Friday, September 30, 2016

Lamar Jackson On Sports Illustrated Cover

     Former local high school football player Lamar Jackson appeared last week on the magazine cover of Sports Illustrated. He was on the regional cover of Phil Steele College Football Preview and Athlon Sports ACC magazine earlier this year.
     Jackson was a quarterback when he played for the Boynton Beach Tigers until 2014. He has started at quarterback for the past two years with the University of Louisville Cardinals. His team is undefeated this season at 4-0 and beat Florida State two week ago.
     He is now considered a contender for the Heisman Trophy in 2016. Jackson has thrown for 1,330 yards and 13 touchdown passes along with running for 526 yards and 12 touchdowns over his first four games this season.

Dwyer Wallops Olympic Heights

     The Olympic Heights Lions held their home opener at Corey Lewis Stadium on Friday night and were blanked by the Dwyer Panthers 48-0 in a District 13-7A game. The Panthers have allowed just ten points in five games this season.
     Dwyer(5-0, 2-0) fumbled the ball away on their initial drive, however they scored on their next three possessions. Running back Cedric Tucker got the only score in the first quarter as he went around the left end for a 19-yard touchdown run at 4:33.
     The Panthers extended their lead to 20-0 on two touchdown passes in the second quarter. Quarterback Todd Centeio threw an eight-yard toss to wide receiver Luke Tommie on the right side of the end zone with 9:59 to go. Both connected again on a long 61-yard touchdown pass up the middle of the field with 6:44 remaining in the first half.
      Olympic Heights(4-1, 1-1) surrendered two more touchdowns on the ground during the third quarter. Panthers running back Jakari Moses went around the right end and down the right sideline for a 30-yard score at 7:12. Moses scored again on a 25-yard run at 3:23 as he cut toward the left side of the field.
     Centeio threw his third touchdown pass of the game with a 21-yard strike to wide receiver Dy'laan Lee in the back of the end zone with 11:46 left to make it 41-0. A running clock was used for the rest of the way and Lions gave up another touchdown. Lee ran back a 77-yard punt return at the 6:10 mark.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Oxbridge Academy Pays Back American Heritage

     The Oxbridge Academy Thunderwolves extracted revenge with a 38-0 victory over the American Heritage Stallions in a District 7-3A game on Thursday night at William H. Pitt Stadium. The Stallions defeated the Thunderwolves on a last-minute pass in a FHSAA Class 3A regional final last year in the same facility.
     Oxbridge Academy(6-0, 2-0) rolled over their opponent with 17 points in the first five minutes of the first quarter. They scored with their first play on offense when running back James Meeks ran to the left side and down the sideline for an 82-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Gio Richardson raced in for the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 at 9:27.
     The Thunderwolves would get a safety during the ensuing drive by American Heritage(1-4, 0-1) at 8:29. Running back Alec Sinkfield was dragged down in the end zone by defensive end Tyler Williams on the second play of the possession.
     A long kickoff return to the Stallions 15-yard line set up another scoring play for Oxbridge Academy. Tight end Cade Socha pulled in a 14-yard catch on the right side of the end zone from Richardson with 7:16 left in the first and extended their margin to 17-0.
     The Thunderwolves got one more possession in the final minute of the first half. On the second play, Richardson found Meeks on the right sideline with a pass. He cut across the entire field after the reception avoiding several tacklers and finished the 45-yard play on the left sideline as he entered the end zone with 15.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
      The Stallions, who were shut out for the second consecutive game, allowed 14 more points during the third quarter. Oxbridge Academy faked a long field goal and Richardson connected a 26-yard pass to wide receiver V'Lique Carter in the back of the end zone at 7:58.
     Oxbridge Academy added another touchdown to make it 38-0 late in the third as Richardson fired a 25-yard pass to wide receiver Jonathan King. The fourth quarter had a running clock for the remainder of the game.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Mets Eliminate Marlins

     The Miami Marlins were eliminated from playoff contention by the New York Mets 5-2 on Wednesday night at Marlins Park. It was the final home game for the club this season as they finished with a 40-40 home record. New York(85-74) took two games of the three-game series between both clubs and are still in wild-card playoff contention.
     Miami(78-80) will not appear in the postseason for the 13rd consecutive year. The last time they appeared in the playoffs was in 2003 when they got the wild-card spot and later won their second World Series title. Only the Seattle Mariners have a longer streak in Major League Baseball of not making the playoffs going back to 2001.

