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Florida Democrats, from community activists to the top of the state party, say they’re energized and ready for the November elections — vowing to organize, mobilize and compete.

They face strong headwinds — including the ever-increasing numbers of registered Republican voters, an inability to generate enthusiasm in the 2022 midterm elections, and difficulty attracting the kind of big-money financial support needed to help them dig out of their hole.

As hundreds of Democrats gathered in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend they vowed not to cede Florida to the Republicans.

“We’re going to give them a good fight. We’re going to try to take back Florida,” said Laurie Plotnick, president of the Democratic Senior Caucus of Florida. “We’re not going to lay down and give them this state.”

Nikki Fried, chair of the state Democratic Party, offered a similar assessment during a break Saturday night at the Broward Democratic Party’s annual Obama Roosevelt Gala at the Broward County Convention Center.

“Democrats are hungry. They’re hungry to take back the state. We’re seeing, no matter where you are, … Democrats are coming out to events,” Fried said. “They’re signing up to run for office. They’re volunteering for campaigns because we understand what’s on the line in November.”

Truly competitive?

After decades as a swing state that could award its presidential electoral votes to either the Democratic or Republican nominee, Florida is now widely seen as largely Republican red.

To many, including Democrats speaking privately, that means Florida is less likely to get attention from the presidential candidates — except to raise money from the state’s deep-pocketed donors.

Democrats are not writing off Florida, said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

“That’s completely untrue, factually untrue. We are an expansion state on the Biden campaign map,” she said. “They are in the process of standing up a coordinated campaign, hiring staff, coordinating with our state party and our local parties. Florida is going to be in play and then we’re gonna make a real aggressive statewide effort.”

Wasserman Schultz, like Fried, cited victories since the 2022 midterm elections — when Florida Democrats received a shellacking — and the success of a petition drive to get an amendment on the ballot to enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution.

The Florida Supreme Court still has to rule on whether the proposed amendment will appear on the ballot. Democrats like Wasserman Schultz and Fried see it as something that could make Florida more competitive by increasing turnout of people who favor abortion rights.

“Presuming that we have substantive issues like reproductive freedom on the ballot, we will have an infrastructure in place to be able to get people to the polls,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We have momentum and we’re going to capitalize on it,” citing what she called “the contrast right now between the MAGA extremists in the Republican Party, whether it’s Ron DeSantis or Trump versus ‘Team Normal’ in Democrats led by President Biden.”

Fried too said national Democrats haven’t given up on Florida.

“Every single conversation that we are having with our national partners with the national surrogates, they understand that if you’re going to take back democracy for the country and fight for freedom,  that you’re going to come to the belly of the beast. That’s here in the State of Florida,” Fried said. “We are part of the expansion map, and we are ready to make sure that we flip Florida and to deliver it to President Biden.”

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Expansion states are the ones that could get attention in addition to the half-dozen swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — that could determine the outcome of an election.

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Parkland, was less optimistic, pointing to the long decline in the party’s fortunes that preceded Fried’s election as state party chair in February 2023.

“I think, frankly, we made her captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg,” Moskowitz said.

“This is not something that’s going to be fixed in a year or two years. We’ve had a systemic breakdown and it’s gonna take a while to fix that. And we have a math problem: There are 800,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats,” he said.

Democrats have some wins since 2022, so “I don’t think all is lost, but we’re not starting from an even place. We are starting from behind. At the end of the day, if the Biden campaign invests in Florida, then you can put it in play.”

Republicans scoff

Joe Budd, the elected state Republican committeeman from Palm Beach County, sees little chance of Democrats prevailing in Florida in 2024.

“Not Florida. I believe this is a securely red state,” Budd said.

Richard DeNapoli, the elected state committeeman from Broward and a former county party chair, said via text that there so far hasn’t been the kind of national Democratic Party money and involvement that Fried and Wasserman Schultz said might come.

“It does not seem that the national Democrat Party considers Florida flippable, given Florida’s status as an increasingly Republican state and the massive amount of money it takes to campaign in such a large state and its media markets.”

DeSantis, in a news conference last week, said the state has trended so much toward the Republicans, that a robust presidential campaign in Florida is unlikely.

“I don’t anticipate there being much campaign here for the top of the ticket,” he said. “As people look at kind of how the election will turn out, I don’t think Florida is gonna be a place where you’re gonna see a lot of activity, and that’ll be the first time in probably most of our lifetimes where that’s been the case.”

The Republican governor also mocked Florida Democrats’ abilities. “They have a really serious habit of just doing dumb things over and over again,” he said. “They continue to shoot themselves in the foot.”

Former Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief, left, a candidate for Florida Senate, and state Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried share a laugh after the Broward Democratic Party’s Obama Roosevelt Gala on March 23, 2024. Fried said posing with Sharief was “not an endorsement.” (Anthony Man/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Harris visit

Fried and several other Democrats pointed to Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to Parkland earlier on Saturday as a sign the Biden campaign hasn’t written off the state.

It was the vice president’s 11th trip to Florida since she was sworn in in 2021.

“When a state is not in play, I can tell you from experience, the travel doesn’t happen,” Wasserman Schultz said.

The vice president spent about five hours at the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where she toured the building that was the site of the 2018 massacre in which 17 people were killed and 17 wounded, met with family members of victims, and promoted initiatives she said could reduce gun violence.

The trip was official business, but it generated criticism from some Republicans and spurred back and forth among some family members whose children were killed at Stoneman Douglas about whether the trip was political.

Ryan Petty, father of Alaina Petty, told Fox News last week that he found her visit political, terming it “offensive.” Fred Guttenberg, father of Jaime Guttenberg, and Max Schachter, father of Alex Schachter, said on social media that it emphatically was not political, but aimed at identifying ways to prevent gun violence at schools.

Moskowitz, a Stoneman Douglas graduate who represents Parkland and helped arrange and guide the tour, strongly pushed back at the notion that politics was in play. “The vice president was here to honor the families, to go through the building before it gets torn down,” he said. “It was not politics.”

Harris was near the Democratic Party’s dinner venue Saturday evening as the event was beginning. Air Force Two left Fort Lauderdale at 6:12 p.m. But she didn’t stay later to stop at the event, as some rank-and-file party members hoped she would do, a move that would have fueled the contention that her trip was motivated by politics.

The Parkland visit was praised by Democrats. And many Caribbean American Democrats have positive feelings toward Harris, whose father is Jamaican American.

Republicans, by contrast, revile just about everything she does.

A March 17 nationwide USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found 38% of voters said Harris is qualified to be president and 54% said she is not.

Among Democrats, it’s 75% qualified and 17% not. Among Republicans it’s 6% qualified and 92% not qualified.

For many Republicans, Budd said, their “greatest concern is Biden does become unfit to be president and we end up with Kamala Harris. I think that’s a major concern for Republicans,” adding that for many “the biggest reason not to vote for Biden is we’ll get Kamala Harris who really doesn’t seem like she’s up to the task.”

Last week, after she voted for Trump in the Republican presidential preference primary on Tuesday, Joyce Holzapfel of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea offered two reasons: “First of all, I’m a Republican,” she said, adding, “A vote for Trump is a vote against Kamala.”

Holzapfel described Harris as “dangerous,” and objected to the vice president’s speaking style. “She’s talking to us like we’re first-graders,” she said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media after the vice president and the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention met with families whose loved ones were murdered during the 2018 mass shooting that took the lives of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Saturday, March 23, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald) Broward warning

Democrats gathered for the Broward event outlined plans to mobilize voters for November, and sought to warn other party activists what’s at stake in the state’s largest remaining Democratic stronghold.

Broward Democratic Chair Rick Hoye exhorted party members to remain optimistic.  “Don’t ever let anybody tell you that Florida is written off,” he said, before sounding some cautionary notes.

“You guys have seen the Trumpers at, at early voting and not on Election Day. It’s always strength in numbers,” Hoye said, adding that the opposition party is “continuously putting money in here to make Broward not blue. We can’t afford for that to happen. We just can’t afford for that to happen.

