Sports Agenda for Tuesday (7/10/12)
Big Story:
The Heat are in limbo right now with one of the biggest names left on the free agent wires that they can afford. The Marlins, all of them, will be watching the All-Star game at home tonight. And football season is coming like a freight train.
Miami Heat:
The Heat lost out on their prime target in Marcus Camby, who chose to be a backup for the Knicks.
Which means he should win a playoff series…maybe when he's 60.
(Sorry Knicks fans, it's just been too long since they last won a playoff series. But they did win a playoff game last year, so that's a good first step)
The Heat are awaiting word from Rashard Lewis.
The 6'10" forward would look good in a Heat uniform coming off the bench.
If he's healthy, which his limited minutes in Miami would allow, he's a decent spot-up shooter and has shot roughly 38 percent from 3-point range for his career.
For Lewis, this would be a great chance to resurrect his career and be remembered for a solid player instead of his former albatross of a contract that no team wanted, the definition of overspending.
He's not an All-Star, but he wouldn't have to be off the Heat bench.
All he'd have to do is provide a little scoring off the bench and crash the boards when he's on the court.
It's a low-risk, high-reward move for the Heat.
If he's half of the player he used to be and can provide 8-10 points off the bench, that's gold.
If not, he was signed for the veteran minimum and it's no big loss either way.
Exactly what Pat Riley loves.
Plus, giving the Heat a healthy Rashard Lewis, even at this point in his career, is highway robbery.
Here's a projected lineup for the Heat next season if Lewis signs.
Starters: PG – Mario Chalmers, SG – Dwyane Wade, SF – LeBron James, PF – Shane Battier, C – Chris Bosh
Bench: PF – Udonis Haslem, G – Ray Allen, F – Rashard Lewis, PG – Norris Cole SF – Mike Miller (assuming he's healthy), G/F – James Jones, PF – Joel Anthony
And if the kid from LSU can stroke the rock from 3 like he did in practices, maybe bringing a 7-footer along to stretch the floor as well?
Forget about it.
That's no team…..that's a space station….(sorry, wrong reference)
That's not a team, that's a JUGGERNAUT!
Miami Marlins: (All-Star break)
Yes, the Marlins are at home until Friday licking their wounds from a miserable first-half of the season.
Despite sad/comical pleas from David Samson that some Marlins players should have been an All-Star, the truth is none of them deserved it.
No player was dominant and played at an All-Star level, outside of Stanton, and even he may have been a reach.
If you want to be in the All-Star Game, don't have your team president whine about it, go on the field and prove it.
By the way, speaking of the All-Star Game, if Prince Fielder ever put his full weight behind a swing…I'm not sure the ball wouldn't end up in orbit.
The dude really needs to avoid the cheeseburgers and doughnuts.
But hey, home run derbys are supposed to be fun and it was at least moderately entertaining.
But could we get an announcer who doesn't say "back, back, back, back, back, back, back, WAAAY BACK, GONE!"
I'm thinking Gus Johnson from football…that'd be INSANELY awesome.
Miami Dolphins:
Training camp opens two weeks from Friday and that means football season is nigh.
The Herald had a good article on Reshad Jones being penciled in for one of the safety spots.
Hopefully he's honed his craft a little better. He's got the talent, it's just translating the talent onto the field.
I kind of hope Jimmy Wilson gets a crack in the starting lineup at some position because every time I've seen him, he's a pretty good ballhawk.
But we'll see if he can put it all together.
Also, there's a Baylor receiver having a pro day today for the supplemental draft Tuesday named Josh Gordon.
I mention him because the Fins have been mentioned by profootballtalk.com as a landing spot for the wide receiver.
Gordon is 6'4", 225 pounds and is expected to run a sub 4.4 40-yard dash.
So it's a faster Brandon Marshall. Intriguing.
If you don't know about the supplemental draft….it's for players who weren't in the regular draft and only became available through a myriad of issues.
The draft is held, I believe, via e-mail.
The rounds go by and if you select Gordon in say the third round with the 10th pick, then you lose that pick in next year's draft.
Typically, teams wait till late to acquire a player in the supplemental draft if they do it at all.
A few years ago, the Raiders spent, I believe, a third round pick on former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
He's not played much and for a pick that high, would be a disappointment.
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