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Miami Dolphins NFL draft options: Quarterback
We open the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s annual nine-part series previewing the top players in the 2025 NFL draft (April 24-27 in Green Bay, Wis.) with the quarterbacks.
Overall, it’s not a strong quarterback class. Three quarterbacks are expected to be selected in the first round, including the No. 1 pick and possibly two of the top three picks.
The Dolphins have their No. 2 quarterback to serve behind starter Tua Tagovailoa, and it’s Zach Wilson, who was signed last month during free agency. But they’re the only two quarterbacks on the roster.
The Dolphins have 10 selections in the draft — one in the first round (No. 13), one in the second (No. 48), one in the third (No. 98), two in the fourth (Nos. 116 and 135), two in the fifth (Nos. 150 and 155), none in the sixth, and three in the seventh (Nos. 224, 231 and 253).
Here’s a look at the 2025 quarterback draft class:
Cam Ward, MiamiWard (6 foot 2, 219 pounds) is a clear No. 1 prospect and has Pro Bowl potential with his football IQ, creativity, elusiveness and lively arm. Ward (39 TDs, 7 INTs) does things few others can, but he could use more patience when it comes to making the routine play.
Shedeur Sanders, ColoradoSanders (6-2, 212) gets mixed opinions from evaluators. Sanders (37 TDs, 10 INTs), the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, completed 74 percent of his passes and showed a high football IQ. However, he doesn’t have a strong arm or great anticipation and probably takes too many sacks.
Jaxson Dart, MississippiDart (6-2, 223) makes the routine plays and, in general, doesn’t try to do too much. But Dart (29 TDs, 6 INTs) is inconsistent at things such as throwing in tight windows and making deep throws.
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Shough (6-5, 219) is a 25-year-old pocket passer with an injury history — collarbone, shoulder and broken leg at Texas Tech. Shough (23 TDs, 6 INTs) has good arm strength but he’s not NFL-level great at anything. He’s probably a career backup.
Kyle McCord, SyracuseMcCord (6-3, 218), the Ohio State transfer, had a strong season (34 TDs, 12 INTs) that showed off his pocket passing skills. But he doesn’t have great arm strength or any other skill that could elevate his game. Likely a career backup.
Best of the restAlabama’s Jalen Milroe (16 TDs, 11 INTs) is a playmaker but needs more polish overall. … Ohio State’s Will Howard (35 TDs, 10 INTs) has good arm strength and tangibles but not much “wow” factor. … Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (30 TDs, 6 INTs) is smaller in stature at 6-foot, 205 pounds but can sling it. … Texas’ Quinn Ewers (31 TDs, 12 INTs) is talented but doesn’t have any quality that sets him apart.
Class grade: C+There’s not a lot here after Ward. Sanders is probably a mid- or low-first round talent and Dart is questionable as a first-rounder due to consistency. But both get pushed up because it’s a quarterback-driven league.
Shough, McCord and Milroe could be good value picks.
Teams in needTennessee, which has the No. 1 pick, is expected to select a quarterback. The New York Giants, at No. 3, also are likely to draft a quarterback in the first round.
Cleveland, at No. 2, and New Orleans, at No. 9, could need future quarterbacks but it’s doubtful either would make that selection in this year’s first round.
Pittsburgh, which could sign veteran Aaron Rodgers for the 2025 season, has the No. 21 pick, and only has Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson on its roster.
Dolphins’ focusThe Dolphins need a No. 3 quarterback but their first-team needs are so great at other positions (cornerback, defensive tackle, safety, guard) that you’d think they won’t select a quarterback until after the fourth round or later.
Morning Update: South Florida’s top stories for Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Here are the top stories for Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Get the weather forecast for today here.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get our free Morning Update email. Sign up here.
Spirit and CEO Ted Christie part company, leaving committee in charge of airline
10 places to see South Florida’s coolest birds and other wildlife
Dolphins Deep Dive, Tuesday at noon: Perkins, Furones preview NFL draft and answer your questions
DeSantis attacks Broward’s newest Republican lawmaker, Hillary Cassel, as ‘very, very liberal’
Insurance commissioner says 12th new property insurer enters state thanks to reforms
As Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport touts progress, neighbors see a menace
Trump says the US will hold direct talks with Iran as he insists Tehran can’t get nuclear weapons
Ticket alert: Sting adds second concert at Hard Rock Live
Man sentenced in scheme that impersonated owners to sell South Florida properties
Miss Manners: I’m baffled by this frequent question about my hair
ASK IRA: Is Bulls’ Tuesday result in Cleveland critical to Heat play-in push?
Q: Ira, Chicago is now the biggest game of the season for the Heat. Beat the Bulls and the Heat might not have to leave Florida for the play-in. – Franklin.
A: To explain to those not as familiar with the play-in system, it is looking more and more as if the Heat will play the Bulls in the Nos. 9-10 play-in game, with the winner of that game advancing to the playoffs if they then beat the loser of the Nos. 7-8 play-in opener. If the Heat finish No. 9, that likely would mean hosting the Bulls in the Nos. 9-10 game, with a chance then of the short trip to Orlando for a chance at the playoffs. However, and this is a big however, if the Bulls win Tuesday in Cleveland, then for the Heat to vault the Bulls, they not only would have to win Wednesday night in Chicago, but also have to have Chicago lose one of their final two games. Those final two Bulls games are against Washington and Philadelphia. That is why the biggest game left this season for the Heat actually might be the Bulls’ Tuesday night game in Cleveland, which would at least open the door to make Wednesday’s Heat-Bulls a legitimate showdown for No. 9.
Related ArticlesQ: Play-in, play-in. Ira, if you are talking play-in for a third year in a row it’s an indication you should have blown this up. – Morgan.
A: Typically, I would agree. But this has been anything but a typical season, with Jimmy Butler taking a lack of professionalism to a degree that I doubt anyone could have anticipated (even knowing plenty about his past elsewhere). So I would basically give the Heat a mulligan this season. What you need to instead do is consider if Butler either was traded before the season or didn’t sabotage the locker room whether this team could have competed with the likes of Indiana or Detroit for direct playoff entry. The sense here is that it could have.
Q: Every year Erik Spoelstra plays numerous undrafted players from Sioux Falls. This year with all the turmoil and roster fluctuations still no minutes for Josh Christopher, Keshad Johnson or Isaiah Stevens. How do you know what you have in them if even in a losing season they can’t sniff the court? – Robert, Orlando.
A: You don’t (at least on an NBA level). But you also don’t allow development to get in the way of a playoff/play-in race. And it’s not as if the Heat haven’t been featuring youth, considering the minutes of Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson and, before his injury, Nikola Jovic. Heck, even Jaime Jaquez Jr. got early minutes Monday night. As it is, the Heat have seen plenty of Keshad, Josh and Isaiah this season in the G League, which has provided ample development for prospects over the years.
Criticize Trump constructively | Letters to the editor
Your paper’s editorial ranting about a “dictatorship,” a “constitutional crisis” and your calls for impeachment against our president is unhelpful to our democratic process.
The extreme left Democrats unbelievably fail to understand that a sea change took place in America in the 2024 election. Their egregious ideology was soundly rejected!
The voters rejected defunding police, open borders, antisemitism and lawlessness in public educational institutions, woke culture, boys invading girls’ space, etc.
The majority of Americans want to downsize the government and rid our nation of unelected “deep state” bureaucrats who interpret and enforce policy decisions that should be made by Congress.
Instead of ranting to your progressive base, you should encourage moderates in both parties in Congress to refine the president’s extreme processes (forgiving Jan. 6 criminals or misusing his power to prosecute perceived enemies).
Instead, support what we can agree on, such as protecting America from enemies abroad and at home, lifting the burden of debt on our children’s shoulders, and living within our means.
Democracy works when we all communicate in a civil manner.
Sean Dugan, Boynton Beach
In pursuit of the truthKudos to Lauri Spector of Deerfield Beach for her letter to the editor in the Sun Sentinel.
She accurately described how Hitler positioned himself as the voice of the common man to bring Germany to greatness. His climb to power is astoundingly similar to Trump’s plans for America.
When Hitler became chancellor in 1933, he appointed oligarchs as advisors. Sound familiar?
At the other end of the spectrum is Chuck Lehmann’s pathetic letter of March 17 where he implored other letter writers to stop comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler.
Lehmann disparages the Sun Sentinel for printing letters that describe Trump’s true self and his determination to destroy democracy, once and for all.
Why do such letters hit a sore spot for Mr. Lehmann? Perhaps it’s because it’s the truth.
Trump’s plans are clearly defined in Project 2025 — which he claimed he knew nothing about. But his cuts to government programs are putting our lives in harm’s way, militarily and medically.
I urge readers to support the Sun Sentinel and our free press, for only the truth can set us free.
Esther Feit, Delray Beach
Silencing knowledgeThe Trump administration’s war on literacy and erudition opens a sad chapter on the inverse and hostile relationship between knowledge and power.
He would want us to believe that power, far from fostering ignorance, is animated by the “will to know.”
Trump insists that power gives itself the means to anticipate behavior, and consequently to govern the masses more effectively. In this fairy tale, knowledge is how the state takes over our lives, presenting itself as the institution that knows us better than we know ourselves.
By promoting dissimulation and sanctifying mendacity, Trump’s tsarist regime works to silence knowledge. The only truths likely to survive are the lies that flatter a coterie of power-starved mediocrities bent on fleecing the ignorant. Caveat emptor.
W. E. Gutman, Lake Worth Beach
A cursive comebackHooray if our schools teach cursive writing again.
We grandparents are sick of printing letters to our grandkids. But there’s more to it than that.
All through college, and adult life, I’m able to scribble notes faster in cursive. And does anyone print a love letter?
Addressing some envelopes the other day, I realized that in two years I had better be printing only, as these kids who become mail carriers won’t be able to read the addresses.