Strikers Lose In Puerto Rico

     The Fort Lauderdale Strikers began a three-game road trip and fell to Puerto Rico FC 2-1 on Wednesday night at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium. The Strikers play their next game on Sunday in New York against the Cosmos.
     Fort Lauderdale(4-7-5) came out with a fast start like they did in their previous home game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Amauri put in a tally just two minutes into the contest.
     Puerto Rico(3-6-8) responded late in the first half during the 41st minute when Tyler Rudy scored to tie the game at 1-1. Blijedi Bradic would get the game-winning goal in the 66th minute on a shot from long range.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Panthers Split Doubleheader Against Predators

     The Florida Panthers hosted a hockey doubleheader versus the Nashville Predators at BB&T Center in Sunrise on Thursday. The Panthers held the first doubleheader in NHL history on September 16, 2013 against the Predators. Florida hosted it again in 2014 and Nashville was the home team in the 2015 contest. 
     Florida won the first game by a score of 4-1. Dryden Hunt scored from the crease area with a shot past Marek Mazanec at 13:07 of the first period to give Florida a 1-0 lead. Jonathan Racine and Jonathan Ang were credited with the assists.
     The Panthers added to their margin 11 seconds into the third period as Greg McKegg skated to the high slot and fired a wrist shot by Jonas Gunnarsson. Ang made it 3-0 at 3:47 as he redirected the puck in the slot off a slapshot by Michael Downing from the left point. The Cats got a four-goal margin on a Jonathan Marchessault tally at 4:48 with assists from Shane Harper and Denis Malgin.
     Nashville got on the scoreboard at the midway point of the frame. James Neal snapped a shot from the low right circle for a power-play goal at 9:35.
     The second game began differently as Nashville moved up to a 1-0 advantage on the power play at 6:51 of the first period. Anthony Bitetto released a wrist shot from the top of the zone which was deflected in by Mikka Salomaki in the low slot past Roberto Luongo.
     The Preds pulled out to a 2-0 margin at 12:27. Bitetto put another shot on net and Pontus Aberg followed with a shot from close range. Florida was held to just one shot in the first 19 minutes and were outshot 9-3 after one period.
     The Cats cut the deficit to 2-1 with 2:03 remaining in the second period when Nashville turned the puck over around their net. Chase Balisy fed it from the right of the crease area to Paul Thompson in the slot area and he ripped a high shot by Mark Visentin.

Miami Ratings September 2016

     Miami Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM finished ahead of their other two competitors as the top sports format radio station in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale region for the second straight month. They ended up being on top by themselves in consecutive months for the first time since from September 2015 until December 2015.
     WQAM saw a bump in their ratings from a 0.9 to a 1.0 in September. They started as the flagship station of the Miami Dolphins Radio Network and began to broadcast regular season games.
     790 The Ticket WAXY-AM bounced back from their worst ratings period last month since August 2013. They saw an increase from a 0.6 to a 0.7 this month. It was a big surprise that Chris Wittyngham decided to leave the afternoon co-host spot alongside Ethan Skolnick during the period.
     Miami Sports Radio 940 WINZ-AM had a 0.2 over the past two straight months and fell to a 0.1 in September. It will be interesting to see their results next month following the end of the Miami Marlins season and no Miami Dolphins game broadcasts for the first time since 2010.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Marlins Honor Jose Fernandez With Victory

