Okay, so now that I have your attention…

Team Name: Miami Heat
Last Year’s Record: 43-39
Key Losses: Jamario Moon, Mark Blount
Key Additions: Carlos Arroyo, Shavlik Randolph, John Lucas, Quentin Richardson

1. What significant moves were made during the offseason?

Unfortunately for the Heat, the biggest move was acquiring Quentin Richardson from the Minnesota for salary hound center, Mark Blount. This summer, the Heat missed out on acquiring swing-man forward, Lamar Odom from the defending champion Lakers, and the bruising Carlos Boozer from the Jazz. The good news for Richardson and the Heat is that he brings the long ball threat that Miami loves to utilize, and he is also a long time friend of Dwyane Wade, who the Heat hope to sign an extension with this year. The Heat’s addition of Carlos Arroyo to their roster adds a veteran guard to the backcourt.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Miami Heat’s biggest strength is…Dwyane Wade, surprised?  After a strong comeback season where he finished top 3 in MVP votes, “Flash” is back and better than ever. If second year forward Michael Beasley can get past his offseason woes, Pat Riley’s dream of a great tag-team can come full circle. The development of Mario Chalmers allows the Heat to run a fast paced offense, and by this season’s end, Chalmers will most likely be a top tier guard in the league.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Since the departure of Shaq and the retiring of Alonzo Mourning, the Heat’s biggest hole is the center position. Year after year the Heat try to develop a young center, but the products have been Earl Barron and Joel Anthony…enough said. With the mid-season acquisition of Jermaine O’Neal, the soft spot of the defense was hopefully going to be filled, but it seems only temporary. Perhaps with a Magloire, Anthony, and O’Neal frontcourt, the Heat can contend with the size the East has to offer.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Every so often, a summer like the one upcoming brings such great free agents that a team wants all of them. The Heat are looking to sign the likes of Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudamire, and/or put a bid in for LeBron James. The main goal is to sign Dwyane Wade to a multi-year deal in order to keep him from testing the free agent waters. The Heat are looking to add another big name to play along side Wade to not only keep him happy, but to keep the people of Miami interested.

5. Don’t count out Daequan Cook.

The third year guard out of Ohio State has shown significant improvement after each summer, including winning the 3-point shooting contest last All-Star break.  The 6-5 guard gives the Heat different looks at the guard position, and Cook has proved to be a good defender, and will only get better with experience. Look for big things from him this year.

Predicted Record: 44- 38. Due to the lack of free agent signings, the Miami Heat will improve only slightly this season and will enter the playoffs at a 4-6 seed.

There is often the misconception that an agent simply negotiates contracts and that is it. It seems that Beasley had apparently felt similarly, being that he had fired his previous agent shortly following signing with the Heat. He then stated publicly that he would only hire a new agent when his rookie contract expired. Now, he will certainly see that an agent like Schwartz and an organization like Excel Sports Management will function as much more than just a contractual advisor.

With Beasley’s well publicized turmoil this off-season, a well rounded agency like Excel to assist in getting his career back on track from both an on and off the court perspective is essential. They will likely immediately launch an extensive public relations re-branding effort to repair Beasley’s image and attempt to open up some doors from a marketing and endorsements point of view.

The fact of the matter is that Beasley is an immensely talented player and has huge potential. We can only wish Beasley the best in this upcoming season as the rigors of an NBA season and intense scrutiny that follow a 20 year old, second overall draft pick are obviously intense. But now, with the help of an experienced agent and organization helping to guide this player’s career, he surely will be better positioned to realize that potential.

Football

• From $20k per year to $2 mil per year…quite a jump…especially when Starter is the endorser [Cowboys QB Tony Romo signs apparel endorsement deal].
• Name that sticks out to me: Alex Smith [NFL - Highest Player Salary Cap Numbers For 2008 Season - Top 25].
• Gain an endorsement and get to call yourself Chief Mayhem Officer at the same time?  Win-win situation [T.O. Is Chief Mayhem Officer].

Basketball

• A new Carnival of the NBA has been released.  Our story on Joel Bell and Michael Beasley is included [Carnival #60: The Brotherhood of the Traveling Blogs].
• A former Gator gets his contribution on [Gift from NBA's Mike Miller makes magazine list].
• Good times to represent a point guard [Points Made: Point Guards Today Can Dish and Swish].

Olympics

• Speedo took down a giant [Nike Pulls Out of Olympic Swimwear Battle].

