Are the New Orleans Saints making a massive mistake right now as they slow negotiation talks with their most important asset, Drew Brees? Marc Daniels and Jerry Greene debate in this segment of The Beat of Sports…

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Miami is 12-3 this month after a slow 8-14 start in April. The Marlins (20-17) moved three games over .500 for the first time this season.

The Marlins led 6-1 off struggling Braves left-hander Mike Minor before Atlanta scored three runs off Mark Buehrle in the sixth. Stanton’s eighth homer, which drove in Kearns after his second double, pushed the lead to 8-4 in the seventh.

Buehrle (3-4) gave up four runs on six hits in six innings with the win in the first meeting of the season between the NL East rivals.

Austin Kearns and Emilio Bonifacio each had two hits and drove in two runs. Omar Infante had two hits and scored two runs.

Source: AP

The people say Charlotte will interview Memphis assistant Dave Joerger on Friday. The people spoke to The Associated Press Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t publicly announced its list of candidates.

Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is friends with Ewing, but is not expected to sit in on the interview. General manager Rich Cho and president of basketball operations Rod Higgins have handled interviews so far.

Charlotte has interviewed assistant coaches Michael Malone from Golden State, Cleveland’s Nate Tibbetts, St. John’s Mike Dunlap and expressed interest in Indiana’s Brian Shaw.

Bobcats assistant Stephen Silas, son of former coach Paul Silas, has also interviewed.

Source: AP

The “Master of Basketball Knowledge”, UCF assistant coach Brendan Suhr offers up his analysis of Lebron James’ the closer in this segment of The Beat of Sports…

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The UCF softball team (39-17) earned a bid into the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history, where it will take on South Florida (45-11) at 3:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Gainesville Regional Friday hosted by number five national seed Florida (46-11).

This trip marks one final journey back home for Knights Senior Shortstop Natalie Land who is from Mayo, Florida, 63 miles away from Gainesville. Land’s uncle is former Gator Quarterback Kerwin Bell who played at Florida from 1983-1987 and is currently the head coach of University of Jacksonville football program.

“At an early age she had an unbelievable desire to be the best player on the  court or field no matter if it was  at the first practice  with nobody but teammates around or the championship game.” Bell said. ” Her work  ethic  and unselfishness always motivated her teammates to excel.”

Land was a three sport star athlete at Lafeyette High School playing Softball, Basketball, and Volleyball. Everyone expected  that Land would end up a Gator like her uncle except she went in a different direction.

“It was a hard decision,” Land said  on deciding between going to Florida or UCF. “I love Gainesville but when I came to visit [UCF],  I loved the campus, fell in love with the team, the facilities, and Orlando.”

Land had a great career becoming the first UCF player in program history with  100 steals  and three first team All-CUSA selections (10,11,12) while playing second base and shortstop during her four year career. This season Land had her best season of her career leading  the Knights with a 342 batting average, 8 home runs, 41 steals  which ranks 6th in the NCAA (school record), and slugging (.560).

Land is making her 2nd trip to Gainesville for a regional (first coming in 2010) and will look to lead a young Knights team that only boasts Land and fellow senior, outfielder Vanessa Perez as players with NCAA Tournament experience.

Once Land’s season ends she will go on and play for the United States womens’ baseball team.

“Its been a blessing to coach (Land), said UCF assistant coach and US women’s baseball head coach Ruben Felix. ”She an athlete that comes every once in a while to a program.  She’s going to be a great asset to us with all the tools she brings,  speed, can hit for power, great athlete. She’s going to help us out  tremendously.”

Previewing the Regional 

The Knights are making their 4th NCAA tournament trip to Gainesville.  The Knights have beaten the Gators twice in postseason, with the first being a game that eliminated the Gators from postseason play in 2005.

The other came in 2008  as the Knights defeated then top ranked Florida  1-0 in eight innings to force a winner take all game. The win ended Florida’s 37 overall win streak and 41 home game wins stretch.

However, the Gators would  go on to win that regional and advance to the Women’s College World Series. They have not missed the trip to Oklahoma City since .

That Knights team in 2008 was led by star pitcher Allison Kime who is regarded by many as the program’s greatest player, holds many pitching records at UCF, and helped the Knights win the Conference USA Championship that year.

This year’s regional once again will have a lot of attention in the pitching circle. Knights Freshman Mackenzie Audas won Co-Pitcher of Year in CUSA and has the best ERA in the country for any freshman. The Knights opponent on Friday, the South Florida Bulls, have  sophomore pitcher Sara Nevins , who is in the top 5 of the country in ERA and is one of 11 players in the running for the National Player of the Year award.