Sandra Hill, Tamarac
Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.
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Today in History: April 8, tennis great Arthur Ashe announces AIDS diagnosis
Today is Tuesday, April 8, the 98th day of 2025. There are 267 days left in the year.
Today in history:On April 8,1992, tennis great Arthur Ashe announced at a New York news conference that he had AIDS, having contracted HIV from a blood transfusion in 1983.
Also on this date:In 1820, the Venus de Milo statue, likely dating to the 2nd century B.C.E., was discovered by a farmer on the Greek island of Milos.
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In 1864, the U.S. Senate passed, 38-6, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery. (The House of Representatives passed it in January 1865; the amendment was ratified and adopted in December 1865.)
In 1911, an explosion at the Banner Coal Mine in Littleton, Alabama, claimed the lives of 128 men, most of them convicts leased out from prisons.
In 1913, the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, providing for election of U.S. senators by state residents as opposed to state legislatures.
In 1962, Cuba announced that 1,200 Cuban exiles tried for their roles in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion were convicted of treason and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th career home run in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record that had stood since 1935.
In 1990, Ryan White, the teenager whose battle with AIDS drew national attention and led to greater understanding and de-stigmatization of those suffering from the disease, died in Indianapolis at age 18.
In 2010, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty in Prague.
In 2020, a 76-day lockdown was lifted in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global COVID-19 pandemic began.
Today’s Birthdays:- Journalist Seymour Hersh is 88.
- Songwriter-producer Leon Huff is 83.
- Rock musician Steve Howe (Yes) is 78.
- Sports broadcaster Jim Lampley is 76.
- Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, is 70.
- Author Barbara Kingsolver is 70.
- Actor John Schneider is 65.
- Guitarist Izzy Stradlin (Guns N’ Roses) is 63.
- Singer Julian Lennon is 62.
- Actor Dean Norris is 62.
- Actor Robin Wright is 59.
- Actor Patricia Arquette is 57.
- Actor Taylor Kitsch is 44.
- Boxer Gennady Golovkin is 43.
- NFL wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is 26.
- Actor Skai Jackson is 23.
Bianchi: Gators are National Chompions once again and Gator Nation is back!
SAN ANTONIO — Drink up, Gator Nation.
Gobble this up and gorge yourself on what you just experienced.
It’s been a long time, baby!
You deserve it.
For years, University of Florida faithful have been stranded on a deserted island of fandom, surviving on the bitter berries and hard-shelled nuts disguised as second-tier bowl games and early exits from the NCAA Tournament.
It had been nearly two decades since the Gators last played for — and won — a national title in either football or basketball.
Until now.
Until this manic Monday night when the Florida Gators — Coach Todd Golden’s amazing, hair-raising, reach-for-the-sky, never-say-die Florida Gators — somehow some way rallied once again to defeat the Houston Cougars 65-63 to win it all in the Alamodome.
Florida players celebrate with the national championship trophy after beating Houston Monday night. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)You heard me, the Gators are National Chompions once again!
“The Gator Boys are back!” exclaimed star player Walter Clayton Jr. as orange-and-blue confetti rained down from the rafters.
And Gator Nation — after all these years, all these tears and all these crying-in-their-beers — is back, too.
Gator fans didn’t just celebrate this title — they devoured it. They relished every rebound, every 3-pointer and every defensive stand in this magical March Madness run. Let’s face it, when you’ve been a castaway for years, eating bugs and collecting rainwater just to survive, that first bite of warm bread and cold beer back in civilization hits you differently.
When you’ve endured hunger and heartbreak, you don’t take a national championship feast for granted.
As someone wise once said: “Without adversity, how would we really know what joy feels like?”
“You can just tell how hungry our fans are and how much they’ve loved this ride,” UF forward Thomas Haugh said. “Honestly, I think they have enjoyed it even more than we have.”
Mike McGinnis, a former Gator from the 1960s and a longtime booster, said it best before the game even started: “No doubt about it, when you’ve suffered a little bit, the success tastes all that much sweeter.”
And oh, how sweet this one was.
Show Caption1 of 49Florida coach Todd Golden (middle) screams as he and players celebrate after winning the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game of Florida vs. Houston at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Monday, April 7, 2025. Florida won the game 65-63. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) ExpandGolden’s Gators, down by 12, pulled off one of the biggest second-half comebacks in championship-game history while Golden, at age 39, became the youngest head coach to win the title since Jim Valvano in 1983. Valvano, 37 at the time, also beat Houston and the famous Clyde Drexler-Hakeem Olajuwon “Phi Slama Jama” Cougars.
This Houston team came in as the top defensive unit in the country and wanted to turn this game into a barroom brawl. The Gators gladly obliged them and then proceeded to outslug and outmug the battle-hardened Cougars. Until Monday night, Houston had been 33-0 when holding opponents under 70 points.
And who would have ever thought the Gators could win when Clayton, the team’s star who accounted for 64 points in the previous two games, didn’t score his first point Monday night until the 14:57 mark of the second half and didn’t make his first field goal until there was 7:54 left in the game?
Didn’t matter.
Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. jumps into the arms of center Micah Handlogten after winning the national title Monday night. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)Will Richard kept the Gators within striking distance by hitting four 3-pointers in the first half and held down the fort until Clayton got going later in the game. And how ironic that it was Florida’s defense, not Houston’s, that came up big when it counted most?
Richard swiped at the ball and caused a Houston turnover on the Cougars’ next-to-last possession. And then Clayton forced Houston’s Emanuel Sharp to pick up his dribble and intentionally drop the ball to keep from being called for travelling before Alex Condon dove on the loose ball as the final horn sounded and the celebration began.
The buzz surging through Gainesville and beyond for weeks erupted into a full-on roar. Gator Nation wasn’t just back — they were on top again.
I’ve followed the Gators since I was a kid growing up in Gainesville and I’ve been covering them as a journalist in some form or fashion since I was a UF student in the 1980s.
I was there in Charlotte when Lon Kruger took UF to its first Final Four in 1994 — an incomprehensible feat at the time considering the unremarkable history of UF basketball.
I was there in New Orleans when Steve Spurrier’s Gators walloped Florida State 52-20 to win the school’s first national championship in football — the biggest moment in UF sports history considering the opponent and football-fanatical passion of the UF fan base.
I was there in Indianapolis and Atlanta when Billy Donovan’s Gators won back-to-back national championships in 2006-2007 — an unprecedented accomplishment that marked the first time in modern history that a traditional football school had transformed itself into an elite basketball powerhouse.
And I was there in Phoenix and Miami in 2006 and 2008 when Urban Meyer’s Gators won two national championships in three years, encapsulating a euphoric time when the beloved Tim Tebow was quarterbacking the team and an historic time when UF became the first school in modern times to simultaneously hold football and basketball national championships.
But as any long-suffering fan knows, dynasties rise and fall. After Donovan left for the NBA and Meyer’s tenure came to an end, Florida’s spotlight dimmed. The Gators still had their moments, of course, but they were just occasional flickers.
That’s why this championship run feels different. It wasn’t just about the possibility of cutting down nets; it’s been about the journey to get back, the revival, and the rediscovery of the true meaning of that famous UF cheer and chant we heard reverberating throughout the Alamodome late Monday night:
“It’s great to be a Florida Gator!”
For fans who lived through the golden age of Florida athletics, this run felt both nostalgic and new at the same time. For Gator Nation, the current journey to the championship game brought back all the old feelings — and then some.
“When you see how happy the fans have been during this run, you want to go out and play hard to make them proud,” Richard said. “We all want to play our best, not just for ourselves but for all the fans we’re representing. Just seeing how much joy this is bringing them, you realize you’re playing for something bigger than yourself.”
Fans fell in love with this team. not because it steamrolled its way to the title game with NBA lottery talent but because it earned every inch of it. These Gators played with heart, hustle and a brand of unity that reminded longtime fans of the Kruger-coached “Find A Way” Gators of 1994. They’re gritty. They’re gutty. They’re resilient. They’re relentless.
They beat two No. 1 seeds and the two-time defending national champions to get here. They rallied in the second half to beat UConn. They were down nine to SEC champion and No. 1 seed Auburn in the second half. They were down nine to Texas Tech in the Elite 8 with less than three minutes left. And they were down by 12 in the second half to Houston.
Wow.
Just wow.
And, unlike the Donovan national-title teams, Gator Nation didn’t necessarily expect wins this time around but cherished them more. They hung on every possession, celebrated every stop, savored every second. It was not so much about raising another banner; it’s about being back in the conversation, back in the national spotlight, back where they believe they belong.
Yes, the Gators won the national championship on Monday night, but they also won something even more valuable.
They won back the hearts and souls of their fans.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen
UF rallies again to edge Houston for Gators’ third national hoops title
SAN ANTONIO — Florida’s comeback kids did it one more time, this time on the biggest stage and at the biggest moment of all.
The Gators’ 65-63 victory against Houston on Monday night marked their fourth second-half comeback in six NCAA Tournament wins to deliver the program’s third national championship.
“It goes back to what we did all season,” veteran guard Alijah Martin said. “Every stretch down to the end that we have been through this year just prepared for us for this moment. We showed up. We never blinked.
“We’re national champs.”
At one point UF trailed by 12 points and did not take its first second-half lead until 46.5 seconds to go but did just enough to beat the Cougars and end their 18-game winning streak.
“Our guys knew that it wasn’t going to be easy,” UF coach Todd Golden said. “Didn’t panic when it got tough. We stayed the course. We didn’t point fingers, didn’t start to try to make hero plays, gambling defensively.
“We got rewarded because of that toughness that we displayed.”
Houston guard Emanuel Sharp (21) towers over Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (bottom) during the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game of Florida vs. Houston at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)In the process, Golden became the youngest winning coach since Jim Valvano in 1983. The 39-year-old Gators coach also surpassed UF’s Billy Donovan as the youngest to win a national title since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
“I’m super proud, obviously,” Golden said. “But I’m just a piece of this puzzle.”
