It was kind of a foregone conclusion, when we selected 52 of the least popular sports figures in South Florida history — split into Sports Figures and Athletes brackets — that the frugal, former owner of the Miami Marlins would eventually tear down the nets like he tore down baseball in this market.
Still, we went through it anyway, and Jeffrey Loria was the big winner… or loser.
(We won’t show his face because, well, why?)
He was never really challenged, not against another former Marlins owner (John Henry), not against former Dolphins GM Mike Tannenbaum, not against the destroyer of the University of Miami football program Nevin Shapiro, not in the Futile Four against former Dolphins coach Nick Saban — who upset Loria’s son-in-law David Samson in the Awful Eight — and certainly not in the Final against the person you oddly deemed the worst athlete (former Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin).
This was a rout.
And why not?
Loria did win a World Series as owner, but he also made decision after decision to destroy the Marlins franchise. (Oh, and he called me a “piece of crap columnist” once, so I’ll acknowledge some bias.
He’ll probably take this condemnation as a compliment.
What was strange was the other side of the bracket, where four former Dolphins (Martin, Dion Jordan, Mike Wallace, Jay Cutler) were the last four left, not exactly the quartet we expected. In fact, Dolphins kept beating Heat, Marlins, Panthers and Hurricanes players in terms of how much you disliked them.
But no one beats Loria, not at this game.
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/Jeff-Loria-head.jpg635635Ethan Skolnickhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgEthan Skolnick2019-04-12 10:09:252019-04-12 10:09:25Jeffrey Loria: Your worst person in Miami sports history
On the winding road of the minor league journey, Jonathan India has found his way back home.
While Daytona Beach, the Florida State League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, is about a four hour drive from where he played high school ball, the trips to Jupiter to play the Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals will have to do for now.
The Reds drafted India with the fifth overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft and MLB pipeline has him listed as their No. 4 prospect. In the midsts of the JT Realmuto trade sweepstakes, the Reds made India a key part of their proposed trade package before the Marlins decided to trade their star catcher to the Philadelphia Phillies.
India, who grew up a New York Met fan, was well aware of the trade rumors thanks the Twitter, but was told by the Reds’ management not to worry about it and so he did.
“You never know what can happen in this sport,” India said. “It’s a business. One day you can be Red, one day you can be a Marlin. It almost happened to me. I try to honestly not think about that stuff and just play the game. There’s no point in digging into that and worrying about it because it just puts more pressure on yourself. Why think about that when you have the game right in front of you?”
India played high school ball American Heritage-Delray. There’s a lot of players currently in the minor leagues or big leagues who were once high schoolers in South Florida. In fact, in the same draft where the Reds took India with the fifth overall pick, the Boston Red Sox drafted third baseman Triston Casas — who played third base at the American Heritage School in Plantation — with the 26th pick.
“There are plenty of kids who I played against and have played with who have a shot of making it,” India said.
While Casas was taken out of high school India was drafted out of the University of Florida. You may be able to spot as many Gators in a baseball field somewhere in America as you would on Alligator Alley. India’s teammate at Single-A Daytona, catcher Mark Kolozsvary, was also a teammate with him at UF.
“Going through there for three years taught me how to be not only a baseball player but also a professional on and off the field,” India said. “It helped me a lot going into minor league ball.”
The Gators have been in the College World Series in each of India’s three seasons. The ecstasy of championship triumph was sandwiched in-between the agony of defeat. India called winning the 2017 College World Series, “A dream come true for me and one of the best feelings I ever had.”
“I think it’s the best baseball experience a kid can dream of,” India said. “Like they say, It’s the greatest show on dirt. That’s their slogan.”
After the 2018 College World Series, India quickly went from the greatest show on dirt to just a show on dirt. His professional career began just as soon as his collegiate career ended, split among Tennessee, Montana and Ohio. While he was a Mustang for three days, he found the city of Billings, MT to be quite pleasant.
“It didn’t feel like we were at Montana,” India said. “I actually felt Montana was a beautiful state, with all the mountains and everything. Being from Florida, you don’t see mountains. I enjoyed it there. It was fun.”
Life as minor leaguer is like a traveling road show. Nevertheless, India considers this endeavor, “a fun experience.” The most grueling part of it is the long bus rides. While it may be a bit mitigated in the Single-A Advanced Florida State League, it was still a nearly three hour drive from Daytona to Jupiter. If they’re not catching up on sleep, the team is at least trying to have some fun on the bus.
“We’ve had some funny bus rides,” India said, “singing karaoke, just messing around as a team, hanging out but nothing too crazy.”
India may have not ended up as a Marlin but at least he will get to play in Florida and learn under a former Marlins in Daytona hitting coach and 2003 World Series champion Lenny Harris.
Tony Capobianco is the lead photographer for FiveReasonsSports.com
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/India-scaled.jpg19682560Tony Capobiancohttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgTony Capobianco2019-04-11 23:00:392019-04-11 21:06:31Broward native Jonathan India’s baseball career circles home
With the 2018-19 NBA regular season wrapped up, the Miami Heat have begun shifting their focus onto the offseason after falling out of playoff contention. Here’s a breakdown of the many key dates and deadlines over the next few months leading up until the tip-off of the 2019-20 season.
