South Florida Local News

As a doctor in the Sunshine State, I’ve witnessed firsthand the struggles many Floridians face in affording life-saving medications.

The high cost of prescription drugs is a concern that resonates from the bustling streets of Miami to the quieter avenues of Sarasota. If consumer prices had increased at the same rate as drug prices over the last 15 years, gas would now cost $12.20 a gallon, and milk would be priced at $13 a gallon.

However, if the major drug companies get their way, this dire affordability crisis is poised to get worse.

Nicole Natale is a physician with years of experience in psychology and medical research. (courtesy, Nicole Natale)

The drug companies that continue to raise their prices to record highs are trying to convince Florida politicians to regulate pharmacy benefit managers — one of the only allies that Floridians have in drug pricing discussions. Listening to the drug companies by taking this action will only make things worse for many of my patients.

PBMs, intermediaries that insurers hire to negotiate with drug manufacturers, negotiate drug prices and manage drug benefit plans. The drug companies have fooled Gov. Ron DeSantis and others into believing that they pocket too much of the cost savings they secure from them, but this is not true. Of every dollar spent on prescriptions, 65% goes to the drug companies and only 6% goes to PBMs.

One cannot blame the drug companies for trying to point the blame elsewhere, but from my experience in health care, I’ve seen how PBMs can also be a lifeline for patients struggling with high medication costs.

PBMs have especially helped Florida’s seniors, with the Office of Management and Budget finding they saved Medicare Part D a full 20%, offsetting nearly $30 billion in costs.

Florida’s policymakers, including senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, have been vocal about addressing high drug prices. While their efforts are commendable, targeting PBMs with stringent regulations, as some proposed bills in Congress suggest, is not a solution to anything. Such moves could disrupt the delicate balance of drug pricing negotiations and potentially lead to even higher costs for patients.

One of the proposed bills, the PBM Transparency Act, would cause drug prices to soar. As a doctor, I’ve seen how PBMs use their bargaining power to keep medication costs down, especially for generic drugs, which are a lifeline for many.

In Pensacola, a local pharmacist shared with me how PBMs have helped small pharmacies like his negotiate better deals with drug manufacturers. This is crucial in a state where small businesses are the backbone of our communities. Disrupting this dynamic could have far-reaching consequences, not just for patients but for the entire health care ecosystem in Florida.

As Floridians, we need a solution that addresses the root cause of high drug prices — the pricing strategies of Big Pharma. Legislators should focus on measures that prevent drug manufacturers from artificially inflating prices or delaying the entry of cheaper generic drugs into the market.

While the intentions behind regulating PBMs might be to lower drug costs, we must tread carefully. The governor and members of Congress should focus on reforms that directly target the practices of pharmaceutical companies. Only then can we ensure that all Floridians have access to affordable health care without compromising the quality of care.

Nicole Natale, of Fort Lauderdale, is a physician with years of experience in psychology and medical research.

The search for a killer has new momentum nearly four decades after children playing in a wooded area in Palm Beach County found human remains inside a shallow grave. Detectives have now matched the long unidentified remains with a name — one recent answer to many old questions.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office over the years exhausted all traditional DNA testing methods without finding the name of the victim, whose death was ruled a homicide after his remains were found in 1985. After sending evidence to Othram  — a company that performs forensic genetic genealogy and DNA sequencing for law enforcement — in April 2022, the victim was identified as Terry Ketron.

Ketron, originally from Campbell County in Kentucky, traveled to South Florida some time in the early 1980s with a girlfriend, and the last time his relatives heard from him, he expressed they were having problems, the Sheriff’s Office and Othram said in recent news releases. Now that he has been identified, the Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to help identify the woman in the photo with Ketron, Barbera said.

The children found his remains in January 1985 in the wooded area south of Forest Hill Boulevard, west of Jog Road and east of Pinehurst Road, according to the victim’s profile on NamUS, a national database for missing and unidentified persons. His chest and shoulder had been damaged, and shotgun pellets were found under the remains, the database’s case details said.

There were no clothes or jewelry found in the grave, Teri Barbera, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said. The Medical Examiner’s Office and deputies recovered the remains and investigated the area. The unidentified man’s death was ruled a homicide, and the Medical Examiner’s Office estimated the remains had been along the canal bank for about five years before the children discovered them, Barbera said. It is not known whether Ketron was reported missing by relatives in Florida or Kentucky.

Detectives entered DNA information into CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System maintained by the FBI, once he was discovered, but they received no match to identify him, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

“CODIS doesn’t usually reveal an identity for unidentified human remains because in order to be in CODIS, you’re usually a criminal already swabbed,” Michael Vogen, director of account management at Othram, said. “Oftentimes, these unidentified remains are not criminals but victims, like in this case.”

By 2008, details of the nameless victim’s case were entered into NamUS, later followed by an artist’s sketch uploaded to the database in the 2010s and a facial reconstruction rendering in 2021, according to the database. But still no name came to light.

Othram received the victim’s skeletal remains in April 2022, Vogen said, and with funding from NamUS performed its “more advanced DNA testing,” called Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing, to create a DNA profile by extracting from the bone. A small fragment of a bone can be enough for the scientists to extract DNA, Vogen said.

The DNA profile ultimately led Othram’s team of genealogists to find a married couple related to Ketron, Vogen said, and “reverse engineered” further into his family line, giving detectives names of people to talk to who may have known him.

