MSL FEATURE: Congratulations To Our Own Jason Paul! (Receives Gift From Mike & Mike)

Our own Jason Paul was given a surprise from the Mike & Mike crew

 [Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle FEATURE]

Our very own Jason Paul (real name: Jason Klenetsky) was treated to a gift from the Mike & Mike crew over at ESPN for their 15th anniversary. It contained a t-shirt, hat, cookies, popcorn, among other goodies. Congratulations Jason from the entire MSL staff! And thank you to everybody over at the Mike & Mike and ESPN staff!

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Jason Klenetsky is a writer and analyst for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle covering South Florida sports. He's also been featured on MSL Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @JBird2000.

Goran Dragic Plays Old Team, Scores 21; HEAT Defeat Suns 118-95 In High Tension Game

Tensions were high in Miami tonight as Goran Dragic faced off against his old team, it eventually led to Hassan Whiteside being ejected in the 3rd quarter after being fouled by Alex Len of the Phoenix Suns, who was also ejected

by Pedro Armas | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

The Suns and HEAT met for the final time this season tonight.

In the last game, Miami left with a victory and were on a franchise record nine straight wins against the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix and Miami both needed a win tonight to stay in playoff contention.

Miami started off the first quarter at a slow pace with a bad defensive start. Markeiff Morris was getting easy buckets which forced the HEAT to pick it up on the defensive side. They pressured the Phoenix offense which led to less given up points.

On the other side of the ball, Miami focuses their offense on Hassan Whiteside. Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade were on the bench most of the first, and the first quarter ended with the HEAT down by one.

HEAT start the second quarter with a lot of forced turnovers, and being able to turn defense into offense by scoring off of these Phoenix turnovers.

A majority of the second quarter points came from inside the paint.

Dragic gets into early foul trouble in the 2nd and that forced him to play limited minutes. Miami then starts to change the pace of the game and speeds it up. Tyler Johnson starts to fill in for Goran Dragic and Miami finishes the first half with a new season high in points in a quarter (39).

The Miami HEAT head into halftime with a 62-48 lead over the Phoenix Suns.

Many fouls were called in the early stages of the third quarter and tensions started to run high as physical combat started to increase among Phoenix-Miami.

Goran Dragic was called for his 5th foul and was sent to the locker room, Markeiff Morris was ejected for a Flagrant II foul on Dragic, Whiteside dunks and is shoved by Alex Len when he comes down, forcing Whiteside to tackle him almost like a football player. Whiteside and Len were then ejected. 

With the loss of Hassan Whiteside, Miami became a lot more vulnerable in the paint, but Phoenix doesn't take advantage of that.

Even after the ejections, play was still dirty and referees started to call more technical fouls.

Tyler Johnson scared the HEAT fans tonight as well when he fell on his ankle and appeared to be in a lot of pain, but soon gets up and is moving around the court fine.

Miami keeps it going in the final minutes of play by not letting Phoenix back in it because of a rhythm lead by Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson that ultimately led to closing out the Suns.

Tyler Johnson had a season high of 26 points, with 11 scored in the 4th. Dragic also had a bit of fun scoring 21 points on his former team with a couple of mid to long range jumpers. Miami had good defensive presence during their offensive runs, and six players from the HEAT had over double digits in scoring.

The Suns started off with good offense taking a nice small lead at the beginning of the game, but Miami responded with pressuring defense and is able to take a huge lead in the second quarter. Markeiff is ejected and Phoenix takes a blow because of that. The Suns start to bring the turnovers down in the second half, but they couldn't make their three pointers and that caused them from getting back into the game.

The Miami HEAT stays in the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs and now prepare for Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 PM EST at the American Airlines Arena. You can catch the game on TV on ESPN (nationally) and locally down here in South Florida on SUN Sports.

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Pedro Armas is a writer and analyst for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle. He's also made appearances on MSL Radio, most recently South Florida Sports Scene w/ Scott Salomon. You can follow him on Twitter @PedroArmas2323.

HEAT Have Late Push, Fall To Hawks 93-91

Dwyane Wade shoots in a loss against the Atlanta Hawks

by Jason Paul | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

 The Miami HEAT got off to a rocky start to begin the night against the Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta never looked back beating Miami at home 93-91 Saturday night.

