Three quick things as Tuesday afternoon turns to evening (and check back tonight for a full buzz column):
• Toronto mayor John Tory, in a letter to CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus complaining about the Raptors being referred to as “other” in a poll asking people to predict the NBA champion, managed to get in two shots at the Heat:
“We're accustomed to being underestimated. Just a few days ago LeBron James said he was looking forward to playing the Heat — a team that is now golfing," Tory wrote ".... [And] Dwyane Wade thought he could take practice shots during our national anthem. Well we showed him how we feel about that."
• Broadcast note: Chris Spielman today joined Colin Cowherd, Robert Smith and Jason Whitlock as the latest broadcaster to move from ESPN to Fox. Spielman, a college football analyst for ESPN, will be an NFL analyst for Fox and contribute on college football games. Skip Bayless is expected to join Fox when he leaves ESPN this summer.
• For college football fans into long-term planning, ESPN unveiled its opening weekend lineup today:
|
Time (ET) |
Game |
Network |
|
|
Thu, Sept 1 |
8 p.m. |
South Carolina at Vanderbilt |
ESPN |
|
Sat, Sept 3 |
7:30 a.m. |
Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (Dublin, Ireland) |
ESPN2 |
|
Noon |
2016 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff: No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 18 Houston (NRG Stadium, Houston) |
ABC |
|
|
Noon |
Hawaii at No. 3 Michigan |
ESPN |
|
|
3:30 p.m. |
No. 6 LSU vs. Wisconsin (Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wis.) |
ABC |
|
|
5:30 p.m. |
2016 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game: No. 13 Georgia vs. No. 19 North Carolina (Georgia Dome, Atlanta) |
ESPN |
|
|
8 p.m. |
No. 12 USC vs. No. 1 Alabama (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas) |
ABC |
|
|
9 p.m. |
No. 2 Clemson at Auburn |
ESPN |
|
|
Sun, Sept 4 |
7:30 p.m. |
No. 9 Notre Dame at Texas |
ABC |
|
Mon, Sept 5 |
8 p.m. |
2016 Camping World Kickoff: No. 14 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 Florida State (Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.) |
ESPN |
SPOELSTRA'S THOUGHTS
Here's what Erik Spoelstra had to say in his postseason media briefing today:
• Spoelstra declined to address Chris Bosh's situation: "There's nothing new. Right now, we're going to get away and decompress. Obviously, it was very tough for the team. You really feel for CB because you know how much the game means to him. You really feel for him. It was a tough year emotionally for this team, starting with Coach [Keith] Smart, when he had to take his leave of absence for his cancer. I've never been through anything like that...
"At the same time, it was an extremely gratifying year. Everything we went through, we really developed some friendships and relationships through this almost eight months of a season. We were disappointed about the final result. We will always have bigger expectations here at the Heat.
"For me, I obviously get evaluated on the final result. That's what I will live with the next three or four months. I also see gratification when you observe your team growing and enjoying each other's success and company. We feel excited about the possibilities."
• On David Fizdale's Memphis interview today: "He's ready. I'm nervous. He's fine, he's prepared. We were hanging out all night last night preparing. I love Fiz. I want him to get his opportunity. All of us are rooting for him. Hopefully, it happens. If it doesn't, he's got a great gig here and he's got great impact on our success. This is the first time for me as a head coach that someone on my staff has interviewed somewhere else, and someone that's so dear to me."
• On Justise Winslow and the process of improving his perimeter shooting: "We will bring back Justise at the beginning of June. We love player developing. He's a very willing worker. He will embrace all of it. People will be focusing just on technique [of the jumper]. It's not just that. We will have several weeks of work with him. He is relentless. He will put in the time improving two, three, four facets of his game. He will come back as a new and improved player in those areas.
• He said Winslow and Josh Richardson will be around the team in Summer League but doubts they will play much beyond a handful of games. Both want to play.
He said with young players "you can't improve 10 things. You get very specific with two or three things. We have great confidence we can improve specific areas."
• On Hassan Whiteside: "Hassan is a great personality; haven't coached many guys like him before. Doesn't fit into your stereotypical box. He forced me to become a better coach in a lot of different ways, learning how to motivate and inspire him and communicate and connect with somebody who's a different personality.
"We spent a lot of time together. He was great, willing to work on things. He might do it in a different way than other guys I've coached, but I've embraced that. I like that.
"Hassan is a fun personality. He's different as he always says. I anticipate spending more time with Hassan as he gets healthy. We are fully open to player development all the way up until that date [July 1 start of free agency]."
• On Josh Richardson's plans to improve as a point guard: "That's one element of player development. He will be working on two or three other things as well all summer long."
• On Goran Dragic: "You want to leverage his strengths as much as possible. He really improved in a lot of areas. He had to run a team different from the teams he has been successful on. That helped him immensely during the playoffs. He learned how to execute in halfcourt basketball. When we were able to play a different pace and tempo after the All-Star break, he had an improved skill set to play multiple styles of basketball, which is absolutely a necessity in the playoffs. You can't just play one style.
"I've enjoyed seeing Goran's growth as a basketball player. Now he's learning how to impact winning on both sides of the floor. He's been a joy to coach."
• On Amar'e Stoudemire, who wasn't happy with his playing time: "I'm fine with that. He should be. I've never had a problem with players. We don't seek out players that like to sit on the bench. Those aren't the guys that help you win big games. I really enjoyed him this year. He's a funny personality in the locker-room, a guy who brings people together."
• Asked if he needs more three-point shooting in free agency: "Teams can win different ways. [Threes] tend to be the trendy thing right now... The most important things is finding the best fits around the players you currently have. Can players bring out the best in each other? That's the most important thing than specific styles of play."
• Spoelstra said he expects no surgery for any player.
• On Josh McRoberts: "I love the way Josh McRoberts plays the game. I love the way he thinks the game. I love his skill set. It's an unconventional skill set that for some average eye you don't necessarily see what he brings to the game. He brings winning plays. He makes players better with passing ability, his vision, his ball-handling his overall skill set for someone his size. He played his best at the end of the year.... You are starting to see why guys like playing with him so much. He makes the game easier for everybody."
• On developmental point guard Briante Weber: "I like him. Chet [Kammerer] and his staff really liked him out of the draft last year, but the knee injury precluded that. I started watching a lot of film of him during the summer to see why Chet liked him so much. I can see why. He's a Heat type guy. We have a great group of guys who will work their tail off this summer. He's one of them. He's wired that way [to work]."
Pat Riley will address the media on Wednesday.
Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
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