     The Miami Marlins played their first game since the passing of pitcher Jose Fernandez and defeated the New York Mets 7-3 at Marlins Park on Monday night. The game started 15 minutes later than usual due to the pregame ceremony tribute to Jose Fernandez. All Marlins players and coaches wore Jose Fernandez number 16 black jerseys for the contest. Marlins management announced that nobody would ever wear the number 16 uniform again for the franchise.
     In the bottom of the first inning, Dee Gordon was the first Marlin to the plate and honored Fernandez by wearing his batting helmet and hitting right-handed on the first pitch. He changed batting helmets and switched to batting left-handed. Two pitches later he smashed a solo homer to right against Bartolo Colon for a Miami 1-0 lead. It was the first home run this season for Gordon.
     Miami(78-78) compiled a rally and added four more runs during the second inning. Giancarlo Stanton singled to center and Justin Bour hit a double off the top of the center-field fence. Stanton crossed the plate on an infield single to deep short by J.T, Realmuto. Adeiny Hechavarria drove in Bour with a ground-rule double to center to make it 3-0. Realmuto scored on a sacrifice by Adam Conley to the left side of the infield Gordon finished the rally with a base hit to center for Hechavarria to score.
     New York(83-74) surrendered another two runs in the bottom of the third. Christian Yelich led off with an infield hit and two batters later Bour followed with his first career triple to score Yelich. Hechavarria would eventually knock in Bour with a two-out single to center field when he faced Mets relief pitcher Gabriel Ynoa.
     The Mets broke the shutout during the fifth inning with two runs off Brian Ellington. Lucas Duda walked and Brandon Nimmo got a one-out hit. Two batters later, Asdrubal Cabrera doubled into right field to score Duda and Nimmo.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Jose Fernandez Dead At 24

     Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez passed away in a boating accident off Miami Beach early Sunday morning. The game at Marlins Park today between the Marlins and Atlanta Braves is canceled. The Miami Dolphins will hold a moment of silence at Hard Rock Stadium prior to the start of their game against the Cleveland Browns to honor the memory of Fernandez.
     It was a fine season for Fernandez in 2016 as he went 16-8, struck out 253 batters and had a 2.86 earned-run average. He last pitched at home on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals in a 1-0 victory where he threw eight shutout innings, allowed three hits and had 12 strikeouts. He made the National League All-Star Team for the second time of his career during the 2016 campaign.
     Fernandez had a career record of 28-17 with 589 strikeouts and a 2.58 earned-run average in four seasons with the Marlins. He finished with a home pitching record at Marlins Park of 29-2.
   

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Rowdies Sweep Strikers In Florida Derby

     Georgi Hristov compiled the first hat trick in Rowdies modern-day NASL history as Tampa Bay pounded the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4-1 in the Florida Derby at Central Broward Stadium on Saturday night. The Strikers had their seven-game unbeaten streak snapped and saw the Rowdies, who swept the season series, move ahead of them in the Coastal Cup standings by two points.
     Fort Lauderdale(4-6-5) started off quickly and scored during the fourth minute of play. Kleberson made a square pass to the middle and Ramon Nunez put in the ball from five yards away.
     Tampa Bay(5-6-4) evened the contest in the 15th minute when Joe Cole placed a crossing pass for Hristov to make a sliding kick in the middle of the field from eight yards out.
     The Rowdies, who improved their undefeated streak to five games, moved out to their first lead of the game at the 37th minute as Tommy Heinemann blasted a shot from long range. Hristov added to the 3-1 margin during the 43rd minute for a comfortable lead by halftime.
     There was just one goal between both clubs in the second half of the contest. That honor went to Hristov as he nailed his third goal of game during the 82nd minute on a ten-yard shot.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Dwyer Overcomes Palm Beach Gardens

