Miami Ratings December 2024

     The ratings were issued for Miami/Fort Lauderdale sports format radio stations. The time span went from the first week of November to the first week of December. 

     AM 560 Sports WQAM-AM dropped from a 1.5 to a X.X in the month. The University of Miami Hurricanes football team lost their last two regular season games and did not reach the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Inter Miami CF were upset and eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at home by Atlanta United FC in Game 3. The Florida Panthers had a 15-9-2 record and were second in the Atlantic Division. The Miami Heat began their 2024-25 campaign with a mediocre 10-10 record. 

     Fox Sports 940 WINZ-AM fell from a 0.5 to a X.X in the period. The Miami Dolphins won three straight games then lost to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Night and had a 5-7 record. The University of Florida Gators football team won their final three regular season contests and had a 7-5 record to reach a bowl game. 

     Fox Sports 640 South Florida WMEN-AM remained at a 0.2 in the month. The Florida Atlantic University football team snapped a six-game losing streak in their regular season finale and finished with a 3-9 record. 

     The WQAM stream moved from a 0.0 to a X.X in the period. WZTU-FM-HD2 remained at a 0.0 for the second straight month. WKIS-FM-HD-2 went from a 0.1 to a X.X in the month. 

Shawn Armstrong Lands With Rangers

     One-time Miami Marlins pitcher Shawn Armstrong has signed a deal with the Texas Rangers. It is a one-year contract with the club. He participated on three teams during 2024. 

     Armstrong had a short stint with the Marlins back in 2022. He ended up with a 0-0 record and a 10.80 earned run average in seven games. 

Eddie Jackson Joins Chargers

     The Los Angeles Chargers have signed former Broward County high school football player and current NFL defensive back Eddie Jackson to their practice squad. He participated in nine contests with the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season. 

     Jackson played high school football with the Boyd Anderson Cobras. He attended the University of Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide capture the 2015 CFP National Championship. 

     He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. His stint with that club lasted seven seasons from 2017 to 2023 and he compiled 15 interceptions. 

Lightning Rough Up Panthers

     The Tampa Bay Lightning blanked the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The Panthers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped, are now 10-3-1 in their last 14 games. The Lightning have won four of their last five contests. Bolts goalie Jonas Johansson had 36 saves for the shutout. 

     Both clubs faced each other in back-to-back nights. The Panthers are off through the Christmas break until Saturday. 

     Tampa Bay(19-11-2) broke out to a 1-0 lead on a 4-on-4 situation at the 6:56 mark. Anthony Cirelli backhanded a pass from the left corner. Victor Hedman sent a square pass from the left wing. Nikita Kucherov raced through the slot area and lifted a backhand shot from the low slot by Sergei Bobrovsky for his 15th goal of the season. 

     The Bolts made it 2-0 at 9:20. Brandon Hagel entered the Panthers zone and dropped a pass above the left circle. Jake Guentzel placed in a wrist shot from the high slot for his 19th goal of the campaign. Hedman was credited with the secondary assist on the sequence. 

     It became 3-0 for the Lightning with 3:36 left in the first on a power-play goal. Nick Paul fed a pass from the right circle to Cirelli at the top of the zone. His slap shot was saved and Michael Chaffee put in a rebound shot from the top of the crease for his seventh tally this year. 

     Neither team scored in the second period. Florida(22-12-2) pulled their goalie on a power play with over six minutes remaining in the third period. Hagel would put in an empty-net goal with 5:42 left in the third for a Tampa Bay four-goal advantage. 

Heat Handle Nets

     The Miami Heat knocked off the Brooklyn Nets 110-95 at Kaseya Center on Monday night. The Heat will not play again until Thursday.

     Miami(14-13) had a 39-28 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter. The Heat would barely lead at halftime 58-57.  

     Brooklyn(11-18) stayed in striking distance during the third quarter and were down 83-78 at the end of the frame. The Heat began the fourth quarter with a 7-2 spurt and remained in front. 

     Bam Adebayo led Miami with a game-high 23 points along with seven rebounds. Tyler Herro fell short of a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Duncan Robinson placed in 17 points while Nikola Jovic came off the bench with 18 points. 

     Noah Clowney and Cameron Johnson both collected 19 points each for Brooklyn. Ben Simmons was held to just four points. 

Marlins Trade Jesus Luzardo

     The Miami Marlins have traded left-handed starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo and minor league catcher Paul McIntosh to the Philadelphia Phillies in a four-player deal. The Fish will receive back shortstop minor league prospect Starlyn Caba and minor league outfielder Emaarion Boyd. 

     Luzardo spent the past four seasons with the Marlins following his trade from the Oakland A's in July 2021 for Starling Marte. He finished the Miami portion of his career with a 21-28 record, 444 strikeouts and a 4.15 earned run average in 74 starts. 

Panthers Crawl By Lightning

     The Florida Panthers moved by the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 at Amalie Arena on Sunday. The Panthers have won four straight contests and 10 of their last 13 games. The Bolts had their four-game winning streak snapped. Florida forward Rasmus Asplund made his team debut and had no points. 

     It was a renewal of their cross-state rivalry that has intensified over the past six seasons. Both teams will face each other in Sunrise tomorrow night. 

     Florida(22-11-2) had a 1-0 lead on the power play with 4:09 to go in the opening frame. Sam Reinhart collected his 21st goal of the season on a tip-in shot. 

     Tampa Bay(18-11-2) then tied the contest 1-1 with five seconds remaining in the first period. Nick Paul got his eighth goal of the year on a wrist shot. 

     The second period would belong to the Cats as they expanded their lead to 3-1. A.J. Greer chalked up his fourth tally this year on a shorthanded goal with a backhand shot with 9:32 left. Eetu Luostarinen another shorthanded goal just 42 seconds later for his fifth goal in 2024-25. 

     In the third period, the Lightning cut it to 3-2 at the 3:26 mark. Brayden Point found the net with a wrist shot for his 22nd goal of the season 

     Reinhart completed the victory 4-2 scoring an empty-net goal with 31 seconds remaining. It was his second goal of the game and his 22nd goal this season.