“The first report we had for law enforcement was very distant relatives for them to get family information from,” Vogen said. “Because we’re trying to get generations above folks that were finding … Through that information, we work our way forward in identifying.”

Terry Ketron has been identified as the victim in a cold case from 1985. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office detectives are trying to identify the woman shown in the top photo. (Courtesy/Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)

With the names they do find, genealogists can use obituaries and other public records to help fill in more of the family tree, he said.

“A lot of cases start out with not great matches,” Vogen said. “Sometimes we’ll start with a fifth or sixth cousin in the closest match and that’s sometimes all you need as a starting point. It may just take a bit more effort.”

Detectives know that Ketron came to South Florida from Kentucky with a woman named Connie or Bonnie some time in the early 1980s, when he would have been in his late 20s or early 30s. The woman’s last name is not known. In the last conversation he had with relatives on the phone, Ketron said he was having issues with his girlfriend and her family, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Othram recently worked with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in identifying cold case victim Douglas Streeter as the man whose remains were found in 1976 in a rural western part of the county off former Florida State Road 827. Similar to Ketron’s case, investigators ruled his death a homicide but had little other evidence, according to Othram’s news release on the case.

Earlier this month, the Sheriff’s Office announced they identified another cold case victim from 2003 as Donald H. Kirk, who fishermen found floating in the ocean about five miles east of the Boynton Beach Inlet. Othram also worked with them on the case earlier this year, conducting the same Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing as in Ketron’s case to build a complete DNA profile and give detectives leads of relatives, according to Othram’s news release in the case.

Authorities ask anyone with information to contact Det. John Cogburn at 561-688-4063 or at CogburnJ@pbso.org. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at ** TIPS, 1-800-458-TIPS or on the PBSO app for Apple or Android cellphones using the “See Something” feature.

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, so too does the Iowa Republican primary caucus, set for Jan. 15. Heading into the election, it would appear that no candidate is or will be within striking distance to unseat Donald Trump as the frontrunner.

The list of candidates trailing Trump includes his former supporter, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains a long shot for the nomination after at one time being pinned as the future of the GOP. Perhaps no other candidate’s reputation stands to lose more from a failed presidential bid than DeSantis.

So how did DeSantis go from being “DeFuture” to DeFailure, and why is the Florida taxpayer footing the bill for his political ambitions?

Addison J. Hosner is a Florida native and attorney currently living in Washington, D.C., who writes and works for Young Voices. (courtesy, Addison Hosner)

It doesn’t take a scientist to dissect what went wrong for DeSantis. His failure can be largely traced back to the start of his incessant focus on “woke politics” and his feud with Disney when the company spoke out against his signing of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Instead of proposing solutions to nationwide issues or providing blueprints for a DeSantis presidency, the governor made it a personal mission to punish Disney for exercising its free speech rights by replacing the longtime Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD).

For the uninitiated, the RCID was a special district created by the state in 1967 to support and administer certain aspects of the economic development within its boundaries, which now comprises the Disney World campus. Its replacement, the CFTOD, is largely a carbon copy, but with one glaring difference: It is composed of DeSantis cronies and sycophants.

Making matters worse, the salaries of the new administrators within the CFTOD have increased from their RCID counterparts — solely at the taxpayer expense — with the justification being that administrators must be compensated for having to manage the lawsuit with Disney. Given that the lawsuit is entirely due to DeSantis’ own actions, it’s a bad look for the governor.

This blatant transfer of taxpayer money to DeSantis’ allies is just the kind of corruption that his base so abhors in the opposition. The hypocrisy stinks to high heaven, and the smell has seeped into his presidential campaign.

The war against Disney quickly gained the governor massive media attention — with much of it negative, and no matter how hard he tries to distance himself from it, this controversy will forever mark his campaign and governorship.

By attacking Florida’s largest single-site employer and taxpayer for protected political speech, DeSantis invited litigation from Disney which rages on. Even when the case continued to escalate prior to DeSantis joining the 2024 presidential race, and even when members of his own party criticized his conduct, DeSantis threw caution to the wind and instead promised to double down on punishing Disney through government force, blatantly weaponizing political power to punish opposing views and free speech. This focus on Disney and on his presidential campaign has left him as an absentee governor, something even Trump has called him out on.

Not only is the Florida taxpayer footing the bill for the inflated salaries of DeSantis “yes-men” with the CFTOD, they are also paying the massive legal bills of the lawyers litigating the case with Disney on behalf of Florida. To no one’s surprise, these lawyers also have connections with DeSantis. It’s a jolly good time to be a DeSantis-connected lawyer. The CFTOD has currently budgeted $4.5 million for legal expenses for its battle with Disney, on top of the $2 million that has already been spent in the matter.

So, if the Florida taxpayer is paying more for the CFTOD than the RCID, it must be well-run and competent, right? Wrong.

Since the DeSantis takeover, more than 30 employees with a combined 350 years of experience have voluntarily quit. Those leaving have cited cronyism, incompetent leadership, toxic work environment and a litany of other unflattering reports. Half of the senior leadership team left on their own volition. Add to that the firings of other senior level employees who were hired by the former RCID and the picture becomes clear: Either get on board with DeSantis, or get out.

