Tonight Ricky Nolasco takes the mound for the Marlins in a duel with the Mets second best pitcher this season, John Maine.  The Marlins dropped their opener to the Mets 7-1 when ace Josh Johnson got hit early, giving up a two run home run to David Wright in the first inning.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the sports season, and Miami has a lot to be excited about this spring.

The Miami Heat are playing their best basketball right now as they enter the stretch run, and it looks like they will face the Boston Celtics or Atlanta Hawks in the first round.  The Heat are young, but the way they are playing as of late has people excited the team could make a run at the Eastern Conference title.  To win that, they will have to certainly face old foe and teammate Shaquille O’Neal, who helped the Heat to their first NBA title just a few seasons ago.  It will be interesting to see how the playoffs pan out for Miami.

The Marlins host the Los Angeles Dodgers in their home opener this Friday in what sure is to be an exciting weekend of baseball.

Tiger Woods makes his return to golf as he enters Augusta National for the first time as a “non-favorite” at the Masters.

Nascar continues with a race this weekend after having last weekend off.

NHL playoffs are shaping up, and although the Panthers will not be there, it’s still an exciting time of year for any puckheads around the globe.

The NFL draft is next week, and the Dolphins look to fill some holes and patch up a team that had a “down year” last year by many people’s standards.  With Donovan McNabb moving to the Redskins, the NFL has shown that “anything can happen.”

Other Miami notes….

Reported by the Miami Herald…..a shooting in Miami Gardens strip club “Mint” left one person dead.

Dez Bryant continues to be on the Dolphins radar as the draft approaches.

Not sure why they call it Good Friday, it’s been a rather bad day for me so far. Hopefully that will change over the next few hours as I start slamming beers on this hot sunny day in the 305.  Here are a few notes before we take off for the weekend.

Dwayne Wade is involved in a custody battle for his two sons, and may not play for team USA this summer. I’d like to wish D-Wade and his family the best during these trying times.  It’s a commendable decision by Wade.  Basketball isn’t everything, and I am glad he is doing all he can do make sure his sons are always part of his life and close to him.  There are enough games during the NBA season as it is, I think there are too many events post-season as it is.  Let the guy take a break and please don’t give him any guff while he does what is a noble thing – taking care of family business.

Many people know I am a fan of electronic cigarettes. I read an email this morning talking about the new Npro by Enjoy.  I’ve had a lot of electronic cigs in my day, and always prefer the two-part component system.  Apparently this model is of two parts and the price has been slashed by about 35%.  Good stuff for all the vapor smokers out there.  (I continue to see these things remain popular on places like Lincoln Road.)

Tiger Woods comes back to the golf world next week – my money says he wins the Masters and defies all of the hoopla that is sure to surround him post-scandal.  Tiger, I’ll be cheering for you.

Tennis action continues in Miami today – Rafeal Nadal is a favorite versus Andy Roddick in what is sure to be a well-attended match.

The Miami Herald reported that the Estefan’s, Emilio and Gloria, are hosting President Barack Obama during his visit to Miami at their Miami Beach home.

The Marlins season opens next week up in New York verus the division rival Mets.  They come home the next weekend to face the Manny Ramirez-led Los Angeles Dodgers.  Ramirez lives in Broward in the off-season and can be seen around the Pembroke Pines and Weston area filling up his Cadillac Escalade. I once saw him last year jumping up and down as he was getting gas on a COLD miami day.  Gotta love Manny Ramirez!

That’s it folks, have a nice Easter weekend and be safe.  Go Marlins!

On the Miami Herald, there is a BIG article about how Miami-Dade taxpayers spent $217,000 on trips for the commissioner to travel the world and “drum up trade.”  These trips amounted in a big fat ZERO.  Ouch!

The Dolphins are receiving a lot of media attention for what is being called a coaches decision to sit all-star linebacker Joey Porter.

Jacory Harris is hurting – this is NOT GOOD NEWS for Hurricanes fans.  He is wearing a soft case on his throwing hand, although he is reportedly going to start at Duke on Saturday.

On a positive note, some people are saying that the worst of the economic problems are behind us.  This is also available to read on the Miami Herald’s Official Site.

Stay tuned for the latest Miami area information and news.  Brought to you by Miami Blog.

Lawrence Taylor was involved in a car accident.  He apparently left the scene.  Taylor was a Miami Beach resident who spends a lot of time at the Miami Beach Golf Club…..

Median home prices in the US are down once again…..

Donald Trump continues to make headlines in Miami with his Trump Network Marketing launch…..

Dolphins wideout Ted Ginn continues to drop passes….

Stay tuned for more updates on what is happening in the 305.

Terry Bender, shame on you…..everyone in Miami all the way up to the Palm Beach area knows that skin care is IN style in South Florida.  If you don’t want to read about eye gels and other sorts of anti aging products, I suggest you quit your job as an amateur blogger who does nothing more than tell the world about how many Patrons you put down the night before or what nasty skank you tried to bring home!

If you don’t start taking care of your alligator-esque skin soon, there will be no tramps left in the 305 that will even sit and listen to your bullshit.  Take a chill pill, Terry Bender!

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