Final 2019 NFL/Dolphins Mock Draft: Greed is Good

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This is my last and final attempt at a Mock for this Draft Season and, after some uncertainty as to what some teams were thinking the top of this draft has become a little muddled. Once you get past the top two picks there are many ways you can go with each team/draft slot. As for your Miami Dolphins, it’s a certainty that they prefer to trade down and take one of Greedy Williams or Deandre Baker (that is my educated guess), but for the purposes of this Mock Draft, the Dolphins get a versatile, front line player.

1. CARDINALS – Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

No change here. Newly minted Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury famously “called his shot” in October of 2018, as he said he would take Kyler Murray with the 1st overall pick if he could. Well, now he does. Josh Rosen ends up traded for 30 cents on the dollar to somebody that had a high grade on him in 2018.

2. 49ERS – Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State

Just a reminder that I was told that little brother Nick was better than big brother, pro bowler Joey. I was told this during Nick’s Freshman year at St. Thomas Aquinas.it shows on film. Nick Bosa is the best player in this draft, and one of the best Defensive End prospects in years.

3. JETS – Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama

I have struggled with this one due to Josh Allen being such a good fit, but Quinnen Williams has solidified his draft stock in recent weeks, as a can’t miss interior Defensive Line prospect. Couple him with standout Leonard Williams, and you begin to have something on Defense.

4. RAIDERS – Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqWH6dOWTLw
John Gruden, and Mike Mayock famously “sent home” their entire Scouting staff this past week, and if the board shakes out like I have it here, they won’t need them to make this pick. Josh Allen gets comparisons to Demarcus Ware, and this writer, sees it. Raiders get a replacement for Khalil Mack at #4.

5. BUCCANEERS – Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

No change here, The writing is on the wall for Gerald McCoy, and he could be on the way out of Tampa Bay. A Trade of McCoy can save the Bucs some valuable cap space for Bruce Arians squad. Releasing him outright is not far fetched either. Best case scenario for McCoy fans is that you plug in a Ed Oliver to pay alongside McCoy in what could be one of the better DT tandems in the league. The more likely scenario is that Ed Oliver will replace McCoy, as the athletically Freakish Oliver has drawn some comparisons to All World DT Aaron Donald.

6. GIANTS – Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

Ok, you have seen the rumors of Daniel Jones being the pick here, but I don’t buy it. First of all, Haskins is clearly the better prospect, and taking Jones at #6 is the reach of all reaches. Passing on Haskins at this pick can prove to be fatal for your hopes of landing him later, even in a trade up (possibly with Miami?). Makes too much sense to just take Haskins here, and I am sticking to my guns on this one, Haskins to New York.

7. JAGUARS – T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa

I initially had the Jaguars benefitting from Quinnen Williams dropping to them in my first Mock draft, but in this one, he is not available. You just spent in excess of $22 million a year for a shiny new quarterback in Nick Foles and the Jaguars seem pretty devoid of skill talent, to compliment him. T.J. Hockenson along with Hakeem Butler are my best offensive players available at this point, and seeing as Butler is dropping on some boards, the Jags step up and get a guy that NFL Network’s own Bucky Brooks says is a “Gold Jacket Candidate”.

8. LIONS – Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan

No change here, it’s too good a fit. Ziggy Ansah is a Free Agent and is likely not to return to Matt Patricia’s defense. Rashan Gary is a Michigan product that is exactly the type of versatile Defensive lineman that a Patricia defense craves. Some would say that this is a reach taking Gary this high, but the team, need, and player are too perfect a fit.

9. BILLS – Devin White, LB, LSU

No change once again. This is a no brainer at this point. Buffalo has some talent on Defense, but are devoid of a volume tackler in the linebacker unit. Drafting Devin White would also be a big boost for 2018 Draftee Tremaine Edmunds, who was playing somewhat out of position most of his rookie year. Devin White could be the best of a very strong Linebacker class. The Bills can use one. They get one at #9.

10. BRONCOS – Devin Bush, LB, Michigan

For as long as we remember, Drew Lock has been tied to the Broncos here by one insider or another. It never works that way, this far down in the draft. They are not taking him folks. So what else makes sense? Nick Chubb and Von Miller make a lot of sense. What makes sense is to get a guy in between those two stars to anchor this defense. Devin Bush is that guy. Sideline to sideline, playmaker as a “fill/spill” linebacker. Fearless, relentless, and would be the best linebacker in this draft if Devin White wasn’t so good. The one/two punch at LB in this year’s draft is as good or better than any in the last two years.

11. BENGALS – Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson

This has been a fluid spot, and your guess is as good as mine. So I am just going to go BPA (Best Player Available) for them here. Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Carl Lawson, Jordan Willis, and now Christian Wilkins makes for a very strong Defensive Line. It is conceivable that Wilkins can play in every technique, and in every position along the defensive line. That is a good thing to have. In a division where you have to contend with Big Ben, Baker Mayfield, and Lamar Jackson, a strong pass rush is the quickest path toward contention. Wilkins is a no brainer if the board shakes out this way.

12. PACKERS – Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzQ2IdJK22A
No change here, the Pack get very lucky to have Taylor drop to them . The best Offensive Tackle in the draft. David Bakhtiari returns as one of the best LT’s in football to protect Aaron Rodgers’ blindside, but Bryan Bulaga has not been reliable at RT as of late, due to injury and some ineffectiveness. The window to win in Green Bay is now, and Taylor is the most NFL ready Tackle available. He starts at RT for the Packers from day 1.