Joshua Simmons, a Coral Springs commissioner, cited an upcoming local election. “The Republicans are trying to crack back into Coral Springs, and we are not gonna let that happen.”

And Steve Geller, a former Democratic leader in the Florida Senate who is running for reelection to the Broward County Commission this year, sounded a note of urgency.

In the 2022 midterm election, “I saw something different than what I had ever seen before: There were more Republican volunteers at the polls in 2022 than there were Democratic. And that’s just not OK,” Geller said.

Money

Organizing political operations takes money, and that was the purpose of Saturday night’s Broward Democratic gala.

Hoye said the money would support several programs in neighborhoods, including open houses and other events to energize and educate voters and recruit volunteers. The keynote speaker, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, sent a brief video from an airport after weather delays prevented him from making it to Fort Lauderdale.

Some 400 or so people attended, and the event raised $203,000, Hoye said.

The contrast between the fortunes of Florida Democrats was illustrated by another county party fundraising dinner eight days earlier.

On March 15, the Palm Beach County Republican Party held its annual Lincoln Day dinner.

The event was held at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s club and residence in Palm Beach. The gathering featured several high-wattage headliners, including Trump, who was given the county party’s “lifetime achievement” award and  U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Panhandle Republican, who was honored as “Statesman of the Year.”

Palm Beach County Republican Chair Kevin Neal said via email the event was sold out, with 800 attendees. He said the dinner broke a fundraising record, taking in more than $1 million.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Post.news.

MIAMI GARDENS — Third-ranked Coco Gauff came from behind in the first set to beat Océane Dodin 6-4, 6-0 and advance to the fourth round of the Miami Open for the second time in her career.

Gauff won 10 straight games after Dodin took a 4-2 lead in the opening set, thanks partly to nine double-faults by Dodin at critical moments.

Gauff has just one loss in her past 23 matches in the United States. That defeat came against Maria Sakkari at Indian Wells earlier this month.

Gauff, who turned 20 on March 13, is the youngest American player to hold a top three seed at Miami. The reigning U.S. Open champion, who is from South Florida, attended the event growing up and said capturing a title there would be special.

“It would be really cool to win here at home,” said Gauff, who was born in Delray Beach. “I think the best part about winning here is just being able to drive home with the trophy and not have to fly and pack. … And I’m a Dolphins fan, so maybe if I win here they can win another trophy at the Super Bowl.”

Gauff will face No. 27 Caroline Garcia, who defeated Naomi Osaka 7-6 (4), 7-5 on Sunday.

Broward Sheriff’s deputies were on scene early Sunday morning after shots were fired at the Players Sports Bar and Grill in North Lauderdale.

Media reports indicate three people were shot at about 3:30 a.m., one of whom may have died. The Broward Sheriff’s Office has not released any confirmation or other information as of early Sunday afternoon.

The bar is located on the 5200 block of State Road 7, roughly halfway between Prospect Road to the south and Commercial Blvd, to the north.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

 

As the moon prepares to blot out the surface of our sun in two weeks, it’s warming up with a penumbral lunar eclipse Sunday night or Monday morning, depending on your time zone.

In general, eclipses are the result of a delicate dance between the moon, the sun and the Earth. Lunar eclipses occur when the planet slides between the sun and the moon. That’s in contrast to a solar eclipse, which happens when the moon interjects between the other two bodies.

“It’s all about shadows,” said Noah Petro, a planetary geologist who works on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA. The sun beams light on Earth, casting a long shadow behind it.

“And every once in a while, the moon wanders into that shadow,” Petro said.

In the most dramatic version of the event, the darkest part of Earth’s shadow washes over the lunar surface, making it shine crimson. This is a total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon.

But you won’t see that happen overnight. At 12:53 a.m. Eastern time Monday, the moon will start to pass through only the outermost part of Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra. As a result, its full face will slightly dim.

Is that worth trying to see? Petro thinks so. But the change will be difficult to catch with the naked eye, so he encourages using binoculars or a telescope, and taking note of how the moon’s brightness changes through the night.

Lunar eclipses happen slowly over several hours, Petro said, so “if you only go out once to look at it, you may not even notice that it’s happening.”

Unlike their solar counterparts, lunar eclipses can be viewed by everyone on the nightside of Earth. According to Petro, the reason for this difference has to do with the varying sizes of the celestial bodies.

Because Earth is so much bigger than the moon, its shadow is large enough to envelop the entire lunar surface — an effect that Sunday night will be visible to people across much of the Americas. Skywatchers in the western half of Africa, and in eastern parts of Asia and Australia, might also see some of the eclipse.

The moon, on the other hand, is much smaller than our planet. So during a solar eclipse, it plunges only a narrow path on Earth’s surface into darkness.

Different though they are, the two celestial events are related. Both have to do with the alignment of the moon, Earth and sun, but in different orientations. Lunar and solar eclipses always occur in pairs, two weeks apart — the amount of time it takes for the moon to move from one side of Earth to the other.

“The moon is this dance partner that we’ve now had for 4 1/2 billion years,” Petro said, adding that both kinds of eclipses should remind us of the importance of our cosmic companion.

“We are part of a system,” Petro said. “Eclipses are great reminders that we are not alone in space.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

TALLAHASSEE — DJ Uiagalelei has played in 47 college games and thrown for 8,319 yards. He’s learned different offenses at Clemson and Oregon State. But in his final season of college football, he’s enjoying a new challenge at Florida State.

“I’m an older guy,” Uiagalelei said. “I’ve played in a little bit of games, but it’s my first days in the offense. There are guys that have been in the offense for over a year now, know this offense a lot more than me. I try to look at them, ask them questions.”

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This is the dynamic for one of college football’s top transfers, an experienced mentor as well as a new guy learning his third playbook. But it’s a relationship that works for him as well as a room full of freshmen quarterbacks, with Brock Glenn the only one who has played at FSU. There’s also true freshmen Luke Kromenhoek and Trever Jackson, an Orlando native, but Uiagalelei is viewed as the front runner to grab the starting job in his final year of college football while helping Glenn prepare for the future.

What Uiagalelei brings to the table was evident at Clemson and Oregon State, a 6-foot-4 frame that has zip on the ball to the far side of the field as well as can slingshot a deep pass. In the first few days of FSU’s practices, Uiagalelei showed he’s still building rhythm and timing in the passing game.

The relationships are building and he’s often accurate, but at other times a missed connection on high-percentage short passes pop up (it’s one of the question marks as his completion percentage was just 57.1 in 2023 at Oregon State). Deep passes look almost effortless, and he’s often thrown it on time to an FSU receiving corps that has added speed through the transfer portal and has developed talented, fast younger players, too.

WR Coleman in spotlight at FSU Pro Day

Uiagalelei offered the most praise for Alabama transfer Malik Benson, who he said “has the right mindset to go out there and dominate.” But he also took time to compliment FSU veterans Ja’Khi Douglas, Darion Williamson and Deuce Spann as well as second-year standouts like Destyn Hill and Hykeem Williams.

There is a learning curve — as to be expected with a new offense, teammates and coaching staff. But FSU coaches have optimism based on what they’ve seen and how they’ve interacted with Uiagalelei.

“There’s a fine balance between a guy that’s played a lot of football and figuring out what he does really well with and at,” FSU quarterbacks coach Tony Tokarz said. “It’s a fun challenge for me as a coach of finding that balance of give and take with it. And then just from a schematic standpoint, he has seen a lot of football.

In his only season at Oregon State, DJ Uiagalelei ran for 6 TDs and threw for 2,600 yards. He began his career at Clemson. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

“Some of those conversations are fun. He challenges me as a coach, which I absolutely love. And at the same time my job is to continue to find ways to challenge him so he doesn’t get bored. It’s a good little game of ping-pong sometimes.”

Ping-pong is rapid. The same goes for FSU’s practices. Uiagalelei said he isn’t as used to the tempo of practice, although coach Mike Norvell said the pace picked up considerably after Day 1.

