Saturday, August 31, 2013

Wesley Carroll Game Analyst

    Wesley Carroll worked his first game as a game analyst for the South Florida High School Football Show game broadcast on Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM. Alongside play-by-play announcer Mike Levine, they both called the St. Thomas Aquinas and Northwestern game at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday night.
    Carroll was the starting quarterback with St. Thomas Aquinas from 2004 until 2006. They lost the FHSAA Class 5A state championship game three consecutive years to the Lakeland Dreadnaughts. He attended Mississippi State University and helped the school win a bowl game as a freshman as they captured the 2007 Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Carroll transferred from MSU following the 2008 season when he lost the starting quarterback job.
    He arrived at Florida International University in 2009 and had to sit out for one season due to the transfer. In his junior year, he led FIU to their first bowl game and bowl victory in school history during 2010 as they won the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Plantation Lights Up Dillard

    The Plantation Colonels dominated with their stellar offense and strong defense as they handled the Dillard Panthers 33-6 at Otis Gray Jr. Memorial Stadium on Friday night. It was the first game of the regular season for both schools that are less than four miles away from each other on Sunrise Boulevard.  
    Neither team was able to score in the opening quarter. Dillard(0-1) running back Eddie Roberts IV fumbled the ball at the Colonels 31-yard line with around one minute to go in the first quarter. Plantation(1-0) capitalized on it with a 17-play, 69-yard drive for the initial score. Running back Clint Sills Jr. sprinted up the middle for a two-yard touchdown with 5:44 left in the second quarter for a 6-0 lead.
    The Colonels had a touchdown called back because of an illegal block just one minute later when cornerback Xavier Currithers intercepted a Lee Martin pass at the Plantation 28-yard line.
    The Panthers evened the game at 6-6 early in the third quarter. The Colonels had a bad hand off exchange and defensive back Rico Kennedy recovered a fumbled and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown at 9:51.
    Plantation retook the lead 13-6 on their second possession of the second half. On fourth-and-goal from the Panthers four-yard line, quarterback Chris Lammons rolled out left and scored at 6:06 of the third quarter.
    Dillard had a bad snap on a punt deep in their own end and the Colonels started their next drive at the Panthers one-yard line. Sills Jr. went around the right end on the first play for a touchdown and made it 20-6 with 4:06 remaining in the third.
    The Colonels extended the lead to 27-6 with 8:14 to go in the fourth quarter when Sills Jr. received and shovel pass from Lammons and raced 37 yards for the touchdown. Plantation finished things off as Lammons completed a touchdown pass with 5:09 remaining in the game.

Plantation At Dillard Preview

    It is a game where both schools are separated by less than four miles on Sunrise Boulevard in Broward County. The Dillard Panthers will host the Plantation Colonels on Friday night at Otis Gray Jr. Memorial Stadium in the first game of the regular season.
    Dillard made the playoffs for the first time since 2008 as they won a second-place tiebreaker in the district against the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs and Hallandale Chargers. They also defeated the Blanche Ely Tigers in the Soul Bowl at Lockhart Stadium. The Panthers lost to the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders 21-10 in a kickoff classic last week at Brian Piccolo Stadium.
    Lee Martin will lead them as quarterback on offense and will hand the ball off to Eddie Roberts IV. Impressive targets in wide receivers Dennis Turner and Elijah Johnson will be downfield to catch the ball.
    Plantation finished second to the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders in the district last season. They won their first round playoff game on the road against American 29-8 before they got blown away by the Raiders 38-7 in the regional semifinals.
    Chris Lammons will lead the offense as their quarterback and will attempt to connect with wide receiver Jewison Hawkins on long passes. Running back Antwaun Haynes will get the bulk of the carries from the backfield.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Dwyer At Glades Central Preview

    You know it is the start of the high school football regular season in Palm Beach County when the Dwyer Panthers visit the Glades Central Raiders in Belle Glade on Friday night. The Raiders had won the first six games in the rivalry until last year when the Panthers were victorious at Blum Stadium in Palm Beach Gardens.
    Dwyer finished a surprising second in their district last year behind Atlantic. They played a first-round playoff game on the road for the first time since 2002 and dominated the Northeast Hurricanes 25-3 in Oakland Park. They fell at home during the second round to the Boyd Anderson Cobras 6-3 in a defensive battle.
    The Panthers lost to the Miami Central Rockets, who are the number one ranked team in the nation, at home 44-13 in a kickoff classic last week. Dwyer kept the same five skilled players on offense from last year with quarterback Daniel Parr and running back Alonso Smith in the backfield. Parr will look for highly recruited wide receivers Johnnie Dixon, Clint Stephens and Ezra Saffold downfield in the offensive attack. Strong safety Shawn Boone will lead the Dwyer defensive force.
    Glades Central got off to one of the worst starts in school history as they lost their first four games of the 2012 regular season. However, they won their final six games, a district title and the Muck Bowl against Pahokee. The team held strong at home in the first two rounds of the playoffs against Rockledge and Merritt Island. They lost the regional final game at home to the Jackson Generals of Miami 33-24 in a game that was not decided until the final four minutes.
    The Raiders scored 41 unanswered points and walked away with an easy win on the road last week as they pounded the Coral Springs Colts 48-7 in a kickoff classic. Glades Central will be led by former kicker and current quarterback Giovanni Lugo. Running back Jerry Jones will get a load of carries from the backfield. Wide receivers Ronquavion Tarver, Isiah Johnson and Jonathan Istache will be the primary targets for Lugo to throw to.

ESPN West Palm Beach Promotes Josh Cohen

    Josh Cohen has been elevated to the evening host spot at ESPN 106.3 West Palm WUUB-FM and ESPN 760 WEFL-AM and will begin on September 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. He will replace Jeremy Marks-Peltz who will become the editor-in-charge at ESPNWestPalm.com and remain as a high school football play-by-play announcer. Marks-Peltz hosted the evening show at ESPN 760 since early 2010 and had Jason Pugh as a co-host until late November 2012.
    Cohen hosted an afternoon show called Josh Cohen and The Hometeam on WZZR-FM in West Palm Beach from September 1999 until late March 2012. The new show that he will host on ESPN 106.3 and ESPN 760 will have the same title and Joe Colella as a sidekick. Cohen has co-hosted a weekend show on both stations with Colella since February.

Major Changes At WQAM

    There will be several changes to the Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM lineup as of September 3. The announcements were made during the final Jorge Sedano Show on Thursday. He will leave his program director position and afternoon show post after today and join ESPN Radio as an evening co-host with Mark Schlereth on September 9.
    Adam Kuperstein remains on the early afternoon show from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and will be partnered with Curtis Stevenson. Kuperstein was a weekend host at the station until the end of December 2011. He combined with Steve Goldstein to co-host the early afternoon spot as the Kup and Goldie Show from early January 2012 until October 2012. Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder replaced Goldstein on the show. Kuperstein will still continue as a news anchor at WTVJ-TV Channel 6 in Miami. He was a sports anchor at that station from July 2005 until December 2011. Kuperstein has been a Sunday late morning co-host on the NBC Sports Radio Network since early April.
    Stevenson, a.k.a. Captain Curtis, has been around WQAM for quite a while. He worked with the late Jim Mandich, a.k.a. Mad Dog, on the afternoon show as his producer during the late 2000's until the end of January 2010 when Mandich had to retire due to health reasons. Stevenson paired with Anita Marks for the afternoon show from February 2010 until June 2010 when they were replaced by Sid Rosenberg. He was moved to the midday shift for the next two months until Michael Irvin took over that spot. Stevenson would remain a weekend host for the next three years. He became a sidekick on the Michael Irvin Show from August 2011 until July 2012. After Irvin was let go by the station, he hosted the midday show for over a month.
    Crowder will shift from the early afternoon show to afternoon co-host with Brandon Guzio, who will leave the evening show with Kevin Rogers. Guzio worked as a producer, sports reporter, sports anchor and weekend host at 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM from August 2004 until August 2012. He joined WQAM in early September 2012 as an afternoon sports anchor and sidekick of the Jorge Sedano Show. Guzio added duties as an evening co-host with Rogers in October 2012.
    WQAM assistant program director Andy King will be promoted to program director of the station. He began his broadcasting career as a producer for 790 The Ticket from 2004 until 2012. King, a University of Miami grad, moved to WQAM in the spring of 2012 to become the assistant program director and executive producer of the Dan Sileo afternoon show. He was given the title of interim program director when Lee Feldman left in July 2012 and later returned to the assistant program director position when Sedano arrived in late August 2012.