13. DOLPHINS – Greedy Williams, CB, LSU

I wrote this about a month ago: “For a team with many needs, why would they ad a player to a position group that is already pretty good? Precisely. Might as well start becoming “elite” at something. I’m a big fan of Reshad Jones, but I realize he is not for long for the Miami Dolphins and the real core of the secondary is All Pro CB Xavien Howard and now 2nd year standout, the versatile Minkah Fitzpatrick. Let’s face it, the Fins are under-manned to play the coverages and defenses that Head Coach Brian Flores wants to play. Greedy Williams reminds me of Antonio Cromartie or Aqib Talib. A perfect compliment to Xavien Howard as a boundary corner. Greedy is also very good in Man coverage, the style of coverage that Flores gravitates toward. Greedy, Xavien, Minkah is a head start on rebuilding this defense.”

It still stands today. Cold take me if you want, but the Patriots are notorious for a bent toward man coverage (1st in Man Coverage % last year, 2nd the year before) and the Dolphins just added their Defensive Coordinator as the new Head Coach. It’s not brain surgery to think that Brian Flores / Chris Grier will look at the best Man Coverage corner in the draft, see him alongside Xavien Howard, Minkah Fitzpatrick and think that they this is the fastest way back to relevance. A great secondary is a good thing to have. The Dolphins get almost 100% of the way there with one pick. Greedy Williams at #13, or maybe in a trade down? Anyway, Greedy Williams is the pick.

To quote a movie hero of mine Gordon Gekko, “Greed for lack of a better word, is Good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, for building a strong, imposing secondary in the NFL has marked the upward surge of mankind.” (I took severe liberties with that quote.) Anyway, time to get Greedy.

 

Alfredo Arteaga (@UptownReport) is one of the three hosts of Three Yards Per Carry, which posts once per week during the offseason and twice during the season.

GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT

Screwball Proves Billy Corben is the Best Documentarian, Because Florida

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F&%k A Movie Theater is your weekly to bi-weekly to probably once a month guide to the best movies you can watch through streaming services. So skip the traffic, the crowds, the $472 popcorn and soda, the screaming babies, and the fart-filled seats of the movie theater, stay home, and stream some shit in the comfort of your own home. This week F&%k A Movie Theater reviews Screwball.

 

The latest Racontur documentary Screwball proves that Billy Corben is the best documentarian, because fuck Ken Burns. No filmmaker is as good at capturing the complete and colossal fuckery that is South Florida’s underbelly quite like Corben does. He did it with Cocaine Cowboys, Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded, and Square Grouper. And now he’s gone and done it again.

Screwball, which you can now stream on iTunes and Amazon, is Corben’s latest foray into the cartoonish weirdness that is South Florida, and further proof that when anything shady happens anywhere in the world, there is always and inevitably a connection to the Sunshine State. And Corben is so masterful at telling these stories, we kind of forgive him for that whole “Because Florida” schtick he always does on every….single…tweet…he…. sends… out….. WE GET IT, BILLY. JESUS.

Seriously though, Screwball is more than what you think it is. Yes, it’s about Miami’s own, former Yankees slugger, and current Boring Dad on Instagram, Alex Rodriguez. Yes, it’s about steroids in baseball (zzzzzzzzz). Yes, it’s about Miami. But it’s way more than that. Because the story that unravels the entire thing is bananas. Because, Florida (DAMN YOU, BILLY CORBENNNN).

Screwball centers around the 2013 performing enhancing drug scandal that gave Major League Baseball and everyone involved a proverbial nipple twist, got Big League stars like A-Rod, Manny Ramirez, and Ryan Braun busted for juicing their shit up, and got everyone to go, holy shitcheese Jose Canseco was right!

In a nutshell, the story goes thusly: Anthony Bosch, a Florida Man who got his medical degree in Belize because, fuck it, opened up a health clinic to rejuvenate older folks who wanted to take better selfies, and discovered a way to mix together a PED regimen so that it was barely noticeable during a piss test, if at all. Naturally, this eventually led Bosch to having old people who wanted to fuck like teenagers as clients, to Big League ballplayers who wanted to get an edge. Bosch also apparently gave these PEDs to high school athletes through parents permission because we live in a world where literally everything is terrible.

Add some shady Goodfellas type dudes, a pinch of conmen and criminals, and a dash of a dopey guy who threatens to blow the whole thing up, and you have yourself a helluva story. Throw a weirdo like A-Rod into the mix, and possibly, maybe, kinda, allegedly, could be, MLB doing some shady illegal shit of their own, and NOW you’ve got yourself a barnburner.

Just look at that trailer.

The first thing that pops into your head when you watch that trailer is, wow steroids are kinda fucking cool I think I wanna start taking some where is this Bosch character now anyone have his @? And the second, and probably more importantly, those kid actors!

That’s because the best part of Screwball is how Corben decides to tell the story by using some talented kids. Taking a page out of Comedy Central’s Drunk History, where actors reenact scenes by lip-synching off-camera narrators, Screwball uses child actors to play all the characters as the real life-people retell their story. Blake McCall, the kid that plays A-Rod, really captures A-Rod’s odd plastic image-obsessed nature, and absolutely NAILS his swing (also, Ian Mackles deserves an Oscar for portraying my former Miami New Times boss Tim Elfrink so masterfully. The kid is the next Daniel Day-Lewis. I’m not even kidding. So great. Ok, I made this about me. Sorry. ONWARD…).

Bottom line, if you haven’t watched Screwball, then do it. Especially if you’re into sports and especially if you live here in South Florida, where we have some kooky-ass characters living among us. ESPECIALLY IN POLITICS.