Meanwhile, Houston’s bid for the first national title for the school and 69-year-old coach Kelvin Sampson ended when guard Emanuel Sharp could not get off a 3-point shot with Gators’ All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. in his face and lost control of the ball.
Florida’s Alex Condon fell on the ball as time expired, leading the Gators’ bench to clear as players and coaches spilled onto the court. The Cougars watched in disbelief, having failed to score a point during the final 2:05 while committing 4 turnovers.
“Two great teams. Two tough teams. We lost by two points,” Sampson said. “They made one more play than we did tonight.”
The Gators (36-4) were on the ropes much of the night.
Houston (35-5) outmuscled and overwhelmed Golden’s squad from the jump and tried to take All-American Walter Clayton Jr. out of the game with relentless double-teaming.
“I just didn’t feel like we had much control of the game,” Golden said. “Houston was controlling tempo. They were controlling with their physicality.”
Houston guard Emanuel Sharp (right) stops Florida guard Will Richard (5) during the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game of Florida vs. Houston at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)Clayton did not score his first point until hitting a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 42-34 with 14:57 remaining. He did not hit his first field goal until 7:54 remained.
But following a media timeout with 3:24 to go, the Lake Wales product hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 60-60, positioning the Gators for another fantastic finish. Coming off consecutive 30-point games, the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player finished with a tournament-low 11 points but had 7 assists and just 3 turnovers after two early ones.
“Even when they were guarding him so hard, I feel like he still made plays to help the team win,” fellow guard Will Richard said.
Richard kept the Gators afloat during a first-half struggle ending with UF trailing 31-28 and the 6-foot-4 senior guard with 14 of his team’s points.
“We have multiple guys on this team that can go,” Clayton said. “Tonight was one of those nights with Will.”
Richard, though, needed reinforcements. Down a dozen at 42-30 and failing to combat the Cougars’ tenacity, the Gators seemed to be in a tenuous position.
Florida guards Will Richard (5) and Alijah Martin (right) battle Houston forward J’Wan Roberts (middle) during the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game of Florida vs. Houston at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)But with Houston ahead 45-34, the Gators suddenly showed life and found their footing as they have time and again during the Big Dance.
“We have elite confidence in those situations,” 6-foot-10 sophomore Condon said.
A Denzel Aberdeen layup began an 8-0 run capped by a three-point play by Thomas Haugh after he blocked L.J. Cryer’s 3-point attempt and scored on a layup while getting fouled.
Cryer answered with another 3, but Houston missed its next 8 field-goal attempts as UF pieced together a 6-0 run capped by a three-point play by Clayton to tie the game at 48-48, the first of the four ties until the Gators pulled ahead for good when two free throws by Martin made it 64-63.
“Super special, super special,” Martin said. “Everybody on this roster, we’re all built for the moment.”
Show Caption1 of 49Florida coach Todd Golden (middle) screams as he and players celebrate after winning the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game of Florida vs. Houston at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Monday, April 7, 2025. Florida won the game 65-63. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) ExpandWhen the buzzer sounded, Golden had done something that Donovan, a newly minted Hall of Famer, did not during his transformative tenure in Gainesville. Golden led Florida to the Final Four faster than Donovan — who had guided UF to the 2000 title game in Year 4 — and won it all on his first try.
“It’s a heck of an accomplishment,” Golden said. “I’m super proud of everybody in my program, top to bottom. What separates us and has separated us all season long is our team talent, how our guys have played together and for each other all year.
“Because of that, we can call each other national champions for the rest of our lives.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
Juan Soto’s RBI double leads Mets over Marlins
NEW YORK — Juan Soto hit a go-ahead double in the third inning and Kodai Senga combined with a standout bullpen for New York’s second shutout in four days, a 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night that extended the Mets’ winning streak to five.
Signed to a record $765 million, 15-year contract in December, Soto drove a cutter to the opposite field in left-center off Valente Bellozo (0-1) to score Francisco Lindor, who singled to start the inning for the second of his three hits. Soto also singled for his first multihit game with the Mets. He has hits in nine of his first 10 games this season.
Tyrone Taylor added an RBI single in the eighth off George Soriano.
Danny Young (three outs), José Buttó (six outs) and Ryne Stanek (three straight outs for his first Mets save) combined for two-hit relief, a day after the bullpen pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings in a 2-1 win over Toronto. Mets relievers lead the major leagues with a 1.19 ERA.
New York has allowed three runs during the first four games of its homestand.
It was 42 degrees at first pitch, the coldest game-time temperature at Citi Field since 2018, and some players wore gaiters.
Senga (1-0) allowed five hits in five innings for his second win since his 2023 rookie season. He missed last year’s first half with a strained shoulder and won his only regular-season start when he beat Atlanta on July 26, leaving after 5 2/3 strong innings because of a calf injury that sidelined him until the postseason.
Bellozo, a 25-year-old right-hander brought up from the minors as Sandy Alcantara went on the paternity list, allowed one run and five hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Marlins catcher Nick Fortes, who had been bothered by a neck injury, went 0 for 2 in his first game since Wednesday.
Key momentMarlins LF Griffin Conine made a sprawling catch to rob Mark Vientos for the final out of the third, saving a run.
Key statLindor’s three hits gave him 1,500 in his big league career.
Up nextMets RHP Clay Holmes (0-1) and Marlins RHP Connor Gillispie start Tuesday in a game moved up three hours to 4:10 p.m. because of the weather forecast.
Winderman’s view: Yes they beat the 76ers, but the Heat now need to get real
MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Monday night’s 117-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
– So what to make of this?
– What, indeed.
– Until Andrew Wiggins is on the court with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo for an extended period, the possibilities will remain largely unknown.
– And at this point, the only way they can be on the court together for a long stretch would be in an extended playoff run.
– Which, at this stage, appears highly unlikely.
– This time no Wiggins or Adebayo.
– So maybe it comes together Wednesday night in Chicago.
– Maybe it gets Erik Spoelstra to play these final next three games of the regular season with purpose.
– Or perhaps health ahead of the play-in trumps all.
– Which it should.
– We shall see.
– Still, Wednesday night in Chicago should matter enough for Spoelstra to go all-in.
– It could be the only way for the Heat to get a home postseason game.
– The Heat basically put out Monday night what they thought was enough to get the job done.
Related Articles- ASK IRA: Is Bulls’ Tuesday result in Cleveland critical to Heat play-in push?
- Heat push past 76ers in absences of Adebayo, Wiggins 117-105 behind Ware double-double
- Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins out for Heat against 76ers
- Heat’s Burks doing what comes natural, being right player at right time
- ASK IRA: Is it now another six-game winning streak or bust for Heat?
– But even on a play-in level there has to be more.
– Against opponents that actually are trying to win.
– With Adebayo and Wiggins out, Heat opened with a lineup of Kel’el Ware, Haywood Highsmith, Pelle Larsson, Alec Burks and Herro.
– Davion Mitchell was first off the Heat bench.
– Followed together by Duncan Robinson and Kyle Anderson.
– And then for the first time in three games, Jaime Jaquez Jr.
– With no Terry Rozier in the primary rotation.
– Larsson again injected needed energy.
– Robinson showed signs of having moved past his back issue.
– Ware had numbers, but largely was uneven against the 76ers nondescript big men.
– Herro had the look of a player doing just what was needed.
– Anderson continues to stabilize in the absence of others.
– This time doing it with rebounds and blocked shots.
– Still, the NBA has to do something about this tanking.
– There simply are too many games at the close of the season where one of the team is trying to and needs to lose.
– There has to be a better way.
– Robinson’s second 3-point attempt was the 3,000th of his career.
– Anderson’s fourth defensive rebound was the 2,500th of his career.
Heat push past 76ers in absences of Adebayo, Wiggins 117-105 behind Ware double-double
MIAMI — While you were watching college basketball, the Miami Heat were playing a game Monday night that no one should have had to watch.
No Bam Adebayo or Andrew Wiggins for the Heat, no anyone and everyone for the Philadelphia 76ers, with Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey out of the mix amid yet another tankathon from the City of Brotherly Lottery.
Against that backdrop, in arguably the worst of basketball counterprogramming against the NCAA Final Four championship game, the Heat did enough to move forward with a 117-105 victory that made it seven wins in the past nine games for Erik Spoelstra’s team.
“We really had to work the game, and then it happened,” Spoelstra said.
Keeping alive hope of potentially further moving up in the play-in seedings, currently still at No. 10 in the East, the Heat got 21 points from Duncan Robinson, 20 from Tyler Herro and a 19-point, 17-rebound double-double from Kel’el Ware, with the rebound total a career high.
“We’ve been doing a better job of taking other team’s punches.” forward Kyle Anderson said of the Heat shaking off a few uneven moments Monday night.
Former University of Miami forward Lonnie Walker IV and Quentin Grimes and, essentially the last men standing for Philadelphia, contributed 29 points apiece respectively for the 76ers.
It was one of only two games on Monday night’s NBA schedule, a day the NBA typically defers to the higher stakes of the NCAA men’s championship game.
To Herro, the meaning was ample.
“You never know in the last couple of games where we could wind up in the play-in,” he said.
Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat led 29-28 after the first period and 61-53 at halftime.
Up 12 in the second period and then ahead 11 early in the third, the Heat saw the 76ers move ahead 71-71 midway through the third.
The teams then went into the fourth tied 83-83, with Herro and Ware opening the period on the bench for the Heat.
Ware returned with 8:20 to play in an 88-88 tie, with Herro returning with 5:48 remaining and the Heat up 99-91.
From there, the Heat pushed their lead back into double-digits, effectively ending it.