Jorge Sedano Leaves WQAM

    Jorge Sedano will announce his final broadcast Thursday on Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM. He will finish his one-year tenure as the afternoon host and program director at the station. Sedano was named to both positions by WQAM in late August 2012 and replaced Dan Sileo on the afternoon shift in early September 2012.
    He will begin at ESPN Radio on September 9 as an evening co-host with former football player Mark Schlereth. It is expected that his program will be picked up by ESPN 106.3 WUUB-FM and ESPN 760 Radio WEFL-AM in West Palm Beach from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. when they have no game broadcast. His new program will most likely be picked up by his former station 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM along with 104.3 The Ticket WAXY-FM in Miami when they do not have a Miami Heat or Miami Marlins game broadcast.
    Sedano, a Florida International University grad, joined 790 The Ticket in August 2007 as a midday host. He would later replace Sid Rosenberg as the morning host at that station from April 2009 until early April 2012. Sedano was also a radio game analyst for FIU football games with Jeremy Marks-Peltz in 2009 and 2010.
    He worked with News Radio 610 WIOD-AM from July 2004 until early August 2007. Along with being the morning sports anchor at that station, he was the studio host of the Miami Heat Radio Network from 2004 until 2007 and part of the broadcast team when the Heat won their first NBA title in 2006. Sedano also was the overnight host of Fox Sports Radio from 2004 until 2007 where he broadcast his program from the Miramar studios of Clear Channel. He shifted to a Sunday evening show in the summer of 2007.
    Prior to that, he was a sports host at Fox Sports Radio 940 WRFX-AM from 2002 until the station flipped to a news/talk format in July 2004. Sedano began his broadcasting career as a producer of the Jim Berry Show on 1700 The Fan WAFN-AM in August 1999. He was later elevated to sports anchor and sports host before the station changed its format in late December 2000.
    Sedano had previous television experience as a weekend sports anchor at WFOR-TV Channel 4 in Miami for several years with Berry until the fall of 2012. He joined Sun Sports in August 2012 as the Miami Heat studio host for road broadcast games alongside John Crotty. He left that post this past July after the team won their second straight NBA championship and their third in franchise history.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Changes On Hurricanes Beat

    There will several new beat reporters that will cover the University of Miami Hurricanes sports program for the upcoming school year. Christy C. Chirinos was named the new Hurricanes writer at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Wednesday. She will replace Michael Casagrande who will be returning to Alabama to cover the University of Alabama Crimson Tide after over one year of following The U. Chirinos has been at the Sun-Sentinel for over a decade and has mainly covered high school sports in Broward County.
    The Palm Beach Post had made a similar change back in early July where Matt Porter replaced Jorge Milian as the University of Miami beat writer. Milian had covered the Canes with the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel during the early 1990's and had the same position with the Palm Beach Post from 1995 until June 2013 before he became a news writer. Porter joined the Palm Beach Post in 2009 and worked as the Palm Beach County high school sports reporter for four years.    

Nationals Down Marlins

    The Miami Marlins lost for the seventh time in eight games as they fell to the Washington Nationals 4-3 on Wednesday night at Nationals Park. The Marlins clinched a losing record with their 82nd loss in the 2013 campaign and are now 20-43 on the road.
    Washington(67-65) was able to get the early lead against Henderson Alvarez during the second inning. Ian Desmond started with an infield single to second then Adam LaRoche and Wilson Ramos struck out. Steve Lombardozzi doubled into deep left field which scored Desmond. A rain delay was called once that play had ended. Alvarez and Washington starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg were removed from the contest by their clubs when the game resumed.
    The Nats put up another run off Ryan Webb in the third inning. Ryan Zimmerman reached base with one out on an infield base hit and then scored on a Bryce Harper double into left-center field.
    Jeff Mathis lifted a lead-off home run to left field against Craig Stammen in the fifth inning to narrow the gap for Miami(49-82) to 2-1. It was his fourth homer of the season.
    The Fish took their only lead of the game with two runs during the top of the sixth. Giancarlo Stanton began with a solo home run to center field on a 3-2 pitch thrown by Ryan Mattheus for his 17th round-tripper this year. Later in the frame, Mathis knocked in Donovan Solano with a one-out single to shallow left field.
    Jayson Werth evened the game at 3-3 for the Nationals in the bottom of the sixth on his 20th homer of the season with none out as he hit a 0-1 pitch to center field against Arquimendes Caminero.
    The winning run was scored by Washington during the seventh inning as Mike Dunn gave up a two-out single to left field by Desmond as Denard Span crossed the plate.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Nats Jump On Fish

    The Washington Nationals only needed a couple of runs in the first inning to defeat the Miami Marlins 2-1 at Nationals Park on Tuesday. It was the first game of a nine-game road trip for the Marlins. The Fish, who were held to four hits, have lost six of their last seven games.
    In the first inning, Washington(66-65) picked up two runs off Nathan Eovaldi. Ryan Zimmerman got a one-out single into left-center field and advanced to third on a base hit by Bryce Harper to right field. Zimmerman would score on a ground out by Jayson Werth to third and Ian Desmond followed with single to center as he drove in Harper.
    Miami(49-81) closed the margin to 2-1 during the sixth inning as Christian Yelich smacked his second career home run. He led off the frame and hit a 2-1 pitch from Ross Ohlendorf over the right-field wall.
    Eovaldi fell to 2-5 this season as he surrendered two runs on eight hits in six innings while Ohlendorf held the Marlins to one run on three hits in five innings as he improved to 3-0.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Sal Licata Out At 640 Sports

    640 Sports WMEN-AM no longer has Sal Licata as the New York Yankees pregame studio host as his position has been taken over by program director Marc Eisenberg for the remainder of the 2013 season. Licata had been announcing a 30-minute segment from New York City since late April prior to the start of the New York Yankees Radio Network with John Sterling and Susyn Waldman.
    Licata continues as a co-host for the Full Count program on MLB.com and as a sports anchor at SNY in New York City. He has also co-hosted shows called The Wheelhouse, Loud Mouths and Daily News Live on SNY. Licata was once the afternoon producer for the Mike Francesa Show on Sports Radio 66 WFAN-AM and its television simulcast on YES Network until he was let go in June 2010. He started his broadcasting career as an intern at WFAN.
    Eisenberg, who has been the program director at 640 Sports since November 2012, was the late morning host at the station from May until late July earlier this year. He is expected to host a one-hour Sunday morning NFL show this fall as he did in 2012. He was a temporary morning co-host at WMEN from early June 2012 until early August 2012. Eisenberg had previous stints as a producer and sports co-host at Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM and 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM in Miami.

