Strikers Upset Orlando City SC

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers pulled out another victory over a Major League Soccer club on Wednesday night in the fifth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as they defeated the Orlando City SC Lions 2-1 in extra time at Camping World Stadium. The Strikers, who got by D.C. United several weeks ago in Maryland during the fourth round, will now travel to take on the Chicago Fire in a quarterfinal match on July 20.
     Fort Lauderdale got the game-winning goal during the 120th minute as PC scored to give them the victory. Both teams were able to get goals in the first half. Jose Angulo put in a tally for the Strikers in 12th minute and Kevin Molino evened it 1-1 for Orlando City SC in the 16th minute.

Tigers Eat Up Marlins

     The Miami Marlins started a nine-game road trip and were stopped by the Detroit Tigers 7-5 at Comerica Park on Tuesday night. It was the third trip in Marlins franchise history to the Motor City and their first since 2004.
     Miami(41-36) waited until the second inning to go ahead 2-0. After Marcell Ozuna got on base with a lead-off single, Giancarlo Stanton blasted a two-run homer to straight-away center field on a 2-1 pitch for his 15th home run of the season. Marlins starting pitcher Adam Conley compiled six strikeouts in the first two innings and eight K's after three innings of work.
     Detroit(39-38) surrendered another run during the fifth inning. Christian Yelich hit a line drive down the left-field line for a double and got to third on a fielding error by Justin Upton. Two batters later, Yelich scored on a base hit by Stanton into right field to make it 3-0.
     The Tigers responded with seven runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead. Following a Mike Aviles walk with one out, Jose Iglesias popped a two-run home run to left-center field to cut the deficit down to 3-2.
     Ian Kinsler came up and got to second on a double to left field then Cameron Maybin walked. Miguel Cabrera smacked a three-run homer to left-center field on a 3-2 pitch for his 17th home run of the season and his 425th of his career.
     They capped things as Victor Martinez singled to right and Nick Castellanos knocked a two-run home run into center field for his 14th home run of the year.
     Ichiro Suzuki got his second hit of the contest in the eighth inning and passed Sam Rice with his 2.986th base hit for 30th place all-time in major league baseball history. There is no other player to pass until he reaches 3,000 base hits which is held by Roberto Clemente.

Marlins Take Cubs In Series

     The Miami Marlins defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-1 on Sunday at Marlins Park. The Fish took three games of a four-game set against the Cubs who have the best overall record in baseball.
     Miami(41-35) starting pitcher Jose Fernandez improved his record to 10-3 this season. He has only one losing decision at home in his major league career. Chicago(48-26) starting pitcher Jason Hammel dropped to 7-4 this year.

Florida Panthers 2016 NHL Draft

     The Florida Panthers made seven selections in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo over the weekend. They selected center Henrik Borgstrom in the first round on Friday as the 23rd overall pick. He played for HIFK Jr. in 2015-16 and had 29 goals and 26 assists in 40 games played.
     The second through seventh rounds were held on Saturday as the Cats made six picks. Kitchener Rangers left wing Adam Mascherin was chosen in the second round as the 38th overall selection. He compiled 35 goals and 46 assists in the Ontario Hockey League last season.
     Defenseman Linus Nassen was taken 89th overall after playing for Lulea last year. Center Jonathan Aug was selected with the 94th pick from the Peterborough Petes of the OHL.
     Florida went with an NHL family connection when they took Oshawa Generals defenseman Riley Stillman at 114th overall. His father Corey Stillman played with the Panthers from 2008 until 2011.
     The Panthers went with an older player with the 175th overall pick as they got 21-year old forward Maxim Mamin from CSKA Moscow. Defenseman Benjamin Finkelstein was the 195th overall selection from Kimball Union Academy.

Dmitry Kulikov Traded To Buffalo

     The Florida Panthers dealt defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and a 2016 second round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Mark Pysyk along with a 2016 second and third round selection on Saturday. It was the second top-four defenseman that the team sent away after giving Erik Gudbranson to the Vancouver Canucks in late May.
     Kulikov was with Florida for seven seasons and helped the club win two division championships in 2011-12 and 2015-16. He had 28 goals and 110 assists in 460 games with the Panthers.
     Pysyk had one goal and ten assists in 55 games with the Sabres last season. He has played the last four seasons in Buffalo and had five goals and 21 assists in 125 NHL games.

Panthers Trade Rocco Grimaldi For Reto Berra

     The Florida Panthers acquired goalie Reto Berra from the Colorado Avalanche for forward Rocco Grimaldi on Thursday. Grimaldi was called up twice this season by Florida from their minor league affiliate in Portland. He had three goals and two assists in 20 games for the Panthers.
     Berra split his time between the Colorado Avalanche and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio last season. He was 5-8-0 with a 2.41 goals against average, .922 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 games with the Avs in 2015-16.

