The thirst for another title raises the obvious question: Which local franchise will be the one that gives us the next parade down Biscayne Boulevard?
The answer to that question is very obvious who knows, but if anyone has a semi-idea of which local team is most likely to pop some Champagne corks in the near future it's the professional oddsmakers.
Let's take a look at which South Florida team the sharps think is most likely to return Miami sports fans to Valhalla.
Miami Marlins (+10000)
Well, that's a big number!Saying the oddsmakers aren't bullish on the Miami Marlins hoisting a World Series trophy this fall would be an understatement. They're practically daring you to put ten bucks on it.
As spring training gets underway, the sharps place only three teams' chances of winning it all below the Marlins; Arizona, Cincinnati, and Oakland. For a team on year 20 of a three-year plan to contend, that's downright embarrassing, and definitely unacceptable.
If the Marlins don't at least compete for a wild card spot deep into the season, expect to see front-office changes.
Miami Heat (+5500)
In the midst of a 2022-23 campaign that feels lost at sea, the oddsmakers clearly aren't buying a late-season turnaround coming from the perpetually "dangerously looming" Miami Heat.Staring down the prospect of needing to win a play-in game just to make the playoffs, even those Heat fans most blinded by the team's propensity to figure things out on the fly come big-game time can't be too comfortable about where things stand.
From a longshot standpoint, the flip side of that argument is the addition of Kevin Love and Cody Zeller means what you see with the Miami Heat may not be what you'll get a month from now.
Florida Panthers (+4000)
O, Panthers, where art thou?Prior to yet another disappointing playoff exit last season, the Panthers were the NHL's best team. Now they're a shell of their former exciting selves and on the verge of not making the playoffs to disappoint us at all.
The oddsmakers have taken note of the Panthers' mediocrity, placing them at the tail end of the "eh, maybe?" pack when it comes to the likelihood of winning the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Miami Dolphins (+3000)
The Dolphins are a riddle die-cut into a 50,000-piece puzzle. Nobody knows what they mean, much less how to put them together. That said, oddsmakers seem to believe the Dolphins will put a product on the field in 2023 that's as capable of winning a Super Bowl as anyone.According to the number crunchers at FanDuel, the Dolphins are near the top of the middle of the pack when it comes to chances of breaking their nearly 50-year Super Bowl drought. With so much up in the air concerning Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins in general, being confident in their ability to dethrone the Chiefs, or even win the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills in the same division, is a tall order.
Inter Miami (+1800)
Well, would you look at that! Oddsmakers believe the professional team Miami is least familiar with is the likeliest take home a trophy. As the MLS season kicks off, championship odds have been updated to reflect full rosters, and Inter Miami, rather surprisingly, is closer to the top than they are to the bottom, at +1800. After an impressive 2-0 win against Montreal on opening night, the Big Pink™ just might be contenders.