Kime, who had great success at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, the Gators host site, has some advice for the arms prepping for this four team tournament, ” Keep the ball low. The fences in Gainesville are shorter than at UCF it seems and the ball  jumps out there more.”

The Knights and Bulls have not met since the 2008 Regional when the Knights pulled out a 3-2 dramatic win on a two out, two rbi triple by Kime who was not recruited by the Bulls despite living only 12 miles away from campus.

“2008 was the first time in two years we played USF,” said Kime who beat USF as a sophomore in 2006 in Tampa. “Getting one more chance to beat them  before graduating was a great finish to my colliegiate career.”

This is a preview of more to come in the rivalry.  Next season, the Bulls are scheduled to come to the UCF Softball Complex on May 1st and in 2014, the two schools will be conference foes in the Big East.

To help provide a different outlook on the Gainesville Regional, The Voice of Gators Softball, Adam Schick  joined me to preview the weekend.  Schick is also a co-host of the Midday Tailgaite Show on 104.9  FM in Gainesville.

Final Notes

• For more on UCF Softball in Gainesville Regional, check out Interview with Head Coach Renee-Luers Gillispie   here.
• Yours truly will be on the call of UCF Softball in the regional all weekend long on ucfathletics.com.

Jerry had a chance to talk to  College Football Insider Brent Beaird  about the latest developments with FSU as well as news out of the ACC and Big 12 meetings.

Also ESPN 1080 Insider Carson Ingle check in from American Airlines Arena in Miami previewing Game 2 of Pacers-Heat.

To get in touch with Mike and Jerry at anytime  during the show, you can call:

(407) 482-3776 or 1-877-380-1080.

You can also follow  Mike Tuck  on twitter @mikeespn1080.com

With Jameer Nelson likely to opt out of his contract and the performance of Chris Duhon this season, point guard is clearly a major issue within the organization.

The Magic will likely have nothing more than the mid level exception to play with because using the MLE will cost them the Bi-Annual exception.

Today, we’ll take a look at some of the point guards Orlando could make a play for.

Free Agents:

Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns – There were rumors of Orlando’s interest in Nash during the season, but those rumors never materialized. Even at 39, Nash is still a fantastic player and was deservedly named an All-Star in 2012. Obviously, he’d be an upgrade. However, Nash made $11.7 million this season and will likely require more than the MLE. Plus, there will be plenty of other suitors in better position (Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers) that would love to sign Nash to the MLE. Nash averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists per game while shooting 53.2% from the field and 39.0% from beyond the arc.

Kirk Hinrich, Atlanta Hawks – Hinrich has been tied to the Magic in the past but because of his contract (Hinrich was making $8 million a year), they were never a major player for his services. Hinrich would provide a veteran attitude and good shooting from beyond the arc (he’s a career 37.8% shooter from three). He’d also be the biggest point the Magic have had in some time (Hinrich is listed at 6’4). After becoming the starting point guard when he was dealt to Atlanta from Washington at the 2011 trade deadline, Hinrich lost his job to Jeff Teague. This season, Hinrich started 31 of the 48 games he played in, averaging 6.6 points and 2.8 assists per game.

Andre Miller, Denver Nuggets – Miller’s name was discussed last season as the Blazers were rumored to be interested in Nelson before eventually sending Miller to Denver and bringing back Raymond Felton (Felton is also a free agent) to be their starting point guard. Miller became the backup to Ty Lawson in Denver and played well in that role, averaging 9.7 points and 6.7 assists this season. One problem with Miller and the Magic is Miller’s poor shooting – he’s a career 20.5% from beyond the arc.

Goran Dragic, Houston Rockets – Dragic is a bit of an enigma because he hasn’t played a lot in his career. However, during spot time in Phoenix and Kyle Lowry‘s injury last season, Dragic showed flashes of brilliance. The 25-year old wound up starting 28 games this season, finishing with a career-high 11.7 points and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 46.2% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc. With Lowry back in the fold, Dragic could be looking for a starting gig.

Ramon Sessions, Los Angeles Lakers – Many wondered aloud why the Magic didn’t make a move for Sessions this season. All the Lakers gave up to get Sessions was Luke Walton and their 2012 first round pick while bringing back Christian Eyenga with Sessions. With Orlando’s point guard troubles, one has to wonder if Orlando could have offered a similar package. Sessions started 19 games for the Lakers and averaged 12.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 47.9% from the field and 48.6% from beyond the arc. The 26-year old Sessions has a player option worth $4.6 million.