WMEN Drops Weekend Shows

    640 Sports WMEN-AM has eliminated local weekend hosts recently due to budget constraints with the addition of midday host Dan Sileo in early August. They include Dave Hyde, Toast, J. Darin Darst and Jeff Allen. The station will use the NBC Sports Radio Network on Saturday afternoons with former 1400 The Fan WFLL-AM and Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM sports host Anita Marks from noon until 3 p.m. followed by Brian Webber from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.
    Hyde and Toast began to co-host a weekend show back in January. Hyde has worked as a sports columnist for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and its predecessor the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel since 1990. He was employed at the Miami Herald prior to that. Hyde has made numerous appearances for guest segments for most local sports stations. In addition, his book Still Perfect: The Untold Story Of The 1972 Miami Dolphins was published in 2012.
    Toast was a weekend co-host with current 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM afternoon co-host Jon Weiner, a.k.a. Stugotz, at 940 Fox Sports Radio WRFX-AM in 2003 and early 2004. He was also a morning show producer on the Kenny and Footy Show for Y-100 WHYI-FM during the early 2000's. Toast left there and became an early morning co-host with the late Steve Brancik in 2005 at WAXY.
    He reunited with Kenny Walker at WQAM in 2006 and 2007 where he worked as a morning show producer and morning sports anchor on the Kenny and Bo(Kim Bokamper) Show. Toast moved on to Big 105.9 WBGG-FM as a midday disc jockey and a morning producer for the Paul and Young Ron Show. He was a fill-in host at 940 The Sports Animal WINZ-AM for several months in early 2010.
    Darst and Allen began to host a weekend show on 640 Sports earlier this year. Darst worked eight years with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and three years as the assistant sports information director at Florida International University. He joined CBSSports.com in March 2000 and is currently a college football producer with them.
    Allen has worked as a disc jockey for numerous radio stations in the West Palm Beach area over the last 15 years. They included WEAT-FM, WIRK-FM, WUUB-FM, WDJA-AM and WJNO-AM.

Steve Malzberg On WFTL

    Former New York City sportscaster Steve Malzberg has been the afternoon talk host on Big Talk 850 WFTL-AM in Fort Lauderdale since early August. It is a simulcast of his afternoon television show on Newsmax.com. His show was also just picked up by 1450 WCTC-AM in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was a weekend sports anchor at Sports Radio 66 WFAN-AM during 2012.
    Malzberg, who has been based in New York City throughout his broadcasting career, worked for over 20 years at 77 WABC-AM as a sports anchor, fill-in talk host and afternoon co-host with Richard Bey. He had a long stint as the sports director at Shadow Broadcasting Services in Rutherford, New Jersey during the 1990's and early 2000's.
    He moved away from sports broadcasting and into a general talk format when he did the late night host shift at WABC. His next stop was at 1600 WWRL-AM as a morning co-host from 2004 until July 2005. After a brief stop announcing sports commentary segments at WABC in 2006, he then went to 710 WOR-AM as an evening host in May 2007 and was later elevated to the afternoon host position. Malzberg would remain at that station until August 2011.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Fish Shut Out Rockies

    Jose Fernanadez allowed no runs on four hits in seven innings pitched as the Miami Marlins blanked the Colorado Rockies 3-0 at Marlins Park on Saturday night. Fernandez improved to 10-5 this season and lowered his ERA to 2.30. There was limited offense as both teams combined for eight total hits in the game.
    Steve Cishek captured his 23rd consecutive save for the Marlins and now has 28 saves in 2013. Colorado(60-71) starting pitcher Jeff Manship pitched six innings and gave up three runs on four hits as his record dropped to 0-4.
    Miami(49-79) got all of their three runs during the fourth inning. Giancarlo Stanton led off with a double to left field and advanced to third on a Logan Morrison ground out to first. Ed Lucas followed with a base hit into left field for Stanton to score to make it 1-0. Adeiny Hechavarria knocked in Lucas on a triple to deep center field. Hechavarria would cross the plate on a sacrifice fly by Jake Marisnick to right field.

Miami Central Handles Dwyer

    The defending FHSAA Class 6A champion Miami Central Rockets came away with a 44-13 rout of the Dwyer Panthers in a kickoff classic at Blum Stadium on Saturday night. Miami Central, who is ranked first nationally, will start the regular season on the road in Plantation against the American Heritage Patriots next week. Dwyer will travel to Bell Glade and challenge their Palm Beach County arch-rival the Glades Central Raiders.
    Miami Central started their first possession in good position following a bad punt at the Panthers 35-yard line. They were held out of the end zone as Beymar Piraquive kicked a 32-yard field goal at 6:19 of the first quarter.
    Dwyer quarterback Daniel Parr had a pass intercepted by linebacker Donovan Thompson and returned it to the Rockets 30-yard line. On the first play of the drive, wide receiver Da'vante Phillips caught a ball on a fly pattern from quarterback Keith Reed and ran down the field untouched for a 70-yard touchdown with 4:36 left in the first to make it 10-0.
    The Panthers climbed back into the game late in the first quarter and closed the gap to 10-7. Shawun Lurry scored on a 50-yard punt return with 2:55 remaining in the first quarter as he got a wall of blockers that led him down the right sideline.
    The Rockets added a pair of field goals during the second quarter as Piraquive converted a 34-yard field goal at 9:20 and a 37-yard field goal at 2:06. Just before the end of the first half, running back Dalvin Cook extended the Rockets lead to 23-7 as he returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown with 7.3 seconds to go.
    Miami Central began the second half on the 50-yard line after they made a fair catch on an attempted on-side kick. Running back Joseph Yearby finished the drive as he went around the right end and scored on a ten-yard carry with 9:51 left in the third quarter. Officials stopped the game when that play ended due to a lightning storm that lasted thirty minutes. When play resumed, Piraquive made the extra point for a 30-7 lead.
    On the Rockets following possession. wide receiver Tavius Brown Jr. caught a pass from Reed and ran by the Dwyer secondary for a 75-yard touchdown with 5:52 remaining in the third to bring it up to 37-7.
    Parr threw another interception in the red zone as cornerback Deatrick Nichols returned the ball to the Panthers 12-yard line. Several plays later, Cook made it 44-7 on a one-yard touchdown run at 3:23.
    Dwyer scored on their next possession as Parr connected with wide receiver Ezra Saffold on a 26-yard corner route with 1:27 to go in the third quarter to close the margin to 44-13.

Rockies Slip By Marlins

    The Miami Marlins fell short as they lost to the Colorado Rockies 3-2 at Marlins Park on Friday night. The Fish have lost four of their last five games at home.
    In the fifth inning, Miami(48-79) got their initial run on lead-off solo home run to left-center field by Ed Lucas on the first pitch off Jhoulys Chacin. It was the third homer this season for him.
    Colorado(60-70) quickly responded and tied the game in the top of the sixth against Tom Koehler. D.J. LeMahieu began with a triple into deep center and Troy Tulowitzki walked. Michale Cuddyer grounded out into a fielder's choice for LeMathieu to score.
    The Fish retook the lead 2-1 in the seventh inning. Jake Marisnick struck a one-out triple to deep right field. After Jeff Mathis walked, pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs drove in Marisnick with a sacrifice fly to right field.
    The Rockies came back with two runs crossed the plate against Chad Qualls during the eighth inning. LeMahieu lined out to first and Tulowitzki followed with a double to the deep center field. Cuddyer knocked in Tulowitzki on a base hit to right field and advanced to second on the relay throw. Two batters later, he scored the game-winning run on a double to center by Ryan Wheeler.
    Koehler allowed one run on six hits in seven innings while Chacin earned the victory for Colorado as he pitched seven innings, gave up two runs on four hits and upped his record to 12-7. Qualls fell to 4-2 as he surrendered two runs on three runs in one inning.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Glades Central Slams Coral Springs