Jaromir Jagr Wins Bill Masterton Trophy

     Florida Panthers right wing Jaromir Jagr received the 2016 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Wednesday at the National Hockey League annual awards in Las Vegas. The award goes to an NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. It is the first time that somebody from the Panthers franchise to receive that honor.
     Jagr played for Florida last season and compiled 27 goals and 39 assists for 66 points in 79 games. He passed Marcel Dionne and Brett Hull in career goals and surpassed Gordie Howe in career points. Jagr had previously won the Art Ross Trophy on five occasions and the Hart Memorial Trophy once.

Matthew Dayes On Magazine Cover

     Former South Florida high school football player Matthew Dayes appears on the ACC regional cover of Athlon Sports. He has been a running back with the North Carolina State University Wolfpack for the last three seasons. Dayes played for the Cypress Bay Lightning and helped the school reach the FHSAA Class 8A state championship game in 2012.

Florida Panthers Schedule Released

     The National Hockey League released the Florida Panthers schedule for the 2016-17 regular season on Tuesday. The Panthers will show off their new logo and uniforms for the upcoming campaign. Florida will raise their 2015-16 Atlantic Division banner to the rafters of the BB&T Center on opening night as they host the New Jersey Devils on October 13.
     The Panthers will host all their Atlantic Division opponents twice during the season which includes the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. The exception is the Boston Bruins who will be in Sunrise three times. The Cats will play all 14 Western Conference teams once at home.
     Florida takes on the club that knocked them out of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at home on two occasions as they face the New York Islanders on November 12 and January 13. The defending Stanley Cup champions come to town as the Pittsburgh Penguins appear on December 8. In terms of Metropolitan Division opponents, the Panthers host the Devils, Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets twice this season while they host the Penguins, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals once.

Panthers Acquire Keith Yandle

     The Florida Panthers acquired defensemen Keith Yandle from the New York Rangers on Monday for a 2016 sixth round draft pick and a conditional 2017 draft selection. The Panthers are taking a risk to sign him as he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of June.
     Yandle had previously played for the Phoenix Coyotes for nine seasons and was traded to the New York Rangers in March 2015. He has 72 goals and 297 assists in 661 career games.

Marlins Lose To Rockies, Set Major League Record

     The Miami Marlins failed to complete a four-game sweep and lost to the Colorado Rockies 5-3 at Marlins Park on Monday night. Both clubs set a major league baseball record as they combined for eight solo home runs in one game. They also collaborated for the most home runs ever in a game played at Marlins Park.
     Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton began with solo shots in the first inning for Miami(37-33). In the top of the second, Colorado(33-36) bounced back with solo home runs by Trevor Story, Mark Reynolds and Nick Hundley.
     Ozuna would hit his second home run of the contest in the fourth inning while Reynolds matched it during the sixth inning for a Rockies 4-3 lead. Charlie Blackmon blasted a solo homer in the ninth inning for the victory.

Marlins Shut Out Rockies

     The Miami Marlins blanked the Colorado Rockies 3-0 on Sunday at Marlins Park. The Fish have won five of their last six games and moved in second place in the National League East. Miami(37-32) starting pitcher Tom Koehler allowed no runs on two hits and struck out six batters in six innings of work.
      Colorado(32-36) surrendered three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Marcell Ozuna blasted his 13th home run of the season which was a three-run homer to left-center field on a 2-0 pitch.

Lamar Jackson On Phil Steele Magazine Cover

     Former Boynton Beach Tigers quarterback Lamar Jackson appears on the east regional cover of Phil Steele's College Football Preview. He also shows up on the regional ACC magazine cover of Athlon Sports.
     Jackson finished his freshman season with the University of Louisville Cardinals. He made 135 completions for 1,840 yards and 12 touchdowns. In addition, Jackson had 163 carries for 960 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.

Erik Lengyel At The Bar

     Erik Lengyel is now working at 93.5 The Bar WBGF-FM in West Palm Beach. His duties include being an afternoon show producer for Chaos and as a fill-in disc jockey at the station.
     Lengyel spent over a decade at James Crystal Radio and 640 Sports WMEN-AM in a variety of positions. He was already employed there when that station flipped to a sports talk format in March 2008. Lengyel was the morning producer and board operator for several programs over the years that included Jeff DeForrest, Armando Salguero, "The Amigo" Larry Milian, Chris Perkins and Marc Eisenberg. He also got the opportunity to be a morning sports anchor and later a weekend co-host in January 2012.
     He was most recognized as the executive producer of the Sid Rosenberg morning show at 640 Sports from September 2012 until December 2015. Lengyel did announce Broward County high school football games as a game analyst alongside Adam Baron on WWNN-AM for several years earlier this decade.