     The Dwyer Panthers pulled off a 12-7 comeback victory over their neighborhood rivals the Palm Beach Gardens Gators at Blum Stadium on Friday night. The Panthers had given up just three points in their prior three games this season.
     Palm Beach Gardens(2-3) scored on their first possession of the contest at 10:04 of the first quarter. Quarterback Eli Mathews went around the right end and raced down the field for a 35-yard touchdown.
     Dwyer(3-1) was able to get two turnovers on defense during the fourth quarter to help them get back in the game. A bad snap went by quarterback Angelo Navaroli and the Panthers recovered the ball at the Gators 47-yard line one minute into the fourth. Panthers quarterback Todd Centeio fired a pass to the right hash marks where wide receiver Oyeh Lurry-Davis caught a six-yard touchdown pass with 7:21 remaining to close the gap 7-6.
     Navaroli threw a deep pass which was intercepted by defensive back Levon Barnett at the Dwyer ten-yard line with 5:16 to go. The Panthers would score on the first play of the ensuing drive. Centeio connected a pass to the right sideline and Lurry-Davis sprinted away from everyone to complete a 90-yard touchdown play for the go-ahead score 12-7 with 4:59 left.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Jorge Sedano Begins In Los Angeles

     Jorge Sedano started his first day as the morning co-host with Keyshawn Johnson and LZ Granderson at KSPN-AM on Wednesday. He was the late evening co-host with Israel Gutierrez on ESPN Radio since February. Sedano first arrived at ESPN in September 2013 as an evening co-host with Mark Schlereth and later partnered with Jen Lada in September 2015.
     He will also co-host an ESPN2 weekly show from Los Angeles every Monday called Nacion ESPN beginning on September 26. He still continues to contribute on other ESPN television programming.
     Sedano had worked on-air at several local broadcast outlets between 1999 until 2013. They included WAFN-AM 1700 The Fan, Fox Sports Radio 940 WRFX-AM, News Radio 610 WIOD-AM, 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM, Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM, WFOR-TV Channel 4 and Sun Sports.

Laz To Co-Host WQAM Show Saturday

     South Florida sports talk radio caller Cutler Ridge Laz will fill in for Mike Marino and co-host a show with Footy on Miami Sports Radio 560 WQAM this Saturday morning. Laz, who is a die-hard University of Miami Hurricanes fan, has been heard on many local radio stations calling into sports programs.
     He has done a show segment about the University of Miami football team Saturday mornings on the Dos Amigos Show at 305 Sports Talk Radio Network and WZAB-AM 880 with Larry Milian and WTVJ-TV sportscaster Stefano Fusaro since early August.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Marlins Shut Out Nationals

     Jose Fernandez pitched eight shutout innings, allowed three hits and struck out 12 batters as the Miami Marlins blanked the Washington Nationals 1-0 at Marlins Park on Tuesday night. Fernandez improved his career home record to 29-2.
     The only run in the contest was scored by Miami(76-75) during the sixth inning. Washington(88-63) starting pitcher Tanner Roark gave up a solo homer to Giancarlo Stanton. It was the 27th home run this season for Stanton.

Florida Panthers Win Rookie Camp

     The Florida Panthers won the 2016 four-team rookie camp tournament that was held in Coral Springs over the last four days. The club went undefeated in their three games of competition.
     The last time the tournament was held in South Florida was in 2014. Training camp for the entire Florida Panthers 51-man roster will begin on September 22.
     The Panthers held on to defeat the Nashville Predators 6-3 on Saturday night in the first game of the tournament. Denis Malgin scored the first two goals for the Cats as they pulled ahead 3-0 by the midway point of the game. Michael Matheson added a goal during in the third period.
     Florida won their next contest against Washington on Sunday as they scored three third-period goals to get by the Capitals 5-2. Malgin had the natural hat trick which included the game-winning goal 32 seconds into the third. Juho Lammikko tallied a goal for the second consecutive game.
     They were victorious in their final game on Tuesday versus the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. Malgin compiled the game-winning goal with 1:14 left in regulation while Kyle Rau scored in his second straight game.

