Miami, FL
Miami Marlins to Call Up Former A’s Pitcher
The Miami Marlins are set to call up right-hander Adam Oller to start on Monday, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC2. Oller began the year in the Cleveland Guardians’ organization after his former catcher in Oakland Stephen Vogt was named the team’s manager. The Guardians signed him to a minor-league deal, but he never made it to Cleveland.
The Guardians released the 29-year-old on July 3, and the Miami Marlins signed him a week later and assigned him to Triple-A Jacksonville where he has gone 3-0 in six games (three starts), holding a 2.88 ERA across 25 innings. His strikeout percentage has stayed roughly the same as it was in Cleveland’s system (24.5%), but his walk rate has been cut in half, going from 14.4% to 7.1%.
Up until he takes the mound for the Marlins, all of his big-league experience will have come with the Oakland A’s, totaling 94 frames with a 7.09 ERA in 28 appearances (15 starts) across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
In an odd twist, one of Oller’s most impressive outings came against the Marlins at the Oakland Coliseum in 2022. He went six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and five walks, striking out two. While the final line isn’t great, the A’s bullpen was taxed heading into that contest, and for the righty to be able to get through six innings without much command, saving the bullpen and keeping his team in the game, that was a gutsy performance.
Oller will be joining former A’s Cristian Pache and Jonah Bride on the active roster, with Jesús Luzardo currently on the IL. The Marlins are currently 45-78, fifth in the NL East.
Hafley, the former Boston College head coach, joined the Dolphins in a virtual interview on January 14. He has interviewed with at least six of the nine teams with head coaching vacancies, including a scheduled interview on Saturday with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Packers hired Hafley as their defensive coordinator in 2024, luring him away from Boston College where he was 22-26 in four seasons. He led Boston College to three bowl-game invites during his tenure, but COVID-19 concerns cancelled two of the games.
Before taking the Boston College job, Hafley had been the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Ohio State for the 2019 season. He has had various defensive coaching positions, primarily working with the defensive backs, with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL as well as at Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Albany, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the collegiate level.
The NFL prohibits coaches under contract with a team from interviewing with another team in person before January 19. Teams must also not be in the playoffs, or they must be on the bye before the Super Bowl, before a coach can be interviewed in person.
Fans filled the Miami Beach Convention Center on Friday for the Fan Central event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
“Miami, it’s a city that you know is kind of there with everything being financially up there, but this is, look at all of the families and kids out here having a great time and to do it free,” said UM fan Robert Federhofer. “We are thankful. We are so thankful.”
Travelers arrive without game tickets
Some fans traveled through multiple states just to be in the same city as the College Football Playoff, even without plans to attend the Indiana-Miami game.
“Tickets were a little bit too high, but if I find $5,000 on the floor, I will definitely be going to the game for sure,” joked Hoosier fan Bryan Sanders.
Free concerts hit Lummus Park
Saturday and Sunday, music lovers can take in free concerts at Lummus Park in Miami Beach.
Locals join in championship buzz
Even Miami natives are playing tourists in their own city to celebrate the championship.
“We’ll be here tomorrow. We’ll be here Sunday,” said one UM fan in South Beach. “And the Canes are going to win, baby.”
The championship game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
Game date, time and location: Thursday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun (South Florida), NBC Sports Boston
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), 98.5 FM The Sports Hub (Boston)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (21-19) and Boston Celtics (24-15) meet for the second of four regular season matchups. Earlier this season, the Celtics recorded a, 129-116, win in Boston on December 19. The Heat are 54-87 all-time versus the Celtics during the regular season, including 30-42 in home games and 24-45 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Norman Powell
F Andrew Wiggins
CELTICS
G Payton Pritchard
G Derrick White
C Neemias Queta
F Jaylen Brown
F Sam Hauser
Spread: Heat +2 (-112), Celtics -2 (-108)
Moneyline: Heat +108, Celtics -126
Total points scored: 233.5 (over -110, under -110)
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Questionable – Knee
Tyler Herro: Probable – Toe/Ribs
Davion Mitchell: Doubtful – Shoulder
Nikola Jovic: Probable – Knee
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
CELTICS
Josh Minott: Out – Hamstring
Jayson Tatum: Out – Achilles
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra: “I think now we have positive teaching points from this. We’re going to conquer the third quarter. We’ve had so many incredible first halves, even in the games that we’ve lost. If we can get some of these games, like even where we play poorly in the third, just get to the fourth, we have great competitors in our locker room.
They love these kind of moments where it’s electric in there and you have to make big plays. So it was good to see us overcome the third quarter, there was a little bit of a glitch there where we kind of went back to some of the things that get us in trouble.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
Detroit, Ann Arbor Forecast: Frigid conditions, sub-zero wind chills ahead
Shoutout to the 2025 San Francisco 49ers, a fun team despite the ending
Celebrations planned across North Texas in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
FIRST ALERT: Storm to dump up to 9 inches of snow on southern New England today
Why Bo Nix Still Has Major Upside Despite His Injury
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Border Patrol commander vows continued tear gas use after Minnesota fedreal judge’s order
US-backed Palestinian committee shares mission statement on Gaza governance
Spanberger takes swipe at Trump admin, says Virginians worried about ‘recklessness coming out of Washington’
Thousands take part in ‘Hands off Greenland’ protests in Denmark
They quit their day jobs to bet on current events. A look inside the prediction market mania
-
Montana1 week agoService door of Crans-Montana bar where 40 died in fire was locked from inside, owner says
-
Delaware1 week agoMERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach
-
Dallas, TX1 week agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Virginia1 week agoVirginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB
-
Montana1 week ago‘It was apocalyptic’, woman tells Crans-Montana memorial service, as bar owner detained
-
Minnesota1 week agoICE arrests in Minnesota surge include numerous convicted child rapists, killers
-
Lifestyle3 days agoJulio Iglesias accused of sexual assault as Spanish prosecutors study the allegations
-
Oklahoma7 days agoMissing 12-year-old Oklahoma boy found safe