It’s funny, irreverent, and smartly done. And it’s another notch in Corben’s utility belt of awesome story-telling. Truly, Screwball represents yet another side to just how dysfunctional a place paradise is, and Corben masterfully builds an entire movie around a slightly subversive central idea about some guys who wanted to get rich quick, and a couple of guys who wanted to hit baseballs good, and how it all went to shit because people are stupid.

Screwball gets 4 out of 5 F&%ks
Greenwhich Entertainment, a documentary directed by Billy Corben. Running time 105 minutes. Available on iTunes, Amazon, FandangoNow, and Vudu.

Chris Joseph (@ByChrisJoseph) is a host of Ballscast, and has written for Deadspin, Miami New Times, CBS Sports, and several other outlets.

You get a mock draft! You get a mock draft!

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In four days the 2019 NFL Draft will begin.

And now that the big day has finally come, we begin to look back and remember all of the ups and downs from this year’s draft season. More specifically, mock drafts.

In the weeks leading up to the draft, hundreds upon hundreds of mock drafts are released.  Some ‘experts’ release as many as ten mock drafts. The reason for this is simple:

A) No matter how foolish or inaccurate they may be, fans love mock drafts.

B) This allows them to cover every possible scenario, making it more likely they ‘hit’ on a pick.

C) Many sites expect their writers to release weekly or bi-weekly mock drafts. If you write, they will come.

D) All of the above

So as we wait anxiously for the 2019 NFL draft to arrive, let’s take a look at some recent mock drafts and who the ‘experts’ have the Dolphins selecting.

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“Mock Drafts are like buttholes, everyone has one and most of them stink” – Thomas Jefferson

To begin, let’s take a look at some of the recent mock drafts on NFL.com

NFL.com

The first is from Chad Reuter.

Here, you can find his entire 2019 7-round mock draft. It’s quite interesting to say the least. In his most recent mock, Reuter has the Dolphins selecting Ohio State QB, Dwayne Haskins.

Now this isn’t the problem. The problem, however, is that he predicts a draft-day trade between two teams that despise one another.  In no world, would the Dolphins and Bills make a trade that benefits both teams.  No chance.

Next, we have a mock draft from one of the most well respected analysts in the game,  Daniel Jeremiah.

In his latest mock draft, Jeremiah has the Dolphins selecting uber-talented pass rusher Rashan Gary.  No, he may not have lived up to his full potential in college, but Stephen Ross loves Michigan and Rashan Gary would fill an immediate need on Miami’s defensive line.

Like Jeremiah, Charles Davis is one of the better draft analysts in the industry.  Here, he too addresses the Dolphins need for a defensive end, selecting the heavy-handed Clelin Ferrell.

Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football has Miami selecting another Clemson defensive lineman.

Some other notable NFL.com mock drafts.

Charley Casserly – Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson

Bucky Brooks – Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

Lance Zierlein – Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

Adam Rank – Drew Lock, QB, Missouri

CBS Sports

Now that we got a pretty good idea of what the writers over at NFL.com would do at Pick 13, it’s time to take a look at what CBS Sports has to offer.

The first mock draft is from Ryan Wilson, who believes Dwayne Haskins will fall mercifully into the Dolphins lap at 13.  As you can see, this has become a popular pick among the ‘experts’ but remains unlikely.  However, if Haskins is available when the Dolphins are on the clock, Chris Grier and Co. should sprint to the podium.

We know how important the quarterback position can be, but who’s going to protect the Dolphins QB of the future?  Will Brinson believes Alabama’s Jonah Williams would be the perfect fit on their less-than-stellar offensive line.

Chris Trapasso also has the Dolphins solidifying the offensive line, selecting Washington State’s Andre Dillard.  Dillard is slowly climbing up draft boards and could find himself drafted in the top-15.

R.J White has the Dolphins trading down with Houston and selecting quite possibly the best defensive player in this class, Jeffrey Simmons.  As we all know by now, Simmons tore his ACL and will miss the entire 2019 season.  It is no secret that Miami will struggle to compete this upcoming season, so why not bring in an elite player that will be ready to make an impact in 2020?

Other notable CBS Sports mock drafts

Jared Dubin – Jonah Williams, OL, Alabama

Pete Prisco – Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

What we learned

In the end, mock drafts are a waste of time because no one knows exactly how the board will fall. Furthermore, each team has differing opinions on prospects.  So although one player might be considered a late-round pick by many, another team might view them completely different.  So yes, mock drafts are a waste of time.  But until we stop caring or giving them the time of day, mock drafts will continue to consume a large part of the draft process.

 

Josh Houtz (@Houtz) is currently working on a mock draft of Five Reasons Sports contributors. It is also a waste of time. 

 

An Emerald NBA Expansion: Part I

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Throughout the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a combination of market demand and well-timed business investment has resulted in the addition of twenty-three expansion franchises, planting roots in various cities throughout the country.

As of April 2019, the most recent league expansion took place in Oklahoma City in 2008 after the dissolution of the Seattle Supersonics (Sonics), preceded by the birth of what was then known as the Charlotte Bobcats in 2003.

With the league’s meteoric growth in recent times and potential for further explosion in value, now’s as good a time as any for the league to take advantage of prior wrongs and economic opportunities.

It’s time for the NBA to expand one final time, with three contenders for two final spots:

Las Vegas: a longtime home of NBA Summer League competition and Team USA scrimmages, evidence of growing activity within the last decade;

Louisville: a small-market (but big basketball) town already acquainted with a long, rich college basketball tradition and a brief flirtation with professional basketball in the 1970s-era American Basketball Association (ABA); and

Seattle: a city with nearly a half-century’s worth of professional basketball history, centered around a Sonics franchise that has controversially remained dormant since 2008.