Israel Gutierrez Gets New Co-Host

     Former local sportswriter Israel Gutierrez will have a new co-host for the ESPN Radio late evening show beginning on September 26 as Sarah Spain replaces Jorge Sedano in that spot. Sedano shifted to the morning co-host role at KSPN-AM in Los Angeles and starts on September 21.
     Gutierrez was the longtime Miami Heat beat reporter for the Miami Herald during the 2000s. He was the afternoon co-host with Ethan Skolnick on 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM from September 2015 until late November 2015. He left there and joined Jorge Sedano as a late evening co-host on ESPN Radio this past February.

Friday, September 16, 2016

LaSalle Stops St. Andrews

     The St. Andrews Scots hosted the LaSalle Royal Lions on Friday at Don Jones Memorial Field in Boca Raton and lost 10-7. It was a contest between two schools in separate divisions of the Southeastern Football Conference.
     Following a Royal Lions punt, things started horribly for St. Andrews(2-2). Scots quarterback Jason Otis fumbled the ball away on a run during their first play on offense at their own 48-yard line, however LaSalle(3-1) was unable to score.
     The Scots special teams unit also had a problem in the final minute of the first quarter deep in their own end. Following a high snap over the head of punter Harrison Newhouse into the end zone, he attempted to throw the ball to an illegal person downfield on the five-yard line.
     The Royal Lions failed to capitalize on the situation with three plays inside the ten-yard line after the penalty was marked off. They had to settle for a 26-yard field goal by kicker Alexander Garcia at 11:54 of the second quarter.
     St. Andrews finally got a first down 17 minutes into the game when wide receiver Evan Loesel jumped up and caught a 30-yard pass on the right sideline from Otis at the LaSalle 45-yard line. Six plays later, running back Gadiel Cartagena went around the left end for a touchdown run from three yards out to give the Scots a 7-3 lead with 5:09 left in the first half.
     It would remain an offensive struggle for both teams for the rest of the game. LaSalle scored a touchdown in the second half to go up 10-7 for the victory.

Miami Northwestern Pounds American Heritage

     The Miami Northwestern Bulls made the long trip up to The Corral in Delray Beach and routed the American Heritage Stallions 41-0 at Scott Maurer Memorial Field on Friday night. Running back Kai Henry raced in on three touchdown runs to give the Bulls, who scored on their first six possessions of the game, the shutout victory.
     Miami Northwestern(3-1) scored on their second play of their first possession at 9:23 of the first quarter. Henry went through the left side of the line then rambled down the field untouched from 48 yards away for a 7-0 lead.
     The Bulls recovered the ensuing on-side kick and continued their momentum. They followed later in the drive with a bubble-screen pass to the left sideline from quarterback Chatarius Atwell Jr. to wide receiver Andre Adams who finished up the 24-yard play with a touchdown at 6:36.
     American Heritage(1-3) fell behind by 20 points with 1:09 left in the first quarter. Henry scored his second touchdown on a 32-yard run up the middle of the field.
     The onslaught continued during the second quarter for Miami Northwestern. Running back Kiaryn Davis went off-left tackle from two yards out to get into the end zone to make it 27-0 at 8:16. Henry added another score on a four-yard touchdown run with 1:09 remaining in the first half.
     It was a quick second half when Atwell Jr. busted through with a one-yard quarterback sneak for the Bulls with 8:10 to go in the third quarter for a 41-0 margin. The contest went to a running clock for the remainder of the game.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Dave Schultz Adds Television Show

     Former local sportscaster Dave Schultz will have a television simulcast of his morning show on 103.7 The Game KLWB-AM at KXKW-TV in Lafayette, Louisiana as of September 26. He has been the program director and morning host at that station since September 2013.
     Schultz, a SUNY-Oswego grad, was employed at Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM from 2009 to 2011. He was the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers sports reporter along with being a sports anchor and fill-in host.
     He worked at several positions outside of broadcasting while in South Florida. Schultz was the media liason for PGA Tour events at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami from 2006 until 2011. He also was membership manager at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo from 2011 to 2013.
     Schultz had a long reign as a minor league baseball radio play-by-play announcer from 1992 until 2005. Numerous teams he called games for included the Syracuse Chiefs, Harrisburg Senators, Somerset Patriots, Jacksonville Suns and Peoria Chiefs.