After getting the Legislature to change Florida law to allow him to run while retaining his position as governor, DeSantis’ continued failure on the campaign trail has impacted nobody more than his constituents. From taking over Florida universities that don’t suit his ideology to attacking the most economically impactful company in his state, everything DeSantis has done to further his national appeal has hurt one group of people — Floridians.

DeSantis should listen to his own party and go back to doing what he was elected to do: Govern the great state of Florida. No one elected him governor so he could use taxpayer dollars to punish the “woke mob” or put on political stunts, and no one wants to see him do it as president either.

Addison J. Hosner is a Florida native and attorney currently living in Washington, D.C., who writes and works for Young Voices.

By COLBY GUY (Associated Press)

SUNRISE — Eetu Luostarinen scored a pair of power-play goals as the Florida Panthers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Saturday night, extending their winning streak to four games.

Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for the Panthers, who outscored Montreal 3-0 in the third period. Anthony Stolarz finished with 18 saves for Florida.

Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, who dropped their second straight game in regulation after getting at least one point in each of their previous five games. Jake Allen stopped 22 shots for Montreal.

“We played some great teams and got some huge wins,” Luostarinen said after Florida wound up the 2023 calendar year with wins over Vegas, Tampa Bay, the New York Rangers and now Montreal. “It’s a good end of the year for us.”

Luostarinen opened the scoring by deflecting an Evan Rodrigues shot 4:05 into the second period. Caufield scored a power-play goal of his own 7:01 into the second, and then Luostarinen gave Florida the lead for good with 12:26 left.

“He is one of those guys who pushes himself every day in practice and in the games and he keeps driving,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Luostarinen. “Those guys can make plays late in games because their hands aren’t wobbly and they’re not fatigued. He has just been a great force.”

Bennett deflected an Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot with 4:34 left for a 3-1 lead, and Verhaeghe added an empty-netter.

The Canadiens play their sixth game in a run of seven straight on the road — three before Christmas, four following the break for the holiday — on Sunday night in Tampa Bay, a game that’ll mark the fourth time former Lightning great Martin St. Louis has been back there as Montreal’s coach.

Montreal is 1-2-0 in St. Louis’ three previous appearances in Tampa as coach of the Canadiens. The Canadiens are 0-6-0 against the Panthers since St. Louis took over, Florida winning all of those games by at least three goals.

“I thought we were working,” St. Louis said. “They are a hard team and we were 1-1 going into the third after what I thought was a really good first period. The second was good, but we still found a way to be 1-1. It’s hard to play 60 minutes of good hockey when you are playing good teams. They have to make you struggle at times. That’s just the game. But I like my team.”

It was Florida’s final game of 2023, the year in which the Panthers won more games than ever before. They won 61 times in 2023, a year highlighted by a run to the Stanley Cup Final and one that only added to the best run in the franchise’s history.

Over the last three calendar years, the Panthers have averaged 59.3 wins. In the franchise’s history, from 1993 through 2020, it averaged 31 wins per year.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Visit Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Panthers: Visit Arizona on Tuesday to start a four-game trip.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Basketball Writer)

FORT MYERS — Zach Anderson scored 21 points, Dallion Johnson added 18 and Florida Gulf Coast beat No. 7 Florida Atlantic 72-68 on Saturday night for the Eagles’ most significant win since their run to the Sweet 16 of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Cyris Largie scored 12 and Franco Miller Jr. finished with 10 for FGCU (6-9), which never trailed in the game’s final 34 minutes. The Eagles came into the game as 17-point underdogs and most recently needed overtime just to beat NAIA member Florida Memorial last week.

But none of that mattered on Saturday. Vladislav Goldin scored 21 points for FAU (10-3), and Johnell Davis added 17 for the Owls.

Florida Gulf Coast led by 13 in the first half, by as many as 11 in the second half and used a 7-0 run to go up 62-53 with 7:27 remaining. The Eagles took the lead with 14:13 left in the opening half on a 3-pointer by Anderson and didn’t trail again.

Goldin made a pair of free throws with 1:26 left to tie it at 68, only to have Johnson answer with a 3 on the next FGCU possession. The Owls had three chances to tie the game on the next trip down the floor — all 3-point tries, all bouncing off the rim, and it didn’t take long for police and security to start figuring out how to block students from storming the court.

It didn’t matter. The students got out there anyway.

FGCU improved to 2-13 all-time against ranked teams since fully joining Division I. The other win was against then-No. 8 Georgetown in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament when the Eagles made the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed.

The Eagles used three little bursts — 8-0, 6-0 and 7-0 — in the first half to control things, the last of those spurts putting them up 39-26 late in the half before settling for a 39-30 edge at intermission.

Florida Atlantic simply couldn’t shoot in the early going, and paid the price. The Owls were 1 for 7 from the foul line in one first-half stretch and finished the half 1 for 7 on 3-pointers. The nine-point deficit at the break was the biggest one the Owls faced in their last 29 games going back to last season; the last one larger was a 13-point hole they were in at UAB on Feb. 2.

BIG PICTURE

Florida Atlantic: The Owls outrebounded FGCU 42-30, but went 4 for 20 from 3-point range and were just 16 for 27 from the foul line.