May 14
NBA Draft Lottery 2019 (Chicago)
May 14-19
NBA Draft Combine 2019 (Chicago)
June 10
Deadline for all early entrants (including international players) to withdraw from the NBA Draft (5 p.m. ET)
June 20
2019 NBA Draft (Barclays Center, NY)
June 29
Deadline for all player and team options, unless individual contracts specify otherwise.
July 30
NBA Free Agency (negotiations) and July Moratorium Begins (6:00 p.m ET)
July 5-15
2019 MGM Resorts NBA Summer League (Las Vegas, Nevada)
July 10
Ryan Anderson’s $21.26M salary for 2019-20 becomes fully guaranteed. Salary reduced to $15.6M if waived by deadline.
August 31
Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to 2019-20 salaries.
Late September (specific dates TBA)
Training camp opens.
October 22
Start of the 2018-19 NBA Regular Season (NBA Tip-Off 2019)
The 2019-20 NBA season will move back one week next year and begin October 22, per league sources. This means the playoffs will also begin a week later. The change is to prevent opening night from occurring too early moving forward each year. The FIBA World Cup was also a factor.
No one expected the Miami Marlins to be an offensive juggernaut.
Not after dealing their five best offensive players in the past 18 months. Not with only a trio of major league qualified hitters in the lineup. Not when Starlin Castro is probably the best of them.
But this?
This is ridiculous.
Miami was shut out 5-0 by the Reds on Thursday, so at least it was early enough in the day for no one to pay attention. That dropped the Marlins to a 3-10 record on the season which, again, was expected.
Lewis Brinson is hitting .234, which is actually an improvement. But Brian Anderson, Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker and JT Riddle are under .200. And while Martin Prado is performing well, he’s likely gone by midseason. So this will get worse.
This would be a good time for the guy in the photo above, spreading his arms at a distance greater than any of his players can hit a baseball, to lace them up again.
You can’t tell me that Jeets, even at his age, wouldn’t hit third on this team.
With the manager, Don Mattingly, hitting fourth.
Marlins lose 5-0 to the Reds. Swept, and score one run in the series. I can’t imagine they return home tomorrow without a roster move or two. Phillies, Cubs and Nationals homestand next.
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/Jeter800.jpg533800Ethan Skolnickhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgEthan Skolnick2019-04-11 15:57:512019-04-11 19:58:09The Marlins offense is worse than we thought
Nowadays, the internet will take a picture of anything and turn it into the next great “meme”.
So when the Dolphins released a video of their off-season workouts–which looked very similar to my high school gym class–I had to watch. After all, this is year one of the Brian Flores Era and I’m anxious to see what the next regime has to offer. And so you watch intently, as the players run from one end of the indoor practice facility to the other. The montage is giving me goosebumps. And then I see the man, the myth, and the legend. The Dolphins 2019 starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick.
See, I like Ryan Fitzpatrick. In fact, I spent way too much of my life writing an article about it last week. He’s going to bring the good and definitely the bad. There will be some 400-yard games and then some stinkers. That is who he is. But today, I saw a guy that like me, has enjoyed one too many IPAs in his lifetime. No one expects these guys to look as chiseled as Cameron Wake, but have a little respect for yourself. *As I stare blankly into the mirror*
And so I snapped a picture with my phone, of the Dolphins’ 36-year old quarterback along with the clever words.
— MakePhinsGreatAgain Dolphins Tank Platoon Leader (@Mikeps78_NFL) April 10, 2019
I imagine this is the image we’d get if an NFL team ever ran a promotion to let one lucky fan play quarterback for the day. “Introducing, at quarterback, the fan from section 335, row 8, seat 10!” pic.twitter.com/8B52Xg8PMp
Josh Houtz (@Houtz) cooks in his spare time, when he’s not working on 65 things for Five Reasons Sports Network and Dolphin Maven.
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/ryan-fitzpatrick-meme.jpg563556Josh Houtzhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgJosh Houtz2019-04-11 05:39:582019-04-11 05:39:58The Glorious Birth of a Ryan Fitzpatrick Meme
(Photo taken after the 2013 championship, and one of the few I have that isn’t blurry.)
This was supposed to be anticlimactic.
Dwyane Wade, however, isn’t capable of creating boredom.
So in his last game, in front of his Banana Boat mates and mostly Miami Heat fans in Brooklyn, and playing 36 minutes the night after playing 35, Wade recorded his first triple-double in eight years.
Wade took 28 shots (the good old days! But not quite Kobe!) and finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, recording that 10th assist on a pass to Udonis Haslem at the top of the key. (Haslem had a double-double in what may have been his final game too).
Dwyane Wade’s gets his 5th career triple-double in his final game after assisting … who else … Udonis Haslem.