“We had our best defensive quarter,” Spoelstra said.
2: Stepping up: With Adebayo out, Ware already was up to six points and six rebounds by the end of the first quarter.
The double-double was the 14th of the season for Ware, tying him with Grant Long (1988-89) for the third-highest total by a Heat rookie. The record is 18 apiece by Rony Seikaly (1988-89) and Sherman Douglas (1989-90).
“He’s a glass eater, that’s for sure,” Spoelstra said. “He’s gaining confidence.”
Ware closed 8 of 16 from the field.
But it was the boards where he felt he could have done even more.
“I mean, I’m a rebounder. I pride myself on that,” he said.
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3. Cautionary or planned?: Despite Wiggins indicating a return was imminent, he may well have been held out in deference to the potential significance of Wednesday night’s game in Chicago.
“He’s very close,” Spoelstra said pregame.
That could have been the case, as well, with Adebayo, with the tanking 76ers without any of their primary big men.
The reshuffled rotation left the Heat with a starting lineup of Herro, Ware, Pelle Larsson, Alec Bucks and Haywood Highsmith.
In addition, Jaime Jaquez Jr. received his first minutes in three games, entering in the first quarter, also playing in the fourth.
4. Supporting cast: With the Heat light on leading men, and with Spoelstra seemingly conserving Herro, it again was another night of a solid support system.
Particularly efficient in that regard was Anderson, who deftly filled the box score while playing in his typically patient mode, closing with eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Davion Mitchell also did his part with his playmaking, closing with 12 points and nine assists.
As for Robinson, he closed 7 of 8 from the field, including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers.
“It’s always about his ignitability,” Spoelstra said of Robinson.
Of the collective effort of the supporting cast, Spoelstra said, “We’ve been playing that way for a while, quite a while.”
5. Three left: That Heat close out their regular season against three opponents with losing records.
First up is Wednesday night’s start of a two-game trip, against the Chicago Bulls (36-42) in a game that could determine play-in seeding.
“It’s going to feel like a playoff game and that’s fun,” Spoelstra said.
That trip concludes Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans (21-57), who have shut down players such as Zion Williamson, Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy.
Then comes the season finale Sunday against the visiting Washington Wizards (17-61), who are in a heated race with the Utah Jazz (16-63) for the NBA’s worst record (and top lottery seed).
Will your next doctor be a robot? The pros and cons of robotic surgery
Jami Greer was waiting for her 12-year-old daughter to come out of surgery when she received a confusing text: “The robot has docked.”
Mia Greer, a patient at UF Health, had already received laparoscopic surgery for a 12-pound ovarian cyst on Jan. 1. When the cyst returned, pediatric surgeon Steven Raymond recommended robotic surgery, which offers an increased visual field, to ensure that it didn’t come back.
“I describe robotic surgery to patients compared to laparoscopic surgery. In laparoscopic, I would be standing directly at the bedside using long, skinny instruments to do the operation, versus me sitting about five feet away on the robotic console and using my hands controlling the robotic at bedside,” Raymond said. Raymond is the director of pediatric surgery at UF Health and an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at the University of Florida who has performed over 100 robotic surgeries.
Jami Greer researched the meaning of the text and discovered that the medical team had placed the robot inside of her daughter’s body so the surgery could begin. Mia Greer was able to return home on March 7, the same day as the operation, and had minimal pain after her four incisions. She is back to riding horses and attending school, with no evidence of the cyst’s return.
Robotic surgery offers patients an advanced technology that reduces recovery time and the length spent in the hospital. However, the scope of the technology is limited, and some risks can be decreased during traditional surgery.
What is robotic surgery?“It’s a minimally invasive surgical technique using very small incisions,” said Avraham Belizon, physician surgeon at Baptist South Florida and robotic surgery training program director at Florida Atlantic University. Belizon was an early adapter of the technology in 2010 and has completed over 3,000 robotic surgeries. “And the technology that is utilized in laparoscopy is using a camera instead of a big incision to open up the abdomen. And that allows for you to utilize small instruments through small incisions to minimize the trauma of the surgery.”
Doctors control a robot that typically holds three surgical instruments and a camera with its four arms. A human assistant takes care of the patient at the bedside, performing tasks such as manipulating the uterus for a hysterectomy.
“There’s a console, you have hand controls, you’re looking into the console, it’s kind of like an Oculus headset in 3D and 4K,” said Scott Jordan, a gynecologic oncologist at Broward Health Medical Center. Jordan completes three to five robotic surgery cases per week. “Everyone else has a 2D image; the surgeon has the best view.”
Raymond describes the technology as similar to how hand movements scale when using a mouse for a computer.
“You can move your hand within space on the robotic console a certain distance, but that will translate to only moving it a couple millimeters inside the patient. So therefore it allows you to have more detailed movements, smaller movements,” Raymond said.
The field of robotic surgery has expanded and it is commonly used for general surgery, urology and gynecology. Doctors are always in control of the robot, and artificial intelligence is not used.
“You’re controlling robotic arms that have pretty rudimentary innards that are controlling the motion of the wrist, the twist of the instruments; you’re controlling all of that being used by a computer system instead of thinking about how to manipulate the instrument. There’s no AI, there’s no autopilot — it’s a tool,” Jordan said.
The prosRobotic surgery offers a visual field that is magnified 10 times stronger than the human eye. Jordan describes patients waking up from the surgery without realizing that it was over, since the tiny incisions cause less pain than other forms of surgery.
“The pros are quicker recovery, less chance of conversion to a traditional open traumatic operation and less blood loss. The fact is that the patient can return to their normal activity or their job a lot sooner because their recovery is quicker,” Belizon said.
According to Tom Nguyen, chief medical executive of Baptist Health Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute, even the best surgeons have a micro-tremor in their wrist. Surgeon’s wrists are also limited by the degrees of articulation in human joints.
“The robot can eliminate pretty much any tremor that anyone has. You can do an incredibly precise operation with sutures thinner than your hair follicle. With a human hand, you can only rotate it so many degrees. But with the robot, you have almost an infinite number of degrees or articulation,” Nguyen said.
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Many surgical complications stem from an incision, according to Jordan. Obese and diabetic patients have a lessened risk of complications when the incision size is decreased through robotic surgery.
“We’ve got the typical endometrial cancer patient, somebody that’s overweight, has multiple comorbidities and would’ve needed an open hysterectomy, maybe stayed in the hospital for four days to a week and would’ve had significant risk for wound complications. My patients leave the same day or the next morning,” Jordan said.
Intuitive’s da Vinci surgical robot, which has a monopoly on FDA-approved robotic heart surgeries, according to Nguyen, is currently rolling out its fifth-generation model. Artificial intelligence is used in Intuitive training modules to provide feedback to surgeons.
“By using AI, it can better assess and give you a score of how good of a robotic heart surgeon you are. Again, it’s not operating on humans, but whether it be moving pegs around and suturing little holes, it can also potentially build scenarios that are appropriate for who you are,” Nguyen said. “So if you are a mediocre surgeon, then it’ll give you a very tailored course on what kind of modules it goes through versus someone who’s a lot more experienced.”
The consRobotic surgery is limited by its nickel-sized incisions. It is unable to assist with tasks such as a cesarean section, where something large needs to be removed intact, or with suturing inside of the chest. When operating on multiple parts of the heart, a tiny robotic incision does not provide the full access that surgeons need.
“If I have to go in and either make one of the incisions bigger to get the specimen out or make an entirely new incision altogether, I could have just done the surgery through that bigger incision,” Jordan said.
Currently, there is no formal training program to ensure that a doctor is adept at robotic surgery. According to Nguyen, Intuitive abandoned its specific training program due to a slow adoption rate from doctors who had to take the time to learn a new skillset. Patients rely on the judgment of the hospital that their surgeon is capable of operating the robot.
“The company Intuitive da Vinci has training modules that you can do, and I think there’s completion certificates for having done those modules, but not something that’s formally regulated by any kind of board of surgery to ensure your surgeon is able to do robotic surgery,” Raymond said.
Patients sign a consent form for their operation and agree to the use of a robot. They have a right to refuse any operation and can discuss concerns with their surgeon. However, they do not have to sign a consent form acknowledging that their doctor might be a novice at robotic surgery.
“Sometimes we do stuff for the first time. And I think as physicians, we have a responsibility to be very objective. And if it is the first time, then have a disclosure of primacy,” Nguyen said.
According to Makoto Hashimoto, cardiac surgeon at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute and professor and director of robotic cardiac surgery at Florida International University, da Vinci robots cost hospitals between $1.5 million and $2 million. Disposable robotic instruments are also more expensive than disposable laparoscopic instruments.
“There are studies that show that it is actually cost effective, because even though the operation time, operational cost is more expensive, the patients go home faster and spend less time in the ICU and the hospital, so you save money there,” Nguyen said.
Some insurance companies are hesitant about funding new technology. Hashimoto, who performs 10 robotic heart surgeries a month, recently postponed a case because the patient’s insurance did not cover robotic surgery.
Excessive scar tissue in patients can also cause surgical complications.
“And with some patients it’s a little bit harder if they had prior surgery. Depending on the type of operations, anatomic considerations can be an exclusion for the robot,” Nguyen said.
Mistakes can happenAfter 78-year-old Diane Colletti received her robotic-assisted hysterectomy surgery in Palm Beach County in 2022, she died from sepsis caused by an unnoticed perforation in her bowel. Her husband Gareth Colletti received $1.2 million in damages in February after a lawsuit against the doctor who performed her robotic surgery.
“You don’t get the same feel as if you were touching the colon or slicing through adhesions with your hands. You don’t actually feel the pressure, the tension, with the robotics,” said Samuel Yaffa, a co-lead trial counsel representing the estate of Diane Colletti. “You don’t, but (the doctor and her team) testified that with operator experience, you overcome that deficiency that exists in robotics.”