With the league’s final expansion to 32 teams, the need for balance will inevitably be required, so we will explore a series of initiatives in order to ensure conference realignment and competitive balance.

But first, Part I.

—

15 June 2014: Imagine, for a moment, that you’ve been whisked back to a warm summer evening in San Antonio, Texas. To be more exact, let’s say it’s mid-June, the fifteenth day.

You find yourself in a cathedral of athletic exploits, known to the locals as the AT&T Center.

All the lights are zeroed in on a rather conspicuously-delineated court, and ten of the world’s greatest athletes are engaged in the highest level of competition.

You look at your phone and realize that you’ve moved back five years into the past, which means that you’re at Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals between the visiting Miami HEAT and the San Antonio Spurs.

As usual, LeBron James is playing like a man possessed, scoring seventeen points to close a 29-22 first quarter, his HEAT with the advantage.

But as has been the case throughout this particular series, the Spurs are playing at an otherworldly level of basketball that, unfortunately for LeBron, the HEAT are unable to withstand for the third straight game.

It’s a brand of basketball that would change the NBA forever.

For the final time, a herculean 31-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist LeBron James performance would go to waste as the Spurs would run away to a dynasty-breaking 104-87 victory, clinching their fifth championship and ending LeBron’s Miami HEAT career in the process.

If you’ve been following the Five Reasons Sports Network, you probably already know this story. To quote Ethan Skolnick’s former radio segment, here’s the thing—unlike most franchises, fans of both the HEAT and Spurs have the unique privilege of following two of the NBA’s more stable franchises.

It’s true—the world-class reputation of the Miami HEAT and San Antonio Spurs has spanned decades now. Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich are among the Jerry Wests of the basketball world in terms of general reverence.

If you’re reading this as a HEAT fan, you should count yourself lucky: even after recent failed roster transactions—this season included—the HEAT have failed to qualify for the postseason only six times in the last 25 years.

The Miami HEAT’s franchise history during the Pat Riley Era, courtesy of Basketball Reference.

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. Shaq. Dwyane. LeBron. Miami, like few teams like it, has almost always taken advantage of the opportunity to translate transcendent talents into championships.

That’s not always the case elsewhere.

Take the Los Angeles Lakers for example. Despite being able to sign the same LeBron James that left Miami for Cleveland in the Summer of 2014, led them to a championship two summers later, and departed two summers after that, the Lakers have been one of the poorer-run teams in recent memory.

We know know this after having witnessed them unceremoniously jettison talents like D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets, Julius Randle to the New Orleans Pelicans, Brook Lopez to the Milwaukee Bucks, and, to a lesser extent, Ivica Zubac to the Los Angeles Clippers. Imagine them on this current Lakers roster.

Not even LeBron’s arrival could prevent yet another lottery season for the Lakers, their sixth since 2013. Magic Johnson, arguably the greatest Laker of all time, abruptly stepped down from his post as President of Basketball Operations on the day of Dwayne Wade’s last home game, citing a desire to “tweet more,” among other things.

But that’s another story.

As the league grew in size and popularity behind legendary talents like Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Pettit throughout the 1950s and 60s, many more markets throughout the United States became more viable to host a professional basketball team.

1966-1980: many of the franchises we now know (or knew, in the Sonics’ case) as the Clippers, Trail Blazers, Jazz, Spurs, Nuggets, Nets, Pacers, and Mavericks were either born or merged into the league from the now-defunct ABA.

1981-2008: the Hornets, HEAT, Magic, Timberwolves, Raptors, Grizzlies, Pelicans, and Thunder were born.

As the league swelled, franchise expansion naturally slowed from the nine franchises born in the first 14 years to the eight that rose up in the latter 27.

Upon expansion and further league development, teams like the Celtics, 76ers, Bulls, Knicks, and even the Rockets have all had their ups and downs throughout their respective histories.

But while there were high and low points, the only major changes that happened to these franchises in modern times were either in the front office, the team’s roster, or the venue in which they played their home games.

Besides the Sonics, no NBA franchises have dissolved since the ABA folded in 1976, taking with it the Virginia Squires, Kentucky Colonels, and Spirits of St. Louis, the latter resulting in its own historic buyout deal.

Also another story. Let’s head back to 2014.

06 October 2014: The NBA announced that it expanded its partnerships with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and The Walt Disney Company through new, nine-year agreements under which ABC, TNT, and ESPN will televise NBA games beginning with the 2016-17 season and running through the 2024-25 season.

During the length of the contract, the NBA is reportedly set to be paid $24 billion, averaging $2.6 billion a year. The deal is worth far more than the one that was reached in 2007, which was worth around $930 million each year.

This means a significant investment in television revenue and exposure for the league and its players, especially with the growth of social media, streaming content, and the league’s embrace of modern pop culture and social issues, as evidenced by Commissioner Adam Silver’s swift handling of the Donald Sterling controversy.

With the opportunity for business now growing, this means that expansion is now back on the table as a viable option for the league for the first time since 2003, when the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Hornets) were born.

Sports Illustrated writer and legal analyst Michael McCann speculated that some of the larger markets in the United States, such as Louisville, Las Vegas, and Seattle (the latter already with a built-in basketball fan base) would make sense as expansion targets, should the NBA elect to go in that direction.