    The Glades Central Raiders had an impressive showing as they pounded the Coral Springs Colts 48-7 in a kickoff classic on Friday night at James M. Caldwell Field. The Raiders, who compiled 41 unanswered points in this contest, will host the Dwyer Panthers for the first game of the regular season next week.
    The Raiders scored on their first possession and never looked back in this game. Quarterback Giovanni Lugo threw a pass to the left side where wide receiver Ronquavion Tarver made a 31-yard touchdown catch for a 6-0 lead at 9:40 of the first quarter.
    They would get a 67-yard touchdown run by running back Jerry Jones down the left sideline on the first play of their next drive. Oscar Garcia converted the extra point as the maroon-and-gold led 13-0 with 6:46 to go in the first.
    Midway through the second quarter, Coral Springs quarterback Shawn Nichols flung a ball that was intercepted by safety Devante Seabrook and was returned 30 yards to the Colts two-yard line. Three plays later, the Raiders scored on a 15-yard pass up the middle by backup quarterback Jonathan Istache to wide receiver Isiah Johnson. Garcia made the extra point with 5:15 left to make it 20-0.
    On the first play of the Raiders final drive of the first half, Tarver caught a 45-yard touchdown reception on the left side from Istache with 2:17 remaining as they extended the gap to 27-0.
    Glades Central continued to roll as they got into the end zone on their first play of the second half. Jones caught a screen pass near the left sideline, avoided several tackles and scored from 35 yards away at 7:24 of the third quarter. Garcia put through the extra point as the team from Belle Glade was up 34-0.
    The Colts broke the shutout with 1:20 left in the third quarter. Nichols rolled out right on a fourth-down play and rocketed a 25-yard pass to the right side of the end zone where it was brought in by wide receiver Moises Alcesceis. Adrian Pesagrato kicked through the extra point as Coral Springs closed the margin to 41-7.
    Lugo capped the scoring for the Raiders as he sneaked in with a run up the middle from one yard out with 9:35 to go in the fourth quarter. There was a running clock for the remainder of the game due to more than a 35-point lead in the final quarter as Glades Central were way ahead 48-7.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

St. Thomas Aquinas Beats Dillard

    The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders held on to defeat the Dillard Panthers 21-10 in a kickoff classic at Brian Piccolo Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday night. Both teams, who both made the FHSAA playoffs last season, play their home games less than four miles away from each other.
    Things did not start out right for the defending FHSAA Class 7A champions on their first possession when Raiders tight end Sean Bender fumbled the ball away after a catch at the Panthers 20-yard line.
    Dillard responded quickly on the first play of the drive as quarterback Lee Martin found wide receiver Dennis Turner down the left side for a 40-yard reception. The Panthers took the ball as far as the Raiders one-yard line before they settled for a 30-yard field goal by kicker Joseph Bazlie and a 3-0 lead with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
    St. Thomas Aquinas took the lead at the 3:35 of the first quarter as running back Mardre London finished a long drive with a seven-yard touchdown run through the left side of the offensive line. Raiders kicker Charles Courtney converted the extra point to make it 7-3.
    The Raiders extended their margin to 14-3 with 4:09 to go in the second quarter. Quarterback Wade Freebeck fired a 32-yard pass toward the right sideline where wide receiver Devante Peete jumped and caught the ball in the front part of the end zone for the score. Garrett Rivera came in to kick the extra point for the team.
    The Panthers got one more good drive in to close the gap before halftime. Martin connected with an eight-yard pass to wide receiver Elijah Johnson in the back right corner of the end zone with 24 seconds remaining in the first half. Bazlie nailed the extra point as Dillard was down 14-10.
    There was only one score by either team in the entire second half. Late in the third quarter, Panthers quarterback Jason Collins lost the ball when he was sacked on third down by defensive end Anthony Moten and it was recovered by defensive end Nicholas Bosa at the Dillard 11-yard line. The Raiders capitalized on the opportunity during the first play of the drive as quarterback Jake Rizzo threw a lob pass to the left back corner of the end zone where it was caught by Peete with 1:56 left. Zachary Cicero made it 21-10 as he kicked the extra point.

Dodgers Dominate Marlins

    Clayton Kershaw did it all on the mound and at the plate as the Los Angeles Dodgers got a 6-0 shutout victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday at Marlins Park. The Fish, who dropped three of four games in the series with Dodgers, will take on the Colorado Rockies at home this weekend. The Dodgers return to the west coast and face the Boston Red Sox.
    Kershaw raised his record to 13-7 as he surrendered no runs on five hits in eight innings pitched for the Dodger Blue. Marlins starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez went five innings and allowed five runs on seven hits as he moved down to 2-3. Brian Wilson made his first appearance with the Dodgers as he pitched in the ninth inning. He played for the arch-rival San Francisco Giants for seven seasons and won two World Series titles in 2010 and 2012.
    In the fourth inning, Los Angeles(75-52) picked up three runs off Alvarez. Yasiel Puig led off with a double into deep center field, Andre Either stuck out and A.J. Ellis grounded out to send Puig to third. Skip Schumaker was hit by a pitch and Juan Uribe walked to load the bases. Kershaw drove in Puig as he slashed a base hit to left field. Carl Crawford followed with a two-run double to right field to score Either and Schumaker.
    The Dodgers put together a two-out rally during the fifth inning with two more runs. After Adrian Gonzalez struck out and Puig popped out, Either doubled to the right-center field wall. He scored on a double by Ellis to deep center field to make it 4-0. Ellis got to third on a wild pitch then crossed the plate on a single into center field by Schumaker.
    Miami(48-78) gave up one more run in the top of the seventh inning. Gonzalez ripped a double to center field off Dan Jennings before he was relieved by A.J. Ramos. After Gonzalez advanced to third on a passed ball, he would score on a sacrifice fly by Puig into center.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Marlins Fall To Dodgers

    The Miami Marlins started off great on Wednesday night, but the Los Angeles Dodgers moved by them with a 4-1 win at Marlins Park. Both teams will finish the four-game series on Thursday afternoon.
    Dodgers starting pitcher Zack Greinke went eight innings and allowed one run on six hits to improve his record to 12-3. Nathan Eovaldi, who is a former Dodger, fell to 2-4 as he gave up two earned runs on six hits in seven innings.
    Miami(48-77) jumped out to the early lead during the first inning. Giancarlo Stanton bashed a two-out solo home run to left field on a 1-0 pitch from Greinke for his 16th homer of the season. It was his seventh career home run against the Dodgers.
    In the fourth inning, Los Angeles(74-52) rolled on through with three runs against Eovaldi. Yusiel Puig reached first on a throwing error by third baseman Ed Lucas and then Adrian Gonzalez walked. Former Marlin Hanley Ramirez laced a double into deep left-center field to score Puig and tied the game at 1-1. Andre Ethier knocked in Gonzalez from third with a base hit to left field. Eovaldi was charged with an error when he tried to pick off Ethier on first which resulted in a run by Ramirez.
    The Dodgers added another run in the top of the eighth against Ryan Webb. Ramirez led off with a single to left field and then stole second. After Ethier walked, both runners advanced one base when A.J. Ellis sacrificed to third. Ramirez scored on a sacrifice fly by Jerry Hairston Jr. to center field.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Dodgers Edge Fish

    The Miami Marlins fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 at Marlins Park on Tuesday night. The loss stopped a two-game win streak by the Fish while the Dodgers ended a two-game losing streak.
    In the first inning, Miami(48-76) jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Chris Capuano. Christian Yelich led off with a double to left field and advanced to third on a ground out by Donovan Solano. Giancarlo Stanton drove Yelich in on a ground out to second.
    Los Angeles(73-52) pounded the Marlins and pitcher Jacob Turner as they pushed across four runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs when Carl Crawford came to bat. He got on base with an infield single as Andre Ethier crossed the plate. Mark Ellis then picked up an infield single with Tim Federowicz scoring. Adeiny Hechavarria made a throwing error on the play and Capuano also scored. Adrian Gonzalez knocked in Crawford with a single into right field.
    The Marlins were able to get the bases loaded with none out in the bottom of the fourth. Justin Ruggiano prevented a double play when he beat out a infield ground ball for Stanton to score. Hechavarria followed with a base hit into left field as Logan Morrison scored from third as Miami closed the margin to 4-3.
    The Fish tied the game at 4-4 during the sixth inning against Dodgers reliever Brandon League. Ruggiano sliced a single into center field with one out and Hechavarria walked. Ruggiano scored on a base hit by Jeff Mathis to left field.
    Dodgers rookie phenom Yusiel Puig blasted a solo home run to left-center field with no out on the first pitch that Dan Jennings threw for his 12th homer of the season.
    Former Marlin Hanley Ramirez started the ninth inning for Los Angeles with a double into deep left field. Three batters later, he scored from third with two out on a single by Federowicz to the left side to make it 6-4.