“At Oregon State we were a little slower, huddled every play,” Uiagalelei said. “The practice tempo is a lot faster. Coach Norvell brings that intensity, brings that energy every single time. It’s nice though to have a guy like coach Norvell who really cares about each player’s development on and off the field.”

 

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jannik Sinner advanced to the third round of the Miami Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Italian Andrea Vavassori on Saturday.

The third-ranked Sinner, the Australian Open champion and last year’s Miami Open runner-up, had to wait overnight to clinch the opening victory at Miami after rain forced a suspension of the match on Friday with Sinner leading 3-2.

The 22-year-old Sinner stretched his record to 12-0 against fellow Italians on tour level.

“I thinks it’s a lot of difference between here and anywhere else,” Sinner said. “Here maybe the court suits me a little bit better because the ball is not that bouncy. But I feel just mentally quite free to play, and I think that’s most important.”

Andy Murray advanced to the third round with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Tomás Martín Etcheverry. That match was also suspended on Friday because of rain. Murray, who won the Miami title in 2009 and 2013, snapped a nine-match losing streak against top 50 players with the win and has now played 995 career tour-level matches.

“My body feels that,” said Murray, who turns 37 in May, “It feels like I’ve played a thousand. I’ve obviously been on the tour a long time. My first matches on tour were just as I turned 18 years old … It’s been a long career but an amazing career.”

In women’s play, top-ranked Iga Świątek, coming off an Indian Wells title last week, defeated Camila Giorgi 6-1 ,6-1 in just over an hour. The victory gave Świątek 81 wins in the first 100 matches of her career at the WTA-1000 level. Only Serena Williams (87) had more wins in her first 100 matches at that level.

Naomi Osaka continued her comeback journey by defeating 17th-ranked Elina Svitolina 6-2, 7-6 (5). Osaka, who is comng off a third-round loss at Indian Wells, now has two wins over top 20 opponents in her last four matches.

A day after rain and wind delayed the start of play and suspended several matches, downpours again pushed the start of Saturday’s matches back by nearly three hours.

On a day with several upsets on the men’s side, Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild stunned American Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round. Numerous Brazilian fans were in attendance to watch their compatriot play, and they cheered so loudly that Fritz complained to the chair umpire.

Christopher O’Connell topped 22nd-ranked Francis Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6; 14th-ranked Tommy Paul appeared to roll his left ankle in the second set of his match against Martin Damm Jr. and was forced to retire; last year’s Miami Open winner Daniil Medvedev advanced, beating Márton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-2.

In other action, fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula advanced to the second round after Zhu Lin retired with an illness while trailing 6-4, 4-1.

___

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

GAINESVILLE — The Florida football team entered March with renewed hope, new faces and a new attitude.

The Gators expect sweeping changes to help produce different results following consecutive losing seasons.

After UF wrapped up its second week of his third spring, embattled coach Billy Napier said he sees immediate and impactful results from the changes to his coaching staff.

“One of the things that has become very evident is the new staff members are making an impact,” he said Saturday. “I got a ton of conviction about the new people that we’ve added to our team. I’ll tell you, it’s given me a little bit of energy.”

Florida  coach Billy Napier is counting on his new assistants to bolster the Gators.  (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Three new assistant coaches, led by a familiar face for Napier, and an additional special-teams analyst have elevated the intensity, improved the operation and added some tactical twists.

No newcomer has invigorated and tested his players like defensive line coach Gerald Chatman. The 36-year-old who arrived from Tulane is a live wire with a booming voice and a relentless message not for the faint of heart.

“He told me he was going to coach me hard — that’s something I appreciate,” sophomore defensive lineman Kelby Collins said. “Obviously you guys have heard him … loud. He just holds us to a higher standard than maybe we hold ourselves sometimes. He’s not going to let you slack or be lazy or play with bad technique.

“He’s a perfectionist.”

Collins, the top-rated player in UF’s 2023 class, said he’s learned techniques Chatman picked up during a wide-ranging career. That includes two seasons as a defensive assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019-20 working with some top veterans, including Geno Atkins, Sam Hubbard, Carl Lawson and Carlos Dunlap, a former Gators standout.

New defensive line coach Gerald Chatman during the Gators’ practice earlier this month at the Sanders football practice fields in Gainesville.  (UAA Communications photo by Maddie Washburn)

New secondary coach Will Harris also arrived with enthusiasm and NFL experience, having served last season as an assistant secondary coach for the Los Angeles Chargers following several stops at the college level. Harris’ four-year stint at Washington (2018-21) culminated with the 2021 Huskies leading the nation in fewest passing yards allowed (142.9 ypg), touchdowns allowed (6) and yards yielded per attempt (5.4).

“He came in with a lot of energy, ready to coach us,” fourth-year cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.

Harris, 36, played at USC (2005-09) under Pete Carroll, one of the best defensive minds of his generation.

Napier hired veteran Ron Roberts in late December for his wealth of experience and reputation built over three decades coaching the college game, including 2018-19 at Louisiana during Napier’s first two seasons in Lafayette. There he developed a bond with current Gators 30-year-old defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, a Ragin’ Cajuns’ graduate assistant in 2018, and laid much of the foundation for the defensive scheme at UF.

“He created the system,” Napier said. “He knows the entire history, the evolution. He can talk about the very beginning.”

New UF co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts is the architect of the Gators’ current scheme implemented at Louisiana when Billy Napier was in charge. (UAA Communications / Maddie Washburn)

As the team’s co-defensive coordinator also coaching inside linebackers, the 56-year-old Roberts aims to revive to the Gators’ defense, which ranked near the bottom of the SEC the past two seasons, and oversee a young staff.

“He’s mentored a lot of good coaches,” Napier said. “There’s good camaraderie there. Those guys are able to put their ego on the shelf, and it’s showing up.”

New special-teams analyst Joe Houston, the final key staff addition this past offseason, faces a similar challenge. Costly special-teams miscues played a key role during losses at Utah and at home against Arkansas.

After four seasons with the New England Patriots, Houston will serve alongside analyst Chris Couch, who oversaw special teams in the role of GameChanger coordinator. Houston was a teammate with Harris for two seasons at USC, where Houston kicked from 2007 to 2010 after an All-American season at El Camino College in 2006.

New UF secondary coach Will Harris brings more NFL experience to the Gators’ staff.  (UAA Communications photo by Maddie Washburn)

Houston also will delve into analytics to help the Gators better manage game situations like the chaotic ending to the loss against Arkansas. During the 39-36 decision on Nov. 4, the field goal unit raced onto the field while the offense prepared to spike the ball in the waning seconds of regulation. The ensuing 5-yard penalty culminated in a missed 44-yard kick by Trey Smack that would have won the game.

“He’s brought a lot to the table,” Napier said of Houston.

Top LB signee Graham has surgery

True freshman linebacker Myles Graham will miss the rest of spring practices following back surgery to repair herniated discs sustained in high school. He participated in two practices before doctors decided it was best that he address the issue so he could return by fall camp, Napier said.

The son of former Gators running back Earnest Graham totaled 275 tackles the past three seasons, including 82 at Gainesville’s Buchholz High as a senior after he moved to Florida from Atlanta. He also rushed for 600 yards, averaging 9.7 per carry in 2023.

Meanwhile, offensive lineman Kam Waites suffered a strained calf muscle that will sideline him for some time. Spring practices conclude with the April 13 spring game.

The 6-foot-8, 350-pound redshirt junior lost 25 pounds during the offseason and had impressed at left tackle.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Lewis Morgan scored three goals for his second career hat trick, Dante Vanzeir tied a league record with four assists and the New York Red Bulls cruised to a 4-0 victory over Inter Miami on Saturday.

Morgan, who played for Inter Miami from 2020-21, gave the Red Bulls (3-1-1) the lead in the third minute with an assist from Vanzeir. New York took a 2-0 lead when Vanzeir again set up Morgan in the 51st minute.

Vanzeir notched his third assist on a goal by Wikelman Carmona in the 66th minute and Morgan and Vanzeir teamed up again in the 70th minute to complete the scoring.

