania:
Yes, I know you think it's stupid.
It's fake, we know.
But, it's a cash cow the city may not see for a long time without the Super Bowl coming here for the next five to ten years.
It's a spectacle and if you've got 40 bucks to kick around, it's actually worth going to see on Sunday.
You don't have to know anything about it, but trust me, you'll have a helluva time laughing at both the wrestlers and the fans who take it waaaayyy too seriously.
And trust me, if they let the Rock get on the microphone for any extended period of time, you will laugh your heiney off.
I'm guessing it will pump better than $50 million into the market here, which is gold in a bad economy.
Axxess is currently going on on Miami Beach.
If you're not going to the show, definitely head out for that as it can be a lot of fun.
You can even try your hand at walking down the entrance ramp as a WWE superstar.
I can see it now……Anotnio Mora walking down the ramp to Stone Cold Steve Austin's music followed by Jason Parker coming out to….the Undertaker's music.
Now that'd be worth seeing!
We'll preview the Heat and Panthers games, plus all the sports news that's fit to print today on CBSMiami.com/sports.
Follow me on Twitter for the very latest sports news, @timkephart33