Rachel Nichols Gets CNN Show

    CNN announced that former local sports writer Rachel Nichols will begin to host a weekend sports show starting on September 20. The program will air on Fridays at the unusual time of 10:30 p.m. She joined CNN and Turner Sports as a sports reporter, NBA sideline reporter and NCAA basketball sideline reporter back on January 28. It was known when she first joined the organization that she would host a sports show later in the year.
    Nichols went by the name of Rachel Alexander when she worked as a sports writer at the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel from 1995 until 1996. She then moved to the Washington Post where she had sports writer duties from 1996 to 2004. ESPN hired Nichols as a sports reporter and she was employed there for over eight years.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Marlins Drill Dodgers

    The Miami Marlins stopped the hottest team in major league baseball with a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Marlins Park on Monday night. The Fish have won two straight games and are now 28-34 at home. The Dodgers lost two consecutive games for the first time since June 20 and June 21.
    Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez raised his record to 9-5 as he pitched six innings, struck out eight and gave up one earned run on four hits. Hyun-Jin Ryu started for the Dodgers as he allowed three runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings and dropped to 12-4.
    Miami(48-75) picked up a two-out rally and got up to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Fernandez singled softly into center field and then scored on a double by Christian Yelich to deep left field. Donovan Solano drove him in on a base hit to right field.
    Los Angeles(72-52) got consecutive hits by Juan Uribe and Mark Ellis to begin the fifth inning while Ryu reached first on a sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Carl Crawford beat out an infield double play for Uribe to score.
    Both teams scored one run during the sixth inning. Uribe doubled to deep right with one out to score Ethier with two out for the Dodgers. Logan Morrison of the Marlins countered it with a one-out double into deep right field as Solano scored.
    The Fish put up three additional runs as they extended their lead in the eighth inning to 6-2. Giancarlo Stanton crushed his 15th home run this season on a 1-0 pitch from Chris Withrow to center field with two out. J.P. Howell relieved for Withrow and the Marlins pounded him with three straight base hits. Morrison doubled to right field and scored on a single to left-center field by Ed Lucas. He would take second on a wild pitch and added another run on a base hit by Adeiny Hechavarria to center. 

Marlins Drop Giants

    The Miami Marlins avoided a three-game sweep to the San Francisco Giants with a 6-5 victory on Sunday at Marlins Park. The Marlins will host another team from the west coast as they play the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are the hottest baseball team in the majors.
    In the first inning, San Francisco(55-68) started out great as they got two runs off Tom Koehler. Gregor Blanco led off with a base hit into left field. Three batters later, Hunter Pence smacked a two-out, two-run homer to center field on a 2-1 pitch for his 15th homer this season.
    Jeff Mathis responded in the third inning with a lead-off solo home run to left-center field for Miami(47-75) on a 0-1 count against Madison Bumgarner.
    The Fish took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Giancarlo Stanton singled to left and Logan Morrison popped out to third. Justin Ruggiano reached base on the unusual call of catcher's interference. Ed Lucas knocked in Stanton with a base hit into left-center field and then Ruggiano was caught stealing third as Lucas advanced to second. Lucas scored on a single by Adeiny Hechavarria into left-center field for a Marlins 3-2 lead.
    The Giants evened up the game in the top of the fifth. Blanco executed a one-out single into right and went to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, he scored on a two-out base hit by Pence to right field.
    The Fish had the bases loaded with two out in the bottom of the fifth when Ruggiano walked to score Donovan Solano.
    San Francisco regained the lead in the top of the seventh inning with two runs against Mike Dunn. The first batter he faced was Brandon Crawford and blasted a solo home run to right field on a 2-2 pitch. Later in the frame, Hector Sanchez drove Pablo Sandoval in with a double into deep left field with two outs.
    The Marlins bounced back in the bottom of the seventh to tie it again. Christin Yelich walked and then scored on a double by Solano into deep left-center field with none out off Guillermo Moscoso.  
    Miami got the final run of the contest in the eighth inning against Sandy Rosario. Lucas singled into right-center field then Hechavarria fouled out to the catcher. Lucas crossed the plate for the winning run as Mathis picked up an RBI-double to left-center field.  

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Giants Stop Marlins

    The San Francisco Giants jumped out to a four-run lead for the second straight game as they defeated the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Saturday night at Marlins Park. The Fish have lost 10 of their last 13 games.
    In the fourth inning, San Francisco(55-67) placed a four-spot against Henderson Alvarez. Brandon Belt was on third and Buster Posey was on second with two outs when Pablo Sandoval drove in Belt on an infield single. Posey would score on a balk by Alvarez and Sandoval took second on the play. After Roger Kieschnick walked, Gregor Blanco knocked in Sandoval and Kieschnick with a two-run triple into center field for a 4-0 lead.
    Miami(46-75) crawled back into the game with two runs in the sixth inning off Matt Cain. Donovan Solano led off with a base hit to center to begin the frame. Giancarlo Stanton came up and blasted a tape-measure home run that went 454 feet to center field on a 3-2 pitch. It was his 14th homer this season and his eighth in his career against San Francisco.
    The Giants would extend their lead in the top of the eighth as A.J. Ramos allowed three consecutive walks to Brandon Crawford, Belt and Posey with one out. Mike Dunn relieved Ramos with the bases loaded and surrendered a run as Sandoval walked for Crawford to score. Andres Torres pinched-hit for Kieschnick and got an infield hit as Belt crossed the plate.
    The Marlins added a couple of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. They had Christian Yelich on second and Solano on first with one out. Logan Morrison smacked a two-run double to left-center field and brought in both of them to make it 6-4.
    Alvarez dropped to 2-2 as he allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings while Cain improved to 8-8 as he pitched seven innings and gave up two runs on four hits for the victory. Sergio Romo captured his 30th save of the season for the Giants.

Friday, August 16, 2013

One Year Of Sid Rosenberg At WMEN

    Sid Rosenberg celebrated his one-year anniversary as the morning show host at 640 Sports WMEN-AM on August 13. He also hosted a Sunday morning one-hour football show during the NFL season in 2012. Along with writing a book You're Wrong And Your Ugly in 2010, he has made many numerous stops during his illustrious radio career. 
    Rosenberg, a Brooklyn native, worked at CBS Sportsline in Fort Lauderdale first as a salesperson then as a sports co-host with Scott Kaplan. They moved their show The Drive to New York City and worked mornings at 102.7 WNEW-FM.
    He then landed at Sports Radio 66 WFAN-AM where he was the morning sports anchor for the Imus In The Morning Show. He added midday co-host duties with Jody McDonald and later with Joe Benigno. He worked there from 2001 until September 2005 when he was let go after not showing up for the New York Giants pregame show as studio host.
    Rosenberg returned to Florida and joined 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM in late 2005 as a fill-in host. He was promoted to co-host middays with former Miami Dolphins player O.J. McDuffie. After the departure of Joe Rose to Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM, he was reassigned to become the morning show host. He held that position until May 2009 when he was released from that station. 
    He joined WQAM in September 2009 as a midday host. Rosenberg moved to the afternoon shift in June 2010 and replaced Curtis Stevenson and Anita Marks. He held the spot until early April 2012 when he was fired for his arrest of DUI and driving with a suspended license.