Calvin Ridley On Magazine Cover

     University of Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley appears on the SEC regional magazine cover of Athlon Sports. He had 89 receptions for 1,015 yards and seven touchdowns during his freshman year as he helped the Crimson Tide win the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.
     Ridley played high school football with the Monarch Knights until 2014. He scored a touchdown on his final play with the school against the Piper Bengals. Ridley showed up on the cover of Friday Night Football magazine in 2014.

Strikers Shock DC United

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers took on a Major League Soccer team Wednesday and upset DC United in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Maryland Soccerplex as they won on penalty kicks. They got by the Richmond Kickers in the same fashion during the third round two weeks ago.
     The Strikers ended up outscoring DC United 4-3 in a penalty shootout following 120 minutes of scoreless soccer. DC United scored on their first three attempts by Julian Buscher, Rob Vincent and Taylor Kemp. PC put in the first attempt for Fort Lauderdale then Maicon Santos missed on the second attempt as they fell behind.
     Gabriel, Ramon Nunez and Matheus Carvalho converted for the Strikers final three attempts. Strikers goalkeeper Diego Restrepo did not allow a goal in the next two shots by DC United for the victory.

FC Edmonton Ends Strikers Unbeaten Streak

     The Fort Lauderdale had their six-game undefeated streak snapped on Sunday as they fell to FC Edmonton 2-1 at Clarke Stadium. It was the final game of the NASL spring season for the club as they finished three points behind Indy Eleven in the standings.
     FC Edmonton(5-2-3) moved out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Jake Keegan in the 18th and 31st minute of the contest. Fort Lauderdale(4-3-3) closed the gap in the second half when PC scored on a penalty kick during the 58th minute.

Dick Sanford Passes

     Longtime Marlins public address announcer Dick Sanford passed away on Tuesday. He worked with the Marlins baseball franchise from 2000 until 2014. He took over for University of Miami p.a. announcer Jay Rokeach at the turn of the century.
     Sanford announced games as the Florida Marlins played in Miami Gardens for 12 seasons. He followed the Miami Marlins when they moved to the city of Miami for three seasons. He also was a public address announcer of Florida State League minor league baseball games for two decades in Jupiter.
     He did prior broadcasting work in Palm Beach County. Sanford was the sports director and sports anchor for WPTV-TV along with WJNO-AM in West Palm Beach.

Local Palm Beach Players On Magazine Covers

     Two former Palm Beach County high school football players appear on separate magazine covers on Athlon Sports. Both covers are distributed to a certain region of the country.
     University of Maryland defensive back and special teams return specialist William Likely shows up on a Big Ten regional cover. He previously played on both sides of the ball for the Glades Central Raiders as a wide receiver and cornerback.
     The other is University of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson who was a true freshman last year. He makes the ACC regional cover and led the Boynton Beach Tigers as a quarterback while in high school.

Diamondbacks Stop Fernandez And Marlins

     Jose Fernandez attempted to win his ninth consecutive start and failed as the Miami Marlins were defeated by the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 at Chase Field on Saturday night. He was trying to join John Smoltz and Roy Oswalt to become the third National League pitcher since 1994 to win nine straight starts.
     Miami(32-30) moved out to an early 2-0 lead in the contest. They scored one run in the first inning and added another during the fourth inning as J.T. Realmuto smacked his third homer of the year to left field. It seemed like they had things in hand as Fernandez was pitching a perfect game after five innings.
     That came to an end in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Bourn hit a solo home run to right field for his first homer of the season. Arizona(27-37) compiled three more runs before the inning ended and pulled ahead 4-2.

Dalvin Cook On Phil Steele Magazine Cover

     Florida State University running back Dalvin Cook will appear on the national magazine cover of Phil Steele's College Football Preview 2016. He will share the front cover with defensive end Jonathan Allen of Alabama, running back Leonard Fournette of LSU and quarterback Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma.
     Cook, a former running back with the Miami Central Rockets, has shown up on the national cover of several other college football magazines for the upcoming season. They included Athlon Sports, Lindy's and Sporting News.

Miami Hits 25th Anniversary Milestone

     Miami celebrated the 25th anniversary that made the city a major professional sports market in the United States on Friday. Major League Baseball awarded original team owner Wayne Huizenga and the region a National League franchise on June 10, 1991.
     Huizenga and his business organization would later name the new club the Florida Marlins. They joined the Miami Dolphins and the Miami Heat as the third professional sports franchise in South Florida.
     The Florida Marlins would win two World Series championships during their first ten seasons as a major league club in 1997 and 2003. The team was renamed the Miami Marlins after the 2011 season when they moved out of Miami Gardens and into the city limits of Miami.

