Andre Jones Waived

     The Miami Dolphins have placed defensive lineman Andre Jones on waivers from their practice squad. He participated in three Dolphins games earlier this year in a special teams capacity. 

     Jones played in 16 games over two seasons with the Washington Commanders in 2023 and 2024. He was with the Buffalo Bills for three contests last year. The Fins signed him off the Bills practice squad on September 21. 

Rodney McGraw Promoted

     The Miami Dolphins have decided to sign defensive line Rodney McGraw from their practice squad and place him on their active roster. He was signed to the team's practice squad on September 10. 

     McGraw has seen action in two games earlier in the 2026 season with the Fins. He played in their last two contests versus the Minnesota Vikings on October 4 and the Cincinnati Bengals on October 11. 

Miami Heat Lose Season Opener

     The Miami Heat began their 39th season in the National Basketball Association as they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-106 at Kaseya Center on Wednesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. made their playing debuts with the Heat. 

     The number 10 jersey was unretired by the Heat because Tim Hardaway Jr. was wearing it. His father Tim Hardaway wore that number 10 jersey from 1995-96 until the end of the 2000-01 season. It was the second jersey number retired by Miami in franchise history on October 27, 2009. 

     Gale Nelson worked his first regular season home game as the new Miami Heat public address announcer. Michael Baiamonte was at that post for 36 seasons from 1990 to 2026 and he retired following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

     Miami(0-1) scored the first four points of the contest, however they found themselves down 29-21 eight minutes into the opening quarter. The Heat had an 11-2 spurt at the conclusion of the first quarter and were behind 34-32. Antetokounmpo compiled 14 points in his first quarter wearing a Heat uniform. 

     Both teams remained close to each other during the second quarter with each club not leading by more than five points for most of the frame. Minnesota(1-0) went on a 14-5 run at the end of the second and led 69-59 at halftime. 

     The Timberwolves rolled out with a 9-2 spurt to begin the third quarter and they had a 78-61 advantage. The Heat answered back with nine consecutive points and they were down 78-70 with 7:46 to go in the third. Minnesota bounced back and were up 99-81 at the conclusion of the third quarter. 

     In the fourth quarter, Miami poured in five straight points to begin the frame and trailed 99-86. The Timberwolves followed with a 15-4 run and coasted to the victory. 

     Antetokounmpo finished up with a team-high 35 points along with six rebounds in his debut. He set a franchise history for the most points scored by the player in their Heat debut. LeBron James dropped in 31 points in his debut with the Heat back in 2010-11. Bam Adebayo ended up with 15 points and seven rebounds while Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell contributed 11 points each. Thompson scored 10 points, Portis chalked up seven points and Hardaway had three points for Miami. 

     Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards with a game-high 45 points along with 10 rebounds for a double-double. LaMelo Ball got 21 points and Jonathan Kuminga pumped in 12 points in their Timberwolves debuts. 

Panthers Downed By Senators

     One-time Ottawa Senators captain and center Brady Tkachuk retuned to his former home as the Florida Panthers lost to the Senators 5-1 at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night. The Panthers, who had  their three-game winning streak snapped, started a four-game road trip. The Cats are in the middle of playing six road contests in an eight-game stretch. 

     Florida(5-3-2) scored on their first shot of the contest during the man advantage at the midway point 10:00 of the first period. Seth Jones angled a pass from the top of the zone and Matthew Tkachuk pushed it from the top right circle. Brady Tkachuk put in a wrist shot from the right side of the crease past Linus Ullmark for his seventh goal of the season. It was Brady Tkachuk's seventh tally in the past four games. Jones got his 10th point in the last five games and he set a Panthers record with 11 points by a defenseman in the first 10 contests of a season.  

     Ottawa(7-3-0) tied it up 1-1 on the power play with 5:47 remaining in the first. Jake Sanderson sent a cross-ice pass from the inner left circle and Tim Stutzle fired a forehand shot from from the inner right circle by Akira Schmid for his sixth goal in 2026-27. Stephen Halliday was credited with a secondary assist on the sequence. 

     In the second period, the Sens made it 2-1 at 9:34. Nikolas Matinpalo connected a pass from the left wing and former Panthers center Claude Giroux scored on a wrist shot from the top of the zone for his second goal this year. 

     The Senators increased it to 3-1 with 2:42 remaining in the second. Sanderson sent a long lead pass from his own zone. Shane Pinto went in on a breakaway and his attempted shot from the low slot went off his own skate and into the cage for his second tally this season.

     It became 4-1 for Ottawa on a shorthanded goal at the 7:58 mark of the third period. Drake Batherson banked the puck ahead from the red line off the boards. Dylan Cozens brought it into the left circle and made a square pass to the middle. Warren Foegele ripped a forehand shot from the slot area for his first goal of the campaign. 

     The Sens expanded their lead to 5-1 with another shorthanded goal with 5:03 left in the third. Stutzle dropped a pass in the high slot and Halliday snapped a shot from the inner right circle for his third goal of the season. 

Dolphins Releasing Riley Patterson

     The Miami Dolphins will be releasing kicker Riley Patterson from his one-year contract. He already missed two field goals and one extra point in five contests this year. 

     Patterson played two seasons with the Dolphins in 2025 and 2026. He participated in 22 games and made 34 field goals on 38 field-goal attempts. 

Heat & Panthers 2026-27 Home Game Conflicts

     The Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers will have home game conflicts and will be playing at the same time during the 2026-27 season. This has happened since the 1998-99 season when both teams began to play contests in different venues. 

     It is the biggest date difference ever in terms of the start of both club's regular season. The exceptions to this matter were a lockout, strike or pandemic. 

     The Florida Panthers stared their 2026-27 campaign on September 29 while the Miami Heat begins on October 21. The difference between both season and home openers was 23 days. 

     The total number of regular season home conflicts between both teams is seven this season. It is the lowest since the 2019-20 season when six of the seven planned dates happened. The final one did not happen due to both leagues being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

     This season's conflicts consist of one on October 30, zero in November, one on December 21, zero in January and none in February. There are four conflicts in the month of March on March 2, March 6, March 25 and March 27. Both clubs play home game on the same day on April 9. 

     The Heat and the Panthers were anticipated to have strong rosters in 2026-27 and both could contend for a league championship in the middle of next year. There can sometimes be a possible arangement or agreement between both organization's team operations, venue operations and leagues to avoid game conflicts. Some corporations and individuals can be season-ticket holders which can create a conflict for them. In addition, media organizations, security personnel and vendors may work at both arenas on gamedays. 

Zane Gonzalez Back With Dolphins

     Zane Gonzalez has returned to the Miami Dolphins for his second stint as a kicker. He was placed on the team's practice squad. 

     The Dolphins had signed Gonzalez to a contract back in March. He was placed on the injured reserve list on August 10, waived on August 19 and eventually released with an injury settlement.