Joey Reynolds On WABC

     Former 560 WQAM-AM morning host Joey Reynolds has joined WABC-AM in New York City as a Sunday late night talk host. He joins one-time South Florida sports host Sid Rosenberg on that same radio station.
     Reynolds hosted the morning show on WQAM in 1992 prior to them flipping to a 24-hour sports talk format. He was replaced by The First Team hosted by Jimmy Cefalo and Dave Lamont.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Miami Marlins 2017 Schedule Released

     Major League Baseball has released the Miami Marlins schedule for the 2017 regular season. They will open up April 3 in Washington D.C. against the Nationals. The Fish will have their home opener at Marlins Park on April 11 as they take on the Atlanta Braves.
     The Marlins inter-league schedule have them play against teams from the American League West Division. The Los Angeles Angels led by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols show up for a three-game series on Memorial Day weekend beginning on May 23. The Oakland A's also make a two-game appearance in Miami on June 13 and June 14.
     The 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game between the National League and American League will be held at Marlins Park on July 11. The Home Run Derby along with the celebrity game is to take place on July 10.

Justin Cohen Heading For Connecticut

     Justin Cohen has joined the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League as their video manager. He recently left Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM where he was a part-time board operator and worked on the Alex Donno evening show. He also helped out in game operations at Florida Panthers home games during the 2015-16 season.
     Cohen, a Quinnipiac University grad, had a prior stint in South Florida as a hockey writer for the Stan Fischer Hockey Report. He left the local region to announce minor league baseball and then joined the Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League as their broadcasting coordinator.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The Beast Promoted At The Ticket

     Brian London, a.k.a. The Beast, has been promoted to programming coordinator at 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM. He will continue as the early afternoon co-host with Leroy Hoard and weekend host at that station.
     London. a University of Miami grad, has been at The Ticket since late 2012 and began as a fill-in host. He was elevated to being a late night host and weekend host in January 2013 and given the evening host position and afternoon sports anchor spot on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz later that year. London was shifted to midday sports anchor and early afternoon co-host with Eric Reed and Hoard during 2014.
     He first got noticed on local radio while at Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM and was there for over a decade. London joined WQAM as an intern in 1997 and later added duties as a producer, sports anchor and weekend sports host. He was also part of the Miami Hurricanes Radio Network in the late 2000s as a sideline reporter, basketball studio host and baseball play-by-play announcer alongside Joe Zagacki.
     He moved on from Beasley Broadcasting to SoFloRadio.com in September 2009 and became an afternoon sports host. London had an evening talk show on All Digital Radio in 2010 and was part of AllCanes.com as a weekly host of All Canes Radio beginning in August 2010. He also started as a Miami Hurricanes reporter for CBS Sports.com in 2011.

Chris Wittyngham Leaves The Ticket

     Chris Wittyngham has left his host position with 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM and joined beIN Sports and CBS Sports Interactive. He worked at that radio station for the last four years and called NASL soccer games as a television play-by-play announcer on beIN Sports with former Fort Lauderdale Strikers player Thomas Rongen in 2016.
     Wittyngham, a University of Miami grad, had been the afternoon co-host with Ethan J. Skolnick on The Ticket since May and was an afternoon fill-in co-host since the beginning of the year. He was the evening co-host with Josh Friedman from July 2014 until July 2015. They both had an interim stint as the midday co-hosts from July 2015 to August 2015 and then returned to evenings for the rest of the year.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Marlins Blank Dodgers

