Pirates Announcer Joe Block Embraces Storied Franchise Tradition

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

During Spring Training, I found out that I was approved to cover a Pittsburgh Pirates vs Toronto Blue Jays game at 5 AM on a Saturday morning.

My photographer Candy Ebling and I raced up I-75 North to Bradenton Florida and it took us 3.5 hours to reach LECOM PARK. When we entered the Press Box, the first person I saw was Pirates play-by-play announcer Joe Block.

When you think of iconic baseball announcers, and there are many, Vin Scully, Harry Carey, Mel Allen, Jack Buck, Ernie Harrell, Bob Uecker, Jon Miller, Dave Niehaus, Bob Costs and Joe Buck come to mind. If you’re a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, Bob Prince is legendary.

When you look at the Pirates history, their all-time line-up includes Roberto Clemente, Andrew McCutchen, Ralph Kiner, Pie Traynor, Honus Wagner, Bill Mazeroski, Willie Stargell, Roy Face, Jason Kendall, Barry Bonds and Wilbur Cooper. The Manager is Fred Clark. I would give honorable mention to Jim Leyland, Danny Murtaugh and Chuck Tanner.

Time will tell if Paul Skenes will ever be added to the list.

The largest Pirates free agent signings in total dollars are as follows:

1. Francisco Lariano, three years, $39 Million.

2. Ivan Nova, three years, $26 Million.

3. Russell Martin, two years, $17 Million. 

4. Daniel Hudson, two years, $11 Million.

5. Jung Ho Kang, four years, $11 Million.

The Pirates last World Series title occurred in 1979 “We Are Family” and that was one of the most iconic group of players last century.

When I talked to Block, he saw my hat “Motor City Mad Mouth” sensing that I was from Detroit and I asked him if he would appear on my show. He more than happy to come on and we did the interview in the Steve Blass Broadcast Booth in the Press Box.

Block is 48 years old and grew up in Roseville, MI. He then went to Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, MI. He graduated from Michigan State University. In 1999. 

He worked with the Milwaukee Brewers for four years from 2012-2015. He came to the Pirates in 2016 where he’s been since.

He told me that he idolized Harwell of the Detroit Tigers and learned a lot from Uecker in Milwaukee.

What’s nice about his situation in Pittsburgh is his wife Bethany is from the area and they reside there with their three children.

During our interview which is included in this story, he embraced the history of Pitttsburgh Pirates Baseball and knows a lot about it.

He’s also realistic that the Pirates are in a small market and face challenges of fielding a competitive team with one of the lowest payrolls in MLB.

But that only drives Block as he sees prospects get their opportunities and hope they’ll be the ones that ultimately stay with the club long term.

As of this post, the Pirates are 36-36 and are at the .500 mark. They have a real good shot at the wild card and are led by Manager Don Kelly. At the moment, there are no signs that the team is planning to ship some of their best players at the trade deadline.

During the next collective bargaining agreement, there figures to be a salary floor which will force small market teams to spend more money.

At a time where many announcers are retiring, Block is in the prime of his career and therefore, he has a chance to be talked about with Prince.

He told me that while the Tigers job would have been something he would have liked to do, the Pittsburgh gig is where he knew would make the most sense and become the best fit.

But this is how generations are linked to their teams through the voices of their announcers. Only the great ones get honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford Frick Award. But when he talks positively about Uecker and Harwell, who knows, Block’s name could be in the discussion down the road.

But he’ll be the first to tell you, his immediate goal is to call playoff baseball and win a World Series Title for one of the most iconic, historical franchises in MLB.

I truly hope he get that opportunity. It was great hanging out with a hometown guy in Bradenton, FL.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. He wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which is available on Amazon/Kinde and Barnes & Noble. The audio book is available as well. To see his broadcasts, they’re available on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. All you need to do is simply hit the red subscribe button.

Atlanta Braves Incredible Turnaround

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

On Monday Night’s edition of 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk, My Co-host Barry Foote and the rest of the crew talked about the amazing turnaround of the Atlanta Braves.