Florida Gulf Coast: The Eagles played host to Top 25 teams twice previously. Butler — then coached by Brad Stevens — was ranked No. 16 when it came into Alico Arena and won 78-66 in 2007, when FGCU was still transitioning to Division I. And the Eagles lost to then-No. 25 Southern California 78-61 in 2021 in the return of Trojans coach Andy Enfield, who led FGCU’s “Dunk City” team to the Sweet 16 in 2013.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

FAU likely will remain ranked. If it appears in the poll that comes out Monday, that’ll be its 10th consecutive time among the AP Top 25 — a streak that will be no worse than the 12th-longest active run in the country.

UP NEXT

Florida Atlantic: Host East Carolina on Tuesday, the program’s American Athletic Conference debut.

Florida Gulf Coast: Host Jacksonville on Thursday to open Atlantic Sun play.

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Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s 117-109 loss to the Utah Jazz:

– And here we go again.

– Jimmy Butler back.

– And then Jimmy Butler back out.

– Saturday’s return cameo after missing four games due to a calf strain.

– Then into the locker room and done for the night in the third period with a foot injury.

– So much for only the eighth time this season  the Heat have had Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Butler available for the same game.

– As the heavy lifting has to continue for Herro and Adebayo.

– And, yes, the Heat have found a win to preserve through injuries.

– But at some point you have to have continuity.

– Preferably for an extended period ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trading deadline.

– So another Butler injury watch.

– And on it goes for this roster loaded with 30-somethings.

– As it was, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra opened with a unique lineup twist, giving Nikola Jovic his second start of the season.

– It was the 10th start of the 2022 first-round pick out of Serbia.

– It added up to the Heat’s league-leading 18th lineup in their 32 games.

– The other Heat starters were Butler, Adebayo,  Herro and RJ Hampton, who made his second consecutive start.

– The lone players Heat under contract yet to start this season are Dru Smith, who is out with a season-ending knee injury, and Cole Swider, who is on a two-way contract.

– The Jazz opened with a lineup of Simone Fontecchio, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Collin Sexton and Kris Dunn.

– Spoelstra downplayed players such as Jaime Jaquez Jr. (illness), Butler and Duncan Robinson (ankle) being cleared so close to game time.

– “I literally do not look at that injury report,” he said. “I mean, it looks absurd and it’s really so we don’t get our hands slapped by the league.”

– Jaquez and Kevin Love entered together as the Heat’s first two reserves.

– Followed by Robinson.

– And then Haywood Highsmith for nine deep.

– That had Jamal Cain, a star of Thursday night’s victory over the Warriors, shuffled out of the mix until he entered late in the third period.

– The game was the 99th appearance of Highsmith’s NBA career.

– Highsmith then started the second half in place of Hampton.

– The Heat’s first 15 points did not come with an assist.

– Apparently they gave away too many of them during the Stockton era in Utah.

– Spoelstra, a Steve Kerr assistant for USA Basketball, spoke pregame of coaching Jazz center Walker Kessler, the nephew of late Heat center Alec Kessler, at the World Cup in the Philippines.

– “I really enjoyed him,” Spoelstra said. “What a great experience for a young player to be able to compete in FIBA and be around a bunch of great players. It was really a fruitful experience for all of us. Competing at FIBA is humbling. It’s tough. Nothing is a given. For me it felt like a different sport, trying to figure this thing out.”

– Team USA did not medal in the event.

– Spoelstra continued of Kessler, “But he provided great depth and then he started to earn more opportunities as the tournament went on. And he did a really good job of picking up the defensive principles, but also because of his size and his knack for the ball and offensive rebounding, it gave our team a different element at the rim, which was really helpful.”

With rotation attrition again a factor, the Miami Heat turned what had set up as the easiest stop on this five-game trip into something far different Saturday night.

In again losing Jimmy Butler to injury, the Heat this time found themselves ending 2023 with a rude awakening against a Utah Jazz team that entered 13-19.

With former Heat forward Kelly Olynyk tormenting with his how-slow-can-you-go post play, the Heat’s four-game winning streak turned into a 117-109 loss at the Delta Center.

While the loss of Butler with an injured right foot limited the Heat options with an already depleted rotation, coach Erik Spoelstra said this was about more than one player going out.

“I mean obviously we want him out there, but we had our opportunities,” Spoelstra said. “That would discredit what Utah did in the second half. We just never were able to contain them off the bounce, regardless of what the action was.”

With turnovers a problem early and defense an issue late, the Heat fell despite 28 points and 16 rebounds from center Bam Adebayo and 25 points from guard Tyler Herro.

Olynyk closed with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who outscored the Heat 60-20 in the paint.

“KO was really good in the first half,” Spoelstra said, “and then in the second half, even if he wasn’t necessarily scoring a ton, he was bringing our defense down, he was collapsing our defense.”

The Heat had 10 first-half turnovers, closing with 16. Then, in the fourth quarter, they allowed 6-of-10 Utah 3-point shooting, which effectively decided it.

“Offensively, it was disjointed,” Spoelstra said. “But still, if we brought a better defensive game, I think we would have been in a better position to win in a tough environment and a tough place on the road. We just weren’t able to get it together,”

The Heat’s trip continues with games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

As has been the case practically all season, it again becomes a case of an injury watch for the Heat, with forward Haywood Highsmith exiting late after taking a blow to the head. He immediately was escorted to the locker room.