Soccer

• An interview with our boy, Max Eppel [Agent Talks Soccer In America].

Baseball

• My hometown’s fans really need to start showing some support [Marlins rank last in attendance … again].
• You think the Marlins have anything to do with this? [MLB Will Pull in $6.4 Billion in 2008]

Besides worrying about the state of the Miami Heat, what will this move mean for the future of Joel Bell and Bell Management International?  Beasley was definitely the staple of Bell’s client list, although he does have solid clients in guys like Jamario Moon and Steve Blake.  But this year has definitely been a huge setback for Bell.  Not only has he lost Beasley, after definitely putting a lot of time and money into the former Kansas State stud, but he also witnessed his other drafted client, DeAndre Jordan, drop him for WMG after Jordan was selected in the second round.  Jordan was definitely disappointed at the position he was drafted, and Beasley seems to have been upset with Bell’s success in landing him strong endorsements (I am sure the shoe deal is a major part of that).

Wojnarowski hypothesizes that Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management has the best shot at landing Beasley.  A lineup that includes Kevin Durant, Al Horford, and Michael Beasley looks pretty sexy.

Last year’s NBA Europe Live games drew more than 10.3 million viewers and 75,000 spectators.  This is the third consecutive year that NBA teams are heading overseas to play.  The games originally were a way to expand the influence of the NBA and attract foreign players and viewers.  After the USA played China in their opening round Olympic game, you could see that It certainly did just that in China.  The Chinese love the NBA and its stars, and have made Yao Ming a national hero and spokesman.

The recent splurge of NBA players heading overseas only shows how competitive the NBA is.  Athletes leave the league either for financial reasons or because they can play more and dominate overseas.  They have a completely different role than they did in the NBA.  The NBA is still a great goal for many foreign players and will remain to be the ultimate platform for basketball players worldwide.  Despite the different rules, the level of play is clearly the highest and winning an NBA ring is valued more than even an Olympic medal to some ballers.

A new era is beginning in Australia this weekend. The first professional women’s league for any team sport will commence on Saturday. Most of you are thinking basketball, but in fact it’s one of Australia’s biggest sports- Netball.

10 teams from Australia and New Zealand, the world’s two best coutries, will be vying for the title in the inaugural season of the ANZ Championship. The league will be in full swing, having all of their games broadcast live in Fox Sports.

In the initial season, the salary cap will be set at $268,000. This will be spread over 12 players, with the minimum contract being worth $12,000. [Search for the first million-dollar babe starts here] While this is a small amount, it’s a step in the right direction for a league that had been suffering in recent years, with players often having to pay their way to compete.

What will interesting is to see how high the profile of netballers will increase. There are already some household names. Liz Ellis, who recently retired, had media commitments in the latter stage of her career. Irene Van Dyk from NZ has endorsements off the court too. She is believed to be earning over $100,000.

Flamini talks hits a hurdle

Contract talks have broken down with promising midfielder Matthieu Flamini. The 23 year old is currently reportedly on €1m and was offered twice that for his new contract. In a sport where stars receive much more, it will be interesting to see whether Arsenal fight to retain the star, especially with Italian powerhouses Juventus and Milan waiting to swoop. [Juve & Milan Fighting over Flamini]

Luck of the Irish

Late last week the top 10 Irish sports stars list was released. On first thought, one might think that a soccer player would head the list. But alas, it is former F1 driver Eddie Irvine. He has amassed a net worth of an estimated €245m, with less than 25% of that being made from F1. [The Rich List Sports Stars] In second place is former soccer player turned manager Roy Keane, on €73m.

Of the current list, there is quite a broad breakdown. 2 in Motor Sport, 3 in Golf, 4 in Soccer and even a Jockey.

No measly amount for Beasley

Remember this time last year, prior to the NBA Draft, how figures were being thrown around about how much the top draft picks would earn? Well, then look no further than Michael Beasley. The Kansas State player is on top of everyone’s mock drafts, and Darren Rovell over at CNBC predicts a big future for him. [Sportsbiz]

Class of ‘04 – Who will make the cut?

Staying on basketball, the NBA draftees on 2004 are coming to the end of their rookie contracts, and Sports Illustrated has done a great job of dissecting these player’s contracts and whether they’ll be playing at their original teams next year.

Also, Gilbert Arenas still wants to opt out of the last year of his contract, for less pay? [Arenas will take pay cut to return to Wizards]