When we attended a Spring Training Game in March, there was a great vibe around Cool TodayPark in North Port. The Braves hired Walt Weiss as their new manager and brought in a new coaching staff. When you’re a new manager and staff, the last thing you’re going to think about is the previous season.

The 2025 season was the 60th in Atlanta and they entered the season as favorites to win the National League East. Unfortunately for Atlanta, the team started 0-7, their worst start since 2016 and were swept by the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On September 12, the Braves lost to the Astros to guarantee their first losing season since 2017. On September 19, the Braves were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2017.

What happened last season? 

Injuries and on September 28, the Braves used veteran pitcher Charlie Morton out of the bullpen, becoming the 71st player to appear for the team during the 2025 season.

This set a new major league record by a team for most players used in a single season, surpassing the previous record of 70 set by the 2024 Miami Marlins. The 2025 Baltimore Orioles also matched that record earlier in the season using 70 players.

The Braves also tied the record for most pitchers used in a season, with Morton becoming the 46th pitcher,  matching a record set by the 2025 New York Mets on September 17.

The Braves finished the season with a 76-86 record, for fourth place in the NL East.

But despite all of this bad luck, Atlanta drew an average home attendance of 35,841, the eighth highest of all MLB teams.

Manager Brian Snitker retired after the campaign and an era ended.

During our media availability, Weiss had a fresh approach as to how to keep his players healthy as he pointed out that he wasn’t going to run his guys out for 160, plus games. He was going to pick his spots to get these guys off their feet and they’re still going to play a lot, if they’re healthy, 150, plus games.

Atlanta also extended left-handed pitcher Chris Sale through the 2027 season, with a club option for 2028.

To date, the Braves are in first place with a 41-20 record .672 winning percentage. They have scored 320 runs and have allowed 210, a difference of 110. 

Atlanta holds a 9.5 game lead over second place Philadelphia.

In this story are the videos we shot in North Port of Weiss and Coach Tony Diaz. There is no question that you’re going to get plenty out of them. Diaz is one of the best baseball minds and specializes in coaching defense. 

Matt Olson has appeared in all 61 games and is hitting .265 17 home runs and 46 RBI. Mike Yastrzemski was an off-season pick-up, has played in 55 games, hitting .252 and has been steady. Michael Harris has played in 58 games and is hitting .306 with 13 homers and 37 RBI. This team is built around Ronald Acuna, who has played 47 games, and has seven home runs 21 RBI. When this guy heats up, opposing pitchers will be in trouble.

Sale is earning his money as he’s 8-3 with a 2.02 ERA, 67 innings pitched with 80 strikeouts and 17 walks. Bryce Elder is 5-3, with a 2.63 ERA in 78.2 innings pitched with 67 strikeouts and 23 walks.

But as I mentioned earlier, as long as Weiss focuses on his team’s health and knows when to give his players days off, the team will be fresh all-year and won’t have to worry about how many players will be used. Weiss is certainly looking forward to getting the Braves back to the post-season and should he accomplish that, in his rookie season could win the Manager of the Year.

I got positive vibes in Spring Training and with the exception of the Phillies, it doesn’t appear that the rest of the division competitive enough to even contend, let alone challenge the Braves.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com. Check out his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. He also wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased at Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Boble. The audio version also available.

Grand Slam In Bradenton, Florida

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I used to think traveling around the country in the middle of the night was always an adventure to make time when I had to get projects done at their destinations.

But when you cover Spring Training, there are always new adventures every time you plan something so you better plan on your feet.

Over the years, I’ve always been able to do that and this spring tested my resolve. Add the World Baseball Classic and it was difficult to always utilize Plan A, so I had to have a Plan B and C.

During the weekend of March 21-22, this proved to be the case.

I was hoping to set-up the Atlanta Braves at the Boston Red Sox at JetBlue Park aka “Fenway South” but those credentials never came to fruition.

