Sports

This week, Miami was the epicenter of Major League Baseball as the 88th MLB All-Star Game descended upon Marlins Park. No one had been looking forward to the attention more than Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who long pegged his taxpayer-robbing stadium deal on a pledge from MLB to bring the showcase to town.

Maybe you’ve had your attention squarely directed on the rumors swirling around the Miami Heat free-agency hunt. Maybe you’ve just been preoccupied with all the festivities that came with this week’s MLB All-Star Game. Or maybe you thought soccer in Miami was reserved for David Beckham-owned teams that will finally begin playing around the time you own a flying car.

Yesterday, Major League Baseball, the City of Miami, and our beloved Miami Marlins teamed up to provide locals and visitors alike with an opportunity to take part in South Florida’s favorite pastime: standing outside in a thick wool throwback baseball jersey as Miami’s noontime July sun cooks off the top three layers of skin.

The frustration nearly boiled over about a half-hour before last night’s Home Run Derby. Lines were queued hundreds deep at every food and beer stand. The still air was muggy. And in the far reaches of Marlins Park’s barely used upper deck, credit card machines suddenly fizzled out — though no one bothered to tell hungry fans until they got to the front and couldn’t pay.

Here’s the worst-kept secret in the NBA: Dwyane Wade is done playing basketball for the Chicago Bulls. After his hometown team traded Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves and waived Rajon Rondo, it’s obvious the Bulls will try to buy out his $23.8 million deal.

Last Thursday night, the Miami Heat made Bam Adebayo, a 19-year-old, six-foot-ten, 260-pound power forward/center from the University of Kentucky the newest member of its little basketball club. For Heat fans who scoured mock drafts in the weeks leading up to the draft, this was one helluva curve ball. Few, if any, had Adebayo pegged as a potential Heat pick, making him a surprising, off-the-radar, head-scratcher selection.

Though it’s impossible to predict the unpredictable, here are five reasonable surprises Pat Riley could pull off during the NBA draft.

These fans deserve better. They really do. If you find a member of this dying breed, shake their hand and thank them for their service. Here are a few telltale signs you’re a real member of that exclusive club of real Miami Marlins fans.

We are three games into the NBA finals, and to no one’s surprise, it looks as if the Golden State Warriors are simply on another level than every other team. With Kevin Durant already verbally committed to returning next season to the most dominant team in the NBA, it’s clear that for the foreseeable future, all roads to a championship lead through Oakland, California.

Hey, Miami, your hometown Marlins have actually been playing some pretty good baseball. They’ve won four in a row and are no longer living in the moldy basement of the NL East. Their pitching staff has stopped handing out walks like sketchy club flyers in South Beach, and Stanton and Ozuna have started mashin’ taters again.

In a nation where literally zero of the thousands of athletes currently playing in the big four professional sports — football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey — are openly gay, the fact that Miami Beach was hosting the 2017 World OutGames, the Olympics for LGBTQ athletes, was a huge societal…

Without Miami Heat playoff basketball, May is an abysmal time for South Florida sports. The only thing keeping us entertained is whether the godawful Marlins can score five runs in a loss so we can snag some half-off Papa John’s pizza. There is little else going, and sadly we are still a couple of months away from the sports scene picking up.

Remember a couple weeks ago when everyone was superpumped about Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter snatching the Miami Marlins from the cold, clammy hands of Jeffrey Loria? Those were a fun 24 hours. Since then, it seems much more likely that Loria will at least delay any sale until next spring, when he doesn’t have to share any profits with taxpayers. In the meantime, other bidders could still sneak into the picture.

Jorge Masvidal was ordering a Big Mac meal at the McDonald’s on Miller Road at SW 93rd Avenue when he got the call. It was Kimbo Slice, the legendary godfather of backyard fighting. The brawl would take place in an hour, Slice said in that distinctive gravelly voice. Masvidal’s opponent…

Time to load up on cafecitos, Miami: Things are about to get superboring around here for sports fans. With the Dolphins draft in the rear-view mirror, the Heat and the Panthers missing the playoffs, and the Marlins, well, being the Marlins, there just isn’t much to speak of when it comes to South Florida sports right now.

The Miami Marlins have reportedly agreed in principle to sell the team to a group headed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter for $1.3 billion dollars. Yes, it’s finally happening. If the reports are accurate, Jeffrey Loria and his moustache-twirling henchmen will soon…

The Heat are out of the playoffs and Hurricane football is months away from any real action. Aside from hoping Jeffrey Loria hurries up and sell the Marlins, that means most Miami fans have entered prime season for speculating about who the Miami Dolphins will select in the NFL Draft.

These are dark times for Miami Marlins fans. There’s a raw, Jose Fernandez-sized hole in this franchise, and the one comfort that Fish fans could lean on this year — hated owner Jeffrey Loria’s impending sale of the team — still looks a long way from happening. You’d forgive Fish faithful from feeling blue as they shuffled into Marlins Park for the home opener last night.

Tonight is the last night of the 2016-17 regular season for the Miami Heat. Fans have grown accustomed to this time of year as just the beginning, not the end, of all the fun. But we won’t know until after tonight if the Heat will get to continue playing: Miami needs to beat the Washington Wizards, and the Bulls or Pacers must end up with a loss.

The 2016-17 season is one of Pat Riley’s greatest achievements with the Miami Heat. Yes, this season, when there’s still a good chance the Heat won’t come close to raising another banner or planning another parade on Biscayne Boulevard. This Heat team’s never-say-die comeback has shown the entire league why Riley is a legendary NBA executive.

The next week of Miami Heat basketball is important, which is miraculous considering where the team sat in the standings three months ago. The Heat is desperately trying to make the playoffs after starting the season 11-30. For exactly half a season, the Heat was the second-worst team in the NBA.