Miami Ratings May 2016

     790 The Ticket WAXY-AM stayed ahead of all sports format radio stations in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region for the fifth consecutive month. All three local competitors in the market did improve over the recent ratings period.
     After three straight months with a 1.0, The Ticket rose to a 1.1 in the month of May as the Miami Heat was eliminated from the NBA Playoffs in the second round. The addition of Chris Wittyngham to permanently co-host afternoon drive with Ethan J. Skolnick did help.
     Miami Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM moved from a 0.8 to a 0.9 in May. They did bounce back from their worst ratings in the past two years last month. The Florida Panthers, who won the Atlantic Division title, were knocked out during the first round in their first playoff appearance since 2012.
     Miami Sports 940 WINZ-AM remained flat with a 0.3 during this ratings period. The station so far has better overall ratings broadcasting Miami Marlins than the first three months of last season.

Florida Panthers Add Coaches

     The Florida Panthers added to their coaching staff as they named Dave Barr as an associate coach and Scott Allen as an assistant coach. They replace John Madden whose contract was not renewed by the club last month.
     Barr was an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres last season. He had been an assistant coach in the NHL for the last seven seasons which included stints with Colorado, Minnesota and New Jersey.
     Allen was the head coach of the Panthers AHL affiliate in Portland this past season. He was an assistant coach when Florida had their AHL affiliation with San Antonio for two seasons prior to that.

Kimbo Slice Passes Away

     Longtime mixed martial arts fighter Kimbo Slice passed away on Monday at the age of 42. It was a shocking circumstance since he was scheduled to fight on a Bellator pay-per-view event in London on July 16.
     Slice, a South Florida resident, had been involved in street fighting and worked with many different organizations during his MMA career. He signed with Elite XC in the late 2000s and appeared on several prime-time cards nationally televised on CBS. He participated for UFC in 2009 and later moved on to work for Bellator.

Strikers Get First Home Win Over Cosmos

     They waited some time this season and finally the Fort Lauderdale Strikers got their first home win of the NASL season as they got by the defending NASL champion New York Cosmos 2-1 on Saturday night at Lockhart Stadium. Both teams met each other in the NASL semifinal last year.
     It was also the first time since New York(6-0-4) reentered the league in 2013 that Fort Lauderdale(4-3-2) was victorious over the Cosmos. New York remained in first place during the spring season while the Strikers climbed into a second-place tie alongside the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Indy Eleven with 15 points.
     Fort Lauderdale scooted out to a 2-0 lead with goals by Jose Angulo in the 35th minute and Geison Moura in the 74th minute. The Cosmos scored in stoppage time after the 90th minute as Juan Arango got a tally.

Jose Fernandez 14 Strikeouts Stops Mets

     Jose Fernandez tied his career-high with 14 strikeouts in a game as the Miami Marlins shut out the New York Mets 1-0 at Marlins Park on Sunday. Fernandez pitched seven innings for the Fish and allowed four hits, no walks and no runs to improve his record to 9-2 this season.
     Matt Harvey took the loss for New York(31-24). He dropped his record to 4-8 as he surrendered one run on four hits in seven innings pitched.
     The only run in the contest was in the fifth inning for Miami(30-27). Derek Dietrich smacked a double into right-center field with one out. J.T. Realmuto followed with a base hit to center field which scored Dietrich.

Muhammad Ali Passes Away

     Three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali passed away on Friday at the age of 74. He had a connection with South Florida when he trained at the 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach during the 1960's. In addition, the Miami Marlins had Ali throw out the first pitch at Marlins Park in 2012 when the new facility opened.
     Ali won the heavyweight title for the first time in 1964 at the Miami Beach Convention Center when he knocked out Sonny Liston to win the title. He recaptured it again in 1974 against George Foreman in Zaire and in 1978 from Leon Spinks in New Orleans.

Florida Panthers Reveal New Logo And Uniforms

     The Florida Panthers introduced their new logo and uniforms to the public for the first time at BB&T Center on Thursday night. Players from the team that modeled the new items were Aaron Ekblad, Shawn Thornton, Vincent Trocheck and Steven Kampfer.
     The Panthers had a leaping panther as their logo since there inception into the National Hockey League in 1993 when Wayne Huizenga was the majority owner. Current team ownership consisting of Vincent Viola and Doug Cifu decided to change the look of the team jersey for the upcoming 2016-17 season.

Strikers Kick Out Richmond

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers advanced in the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup with a third-round victory on penalty kicks over the Richmond Kickers at Broward College South Campus on Wednesday. The Strikers move on to the next round where they will travel to Maryland and face D.C. United of Major League Soccer on June 15.
     Manny Gonzalez converted on a direct kick in the second minute of play to give the Strikers the early lead. Richmond evened the contest 1-1 during the 28th minute on a goal by Yudai Imura.
     There was no scoring in the second half and in extra time as the game moved into penalty kicks. Fort Lauderdale got goals by PC on the first attempt and Geison Moura on the fourth attempt.