A six pack of notes on a Friday:
### Former Dolphins fullback Rob Konrad, who swam to safety Wednesday night after falling off his fishing boat off the coast of Palm Beach, remained hospitalized late Friday but said he’s OK and still recovering from the ordeal, according to a Dolphins official in contact with him.
Konrad, 38, was not ready to comment publicly on Friday, but two friends said he was stranded for nearly 16 hours, not the nine hours originally reported by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Konrad, alone in his boat, departed Hillsboro Inlet in Deerfield Beach at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and fell overboard at 1 p.m. after hooking a fish and losing his footing. The 36-foot boat, which was on autopilot, drifted away from him and was found Friday morning near Grand Bahama Island.
A friend in contact with the family was told that he was bitten by a man-of-war during his swim to safety. He ended up reaching shore at 4:40 a.m. Thursday behind a mansion off South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, a significant distance from where he fell off the boat in waters off Deerfield.
Wearing only underwear, Konrad told the security guard on duty about his harrowing experience, and an ambulance was summoned to transport him to Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he has been receiving treatment for dehydration and hypothermia.
According to an associate, a family friend contacted authorities when Konrad did not show up for a scheduled dinner. His personal assistant also contacted the Coast Guard.
Konrad, who played for the Dolphins from 1999 to 2004, is CEO of Alterna Financial, a financial services company in South Florida.
The Dolphins official said Konrad conveyed his appreciation for “everyone’s concerns.”
### In case you missed Charles Barkley’s musings on the Heat Thursday night, he said: “They’re awful… They stink… They’re a bad team.”
He cracked that the Heat is gaining on the woeful Knicks, that they’ll probably win only one game on this road trip (Tuesday at the Lakers) and that Dwyane Wade went to the locker-room not to get his ankle retaped but because “he didn’t want to cry in public.”
### The UM administration confirmed at the Adidas announcement on Thursday that the school’s basketball coaches expressed concern over how the Nike-to-Adidas decision would affect recruiting.
But the coaches are making the best of this, and they’re looking on the bright side.
“One thing I’ve shared with our point guard recruits,” Jim Larranaga said, “is take a look at the NBA, who’s wearing Adidas, three of the best -- Damian Lillard, Derrick Rose and John Wall. They’re in Adidas. We’ve had Shane (Larkin), Angel (Rodriguez) and now Sheldon (McClellan), great guards. If Adidas is good enough for them, there’s no reason you can’t come to UM and have that same kind of success.”
The switch to Adidas was a sensible one for UM, because it will deliver tens of millions more dollars for UM than the Nike deal did.
### Familiar name update: Former Marlins and UM first baseman Gaby Sanchez signed to play in Japan. He hit .229 with seven homers and 33 RBI for the Pirates last season…. Former UM offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, fired from the same position by the Jacksonville Jaguars, reportedly will be Jim Harbaugh’s passing game coordinator at Michigan and coach receivers and quarterbacks.
### Jim Morris said the UM baseball team is ranked 14th in one preseason poll.
### UM and UF have talked about playing a football game in Orlando, Tampa or New York, and Orlando’s Citrus Bowl appears to be the most realistic option. Blake James said he’s working on renewing the rivalry but nothing is imminent.
Please see the last post for the weekly media column, if you missed it. Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
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