North Broward Prep Repeat As Champs

For the second consecutive year the North Broward Prep Eagles won the South Florida High School Division One Hockey Championship on Tuesday night in Coral Springs. They defeated the Cypress Bay Lightning 7-4 and wrapped up the series 2-0. Both teams will play in the Florida High School State Championship playoffs this Friday and Saturday at the Saveology Ice Complex in Coral Springs. Both squads played each other in the state finals and the Division One local championship series in 2011. Freddy Kaub, who is a sophomore center, led the Eagles as he put in four goals for his team. North Broward Prep scored two goals in the first 2:14 of the game and held a 3-2 lead after one period. Cypress Bay got two goals in the initial 2:46 of the second period to hold their only lead of the game at 4-3. Kaub picked up his third goal of the game for the hat trick with 8:42 left in the period. He then got an unassisted shorthanded goal with 9:42 left in regulation. The Eagles never relinquished the lead as they added two goals late in the third period. Eagles junior left wing and captain Brandon Palacio, who had an assist, lifted up the championship trophy, their third Division One title in four years. The Spanish River Sharks beat the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs 4-3 and swept the Division Two title earlier in the night.

WQAM Broadcast Hurricanes Women's Basketball

Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM announced a game that involved the University of Miami women's basketball team for the first time ever. The station has had the radio broadcast rights to University of Miami Hurricanes since September 1998 and have only announced games that included football, men's basketball and baseball. WVUM-FM is the only radio station that has broadcast the women's basketball team for over the past 14 years. WQAM did broadcast a doubleheader at the Bank United Center on Sunday. The Lady Canes took on the Boston College Eagles in the first game then the men's squad faced former head coach Leonard Hamilton and the Florida State Seminoles.

Panthers Outlast Habs

It was a Sunday matinee game at the Bank Atlantic Center as the Florida Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. The Habs entered the game last in the Eastern Conference with 58 points while the Cats led the Southeast Division with 68 points. Following two penalties by both teams within four seconds of each other, Montreal scored on a four-on-four situation at 4:27 of the first period. Eric Cole put a heavy check on Tomas Kopecky that knocked his helmet off his head in the Panthers zone for the takeaway and then took a shot from the right circle. David Desharnais got the rebound in the front of crease where his initial shot was saved, however he backhanded the rebound by Clemmensen for the lead. Florida was called for two minor penalties at 6:23 as Tomas Kopecky went off for hooking and Kris Versteeg for tripping. The Canadiens took advantage on the five-on-three power play as P.K. Subban held up shooting from the top left circle and fired from the top of the slot to make it 2-0 at 6:55. Florida were out shot 8-0 until they finally got their first shot of the game at 9:50. Stephen Weiss, who had pregame ceremony to honor him prior to the game for setting the Panthers all-time record for most games played in franchise history, pulled Florida within one goal when he scored at 11:36. He won a face-off in the left circle, Keaton Ellerby walked the puck across the top of zone, then placed a shot on net and Weiss put in the loose rebound from up close. Florida began the second period on a two-minute power play. The team made the most of it at 1:09 as Sean Bergenheim steaked down the left side, after a pass by Mikael Samuelsson from the Panthers zone, and let go a wrist shot from the low left circle by Peter Budaj. Florida took their first lead of the game 3-2 as Weiss poked in the rebound from a Samuelsson shot from the right circle at 4:01. The Cats had a 22-4 run in shots on goal for over 27 minutes until 16:49 of the second period. Brian Campbell extended Florida's lead to 4-2 with a slap shot from the top of the zone at 9:52 following a feed from Weiss from the right-wing boards. Stephen Weiss had two goals and one assist for the victorious Panthers while Sean Bergenheim added one goal and two assists. Florida continued to lead the division as they travel to Toronto and Winnipeg later this week.