Hassan Whiteside was a bright spot in an otherwise poor shooting night by grabbing 10 rebounds in the first quarter alone, and 24 for the game while scoring 14 points in 33 minutes. But in the end, it was not enough as Miami lost its second straight one possession game.

This would have been a great signature win for the HEAT who find themselves slipping further and further out of playoff contention. Now, Miami will need to learn how to win at home quickly if they hope to stay in the playoff hunt as they play nine out of their next 11 at American Airlines Arena.

The Hawks, who at one point had an 18 point lead, were without an assortment of starters per coaches decision, including starting PG Jeff Teague, PF Al Horford and SF DeMarre Carroll.

The Miami HEAT dropped to 25-33 for the season, while Atlanta improved its record to 47-12.

Miami's next game will be March 2 against Goran Dragic's old team, the Phoenix Suns, in Miami at the AAA. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST. You can catch the game nationally on NBA TV, and locally in South Florida on SUN Sports.

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Jason Paul (also known as Jason Klenetsky) is a writer for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle. He also makes appearances on MSL Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @JBird2000.

Sun Life Stadium's New Look

The latest picture of the renovations of Sun Life Stadium; all of the orange seats have been removed, teal seats will replace

by Stephen Ur III | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

The Dolphins have been working on renovations to Sun Life Stadium, which has been home to the NFL team since 1987.

Formerly known as Dolphin Stadium, the team name was changed in January 2010 when the team signed a 5 year, $37.5 million deal to have the stadium renamed.

The team has now put over $400 million into a new construction project for the stadium, according to multiple reports. New renovations include a roof over the stadium, a bigger scoreboard, new video boards and extras for fans, including plus seats at midfield.

Looking at a digital animation of the new look of Sun Life Stadium, it resembles the look of University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals.

There will be a roof, but there will also be a giant rectangular-shaped hole in the roof to let the sun in on the stadium. This tactic has also been used at the old Cowboys Stadium and Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.

There is also a proposal for what appears to be a bar down by the field, which is called the 72 Club. The club get its name after the Miami Dolphins 1972-1973 season, in which they went 17-0 and won Super Bowl VII over the Washington Redskins. The perfect season, while have being threatened, is the only perfect season in NFL history.

Other "clubs" include the North Sideline Club, the Field Club, the Nine and so many more.

The stadium will also host international soccer games, major concerts and will host one of the few College Football Playoff games.

The team hopes for the stadium renovations to be done by 2016, beginning with the change in seat colors in 2015. Instead of orange seats, every seat will be teal.

The plan for the renovation is to hopefully host another Super Bowl in South Beach. Miami is currently third in the running for hosting Super Bowl LIII in February 2019, behind Atlanta and Dallas.

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Stephen Ur III is a writer, radio analyst and the VP of Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle. He also co-hosts Inside The Sports World with Darrin Williamson. You can follow him on Twitter @writingfanatic2.

Dolphins Done With Wallace

 

  Mike Wallace, who signed with the Miami Dolphins just back in 2013, already wants out, and Miami is not necessarily a fan of him being apart of the organization either. What lies next for Mike Wallace?

 

by Stephen Ur III | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

According to multiple reports, the Miami Dolphins are looking to trade veteran WR Mike Wallace. 

Wallace has played the last two seasons in Miami, which have not been good seasons off the field, according to Sports Illustrated.  This news had been foreshadowed after the Dolphins 37-24 defeat to their division rival New York Jets in the 2014 season finale. 

 Wallace was benched in the second half of the game because he was upset at the way he was being used. A reporter asked Wallace if he would return to the team in 2015, and he responded, “I'm not the general manager or anything, or the head coach. I'm not sure."  

We are sure now that it is highly unlikely that Wallace will be dressing in white for Miami Dolphins home games in 2015. 

 Wallace had signed a five-year, $60 million deal with the team in 2013. He also had 67 receptions for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014. While these numbers are not bad for a season as a wide receiver, his 20 percent deep ball rate has dropped from what it was during his four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which he caught 37.8 percent of passes thrown 20 yards or further. 

While Wallace himself has yet to speak to media about the alleged trading, there are questions still yet to be answered.  

The first one is what team will be looking into trading for or signing Wallace. No team has yet to reach out to the Dolphins about Wallace, as he is still under contract with the team.

The other question that lies in the Mike Wallace trade talk is if the Dolphins do have him traded, how will they be able to strengthen their wide receiving core?