John Lucas III, Chicago Bulls – Lucas unexpectedly played big minutes for the Chicago Bulls because of Derrick Rose‘s lingering injuries. Lucas played in 49 games, starting two, and averaged 7.5 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game. The 29-year old, who has bounced around the world playing, shot just 39.9% from the field, but was 39.3% from beyond the arc. Obviously, this wouldn’t signal an upgrade in any way from Nelson, but could be an improvement as the backup. Lucas had a 20-point game in a victory over the Magic in Orlando back on March 19.

Leandro Barbosa (Indiana), Jason Kidd (Dallas) and Jason Terry (Dallas) are also unrestricted free agents while Jerryd Bayless (Toronto), Aaron Brooks (Phoenix), D.J. Augustin (Charlotte) and George Hill (Indiana) are restricted free agents. Beno Udrih (Milwaukee) and Mo Williams (Los Angeles Clippers) have player options.

Jeremy Lin (New York) and former Magic guard Gilbert Arenas (Memphis) are also, of course, free agents.

Current Portland Trail Blazers guard Jamal Crawford is another interesting name that popped up in connection with the Magic last season. After torching the Magic during the 2011 postseason as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, Crawford signed with the Blazers during the off-season and quickly soured on the decision. He and Felton reportedly led an uprising against then coach Nate McMillan, which eventually played in a roll in McMillan’s firing. Crawford isn’t really a point guard – he’s a scorer – but, he could handle the ball at times and relieve some pressure from Nelson, should he return. Crawford, 32, averaged 14.0 points, 3.2 assists and 2.0 rebounds while shooting just 38.4% from the field and 30.8% from the beyond the arc this season.

Of course, New Jersey Nets Deron Williams can become and likely will become a free agent (he has a player option worth $17.8 million) but the Magic clearly don’t have the cap room to sign him or the assets to attain him via the sign and trade. Williams, one of the game’s elite point guards, seems to be nothing more than a pipe dream.

The Magic have also often been tied to former Golden State Warriors and current Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis. Now, Ellis isn’t really a point guard. He’s one of those often scene scorers that gets lumped into the point guard position because he’s undersize. Orlando made a run at Ellis last season, but talks eventually broke down and the Warriors received Andrew Bogut in return for Ellis. Dwight Howard has reportedly asked the Magic to make a run at Ellis in the past. The Bucks say they’re happy with Ellis and Brandon Jennings, both shoot-first players, as their starting back court, but you have to wonder how long that will last. Ellis averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc for both the Bucks and Warriors this season.

Ish Smith, who appeared in 20 games for the Magic this season, averaged 2.3 points, 1.6 assists and 1.3 rebounds in only 8.6 minutes per game. Smith is set to become a free agent. Smith showed flashes during his brief appearances, but despite Duhon’s struggles, he could never seem to crack the rotation. Stan Van Gundy prefers his point guards to play a certain style and Smith is more of an on-the-fly, push-the-pace type of player. Of course, if Van Gundy doesn’t return, Smith could be useful.

(Andrew Melnick is the ESPNFlorida.com Magic and NBA Insider, co-host of the ESPN 1080 Insiders Show and publisher of Howard the Dunk. The Insiders Show can be heard Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST on AM 1080 in Orlando and on ESPNFlorida.com. You can follow Andrew on twitter here.)

Lincoln (3-0), who had come out of the bullpen in his seven previous appearances this season, departed for a pinch-hitter with a 3-2 lead and an ERA of 1.33. He allowed four hits and walked one.

The Pirates, who rank last in the majors in runs, won with only six hits. Rod Barajas, who came into the game batting .162, hit his second homer, and Pedro Alvarez put Pittsburgh ahead to stay with an RBI double in the sixth.

The Pirates started a seven-game, three-city trip with their third victory in a row, and they’re within one game of .500. They hadn’t beaten the Marlins since 2010 and went 0-6 against them last year.

Source: AP

Dave  and Jerry talk about the Orlando Magic season and what is next for the Magic?

 To get in touch with Mike and Jerry at anytime  during the show, you can call:

(407) 482-3776 or 1-877-380-1080.

You can also follow  Mike Tuck  on twitter @mikeespn1080.com

Warchant.com’s Gene Williams addresses recent rumors that Florida State has a growing interest in joining the Big 12 in this segment of The Beat of Sports…

For more interviews and entire shows, visit:

www.thebeatofsports.com

You can get in touch with the Beat of Sports by emailing them at:

thebeatofsports@gmail.com

You can follow Marc Daniels on Twitter at:

@TheBeatofSports