Miami/Fort Lauderdale Arbitron Ratings January

The January arbitron ratings for radio stations heard in Miami and Fort Lauderdale with sports formats were released late this week. 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM moves to the top spot in the region going from 0.9 to 1.4. The main reason was the first full month of Miami Heat broadcasts since the NBA lockout by the station. In addition, 790 The Ticket was not affected by dropping the Sports Brothers in early afternoons and using Eric Reed as a fill-in host for the entire month. Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM dipped from 1.1 to 1.0. Several factors might have been involved. The Miami Hurricanes did not play a bowl game in January, the Michael Irvin was shifted to the midday slot, the station added a new early afternoon show with WTVJ-TV news anchor Adam Kuperstein along with Florida Panthers television play-by-play announcer Steve Goldstein and Sid Rosenberg returned to the afternoon show following a six-week suspension. 940 WINZ The Sports Animal fell from 0.7 to 0.6 with no Miami Dolphins games to broadcasts. In addition, there were many weekday shift changes. Jeff DeForest was shifted from late mornings to the evening shift, the Dan Partick Show went from mid-afternoons on tape delay to a live broadcast during late mornings and the station added a new mid-afternoon show with former morning co-host Larry Milian and former Saturday late morning co-host Phil Dominic from 640 Sports. Speaking of 640 Sports WMEN-AM, the ratings remained the same at 0.1 in the region due to its lack of a strong signal into Dade County.

Palm Beach Arbitron Ratings January

The January ratings for radio stations heard in Palm Beach County with sports formats came out late last week. ESPN 760 WEFL-AM tied 640 Sports WMEN-AM with a 1.0 rating. WEFL-AM got the edge with cume 52,000 to 47,900. WMEN-AM had lead all sports stations in Palm Beach County since last spring. There were no changes by either station on show personnel as ESPN 760 still has a four-hour afternoon block with Evan Cohen followed by Jeremy Marks-Peltz and Jason Pugh. They went from 0.9 to 1.0. 640 Sports dropped from 1.1 to 1.0 most likely because they added men's basketball broadcasts from Nova Southeastern University with former Miami Heat radio announcer David Halberstam along with Jared Schwartz. In addition, Larry Milian left as morning show co-host to become an early afternoon co-host on 940 WINZ The Sports Animal. 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM went up from 0.5 to 0.6 mainly because of the first full month of Miami Heat broadcasts following the NBA lockout. Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM almost lost half of its audience in Palm Beach County as it went from 0.7 to 0.4. Several factors were involved with the fall. The Miami Hurricanes did not play in a January bowl game, the Michael Irvin Show was shifted to the midday slot, the station added a early afternoon show with WTVJ-TV news anchor Adam Kuperstein along with Florida Panthers television play-by-play announcer Steve Goldstein and Sid Rosenberg returned to the afternoon shift after a six-week suspension.

Panthers Acquire Wolski

The Florida Panthers pulled off a trade early Saturday as they picked up forward Wojtek Wolski from the New York Rangers for defenseman Mike Vernace and a third-round 2013 draft pick. It seems the Panthers wanted to add some scoring punch to their front lines after losing four straight games during their recent homestand. Wolski joins his fourth team in the last two seasons. He was dealt near the trade deadline last February from the Colorado Avalanche to the Phoenix Coyotes. Wolski, who has been injured for most of this season, had three assists in nine games played with the Rangers in 2011-12.