But the word that I’ve used a lot this spring is “Pivoted” and that’s what becomes the case as I applied for the Toronto Blue Jays at the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Fla. I waited all night to see if we were going. I emailed the Pirates and never got an answer. But I never gave up.

In the middle of the night, I called Pirates City and as fate would have it, found a woman in security that knew the right Public Relations person to contact. She tracked his phone number and at 6 AM on Saturday March 21, I reached out to Dan Hart. I texted him and he quickly got back to me and was surprised that I  never got the confirmation email that we were approved. He moved swiftly to get the approval and my photographer and I managed to get to the ballpark by 10 AM. Three hours before game time.

There would be no clubhouse access but I’ve always found a way to work around that situation.

As soon as we got to the Press Box, I ran into Pirates Radio Play By Play Announcer Joe Block. I asked Joe if he would like to be on the “Motor City Mad Mouth” Show and he said yes. Before I  did the interview, Joe told me he was from the Metro Detroit Area and I could see that we were going to have a  blast talking about the Pirates and Detroit Tigers. There is nothing better than a quick strike when you get to the ballpark and 15 minutes later, we accomplished one thing.

After eating a couple of hot dogs at the concession stand, I decided to go to the Toronto Blue Jays and see what I could get. 

I hit the jackpot.

First, I interviewed Toronto Hitting Coach David Popkins and it was great talking to him. I learned a lot about hitting, his relationship with Don Mattingly and he told me after the interview that he had a good time talking to a person that knew a lot about baseball.

Second, Blue Jays Manager John Schneider had his Media Availability and it was great getting a few questions in with the skipper. He’s a super nice guy and is a person that you pull for hoping that he’ll win a World Series. Last year versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Jays came away one out short of accomplishing their goal.

Third, Blue Jays center fielder Myles Straw was great. He’s a Gold Glove winner and is extremely quick on the base paths. He fields his position very well and we also had an excellent conversation.

Before 11:30 AM, I hit the ultimate grand slam by snapping up a broadcaster, coach, manager and a player. I even took a photo with my good friend and Blue Jays Field Reporter Hazel Mae.

All of those videos are inside the story. We hope you enjoy them.

When I started working the game, I did sit next to Dan Hart and he saw where the issues occurred during the Major League Baseball Credentialing system. He apologized for the mixup, but I said no worries and now he’s a great contact for the future. He’s been with the Pirates for over 12 years and said that he was pleased that the security lady at Pirates City got me in touch with him.

I told him in the future, I would need clubhouse and he told me just to mention it in the notes. Hart is a class act and I told him that I would like to go to Pittsburgh and he said no problem.

I’ve actually shared this story on a couple of my podcasts, plus used the other interviews as well for topics. If there was ever a time where we won “Ugly” this was it. But nevertheless, we got the job done and that’s all that mattered.

We attempted to cover games the following day, but a couple of the requests never went through. The World Baseball Classic concluded so there was plenty of media in Florida with the regular players back. 

But overall, I was extremely pleased with what we accomplished in Spring Training and the Only Plan A that came to fruition was a story that I wrote in Atlanta about their new ballpark, “CoolToday Park up I-75 in North Port. Otherwise, from the game selection and the interviews, we did tons of pivoting and that gave me an adrenaline rush.

Indeed, this was quite an adventure.

But that was fun with what we’ve added here at the South Florida Tribune Media Network.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on X @TribuneSouth. You can see his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.

He also wrote a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which you can purchase on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes And Noble. It’s also available in Audio Form.  

Don Mattingly Alive And Well With Philadelphia Phillies

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The one thing that I truly look forward to every baseball season is catching up with my great friend Don Mattingly. Wherever Don goes, I follow him.

When he left the Miami Marlins, I went up to Toronto, CA., and spent time with him in the Rogers Centre before a game against the Kansas City Royals. We spent some time catching up.

Last season, Don was gracious enough to do a nine minute interview for the “Motor City Mad Mouth Show” before a Miami Marlins game vs the Blue Jays at Loan Depot Park. 

