Sports Agenda for Wednesday (6/13/12)
Big Story:
New Finals, same ol' Heat team. Plus, the Marlins lose another at home and fall to fourth place. And the NFL has a new Brett Favre drama from a former player at "The U."
Quote of the Day:
"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." – Journalist David Brinkley
Miami Heat: (off Wednesday)
Yknow, I could have sworn it started raining in the Oklahoma City arena last night during the second half.
Seeing as the Heat is from Miami, that's the only other reason I can figure they took their foot off the gas so much.
It's kinda funny actually.
Yesterday, I was talking with CBS4's Jawan Strader and we agreed the Heat needed to withstand the initial punch from OKC and then step on it in the second half.
It was the winning formula….except Oklahoma City did it, not Miami.
So what went wrong for the Heat?
I think the whole Chris Bosh off the bench move should be ended now.
He's back to playing nearly 35 minutes, so put him back on the court to start the game at center.
Keep Battier in the starting lineup to help extend the defense.
But Chris…you gotta go down low instead of settling for 3's.
I said several months ago that if Miami is settling for mid-ranger jumpers and three-point shots, they're doomed.
I give you example 4,120,361
Don't get me wrong, I like to see Battier and Chalmers get hot from downtown.
But there's no excuse for Bosh settling for three's each time down the court.
It also doesn't help when your bench is outscored 19-12.
Or when Dwyane Wade is 7-19 and scored just 19 points.
Plus, just how good is Kevin Durant?
Don't get me wrong, I'd still take LeBron to build a team around first.
But if all I needed was scoring, I'd take Durant every day and twice on Sunday.
Bosh scored a total of 10 points off the bench….that's simply not going to cut it against a team as prolific as the Thunder.
The Thunder will be happy to sit back and let the Heat have mid-range jumpshots because statistically, that's the worst shot in basketball.
Plus, if the Heat only get to the free throw line 18 times in a game….it's either referee incompetence or LeBron and Wade aren't attacking the basket enough.
I'll put this loss on Wade and Bosh because they were nearly invisible most of the game.
It's sad, LeBron almost matched Durant's output, but he'll be harshly criticized for his annual fourth quarter disappearing act.
If the Heat keep this up, we'll all be able to a download the new Miami Heat ringtone from our phone provider.
It's a nice new app, it has no rings…just like the Heat.
Here's what the Heat can build on from Game 1.
LeBron played well and the team overall shot well from the free throw line.
Battier has really stepped up his game since the start of the Conference finals and keeping him in the starting lineup is big.
Chalmers had one turnover in the game and six assists….the only problem was Russell Westbrook had 27 points and 11 assists and 8 rebounds.
Miami will have to have someone to take up the scoring load to help out.
LeBron can get close to or match Kevin Durant most nights.
But someone will have to step up and keep up with Westbrook's scoring as well.
Plus, there's NO excuse for letting Nick Collison score 8 points. NONE!
The Heat's defense contained everyone except Westbrook and Durant.
Miami hasn't run into a team this athletic in the playoffs.
It's a different style of basketball, and honestly, I'm not sure the Heat have enough left in the tank to keep up.
At least not Dwyane Wade.
I hate saying that because I've always liked D-Wade's game, but sometimes Father Time catches up with everyone.
Can the Heat take Game 2?
Absolutely, but it's going to be really, REALLY, tough.
Miami Marlins: (vs. Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.)
The Marlins continued their annual June death spiral down the NL East rankings.
The Marlins dropped to fourth place in the NL East after another home loss.
Miami winds up an absolutely horrid home stand with a game against the Red Sox tonight.
How bad have the Fish been in June?
They're 3-8 after tearing up the league in May.
Talk about Jekyll and Hyde.
What's worse is the home stand they are completing, the Marlins are 1-8 and are giving up 5.75 runs per game.
That's just flat out awful.
Not to mention the Marlins averaged 2.1 runs per game.
Mercifully they close out the home stand tonight.
Ed Reed:
I call him the new Brett Favre…well, maybe just short of Brett Favre.
Reed has turned his annual will I retire or will I play into an act with the Baltimore Ravens.
He decided to skip this week's minicamp, but it's said to be for family reasons.
I'll give him a break on that.
But he's getting into dangerous territory of becoming Favre junior with his annual retirement dance.
He's not likely to retire this year, which is good news for the Ravens…and NFL fans everywhere.
NFL:
By the way, speaking of football, according to profootballtalk.com the rumor going around right now is that a certain California rock band may be headed for the Super Bowl.
Who you ask?
How about Van Halen!!!!
Finally, a halftime I'd be on the edge of my seat for!!!
Follow me on Twitter @timkephart33
