Heat Trick WIzards

     The Miami Heat pulled off a 121-100 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night at Capital One Arena. The Heat will complete their six-game road swing at the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. The Wizards lost their sixth straight home game. 

     Miami(35-20) rocketed out to a 39-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. Washington(24-29) went on an 18-4 run and trailed 50-44 with 3:58 left in the second quarter. The Heat still stayed ahead 60-53 by halftime. 

     The Heat scored the first eight points of the second half and led 68-53 with 9:51 remaining in the third. They had a 15-1 spurt in the final three minutes and held a 91-70 lead at the end of three quarters. Miami started the fourth quarter on a 22-8 run and had a 35-point margin at 113-78 with 7:57 to go in the final frame. 

     Bam Adebayo led the Heat with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Jimmy Butler dropped in 19 points while Gabe Vincent added 16 points and eight assists. Caleb Martin poured in 15 points and Duncan Robinson knocked down 12 points. 

Panthers To Sign Mack Guzda

     The Florida Panthers have agreed to sign goalie Mack Guzda to a three-year, entry-level contract. He was an undrafted free agent and could have signed with any team in the National Hockey League. 

     Guzda has split his time in 2021-22 with two clubs in the Ontario Hockey League. He has compiled a 11-4-1 record with a 2.17 goals-against-average and a .925 save percentage in 16 games with the Barrie Colts. He ended up with a 5-4-0-1 record, a .915 save percentage and a 3.20 goals-against-average in 10 contests for the Owen Sound Attack. 

Stephen Ross Gets UEFA Champions League TV Rights

     Relevent Sports Group has acquired the United States English-language and Spanish-language television rights to the UEFA Champions League. They will control the television packages from 2024 to 2027. The organization is owned and co-founded by Miami Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross. 

     The UEFA Champions League television rights in this country has been bouncing around in the past 15 years. ESPN had U.S. rights throughout the 1990s until the late 2000s. Fox Sports then took over in 2009 and then Turner Sports had it from 2018 to 2021. CBS Sports is finishing up their second season as the English-language network in 2022 and are in the middle of a four-season pact. 

Mason Marchment Third Star Of The Week

     Florida Panthers left wing Mason Marchment has been named the National Hockey League Third Star of the Week. The time period went from January 31 to February 6.

     Marchement tied a Florida Panthers franchise record with six points in one contest. He compiled two goals and four assists against the Blue Jackets in Columbus on January 31. It was the most points scored by any NHL player in a game so far in the 2021-22 regular season. 

     One other Florida Panther player had received a top-three NHL Star of the Week this season. Jonathan Huberdeau was given the First Star in the first week of December and received the Third Star during the first week of January. 

Mike McDaniel New Miami Dolphins Head Coach

     The Miami Dolphins have named Mike McDaniel as their new head coach. He replaces Brian Flores, who had a 24-25 record in three seasons with the Dolphins. 

     McDaniel was on the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff for the past five years. He was their run game coordinator from 2017 until 2020 and their offensive coordinator in 2021. MeDaniel was with the 49ers when they won the 2019 NFC Championship and reached Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

     He was also part of another NFC Championship team with the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 to 2016 as an offensive assistant. The Falcons blew a 25-point lead to the New England Patriots in Super Boal LI. 

Adrian Gonzalez Retires

     Former Florida Marlins prospect first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has retired. He was drafted first overall by the Marlins during the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. Gonzalez never played here in the majors because he was traded to the Texas Rangers on July 11, 2003 in a four-player deal for relief pitcher Ugeath Urbina. 

     Gonzalez played in the majors for 15 years and his final season was in 2018. He had stints with the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Gonzalez was a five-time All-Star and won four Gold Gloves. 

Heat Rush By Hornets

     The Miami Heat handled the Charlotte Hornets 104-86 at Spectrum Center on Saturday night. The Heat are in the middle of a six-game road trip. 

     Miami(34-20) led 31-20 at the end of the first quarter. Charlotte(28-26) came back with a 28-15 advantage during the second quarter and were up 53-46 at halftime. The Heat went on a 35-8 run in the third quarter and had a dominant 81- 61 lead heading into the final quarter. 

     Jimmy Butler chalked up a game-high 27 points with six rebounds for Miami. Bam Adebayo put together a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Tyler Herro was able to contribute 19 points. Terry Rozier dropped in a team-high 16 points for the Hornets.