“We’ve been in situations like this before,” Adebayo said. “We’ve had guys out. For us, we have a deep bench. I feel like we can win any game with whoever is out there.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:

1. Closing time: The Heat led 28-27 after the opening period, trailed 54-53 at halftime, with it then tied 88-88 going into the fourth.

In a game neither team led by more than six through the first three periods, the Jazz then went ahead 105-99 with 4:21 to play on an Olynyk jumper, with a Keyonte George 3-pointer extending Utah’s lead to 108-100 with 3:42 remaining.

“We just could not put together consecutive stops in a row,” Spoelstra said.

The Heat then worked their way back within 108-104 with 2:41 to play, when Highsmith made a pair of free throws, only to see George convert another 3-pointer for a 111-106 Utah lead.

A turnover on a night of Heat turnovers followed, with Jazz forward Lauri Markannen then effectively putting it away with a 3-pointer with 1:53 to play.

“We weren’t really getting into the ball and we weren’t really getting stops,” Adebayo said.

2. Butler returns, leaves: Butler was back after missing four games with a calf strain — and then back out, going to the locker room with 6:03 to play in the third period with a game-ending foot injury, after colliding with a driving Collin Sexton on a foul he committed against Sexton.

Earlier, Butler had taken a cautious approach in the offense, not attempting his first shot, a missed 19-foot jumper, until 3:14 remained in the second quarter.

Butler’s first points in 12 days did not come until an 11-foot jumper with 1:39 left in the first half, on his second attempt of the game, with only those two shots in the first half.

Herro and Adebayo had attempted a combined 15 shots before Butler’s first attempt.

Saturday was just the eighth time this season the Heat had Butler, Herro and Adebayo together in the same game, with Herro (ankle) and Adebayo (hip) having dealt with extended absences this season.

Butler wound up limited to 22:52, with eight points, two rebounds and an assist, a 2 of 3 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line.

Herro agreed that Butler’s absence was not an excuse.

“We had enough to get it done,” Herro said. “We won four straight before that. So that’s not an excuse. We should have won the game.”

3. Two-man game: With Butler again out, it again turned into a two-man game for the Heat, with Herro and Adebayo each with 23 points entering the fourth quarter, Adebayo already with a double-double at that stage.

Adebayo was particularly aggressive, closing 14 of 20 from the line, also with three steals and three blocked shots.

To Adebayo, empty numbers.

“I feel like we got to be locked in more from the jump,” he said.

On a night the Heat struggled to a 9-of-31 finish on 3-pointers, Herro closed 2 of 7 from beyond the arc.

“We just got to be better,” Herro said.

4. Jovic’s foul start: In a somewhat unexpected lineup twist, Nikola Jovic got his second start of the season and 10th of his two-year career, with the 6-foot-10 2022 first-round pick out of Serbia in the opening lineup along with Butler, Adebayo, Herro and RJ Hampton.

Jovic’s previous start this season was the Oct. 28 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, when Butler, Caleb Martin, Kevin Love, Highsmith and Josh Richardson were out.

While Jovic made his first two shots, a pair of 3-pointers, fouling remains an issue, forced to the bench with his fifth foul just 3:17 into the third quarter, after just 9:50 of action, not returning.

5. Another lineup: With Kyle Lowry missing a second consecutive game after taking a knee to the head on Monday night, RJ Hampton got his second consecutive start, but was replaced at the start of the second half by Highsmith.

In addition to being without Lowry, the Heat also were without Martin (ankle) and Richardson (back).

Shuffled out of the rotation until late in the third period was second-year Jamal Cain, a game after the forward on a two-way contract tied his career high with 18 points in Thursday night’s victory over the Golden State Warriors. Cain played 10:37, finishing with six points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Hampton’s action was limited to his initial 8:06 stint.

MIAMI GARDENS — After an undefeated regular season and an ACC title, the Seminoles thought they deserved to play in the College Football Playoff. After starting quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a broken leg and FSU sputtered to two season-ending wins, the College Football Playoff committee denied them that chance.

The consolation was to play Georgia, the two-time reigning national champion that lost its first game of the year in the SEC championship game, in the Orange Bowl. But with more than two dozen players missing the game due to opt-outs, injuries and transfers, the Seminoles who showed up at Hard Rock Stadium looked less like the undefeated conference champions and more like an overmatched FCS opponent.

Florida State’s (13-1) hopes were dashed quickly and efficiently, as Georgia (13-1) took the biggest halftime lead in Orange Bowl history and cruised to 63-3 win over the Seminoles in Saturday’s consolation bowl game. The defeat was the most lopsided loss in FSU history, eclipsing 49-point losses to Florida in 1973 and Clemson in 2018. It was also the largest margin of victory in not just Orange Bowl history but in any bowl game ever.

“This was a championship-level team,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said. “I don’t care. You go back and watch 13 games, and that’s what you saw. I am fully confident in what this team did throughout this year and what they could have achieved. But that was not the path that was set out for us. So, obviously, I’m proud of the guys that competed tonight and how they responded and we’ll get better from it. But it’s something we’ll never know.”

Georgia’s first offensive drive ended with an FSU stop on fourth-and-3 in Florida State territory. That was the high point of the game for the Seminoles, who gave up touchdowns on the next six drives.

The Bulldogs ran all over the Seminoles, racking up 372 rushing yards. Senior running back Kendall Milton rushed for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns to put the Bulldogs up 14-0 in the first half.