Wild Slip By Panthers

The Florida Panthers finished off a four-game homestand Thursday night at Bank Atlantic Center with their fourth consecutive loss. This time against the Minnesota Wild by the score of 3-2 in a shootout. Stephen Weiss set a franchise record as he played in his 614th game with the Florida Panthers. He passed Radek Dvorak who had two stints with the team. Neither team scored in the first period although Florida stopped two Minnesota power plays. In the second period, the Panthers were able to score on their second power play at 13:23. After an offensive zone face-off, Weiss was able to drop a pass to Tomas Kopecky at the top of the right circle. His shot bounced off traffic in the high crease area where Mikael Samuelsson pounced on the puck from the left of the crease into the open side of the cage. For Samuelsson it was his eighth goal this season. Minnesota tied the game 1-1 at 19:40. Marek Zidlicky broke his stick as he fired a soft shot on net from the top of the zone. Danny Heatley redirected the puck from the slot area forward and Kyle Brodziak slammed it in from the low slot. The Wild got their first lead of the game just 1:14 into the third period as they converted on a power-play goal. Heatley blasted a shot from the right circle that was saved by Jose Theodore, but former Florida Panther Matt Cullen put in the rebound from the crease area. Florida evened it up at 2-2 with 4:12 left in regulation as Sean Bergenheim made a turnaround shot from the low right circle following a right-wing pass by Brian Campbell. The game was decided in a shooutout after no scoring in overtime. The Wild scored on their only two attempts as Erik Christensen and Cullen prevailed over Theodore for the victory. Kris Versteeg and Bergenheim failed on their attempts on net. The Winnipeg Jets won their game and surpassed the Panthers for first place in the Southeast Division. Florida dropped down to eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Kelvin Taylor Commits To Florida

Running back Kelvin Taylor has made a commitment to attend the University of Florida. The all-time state leader for rushing yards in Florida high school history will head to the same college that his father Fred Taylor once attended. Taylor has played for Glades Day since the eighth grade and won the Class 1A state title in 2009 and 2010. He will play part of the 2012 season with the Glades Day Gators until he turns 19 years old.

Ducks Blank Panthers

The Florida Panthers continued their four-game homestand on Sunday at the Bank Atlantic Center and were defeated by the Anaheim Ducks 2-0. The Ducks had the first great scoring opportunity of the game at 5:32 of the first period as Saku Koivu, who was standing to the right edge of the crease, put a rebound shot off the right post. Following a long fight between Krystofer Barch and George Parros, the Ducks scored the initial goal at 12:43. Koivu passed the puck from the left-wing boards to Bobby Ryan who fired a slap shot from the left circle. After the rebound, Teemu Selanne skated to his right and put the puck by Jose Theodore. It was his 20th goal this season and his 657th in his NHL career breaking a tie with Brendan Shanahan for 12th all-time. He is also the oldest to score 20 goals in a season since John Bucyk did it with the Boston Bruins in 1976-77. Neither team scored in the second period, but John Madden came the closest as he was stopped cold by Jonas Hiller on a shot from on top of the crease. Former Panther forward Niklas Hagman capped the victory with an open-net goal with 15 seconds remaining in the third period for the Ducks shutout. Florida hopes to end a streak of three straight losses on home ice Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild.

Capitals Edge Panthers

The Florida Panthers played an important divisional game against the Washington Capitals on Friday night at the Bank Atlantic Center. The Cats lost the contest 2-1. The division-leading Panthers entered the game with a four-point lead over the second place Capitals. With 40 seconds left in the first period, Stephen Weiss rushed down the left side, skated around the Capitals net and fed a pass from the left corner. Tomas Fleischmann scored his 19th goal as he hit a one-timer from the inner edge of the left circle past Tomas Vokoun. Neither team was able to score in the second period. Panthers goalie Jose Theodore made several great saves on Jeff Halpern and Alexander Semin from close range. Washington had a goal waved off with 45 seconds remaining in the period when Mike Knuble was called for goalie interference as a shot by Brooks Laich from the left circle went into the net. The Capitals tied the game at 1-1 at 4:47 of the third period on the power play. Following a scramble for the puck in the front, Alex Ovechkin lifted a shot from the left of the crease over the left shoulder of Theodore. The Caps took their first lead of the night at 13:27 as Semin took a slap shot from the top right circle off a deflection from Sean Bergenheim's stick who was directly in front of him. For the first time this season, Florida lost in a game regulation when leading after two periods. The Panthers host the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Hall Of Famer Gary Carter Dead

Former Florida Marlins television game analyst Gary Carter passed away on Thursday at the age of 57. He announced games with Jay Randolph on SportsChannel Florida and WBFS-TV from the Marlins inaugural year in 1993 until 1996. Carter recently was the baseball manager for Palm Beach Atlantic in West Palm Beach. He played the first 11 seasons of his major league career with the Montreal Expos. They won the National League Eastern Division title in 1981. Carter was traded to the New York Mets following the 1984 season. He led the Mets to victory in the 1986 World Series over the Boston Red Sox in one of the most famous series in baseball history. Carter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Senators Tame Panthers