Ryan Meara totaled two saves to earn the clean sheet for the Red Bulls in his first start of the season. CJ dos Santos saved one shot in his first start of the season and the second of his career for Inter Miami (3-2-1).

Noah Allen appeared to score in the 77th minute for the visitors, but the goal was ruled out after a review.

Lionel Messi, who is nursing a hamstring injury suffered in a 2-2 draw with Nashville SC on March 7, was one of nine Inter Miami players out due to injuries or national duty.

Morgan’s first hat trick came in the Red Bulls’ 4-1 victory over Toronto FC last season. Morgan had seven goals and 12 assists in two seasons with Inter Miami.

Vanzeir tied the assist record set by the Chicago Fire’s Ante Razov in a 2000 victory over the New England Revolution.

The Red Bulls travel to play Orlando City on Saturday. Inter Miami returns home to play New York City FC on Saturday.

MIAMI — No, he won’t back down. He will stand his ground. But Jimmy Butler also appreciates there ain’t no easy way out.

So petty? Perhaps.

But the Miami Heat forward also said there are no regrets about previous words, even in the wake of his team’s 111-88 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night at Kaseya Center.

Heading into the Heat’s sixth loss in their past nine games, the focus had been on Butler saying in the wake of the teams’ previous meeting, a contentious Heat victory Feb. 23 in New Orleans, “We’ll beat them the next time, too. We’re just a better team.”

That wasn’t nearly the case on Friday night, a humbling loss at the start of a critical four-game homestand that continues Sunday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the immediate wake of Friday’s final buzzer, the pushback on social media was immediate and to the point.

That included Pelicans forward Najo Marshall posting video of Butler’s February boast with the comment of, “My Volume doesn’t work what he say?????”

Marshall eventually deleted the post, but not before it was re-posted from the Pelicans’ official account, which after the game changed its bio to, “Keeping Receipts” and then posted, “We’re just a better team.”

So, yes, the Pelicans remembered, with coach Willie Green admitting Butler’s bombast provided a boost.

“For sure. It was a little extra,” Green said during his postgame media session. “They said some things in the media. We heard it. And our guys wanted to respond. And that’s the deal.

“That’s what makes this fun. That’s what makes sports fun, is you get a little trash talking back and forth and then you get to go out on the floor and compete against each other. And that’s what it was.”

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Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado agreed.

“Obviously it meant a little bit more to us, too,” he said, “knowing what the circumstances were last game.”

All of which was delivered to Butler as he sat by his locker for his postgame media session.

“I hope it added fuel to the fire. That’s fine,” he said. “They had a great game plan, they made shots. They came here and stole one. I’m going to stick by what I said. We’re still the better team. You can’t win them all. We should have won that one. We damn sure should have. But we’ll be alright.”

Injury report

Tyler Herro (foot), Kevin Love (heel) and Duncan Robinson (back) all remain out for the Heat for Sunday’s game, as is Josh Richardson after his season-ending shoulder surgery.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been added to the injury report, with knee/ankle discomfort, listed as questionable. Also dealing with knee/ankle discomfort is Caleb Martin, who also is listed as questionable.

Also, guard Alondes Williams remains on G League assignment.

Robinson hopeful

Having missed the past two games with a back issue diagnosed as left facet syndrome, Robinson said before Friday night’s game he is hopeful of a rapid return, even as he again is listed as out.

“Thankful that it’s not too serious,” Robinson said. “A big thing is making sure that just kind of calm it down. So I’m going to try to play as soon as I possibly can. I’m itching to get back out there. So as soon as I get the clear and OK, I’ll be back out there.”

The Heat shot 13 of 47 on 3-pointers Friday in Robinson’s absence.

“I mean, I want to play obviously as soon as I possibly can,” he said. “So I don’t know for sure when that’ll be. You want to try to be smart about it, because I understand probably down the stretch there’s going to be some managing of it, just from a pain perspective, which I’m ready to embrace.

“But you don’t want to rush back to where it just flares up, where it’s starting back up to day one.”

Moving up

With his 12 points and 10 rebounds Friday, Heat center Bam Adebayo recorded his 185th career double-double, tying Hassan Whiteside for third place on the Heat all-time list, behind only the 221 of Rony Seikaly and 205 of Alonzo Mourning. The double-double was Adebayo’s 36th of the season, four off the career high he set in 2019-20. …

The Heat’s 34 missed 3-pointers Friday were a season high and the fifth most in a game in the franchise’s 36 seasons. The record is 37 misses against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 21, 2021. …

In starting a franchise-record 34th lineup Friday, the Heat moved to third in that aspect in the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have started 42 lineups this season, the Portland Trail Blazers 37.

So now they’re tougher than before. So now they’re deeper than before. So now that the Miami Dolphins have finished spackling their big holes of free agency it’s fine and dandy to admire the changed landscape and plot their Super Bowl path again.

Please.

Can we set aside the annual Cycle of Hope in another change-of-philosophy offseason until everything at least plays out?

Dolphins know the Cycle of Hope by now: Regular season with some positive drowns in December, no playoff win in January, depressed state of the franchise, anger and threats followed by free-agency and a fresh layer of optimism, draft build-up and more optimism and …

“I like the potential of being a Super Bowl champion,” newly signed defensive end Shaq Barrett said. “I think this team has the potential for sure.”

Potential is a dangerous word. How many teams reach theirs? How many of us actually do?

The Dolphins haven’t earned any benefit of the doubt like the Miami Heat have for decades and the Florida Panthers have in recent years. The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000, the longest active stretch in the NFL. Their five-year rebuilt has nothing substantive to show for it.

They were in such a salary-cap jam this off-season they threw a star like Christian Wilkins, an important piece like Robert Hunt and an interesting player like Andrew Van Ginkel overboard. Yet all is good? Start the Super Bowl talk even?

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There’s a plus-minus game Dolphins legend Don Shula used to play each offseason to gauge his roster’s changes. It’s a simple game every front office plays in some form. Did you add or subtract at positions? Let’s go:

— 1. Defensive tackle. Minus. Losing Wilkins for a third-round compensatory pick is the signature of this suddenly changed front-office workings. For the past three years, they scoffed at such ideas. Now they’re gold? They lost Wilkins in not signing him last offseason. In Wilkin’s absence, can the likes Da’Shawn Hand, Benito Jones or Neville Gallimore elevate their names?

— 2. Linebacker. Plus. Jerome Baker was a valuable piece starting every game for five years before getting hurt some this past season. Baker signed a one-year, $7-million with Seattle, meaning the Dolphins really traded him for former Seahawks linebacker Jordy Brooks (three years, $30 million). Brooks is a big tackler and, by all analysis, a good cover player in the proper scheme.

— 3. Safety. Minus. You lost two in-their-prime starters in DeShon Elliott and Brandon Jones and got a cheaper wild card in Jordan Poyer. How couldn’t you like Poyer in Buffalo all those years? But he comes for $2 million for a reason. He will soon be 33. There’s lots of wear-and-tear on his body. It’s not just how he plays in September. Like so many on this roster, how will he look in January?

— 4. Offensive line. Incomplete. The time to re-sign Hunt was a year ago because Carolina’s $20-million-a-year deal was good-for-Hunt crazy. Center Aaron Brewer is a good system fit at $7 million a year. Brewer was needed for with Connor Williams a free agent and his health status uncertain for next year. Does newly signed Philadelphia reserve Jack Driscoll step in for Hunt? Maybe. You also need a tackle to cover for the games Terron Armstead will likely miss. Look to the draft to complete the line’s issues.

— 5. Receiver. Incomplete. A third receiver is the biggest piece left on this offseason. Odell Beckham Jr.’s 16.1-yard average could be another, stretch-the-field fit to this offense. Tyreek Hill had 170 and 171 passes thrown to him the past two years to rank behind only Las Vegas’s Davante Adams. Hill is 30. He’s been hurting in the past two Decembers for a reason. Tight end Jonnu Smith will help give another target. So will a necessary third receiver this team needs to adds to the mix.

— 6. Cornerback. Less. But not by much. The Dolphins had to move on from Xavien Howard if he wouldn’t come off his $25 million cap hit. Kendall Fuller is a nice signing that comes with crossed fingers as he’s 29 with lots of play on his body.

— 7. Edge Rusher. Even. Set aside the injury status of Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb. Would you rather have Van Ginkel, 28 this year, at two-years, $20 million or Barrett, 31, at one-year, $9 million? Their stats are comparable. Van Ginkel would give more versatility, Barrett the more sure edge rusher. I’d take Van Ginkel because his game rose last year, but understand the idea of Barrett.

Add it all up and you have a roster that isn’t as good in late March as it was last season. Let’s not over-do that. There’s still time to go. Draft. Signings. Just this past week the Dolphins re-did Chubb’s contract to free up some cap money.

There’s also no need to rush the Cycle of Hope. Let it breathe. Let the offseason play out. As long-time Dolphins fans know, there’s an entire summer for their optimism to bloom anew, just as it always does.

Vice President Kamala Harris toured the site of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting Saturday afternoon, one of the last visits before the building, untouched for six years, is demolished this summer.

Later, she announced a new project related to state red flag laws and called on more local governments to use them.

Guided by Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor, Harris accompanied victims’ families, U.S. Representative Jared Moskowitz, and members of the State Attorney’s Office through the building’s blood-stained halls, left nearly identical since the day of the shooting that killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day in 2018.

They showed her the classrooms where students had outdated laptops open, now gathering dust, the half-eaten snacks. The doors that didn’t stop the shooter’s bullets. The white board that read “no excuses allowed.”

“The families, so rightly, have been so injured by this,” Harris said afterward in a news conference in the school’s gymnasium. “Those injuries that in cases of violence like this are seen and obvious and also invisible.”

Behind Harris, on the gymnasium’s wall, was a plaque for the school’s 2017 state tennis champions; one of the names read Chris Hixon, the school’s athletic director, who died while confronting the shooter. His wife, Debbi, and son, Tom, stood behind Harris on Saturday, as did family members of Gina Montalto, Helena Ramsay, Jaime Guttenberg, Luke Hoyer, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Alyssa Alhadeff. Several parents held yearbook photos of their children.

Throughout her 14-minute speech, Harris kept repeating the phrase, “frozen in time.”

“The moment is frozen in time,” she said, “where there was, in the classroom that was known for having a teacher that was pretty strict, the teacher relented to the students that said, ‘Hey, can we be a little bit more informal today?’ And instead of having the desks lined up in a row, they had them pointed to face each other.”

The vice president’s arrival joined several visits to the 1200 building by government officials in recent months:

In August, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Miami-Dade County Republican and senior member of the Florida congressional delegation, co-hosted an congressional visit with Moskowitz, who represents Parkland and attended Stoneman Douglas. He became an advocate for gun safety after the shooting. He is currently co-chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

In September, state Sen. Ben Albritton, the Republican who will become president of the Florida Senate after the 2024 election, took a two-hour tour of the site, along with state Sen. Jason Pizzo, who will become the Democratic party leader in November.

The family of students who were killed during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School six years ago react as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a visit to the school in Parkland on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Left to right are Tony and Jennifer Montalto, parents of Gina, Anne Ramsay, mother of Helena, and Fred and Jennifer Guttenberg, parents of Jaime. The vice president and the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention met with families whose loved ones were murdered during the 2018 mass shooting. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald)

In November, Moskowitz led five more members of Congress on a tour of the site.

This past January, two federal officials visited: the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director.

Each walked past the unfinished assignments on dry erase boards, boxes of candies, abandoned teddy bears, and shards of glass. Some families have said that they want government officials to tour the site in hopes that it will influence their policy decisions.

“It’s important to bring people through the building,” Tony Montalto, the father of Gina Montalto, told reporters afterward. “So they can see, not only the horror that exists there, but so we can point to the exact thing that failed.”

As they walked through the building, he said, they pointed to the locations of where each student was shot, told the vice president not only how they died but who they were. Harris also met with each family individually, where Montalto said they shared stories of their loved ones and spoke about the different projects they have undergone in the years since.

Harris appeared struck by what she saw inside.

“The way we have constructed schools is based on the only potential emergency being a fire,” she said.

Harris, who oversees the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, also announced the launch of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, which will train states in implementing red flag laws, “information about the concern and about the potential danger, or the crying out for help of an individual,” she said. “And then let’s get it to them before a tragedy occurs.”

Red flag laws allow law enforcement to petition courts to remove guns from those who pose a threat to themselves or others, and seek to prevent those people from purchasing guns in the first place. Many states have red flag laws but have not used funding provided by the federal government to implement them, the White House official said. Still others have no red flag laws.

Florida has red flag laws, but recent events have underlined their shortcomings. A man who died after barricading himself in a Fort Lauderdale hotel room on Thursday and exchanged gunfire with police had a long history of domestic violence and mental health issues, records show. He had his guns confiscated under the state’s red flag law in 2022, but they were returned to him after the risk-protection order expired in 2023.

Harris’ visit during an election campaign produced political reaction and counter-reaction, including among the parents and families of the Parkland victims.

Online, over 500 signers of a Change.org petition demanded that Harris cancel her visit, arguing it “would only serve to bring back traumatic memories for those affected by this tragedy” and could turn the “solemn site into an unwanted spectacle.”

The building “is not meant to be used as a political tool or tourist destination,” the petition said, adding that Harris could have visited previously and asserted she “obviously is choosing election year to further an agenda.”

Ryan Petty, father of Alaina Petty, 14, who was killed in the shooting, told Fox News he a few weeks ago joined the Secret Service, including its director, at Stoneman Douglas High, where he and others “walked them through what happened that day.” He called that a “good visit” that “didn’t involve the press” and “it wasn’t an opportunity for anyone to do a photo op.”

Others disputed that version of events and said the vice presidential visit is positive, and could lead to action that helps prevent future school shootings. Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was murdered at her school, wrote Saturday on social media that he had asked Harris to visit. He was among the family members of victims accompanying her.

“The blood, DNA, broken glass, course work on desks left unfinished and other remnants of the mass shooting incident will still be there,” he wrote on X. “That Vice President Harris and her team are walking through this building with us to learn the lessons of why this happened and what could have been done to prevent it, as well as what we can do in the future to prevent gun violence, and also to prevent mass carnage when gun violence happens is a big deal. This will be a hard day for all of us. However, it is done with the intention of stopping the next one.”

Max Schachter, whose son Alex was killed at the school, and who joined Harris on Saturday, said he had asked many officials to attend, and is glad Harris is “taking time to come to Parkland to bear witness to what happened to my little boy. This is not a political visit. She is the Vice President of the United States and she has an obligation to come to Parkland.”

“There is no way to replicate what one sees and experiences when they walk through the site of the Parkland school shooting,” he added. “It profoundly affects people. They emerge determined to prevent another tragedy. … I couldn’t save Alex, but every time an official walks through the building lives are saved, and schools are safer.”

Montalto told reporters Saturday that he hoped more people would come together and focus more on the solutions, regardless of who is in charge.

“Unfortunately, I think anytime that president or vice president goes anywhere it’s seen as politics,” he said. “However, there’s no real political reason why we shouldn’t hope that the Office of Gun Violence Prevention does the best they can to prevent gun violence in the nation’s communities.”

Much of the gun safety legislation he supports has bipartisan support, he pointed out, adding that “the middle needs to be heard.”

Also on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, who was governor at the time of the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre, touted his response at the time — and criticized what he said was the push by Biden and Harrris for “nationwide implementation of radical policies” on gun violence.

He cited the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act enacted in the aftermath after he said he consulted with mental health, education and law enforcement professionals and families of victims. He faulted what he called the “the Biden-Harris administration’s push for nationwide implementation of radical policies, like California’s red flag law,” which he said was an unacceptable infringement of constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans.

A small group of protesters also gathered outside of the school to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, pictures on social media show, holding signs reading “MSD students demand a ceasefire” and “Students here and in Gaza deserve to live.”

The day starts early, usually before the sun comes up.

It begins with a good strong cup of coffee and checking out the electronic mailbag that holds our letters to the editor (letters@sunsentinel.com).

One older reader writes in for help with her paper that didn’t arrive in her driveway.

Another wants to know who we will endorse in the upcoming city election in her town.

A third wants us to publish her letter telling Palm Beach County Democrats not to talk to me because she disliked my description of “MAGA-left” tactics by party dissidents who supported the suspension of county party chair Mindy Koch.

Basically, she wants to use the Sun Sentinel as a platform so she can criticize the Sun Sentinel.

Would we post and print a letter like that?

You bet we would (and did). It’s the right thing to do. Besides, who else is going to listen to her?

We will.

Mike Stocker/Sun SentinelSteve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel Opinion Editor.

Letters to the editor are one way to cement the bond between the paper and its readers, a bond that endures despite the many setbacks that have buffeted the journalism industry over the past two decades.

We need each other.

You need us to send your opinions to a wider audience. We need you to show that we care, and we’re listening. That’s important, and it’s why daily publication of letters is such a deeply ingrained American journalistic tradition.

They’re there every morning.

Some readers read them religiously, while others may barely glance at them.

We know that.

We keep publishing them because they reflect who we are, and what’s on your minds.

If you wrote letters to your favorite TV news anchors, would they put them on their website? No.

Only newspapers run letters to the editor, every day.

It will come as no surprise that we get far more letters on one subject — Donald Trump — than anything else. The vast majority of it is not fan mail, though a few readers don’t believe that.

Trump generates the most letters, but Neal Bluestein of Boca Raton is giving Trump a run for his money — that is, whatever money Trump has left.

Bluestein is an unwavering supporter of Trump, and his way of making a point infuriates some Sun Sentinel readers who rightly view Trump, as we do, as a grave threat to democracy.

We publish Bluestein’s letters because he (and several other writers) are among the very few who write to us consistently from a pro-Trump point of view, which, like it or not, has a right to be heard.

Our letters are overwhelmingly hostile to Trump. That’s a natural reflection of our readership, which is largely in heavily Democratic Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Some of those who despise Trump resent us for giving Bluestein a platform for his “drivel,” as one reader put it.

Bluestein has a way of getting under the nerve of other readers. He struck a nerve with a recent letter that asked a rhetorical question made famous by Ronald Reagan against Jimmy Carter in 1980: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

We got a couple dozen letters from readers, most outraged that anyone could even compare President Joe Biden to Trump.

Letters, like news stories, must be fact-checked, and disagreements always arise over the facts. Writers like to cite Trump’s oft-quoted reference to Adolf Hitler having done “a lot of good things.”

The remark is attributed to Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, who said that Trump said it when they were in Europe in 2018.

It first appeared in the book, “Frankly, We Did Win This Election,” by journalist Michael C. Bender. Trump has denied saying it.

Bluestein considers the Hitler remark “a hoax.” We disagree.

Some letters to the editor fall short of publication, often because they are laden with F-bombs.

Letters that open with “I know you’ll never print this, but … ” usually get published, despite the painfully obvious attempt at reverse psychology.

Readers sometimes ask, is there a “secret” to getting your letter published?

The answer is no, but there are a few tricks of the trade.

Shorter and pithier is good. Letters on local or universal topics (animals, traffic, development, restaurants, sports, living, dying, grandchildren) are almost a certainty to be published, because we get fewer of those. Ideally, the letters cover a broad range of topics. All Trump all the time gets boring pretty fast.

Write to us. Send us your letters about good and bad restaurants, your members of Congress and the Florida Legislature, South Florida drivers, your pet peeves, your grandchildren, urban sprawl, the Florida you miss, Gov. Ron DeSantis, getting old, feeling young, and on and on.

But we know you’ll keep writing about Trump and Biden — and that’s good, too.

Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240 and follow him on X @stevebousquet.

MIAMI — The lines have been set and the lines have been drawn.

That perhaps never was more evident than before the Miami Heat’s game on Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

In the home-team interview room, Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff was recalling a harrowing incident last season when a gambler got his phone number and began making threatening calls.

Down the hall, moments later in the visitor’s interview room, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was relating a story of a gambler so intent on a desired outcome last season that the team had to have the spectator ejected.

Both conversations came in an arena that houses a Caesars-operated sportsbook.

For years, through partnerships and sponsorships, this has been the direction steered by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who in an op-ed piece a decade ago in the New York Times wrote, “Sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight.”

The glare arguably never has been brighter, with the NBA this past week announcing that live betting would be coming to NBA League Pass — watch while wagering.

That was among the reasons the topic was broached ahead of the Heat’s victory over the Cavaliers.

It led to answers both unexpected and concerning.

“I do think it’s somewhat contradictory,” Spoelstra said of the NBA aggressively and emphatically moving into the gambling space. “I think it treads on a weird line, for sure.”

That led to Spoelstra revealing the disquieting moment last season.

“We had an incident behind our bench last year with Vic Oladipo,” Spoelstra said. “Somebody was screaming. Security had to take him away. The game was already over, and evidently, he didn’t shoot an open three at the end of the game. The game was already decided, and this fan was totally beside himself, and he was a gambler. He had money on whatever the score was.”

As with many teams, the Heat feature gambling signage on their court at Kaseya Center.

Then there was Bickerstaff’s more profound perspective.

“They got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff,” Bickerstaff said, with the gambler later identified but no charges filed. “It is a dangerous game and a fine line that we’re walking for sure.”

While the NBA’s newest feature with League Pass will be limited to point spreads, over-unders and moneyline odds at legal outlets in various jurisdictions, the reality is that a variety of apps offer real-time lines and constantly updated player propositions.

In other words, action all the time, even in blowouts, even in games involving teams that have no incentive to win.

“It brings added pressure,” Bicklerstaff said. “It brings a distraction to the game that can be difficult for players, coaches, referees, everybody that’s involved in it. And I think that we really have to be careful with how close we let it get to the game and the security of the people who are involved in it.”

Even something rudimentary as the overall betting line, as Spoelstra noted with the Oladipo incident, can become intrusive, particularly where such bets are legal, where there is no need to remain surreptitious about having money on the line.

“The amount of times,” Bickerstaff said, “where I’m standing up there and we may have a 10-point lead and the spread is 11 and people are yelling at me to leave the guys in so that we can cover the spread, it’s ridiculous.”

And yet it also is what Silver, the NBA and every other sports league are looking for — action with enough juice to juice interest even when the outcome would otherwise stand irrelevant.

In every NBA locker room there is signage of hard-and-fast rules against gambling involvement by any member of a team. Such signage states that team representatives are prohibited from wagering on any NBA, WNBA, G League, NBA 2K League or Basketball Africa League game, tipping (specifically, nonpublic, proprietary or other sensitive NBA or team information, such as a player’s injury status or his likelihood of playing in a game), as well, of course, as directly altering the outcome.

From there, players sit on benches with gambling advertisement at their feet.

This past week, that had Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton noting: “To half the world, I’m just helping them make money on DraftKings or whatever . . .  I’m the prop.”

A former Heat player who now is a coach said the slope is beyond slippery, the betting lines so public that it is difficult not to be aware that a late basket in an already-decided game could result in a payoff for the home fans.

“You still have to play the game without thinking about gambling,” the coach said, with anonymity granted because of the sensitivity of the subject. “I think you have to hold the ball. We do that for sportsmanship in the first place. I think you still have to be consistent with that. You can’t go out of your way to make people money and things like that. I think that’s where it becomes a little sketchy.”

Another former Heat player with European ties said it is an evolution in the NBA that already has taken hold elsewhere.

“It is an interesting topic,” he said. “And if I’m honest, it’s hard to give an answer. Back in Europe, in those minor leagues, players bet on themselves, their own teams.”

This is where the NBA stands. No turning back.

“It changes the atmosphere,” a former Heat player said. “But it can’t change the way you do things.”

But it can change and has changed the spectator/participant dynamic.

“There’s just a lot of unintended consequences with that, from a security standpoint,” Spoelstra said, “that I’m not sure everybody totally understood when it became allowed.”

IN THE LANE

STRUS LOOSE: While former Heat forward Max Strus has been dealing with a knee injury, an ailment that kept him out of Wednesday night’s game against the Heat at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Sunday’s visit by the Cleveland Cavaliers to Kaseya Center will be a reminder of what the Heat lost and the Cavaliers have gained. For Cleveland, when Strus merely is on the court it has been a win, “Outside of his shooting numbers, his gravity is insane,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell told Cleveland.com. “It creates so much for everybody else. This is nothing against Miami, they don’t have guys who are able to create the same way we are in ball-dominant ways. So, his role has changed. It’s a little bit different here. He has adapted well. We know how much value he brings.” Strus exchanged jerseys with Heat forward Caleb Martin after Wednesday’s game.

WAITING GAME: The most significant game remaining on the Heat’s home schedule arguably is the April 4 visit by the Philadelphia 76ers, based on where the two teams stand in the Eastern Conference play-in race. Still uncertain is whether 76ers center Joel Embiid will be back from his knee injury by then. “I think he kind of rounds into shape and rhythm pretty quickly,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said before the 76ers’ victory this past week over the Heat. “We want to get to the point where he’s as healthy as he can be, come playoff or play-in time.” Nurse was then asked about referring to the play-in possibility. “Well, we’re in the play-in now,” he said. “I’m just opening my eyes and looking and seeing where we’re at. It’s reality. We’re going to try to fight like heck to finish as high as we can.”

MOTIVATIONAL WORDS: Based on the fight the Pistons gave in their two losses to the Heat last weekend, Detroit coach Monty Williams just might be the right man for the job, even amid all the losses. “I learned a tough principle a while ago about, ‘Everything you want is on the other side of hard,’ ” he said ahead of the second of those two losses to the Heat. “Sometimes you avoid hard, or we want to get rescued from it. Most of the time, that’s where the good stuff is if you can just stay with it and get on the other side.”

BACK AT IT: Former Heat captain Udonis Haslem again will be hosting his Hour Push Up Challenge to benefit Make-A-Wish Southern Florida and the Udonis Haslem Foundation. The event will be April 13 at Anatomy Miami Beach. The event, which seeks pledges for pushups completed in a one-hour timeframe, has raised over $715,000 in the last five years, featuring several participants from the Heat, including Spoelstra. Details can be found at https://sfla.rallyup.com/hourpushupchallenge24/Campaign/Details.

NUMBER

2nd. With their 21-16 road record, the Heat already have their second-highest total of road wins over the past decade, with four games left to match or better their 24-17 road record in 2021-22, which stands as their best road record since 29-12 in 2012-13 during the Big Three era with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. In 2013-14, the last season of that Big Three era, the Heat went 22-19 on the road. The Heat’s remaining road games are at Washington, Houston, Indiana and Atlanta.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top state investigative agency says the death toll in the Moscow concert hall attack has risen to 133.

Dear Amy: My friend’s cat has been missing for two weeks.

I have been supportive in helping her try to find the cat. I also feel her pain.

I have always had cats, but since losing a cat 30 years ago, I have always kept my cats indoors.

My friend lives in a canyon with lots of wildlife, including coyotes, mountain lions, owls and other predators. (She had another cat that had to have its leg amputated because it was caught in a rabbit snare.)

Her remaining cat is still allowed outside. These are small 2-year-old cats!

I’m having a hard time with this. I know it’s her cat, but I can’t stand the thought of another one going missing due to this thoughtless behavior.

I’m feeling very judgmental/angry and may not want to stay friends with her.

I can’t decide if I should sit by and not judge, or should I bail on the friendship?

– Cat Lover and Friend

Dear Cat Lover: There are many credible reports showing that allowing a cat to roam outdoors significantly shortens its lifespan, and that indoor cats live much longer.

This is from the ASPCA (aspca.org): “Please keep your cat indoors. Outdoor cats do not live as long as indoor cats. Outdoor cats are at risk of trauma from cars, or from fights with other cats, raccoons and free-roaming dogs. Coyotes are known to eat cats. Outdoor cats are more likely to become infested with fleas or ticks, as well as contract infectious diseases.”

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Your friend is ignoring this commonsense advice, and her young cats are paying the price.

Tell her that you are hoping for the very best outcome and that you will do everything you can to help.

You don’t want her to feel worse than she currently does, but you can hope to encourage her to treat her animals differently.

Once there is some resolution to this, I do think you should tell her that you find it upsetting that she allows her cats to freely roam outside, given the many risks they face.

And, yes, depending on how she responds to you and her animals, this would be a tough thing to get beyond.

Dear Amy: My husband and I have an adult daughter who currently lives at home.

She has been dating “Tony” ever since they met in college. They’ve been together for almost six years and, frankly, we all just love him.

We’ve welcomed Tony into our family with open arms, spending many holidays and weeks in the summer together. He and my husband have developed a really nice, close relationship.

Tony and our daughter seem like a really great couple and have been talking about moving in together. We’re honestly thrilled.

Two weeks ago, Tony lowered the boom. He had cheated on our daughter. He begged for her forgiveness. After a dramatic few days, she agreed to stay with him, and then he broke up with her!

Honestly, I feel quite heartbroken. I feel deceived by his dishonesty and I’m so incredibly disappointed in his lack of integrity.

I’m having a hard time reining in my emotions. When I expressed some of these feelings to our daughter, she got mad at me!

I’m considering contacting Tony to give him a piece of my mind. Should I?

And how should I react to this at home?

– Upset and Furious

Dear Upset: You should react to this by behaving like those wise mothers in the movies and keeping your feelings – and your thoughts – to yourself.

Your daughter’s emotional bandwidth is stretched thin. Your honest reaction might cause her to actually feel defensive about Tony.

You should concentrate on your daughter and react only to her. If she wants comfort, give her that. If she wants to vent, let her do that without piling on.

Assure her that she can recover from this, and that you and her dad are forever in her corner, no matter what.

Dear Amy: I didn’t really appreciate your feminist snide remarks in your response to “Upset Dad”: “Your reward is that you get to tell the kids that they are going to finish out their scheduled school week before going on vacation.”

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Real mature!

– No Longer Reading

Dear No Longer: This dad had offered his kids two extra days of vacation without running the idea past his wife. I suggested that he needed to take responsibility for his poor parenting by undoing his unilateral choice.

I’ll be adding “Snide Feminist” to my T-shirt collection. Thank you!

You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.

By MICHAEL MAROT

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left as 10th-seeded Colorado beat seventh-seeded Florida in a 102-100 thriller on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Simpson finished with 23 points as the Buffaloes (26-10) and Gators (24-12) put on the most impressive offensive display of this year’s March Madness. Colorado extended its single-season school record for wins two days after beating Boise State in the First Four. The Buffs advance in the South Region to face second-seeded Marquette on Sunday.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored the last 16 points for Florida, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 100-all with 9 seconds left. He finished with a career-high 33 points, but his long heave at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim, and Colorado moved on to the second round for the third time since 1998.

The Buffs’ astonishing offensive totals included 34 of 54 (63%) from the field, 6 of 10 on 3-pointers and 28 of 33 (84.8%) on free throws. The Gators made five more 3s (11 of 25) and shot 51.5% overall (35 of 68) to keep pace.

Colorado was all but unstoppable for a long stretch of the second half as it built a 94-81 lead with 4:28 remaining, but Clayton took over from there as the Buffs made mistake after mistake. He converted a three-point play with 1:12 left, buried a 3 with 37 seconds left to get Florida within 99-96, and then pulled up from well outside the arc for the tying basket.

Eddie Lampkin Jr. scored 21 points for Colorado. Tristan da Silva added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and J’Vonne Hadley had 16 as all five Colorado  starters scored in double figures.

Will Richard scored 15 and Zyon Pullin had 13 for Florida, which had won its previous nine first-round games, dating to a 2010 double-overtime loss to Brigham Young.

The game was fast-paced from the start and both teams went on strong scoring runs. Colorado battled back from a 10-point first-half deficit to tie the score at 45-all on Simpson’s step-back jumper at the halftime buzzer.

The Buffs appeared to swing the game their way when Florida coach Todd Golden was called for a technical foul after Lampkin made a layup. Colorado converted that into a five-point play for an 82-72 lead with 7:44 to go.

Florida’s players wore warmup shirts with injured teammate Micah Handlogten’s name and jersey number, 3, on the back. The 7-foot sophomore, who broke his left leg in last weekend’s SEC championship game loss to Auburn, sat behind the bench.

The Gators were playing in the city where they first reached the NCAA title game in 2000 and then won their first national title six years later. Former quarterback Anthony Richardson, now with the Indianapolis Colts, was in attendance, dressed in a bright orange shirt.

MIAMI GARDENS — Playing four days after the death of a former hockey player she dated, Aryna Sabalenka beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-3 on Friday in the second round of the rain-soaked Miami Open.

Sabalenka has asked for privacy for herself and the family of Konstantin Koltsov, the 42-year-old Belarusian who died in Miami on Monday. Miami-Dade Police said it was an apparent suicide and no foul play was suspected.

The second-ranked Sabalenka is a 25-year-old also from Belarus who won the Australian Open in January for her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park. As one of the 32 seeded players, Sabalenka received a first-round bye.

Rain delayed the start of the day’s play by six hours, then more rain wiped out the rest of the scheduled play early in the evening. Wind also was a factor.

Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, hits a return to Paula Badosa, of Spain, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens. (Lynne Sladky/AP)

In one of the first matches completed, U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff moved on to the third round, beating Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 6-2. Gauff is ranked No. 3.

Fourth-ranked Elena Rybakina outlasted Elena Rybakina 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Also, Emma Navarro beat Storm Hunter 6-4, 6-3, and Ekaterina Alexandrova topped Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-4.

In men’s play, third-ranked Jannik Sinner led Andrea Vavassori 3-2 when the all-Italian match was suspended for the day. Earlier, Tomas Machac beat sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, and Ugo Humbert edged Botic Van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-3.

INDIANAPOLIS —  KJ Simpson rattled in a tiebreaking jumper from the baseline with 2 seconds left, and 10th-seeded Colorado beat seventh-seeded Florida in a 102-100 thriller on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Simpson finished with 23 points as the Buffaloes (26-10) and Gators (24-12) put on the most impressive offensive display of this year’s March Madness. Colorado extended its single-season school record for wins two days after beating Boise State in the First Four. The Buffs advance in the South Region to face second-seeded Marquette on Sunday.

Walter Clayton Jr. scored the last 16 points for Florida, including a 3-pointer that tied the game at 100-all with 9 seconds left. He finished with a career-high 33 points, but his half-court heave at the buzzer didn’t hit the rim, and Colorado moved on to the second round for the third time since 1998.

The Buffs’ astonishing offensive totals: 34 of 54 (63%) from the field, 6 of 10 on 3-pointers and 28 of 33 (84.8%) on free throws. The Gators made five more 3s (11 of 25) and shot 51.5% overall (35 of 68) to keep pace.

Colorado was all but unstoppable for a long stretch of the second half as it built a 94-81 lead with 4:28 remaining, but Clayton took over from there as the Buffs made mistake after mistake. He converted a three-point play with 1:12 left, buried a 3 with 37 seconds left to get Florida within 99-96, and then pulled up from well outside the arc for the tying basket.

Eddie Lampkin Jr. scored 21 points for Colorado. Tristan da Silva added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and J’Vonne Hadley had 16 as all five Buffs starters scored in double figures.

Will Richard scored 15 and Zyon Pullin had 13 for Florida, which had won its previous nine first-round games, dating to a 2010 double-overtime loss to Brigham Young.

The game was fast-paced from the start and both teams went on strong scoring runs. Colorado battled back from a 10-point first-half deficit to tie the score at 45-all on Simpson’s step-back jumper at the halftime buzzer.

The Buffs appeared to swing the game their way when Florida coach Todd Golden was called for a technical foul after Lampkin made layup. Colorado converted that into a five-point play for an 82-72 lead with 7:44 to go.

Florida’s players wore warmup shirts with injured teammate Micah Handlogten’s name and jersey number, 3, on the back. The 7-foot sophomore, who broke his left leg in last weekend’s Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game loss to Auburn, sat behind the bench.

The Gators were playing in the city where they first reached the NCAA title game in 2000 and then won their first national title six years later. Former quarterback Anthony Richardson, now with the Indianapolis Colts, was in attendance, dressed in a bright orange shirt.

By Bob Ferrante

Orlando Sentinel Correspondent

TALLAHASSEE — Keon Coleman arrived last summer, a transfer from Michigan State intent on being productive and leading Florida State to wins on what he intended would be a short stay before being drafted by the NFL.

Coleman stepped inside FSU’s indoor practice facility one more time on Friday, spending most of his time watching and encouraging teammates before grabbing his cleats and getting to work as he ran routes alongside receiver Johnny Wilson and tight end Jaheim Bell.

Projected as a second- or third-round pick in most mock drafts, Coleman displayed crisp route running and soft hands in front of 42 NFL scouts (including new Raiders coach Antonio Pierce).

“This is the final step they get to see before they go in there and make their draft boards,” Coleman said. “Really get to make your last impression your best one. Get to talk to them in person. It’s probably one of the more important steps.

“A lot of them [scouts], they didn’t really get to see all of the things I can do on film. We were just out there having fun, putting on a show.”

With help from redshirt freshman quarterback Brock Glenn, who threw everything from crossing routes to deep balls, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Coleman put on a short but entertaining show. He glided across the field and caught every pass, although one deep ball from Glenn was well beyond the receiver’s reach. Coleman is often viewed as a second-day pick in the three-day draft, which runs from April 25-27.

Many of FSU’s draft prospects chose to stand on their 40-yard dash times from the NFL Scouting Combine and skipped agility drills. Safety Akeem Dent, who did not get a combine invite, smiled after turning in a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash.

Seminoles gathered around the weight bench to cheer on those who did the bench press, with strength and conditioning coach Josh Storms spotting. Offensive lineman Casey Roddick led the way with 27 reps at 225 pounds while linebacker Kalen DeLoach had an impressive 23 reps.

While he is not able to compete, injured quarterback Jordan Travis is meeting with NFL teams and intends to run and work out in April when he is cleared.

“Moving around the other day, I felt good,” Travis said. “I think I’ll be able to do it sometime in April. I think that’s a great way to go out and show teams I’m getting better every single day.”

If Travis is able to work out, it could secure he would be drafted following speculation teams would pass on him following his November leg surgery. He also could give FSU the potential for 12 draft picks, which would surpass the 11 selections FSU had in the 2015 and ’13 drafts.

Jared Verse, who is projected as a top-15 pick, didn’t take part in workouts on Friday but returned to encourage friends and meet with scouts. Unranked as a tight end in the class of 2019, Verse went to FCS Albany and turned into an All-American defensive end while recording 89 tackles and 18 sacks in two seasons at FSU, which he credits for his development.

“You can just look at my before-and-after pictures,” Verse said. “The strength and training program here, it’s insane. I came back here early to get some more work in with coach Storms. They are going to make you stronger. They are going to make you faster. They are going to make you bigger. You’re just going to mentally be prepared for what it takes to get to that level. Because it’s not for everyone.”

By LOLITA C. BALDOR (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier struck three underground storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen late Friday, according to a U.S. official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a military operation not yet made public, said the ship is in the Red Sea.

Strikes and explosions were seen and heard in Sanaa on Friday night, according to witnesses and videos, some circulating on social media. Footage showed explosions and smoke rising over the Houthi-controlled capital.

There was no official confirmation of the injured or the origin of the explosions. Yemeni TV station Al-Masirah, which is linked to the Houthis, reported strikes hitting the city.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which are allied with Iran and control much of the country’s north and west, have launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have kept up their campaign of attacks despite two months of U.S.-led airstrikes.