At the end of the 1956-57 regular season, the NBA only had 8 teams and 72 regular season games. Only two of those “Original 8” franchises—Boston and New York—are still in their original cities. The Syracuse Nationals are now the Philadelphia 76ers (1963); the Philadelphia Warriors now play in San Francisco/Oakland (1962), California as the Golden State Warriors; the St. Louis Hawks have since moved to Atlanta (1968); the Lakers are now based in Los Angeles (1960); the Pistons are now based in Detroit (1957); and the Rochester Royals have since moved to Cincinnati (1957), Kansas City (1975), then Sacramento to become the Sacramento Kings in 1985.

When you consider that there were only eight teams in the NBA by the time it was fully functional in in 1956 compared to today’s league of 30 teams, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that controlled expansion in the league (with a set cap) can actually be a good thing.

Enter Seattle: home of one of the 15 largest media and television markets in the country, where the Sonics played NBA basketball in front of a rabid fanbase for four decades.

The same Sonics that, when founded on 20 December 1966, became the first professional sports team in Washington state, well before the NFL’s Seahawks, MLB’s Mariners, and Sounders of MLS.

The same franchise that showcased NBA legends like Spencer Haywood, Lenny Wilkens, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Ray Allen, and even a teenaged Kevin Durant (for one season), before being unceremoniously dissolved and taken away.

More on that later.

So here’s the million-dollar question: what if we brought back the Seattle Supersonics to the NBA?

Can it happen? Should it happen? Will it happen?

Stay tuned for Part II: We’re going to play the long game with this one.

—

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Boca Raton, Ricky J. Marc is an alumnus of the Obama White House and Cornell Paris Institute, a former Florida Senate Legislative Aide, and a graduate of St. Thomas University with a Master of Science in Sports Administration, where he is also currently completing his Juris Doctor degree.

You can follow him on Twitter at @RickyJMarc.

The Next Wade — Literally (A Father/Son story)

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The Dwyane Wade era is officially over.

The final home game, road game and press conference. The cleaning out of the locker, all complete. Even the day he spent taking photos with Miami Heat employees, something you never see stars do, has came and went.

Yeah, it probably hasn’t sunk in fully with Heat fans yet, but Life After Wade (do we label that L.A.W? hopefully not Murphy’s) is now a reality.

The inevitable search for “the next Dwyane Wade” is what comes next and that isn’t going to be an easy find. Truthfully, no Heat player should ever be expected to meet or exceed the career accomplishments of Wade. Yes, he is as good as it will ever get. And that’s perfectly a perfectly beautiful bar to be set.

However, as last season unfolded, it was Dwyane’s son, Zaire Wade, found closer to the team than ever. Fans couldn’t help but contemplate the allure of seeing the literal next Wade become the next member of the Heat in the future.

Zaire Wade is getting closer to choosing where he will play college basketball, with some scouts predicting him a one and done prospect, heading for the NBA draft by 2022 or 2023. Don’t get me wrong, I love the YouTube clips and fun discussion but, in fairness, the kid has a ton of basketball left to play and much to prove. He deserves the time and opportunity to come into his own, as a basketball player and young man. We should largely let that process take shape before we start doing anything resembling serious analysis of his game in any way. Much less putting the type of pressure that comes with being “the next Wade”.

With the success of other sons-of-former-players highly prevalent in the league today, it is hard to ignore what appears to be some innate qualities that former players pass on to their children. It makes sense, when a young athlete has the stuff you can’t teach in his flesh and bones, plus the benefit of being taught the teachable things from dad, the NBA professional.

“Definitely like a sponge, he is going to get all the info from his dad in how to take his moves and how to get better — so, I think that’s great.” Heat guard Goran Dragic told Five Reasons Sports recently in Brooklyn. “Probably he wants to have his own game but at the same time he wants to surpass his dad. And that’s going to be a tough thing to do. But why not? Who knows?”

 

Watching Zaire Wade attend All Star Weekend by his father’s side in Charlotte, to celebrating with Heat players on the bench as the season ended, punctuated by the father-son Heat jersey exchange on Miami’s home floor – the links between the Heat and The Wade’s are undeniable. It just feels right.

Zaire Wade blossoming into a star player and following in his father’s footsteps to lead the Heat in the future sounds like only a story book narrative someone from Dwyane’s lineage could provide.

But how does Dwyane and Zaire’s game compare?  Zaire stands 6’2’ 175 lbs and projects as a full time point guard in the future, which is a bit different than the tweener questions that surrounded the NBA draft prospect version of DWade. However, Zaire also has another distinctive quality that sets him apart from his father.

“Zaire is a lefty, so he has a way different game right now.” Dragic added.

Different in look and feel, but similar in the ways that allowed his father to play point guard during is rookie season in 2003-04 and carry heavy ball handling responsibilities throughout this entire career.

“On the court they both have very good vision.” Josh Richardson told Five Reasons Sports. “That’s like the first thing I ever saw about “Z” He can pass, he sees a lot of things. That’s probably a huge similarity point.”

But more than any specific basketball related trait, the thing that people see from Zaire that flashes Flash the most is that which can’t be quantified in stats or game film.

“Just their charisma and passion for the game. That’s something that’s obvious.” Heat point guard Justise Winslow told Five Reasons. “Their unselfishness, I’ve seen Zaire play. He’s a great passer and DWade is an underrated playmaker and passer in this league. That’s something that goes unnoticed. I see the charisma and the passion in Zaire’s eyes Just watching his dad, watching him play, he has that “it” factor for sure.”

“It” factor.

Nobody has had that more in Miami than Dwyane Wade.

But if anybody has the perfect combination of Wade DNA and acclaimed “Heat DNA”, it is the kid who grew up being held by Pat Riley in pressers and spending summers with the Banana Boat crew.