The Florida Panthers tried to win their fourth consecutive game, however they were upended by the Ottawa Senators 6-2 Wednesday night at the Bank Atlantic Center. Florida attempted to get their longest win streak since March 2008. Although the Senators began slow, they scored at 5:35 of the first period as Jim O'Brien picked a rebound in front off a Nick Foligno shot, went around the cage and put in a wraparound shot for his first NHL goal. Florida evened it up at 1-1 at 11:47 as Shawn Matthias rushed through the neutral zone and took a wrist shot from the left face-off dot that sailed over the left shoulder of Craig Anderson. The Senators regained the lead at 5:18 of the second period as Kaspars Daugavins was in front of the crease when he deflected a shot from the blue line by Brian Lee. Ottawa extended their lead to 3-1 just two minutes later. Milan Michalek rifled a pass from the left circle to the right side of the crease where Bobby Butler redirected the puck by Scott Clemmensen. The Panthers gave up a shorthanded goal on their third power play of the game at 14:06. Daniel Alfredsson skated in alone on a breakaway and placed a backhand shot into the top of the cage. Ottawa continued to roll at 1:24 of the third period as Michalek redirected a shot in front to make it 5-1. Brian Campbell blasted in a power-play goal from the high slot for Florida at 4:25. Filip Kuba added a power-play goal at 14:54 with a one-time slap shot from the right face-off dot. The Florida Panthers play the second place Washington Capitals on Friday in a major four-point swing game in the division.

Panthers Sweep New York Weekend

The Florida Panthers went to play two games over the weekend in the New York metropolitan area and swept two local teams. On Saturday, the Panthers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-1 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Although Florida gave up the first goal of the game, the team came back with three consecutive goals. Sean Bergenheim had a power-play goal along with an even-strength goal by Kris Versteeg and an open-net goal by Mikael Samuelsson in the final minute of the game. Scott Clemmensen picked up the victory over his former team while Martin Brodeur took the loss. The Panthers played on Sunday and defeated the New York Islanders 4-1 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. Once again, Florida gave up the opening goal to the opponent only to bounce with four straight tallies. Rookie defenseman Tyson Strachan get his first NHL goal to tie the game. Tomas Fleischmann's goal ended up being the game-winner. Versteeg picked up a power-play goal in the second period while Jack Skille added a third-period goal. Jose Theodore posted his 275th NHL win in net. The Panthers have now won a season-high four consecutive games. The last time the team won four straight was in March 2008 which turned into a seven-game winning streak. Florida now has a four-point lead over the Washington Capitals in the Southeast Division.

Heat Wipe Out Pacers

The Miami Heat played for a third consecutive night on the road and blew away the Indiana Pacers 105-90 Tuesday night at Bankers Life Field House. Miami became the first franchise to win three road games on three straight nights this season. The Heat came up strong as they got up 23-9 with 4:36 left in the first quarter following ten Miami consecutive points. Miami had a commanding 33-16 lead after one quarter as Dwyane Wade went five-for-five from the field. The Heat got a 17-8 spurt to begin the second quarter and lead 50-24. Indiana was down 68-39 at halftime. It was the second-highest amount of points scored by the Heat in the first half this season. Miami led 90-58 after three quarters. The Heat put in their reserves for the entire fourth quarter as the Pacers closed the gap down to 15 points by the end of the game. LeBron James led the Heat with 23 points, seven assists and nine rebounds while Wade poured in 16 points which were all in the first half of play. The Heat have now won a franchise-high four straight games in Indianapolis. Miami finishes their five-game road trip on Friday in Cleveland.

