"I am moving to Washington, D.C., to do sports at the NBC affiliate up there," Czarniak admits. We can only hope the Redskins appreciate who they're getting.
Best sports or concert venue in Miami: Homestead Miami Speedway has my vote for coolest sports event we'll see this year, with the NASCAR season finale Ford 400 "under the lights." That is going to be amazing, but right now there is nothing like the energy inside the American Airlines Arena for a Heat game. Where else can you see Shaq, Dan Marino, Jamie Foxx, and Jay-Z at the same time?
Best reason to live in Miami: Because it's so hard to find a reason not to live in Miami. The sun and the salsa, the music and the dancing (although I'm still learning the latter). There is so much character and style to this city. I love that within a 30-mile distance you can be someplace where the dress code is Miami chic or boots and a cowboy hat.
Best cheap thrill: Walking to the beach from my home. And the ability, at any hour, to grab Cuban sandwiches or empanadas after a night on South Beach.
Best not-so-cheap thrill: Highlights in South Beach. Not sports highlights; I'm talking hair. The best haircut and color in the world is in the hands of Rodrigo and Alysne at Stella Salon in South Beach. And even though it's not so cheap, it is one of the gazillion things I want to take with me and will miss dreadfully about this city when I start my new adventure in Washington, D.C. I would stick them in my suitcase if I could; basically I would pack the entire city.
Best name of a professional sports figure: Skier Picabo Street, New England Patriot Tedy Bruschi, and Minnesota Timberwolf Wally Szczerbiak (because it sounds like my last name) are definitely top favorites, but the best I've come across here in South Florida is Obafemi Ayanbadejo, former Dolphins fullback; he and his brother Brendan definitely have the most mispronounced last name in the NFL. It's eye-en-buhd-aye-zho.
Best sports bar: Not your typical sports bar -- more of a great restaurant/hangout and great place to watch a game: My choice is Tuna's in Aventura. Ask for Pete the bartender; he's the best.
What sports or physical fitness trends do you predict for the year 2035? Thirty years from now, hmmm, I predict Rollerblading. I just hope Rollerblading because I love it and hopefully by then I'll know how to stop without throwing myself into the vegetation on the side of my favorite trail. By the way, that's another definite South Florida bonus: flat terrain. There's no way I will be as graceful on my skates up in D.C. -- too many hills!
WLRN-FM (91.3)
305-995-2220 Len Pace is South Florida's wise old man of jazz. For more than three decades he's been a convivial presence on our radio airwaves, his musical interests wide-ranging and sophisticated, his jazz knowledge encyclopedic. Today Pace's iconic Evenin' Jazz program is a reassuring beacon guiding listeners through the stormy weather that has descended upon WLRN-FM. Owned by Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the station is programmed by managers who seem intent on changing its format to all talk all the time. Pace himself may not be targeted, but just a few weeks ago Terry Gross's syndicated Fresh Air interview program returned to WLRN and pushed Evenin' Jazz back by an hour. It's a public radio station. Can there be any doubt that Len Pace's music serves the public interest?
WDNA-FM (88.9)
www.wdna.org If the extent of your exposure to Brazilian music is "The Girl from Ipanema," then you have really been missing out. Brazil has the most diverse music culture: Under the umbrella of música brasileira one finds a wide array of ethnic influences (African, Portuguese, Amerindian, Latin, North American); practically every musical genre (jazz, folk, pop, reggae, hip-hop, rock, electronica); and styles born in Brazil (samba, bossa nova, lambada, axé, baião). It takes an expert to keep it all straight and make it accessible to the novice listener. Enter Gene de Souza, who manages to tread his way through the waters of Brazilian music with style and ease. Every Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. he brings listeners a variety hour with bossa, samba, jazz, pop, and more, followed by a special one-hour segment with a different theme each week. So get out of your box and embrace o espírito da música brasileira. It'll open up a new world.
WDNA-FM (88.9) Distracted by beautifully moving bodies at dance clubs, many people easily forget that a great deal of today's popular Latin music has roots firmly planted in the jazz tradition. Thanks to a clever mix of old and new, Fusión Latina primes even the untrained ear to make the essential connection between today's pop salsa acts and the days when jazz artistry infiltrated the folksy music that originated in the Caribbean. For two hours (8:00 to 10:00) every weeknight, various hosts present some of the hippest and coolest sides of Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other variations on a Latin jazz theme.