8am: Breakfast at Jimmy’s

On a strip that includes the 1950s Vagabond Hotel, this diner on Biscayne Boulevard doesn’t look like much on first glance. But this local favourite is the original neighbourhood greasy spoon, filled with leatherette booths that stick to bare legs. Here, oversized portions of American classics — including grits, homefried potatoes, eggs and corned beef hash — are served on multiple plates. There’s unlimited coffee, too.

10am: Explore Morningside

Walk off any overindulgence on the shady streets of the Morningside neighbourhood, a mile south. Look out for the architectural tributes to Bauhaus, art deco and Mediterranean Modern, in buildings with tell-tale turrets and Spanish roofs, or explore Morningside Park, which runs beside the bay with a few tiny coconut-littered beaches. A ramshackle boathouse rents kayaks and paddleboards here from 10am.

12.30pm: Tour the Design District

Stroll south into the one-time warehouse district, which developers have slowly transformed into the equivalent of Times Square for the artistic. Public sculptures installed here range from the larger-than-life — like the 10ft-tall crushed solo cup — to the interactive, with an adult-sized swing set painted mint green.

1.30pm: Lunch at Elastika

The Moore is one of multiple members’ clubs that now call the disused furniture showrooms of the Design District home. Its restaurant, Elastika is open to the public — try the kingfish crudo with fermented farro, local kohlrabi and cucumber agua chile. The 1920s atrium, with its moss-green banquettes and potted palms, sits under a giant sculpture by Zaha Hadid that takes the form of an alien-looking white web.

3.30pm: Get arty in South Beach

Hop in a taxi to cross the bay en route to historic Collins Avenue, which acts as the gateway to South Beach. It begins at The Bass, with its thorough collection of contemporary art installed in a former art deco library, flanked by swaying coconut palms. These days, it provides a platform for bold new acquisitions from young Latino artists alongside donations from Miami’s rich and famous.

5pm: Stroll Ocean Drive

Track the passage of time in the city with a wander along Ocean Drive, which has been preserved from its mid-century heyday. Join one of the dedicated tours of its white-stucco facades with Miami’s Design Preservation League, and keep an eye out for Casa Casuarina, the baroque manor that was once occupied by designer Gianni Versace before his murder here on the front steps. For sunset, you’ll find the best spot in South Pointe Park with its painted lighthouse.

8pm: Dinner at Doce Provisions

Back across the bay, in Little Havana, this popular taco joint is your best spot for dinner. If you haven’t managed to score a table, fear not: the chefs have perfected a portable asado bun, a bit like a plump taco filled with pork and pineapple confit, served with croquettes stuffed with cheese and sticky guava marmalade.

9pm: Party at Ball & Chain

This 1930s location on 8th Street made its name by attracting theatre-goers who still had energy to burn. Over the decades, people started to come from further afield for its burlesque shows and musical line-up — with a late 5am finish. Practically all that’s changed today is the sound system and the curfew — it’s a more reasonable 3am now. Patrons still dress for dancing, including on-leave sailors.

Week 1 of the 2024 college football begins on Saturday with a notable non-conference SEC vs. ACC matchup featuring two in-state marquee brands, both looking to help their head coaches get over an important hump as Miami and Florida square off in The Swamp.

Mario Cristobal and Billy Napier are both under .500 in their tenures at Miami and Florida, respectively, and each need to make a statement to their fan bases in this Week 1 clash, especially as both look forward to playing very tough schedules going forward, Florida’s arguably the hardest nationally.

What do the analytics say about the game? For that, let’s turn to he SP+ prediction model to get an early look at how Miami and Florida match up in this critical Week 1 game.

In a notable turn, the simulations currently favor the home team, but by the slimmest of margins.

In fact, SP+ predicts that Miami and Florida will effectively play to a 30-30 tie, but that result finally tilts in the Gators’ favor when accounting for their 0.3 point win margin.

The model also gives Florida the close 51 percent chance to win the game outright.

SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that attempts to predict game outcomes by measuring “the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

Miami is a 2.5 point favorite against Florida, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook, which set the total at 54.5 points for the game.

FanDuel set the moneyline odds for Miami at -140 and for Florida at +116.

If you’re using this projection to bet on the game, you should take…

Other analytic tools also notably favor the Gators to hold the fort in The Swamp against the Canes.

That includes College Football Power Index, a computer prediction tool that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times and pick winners.

The index suggests that Florida will win the game in 57.3 percent of its simulations, while the Hurricanes come out the winner in the remaining 42.7 percent of sims.

The model is also expecting a very close result, currently speculating that Florida will be 0.5 points better than Miami on any field.

When: Sat., Aug. 31
Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: ABC network

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars are already set to face a banged-up Miami Dolphins team in Week 1, and yet another Dolphins weapon has been ruled out this week.

Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will start the season on the Reserve/PUP list, which means he will miss at least the first four games. Beckham is the second big-name veteran the Dolphins placed on the list, following pass-rusher Bradley Chubb.

“We were very hopeful that it would be around week one here, and to be honest with you guys, we put him down,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said, via Dolphins On SI. “He did not want to go down. And he is very close. You guys have seen glimpses of him running around outside, doing stuff. He’s very close. But for us, it was a long play. We didn’t want him to rush back, feeling that he had to rush back, and then something happened and set us back.

“So this was more Mike and I sitting down talking with (head athletic trainer Kyle Johnston), the trainers, and we just felt what’s best for him. long haul to help us here win games is to put them down for a little bit right now.”

While Beckham is not Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle at this stage of his career, this does mean the Jaguars have one less weapon to worry about next Sunday.

With the Jaguars’ tough slate over the first month of the season, every advantage they can get Week 1 will matter.

“Treat every day like it’s Sunday so Sunday is not different. We want to wear the same gear, same—look, that’s easy to say, right? But if you can take that approach and the mindset that when Sunday comes, I’m ready to go,” Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen said on Wednesday.

“The indecision and things like that create kind of uneasiness for the player. We want everything to look and sound and everything to be as close as we can to Sunday, so the player shows up, he knows his alignments and assignments and he goes and plays a million miles an hour and plays fast and executes. That’s really important. In this league, you have to execute. Execute, play fast, play hard, play tough, violent, those things like that. We want to do that every single day, so it’s not different on Sunday.”