The Dolphins' leading receiver from last season, Jarvis Landry, was second in touchdowns, but only scored half of what Wallace did. The rest of the receivers on the roster have no more than three touchdowns. With the 14th pick in this year's draft, the Dolphins are expected to draft WR Devante Parker from Louisville.

Parker had 855 receiving yards in six games, just a couple yards less than what Wallace had in 16 games.

Wallace is expected to make $9.85 million in base salary, with a $12.1 million salary cap in 2015. But if he is not on the roster come March 14, he will still make $3 million in guaranteed money.

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Stephen Ur III is a writer and analyst for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle. He was also recently announced as Vice President of MSL. You can follow him on Twitter @writingfanatic2.

Mike Escriba's Reaction To Tonight's CRAZY HEAT-Magic OT Thriller

Henry Walker, who was recently signed to just a 10 day contract, hit a last second three to send the Miami HEAT into overtime in Orlando which eventually lead to a Miami win against the Magic

by Mike Escriba | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

Why, why, whyyyyyyyyyy......did i turn off my TV with 33 seconds left?

 I gave up even when Rio got fouled on the 3 pointer. I am so ashamed of myself especially after everything the HEAT have done the past few years. 

But how was i supposed to know Henry...wait, Bill....no, Henry, whatever, Walker was going to turn into Ray Allen in a few seconds?

With that being said, the HEAT pulled it off while I watched overtime at Chipotle on my phone. 

This was a horrible offensive game. 

Chalmers hardly let Dragic handle the ball. Dwyane was taking way too many contested jumpers. This team clearly misses Chris Bosh. Everything was pointing to another loss against a non playoff team. 

Not today though...

The HEAT showed they were fed up with losing like this. 

Sure, Whiteside was getting called for ridiculous fouls but he proved once again his presence is a problem for other teams and their players, even Vucevic....the HEAT killer. I read on Twitter that Hassan was struggling....yeah, he did....and still got a double-double. 

I found myself thanking the Godfather Pat Riley for not trading away the warrior that is Luol Deng, without him, there is no way we win a lot of games this season. 

The HEAT will face the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, where I expect Dragic to be more involved and Wade to be better.

I hope.

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Mike Escriba is a columnist and Miami HEAT analyst for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle and has been featured on The Andrew Powell Show on MSL Radio. He is currently working to get his own show on the network. You can follow him on Twitter @mikescriba.

MSL FEATURE: Jason Klenetsky's Grandmother Wins Free Tickets To HEAT Game

The Dragic brothers (Zoran L, Goran R) were traded to the Miami Heat on Thursday's NBA Trade Deadline, and premiered last Saturday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the same game that Jason's grandmother won free tickets to.

[Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle FEATURE]

Last Saturday on The Sports Report w/ Jason Klenetsky, Jason read a letter on the show that won his grandmother free HEAT tickets to the New Orleans Pelicans game that night. Due to popular demand, we have released the letter on the Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle blog. Enjoy! You can also check out the show from Saturday HERE.

Hello,

 My name is Marissa Klenetsky and I am writing to you on behalf of my 85 year old old grandmother, Marilyn (also known as, Mimi).

My Grandma is not a typical cookie baking grandmother that knits you sweaters for Christmas. Mimi is different in many ways, one being she is a diehard Miami HEAT fan, and not just because she resides in Miami. She has been videotaping (yes, you read that correctly, again, she is old school) every single game that has been shown in the last 10-15 years. When the season is over and everyone has moved onto baseball, there’s Mimi, sitting at home replaying the HEAT games on her VHS player.

I love my grandma to the moon and back, but if something were to happen to me, she would not be my first call. I say this because when my grandma is watching a HEAT game, she refuses to pick up any phone calls from anyone. Even her own granddaughter! 

If I haven’t gotten the point across yet how big of a fan she is, just picture her house! My grandma lives in a senior citizen development. While all of the other residents decorate their house’s with black and white photos from the good old days or pictures of their children and grandchildren, my grandmother’s apartment is decorated with the Miami Heat team posters and player bobble heads! I once went to visit my grandmother and when I laid on her bed to go to sleep I looked up, and who do I see? DWYANE WADE. Looking down on me as I slept. Yes… I told you she was a crazy fan!