FSU got on the board after a 55-yard pass from third-string quarterback Brock Glenn to Kentron Poitier set up a short field goal, but those would be the only points for the Seminoles in the first half. Georgia, however, was not done scoring.

Senior Daijun Edwards scored a 15-yard rushing touchdown, and wide receiver Ladd McConkey ran in a 27-yard score on an attempted wide-receiver pass.

Quarterback Carson Beck added a pair of passing touchdowns at the end of the half to put the Bulldogs up 42-3 at halftime. The 39-point halftime lead was an Orange Bowl record.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart put in some reserves to start the second half, but the result was the same. They went 75 yards down the field and scored on another touchdown run by Edwards. Georgia kept scoring, adding two touchdowns from backup quarterback Gunner Stockton.

“Obviously, things happened that started to snowball on us throughout the course of the game,” Norvell said.

The Seminoles were desperately shorthanded for Saturday’s Orange Bowl. More than two dozen Florida State players chose not to play in the game, opting to prepare for the NFL draft or enter the transfer portal. The Seminoles were missing about a dozen starters, including key players like quarterback Tate Rodermaker, running back Trey Benson, wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, tight end Jaheim Bell, defensive lineman Jared Verse and defensive backs Renardo Green, Jarrian Jones and Akeem Dent.

“A lot of guys got the most extensive work that they’ve had in this season,” Norvell said. “You had a lot of young players that got thrown into it, and you get to see kind of where you are. There were some communication issues, there were some things, technique and fundamentals, where we could be better.”

Georgia, which was poised to compete for a third straight national title before losing to Alabama in the SEC title game, did not have key players opt out of the game.

“Why did the game matter? Because we’re playing a game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “As long as winning matters, were going to compete like hell at Georgia.”

 

MIAMI GARDENS — All season long, Florida State was able to rise to face every challenge that came the Seminoles’ way, resulting in an undefeated season and their first ACC title since 2016.

But a short-handed FSU couldn’t overcome a motivated Georgia squad that jumped out to a 39-point halftime lead Saturday before cruising to a 63-3 victory in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

The 60-point loss was the worst in the 76-year history of the program.

“Tonight was a very difficult night and it’s been a very difficult month, to be honest with you,” said an emotional FSU coach Mike Norvell. “To do some of the things they were able to accomplish … it’s a special group. While tonight was a disappointing result, this is a special season that will be remembered in Florida State history.”

Running back Kendall Milton scored 2 touchdowns and the Bulldogs held Florida State to 209 yards.

The Seminoles were without approximately 30 players who chose to opt out of the game either to enter the transfer portal or to prepare for the spring’s NFL draft. Many who decided not to play were starters such as running back Trey Benson, receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman and edge rusher Jared Verse.

“It was a perfect storm of challenges,” said Norvell. “We’ll learn from this experience and we’ll grow from this experience and we’ll get better.”

The number of missing grew in pregame warmups when linebacker Tatum Bethune and defensive tackles Braden Fiske and Joshua Farmer weren’t dressed.

Already missing quarterback Jordan Travis, who suffered a season-ending injury in the second-to-last regular-season game, FSU was forced to turn to third-stringer Brock Glenn after backup Tate Rodemaker chose to transfer last week.

After starting the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 2, Glenn returned to the spotlight.

The Tennessee native was 9-of-26 for 139 passing yards, but his three turnovers — 2 interceptions and a fumble — led to 21 points by the Bulldogs.

Instead of its first 14-0 season since 2013, Florida State faced a slew of what-ifs.

Many wondered how Florida State would respond following its wrenching snub by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The Seminoles were the only undefeated Power Five conference champions not to earn a spot in the semifinals since the CFPs’ start in 2014.

“It hurt when we were not selected,” said Norvell. “It was the most challenging month that I’ve had in my coaching career. There were some tough choices individuals made, and I talked with them about the opportunity. There were guys that came out and gave it their all.”

Georgia also believed it had the credentials worthy enough for the CFP, having won 29 consecutive games and two national titles before losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. But unlike FSU, Kirby Smart’s team wasn’t suffering through the painful withdrawal of players opting out.

Still, it’s a remarkable turnaround for a Florida State program that endured five seasons through 2021 during which the Seminoles were 26-33 (44%). Along the way, there were several coaching changes, including a bitter breakup with Jimbo Fisher and the firing of Willie Taggart, which came with a hefty buyout price tag.

Even Norvell’s hiring in 2020 was second-guessed in some circles, but those murmurs have been put to rest with the recent turnaround. FSU had double-digit win seasons in back-to-back years for the first time since 2015-16.

Yet the version of Seminoles fans saw on Saturday was a shell of what the team was throughout the season. Florida State averaged 37 points and 481 yards on offense while holding teams to 16 points and 207 yards per game. Against the Bulldogs, FSU allowed 677 yards.

“I’ve been there the whole time, so to see the growth and the buy-in — I’m going to remember that forever,” said FSU linebacker Kalen DeLoach.

Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X at @osmattmurschel.

Jaylin Sellers scored 19 points, Marchelus Avery added 11 points off the bench and UCF beat Bethune-Cookman 98-54 on Friday night.

UCF (9-3) earned its 15th straight victory in the series — with the last matchup in the 2021-22 season resulting in the largest margin of victory over the Wildcats in the series’ history at 81-45.

