Heat Surge By Rockets

     The Miami Heat moved by the Houston Rockets 115-105 at Kaseya Center on Saturday. The Heat started a three-game homestand. 

     Miami(32-29) started off with a 32-28 lead by the end of the first quarter. Houston(37-22) then took the lead during in the second quarter and were ahead 52-51 at halftime. 

     The Heat scored the first six points to begin the third quarter and had a 10-1 spurt to lead 61-53. They had a 85-83 advantage at the end of the frame. Miami held the lead in the fourth quarter for the win. 

     The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Pelle Larsson added 20 points and Tyler Herro had 18 points. 

     Kevin Durant scored 32 points for the Rockets. Amen Thompson was able to contribute 20 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double while Reed Sheppard ended up with 14 points. 

Sandy Alcantara Marlins Opening Day Pitcher

     The Miami Marlins recently announced that Sandy Alcantara will be their starting pitcher on opening day to begin the 2026 regular season. The Marlins will host the Colorado Rockies on March 27. 

     Alcantara will be on the mound for the second straight year to start a season with Miami. The Fish opens the 2026 campaign with a six-game homestand. 

Sabres Hold Off Panthers

     The Florida Panthers were edged by the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday night. The Panthers finished up a two-game homestand following the Winter Olympics break. 

     The Sabres extended their road point streak to eight games. The Cats are winless in nine of their past 13 home contests. 

     Buffalo(34-19-6) moved out to a 1-0 lead on the power play with 2:12 left the opening frame. Alex Tuch snapped a shot from the high slot past Daniil Tarasov for his 23rd goal this season 

     Florida(30-26-3) evened it up 1-1 with 6:09 remaining in the second period with a power-play tally. Matthew Tkachuk scored in his second straight contest with his fifth goal of the year on a wrist shot from the left side of the crease. Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett were credited with assists on the sequence. 

     The Sabres reclaimed the lead 2-1 at the 11:38 mark of the third period. Beck Malenstyn blasted a long slap shot from the left point for his fifth goal of the campaign. Peyton Krebs would place an empty-net goal from the neutral zone for his ninth goal this season with 1:17 remaining in the third for a Buffalo 3-1 advantage. Tage Thompson increased his point streak to six games. 

     The Panthers cut it to 3-2 with 35 seconds to go in the third on an own goal by the Sabres when Rasmus Dahlin bounced the puck off goalie Alex Lyon in the blue paint. Bennett was the last Panthers player to touch the puck with a shot from the top left circle and was credited with his 20th goal in 2025-26. It was the fourth occasion of Bennett's NHL career that he reached the 20-goal mark in a season. 

Inter Miami CF Takes Independiate del Valle

     Inter Miami CF toppled Independiate del Valle 2-1 on Thursday night at Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel  in Puerto Rico. It was an international friendly between both teams that was rescheduled from February 13. 

     Inter Miami CF leaped out to a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute as Santiago Morales scored. Independiate del Valle tied it up 1-1 in the 17th minute on a tally by Pedro Mercado. The Herons regained the lead 2-1 when Lionel Messi scored in the 70th minute. 

West Palm Beach Ratings January 2026

     The ratings were issued for sports talk format radio stations in the West Palm Beach region. The time span went from the second week of January to the first week of February. 

     Fox Sports 640 South Florida WMEN-AM stayed at a 0.3 for the third consecutive month. The radio station added a one-hour afternoon show with Ken LaVicka and Josh Cohen in early January. It joins mid-afternoon host Andy Slater as their only weekday local shows. The Florida Atlantic University Owls men's basketball team had a 14-10 mark. 

     Sports Radio 1230 The Gambler WBZT-AM remained at a 0.0 for the second straight period. The University of Florida Gators men's basketball squad were in the middle of SEC play with a 16-6 record. 

Panthers Steamroll Maple Leafs

     The Florida Panthers dismantled the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday night. It was the Panthers first regular season game since three weeks ago on February 5 due to the Winter Olympics break. 

     The Panthers entered the contest in 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings and leaped by the Maple Leafs for 12th place following tonight's game. The Cats began consecutive days with home games in Sunrise for a short homestand. 

     10 players on the Florida roster did participate in the Winter Olympics men's hockey tournament. Panthers right wing Matthew Tkachuk captured a gold medal representing the United States. Florida centers Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand won silver medals for Canada. Panthers center Anton Lundell, left wing Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola got bronze medals with Finland. 

     A pregame ceremony was held honoring Team USA. People representing the gold medal team included Team USA assistant general manager/Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito along with Team USA equipment manager/Florida Panthers equipment manager Terry Richards. Team USA captain and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews along with Team USA alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk took the ceremonial faceoff. 

     Florida(30-25-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 3:18 mark of the first period. Lundell shot the puck from the right point and Marchand then steered a shot from the top of the crease past Joseph Woll for his 26th goal of the season. 

     The Panthers expanded their lead to 2-0 with the man advantage at 5:13. Lundell centered the puck fro the end wall. Evan Rodrigues backhand a pass across the low slot and Carter Verhaeghe scored his 17th goal of the campaign from the inner right circle. 

     It became 3-0 for the Cats with 3:20 remaining in the first on a shorthanded goal. Rodrigues intercepted a pass at the red line and went on a breakaway. He skated through the slot area and scored on a wrist shot from the crease area for his 11th tally of the year. 

     Toronto(27-22-9) closed it to 3-1 on the power play 47 seconds into the third period. Oliver Ekman-Larsson angled a pass from the top of the zone and Matthews centered it from the right wing.  John Tavares collected his 22nd goal this season on a backhand shot from the low slot by Sergei Bobrovsky. 

     The Maple Leafs pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 3:45 to go. Brad Marchand put in an empty-net goal from his own high slot area with 3:09 left in the third for his second tally of the game and 27th goal in 2025-26. The Leafs pulled their goalie again and Tkachuk would score into an empty net from the right point for his fourth goal this year. Bennett and Reinhart were credited with assists on that play. 

76ers March By Heat

     The Philadelphia 76ers raced by the Miami Heat 124-117 on Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Center. The Heat concluded a two-game road swing and will host the Houston Rockets on Saturday. 

     Philadelphia(33-26) had a narrow 36-35 lead by the conclusion of the first quarter. The Sixers extended their lead to 73-57 by halftime. 

     Miami(31-29) tried to climb back and they trailed 99-91 at the end of the third quarter. The Heat were unable to take the lead in the final quarter.

     Bam Adebayo had a double-double with a game-high 29 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 points and Andrew Wiggins drained in 18 points. 

     Tyrese Maxey helped the 76ers with a team-high 28 points. Joel Embiid contributed a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds while  Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 21 points.