     The Miami Marlins shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 on Sunday at Marlins Park. The Fish took two of three games of the weekend series from the current National League West Division leader.
     Miami(71-72) scored all their runs against Los Angeles(80-62) starting pitcher Kenta Maeda. In the fourth inning, Christian Yelich singled into left-center field to bring in Ichiro Suzuki to make it 1-0 lead. Justin Bour followed with a sacrifice fly to right which brought in Martin Prado.
     The Marlins increased their margin to 3-0 during the sixth inning. Yelich got a base hit to right and a combination of two errors by the Dodgers caused Prado to score on the play.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Dodgers Down Marlins

     The Los Angeles Dodgers used a bunch of home runs to blank the Miami Marlins 5-0 on Saturday night at Marlins Park. Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill compiled a perfect game through seven innings against Miami(70-72) before he was replaced by Joe Blanton.
     Joc Pederson broke up the scoreless tie for Los Angeles(80-61) on a solo home run to right field during the top of the fifth against Tom Koehler. The Dodgers added back-to-back home runs with a two-run homer by Corey Seager and a solo shot by Justin Turner in the sixth inning to go up 4-0.
     Brian Ellington entered the game for the Marlins and allowed a solo homer to Pederson down the right-field line in the top of the seventh. It was the fourth time in his career that Pederson had multiple home runs in a game.
     The Marlins broke up the perfect game with two out in the bottom of the eighth. Blanton was on the mound when Jeff Francoeur got a base hit off the glove of Seager at shortstop.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Deerfield Beach Blasts Blanche Ely

     The annual McDougle Bowl for northeast Broward County superiority in high school football was held on Friday night as the Deerfield Beach Bucks smashed the Blanche Ely Tigers 30-3 at Butler Stadium. The Bucks, who bounced back following a loss to Hallandale two weeks ago, won their third straight game over the Tigers.
     Deerfield Beach(1-1) had to wait until late in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead at the 1:38 mark. University of Alabama commit and Bucks wide receiver Jerry Jeudy caught a ball in the middle of the field, hurdled over a tackler and scored from 36 yards away.
     Blanche Ely(1-2) surrendered two touchdowns during the second quarter as they fell behind by 20 points. Quarterback Nick Holm threw a high pass to Jeudy on the left side of the end zone for a 15-yard score at 8:23. Running back Jakari Norwood rushed through the middle for a two-yard touchdown run at 2:51 following a 32-yard run by him on the previous play.
     The Bucks capitalized on an interception return deep into Tigers territory late in the third quarter. Running back Jaylan Knighton went through the right side and scored on an 11-yard touchdown run with 2:34 left in the third to make it 27-0. Both schools kicked field goals during the fourth quarter.

Oxbridge Academy Drops Royal Palm Beach

     The Oxbridge Academy Thunderwolves remained undefeated with a 41-0 victory over the Royal Palm Beach Wildcats. They have stood up to three large size schools over the last three weeks with upset wins over FHSAA Class 8A defending state champion Flanagan and Class 6A Dade County powerhouse Carol City.
     Oxbridge Academy(3-0) controlled the entire game from start to finish. Following a first quarter touchdown, they added 27 points in the second quarter to lead Royal Palm Beach(0-3) 34-0 at halftime. The Wildcats were shut out for the second time in last three games.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Jonathan Huberdeau Signs Extension

     Center Jonathan Huberdeau has signed a contract extension with the Florida Panthers. It is a six-year, $35.4 million deal that will run through the 2022-23 season. He joins Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad, Reilly Smith, Keith Yandle and Roberto Luongo who have long-team contracts with the club.
     Huberdeau has played his entire NHL career with Florida since the 2012-13 season. He captured the Calder Trophy for top rookie in 2012-13 with 14 goals and 17 assists in 48 games. Huberdeau has 58 goals and 114 assists in 272 games with the Panthers franchise and helped them win the Atlantic Division last season.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Jeremy Marks-Peltz On Television