Locals On Fox Sports 1

    Several former local athletes will begin their stints at the new national sports channel Fox Sports 1 on Saturday. It will include basketball player Gary Payton as an NBA expert and tennis player Andy Roddick as a professional tennis expert.
    Payton, known as The Glove, played 17 years in the NBA and missed only 25 games. He had a long tenure of 13 seasons with the Seattle Supersonics from 1990 until 2003 and led them to a Western Conference title in 1996. They lost in six games to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Ray Allen and was with them for 28 games to end the 2002-03 season.
    He signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2003-04 season where he joined Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone. The team made up of all-stars and future basketball hall-of-famers won the Western Conference title, but they were upset by the Detroit Pistons during the 2004 NBA Finals in five games.
    After a brief stop with the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks in 2004-05, he joined the Miami Heat for the last two years of his NBA career. He finally captured an NBA championship in the 2005-06 season with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade as they beat the Dallas Mavericks in six games.
    Roddick grew up in Boca Raton and graduated from Boca Prep International School in 2000. He would win 32 singles titles in his 12-year career and was ranked the number-one player in the world back in 2003. He won his only Grand Slam major tournament in September 2003 as he picked up the U.S. Open Championship over Juan Carlos Ferrero at Flushing Meadows, New York. He is the last American male to capture a Grand Slam major singles title.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Marlins Win In 10 Innings

    Both teams were held scoreless in the first nine innings until the Miami Marlins broke the tie in the tenth inning as they beat the Kansas City Royals 1-0 on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium. The Fish have won two of their last ten games.
    In the tenth inning, Miami(45-73) mounted a rally to take the lead against Kelvin Herrera. Jake Marisnick led off as he was hit by a pitch and advanced to second when Jeff Mathis struck out. Christian Yelich followed with a single through the right side for Marisnick to score.
    Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez allowed no runs on three hits and struck out six batters in seven innings. Kansas City(62-55) starter Bruce Chen had the same pitching line as he gave no runs on three hits in seven innings. Steve Cishek shut the door on the Royals during the tenth inning for his 25th save this season.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Royals Crown Marlins

    The Miami Marlins made their first appearance in Kansas City since 2007 as they fell to the Royals 6-2 at Kauffman Stadium on Monday night. The Marlins have lost eight of their last nine games and moved to 18-41 in road games.
    Kansas City(62-54) dropped down two runs on a two-out rally during the fourth inning against Tom Koehler. Mike Moustakas reached base on an infield hit and then scored on a Justin Maxwell triple to right field. Chris Getz slammed a single into center field for Maxwell to score.
    In the top of the sixth inning, Miami(44-73) got a one-out single to center by Giancarlo Stanton and he scored on a Logan Morrison double into right field. After Ed Lucas struck out, Greg Dobbs knocked in Morrison with a double to deep right field against Wade Davis to tie the game at 2-2.
    The Royals rebounded quickly in the bottom of the sixth and retook the lead with three more runs. Following a one-out base hit by Getz into center field, Alcides Escobar drove in Getz on an RBI-triple into right field. Escobar crossed the plate on an infield single by Jarrod Dyson, who would then steal second base. David Lough brought him in on a base hit to right field.
    The Marlins surrendered one more run in the seventh inning with Ryan Webb on the mound. Billy Butler smacked a lead-off home run to left field on a 2-1 pitch for his 11th homer this season.
    Koehler gave up five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings as he dropped to 3-8 while Davis allowed two runs on six hits in six innings as he raised his record to 6-9.
   

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Marlins Edge Braves

    The Miami Marlins had to wait until the ninth inning to get the only run of the game as they got by the Atlanta Braves 1-0 at Turner Field on Saturday night. The Fish ended their six-game losing streak and at the same time snapped the Braves 14-game winning streak.
    Adeiny Hechavarria led off for Miami(44-71) with a triple into deep center field. Atlanta(71-46) relief pitcher Jordan Walden would throw a wild pitch with Ed Lucas at-bat for Hechavarria to score and give the Marlins a 1-0 lead.
    Marlins starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi went seven innings, surrendered no runs on one hit and struck out eight for no decision in the game. Braves starter Alex Wood gave up no runs on two hits and struck out seven in six innings. Steve Cishek showed up in the ninth inning and picked up his 24th save this season.

Braves Bash Fish

    The Miami Marlins extended their losing streak to six games as they fell to the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Friday night at Turner Field. The Bravos have now won 14 straight games for the current longest winning streak in baseball.
    Atlanta(71-45) came out of the box with four runs in the first inning against Jacob Turner. After Jason Heyward struck out, Justin Upton crushed his 22nd home run of the season on a 2-2 count to left field. Freddie Freeman then singled into right field and Brian McCann got to first on a fielding error by Adeiny Hechavarria. Chris Johnson followed with a three-run homer to center field on a 1-0 pitch to give the Bravos a 4-0 lead.
    The Braves put up an additional run during the third inning as McCann cracked a lead-off solo home run to center field on 1-1 pitch for his 17th homer of the season.
    Turner dropped to 3-4 as he gave up five runs on five hits in five innings for Miami(43-71) while Braves starting pitcher Brandon Beachy got his first decision of the year as he pitched eight innings and allowed no runs on three hits.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Pirates Sweep Marlins

    Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich hit his first major league home run, but that was not enough as they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 in ten innings at PNC Park on Thursday. The Bucs, who swept the three-game series against the Fish, won for the second time in three games on a walk-off hit.
    It was a pitching rematch from two weeks ago between two rookies. Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez pitched five innings and gave up two runs on five hits and struck out five. Pirates hurler Gerrit Cole allowed four runs on six hits during the five innings he pitched.
    In the first inning, Miami(43-70) jumped out to a two-run lead against Cole. Two batters after Yelich walked, Giancarlo Stanton knocked him in on a double to deep right field. After Logan Morrison lined out, Stanton scored on an RBI-single by Placido Polanco into center field.
    Jeff Mathis got an infield hit and Fernandez sacrificed him to second to begin the top of the fifth inning. Yelich smacked a two-run homer on a 3-2 pitch to left field and the Marlins 4-0 lead.
    The Pirates began to chip at the four-run lead in the bottom of the frame with a one-out rally. Starling Marte walked then Alex Presley singled into center field. Neil Walker drove in Marte with a base hit into left and advanced to second on the relay throw. Pedro Alvarez came to the plate and ripped a single into right field as Presley scored.
    Pittsburgh(70-44) put up two runs in the seventh inning to tie the contest. Chad Qualls gave up a walk to Gabe Tabata, a base hit to center by Marte and a single to left by Andrew McCutchen to load the bases with none out. Mike Dunn was called in to relieve for Qualls and Tabata scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Walker. The Bucs had the bases loaded again as Alvarez walked and then Marlins brought in Ryan Webb to pitch for Dunn. Former Marlin Gaby Sanchez welcomed him into the game with a sacrifice fly towards right field to score Marte and make it 4-4.
    The Bucs got the game-winning run in the tenth inning off Steven Ames. Josh Harrison singled to center field and was pushed over to second on a Clint Barmes sacrifice bunt. Tabata grounded out and Marte was then intentionally walked. Russell Martin was called upon to pinch-hit for pitcher Jared Hughes and he delivered with walk-off single into left field for Harrison to score.

Real Madrid Wins International Champions Cup

    Real Madrid captured the first annual International Champions Cup with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on Wednesday night. Both teams won two games in the previous rounds to arrive in the championship game.
    Real Madrid has won a record nine European championships, 32 La Liga titles and 18 Copa Del Rey tournaments. Chelsea has mustered four top-level England titles, seven F.A. Cups and took the trophy at the 2012 UEFA Champions League.
    The powerhouse from Spain took the lead during the 14th minute when defender Marcelo Vieira came up on the play and put a left-foot shot on the left side from 15 yards out by goalkeeper Petr Cech to the far post for a 1-0 lead.
    The Blues responded quickly just three minutes later to tie game. Romelu Lukaku sent a lead pass over the Real defense and Ramires chipped a ball over the head of goalkeeper Iker Casillas from 18 yards away.
    Los Blancos regained the lead in the 31st minute. Forward Cristiano Ronaldo was fouled on the left side from 25 yards out and was given a direct kick. He converted it for a goal as he curved the ball with his right foot over the Chelsea wall and beyond Cech's reach into the top left corner of the net.
    Ronaldo would pick up his second goal of the game as he scored the only tally of the second half in the 57th minute as he redirected a head ball from seven yards out off a cross by midfielder Isco Alcaron.

