Keshad Johnson In Slam Dunk Contest

     The National Basketball Association has announced that Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson will be one of four participants for the NBA Slam Dunk contest. It will be held next Saturday at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. 

     All four players will make their debut in the event. The reigning three-time slam dunk champion Mac McClung was not invited to defend his title. 

     Johnson has played 37 games with the Heat over the past seasons. He has averaged 2.9 points-per-game during his Miami tenure. 

Juho Lammikko Heads To Switzerland

     One-time Florida Panthers forward Juho Lammikko has signed a three-year contract with Zurich in the Switzerland National League. The deal will run through the 2027-28 season. 

     Lammikko was recently with the New Jersey Devils for 24 games in 2025-26. He spent 2018-19 and 2020-21 with the Panthers and had 11 points in 84 contests. 

Paul Mason Top Mid-Market Sports Radio Program Director

     Former West Palm Beach radio executive Paul Mason has been named the top mid-market program director of a sports station in the United States during 2025. Barrett Media selected him first among their top 20 in that category. 

     Mason is the program director of 104.5 The Zone WGFX-FM in Nashville since May 2020. He previously was the program director at 640 WMEN-AM and 850 WFTL-AM from March 2017 until April 2020. 

     He was selected by Barrett Media and their prior brand Barrett Sports Media in recent years. Mason finished 13th in 2020, 16th in 2021, fourth in 2022, sixth in 2023 and fourth in 2024.  

Len Weiner Lands On Program Directors List

     104.3 Sports WQAM-FM and 560 WQAM-AM programming chief Len Weiner appears on the top 25 local sports radio program directors list decided by Barrett Media. Weiner ended up in 21st place in 2025.

     He has been the WQAM program director since February 2018. Audacy added an FM frequency simulcast of their Miami sports station back on August 7. 

     Weiner has been a regularly listed in recent years. He was 25th in 2018, 21st in 2019, 21st in 2020, 20th in 2021, 22nd in 2022, 21st in 2023 and 20th in 2024. 

Craig Minvervini Working Caribbean Series

     South Florida sportscaster Craig Minervini is announcing the Caribbean Series as the television play-by-play announcer for the second straight year. The games have been seen on MLB Network. 

     Minervini worked as a fill-in radio play-by-play announcer of the Miami Marlins last season. He has a long stint as the Marlins television studio host since 2002. 

Marlins Trade Victor Mesa Jr.

      The Miami Marlins have traded outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Marlins will receive back infielder Angel Brachi. 

      Mesa made his Major League Baseball debut with Miami in 2025. He had one home run, six runs batted in and a .188 batting average in 16 games with the Marlins.

Celtics Escape Heat

     The Boston Celtics survived the Miami Heat 98-96 at TD Garden on Friday night. The Heat began a short two-game road swing. The Celtics leaped to second place in the Eastern Conference. 

     Miami(27-26) steamrolled out to a 15-2 to begin the contest. They had a 29-15 advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter. The Heat continued the pressure in the second quarter and lead 59-38 at halftime. 

     Boston(34-18) outscored the Heat 36-15 during the third quarter and both teams were tied 74-74 after three quarters. Neither club led by more than five points in the final frame and the Celtics held on in the final minute of the fourth quarter.    

     Andrew Wiggins led the Heat with a team-high 26 points. Norman Powell contributed 24 points and Bam Adebayo added 16 points along with seven rebounds. 

     Jaylen Brown knocked down a game-high 29 points for the C's. Derrick White ended up with 21 points while Payton Pritchard had 24 points coming off the bench. 

Panthers Put Josh Davies On Unconditional Waivers

     The Florida Panthers have placed forward Josh Davies to unconditional waivers. It will result in the Panthers terminating the contract of Davies. Florida did the same thing recently with forward Ryan McAllister. 

     Davies spent his time last season between the Panthers ECHL affiliate in Greenville and the Panthers AHL affiliate Charlotte. He had 12 points in 31 games with Savannah this season. 

Juho Lammikko Gone From Devils

     The New Jersey Devils have put right wing Juho Lammikko on unconditional waivers. The club will terminate his contract. He participated in 24 games with the Devils this season and chalked up two points. 