Anyways, the point of my email is let you know that my grandmother absolutely adores the Miami Heat. She has been a loyal fan through thick and thin. A few years ago she had a heart attack while driving her car and was left in critical condition for over a year. The Heat helped her get through it and for that I am forever grateful. 

Her financial situation has been tough since her accident and she has not attended a game since. If there is anyways to send her to a game that would be more than appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.  

Marissa Klenetsky 

Miami Heat. Once again proving to be a top class organization.

Can The Marlins Regain The Trust Of Miami?

With offseason moves and the hosting of 2017's All-Star Game, can the Marlins gain the trust of the fan base back?

Stephen Ur | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

The Miami Marlins came to life in 2012 in an effort for a fresh start to what was a successful Florida Marlins franchise who won two World Series titles.

But what was expected to be fresh start for the fans was not how the birth of the "new" franchise turned out.

The transformation began on the afternoon of July 1, 2009. The then Florida Marlins, who were playing in the same stadium the NFL's Miami Dolphins were playing in the fall, were on their way to what would become a second-place finish in the National League East and also a new stadium.

The commissioners of Miami-Dade County approved a package that would change the MLB franchise forever. $409 million of funding in public bonds were given to the team to build their own stadium, which would become a project that would last just under three years.

The Florida Marlins became the Miami Marlins on April 4, 2012; when the new Marlins Park had opened. Before the season, owner Jeffrey Loria signed two All Stars; former New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and pitcher Mark Buerhle, to contribute to what looked like would be a trip to the World Series for the first since winning it all in 2003.

Loria even promised fans that this was not a waste of money for the city of Miami. He told fans that he'd spent the money to turn the Marlins into a contender. It was a bright future for the team and their fans.

Unfortuantely, for the fans of South Beach, their MLB season was one to forget. The team finished last in the National League East.

To add more fuel to the fire, Reyes and Buerhle were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during that offseason. The next season proved to be just as bad as the one before that, in which the Marlins finished in last place once again.

The city of Miami had then officially turned on their baseball team.

Everything was turning upside down in the Miami baseball world. Criticism came from every corner towards the Miami Marlins organization. The media didn't trust them. Fans didn't trust them. Nobody.

A bright spot, however, was the stadium's revenues reaching a high of $634 million, a number which is projected to reach over $2.4 billion within the next 40 years.

The team's owners are trying to gain the trust of their fans back, and they're off to a good start.

Over this offseason, the team signed veteran All Star Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro has found success with the Seattle Mariners and also the New York Yankees. The Marlins also signed Giancarlo Stanton to a 13-year, $325 million contract extension, and have also snagged Martin Prado from the New York Yankees. The team has also added several pitchers into their lineup; such as Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Mat Latos, Michael Morse and Andre Rienzo.

The team has the 8th best bullpen in the MLB, according to fishstripes.com.

The organization has also announced that Marlins Park will host the 2017 All-Star Game.

The news of all of the offseason moves, as well as hosting the All-Star Game, should have the Marlins back on the right track for gaining the trust of the fan base back,especially considering the excitement that the fans have been showing.

The Marlins begin their season with a 6-game home stand against divisional rival Atlanta Braves, and then against in-state rival Tampa Bay Rays before a 10-game road trip in Atlanta, New York and Philadelphia.

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Stephen Ur is a writer for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle covering all of the Miami sports and contributing to our Lifestyle segment. He will also be featured on Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @writingfanatic2.

3 Reasons Why The Miami Dolphins' Offense Will Take Off Next Year

Ryan Tannehill finished last season with over 4,000 passing yards and 300 rushing yards, only the 8th QB in NFL history

 by James Towner | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle 

1. Ryan Tannehill’s development - Everyone has been saying it, and it's true. Tannehill improved in every stat this past year. With Bill Lazor’s offense, Tannehill is much more comfortable. The motions showed Tannehill what type of defense he was up against (man/zone), and the read option showed people what Tannehill is truly capable of. The short passes across the middle allowed the percentage of error to decrease dramatically, where previously Tannehill was throwing down the field often and inaccurately. 