“It was a good team win, I thought our guys played well,” Knights coach Johnny Dawkins said. “Coming off the holidays, I thought our preparation was really good. It’s all about trying to get better every practice and every game. That’s the mindset that we’ve taken, and our guys did a good job of that these last couple of days.”

Sellers had 10 points and Antwann Jones scored all 10 of his in the first half. Bethune-Cookman was held to 21 first-half points and trailed by 23 at the break. UCF pulled away during a 20-2 run for a 28-13 lead before closing the half on a 14-2 spurt to make it 44-21.

Bethune-Cookman missed 11 consecutive shots in the second half to trail 87-45 with 5:35 left.

Darius Johnson and C.J. Walker each scored 10 points for UCF, which scored a season-high 98 points with 51 coming from its reserves.

Dhashon Dyson scored 15 points and Jakobi Heady had 14 points and 9 rebounds for Bethune-Cookman (5-7). The Wildcats had just 25 total rebounds while UCF grabbed 14 of its 41 on the offensive end.

UCF, which played the last of a seven-game homestand and nonconference slate, has a week off before playing at Kansas State on Jan. 6.

Bethune-Cookman faces its third Power 5  opponent of the season on Sunday at Mississippi State.

Gainesville Buchholz linebacker Myles Graham, the son of legendary Florida Gators running back Earnest Graham, signed to follow in his father’s footsteps last Wednesday on National Signing Day.

A day later, Florida linebackers coach Jay Bateman announced he was leaving UF to take the same position on Mike Elko’s new staff at Texas A&M. Father Graham was furious. The younger Graham was hurt. They both said they felt deceived.

“I wasn’t really mad. I was kinda sad about it, that he up and left that quickly, the day after I signed,” Myles Graham said Friday at the Under Armour All-American Game media day at the Orlando Marriott World Center. The game will be played Wednesday at Camping World Stadium, 4 p.m. (ESPN).

“So it did hurt because I didn’t know about it and I felt like it stabbed me in the back, but it’s kind of a business as a whole, college football, so it’s not just the University of Florida that’s doing shaky business or anything. It’s just the way of the world and how it goes.”

My son was raised to understand the business as it exists but there has been new levels of disconnect with this program that I have NEVER ever experienced. No calls, no communication and the dryest experience imaginable. I’m just going to START there.

— Earnest Graham (@earnestgraham) December 21, 2023

His father was certainly mad the day after signing day and he took to social media to vent on X (formerly known as Twitter) under his handle @earnestgraham:

“My son was raised to understand the business as it exists but there has been new levels of disconnect with this program that I have NEVER ever experienced. No calls, no communication and the dryest experience imaginable. I’m just going to START there.”

Gators signee Myles Graham said Friday at Under Armour All-American Game media day that he and his father said they felt deceived after linebackers coach Jay Batemen left UF the day after signing day. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)

Myles said the emotions have calmed since last Thursday and he also said he learned a big lesson from the experience.

“I learned a lesson at a young age. I learned it the hard way to not commit to a coach but commit to a program,” Myles said. “I’m glad my dad did what he did and I back him in whatever he does. I think it will end up helping the university in that way, helping us as a program to be more vocal and communicate better.

Myles said the surprise move by Bateman was just as shocking to Gators head coach Billy Napier.

“He explained the situation,” Myles said. “Billy Napier, being the head coach, he found out kind of the same way that we did. He kinda talked it out and he said I was in good hands and that the next linebackers coach is gonna be a great coach, so he kind of expressed that there’s nothing to worry about.”

Myles also said Napier discussed the linebackers coach opening with him.

“He talked to me about who they may hire, who I want to see hired, who I thought the other guys in the room would want to see hired and we kind of discussed a few names and everything,” Myles said.

Myles also said he has since talked with Bateman since the sudden departure.

“I wished him farewell and I wished him good luck on his journey and he did the same to me, so we’ll see each other in Week 3 of the season,” Myles said.

Gators corral ‘alpha’ L.J. McCray following Signing Day delay

With the Gators struggling in each of Napier’s first two seasons, the recruiting pitch has been difficult for the UF coaching staff, but Myles Graham said that did not enter into his recruiting judgment.

“I’ve believed in the vision ever since I committed .. before [Napier] played his first game as coach,” Myles said. “Coach Napier is a brilliant guy and he’s a great coach … nothing’s going to happen overnight. We obviously want to win games, we obviously let our emotions get in the way of that, we all want to be the best team, but we all gotta be patient.

“A lot of programs come around after the second year and hopefully we’re going to be one of those programs that have a winning season, 8, 9 games … I really do believe we’re going to turn it around.”

This past season at Buchholz, Graham, a 4-star linebacker who is ranked No. 5 in the nation by 247 Sports composite rankings, had 82 tackles and nine tackles for loss. He also had three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Graham also played running back and had 600 yards on 62 carries and scored 17 touchdowns.

Chris Hays covers high school and college football, as well as college football recruiting. He can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays and on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached by email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.

Jaylen Heyward never knew his father. He always pushed away Lorenzo Jamal Bell every time the father tried to connect. But the Rockledge safety, who signed to play with UCF last week on National Signing Day, wonders now if that decision was the best choice.

Heyward, a 6-foot, 180-pound safety, will be playing in the Under Armour All-American Game on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium, 4 p.m. (ESPN).