     Lammikko was previously on the Florida Panthers in 2018-19 and 2020-21. He finished with 11 points in 84 contests. 

Lionel Messi Selected Best Soccer Player Ever

     The Soccer 100 book publication, which is associated with The Athletic, has named Inter Miami CF midfielder Lionel Messi the greatest player ever in soccer history. The book was written by Oliver Kay and James Horncastle. 

     Messi has been with Inter Miami CF in Major League Soccer since July 2023. He led the Herons to the MLS Cup championship in 2025 along with the Leagues Cup title in 2024. 

     He won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and helped them reach the World Cup title game in 2014. Messi played most of his professional soccer career with FC Barcelona.

      The Athletic came out with the Basketball 100 book in 2024. Former Miami Heat forward LeBron James was selected second all-time among the top 100 players in basketball history. The book was authored by David Aldridge and John Hollinger. 

Hochman, Crowder & Solana On Afternoon Sports Show List

     Barrett Media issued their list for the top 25 local afternoon sports radio shows in the United States. The afternoon program of Marc Hochman, Channing Crowder and Alejandro Solana on 104.3 Sports WQAM-FM finished 19th in 2025. 

     Hochman and Crowder has appeared in previous years. They were 19th in 2017, 25th in 2020, 22nd in 2021, 25th in 2022, 17th in 2023 and 18th in 2024. 

Lightning Smash Panthers

     The Tampa Bay Lightning stormed by the Florida Panthers 6-1 on Thursday night at Benchmark International Arena. It was the final game for both clubs before the 2026 Winter Olympics break. 

     Panthers defenseman Mikulas Hovorka made his NHL debut with the team tonight. The Lightning have won five straight games and have a 19-1-1 record in their last 21 games. 

     Tampa Bay(37-14-4) raced out to a 1-0 advantage at the 2:08 mark of the first period. Victor Hedman blasted a slap shot from the left point and it was redirected in by Brandon Hagel from the inner left circle for his 27th goal of the season. 

     It became 2-0 for the Bolts with 5:52 remaining in the first. Zemgus Girgensons backhanded a shot from the low slot past Daniil Tarasov for his seventh goal in 2025-26. 

     In the second period, the Lightning added a power-play tally to make it 3-0 at 1:14. Jake Guentzel put in a rebound wrist shot from the right side of the crease for his 26th goal this season. 

     They increased their lead to 4-0 with 2:10 left in the second. Erik Cernak got to his own rebound shot and scored his first tally of the year on a wraparound shot. 

     Florida(29-25-3) surrendered another goal at 6:09 of the third period and trailed 5-0. Pontus Holmberg poked in a shot from the blue paint on the power play for his ninth goal of the campaign. 

     The Panthers broke the shutout at the 9:50 mark of the third to make it 5-1. Mackie Samoskevich snapped a shot from the right-circle dot for his sixth goal of the season. 

Team Canada Adds Sam Bennett

     Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett has been added to the Team Canada roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The men's ice hockey tournament will begin next week. 

      Bennett played for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Tourament last year. He has been with the Panthers since the 2020-21 season.

Nick Bjugstad Traded To Devils

     The St. Louis Blues have dealt center Nick Bjugstad to the New Jersey Devils. He joined the Blues prior to the 2025-26 campaign and had seven points in 35 contest this season. 

     Bjugstad was once with the Florida Panthers for seven seasons from 2012-13 to 2018-19. He finished with 87 goals and 104 assists for 191 points in 394 games with the Panthers. 

Kyle Keller Off To Red Sox

     Former Miami Marlins pitcher Kyle Keller has agreed to a one-year minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. He will be invited to their spring training camp. 

     Keller was with the Marlins in 2019 and had a 3.38 earned run average in 10 games. He was with the Los Angeles Angels in 2020 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021. 

     He spent the past four seasons in Japan. Keller pitched for the Hanshin Tigers from 2022 to 2023 and the Yomiuri Giants from 2024 to 2025. 

Randy McMichael Appears On Midday Show List

     One-time Miami Dolphins tight end Randy McMichael showed up in the Barrett Media 2025 top 20 midday sports radio shows. His show was in 16th place during 2025. It did finish in 17th place in 2024. 

     McMichael joined 92.9 The Game WZGC-FM in Atlanta back in 2015 hosting a Saturday morning college football program. He was promoted to midday co-host in May 2019. 

Panthers Bag Bruins

     The Florida Panthers knocked off the Boston Bruins 5-4 in a shootout on Wednesday night at Amerant Bank Arena. Prior to the game, Florida honored 10 of their players who will participate in the upcoming  2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

       It was the Panthers final home game in Sunrise before the Winter Olympics break. The Panthers are now eight points behind the Bruins for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. The Cats were able to snap a four-game losing streak. 

     In the first period, Florida(29-24-3) took a 1-0 lead at the 4:22 mark. Eetu Luostarinen intercepted a pass in the high slot and placed in a wrist shot from the inner right circle for his seventh goal this season.

     Boston(32-20-5) tied it up 1-1 at 7:18 of the opening frame. Michael Eyssimont collected his seventh tally this year when he buried a forehand shot from the low slot past Sergei Bobrovsky. 

      The Bruins moved ahead 2-1 with 7:17 left in the first. Eyssimont stuffed in a shot from the right side of the crease for his second goal of the contest and eighth goal in 2025-26.

     The Cats evened it up 2-2 just 30 seconds into the second period on the man advantage. Uvis Balinskis chalked up his fifth goal of the year as he snapped a shot from the top left circle. 

     The Panthers reclaimed the lead 3-2 on the power play at 2:47. Mathew Tkachuk collected his third goal this season when he backhanded a shot from the left goal line by Joonas Korpisalo. 

       It became 4-2 for Florida with 1:27 remaining in the second. They got a shorthanded goal by Anton Lundell in the low slot on a cross-ice assist from Sam Reinhart.

       The B's closed it to 4-3 at 7:52 of the third period. Charlie McAvoy took a shot from the right point and it went off the face shield of Mark Kastelic in the crease area.

         Boston tied it 4-4 with 9:30 to go on the power play. Casey Middlestadt released a wrist shot from the top of the crease for his 12th goal of the season. 

     The contest would reach the shootout phase. The Panthers won it on their fourth attempt when Brad Marchand lifted a backhand shot. 

Panthers Releasing Ryan McAllister

     The Florida Panthers are placing forward Ryan McAllister on unconditional waivers. It means that his contract will be terminated by the team.

     McAllister signed a three-year contract with Florida in April 2023. It was to last until the end of the 2025-26 campaign. He mainly played with the Panthers AHL affiliate the Charlotte Checkers for the past three seasons and was never called to participate in an NHL game. 

Norman Powell Makes NBA All-Star Game

     Miami Heat guard Norman Powell has been named to the Eastern Conference squad for the upcoming 2026 NBA All-Star Game. It will be Powell's first appearance.

     Powell was acquired by the Heat during the offseason from the Los Angeles Clippers. He has averaged 23 points per game in 43 contests this season. 

LeBron James In NBA All-Star Game

     Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has been selected for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game as a Western Conference reserve player. It was his NBA-record 22nd selection to the NBA All-Star Game. James had been voted as a starter for 21 consecutive seasons until this year.

     James was with the Miami Heat for four seasons from 2010-11 until 2013-14. He helped the team capture two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013 along with four Eastern Conference titles. 

Marlins Pick Up Garrett Acton

     The Miami Marlins have claimed pitcher Garrett Acton off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. He was selected off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on November 6.  

      He has played with two different teams in the majors. Acton pitched in six contests with the Oakland A's in 2023 and participated in one game with the Rays in 2025. 

Jorge Sedano & Scott Kaplan Make Local Morning Show List

     Former Miami radio sportscasters Jorge Sedano and Scott Kaplan showed up on the 2025 top 25 local sports radio morning sports shows by Barrett Media. They both co-host the morning program on KSPN-AM in Los Angeles. Their show moved from afternoons to mornings at that radio station on September 2. 

     Both have co-hosted a show together since February 2021. They ended up 19th in 2021, 20th in 2022, 12th in 2023, 14th in 2024 on the local afternoon sports show list. 

Joe Rose On Local Morning Show List

     Joe Rose of 104.3 Sports WQAM-FM appeared on the 2025 Barrett Media top 25 local sports radio morning shows in 24th place. He co-hosts the only local morning sports talk show on the airwaves in South Florida with Danny Rabinowitz.  

     Rose showed up for the 10th consecutive year. He was 18th in 2016, 16th in 2017, 24th in 2018, 22nd in 2019, 23rd in 2020, 22nd in 2021, 21st in 2022, 20th in 2023 and 20th in 2024. 

Hawks Fly Over Heat

     The Atlanta Hawks downed the Miami Heat 127-115 at Kaseya Center on Tuesday night. The Heat completed a three-game homestand. 

     The Heat honored the 20th anniversary of the 2006 NBA championship team during a halftime ceremony. It was the first time Miami captured an NBA title in franchise history.  

     Atlanta(25-27) raced out to a 33-23 lead by the end of the opening quarter. The Hawks made it a 21-point margin by the midway point of the second quarter and led 67-50 at halftime. 

     Miami(27-25) went on a 19-7 run to begin the second half, however they were down 98-81 at the conclusion of the third quarter. The Heat started the fourth quarter with a 10-4 spurt until the momentum shifted to the Hawks.

     The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Simone Fontecchio dropped in 18 points and Pelle Larsson had 18 points. 

     Jalen Johnson compiled a triple-double for Atlanta with 29 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. C.J. McCollum finished with 26 points while Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 19 points. 

Sean Duggan Joining Dolphins

     Sean Duggan will be joining the Miami Dolphins as their new defensive coordinator. He is replacing Anthony Weaver in that position. 

     Duggan spent the past two seasons on the staff of the Green Bay Packers. He worked under new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley while in Green Bay as a linebackers coach. 

Avisail Garcia Retires

     Former Miami Marlins outfielder Avisail Garcia announced his retirement on Monday. He concluded a 13-season MLB career. 

     Garcia played three seasons with the Fish from 2022 to 2024. He had 13 home runs, 49 runs batted in and a .217 batting average in 153 games with the Marlins. 

Anthony Weaver Heads To Ravens

     Anthony Weaver will be named the new defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. He will work under new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter. 

     Weaver was with the Miami Dolphins under former head coach Mike McDaniel for the past two seasons. He held the post as Dolphins defensive coordinator. 

Ex Locals On National Radio List

     Three broadcasters with a South Florida connection appeared in Barrett Media among the top 25 nationally syndicated sports radio hosts. They are Damon Amendolara, Evan Cohen and Amber Wilson. 

     Amendolara is the co-host of the morning show at SiriusXM Radio on the Mad Dog Radio channel and his show ended in ninth place. He once hosted evening on Sports Radio 560 WQAM-AM from early 2008 to August 2009.  

     Cohen co-hosts Unsportsmanlike on ESPN Radio as his program finished in 10th place. He had a long reign with Good Karma Brands in West Palm Beach from 2003 until December 2021. 

     Wilson holds the co-hosting role with Ian Fitzsimmons during evenings at ESPN Radio and they landed in 25th place. She was part of Sports Talk 790 The Ticket WAXY-AM from March 2016 to June 2021. 

Miami Heat May Leave FanDuel Sports Network

     The Miami Heat may exit the regional sports network FanDuel Sports Network Sun at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. FanDuel Sports Network's parent company Main Street Sports did not make their periodic payment to the Miami Heat for their television broadcast rights. 

     The rights fee this season from Main Street Sports to the Heat is $55 million. It is the largest amount given to 13 NBA clubs under contract with Main Street Sports The agreement between both them and the Miami Heat is through the 2026-27 season. 

     Regional sports television networks no longer can broadcast postseason games as of the 2025-26 campaign. The Heat have been with FanDuel Sports Network Sun since 2024-25 and their previous brand Bally Sports Florida Sun since 2020-21. 

Sabres Stall Panthers

     The Buffalo Sabres handled the Florida Panthers 5-3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night. The Panthers, who have lost four straight games, continued their three-game homestand. 

     The Sabres are trying to end an NHL record 15-year playoff drought. The Panthers once held the league record with 10 years without a postseason appearance between 2001 and 2011. 

     Florida(28-24-3) broke out to a 1-0 lead just 37 seconds into the first period. Niko Mikkola blasted a slap shot from the left point that went off the back of A.J. Greer from the slot area. Sandis Vilmanis scored his second NHL goal on a wrist shot from the inner left circle past Alex Lyon. 

     The Cats increased their lead to 2-0 at 5:54 of the first. Sam Reinhart got to the puck off the end wall and passed it back. Evan Rodrigues had his pass in the crease deflected off Jason Zucker's right skate and it ended up inside the cage for his 10th tally in 2025-26. 

     Buffalo(32-18-5) cut it to 2-1 with 4:57 left in the first. Rasmus Dahlin zipped a long lead pass from behind his own net and Peyton Krebs made a square pass in the neutral zone. Tage Thompson carried it into the Florida zone and snapped a shot from the high slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his 29th goal of the season. 

     The Sabres evened it up 2-2 with 1:34 remaining in the frame. Alex Tuch connected a cross-ice pass from the right point. Dahlin sent a diagonal pass from the top left circle and Krebs tapped in a backhand shot from the right side of the crease for his seventh goal of the year. 

     In the second period, Buffalo added another goal to make it 3-2 at 5:44. Owen Power banked a long diagonal pass from his own left circle. Ross McLeod got to the loose puck in the right circle before Bobrovsky. He pushed the puck across and Zach Benson put in a forehand shot into an empty net for his seventh goal of the campaign. 

     The Panthers tied it up 3-3 on the power play with 1:01 to go in the second. Carter Verhaeghe passed ahead from above the left circle. Reinhart angled a pass from the left goal line and Uvis Balinskis placed in a one-time snap shot from the right circle to chalk up his fourth tally this year. 

     The Sabres moved ahead 4-3 with the man advantage at the 5:31 mark of the third period. Jack Quinn backhanded a pass from the left point. Josh Doan skated to behind the cage and centered the puck. Zucker scored his 14th goal this season on a wrist shot from the low left circle. 

     It became 5-3 for Buffalo with 2:09 remaining in the third. McLeod chipped the puck out of his zone. Krebs slid a pass from the left circle and Doan put in a forehand shot from the top of the crease for his 17th goal of the season. 

Former Miami Sports Radio Stations Off Air

     Two former sports talk radio format radio stations in Miami have been taken off the air. They are 1210 WNMA-AM and 1700 WJCC-AM. Multicultural Broadcasting owns both radio stations and asked the Federal Communications Commission for a special temporary authority because they no longer have a transmitter site. 

     The 1210 AM frequency was once owned by One-On-One Sports from November 1997 to February 1998 and aired their nationally syndicated sports talk radio network. The 1700 AM frequency was formerly known as 1700 The Fan WAFN-AM from August 1999 until December 2000. 

Heat Slaughter Bulls In Rematch

     The Miami Heat pounded the Chicago Bulls 134-91 on Sunday night at Kaseya Center. It tied the third-largest margin of victory for the Heat in franchise history. 

     It concluded three consecutive regular season games played between both teams. The last time two NBA clubs faced each other in three straight contests was in 1972 between the Baltimore Bullets and the Houston Rockets. 

     Miami(27-24) rocketed out to a 34-13 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter. Chicago(24-26) kept up with the pace in the second quarter and trailed 62-40 at halftime. 

     The Heat piled it on early in the second half to take a 101-62 lead after three quarters. Reserve players participated during the final quarter. 

     Bam Adebayo fell short of a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds for the Heat. Pelle Larsson dropped in 20 points while Kel'el Ware drained in 17 points.

     Cody White contributed a team-high 16 points for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic finished up with 12 points in the defeat.