2. Jarvis Landry – Landry had 84 receptions in 2014, but only 758 yards. In the first game last season, the 33-20 win over New England, Landry had zero receptions. By the time the second match with the Patriots came around, he only had 8 receptions for 99 yards. Tannehill realized, in the game's preceding, Landry was a nice speedy target for underneath passes. The short passes to Landry are great along with Landry’s speed and his need to compete is exactly what Lazor’s offense thrives on. Landry competes with everyone around him, but also with Odell Beckham Jr. He and his former teammate compete regularly for which is the better receiver. With Tannehill's continued development, the bonding between Landry and Tannehill, and the familiarity of this offense; the Miami Dolphins could, with the help of a semi-decent offensive line, be in the top ten for offense. 

3. Yards After Catch – Lazor’s offense is heavily based on playmakers, which in the NFL all receivers should be. What sets apart the playmakers Lazor is looking for is speed and yards after the catch. With the short passes Tannehill threw, he needed the yards after the catch to pick up first downs. Miami ran many screen passes this year, many for big gains, because of their playmakers on the outside (Landry and Wallace). If Miami can get great yards after the catch this season, they may finally be satisfied with Wallace even though he's not quite the deep threat they brought him in to be. 

Other Notables: 

NFL Draft – If Miami spends their high picks towards a deep threat and offensive lineman, the offense solidifies another dimension – the deep ball. 

Knowshon Moreno – If he stays healthy, he's one strong runner, however, it seems that's not attainable for Moreno. He injured his elbow and tore his ACL last season, and in his seven year NFL career, Moreno has only played in all 16 games just twice. Not exactly what Miami needs to spend $3 million a year on. 

The Offensive Line – If Miami seriously commits itself and decides to go big on the O-Line this offseason, Lamar Miller will have an amazing season.

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James Towner is a writer for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle covering the Miami Dolphins. You can follow him on Twitter @JamesTowner17.

Miami HEAT, Cleveland Cavaliers Have Christmas Day Rematch; HEAT Fall

Chris Bosh being guarded by Kevin Love during tonight's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers

by Mike Escriba | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

Well, is this what everyone expected? 

I mean, to be honest, I believed there was a slight chance the HEAT could win this game.  So let’s go over the things that happened throughout that proved otherwise.

Let's get the obvious thing out of the way: We missed Dwyane Wade. 

There is nobody on this team that can set up Hassan Whiteside the way Wade does. There were many opportunities where I believe Hassan could’ve been a force in the paint, but no one can set him up where he feels comfortable.

Chris Bosh had a horrible game.

 As a Heat fan, I know many are very frustrated that he isn’t playing up to his contract right now. 

R-E-L-A-X.

He’s had to deal with different lineups, inconsistent point guards and he really wants to carry this team on his back. Right now, his shots seem a little too forced. There’s only so much the man can do. He'll bounce back once Wade returns, however, 15 points is not what we expected.

Luol Deng carried us the whole night, right? 

Not really...

Deng had 17 points on 5/13 shooting, pretty much the same stat line that Bosh gave this team. In fact, Chalmers was the top scorer for the HEAT with 18 points. Surprising, huh? 

Yes, he has ugly turnovers, but us Heat fans have learned to live with that.

Whiteside had a night of 17 points and 14 rebounds. I’m amazed at the numbers he’s putting up despite struggling and not getting setup correctly. Probably one of the positives to look forward to once the second half of the season continues with everyone healthy.   

Second positive: Napier seems to be flourishing as a pure point guard, and Spoelstra seems to trust him a lot more. 8 assists is definitely something this team needs from him.

 Dwyane Wade before tonight's game against Cleveland. Dwyane sat out again with a hamstring injury, but is expected to return after the All Star break.

Now to the Cavaliers:

LeBron James, to his standards, was having an off night. He had 18 points, 7 assists, 10 rebounds (sigh, I remember those nights in Miami). Even Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love didn’t have great nights. What killed Miami was the defense on Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson. At one point, they were 13/13 on their shots combined. They ended up 16/19, most on lobs and easy layups combining for 37 points, and they did a great job at forcing Miami to turn the ball over.

In the end, what I took away from this game is that the HEAT made a few good runs and looked like they could close the gap, but the Cavaliers' big men were just too much to overcome.  

 22-30 is the current record of the Miami HEAT, holding on to the 8^th seed. I expect a good run with these last 30 games with a healthy roster.

We now head into the All-Star break with Miami's next game scheduled for February 20 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City against the Knicks. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

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Mike Escriba is a columnist for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle covering the Miami HEAT. He will also be featured on Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @mikescriba.