A few months later, Donnie Baseball found himself in the World Series facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, but came up one out short of winning his first Championship Ring.

After the Fall Classic, Mattingly left his position with the Toronto Blue Jays and decided to take some time off pondering his future. Retirement was a possibility so he could spend more time with his grandchildren or would he give it another go with another team.

The Philadelphia Phillies would be an intriguing option because his son Preston is the general manager of the club.

Before Spring Training, Mattingly made the decision to join the Phillies and give it another shot at that elusive World Series title. He would be going to the club that had Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and many others on it. This is an extremely talented team and is considered one of the best franchises in baseball.

Instead of going to Dunedin to see Don with the Blue Jays, I would have to travel to Clearwater and see him with the Phillies.

I applied on March 7, but was initially denied. When the Phillies PR Guy spoke to Don, my good buddy said he would like to talk to me and we did get approved. 

By the time I got this notification, I shifted to the Miami Marlins at Houston Astros in West Palm Beach and we covered that game. 

The PR guy was real nice about this and we would see Don a week later vs the Atlanta Braves instead.

Before the Astros game, I interviewed Astros All-Star hurler Josh Hader and manager Joe Espada.

The game we covered was on Sunday, March 15 vs the Atlanta Braves. 

Don and I took pictures, the we talked about his decision to leave Toronto, the World Series, working with Preston, the Phillies chances to win in 2026, the ABS System and many other baseball topics. 

Once again, it was a great time with two individuals who go back a long time. I told Don that when I write my second book, I’ll have to decide what photo of what jersey I’ll have to use.

In this story, you’re going to see the video of our interview. You’re also going to see another interview with Anthony San Fillippo, a prominent media member in Philadelphia covers the Phillies and the areas other teams. We also talked about him on 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk.

A week later, I covered the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays in Bradenton, FL. Blue Jays Manager John Schneider had a ton of praise for his former bench coach.

There is so much love and respect for Don Mattingly.

Before I spoke to Mattingly, I saw him working by the batting cage, then he worked with the first and second baseman trying to give pointers how to hit and field their positions better.

Don Mattingly is all about coaching and contributing anyway he can. 

Nothing has ever changed for the 64-year old native of Evansville, Indiana that has a lifetime batting average of .307, who’s No.23 is retired by the New York Yankees and is a Monument Park honoree.

The one honor that has eluded him is enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Game, but he downplays that because of injuries. To this day, I’ll keep endorsing him until is lands is spot in baseball immortality! Don Mattingly is a Hall of Fame Person and Baseball Player! Many years ago, I did buy a Hydrostone Statue of Don swinging the bat which is in my studio.

Instead, he takes more pride in Mattingly Charities and we also talked about that during our interview.

As Baseball uncertainty is inevitable after the collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, 2026, this was one more opportunity to talk to a Baseball Lifer that is truly one of a kind in my eyes and has a tremendous following worldwide.

It was great seeing him again! I look forward to the next time! Now, it’s obvious that I’ll be pulling for the Phillies to win the World Series for “Donnie Baseball” so he can get a champions exit and retire on top!

The one thing which is constant is that before we start an interview, we always exchange hugs and Don always asked me about my health. 

He’s given me moral support when I started dealing with concussions. Now that I have Alzheimer’s Disease, his concern for me is even deeper! 

He always tells me to hang in there and keep plugging away! I tell him it’s not easy but I’m trying and tell him I love him and he just keeps hugging me as my head drops into his arms! Don Mattingly is the older brother that I never had!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com. You can follow him on X @TribuneSouth. To see all of his broadcasts, you can subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.

Scott also wrote a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchase on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble. It’s also available in Audio Form.

Scott will be writing his final Spring Story about the Toronto Blue Jays vs the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, FL. Stay tuned.

 

Cool Today Park, Is A Cool Ballpark!

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Over the years, I’ve been to three different Spring Training Venues with the Atlanta Braves.

First, I saw them in West Palm Beach when they played in West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. This was back in the 1980’s. 