He found out a few years ago that his father was killed during a shooting in Titusville in 2018. His aunt informed Jaylen of the news, but not until a few years after the incident. It left him with mixed feelings.

“So, I didn’t really know about my dad. I didn’t even meet him growing up,” Heyward said. “He died and my aunt had to tell me about his passing. It was kinda hard on me because I never got to meet him.

“He tried to meet me before, tried to reach out, but I pushed him away because I was a young kid and it was just a lot, so now I try to do everything for him. I found out that he was a ball player and he gave it his all on the field and so that’s what I’ve done ever since I found that out.”

Gus Malzahn turns up Orlando-area interest, leverages Big 12 into recruiting success for UCF on signing day

Heyward said he did not think his father played high school football, but he was able to watch some of his little league football clips.

“He was a heck of a ballplayer, so that’s where I got my talents from,” Heyward said. “I saw some of his little league highlights and it just was amazing and it caught my eyes.”

He wonders now if he should have allowed his father to make a connection, and still his feelings are intertwined.

“I really didn’t know how to feel, honestly,” Heyward said. “It’s just a lot of emotions built up but, you know, I didn’t really know this person, but it’s still your dad, so-called dad, the one who gave you birth. So I had mixed emotions. I was just in my own head.

“Ever since I found out about him [dying], I just try to play every moment after him and I just thank God every day.”

His mother, Tiffany Heyward, has been the one who was always there for him. Heyward wears a picture of his mother holding his younger brother on a medallion attached to a gold chain around his neck.

“It’s my mom and my brother. They give me my motivation to get up out of bed every day,” Heyward said. “The same thing with my dad. I used to have a picture of my dad, but it got snatched during a football game.”

Ms. Heyward raised her son as a single mother who also gave birth to his little brother, Tristan Thomas, along the way. Tristan is four-years-old now.

“She helped me stay strong and remain on the course I’m on today,” Heyward said.

Move to Big 12 benefits UCF as it wraps up stellar 2024 recruiting class

Heyward is one of the top safeties in the country for the 2024 recruiting class and is ranked No. 20 in the 247 Sports composite rankings. He had 36 scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, FSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, but the proximity to home left him with a strong liking for UCF.

“What sold me was Coach [Gus] Malzahn and his recruiting and Coach Addison [Williams] and Coach [David] Gibbs, they were recruiting me really hard,” Heyward said. “And my mom’s an alumni from there, as well, so that really persuaded me coming down to the decision.”

He had other schools recruiting him hard, but once he committed to UCF, most of them backed off, with the exception of a few, like Colorado. Heyward said it was difficult to keep from being swayed by Coach Prime.

“Yeah, Colorado was a school that wanted me to come up there really, really bad. They wanted me to come experience the, you know, the Florida boy, Deion-type of affect,” Heyward said. “It was kinda hard to turn down Coach Prime, but I did because I never went out there for a visit and I wanted to stay home. I really see what UCF’s future is and I like the future.

“The UCF future in the Big 12 is going to be amazing. I like the recruits that we’re bringing in. It’s a strong ’24 class that Gus pulled behind his resume and the sky is the limit for this class.””

At Rockledge this past season, the 6-foot, 180-pound Heyward had 22 tackles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. He also caught two touchdown passes as a receiver.

Chris Hays covers high school and college football, as well as college football recruiting. He can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays and on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. He can be reached by email at chays@orlandosentinel.com.

 

 

By COLBY GUY (Associated Press)

SUNRISE — Sam Reinhart scored two goals, Aleksander Barkov tied a franchise career record by collecting three assists, and the Florida Panthers beat the NHL-leading New York Rangers 4-3 on Friday night.

Carter Verhaeghe got the winning goal for Florida in the third period. Evan Rodrigues also scored for the Panthers, and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 31 saves. Barkov tied Jonathan Huberdeau for the Panthers’ record with 415 assists.

Artemi Panarin, Will Culleye and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers, who tied the game twice after facing deficits of 2-0 and 3-2. Panarin and Culleye scored 1:13 apart in the second period to tie the game for New York.

Jonathan Quick stopped 28 shots for the Rangers, who lead the NHL with a .721 standings-point percentage so far.

Florida improved to 15-0-1 when leading after two periods and 14-1-0 when scoring at least four goals. New York is 2-9-1 when allowing four or more goals — the Rangers are 22-0-0 when holding opponents to three goals or less.

Barkov departed with 8:37 left after taking a high hit to the head from the Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere. Referees originally called a 5-minute major, then downgraded the penalty to a minor.

Zibanejad briefly made matters worse for Florida with a short-handed goal 52 seconds into the Panthers’ power play, tying the game again at 3-3. The Rangers killed off the rest of the Panthers’ man advantage, but Verhaeghe scored 14 seconds after New York returned to full strength.

And the next boost for Florida came a couple minutes later, when Barkov returned to the ice with 4:17 left after a brief stint in the Florida dressing room.

Barkov is the Panthers’ leader in games (696), goals (254), points (669), power-play goals (71), power-play points (196), game-winning goals (46) and shots on goal (1,854). The only offensive franchise record of note that he doesn’t have is power-play assists; Huberdeau still leads him there, 146-125.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Visit Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Panthers: Host Montreal on Saturday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL