FrontPage305

The guys catch-up with former Miami Herald teammate and longtime Panthers beat writer George Richards to talk about the return of the NHL, covering high school sports in Broward, famed St. Thomas Aquinas football coach George Smith, his best Behind Las Cortinas story and why Brother's BBQ in Lakeland was the best. 

Regardless of what the Florida High School Athletic Association decides to do with the upcoming fall sports season and high school football amid the coronavirus pandemic, the 'genie is already out of the bottle' and Miami-Dade school administrators are entertaining the idea of creating their own association and more equitable revenue streams for their athletic programs after years of feeling shortchanged. Not only have other school leaders in different parts of the state reached out to Gallon and Miami's leaders about breaking away from the FHSAA, but so have some private investors who are interested in helping make it happen. Our Manny Navarro and Andre C. Fernandez caught up with Dr. Gallon, the former principal at Miami Northwestern, who is making moves behind the scenes on this front to talk about what's next and the school board agenda item he will present on Aug. 12 and what it all could mean long term. 27 minutes.

The guys make their SIRIUSXM debut on Ch. 145 SLAMRadioXM at and Walter Villa is all jacked up. He's worn a sleeveless t-shirt for some weird reason to celebrate the moment. As the MLB and NBA season are set to begin, the guys discuss if beer-chugging Miami Heat big man Meyers Leonard should have his own TV show,  if the Miami Marlins should play the young guys and forget about those free agents they signed to buy their minor league system time to grow this season, and where the Miami Hurricanes stand in recruiting after picking up recent commitments from 4-star safety Kamren Kinchens and 4-star defensive end Jabari Ishmael and the coveted Palmetto 5. Twitter: @QuePasa305 (Questions); @FrontPage305 (Links)

With the baseball set to start soon, the guys caught up with 16-year MLB veteran and 2006 ALCS MVP Placido Polanco, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1998-2002), Philadelphia Phillies (2002-05, 2012-15), Detroit Tigers (2005-2009) and Miami Marlins (2013). Polanco, 44, retired from baseball in 2016 as one of the best fielders the game has ever seen, a 3-time Gold Glove winner and 2-time All-Star. He became eligible to make the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. The Dominican native, who attended Miami-Dade College and calls South Florida home, works in the Dodgers organization now.  28 minutes.

We catch up with South Florida-based author Carolina Cardona, a travel and lifestyle writer who wrote a steampunk romance novel entitled Andújar: The Robot Gentleman of San Juan (released May 2020). Carolina fields some questions from us about some crazy things parents have done when it comes to sports including a Canadian mother who flashed her boobs during her 11-year-old son's hockey game to distract the other team. Follow Carolina at TheTropicalEccentric on Instagram. 7 minutes. 

Manny Navarro (The Athletic) and Miami-based sportswriters Walter Villa and Andre C. Fernandez discuss if baseball might be better served by this new 60-game season it is about to start and Walter pitches his idea to make the NBA better, which could make Shaq happy. We tackle Patrick Mahomes' new $500 million contract, share stories about losing our virginity (in journalism) and highlight our interviews with Florida State basketball coach Leonard Hamilton and AL.com columnist Joseph Goodman. 60 minutes. 

The 71-year-old former Miami Hurricanes men's basketball coach (1990-2000) spoke to our Walter Villa about his memories coaching the Hurricanes, living in Miami and why he would not drink Cuban coffee, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Leonard led the Seminoles to a 26-5 record and the ACC title this past March. 20 minutes. 

@JoeGoodmanJr covered the Miami Heat during the Big 3 era with LeBron James, the Florida Gators when they won two national titles with Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer, and now he's the man who drives Nick Saban up a wall at Alabama.  We caught up with Joe on Thursday, July 9, 2020 to talk about why he was wearing a Birmingham Black Barons hat on our Zoom call (hint: He's showing support for Negro League baseball), his fondest memories of covering the Heat despite not knowing a thing about the NBA when he got the job,  his battle with COVID-19, and why Alabama keeps taking great wide receivers from Miami's backyard. Part 1 of 2. 27 minutes.

Our Andre C. Fernandez caught up with Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas right before the team got together for their first official workouts in July and Miggy shared some insights on how players are adjusting to COVID-19, playing the 2020 season and his Mom's battle with cancer. 30 minutes.