Diane Colletti’s hysterectomy surgery was a routine procedure that usually takes 30 to 45 minutes. The doctor encountered significant scar tissue from previous operations and perforated two areas of the bowel. While the doctor fixed one mistake, the other was overlooked, according to Yaffa.
“I wouldn’t say that the robotic procedure in and of itself is what caused this. I think that this lady had extensive scar tissue and adhesions (from previous operations) that made any type of laparoscopic procedure, robotic or otherwise, more difficult,” said Andrew Yaffa, a co-lead trial counsel representing the estate of Diane Colletti.
The future of robotic surgeryAccording to Hashimoto, robotic heart surgery has existed for 10 years and became a standard within the past five years. The practice has doubled in the past two years, and with each day that passes, different forms of robotic surgery continue to grow.
“The total robotic surgery including (general obstetrics), general surgery, lung surgery, was almost 3 million cases a year. Last year, 2024, robotic cardiac surgery was 13,000. So it was like 0.5 percent of all robotic surgery,” Hashimoto said. “It’s a real developing field. And almost half of the cases were done here in the United States.”
Artificial intelligence could play a role in assisting surgeons. In the future, technology could guide doctors while also expanding the access people have to healthcare.
“(AI could) learn what a traditional operation is, if you’re about to cut something that you’re not supposed to cut, then it’ll warn you. Or if you are following a sequence of events that isn’t kind of the typical sequence, it could let you know,” Nguyen said.
Telesurgery is the concept of robotic surgery without the doctor being in the same room. Surgeons who live in different states or even different countries could operate on people without the limitations of being in the same physical location.
“You can really have experienced robotic heart surgeons like Dr. Hashimoto and others be able to operate in parts of the world or the region that might not have the ability to have that experienced heart surgeon there, but they could have all the benefits of robotic heart surgery,” Nguyen said.
As the insurance crisis spiraled, did Florida bury consumer complaints?
TALLAHASSEE — In an extraordinary criticism of one state agency by another, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation told legislators that a department led by then-Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis may have buried thousands of complaints Floridians made against property insurance companies.
Patronis’ office referred 5.2% of the property insurance complaints it received over a five-year period to regulators for possible violations of state law, indicating “potential underreporting,” Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation wrote in newly disclosed memos obtained by the Times/Herald.
That low referral rate made it harder for regulators to police the industry, the memos said. Consumers lodged more than 52,000 complaints against property insurers during the period.
The memos, given to legislative leaders, were produced as part of a tug-of-war between two agencies and a bid to consolidate insurance oversight under one roof. Florida is the only state that splits insurance regulation between two agencies.
The consolidation push began before this year’s legislative session and after Patronis announced he was leaving to run for Congress. He won a special election to the Panhandle seat Tuesday after serving seven years as CFO.
“This bifurcation has hindered the state’s ability to adequately protect consumers,” one of the memos says.
The memos questioned the training of Patronis’ employees, said that his office was missing complaints against pharmacy benefit managers and argued that consolidation would allow the state to better police insurers’ use of affiliate companies.
House and Senate leaders haven’t endorsed the idea of consolidating insurance oversight, and it’s not in legislation introduced this session. Spokespeople for House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said they were open to the idea, however.
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On one side is the Office of Insurance Regulation. It handles insurers’ rate filings, polices their conduct and determines when companies are insolvent. It’s led by the state’s insurance commissioner, Mike Yaworsky, who is appointed by the governor and Cabinet.
On the other side is the Department of Financial Services. It oversees consumer insurance complaints, regulates insurance agents and takes over insolvent insurers. It’s usually led by the elected chief financial officer, but that position is now vacant.
The split dates to 2003, and it has rankled insurance commissioners ever since.
Yaworsky for one is open to reform. He said he wanted “a vigorous defense of consumers when they’re approaching their state with an insurance problem.”
“I’m hoping that if there is discussion around this, whatever the outcome is, it leads to a really robust framework around ensuring that consumers are protected,” Yaworsky told the Times/Herald.
Yaworsky spelled out in the memos the downsides of splitting regulation, saying his office can see what insurers are doing but often doesn’t hear about consumer complaints.
“It has hindered the state’s ability to evaluate and regulate the entire insurance market,” the memos state.
Yaworsky has stepped up enforcement of the industry since DeSantis nominated him for the job in 2023. He’s ordered insurers to stop gaming their rate increase requests to avoid public hearings, stopped them from hiring executives of failed companies and asked lawmakers for more enforcement powers.
Yaworsky’s memos questioned the quality of the complaints his office was being sent by the Department of Financial Services.
The department is supposed to send complaints where companies might have violated state law. But of the complaints Yaworsky’s office received, nearly half didn’t name any violations, the memos said.
Such a low rate was a “likely indicator” that staff in Patronis’ office is “not adequately trained to identify violations,” the memos state.
The “issue is made even more stark,” the memos state, when looking at complaints pharmacists have made about pharmacy benefit managers, health care middlemen that have been blamed for skyrocketing drug prices.
In 2024, pharmacists made 142 complaints to Patronis’ department about pharmacy benefit managers. The department closed 34 and referred 11 to the Office of Insurance Regulation. It’s not clear what happened with the rest. Meanwhile, the memos asserted, the department wasn’t capturing complaints made by patients because the department wasn’t coding them properly.
Consolidating regulation would also give the Office of Insurance Regulation more oversight of insurers’ affiliate companies, the office wrote. A 2022 analysis produced by the office and revealed by the Times/Herald last month found that insurance companies claimed to lose money between 2017 and 2019 while their affiliates made billions.
The Department of Financial Services did not respond to questions by the Times/Herald about the memos before publication. After this story published online, the office sent a lengthy response to the office’s memo to legislative leaders, a spokesperson said.
In the response, the department said the idea of moving oversight to the Office of Insurance Regulation makes “little sense” because it would “undermine Florida’s longstanding regulatory framework.” It also said the office had no justification and did not have accurate data.
And it said that the fact that it referred 5.2% of complaints to the Office of Insurance Regulation isn’t a sign of inefficiency, but rather shows that the department “is highly effective at addressing the vast majority of consumer complaints it receives, without requiring OIR intervention.”
One reason why so few complaints are being forwarded to the Office of Insurance Regulation could be because Patronis’ department doesn’t investigate complaints if the homeowner has also sued their insurer. That fact isn’t mentioned in the office’s memos or addressed in the department’s response.
Patronis historically took a light touch to the insurance industry.
He did not come out in favor of Yaworsky fining an insurance company $1 million for Hurricane Ian violations last year. Patronis also pushed to seal records that would shed light about why insurance companies go out of business.
His office was supposed to investigate claims by insurance adjusters who said the companies they worked for manipulated their estimates to lowball homeowners. But Patronis’ office never brought charges against the companies and never released the records about his office’s investigations.
Two Republican state senators vying to replace Patronis said they saw the memos but had different conclusions.
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, called the lack of information-sharing “very concerning.”
“By withholding some of that information, we’re not doing what we are probably supposed to be doing,” he said. “It’s a disservice to the people who are making those complaints.”
Ingoglia said he didn’t know enough to say whether insurance regulation should be consolidated.
Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, said he spoke to Patronis about the idea, who “thought it was a mistake, really, on numerous fronts.”
He said splitting regulation resulted in a “checks and balances” of oversight.
He said the Office of Insurance Regulation was making a “power move” by trying to assume control. He said the office already had access to the state’s complaint data. (Yaworsky said the data is “problematic” and makes it “difficult” for his office to find violations of law.)
If anything, insurance regulation should be solely under the elected chief financial officer so “that person can be held accountable,” Gruters said.
©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
ASK IRA: Is it now another six-game winning streak or bust for Heat?
Q: Ira, I think a truer reflection of the Heat is the version that won six games in a row. It takes teams time to gel. Andrew Wiggins being out was and is huge for this team. That’s the reason why we’ve lost the last two games. Wiggins plays in those two and we are talking about eights wins in a row here. This team is dangerous. What say you? – Scott, Miami.
A: I say that if they are what you think they are, then they should be able to get through the play-in round. Provided Andrew Wiggins makes it back, a team of the pedigree you cite should be able to take care of Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans and Washington to close the regular season and then win a pair of play-in games. The reality is that they are closer to Chicago, Orlando and Atlanta than you surmise, meaning it will require the Heat to be at the top of their game to make the playoffs, something closer to that six-game winning streak. Will the real Heat step up? It depends on what the real Heat are.
Related ArticlesQ: I would have liked to have seen Bam Adebayo demand the ball at the end of the regulation minutes and mores in overtime against the Bucks. I don’t think any fan has a problem with your best player on the floor shooting the ball when the offense gets stagnant, plus he was getting to his spots when he did shoot. – Douglas.
A: Agree. As it was, Bam Adebayo scored the Heat’s only four points in the overtime against Milwaukee. The problem was the Heat only got three other shots because of three turnovers and a Bucks offensive rebound. But even in the fourth quarter, Bam took only five of the Heat’s 22 shots.
Q: Let’s see if they can replicate these collapses in the play-in so we can keep the pick. It’s not worth losing a pick only to be ripped apart on the national stage in the first round. Being a hardcore fan is one thing, but being delusional is another. Pragmatism is better than fake hope. – Danny.
A: Or you can create hope. Win six in a row going into a series against Cleveland and that momentum could be more than fake hope. And if you lose along the way, well, you probably wind up keeping a lottery pick, anyway.
As Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport touts progress, neighbors see a menace
Leaders of the city-owned Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport invited residents to a meeting last week to tout the economic development strides and future plans of one of South Florida’s busiest centers of aviation commerce.
All told, Rufus James, the airport director, and Carlton Harrison, the assistant director, had a good story to share — for those in the fields of aviation, economic development, commercial real estate and lodging and hospitality.