Barry LeBrock Moves To Sun Sports

Barry LeBrock will become the studio host for Tampa Bay Rays road games on Sun Sports for the 2012 season. He will work from the Fox Sports studios in Sunrise. LeBrock once worked in the West Palm Beach market as a sports anchor in the early 1990's. He later joined CNN and Fox Sports Net as a sports anchor for The Final Score.

Panthers Crown Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are one of the teams in NHL that the Florida Panthers have always had trouble beating. The long losing streak against them finally ended as the Panthers edged the Kings 3-1 on Thursday night at the Bank Atlantic Center. Florida has not defeated the Kings in South Florida since November 5, 2003 and at the Staples Center in Los Angeles since November 27, 2002. Neither team scored in the first period as the Panthers got their first shot on goal eight-and-a-half minutes in. In the second period, Florida got the first goal of the game at 4:52. Marcel Goc skated the puck through the neutral zone, dropped a pass to Sean Bergenheim and he blasted a shot from the high slot by the glove of Jonathan Quick. The Panthers extended the lead to 2-0 as Mike Santorelli hit a one-timer from the right face-off dot toward the near post following a pass by Tomas Fleischmann from the end wall. The seventh goal this season by Santorelli was at 17:14. Florida only had 11 shots on goal after two periods while they held the Kings to three shots in the second. Jonathan Bernier replaced Quick as the Kings goalie at the start of the third period. The Kings closed the gap with 2:28 left in regulation as Drew Doughty released a wrist shot from the slot area after a centering pass by Dustin Brown from the left-wing boards. Florida wrapped it up at 19:11 as Matt Bradley put the puck in an open net following led passes by Jason Garrison and Shawn Matthias from a defensive zone face-off.

Magic Spanks Heat

The Miami Heat traveled up the Florida Turnpike to take on the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on Wednesday night to begin a six-game road trip. Miami lost the game 102-89. The Heat did not hold the lead once in the contest. The Magic got on a 9-2 run to take a 20-11 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter. Orlando led 26-18 after one quarter. Just four minutes into the second quarter, the Heat were down by 17 points 44-27. Miami closed the gap to 53-50 at halftime after going on a 23-9 spurt. Dwyane Wade had 22 points and LeBron James added 15 at the half. Orlando owned the third quarter when they made a 17-2 run and led 77-61 after three periods. The Heat were down by ten points 87-77 with just over five minutes left in the game, but Orlando continued to roll. Wade ended up with 33 points to lead the Heat in scoring. James had 17 points and 10 assists. Mario Chalmers missed his first game this season.

Scott Kaplan Out In San Diego

Scott Kaplan has been fired by XEPRS in San Diego. He had co-hosted the morning show on the station with Billy Ray Smith. Following playing in the NFL, Kaplan joined WQAM as a sports anchor and then partnered with Sid Rosenberg to co-host The Drive on CBS Sportsline. The show relocated from Fort Lauderdale to WNEW-FM in New York City. Kaplan would leave the program and head to XETRA in San Diego. He continues as an NFL sideline reporter for CBS Sports and Dial Global Radio Network.

Ricky Williams Retires

Former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday. He played this past season with the Baltimore Ravens who won the AFC North Division title. It was also the only time a team with him on the squad won a playoff game. The former Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Texas was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1999. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2002 and led the NFL in rushing yards that year. Williams never reached up to his potential that he had while in college football.

Larry Ridley Lands At WESH-TV

Former WSVN-TV sports reporter Larry Ridley joins WESH-TV in Orlando as sports director and sports anchor. He replaces former WTVJ-TV sports anchor Guy Rawlings who just recently took a news anchor position in Atlanta. Ridley worked at WSVN-TV in Miami during the mid 2000's before heading to WHDH-TV in Boston for five years.

Jason Jackson Joins WAXY

WAXY announced on Friday that Jason Jackson would be the new host on early afternoons. His show would run from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. He was once a weekend host at WAXY during the mid 2000's. Jackson previously hosted early afternoons at WQAM until late August 2008 and prior to that was a morning co-host at that station. He will continue to be the studio host and sideline reporter for Miami Heat games on Sun Sports. The Sports Brothers had hosted the early afternoon slot at WAXY until the end of last year. Eric Reed had filled in for the past month during that time period and will be the producer of the Jason Jackson show.