We once told Dwyane that we will always leave a key under the mat for him anytime he wants to come home. Thankfully he came home and made his exit as grand as his entrance.

As for Zaire, we made you a copy of that same key. Your dad can show you where it’s placed underneath the mat.

We sure do hope you find your way home. How cool would that be?

Position player pitching continues for a second season

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It didn’t take long for the position players to return to the mound this season.

Saturday took a turn for the absurd when Oakland Athletics designated hitter Kendrys Morales toed the rubber against the Toronto Blue Jays. He made it out of the ninth inning with a run in a 10-1 loss. Ironically last season was his first pitching appearance as a Blue Jay against the A’s.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis also made it on the mound in the last inning of the second game of a doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins and gave up a home run to a former teammate. That makes it two Orioles that sent out a position player on the mound this season.

Across the league, seven have made appearances in the first four weeks, starting with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks sending backup catchers to the mound in the same game. Usually teams send position players on the mound in blowouts or extra inning games in a way to save bullpen arms.

There were times during batting practice where Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro would practice his pitching with third/first baseman Martin Prado catching. Miami manager Don Mattingly said that if that scenario were to come up, he would send whoever is available on the bench. 

“You’re not using that guy to win,” Mattingly said.

Cut4 does a great job chronicling the trend on Twitter in a funny fashion. 2018 was a record year for position players on the mound and it looks like 2019 is going to see an uptick.

Last year, I spoke with a few infielders across the National League who found themselves making their first appearances on the mound.

“Being a utility guy, that’s part of the job,” said Atlanta Braves infielder Charlie Culberson, who also mentioned that his pitching appearance was both fun and nerve racking. “I always pictured myself getting an inning.”

Culberson came in almost like he was auditioning to be a member of the pitching staff by throwing some gas from the get go. He hinted that this might only not be a fluke but also something to prepare for in the spring.

“I think if it’s gonna be more of a thing then they might get position players to work on it a little bit more. That way is it’s not as much of a joke to throw a position player out there lobbing balls across the plate. For me, I wanted to go out there and at least try, so I’m not gonna go out there and try to embarrass myself. I’m gonna go out there and try to somewhat do my best and make it not seem so bad because I’m a position player.”

Culberson also said that, “Teams have figured out how to use a bullpen.” The point of sending an infielder like Culberson to the mound in a blowout or an extra inning game is to save an important bullpen arm and not burn an inning in a lost cause. In an extra-inning game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, former Marlin Kiké Hernandez was sent to the mound in the bottom of the 16th and ended the game by giving up a walk-off home run. But at least he was entertaining in the process. 

Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro was a rookie in Philadelphia last year catching a fellow rookie making his first pitching appearance, only it was infielder Scott Kingery. It was in the tail end of a disastrous loss to the New York Mets.

“For guys who never pitched, it was kind of like throwing BP speeds,” Kingery said. “Hitters can really kind of tee off on it. So I was trying to throw under the hitter’s speed. To be honest it kind of came out slower than I thought it was going to be. I wasn’t trying to throw it that slow.”

Cincinnati Reds rookie Brandon Dixon had the most memorable appearance on the mound when he struck out American League MVP candidate Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians. Dixon threw a hybrid of a changeup, curveball and softball pitch and Ramirez lost his bat during the swinging third strike.

“I was just throwing soft,” Dixon said, “as soft as I could up there and hoping to get strikes and I got three in a row. I was pretty shocked. I definitely didn’t go into that thinking I was going to strike him out.”

The results of throwing in a player who throws but never pitches on the mound has a mix bag in terms of results. Rarely does it result in a strikeout. Best case scenario are ground outs while worst case is a barrage of homers.

“It’s tough because you know it’s not going to be anything you can’t hit,” Kingery said, “and you get super excited when you see it coming slow and you try to do too much and you end up popping it up or grounding out.”

The Marlins pitching has been solid enough that something like this may not happen at all this season. We were close a week ago when they played 15 innings with the Phillies. The Marlins had Chen available to put an end to that game but maybe it would’ve been better to see Castro actually try those warmup pitches out. Only time will tell.

 

Tony Capobianco is also familiar with dual roles, as a photographer and writer for Five Reasons Sports and Dolphin Maven

The Trump Legacy: A Light-Skinned Opinion

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I’m not going to read the Mueller Report. Not all of it. I will digest the snippets posted online that are spun in the direction that is preferable to me. I will share these snippets on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and join the raging debate to nowhere.

Because it isn’t going to matter. He’s going to get away with it. The president obstructed justice – blatantly and in plain sight – and there will be no consequences. Maybe there will be political fallout, maybe he won’t get reelected. But that’s not a real consequence. Donald Trump will emerge from office whether in 2020 or 2024 more powerful and influential than ever. He will spread his message of hate, xenophobia and racism all over the world and will receive a hero’s welcome from Israel to Saudi Arabia to his beloved Mother Russia.

We, the American people will feel the real consequences. Because the toothpaste is out of the tube now. All of the norms are out of the window and we are left with a political free-for-all. What Trump has done most effectively is that he’s revealed the fragility of our systems. The careful checks and balances put in place by our flawed founders has kinda worked for almost 250 years. This thing is broken and I’m not sure we know how to fix it.

But you know what? Good.

