Tuesday 2 p.m.:
Good to see Chris Bosh back on the court this week after his February health scare that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Bosh --- who missed the final 30 games of the season with blood clots on his lungs --- has resumed on-court work at AmericanAirlines Arena.
I’m excited,” he said in April. “I haven’t had a chance to work on my game. I’m going to actually get to work on my game. I feel like a young fellow again out there….
“I look at it as a blessing that I have the time to work on my body, work on the things I need to work on. I never have the time usually in the offseason. But this year I have the opportunity to build slowly and correct some things I need to correct and come back next year in the best shape of my life.
I’ve had time to do a lot of thinking,” he said. “As I got ill, the afterthought was maybe I need to miss basketball. I miss it. And I’ve still got 5 ½ more months. Maybe this is what I need. I need to recharge my passion because I was getting beat down a little bit over the last four years. That’s what success does....
“Now is an opportunity to go back in the lab and really work on my game. Build that fire up. It was burning low a little bit. I was running on fumes. I’m going to watch the playoffs and really get motivated.”
Bosh recently vacationed in Peru.
#############################################################################################
A six-pack of Heat, Dolphins and Marlins notes:
### Dwyane Wade has lined up a marquee gig this month while his agent, Henry Thomas, continues to talk to the Heat about resolving his contractual situation.
According to sources, Wade will be a studio analyst on ABC’s coverage of The NBA Finals for games two and three, and if necessary, games six and seven. An announcement is expected Tuesday.
Wade will join Sage Steele, Doug Collins and Jalen Rose on the pre-game and halftime shows, beginning with NBA Countdown at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
ABC has been trying to arrange a Wade interview of LeBron James. Now that would be some interesting television.
The former teammates remain close friends, and Wade was the one Heat person to publicly congratulate James for advancing to the Finals.
Meanwhile, Thomas said last week that he will continue to talk to the Heat about Wade's contract. Wade prefers to opt out a contract that would pay him $16.1 million next season and instead sign a new three-year deal, preferably with the Heat.
The Heat prefers he opt into the contract. Wade must inform the Heat of his opt-out decision by June 29. So the Heat can keep working to try to convince Wade to opt in, but his preference to opt out has been pretty strong to this point.
By the way, ABC is expected to go without a guest studio analyst for Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday.
### The Dolphins’ kicking situation is growing more worrisome, with Caleb Sturgis now out for all of the June offseason program with a quadriceps injury to his non-kicking leg (as Fox’s Alex Marvez reported).
Sturgis has been the troubling combination of injured/inefficient during his first two seasons, and rookie Andrew Franks --- the other kicker in camp --- has a strong leg, but he too, is erratic.
Franks made three of five field goals today (including one from 54) but missed from 44 and 49 yards. During his career at RPI in New York, he was just 37 for 56 on field goals.
It’s probably time for the Dolphins to consider bringing in a veteran kicker to compete with Franks in June and potentially Sturgis during camp.
So who’s available?
Shayne Graham, who was recently cut by the Saints after New Orleans signed former Redskins seventh-rounder Zack Hocker (who was cut by Miami to make room for Franks). Graham, 37, made 19 of 22 field goals for the Saints last season and his 85.5 career percentage on field goals is seventh-best in NFL history.
Jay Feeley, 39, the former Dolphin, was 30 for 36 on FGs for Arizona in 2013 and 3 for 4 in four games for the Bears last season. Like Graham, Feeley’s 82.6 percent career average also tops Sturgis’ 77.5 career mark.
There’s also Garrett Hartley, who has an 81.7 career average. He was 3 for 3 in two games for the Browns last season after hitting 22 of 30 for the Saints in 2013.
None of the options are ideal. Perhaps the Dolphins’ best hope remains Sturgis. But there are serious reasons for concern. See Adam Beasley’s story on the home page for more on the kicker situation and other special teams issues.
### Armando Salguero has a column on defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle on the home page, and here are a few other interesting things Coyle said today:
On Chris McCain, who continues to get a lot of first-team reps at ex-Dolphin Philip Wheeler’s old strongside linebacker spot: “Chris is a really good athlete. He’s got good coverage skills. He’s got length. He’s got good pass rush skills. He’s a good blitzer. Some of his skill set lends to the linebacker position. Some of it lends to being a pass rusher. Our charge right now is to make sure he’s getting enough work rushing the passer and at the linebacker position. He’s been getting a lot of base work at linebacker and a lot of rush work with our nickel package.”
On cornerback Tony Lippett, who had three impressive interceptions today: “He’s got excellent ball skills, great hands. He’s a very good athlete. But I would not just want to single Tony out because I think our young group overall has really stepped up and been playing well. Tony has done a nice job.”
Coyle said Jamar Taylor, who continues to get a lot of first-team reps at cornerback, has been impressive: “Jamar’s done an outstanding job. He’s come into it very confidently, coming through a good offseason. He’s got his shoulder back rehabbed and ready to go. I see a real spark in Jamar the way he’s practicing.”
### A few offensive OTA observations: Tight end Jordan Cameron made a couple of nifty catches over the middle, including one for a touchdown. “I really like the ways he’s fit into the offense so far,” Joe Philbin said…. Tim Semisch, the 6-8 rookie from Northern Illinois, also caught a TD pass across the middle and continues to impress….
Billy Turner and Dallas Thomas remained the first-team guards and neither embarrassed himself. Sam Brenner and Jamil Douglas got second-team snaps. “Jamil has picked up the system well and he’s competitive and Sam Brenner’s been with us for a couple of years, so we’re just kind of looking at different combinations,” Philbin said… Josh Freeman was better than a week ago and threw two TDs but still makes some cringe-worthy throws….
With a lot of the emphasis on red zone work, Ryan Tannehill didn’t throw a deep ball in 11 on 11s… Kenny Stills dropped a TD in the end zone… LaMichael James, who’s ahead of Mike Gillislee as the No. 4 back, also dropped a pass.
### A few defensive OTA observations: Looks like Anthony Johnson has the early edge, with Jordan Phillips, for the backup defensive tackle jobs… Olivier Vernon had two would-be sacks…. Terrence Fede also had one…
Though the throws could have been much better, Lippett made good reads on his three picks. This was an eye-opening day for the rookie. As Philbin said: “The fact of the matter is, he got his hands, he kept his hands on three footballs. That’s a good thing no matter how you look at it.”…
Kelvin Sheppard continues to get some first-team work at middle linebacker, flanked by Jelani Jenkins and Koa Misi.
### Jose Fernandez, who was awfully impressive in an instructional league appearance today (see Manny Navarro’s story for more), will start for Jupiter on Saturday and make at least one additional start in the minors. Fernandez could make as many as five minor-league starts, but the Marlins could opt to bring him to the majors sooner than that. He seems on course to return by late June or early July.
Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
Comments