The good thing about giving your final jersey to Carmelo Anthony is you know he won't pass it to anyone else
— THREE Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) April 11, 2019
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/Dwyane-Wade-confetti.jpg480640Ethan Skolnickhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgEthan Skolnick2019-04-10 23:09:212019-04-10 23:14:25Dwyane Wade Triple-Doubles in Last Game
As we write this, Dwyane Wade has played 17 minutes and scored nine points in the first half in Brooklyn — which is more than we expected. But after a nearly-perfect last night at AmericanAirlines Arena, the most interesting stuff today has been on social media, as luminaries have sent Wade off into retirement.
Then, after President #44 wished Wade well on a video message on Tuesday, #42 weighed in….
Barack and Bubba….
Congrats @DwyaneWade on a storied career. It’s been a joy to watch your sportsmanship and skill on the court and your compassion and leadership off the court. I’m looking forward to your next chapter. But please, let’s just stay off the scorer’s tables for now… #OneLastDancepic.twitter.com/TE2WwAHq83
Another spectacular career comes to an end with the great @DwyaneWade hanging it up. DWade reminded me a little of MJ in terms of his overall efficiency and effectiveness on both ends of the court. pic.twitter.com/4gBPc72Pz5
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/Dan-Marino-photo.jpg640554Ethan Skolnickhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgEthan Skolnick2019-04-10 21:14:572019-04-10 21:14:57Marino, Clinton, more: Best tweets of Dwyane Wade’s last night
We’d very much recommend checking out Alex Wong’s oral history of Dwyane Wade’s NBA career on GQ. Wong dives into a variety of subject, but we found particularly interesting Pat Riley’s quotes on Wade’s departure and how it could have been prevented.
When LeBron left, we shouldn’t have messed around. After four trips to the Finals and three championships, we should have simply maxed Dwyane out. We should have done that and not used Dwyane, our franchise player, as a widget on the widget board.
We insulted him. I insulted him, and you don’t do that to your guy.
I was really disappointed when he left and I blame nobody but myself for mishandling all of it.
Riley has become philosophical about what happened in both the departures of LeBron James and Wade in the years that followed. We’re left to wonder what more could’ve been done in the moment or were egos to strong?
You can read the full quote here:
"i was really disappointed when he left and i blame nobody but myself for mishandling all of it. i never sensed his hurt or his feeling of being dismissed."
pat riley on dwyane leaving miami in 2016. full quote didn't make it into the oral history: pic.twitter.com/TGMPNWSG6J
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/Dwyane-Wade-7-1.jpg7581000Chris Wittynghamhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgChris Wittyngham2019-04-10 12:36:092019-04-10 12:36:09Riley to GQ on Wade’s Departure: We Insulted Him, I Insulted Him
This has been a nutty night in the NBA, and it’s not just that Dwyane Wade nearly suffered his first significant injury of his age-37 season when he stood on a table, or that Udonis Haslem was draining jumpers again.
Dwyane Wade with 30, Dirk Nowitzki with 30, Jamal Crawford with 50, Magic quit on the Lakers because he wanted to tweet more. This night deserves its own Hall of Fame exhibit
Anthony Davis is wearing a shirt reading "That's All Folks!" to the arena in what is likely his last game with the Pelicans 🙃 pic.twitter.com/dN5a0OTwsi
Dirk Nowitzki dropped some big news and then dropped 30…. on 3,012 shots. (But congrats Dirk!)
Dirk Nowitzki makes it official – he's retiring. Anyone who saw him play this season knew we were heading toward this, but it's still so emotional. A forever class act. pic.twitter.com/O1L16VUA98
Oh yeah, and Magic Johnson quit without telling his bosses he was quitting, just eight months after luring LeBron James to start a supposed Lakers renaissance.
The whole Magic presser is on YouTube and I'm going to watch the hell out of it. What a crazy night in the NBA https://t.co/aFinAQW78I
More Magic: "I can't even be there for my brother's last game in Miami. I love Dwyane Wade. I love his wife. And I can't even be there to support him and send him out the right way."
So does everyone in Los Angeles — they just don’t readily admit it.
Right, LeBron?
https://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2019-04-09-at-11.58.04-PM.png7621000Ethan Skolnickhttps://www.fivereasonssports.com/wp-content/uploads/FiveReasonsWebsiteLogo.svgEthan Skolnick2019-04-10 00:13:572019-04-10 00:13:57Magic Johnson somehow drags Dwyane Wade into it
Dwyane Wade got what he wanted. His last dance. In what turned out to be the last night that the Miami Heat were still in playoff contention. When Detroit came back to beat Memphis, the Heat were out, but Wade still had memories to provide — adding to his scoring total (30 in all) and even getting up on the table one last time in his House.
— Dwyane Wade Razones Podcast (@CincoRazonesPod) April 10, 2019
#OneLastDance Miami has been eliminated with Detroit’s win against Memphis. We knew this will happen. But we want to thank Wade and the entire Miami Heat team for tonight’s effort. Time to rebuild and rethink this roster! pic.twitter.com/B1wmbCUflO
— Dwyane Wade Razones Podcast (@CincoRazonesPod) April 10, 2019
#OneLastDance Chants of “We Want Wade” during the last minutes of the third quarter…