Maybe Trump’s lasting legacy is that his lack of couth has unveiled the shady back room dealing that has existed in every presidential administration. Is Trump anymore despicable than Reagan, Bush or Cheney? Is his depravity worse than Clinton? Does he have less blood on his hands than Obama? Maybe . . . maybe not. What Trump lacks is the political and moral dexterity that has allowed silver-tongued orators to piss on our heads and tell us it’s raining. Trump just pisses on us. He tells us he’s pissing on us. He brags about pissing on us. But when confronted with his pissing, he tells us he’s never peed in his life. His lies are bold and obvious.

He crashes through the norms clumsily and brazenly. He contemplates war on twitter instead of in the situation room. But is that any worse than illegally funding revolutions in South America with money gained from selling drugs to minorities? Because that’s what Reagan and Bush did. They just didn’t tell you they were doing it. We found out years later, after crack destroyed a generation of black families. The perpetrators are dead or dying now. Their legacies are celebrated and whitewashed. They are remembered as heroes and great men, because they were able to carry themselves presidentially.

Trump doesn’t care about being presidential. He’s not concerned with appearances. His disgusting behavior is on full peacock-like display. Clinton grabbed ‘em by the pussy . . . he was just too ashamed to admit it. Trump is not encumbered by shame or morality. He doesn’t have time for that crap. He’s got babies to put in cages and Muslims to threaten.

Trump is the side of politics and governing that rarely sees the light of day. And maybe we needed to finally see it. We all knew it was there, but we lie to ourselves and fall in love with the next slick-talking devil who promises us a better tomorrow with a wink and a nod to their buddies in the financial district.

I probably sound like I’ve lost hope and it’s because I have. I miss the days of blissfully believing Obama was going to fix the world and pave the roads with gold. I miss suspecting George W. Bush was quietly racist but having at least an ounce of doubt. Maybe he was just an idiot. I miss the plausible deniability of it all, the ignorance of believing my vote and mind wasn’t shaped by memes from a Russian troll farm. I miss being lied to more gracefully.

The only hope I have left is that the shattering of our political naivete will result in real change and future accountability. That we will see through the bullshit and elect men and women vastly different than the ones that have littered our past.

But we’ll probably just elect Joe Biden.

Marlins offense hits rock bottom, maybe

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The Marlins have hit rock bottom.

Probably.

We hope, anyway.

Anyone that pays even a little attention to baseball knows that the 2019 Miami Marlins weren’t going to be good. They’re only in year two of the rebuild and most of their best prospects are still in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues. Despite that, there’s still reason to be optimistic about the outlook of the Marlins. They have two top 100 prospects, which is a huge upgrade from just a year ago, and they have some other promising prospects that will soon help— Monte Harrison and Zac Gallen.

But for right now, the Major League team is historically bad.

The Marlins were just swept by the Cubs and have fallen to 4-15 on the year. Wednesday’s 6-0 loss was the 5th time this season that the Marlins have been shut out and it’s the 9th game that they have scored 1 or less runs. That’s 47% of their games where they have either been shutout or scored one run or less. They’re currently on pace to win 35 games.

The infamous 1962 New York Mets won 40.

Yes, it’s still early. Twenty games isn’t the largest sample for a 162 game season, but when you’re a team that lacks talent in the Major League level and don’t have much reinforcement coming up in the Minors, it’s time to panic.

In hopes to boost their offense, they called up Isaac Galloway, who is a career minor leaguer and has only hit 10 home runs once in his 10 years in the minors.

So, just how bad has the Marlins offense been? Let’s breakdown these numbers.

The Marlins have scored just 48 runs so far this season, which is by far the lowest in the league. The second lowest belongs to the Colorado Rockies who have scored 59.

The 48 runs average to 2.59 runs per game, which is on pace to be the lowest scoring offense in MLB history. The 1981 Blue Jays— who were the worst offense ever, averaged about a half run more.

Here’s the thing though; they can’t score runs because they simply can’t create them. When you don’t have the talent to score runs, you have to try to manufacture or create them. The Marlins can’t do either.  They have the 25th worse wRC+ (weighted runs created) in baseball and the 27th worst wOBA (weighted on base average).

One of the biggest reasons for such low numbers in major offensive categories is because of the glaring flaw the Marlins have: every single hitter has a bad approach.

To be noted however, they signed and grew guys who were never on base heavy guys. Now it’s really showing. They currently have the 28th worse BB% in baseball at 6.9. Brian Anderson has the highest on base percentage on the team at .308 with the league average OBP% at .320, for reference.

As far as other advance stats categories go, the Marlins find themselves in the bottom 5 of almost every one.

In power numbers, they rank 28th in ISO, 27th in slugging and 26th in OPS.

For Marlins fans out there watching these games—and lord knows they are painful to watch— you just have to remember that this is a process and better days are ahead.

(Hopefully.)

 

Michael (Dutch) Sonbeek is hitting .237 this season on his Twitter takes, which would put him in the upper echelon on the Marlins. 

Marlins and Rays: Same state, different present

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Marlins and Rays are living two very different moments.

Florida has always been divided into two.

For most of us that live in the South, anything past West Palm Beach is almost another state.
In sports, rivalries have emerged crossing that line.
FSU and UM play every year in each sport what can be highlighted as the most bitter of the rivalries in our state.
In professional baseball, Florida is a young adult and this type of rivalry doesn’t exist.
Tampa and Miami were the two cities picked by Major League Baseball for its expansions.
The Marlins came to the league in 1993 along with the Colorado Rockies.
The Rays began to play in 1998 along with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Marlins advanced to the postseason for the first time in 1997 and ended up winning the World Series in a thrilling seven-game series walk-off by Colombian shortstop Edgar Renteria against the Cleveland Indians.
The Rays entered the league while their southbound neighbors were the kings of the league, just four years after playing their first game in the stadium with the thousand names.
In 2008 they won the American League Championship Series beating the Boston Red Sox and then lost the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
In that regard, the Marlins have been more successful.
Miami has won two World Series, while Tampa is still looking for their first one.
However, Tampa fans should be more proud of what they are seeing from their team than what people in Miami are.
Neither of the two teams has a solid fanbase. In fact, the number of fans for both franchises in really sad.