     Jeremy Marks-Peltz made his television debut on WTVX-TV Channel 34 in West Palm Beach as the high school football play-by-play announcer of Friday Night Rivals on September 2. ESPN national recruiting analyst Gerry Hamilton joined him as a game analyst on the broadcast.
     WTVX-TV did broadcast high school football games on Friday nights two years ago. Alex Kushel was the play-by-play announcer and current Olympic Heights head football coach Chris Kokell was the game analyst.
     Marks-Peltz was the radio play-by-play announcer for Oxbridge Academy football games during the previous three years on ESPN 106.3 WUUB-FM in West Palm Beach. He continues as the content director and occasional talk host on ESPN West Palm.
     He once worked as the radio play-by-play announcer for Florida International University football games from 2008 to 2010. Marks-Peltz was also the Miami Heat Radio Network studio host from October 2007 until January 2010 when he left for Good Karma Broadcasting in West Palm Beach to become an evening host on ESPN 760 WEFL-AM.
     Marks-Peltz, a University of Miami grad, started his professional career at James Crystal Radio in South Florida as an intern and sportscaster at 1400 The Fan WFLL-AM in the mid-2000s. He landed at Clear Channel during 2007 as a morning sports anchor on News Radio 610 WIOD-AM in Miami.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Palm Beach Lakes Upsets Glades Central

     The Glades Central Raiders were shocked and lost to the Palm Beach Lakes Rams 16-13 at Dick Melear Stadium on Friday night. The Raiders host longtime rival American Heritage next week while the Rams travels to South Fork.
     Palm Beach Lakes(2-0) scored on the first play of their second possession of the contest when running back Jalen Wright raced to the left side and rambled down the sideline with a 58-yard touchdown at 9:33 of the first quarter to lead 6-0.
     The Raiders had a 16-yard right end around touchdown run by wide receiver Quantino Allen negated due to a holding penalty downfield at 7:30. They did not score on the drive and fumbled the ball away on the ensuing play.
     The Rams made it 13-0 with 25 seconds left in the first quarter as running back Jordan Canady busted through the left side of the line and scored from 14 yards away.
     Glades Central(1-1) got on the scoreboard with 3:02 to go in the first half. Quarterback James Blackman threw the ball to the right sideline and wide receiver Siurpry Rinvil avoided two tacklers to stride in from 12 yards out to close the margin. They faked the kick on the extra point and holder Jamarian Green fell short of the end zone by one yard on the carry.
     The Raiders committed three turnovers on their first three possessions of the second half. Palm Beach Lakes put up points on their third takeover of the third quarter as they got a 26-yard field goal at 5:21 for a 16-6 lead. 
     An attempted comeback by Glades Central fell short in the fourth quarter. They scored on a 4th-and-15 from their own 20-yard line on an unusual scenario. Blackman fired a pass to Allen on the right side and he got to the Rams 40-yard line when he fumbled. Wide receiver DeJean Miller recovered the loose ball at the 42-yard line and raced down the field for a touchdown with 3:16 remaining. The Raiders had one more drive in the final minute, however they fumbled the ball on a reception near midfield.    

Miami Dolphins Open Hard Rock Stadium

     The Miami Dolphins opened up Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday night and lost to the Tennessee Titans 21-10 in a preseason game. Renovations were made to the facility over the past two years which included a partial roof and four new huge display screens.
     The Dolphins will play their first regular season game at Hard Rock Stadium on September 25 against the Cleveland Browns. The University of Miami Hurricanes football team hosts Florida A&M in their first game at the renamed facility on Saturday.

Jeff Darlington Joins ESPN

     Former local sportswriter Jeff Darlington has joined ESPN as a NFL reporter. He recently left NFL Network last month where he worked as a reporter from 2011 until 2016.
     Darlington, a University of Florida grad, began his writing career with the Orlando Sentinel in 2004 as the University of Florida beat writer. He moved to South Florida in 2005 and was employed by the Palm Beach Post for one year as the Dolphins writer. Darlington then joined the Miami Herald as the Miami Dolphins beat reporter from 2006 to 2011.