AC Milan Stops LA Galaxy

    AC Milan dominated the third-place of the International Champions Cup with a 2-0 shutout of the Los Angeles Galaxy at Wednesday night at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Both teams lost their first-round games and bounced back with victories in the second round to get in this position.
    Los Angeles has won four Major League Soccer championships which included winning the last two titles in 2011 and 2012. AC Milan has captured 18 Serie A titles in Italy, seven European championships and four World Club title matches.
    In the 17th minute, the Italian club capitalized on a turnover by Galaxy forward Robbie Keane in his own left corner. Forward Mario Balotelli intercepted the ball at the 17-yard line and pounded in a shot with the right foot by goalie Carlo Cudicini.
    AC Milan widened their lead to 2-0 during the 40th minute. Forward Mbaye Niang unleashed a shot from 20 yards away through traffic in front that bounced off the left post and into the net. Los Angeles was down by two goals at halftime as neither team scored in the second half.

Bucs Paste Marlins

    The Miami Marlins fell short for the second straight game in Pittsburgh as they lost to the Pirates 4-2 on Wednesday night at PNC Park. The Fish gave up a walk-off pinch-hit home run by Josh Harrison in the ninth inning the previous night in The Steel City.
    Miami(43-69), who now are 17-37 on the road, got their only runs in the game during the top of the fourth against Charlie Morton. Giancarlo Stanton started with a base hit into center and advanced to third on a double by Logan Morrison to right-center field. Donovan Solano followed with single that landed in shallow center to score Stanton for a 1-0 lead. Adeiny Hechavarria grounded into a double play for Morrison to cross the plate.
    Andrew McCutchen narrowed the margin in the bottom of the frame for Pittsburgh(69-44) as he smacked his 16th home run of the season to center field with one out on a 3-1 pitch by Tom Koehler.
    The Pirates eventually took the lead in the fifth inning. They had Josh Harrison on third and Jordy Mercer on second when Morton stroked a single into right field to bring in Harrison. With Starling Marte at-bat, Mercer came home on a wild pitch.
    The Bucs extended their lead in the eighth inning against A.J. Ramos. Neil Walker lead off with double to right and went to third on an infield hit by McCutchen. Pedro Alvarez drove in Walker on a sacrifice fly to center field.
    Koehler dropped to 3-7 as he surrendered three runs on four hits and struck out eight in five innings pitched. Morton allowed two runs on six hits in seven innings as he improved to 4-3.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Miami/Fort Lauderdale Ratings July 2013

    The long six-month reign of 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM has ended as they tied with Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM for the top spot of sports format stations in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region during July. The last time both stations were deadlock for the highest rated sports station was in December 2012.
    790 The Ticket had their largest margin of victory last month since June 2012. They dropped from a 1.3 to a 0.9 in the month of July. After the Miami Heat captured their second straight title and third championship in franchise history on June 20, the station saw an erosion of their audience. The Marlins did show improvement on the field and had their best month of the season.
    WQAM rose from a 0.8 to a 0.9 during the month of July without one game broadcast. They continued to grow with the momentum of John Renshaw during middays as he had no local Miami sports shows to compete against in his time slot. The announcement at the end of the ratings period that afternoon host Jorge Sedano will leave the station after one year in late August for ESPN Radio created a social buzz.
    104.3 The Ticket WAXY-FM fell slightly from a 0.6 to 0.5 in the month of July. It was due for same reasons as their sister-station 790 The Ticket because there were no Miami Heat game broadcasts during the ratings period.
    940 The Sports Animal got the same results as they have in five of the last six months as they remained flat at a 0.2 in July. It is expected that the station will get their usual bump in the ratings next month as the Miami Dolphins will be in training camp and play pre-season games.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Valencia Sacks Everton

    Valencia only needed one goal as they got by Everton 1-0 in the fifth-place game of the International Champions Cup on Tuesday night at Sun Life Stadium. Both squads won their first-round games but lost in their second-round games. It was the first meeting ever between both organizations.
    Everton F.C. have won nine England First Division titles and five F.A. Cups while Valencia C.F. has captured six La Liga championships and seven Copa Del Rey trophies in Spain.
    Neither team was able to score in the first half. Valencia midfielder Michel Herrero broke the tie early in the second half in the 52nd minute as he half-volleyed a ball with his right foot from 18 yards away by Toffees goalkeeper Joel Robles.

Inter Milan Defeats Juventus

    It was battle between two Italy club rivals from the Serie A League as Inter Milan beat Juventus 1-1 on ten rounds of penalty kicks(9-8) in the seventh-place game of the International Champions Cup at Sun Life Stadium on Tuesday night. Both teams, who both lost in the first two rounds of the tournament, meet two times a year during the Serie A regular season.
    Inter Milan, who goes by its original name FC Internazionale, have won three UEFA European Cup championships, 18 Serie A titles and seven Italian Cup titles. Juventus F.C., a.k.a. Juve, have won a league-record 31 Serie A titles, two UEFA European Cup championships and nine Italian Cup titles.
    Inter Milan, who has won three UEFA European Cup championships and 18 Serie A titles, scored first in the 28th minute. They counterattacked down the field as midfielder Fredy Guarin ripped a right-footed shot from 26 yards away that was saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Midfielder Ricardo Alvarez put in the rebound from 10 yards out with the left foot to give Inter Milan a 1-0 lead.
    Juventus was able to even the match in 45th minute on a penalty kick. Forward Mirko Vucinic was tripped up by defender Juan Jesus as tried to take a turnaround shot from 14 yards out and Juventus was awarded a penalty kick. Midfielder Arturo Vidal converted it past goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to tie it at 1-1.
    In the second half, Juve midfielder Andrea Pirlo hit a direct kick from 28 yards away that caromed off the left post in the 77th minute. The game was tied after 90 minutes and went to penalty kicks.
    After both squads missed their first penalty kicks, they both scored in the next eight rounds. Inter Milan goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo made a two-handed save against midfielder Mauricio Isla in the tenth round. Carrizo would score the game-winning shot against Juventus goalkeeper Marco Storari as he rocketed the ball up the middle to the top end of the net.

Monday, August 5, 2013

640 Sports Moves Andy Slater

    640 Sports WMEN-AM has moved midday host Andy Slater to the early afternoon shift as of August 6. Slater has held the midday slot at the station from April 2011 until late July 2013. He loses one hour to his program and will now be on the air from 1 P.M. until 3 P.M. Dan Sileo replaces WMEN program director Marc Eisenberg and will take over the midday shift from 10 A.M. until 1 P.M.
    Slater, a Franklin Pierce College grad, was once a Florida Marlins visiting clubhouse attendant and worked with the Oakland Raiders organization prior to his broadcasting career. He began at WMEN when the station flipped to sports in 2008 as a weekend co-host and was elevated to the afternoon co-host position in 2009. Slater was moved to the evening shift in January 2010 when the station hired Ed Kaplan.
    He was promoted to the midday shift in April 2011 when the New York Yankees Radio Network took over the evening slot. Slater has co-hosted a Saturday midday show with longtime Miami sports host Hank Goldberg at Gulfstream Park during football season in 2011 and 2012.