Sid Rosenberg Out At WINS

Sid Rosenberg is no longer the morning sports anchor at WINS in New York City as his contract was not renewed. He joined the station in early December 2010 and did sports reports from his home in Boca Raton via an ISDN line. Rosenberg will continue as the afternoon sports host at WQAM. He has been employed there since September 2009. Rosenberg once worked in New York City for WFAN and WNEW-FM as a sports host from 2000 until 2005.

Panthers Scramble Jets

The Florida Panthers finished up a short home stand at Bank Atlantic Center on Friday night and beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. The Panthers made the most on their first power play as they took a 1-0 lead at 15:46. Mikael Samuelsson fed the puck from the top of the zone to Kris Versteeg who fired a one-time slap shot from the top left circle by Chris Mason. It was Versteeg's 20th goal of the season. The Jets came back at 11:29 of the second period with an even-strength goal. Andrew Ladd picked up a loose puck on the left-wing boards, passed ahead to Bryan Little and he rifled a wrist shot between the legs of Scott Clemmensen. Florida bounced back less than three minutes later to retake the lead 2-1. Jason Garrison from the left point wrapped it around the boards to behind the cage where Marcel Goc placed a backhand pass to Sean Bergenheim in front of the crease for a snap shot. It was the eighth goal for Bergenheim this season. The Cats extended their lead in the Southeast Division to three points over the Washington Capitals. Florida plays four of their next five games on the road.

Boxing Trainer Angelo Dundee Dead

Longtime boxing trainer Angelo Dundee passed away Wednesday at the age of 90. He was most known for training Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard through their boxing careers. Ali won the heavyweight championship of world on three separate occasions, the only person to do that, between 1964 and 1978. Leonard won many world titles in several different weight classifications which included welterweight and middleweight. Dundee would usually prepare Ali for upcoming bouts at the 5th Street Gym in Miami. Late in his career, Dundee trained George Foreman as he won the heavyweight title for the second time in 1994.

Panthers Take First Place From Capitals

The Florida Panthers returned from the All-Star break on Wednesday as they faced the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division. The Cats prevailed at the Bank Atlantic Center 4-2. Both teams were separated by only one point as they entered the game. Neither team scored in the first period. Just 33 seconds into the second period, Mikael Samuelsson took a wrist shot from just outside of the blue line that sailed above the right shoulder of Michael Neuvirth. Samuelssson scored in his second consecutive game. Brooks Laich evened the game on a four-on-four situation at 11:15 as he darted through the left circle from the left corner and fired a top-shelf shot over the glove of Scott Clemmensen. Florida got a power-play goal from Samuelsson, his second goal of the game, at 4:57 of the third period on a wrist shot from the top of the zone following a cross-ice feed by Brian Campbell. The Panthers extended the lead to 3-1 at 9:52 under unusual circumstances and a long replay review from the NHL nerve center in Toronto. Tomas Kopecky backhanded a pass from the side of the crease that popped up in the air, then it went off the upper body of Stephen Weiss in front of the crease and into the Capitals net. For Weiss it was his 13th goal of the season. The Panthers gave a gift goal at 17:39 when a soft clearing pass by Kopecky from behind his on net was blasted in by John Carlson from the right point for an unassisted goal. Shawn Matthias wrapped the game up for the Cats at 19:40 as he skated in from the neutral zone for an unassisted goal and a 4-2 lead.

WPEC-TV Discontinues Beyond The Box Score

WPEC-TV has decided not to continue the Beyond The Box Score show with Rick Horrow on Saturday night after the local news broadcast. The show may return to the station in the spring. He will continue to do a Beyond The Box Score segment for Florida Panthers telecasts on Fox Sports Florida which began earlier this season. Horrow hosted Beyond The Box Score show on Versus until the network was purchased by NBC in 2011. He published a book on sports business in 2010 named Beyond The Box Score.