“We’re very proud of the growth the airport has seen throughout the years,” Harrison told the audience while providing a general overview of the airport. “We rank No. 7 in overall economic impact as it relates to airports in the state. This is behind some of the major commercial service airports.”
But the majority of the 40 to 50 people who gathered at the airport’s administrative headquarters in the city’s northwest section last Monday were less interested in what the airport has delivered financially. They focused squarely on the impact of a proposed 1,000-foot extension of the airport’s main runway, which is a key part of its master plan covering the years 2017 through 2037.
Classified by federal authorities as a “relief” airport for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to the south, Fort Laudercale Executive occupies 1,000 acres south of Cypress Creek Road, north of Commercial Boulevard and east of Northwest 31st Avenue. Deeded to the city from the federal government after World War II, it serves mainly general aviation aircraft, business jets and charter operations to the Bahamas.
Surging economic impact“We are an integral part of the city,” Harrison noted in his presentation. He said the airport campus includes a 200-acre industrial park, and 2 million square feet of office and warehouse space. The airport is the landlord to 150 aviation tenants, and serves as the base for 600 aircraft for at least six months a year across 450 hangars.
The airport is also home to “one of the busiest Customs clearance facilities in country,” and maintains a 24-hour control tower and round-the-clock police and fire protection.
Fort Lauderdale Executive also is the home to four fixed-base operations, which offer visiting aviators everything from fuel and repairs for their planes to overnight facilities for flight crews.
According to a 2023 economic impact study of the state’s 130 airports by the Florida Department of Transportation, the most recent assessment undertaken, Fort Lauderdale Executive checked in at $3.9 billion, well above the $839 million calculated in 2014.
Fixed-base operators and jet charter companies are among the tenants at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, which generates an annual economic impact that rivals several of the state’s international airports, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)A number of projects are either under way or on the drawing boards to maintain the airport and continue its development, Harrison told the audience, and “it all starts with the master plan.”
Fort Lauderdale Executive’s master plan was devised by an Illinois-based consulting firm nearly a decade ago and was reviewed by the airport’s Aviation Advisory Board and City Commission. It was based on FAA forecasts of future traffic, and includes projects ranging from taxiway improvements to runway surface rehabilitation to the modernization of buildings and facilities.
The idea for the proposed 1,000-foot extension of Runway 9/27, which currently extends 6,002 feet from east to west, came about prior to initiating the 2018 master plan, James said through a city spokesperson after the meeting. It was requested by aircraft operators who were based at the airport as well as by “itinerant” operators housed at the facility.
The Airport Advisory Board ultimately approved the Revised Master Plan along with the runway extension idea in 2018. The plan was presented to the city commission after the FAA reviewed it.
James acknowledged the intent of the runway extension is not to draw additional large aircraft to the airport, but to allow extended range aircraft to use the airport with full fuel loads for longer-distance flights. The longer range planes currently cannot fly out of FXE with full fuel loads due to local climate conditions.
Thus far, the money spent on the runway project amounts to $250,000 in consultant fees associated with the environmental assessment. If the proposal is approved, the cost is likely to come in at $11 million, and “will be funded through federal grant and/or airport funds,” according to James.
In 2018, a staff member of the consulting firm Ricondo Associates briefed the advisory board on the origins of the runway extension proposal, among other elements of the master plan.
“The extension is requested in response to the needs of business jet operators, which may need to take weight penalties or refuel to reach their destination, particularly during the summer months,” according to an archived recap of the briefing.
The consultant said the extension would take approximately a year to design before work could begin.
Of noise, pollution and property valuesHarrison highlighted a noise-abatement program that includes seven monitors around the airfield that records decibel levels. The program also offers a pathway for neighboring residents to register complaints with management about noisy aircraft.
The airport’s Aviation Advisory Board — whose members are largely from the private sector — receives monthly reports from James on a “noise compatibility program” that registers noise levels and complaints from the public.
The most recent report — dated March 27 — covers January and February of this year, according to an email from James to the board reviewed by the Sun Sentinel
For January, the airport recorded 1,242 jet departures, with 586 departing from Runway 9. One monitor “detected one aircraft that exceeded the 80-decibel (dB) threshold, a Cessna Citation, which did not generate noise complaints.” A total of 19 “noise submissions” were generated by the public in January, the report said.
In February, the airport recorded 1,196 jet departures, with 987 leaving from Runway 9. The same monitor “detected a Gulfstream G3 exceeding the 80-decibel (dB) threshold, which resulted in three noise inquiries,” the report said. Overall, the airport received 26 complaints for the month.
“Staff will continue to address residents’ concerns and analyze aircraft operations to ensure safe and efficient operations at FXE,” the James email said.
But at the March 31 meeting, audience members gave little quarter to the airport leadership’s arguments that they’re promoting noise-abatement measures and are closely monitoring environmental quality.
After the meeting, Eileen Mulkey, a homeowner in Coral Ridge Isles to the east of the airport, showed a South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter video of large business jets flying over her backyard pool as they descended into the airport.
She said her home is not far from the the site of what was described in news reports as “one of South Florida’s most spectacular aviation accidents:” the 2005 crash landing of a disabled DC-3 cargo plane on Northeast 56th Street. Miraculously, no one died.
“I was in my office working when I heard a horrendous sound and the house vibrated,” Mulkey recalled. “The pilot did a phenomenal job landing.”
Twenty years later, Mulkey said she has turned her concerns to increased emissions and noise, as well as the potential for diminished property values and quality of life.
“You’re out enjoying the South Florida lifestyle and you have these planes flying over,” said Mulkey, a real estate broker and property appraiser. The proposed extended runway, she asserted, “is going to cause more traffic at that airport.”
She said she estimates about 5,000 residents in her neighborhood are overflown by inbound and outbound planes from the airport.
Airport officials said the traffic growth would be nominal, and that quieter general aviation and business aircraft, not large passenger jets, would continue to be the predominant visitors to the airport.
But at the meeting, Jim Cline, a resident from Imperial Point, displayed a heavily soiled rag he said he used to wipe three days’ worth of soot from a poolside table. The brown substance, he argued, was from particulates that landed from passing aircraft.
James contested that assertion, noting that studies have shown the source of pollution to be from elsewhere.
Another man — a local university professor — challenged testing results for lead levels in the area of Fort Lauderdale Executive, arguing the data collection was insufficient to support the conclusion that levels were not harmful.
James responded that a consultant’s collection of soil and air samples taken last November from among several residential complexes at Palm Aire and in public spaces near the airport did not show lead levels that exceeded state standards.
“The soil screening and soil analytical data collected in the neighborhoods and public properties in proximity to FXE indicated that soil lead concentrations do not exceed regulatory levels established by FDEP,” according to a report provided after the meeting by a city spokesperson to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Additionally, the air samples collected did not indicate the presence of lead in air. A comparison of lead concentrations from the neighborhoods and the State background indicates that mean and median concentrations are not excessively elevated and are well below the State Residential SCTL [Soil Cleanup Target Level].”
“As a result of this study, GHD does not recommend additional soil or air sampling at this time,” said the consulting firm, GHD Services Inc.
The report added that “the distribution of lead in a built [not natural or undisturbed state] environment could be due to many factors including past use of lead additives in vehicular [i.e., automobile] fuels, paints, waste incineration, lead solder in pipes and other manufacturing processes.”
“The report shows no correlation between the lead concentration results and FXE operations,” the consulting firm said.
Still, James’ citing of the report’s findings did not allay the concerns of audience members.
One meeting participant called for a halt to all growth at the airport. He urged James to stop the runway project.
Others called out elected officials who were not in attendance to explain where they stand on the runway extension. One of those officials included City Commissioner John Herbst, whose district includes the airport.
An aide in Herbst”s office said Thursday he could not comment. “Commissioner is not able to speak on this,” principal commission assistant Melissa Whiddon said by email.
What’s aheadIn a response to post-meeting questions submitted to James, city spokesperson Christine Portala said the March 31 meeting was called to provide the public with a “broader overview” of the airport. An earlier meeting conducted last October, she said, “was the first community meeting in relation to the FAA Environmental Assessment report being conducted regarding the runway extension.”
“The FAA is looking for a ‘finding of no significant impact’ before [the airport] can move forward with the project,” she said in an emailed statement
The assessment is expected to be completed by the middle of summer or the beginning of the fall, she said, echoing a timetable offered by James last week.
Then, another community meeting will be conducted to present the findings to the public. The outcome will also be presented to the city commission.
Assuming there is no “significant impact,” the process would move into a design phase, and the airport would seek funding from the FAA so that construction can start.
“It’s a 2027/2028 estimate before any construction would begin,” she said.
In the meantime, some residents are not interested in waiting.
Mulkey said she’s considering a campaign to raise objections to the runway among local South Florida representatives in Congress.
“It takes a village … because not everybody is seeing it through the same lens,” she said.
See which South Florida neighborhoods are most at risk from sea-level rise
Some of South Florida’s most coveted neighborhoods also are some of the most vulnerable to sea-level rise, according to nonprofit ClimateCentral.org. And now you can find exactly where they are.
The nonprofit, a group of scientists and communicators that uses science, data and technology to create visuals depicting how climate affects people’s lives, recently released a new interactive map called the “Coastal Risk Finder.” It lets you zoom into your neighborhood or home and adjust the map to reveal what water levels will be like in 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, and so on.
It also lets you adjust for different greenhouse pollution scenarios, such as “Unchecked pollution,” “Current commitments” and “Sweeping cuts now,” to see the resulting climate change and ensuing sea level rise.
Additionally, you can dial in what the water inundation would be in your neighborhood for a 10-year or 100-year flood.
The map uses an “intermediate” prediction of sea level rise for different decades. Under these conditions, with current commitments, there would be about a foot of sea-level rise by 2050 in South Florida.
