The Future is Wild

Living in an area that features almost nothing but bottom dwelling teams, the most exciting thing us sports fans can do is look to the future. Fortunately, the future seems bright for many teams here in the South Florida area. A very heated topic has been raised lately, and that is what will the order of resurgence be over the next year or two for the four major pro sports teams? Here is how I see things:

1) The team I see with the most promise to turn things around is the Florida Panthers. This team almost made a playoff run this year, and that was without a coach. Now that they will (hopefully) have a motivator behind the bench, I see no reason why the Panthers don't make the playoffs as early as next year. This team needs to sign a veteran or two to compliment the young talent. Brian Rolston would be the perfect fit for this team, and would completely change the powerplay for the better. Also, this team needs to lock up young defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a long term contract. With Tomas Vokoun between the pipes, I have a lot of confidence in this team.

2) Coming in next for me (upon further review) is the Miami Dolphins. I'm not sure this team is the second closest to becoming a priority in South Florida's eyes again, however I do believe football is one of the easier sports to make a turn around in. With the strict salary cap that is in place, teams go from last place to division winners every single year. I think with Bill Parcells in charge of things, this team will go in the right direction.

3) The Miami Heat come in third on this list, and not because they have no chance to be competitive again. I just feel the level of competition will be too much, as the next time the Heat beat the Pistons or Celtics, I feel I may be too old to remember writing this article. If they end up with the number one selection in the draft, I feel Beasley could turn this team around with D-Wade rather quickly.

4) Last on my list is the Florida Marlins, and this isn't because they don't have the potential. No team has more promising prospects than the Marlins. However, I don't see an end of this vicious cycle that Loria follows that says, whenever somebody wants to make over 500K, they need to be traded. Perhaps if he finally shows he's ready to let this team win again, they will move up on this list. Honestly, I felt so betrayed by this management that I resigned as a Marlins fan this past offseason, and now embrace my Yankees roots, as they run back many generations. However, when this team shows it is committed to its fans, I shall return to the team.

No matter the order, I don't think it'll be too long until South Florida loses the distinction of being the punchline of every joke.