Especially for the Rays, who have been putting a great product on the field.

Last season, they won 90 games and failed to make the playoffs, behind two incredible teams.

Tampa as an example for Miami

Are the Rays an example for the Marlins?

Maybe.

The Rays have managed to build competitive teams to compete in one of the most complicated divisions in baseball.

Playing against the Yankees and Red Sox more than thirty times per year makes it harder than any other divisions.

David Price, Evan Longoria, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Archer, and company are just some of the names that have left the organization via trade or free agency.

However, they have found a way to build competitive teams without big names.

Blake Snell is a superstar now. He won the Cy Young in 2018 and is the face of the organization.

But who else is there?

Homegrown talent. And a mixture of factors…

Check their lineup for the first game of the series against the Orioles.

Nothing impressive, but they are the best team in the majors.

What can the Marlins copy?

Tampa has the best pitching in the league so far with a pitching staff mostly composed by players that came through their farm system and some arms acquired in the international market.

The Marlins have the 21st best ERA in MLB. But we’re not going to talk about Wei-Yin Chen here.

Pitching has been fine so far. Besides that guy…

They’re young and they’ll be better as they continue to grow as Major League Baseball pitchers, and not just flame throwers.

Smart free agency and trades

The Rays have had a much better eye when it comes to free agency and getting the best out of regular players.

This year, they added Cuban utility Yandy Díaz, who never received a real opportunity in Cleveland and outfielder Avisaíl García, and somehow have revived players like Austin Meadows.

Young players that have not performed in other places, do well in Tropicana Field.

The Marlins have brought mostly veterans trying to have them as an example for the young guys.

However, they have not performed on the field, and have actually taken some playing time from the younger players available in the roster.

Cameron Maybin, Curtis Granderson, and even Ichiro (mostly a marketing move at that point), have been some of the names that have not fulfill the expectations.

What is it about the Rays that Marlins are not picking up?

It’s worth a look up north for the fish…

 

Alejandro Villegas is one of our contributors of Cinco Razones Podcast, the only podcast in Spanish in the Five Reasons Sports Network. Check Cinco Razones clicking here.

 

For Brian Flores, it starts from the bottom

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DAVIE — This is all uncharted territory to Brian Flores.
No, not referring to the transition of a fledgling NFL coach. That is obvious and a path every long-time assistant must traverse in ascending to the top spot.
What is most foreign to Flores is the situation he finds himself in with the Miami Dolphins. As was pointed out to him prior to Tuesday’s start of minicamp, the roster he has been given to work with is very thin, in experience and accomplishment.
A team in the early stages of rebuilding has spent most of the offseason subtracting salaries and recognizable names.
Flores has no frame of reference to that after the past 15 years as an assistant with the New England Patriots, where each offseason is matter of reload and carry on for a run at another Super Bowl.
Slim pickings on roster
Right now there aren’t enough offensive linemen for two full units. Scan the group and it appears to be Laremy Tunsil and the Pretenders. (Zach Sterup, whose experience has mostly been on the practice squad the past two seasons, was at the opposite tackle from Tunsil on Tuesday, taking the place of Ja’Wuan James, who signed a big contract with Denver.)
There are way too many glaring holes left in Miami than can be filled by next week’s draft and the dwindling free-agent talent pool.
Flores, who took the reins of the Dolphins the day after winning his fourth Super Bowl with the Patriots, is dealing with the task in the only way he knows.
“The guys we have, however many or however little, we’re going to do everything we can to help those guys improve, help those guys become the best version of themselves,” he said. “I tell those guys to take it one play at a time, and I’ve got to practice what I preach. That’s kind of my object over the next few days.”
Granted, the whole roster isn’t as inexperienced as Durval Queiroz Neto, the Brazilian defensive tackle allocated to Miami via the International Player Pathway Program. Queiroz, known in Brazil as Duzão, is a former judo champion who hasn’t played football in the United States.
“I think this is a great time for him to be here because it’s strictly fundamentals, it’s strictly technique, it’s the most basic part of football where you’re laying a foundation down,” Flores said of minicamp.
Nonetheless, there is a glaring lack of names on the current list who have advanced far beyond the basic level of NFL experience, particularly on defense, Flores’ forte.
Cameron Wake is gone. So is Robert Quinn. With Reshad Jones electing not to take part in the voluntary workouts, there is reason to believe he may join the exodus before the season begins.
Miami wasteland for coaches
Flores is the latest in a long list of coaches beginning their first head job in the NFL — the seventh, in fact, since Dave Wannstedt succeeded Jimmy Johnson in 2000 (not including three interim coaches).
The challenge he faces is as steep any of them have undertaken. None of the others have succeeded in returning the Dolphins to prominence.
Flores has the benefit of all of that winning in New England to call on. But he also has to contend with that example within the division.
As of Tuesday, the first time on the field with his new team, Flores said, “I’m living my dream. This enters the phase that I’m used to and I enjoy the most. I’m passionate about coaching football, so today is a special for me.”
Time will tell whether Flores can sustain that dream better than so many predecessors who have fallen by the wayside in Miami.
Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns
This originally appeared on our sister site Dolphin Maven