The analysis used to create the interactive map comes from 234 climate experts from 64 countries, as well as a 2022 U.S. climate report that synthesized data and expertise from eight governmental agencies.
It’s no surprise that properties along the Intracoastal Waterway and the creeks and canals that feed it are the most at risk, but certain areas show broader swaths of inundation.
Here’s a look at what ClimateCentral.org’s map shows happening in South Florida in 2050 if the world were to continue to follow current pollution commitment scenarios.
Palm Beach CountyIn Palm Beach County, the most vulnerable spots by the year 2050 would include communities just south of Jupiter inlet, including the Jupiter Ridge Natural Area, and communities east and south of the Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club.
This map shows northern Palm Beach County that are especially vulnerable to sea-level rise by the year 2050 if current pollution control scenarios continue. (Courtesy Climate Central)John D. MacArthur Beach State Park adjacent to North Palm Beach would lose a significant amount of land, and vast amounts of docks and piers along the Intracoastal Waterway between West Palm Beach and Deerfield Beech could be underwater.
Broward CountyIn Broward County, the most vulnerable spots by the year 2050 would include any waterfront property on the Intracoastal Waterway, many of which could lose docks, and have water cresting seawalls on a daily basis.
The sea would penetrate farther inland in areas such as Cypress Isle Estates in Pompano Beach and west from there along the Cypress Creek, until it nears I-95 south of Pompano Beach.
This map shows areas in and around Wilton Manors and the Middle River, sections of which are especially vulnerable to sea level rise by the year 2050 if current pollution control scenarios continue. (Courtesy Climate Central)Wilton Manors waterfront properties could face similar circumstances. In that area, the sea-level rise would reach west of I-95 into Royal Palm Island in Lauderdale Lakes. Swaths of nearby John D. Easterlin Park and Mills Pond Park, both west of Wilton Manors, would be submerged.
Sea-level rise would reach far inland, west of Florida’s Turnpike, along the South Fork of the New River and along the New River Canal close to Davie.
Much of the land northwest of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where I-95 and 595 intersect, could be underwater. This includes Secret Woods Nature Center and some of the marinas along the South Fork of the New River.
This map shows areas of southern Broward County that are especially vulnerable to sea level rise by the year 2050 if current pollution control scenarios continue. (Courtesy Climate Central)Adjacent neighborhoods in that area, as well as those west of the Turnpike and south of Plantation, could have sea water lapping into backyards on normal high tides. King tide will add to the volume.
Farther south, West Lake Park both north and south of Dania Beach Boulevard would be underwater, as would docks in Hollywood.
Miami-Dade County and the EvergladesThe waterfront neighborhoods of Miami-Dade County would experience much the same inundation as the other counties.
Keystone Island, the Bal Harbour area and North Bay Village all are vulnerable.
The tennis center on Key Biscayne will be waterfront, and across Biscayne Bay, parts of Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Matheson Hammock Park and the Deering Estate would all succumb to the sea.
This map show sea level rise inundation in the year 2050 under current pollution scenarios for South Florida. (Courtesy Climate Central)The most profound invasion would occur in Everglades National Park, which stands to lose close to half of its landmass. The Tamiami Trail’s western third would be submerged as well.
Climate Central’s intermediate projected sea-level rise for Broward and Palm Beach counties in the year 2100 is around 3 feet, and slightly higher, at 3.7 feet for Miami-Dade County.
The most aggressive prediction from U.S. climate and science agencies calls for more than 6 feet of sea-level rise in South Florida by 2100, though it does not specify where that might occur.
This map shows the sea level inundation in South Florida for NOAA’s most aggressive forecast for the year 2100 — 6.5 feet. (Courtesy Climate Central)Inundation will be more severe under “unchecked pollution” scenarios, or if you add in flooding, such as a 10-year or 100-year flood. A 100-year flood does not mean one that would occur every 100 years, but rather, a flood that has a 1% chance of happening in any given year.
ClimateCentral.org’s interactive map does not calculate storm surge.
This NOAA graph shows the predicted height in feet of sea level rise by the year 2100 under various models. The intermediate model indicates a rise of just over 3 feet from the year 2000, while the most aggressive model shows a rise of more than 6 feet. (Courtesy NOAA)Though some climate change occurs naturally over millions of years, the current rate of change is a problem.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website said that “human activity is putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than natural processes take it out. Rising carbon dioxide levels are strengthening Earth’s greenhouse effect and causing global warming.”
The NOAA tide gauge at Virginia Key shows that the region has gained 8 inches of sea level since 1994.
The wet western suburbsLiving in the western suburbs of South Florida does not mean freedom from sea-level rise. As oceans enlarge, they overcome can South Florida’s canal system, which relies on gravity to drain water to the ocean. When sea levels reach the same height as the canals, as they did during a storm that coincided with king tides in November 2023, that’s impossible. The western areas flood.
The South Florida Water Management District is working with the Army Corps of Engineer and county officials on an expensive plan to put in 20 new pumps and raise spillway gates. That would help prevent flooding in western areas, but would not keep sea-level rise out of coastal areas.
There are several other initiatives across South Florida to address sea-level rise. Broward and Miami-Dade counties have programs to convert septic systems, which fail and leach into waterways as seas rise, onto municipal sewer systems. It’s a slow a costly process. Coastal building codes also incorporate flooding into their plans.
Sea-level rise does not happen uniformly across the globe. The U.S. Interagency 2022 Report predicts that by 2050, the east coast and Gulf coast will have much higher sea-level rise than the west coast or Alaska. Their findings are listed below:
— East coast: 10-14 inches.
— West coast: 4-8 inches.
— Gulf coast: 14-18 inches.
— Caribbean: 8-10 inches.
— Hawaiian Islands: 6-8 inches.
— Northern Alaska: 8-10 inches.
South Florida Sun Sentinel staff writer Bill Kearney covers the environment, the outdoors and tropical weather. He can be reached at bkearney@sunsentinel.com. Follow him on Instagram @billkearney or on X @billkearney6.
Chris Perkins’ mock draft: Will Dolphins ‘invest’ in OL, or go defense in first round?
The initial 2025 mock draft by the South Florida Sun Sentinel features Miami Dolphins columnist Chris Perkins making picks as he sees the first round playing out, not how he’d make each pick if he was that team’s general manager. Trades weren’t factored into this initial mock draft.
The three-day NFL draft is April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wis.
1. Tennessee: Cam Ward, QB, Miami
Titans need a QB, and Ward, who had a magical season at UM, is the best QB in the draft.
Top Needs: QB, Edge rusher, WR
2. Cleveland: Abdul Carter, Edge rusher, Penn State
Carter, perhaps the best player in the draft, and Myles Garrett would make a fearsome pair of bookend pass rushers.
Top Needs: QB, OL, RB
3. New York Giants: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Sanders isn’t the third-best player in the draft, but he’s the second-best quarterback in a so-so QB class.
Top Needs: QB, OL, CB
4. New England: Travis Hunter, CB-WR, Colorado
Hunter, who would aid quarterback Drake Maye as a receiver, could be the league’s best two-way player in a long time.
Top Needs: OT, DL, WR
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5. Jacksonville: Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
This pick would help defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, the former Dolphins outside linebackers coach.
Top Needs: DL, S, CB
6. Las Vegas: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Jeanty, a powerful runner, will be a difference-maker as a rookie. He’d help quarterback Geno Smith greatly.
Top Needs: RB, CB, WR
7. New York Jets: Armand Membou, G-T, Missouri
Membou, perhaps the best OL in the draft, goes to a team that’s struggled at offensive line for years.
Top Needs: OT, TE, WR
8. Carolina: Jalon Walker, Edge, Georgia
Panthers continue to build the trenches under second-year general manager Dan Morgan, the former Taravella High and UM standout.
Top Needs: Edge, DT, WR
9. New Orleans: Will Campbell, OT, LSU
Pre-draft focus has been on Campbell’s short arms. Some say he’ll be a guard in the NFL. Whatever. He’s allowed two sacks in two years.
Top Needs: OT, WR, CB
10. Chicago: Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
Banks would yet another form of protection for quarterback Caleb Williams. Bears have re-made their offensive line this offseason.
Top Needs: OT, RB, Edge
11. San Francisco: Shemar Stewart, DL, Texas A&M
Questions abound due to just 4.5 sacks in three seasons. But everyone agrees he’s a first-round talent.
Top Needs: Edge, OT, DT
12. Dallas: Omarion Hanpton, RB, North Carolina
This would be a bit of a surprise. Ideally, Dallas wants Jeanty. Or perhaps a receiver. But they go with running back here.
Top Needs: RB, CB, WR
Michigan defensive back Will Johnson celebrates sacking Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Sept. 14, 2024. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo)13. Miami: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Johnson, who would pair with cornerback Jalen Ramsey, is a dream come true to some. Others want the Dolphins to address their offensive line here after general manager Chris Grier said the team would have to invest in the unit when the offseason started.
Top Needs: CB, DT, G
14. Indianapolis: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Warren is a do-it-all talent who would aid quarterback Anthony Richardson and running bacl Jonathan Taylor in a big way.
Top Needs: TE, LB, OL
15. Atlanta: Mike Green, Edge, Marshall
Green joins a pass rush that had just 31 sacks last season, second-fewest in the league.
Top Needs: Edge, CB, DT
16. Arizona: James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee
Ideally, Pearce would team with edge rusher Josh Sweat, a Super Bowl hero for Philadelphia, to give the Cardinals some punch.
Top Needs: Edge, WR, DT
17. Cincinnati: Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia
Williams is a baller and would be a timely fit because it appears Pro Bowl defensive tackle Trey Hendrickson, who is in a contract dispute, might not be back.
Top Needs: Edge, S, LB
18. Seattle: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
McMillan, who is 6 foot 4, would fill out options for quarterback Sam Darnold alongside receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp.