Strikers Lose To Cosmos

    The Fort Lauderdale Strikers met the New York Cosmos for the first time in 30 years on Saturday night as the Strikers lost to the Cosmos 2-1 at Hofstra University in Long Island. The Cosmos, who played their first game ever in the new NASL, last faced against the Strikers on May 8, 1983 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
    Prior to halftime, Peri Marosevic gave New York the initial lead as he tapped in a ball from close range following a corner kick by Ayone in the 44th minute. Fort Lauderdale tied the game in the 73rd minute as Walter Restrepo put in a header. The Cosmos got the victory two minutes into extra time in the second half as Alessandro Noselli knocked in a header during the 92nd minute.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Indians Shut Down Marlins

    The Marlins organization celebrated the tenth anniversary of the 2003 World Series champions prior to the game, however Miami fell to the Cleveland Indians 2-0 on Sunday at Marlins Park. It was the 13th time that the Fish were shut out this season as they were held to four hits in the game.
    Miami(43-67) starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run on seven hits in seven innings as he dropped to 2-2 this season. Indians pitcher Scott Kazmir improved to 7-4 as he struck out seven and gave up no runs on two hits in six innings.
    In the top of the second, Yan Gomes reached base on an infield hit with one out and advanced to third on a double to left field by Mark Reynolds. Lonnie Chisenhall knocked in Gomes on a single to right field as Cleveland(62-49) led 1-0.
    The Tribe added an additional run in the eight inning against Chad Qualls. Mike Aviles led off with a double to deep left-center field. He then went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jason Kipnis. After Ryan Raburn struck out, Aviles scored on a Michael Brantley base hit to center field.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Howard David Returns

    Former Miami sportscaster Howard David hosted a show over the weekend at ESPN Radio. It was aired locally on Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM, 760 ESPN Radio WEFL-AM and 106.3 ESPN WEFL-FM. David was the Miami Dolphins radio voice from August 2002 until December 2004. He was also the morning co-host with Steve Goldstein on WQAM from March 2002 until early August 2004.
    David was a sports director, sports anchor and morning disc jockey with WBUD-AM in Trenton during the 1970's and 1980's. He also added duties as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Princeton University Tigers in football and basketball.
    He got an opportunity to announce professional sports and the NBA as the New Jersey Nets radio play-by-play announcer from October 1987 until April 1994. After his contract was not renewed by the Nets, he moved to Milwaukee and became the Bucks radio voice from October 1994 until April 1997. David then worked as the Boston Celtics radio play-by-play announcer from October 1997 through April 2001. While with the Celtics, he also had a fill-in role as a sports host at WEEI-AM in Boston.
    David had numerous stints as an NFL football announcer. He worked as an NFL football play-by-play announcer for CBS Radio/Westwood One from the early 1990's until January 2001. He worked Sunday Night Football games until December 1995. David was promoted to the lead play-by-play announcer position at the company as of 1996 which entailed him to broadcast Monday Night Football games and the Super Bowl. He did announce five Super Bowls before he was replaced by Marv Albert. David was also the radio voice of the New York Jets from August 1998 until December 2001.
    He moved on to work for Sports USA Radio Network as an NFL play-by-play announcer during the mid-2000's. David would return to Westwood One in 2009 and begin a second stint with the company in the same role as an NFL play-by-play announcer until the end of the 2011 season. He is currently a Saturday morning co-host on the NFL radio channel at Sirius XM Radio.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Jose Fernandez Rips Tribe

    Jose Fernandez posted a career-high 14 strikeouts in one game as the Miami Marlins pounded the Cleveland Indians with a 10-0 shutout on Friday night at Marlins Park. He had a career-high 13 strikeouts in his previous start against the Pittsburgh Pirates just five days ago. The last time someone had at least 13 strikeouts in consecutive starts was Randy Johnson in 2004 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The last rookie to accomplish this feat was Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs in 1998.
    Fernandez improved his record to 8-5 in his rookie year as he allowed no runs and just three hits in eight innings. Cleveland(60-49) starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez gave up five runs on nine hits in four innings as he fell to 8-6.
    Miami(43-65) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With Ed Lucas on third along with Giancarlo Stanton on second and one out, Logan Morrison got an RBI-double to left field as Lucas scored. Stanton would score on a ground out to second by Donovan Solano. Adeiny Hechavarria followed with a base hit into right field to bring in Morrison.
    In the second inning, Morrison knocked in Christian Yelich on a two-out single to center field. Jake Marisnick led off the third inning with a double to right field and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly to right by Fernandez to make it 5-0.
    The Marlins poured it on as they added another five runs in the eighth inning against Indians reliever Matt Albers when he surrendered seven hits. Cleveland was held to three hits in the game as they were shut out.

Heat To Sign Greg Oden

    It is expected that the Miami Heat will sign center Greg Oden to a two-year contract. He has played in a limited amount of NBA games since he left college basketball six years ago. The Miami Heat have won the last two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.
    Oden, an Ohio State University grad, was the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He played in just 82 games during his five seasons with that team and was waived by Portland in March 2012. He last participated in an NBA game with them in December 2009.

Dan Sileo Joins 640 Sports

    Dan Sileo has been named the new midday host at 640 Sports WMEN-AM and will begin on August 6. He was given an on-air tryout for the past four weeks at the station as he filled in for every day shift when it was necessary. He will work from 10 A.M until 1 P.M. while midday host Andy Slater will loss one hour from his show and go from 1 P.M. until 3 P.M.
    Sileo had prior experience in the Miami market at Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM. He joined them in April 2012 when he replaced Sid Rosenberg as the afternoon host at that station. He moved to the midday shift in early September 2012 when Jorge Sedano took over afternoon drive. Sileo also added post-game studio football analyst duties with the Miami Hurricanes Radio Network for the 2012 season. He lost that position in early January 2013 and was suspended for two days later that month because of twitter remarks about Erin Andrews of Fox Sports. He was eventually fired by WQAM in early March.
    He played for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team during the mid-1980's as a defensive lineman. Sileo had a stint as an early morning host on Fox Sports Radio until late September 2002. He would host a late morning shift on WFXJ-AM in Jacksonville and later picked up a sports commentator position at WJRR-FM in Orlando. Sileo hosted a morning show on several Clear Channel Orlando stations that included WQTM-AM, WFLF-AM and WYGM-AM from early October 2002 until October 2010.
    While in Orlando, his show was syndicated on 620 The Sports Animal WDAE-AM in Tampa Bay. He was the morning host at WDAE until early March 2012 when he was let go for making racial comments about several pro football players.

John DeCandido Out At WXTG

    Former Miami sports host John DeCandido, a.k.a. Johnny D, has been let go by WXTG-FM and WXTG-AM in Norfolk. Due to a change in ownership, the FM station flipped to a musical format while the AM station remained in the same sports format but without local hosts as of July 31.
    DeCandido joined both stations in 2009 as a producer, Saturday midday co-host and Monday evening co-host. He was promoted to the afternoon co-host spot of The 757 Club in June 2010. His show was then moved to the morning shift in early March 2013.
    He began his broadcast career as a morning producer at WGH-AM in Newport News, Virginia and was later elevated to morning host. DeCandido moved down to Miami where he worked as the sports director and midday co-host at 1700 The Fan WAFN-AM from September 1999 until December 2000. He returned back to WGH-AM for a second stint as a weekend sports host. 

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Marlins Shut Out Mets

    It was limited offense early in the game as the Miami Marlins got past the New York Mets 3-0 at Marlins Park on Thursday. The Marlins split the four-game series with the Mets and now hold a 10-5 edge this season over New York(48-58).
    The scoreless tie was broken by Miami(42-65) in the sixth inning against Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey. Juan Pierre came in to pinch-hit for Tom Koehler and singled to right field. Christian Yelich followed with a base hit into center field as Pierre advanced to third. Adeiny Hechavarria would line out to short and Giancarlo Stanton struck out. Logan Morrison drove Pierre in with an RBI-single into right field to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. After Ed Lucas was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Donovan Solano smacked a two-run single to right-center field for Yelich and Morrison to score and made it a three-run margin.
    Koehler went six innings and gave up no runs on five hits and upped his mark to 3-6. Harvey allowed three runs on five hits and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings as his record dropped to 8-3. Steve Cishek picked up his 23rd save this season for Miami.

Panthers Sign Scott Gomez

    The Florida Panthers have signed center Scott Gomez to a one-year contract. He played 39 games for the San Jose Sharks last season and had two goals with 13 assists.
    Gomez began his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils and won two Stanley Cup titles in his stint there. They defeated the Dallas Stars in six games during his rookie season in 1999-2000 and beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in seven games in 2002-03. He also played on the Eastern Conference champions in 2000-01 before they fell in seven games to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.
    He would later join the New York Rangers as a free agent in July 2007 and stayed there for two seasons. He was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens in June 2009 where he played for three seasons. Gomez currently leads all active U.S.-born NHL players with 530 assists and 701 points. He also won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL back in 1999-2000.