Top Needs: WR, CB, OL
19. Tampa Bay: Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
Campbell can play inside or outside linebacker. Shoulder surgery is a concern but he’s a unique athletic talent who can play the pass and run.
Top Needs: LB, Edge, CB
20. Denver: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
Golden would provide something for quarterback Bo Nix and the defense-heavy Broncos.
Top Needs: WR, CB, RB
21. Pittsburgh: Jaxson Dart, QB, Mississippi
This would be a small surprise. But consider that even if the Steelers land/rent veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, they only have Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson behind him.
Top Needs: QB, DT, RB
22. Los Angeles Chargers: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
It would too easy to reunite Loveland with coach Jim Harbaugh, his college coach at Michigan. Too easy?
Top Needs: TE, DL, WR
23. Green Bay: Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
Barron could step in for cornerback Jaire Alexander, who has injury and contract concerns.
Top Needs: CB, Edge, WR
Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (24) tips a pass against Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, with Williams eventually catching the ball after tipping it to himself at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 28, 2024 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Jason Getz/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)24. Minnesota: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Starks is a versatile playmaker who can line up in multiple places, which would please defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Top Needs: S, OL, CB
25. Houston: Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
Simmons would replace left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who was traded to Washington, and protect quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Top Needs: OL, WR, CB
26. Los Angeles Rams: Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
Hairston would fill a top need as the best cornerback available, so it’s a natural match. However, inside linebacker is also a top need.
Top Needs: CB, LB, OL
27. Baltimore: Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge, Boston College
Ezeiruaka had 16.5 sacks last season, and he would provide a transition from outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (12.5 sacks in 2024 at 34 years old).
Top Needs: Edge, S, OL
28. Detroit: Walter Nolen, DL, Mississippi
Nolen would join a defense that was wrecked by injuries last season. He should provide a good interior pass rush but he’s inconsistent.
Top Needs: DL, Edge, G
29. Washington: Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
Harmon, a physical sort, should provide pass rush from the inside, a valuable skill in the NFL.
Top Needs: DT, Edge, RB
30. Buffalo: Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
Emmanwori, who brings versatility at 220 pounds, was a late-riser in this process, aided greatly by a blockbuster NFL scouting combine performance.
Top Needs: CB, WR, DT
31. Kansas City: Grey Zabel, G-C, North Dakota State
Zabel has versatility, skill and toughness. And after watching the Super Bowl, the Chiefs need those skills to be on top again.
Top Needs: OL, DL, TE
32. Philadelphia: Donovan Jackson, G-T, Ohio State
One of the best offensive lines in the league continues to invest in itself. This isn’t a need pick, it’s a philosophical pick.
Top Needs: LB, S, DT
More than 200 new apartments planned off Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach
Developers are planning to break ground later this year on a 237-unit apartment building in Deerfield Beach, bringing activity to a mostly vacant lot whose southern tip is home to a two-story office building on the northwest corner of Federal Highway and Northwest Second Street.
The new housing, at 201 N. Federal Highway, would rise near a prominent stretch of the city, just north of East Hillsboro Boulevard and Federal Highway, also known as U.S. 1.
The Axis project in Deerfield has been under consideration for years, passing through the application process in the city over the past five years, according to city records. Through the process, it also reportedly drew residents’ concerns about traffic. Its most recent hurdle was a routine approval recently before the Broward County Commission.
The plan, spearheaded by the Chicago-based Centrum Partners development group, calls for a five-story building with an internal parking garage accessible through Federal Highway, said Eric Power, director of planning and development services for the city.
The apartments will be fair-market rentals, but the developers have committed to contributing $138,500 to the city’s affordable housing trust fund as well as additional $100,000 contribution of the fire fund.
Developers also have promised to pay for the repaving of Federal Highway to create a dedicated left-turn lane for access to the building. They also will be responsible for some nearby landscaping, public art and the removal of some above-ground power lines, Power said.
A lot remains vacant along Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach on Thursday, April 3, 2025. A new plan calls for adding more than 200 residences off Federal Highway, a prominent stretch of northern Deerfield Beach. (Carline Jean / South Florida Sun Sentinel)Children whose families move into the development will be zoned to attend Deerfield Beach Elementary, Deerfield Beach Middle and Deerfield Beach High School. Plans anticipate the addition of just 14 additional school-age students.
A building on the southern end of the land, known as the Eller Building, was set to be demolished. Groundbreaking on the project is expected to take place in late 2025.
Calls to Centrum were not returned as of Friday afternoon.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
Miss Manners: I’m baffled by this frequent question about my hair
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am in my late 20s and have been going gray since preschool.
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My hair is now about 95% gray. I like it, and get many compliments about it, to which I always say thank you and answer any questions.
What confuses me is that at least once a month, a stranger asks me whether I know that I have gray hair. Not if it’s natural, or at what age I went gray, but “Do you know you have gray hair?”
This boggles my mind — yes, I am aware of my own hair color. I have mirrors. It’s also long enough that I can see it coming down my shoulders without a mirror.
What would be the proper way to respond?
GENTLE READER: “Really?” in a tone of extreme surprise, and with a hand up to your hair. Miss Manners would probably add, “Do you have a mirror I could borrow?”
But for those wanting less drama, perhaps “Thank you for letting me know.”
Or just “Thank you,” with the presumption that it must be meant as a compliment.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: From the files of “good manners run amok,” is it ever impolite to be friendly?
I work in a bustling environment where my sole 30-minute break is in a shared break room, where I like to read or just eat quietly and enjoy the peacefulness. One colleague comes in daily to use the microwave and always announces her entrance with a very loud and cheerful, “Hello, everybody!”
Two minutes later, having made no other conversation, she leaves with an equally boisterous, “Have a good afternoon, everybody!”
When she makes these announcements, most people choose to interrupt their conversations, their chewing or their quiet activities to respond in kind … twice. It feels rude not to.
I, however, ignore her well-meaning but general and, in my opinion, disruptive salutations and remain silent. It has become a daily annoyance to me, as I can’t shake the feeling that I am obligated to reply.
Is it impolite to ignore such untargeted greetings, or am I correct in thinking that she is, in fact, the one committing the error in etiquette?
GENTLE READER: Oh, please. Greeting colleagues is rude because it interferes with chewing?
Miss Manners is afraid that whatever time you spent working remotely has warped your idea of collegial behavior.
It is true that having to treat co-workers as dear friends was a farce that may now be recognized as such. You needn’t engage in conversations unrelated to work or socialize with them after hours.
But you do have to observe the decency of recognizing their presence. Even if it means sacrificing the reading time it takes you to say hello.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I are invited to our neighbor’s high school graduation next month.
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The neighbor’s last name starts with a C, and my husband suggested that we depart the ceremony after our neighbor (in alphabetic position) crosses the stage.
I find this rude, but I also understand these ceremonies are lengthy and this is a senior class of 450. What’s your opinion on this?
GENTLE READER: That you should leave either after Z or before A. By the latter solution, Miss Manners means declining the invitation, with warm congratulations to the neighbors.
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Today in History: April 7, Rwandan genocide begins
Today is Monday, April 7, the 97th day of 2025. There are 268 days left in the year.
Today in history:On April 7, 1994, a day after the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi died in a missile attack on their aircraft, the moderate Hutu prime minister of Rwanda, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, and her husband were killed by Rwandan soldiers; in the 100 days that followed, Hutu extremists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates.
Also on this date:In 1862, Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.
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In 1922, Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall signed a secret deal to lease U.S. Navy petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California to his friends, oilmen Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny, in exchange for cash gifts; Fall would eventually be sentenced to prison on bribery and conspiracy charges in what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower held a news conference in which he outlined the concept of the “domino theory” as he spoke of the importance of containing the spread of communism in Indochina, saying, “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly.”
In 1966, the U.S. Navy recovered a hydrogen bomb that the U.S. Air Force had lost in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain following a B-52 crash.
In 1984, the Census Bureau reported that Los Angeles had overtaken Chicago as the nation’s “second city” in terms of population.
In 2022, the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, securing her place as the court’s first Black female justice.
Today’s Birthdays:- Country musician Bobby Bare is 90.
- Former California Gov. Jerry Brown is 87.
- Film director Francis Ford Coppola is 86.
- Musician John Oates is 77.
- Singer-songwriter Janis Ian is 74.
- Actor Jackie Chan is 71.
- Football Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett is 71.
- Former boxer James “Buster” Douglas is 65.
- Actor Russell Crowe is 61.
- Actor-comedian Bill Bellamy is 60.
- Football Hall of Famer Ronde Barber is 50.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré is 46.
Messi scores but Inter Miami settle for tie with Toronto
FORT LAUDERDALE — Lionel Messi scored for the third time in four Major League Soccer matches this season, helping Inter Miami get a 1-1 tie with Toronto FC on Sunday night.
It was Messi’s 40th goal across all competitions since joining Inter Miami, extending his franchise record. The goal Sunday was a left-footed volley from the top of the 18-yard box about five minutes into first-half stoppage time.
The tie left Inter Miami (4-0-2) one point behind Columbus in the Eastern Conference, with one match in hand.
Messi’s goal tied the match, three minutes after Federico Bernardeschi opened the scoring for Toronto (0-4-3). Messi had what appeared to be a goal wiped out earlier in the first half after it was determined he committed a foul shortly before that score.
Toronto had the lead for only the second time all season — the first was a 19-minute stretch against Chicago last month. This time, Messi took it away quickly.
Messi has had at least one point in all four MLS matches in which he has appeared this season for Inter Miami, which is 8-1-2 overall this season when adding in four victories in CONCACAF Champions Cup matches. The loss was a 1-0 decision against LAFC in a Champions Cup match last week; the second leg of that matchup is Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale.
Toronto plays Saturday at home against Minnesota. Inter Miami resumes MLS play next Sunday at the Chicago Fire.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