Second, the Braves played in Orlando at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Stadium. They played there from 1997-2019. The ballpark held approximately 7,500 and was located in Kissimmee, FL.It’s called Champion Stadium. The major issues the Braves had was travel as there were very few teams in Central Florida. The most common opponent was the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, FL off of I-4.

The Braves moved into their current Spring Training Park on March 24, 2019 as Atlanta defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2. The Rays train down the road off of I-75 in Port Charlotte. CoolToday Park also serves as the Braves year-round rehabilitation facility.

On Saturday, August 14, I made my first trip to CoolToday Park and the Braves crushed the Boston Red Sox 10-1. The ballpark is located in Sarasota County, has 6,200 fixed seats, and 8,000 total. Left Field is 335 feet, Left-Center 385 feat, Center Field 400 feet, Reight-Center 375 feet and Right Field is 325 feet.

The Press Box is very spacious and is one of the best that I’ve ever been in covering Spring Training through the years.

In this story, I recorded a short video of this Spring Training gem which I encourage everyone to see at least once. I’m looking forward to making return trips here in the future.

Also, My photographer Candy Ebling did a sensational job taking photos as she made her way around this place. 

The Braves $140 Million project was funded by private and public sources. The Braves signed a 30-year lease so they’re not going anywhere for a while.

Sarasota County contributed $21.2 million through hotel and bed dollars. The state of Florida put in $20 Million after showing the Braves arrival would add $1.7 billion economic impact over the 30 year lease.

Mattamy Homes, a private developer donated the land and $4.7 million. The city of North Port contributed $4.7 million and Wellen Park, the planned community within North Port that houses the facility, ran the construction and the development.

The biggest advantage for the Braves is their proximity to teams located off of I-75.

The Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox play in Fort Myers Florida. The Pittsburgh Pirates are located in Bradenton, the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota and the Tampa Bay Rays are in Port Charlotte. There are five teams located within two hours which was a challenge when they were in Disney.

The Braves Public Relations and Comminications staff were great hosts and I look forward to working with them when we make our way to Truist Park in Atlanta.

The Braves Staff were instrumental in helping me land Coach Tony Diaz for the Motor City Mad Mouth Show and had a Media Availability with Manager Walt Weiss. You can also find those videos in this story. I wrote a separate article on Diaz that you might want to check out. I predict that Diaz will manage in the Big Leagues one day.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the short video and the photos. This is definitely a place which is NOT a ONE and DONE! 

It’s a bucket list item for those that want to chase ballparks and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of watching the Boys of Summer during the Spring.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloriudatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. There is no cost to subscribe. Also, Scott wrote a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes and Noble. There is also an Audio Book that you can get as well.

My next story of Spring Training, I took a trip to Bradenton, Florida and I’ll go over that experience.

Tony Diaz, Hidden Gem, Atlanta Braves Coach

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I’ve been covering Spring Training for years and the valuable lesson that I’ve learned is you better be able to think on your feet and have a back-up plan if Plan A doesn’t go through.

It’s easier to create a back-up plan than it was years ago because of the mobile phone. If you need to find out information on someone, then google the individual and it’s right at your fingertips.

When I covered the Boston Red Sox game in North Port, Fla at Cool Today Park, my agenda was to write a pair of stories.

One was about the Atlanta Braves latest Spring Training venue, and I’ve seen them play at the old West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium as well as in Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. That story will follow this one.

The other story I wanted to write was on Darnell Coles, who was added to Atlanta’s Coaching staff this season. Coles has been a friend of mine since his days with the Detroit Tigers.

Who would be my Plan B? 

Antonio Tony Diaz happened to be standing next to me in the Braves dugout. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native, was hired by New Manager Walt Weiss to the staff. The 49-year old is the infield coach and started his college baseball career at Gulf Coast College before moving to Florida International University where he played for the FIU Panthers.

According to Coach Danny Price, he was a professional prospect until suffering an arm injury. After his college career, a former teammate recommended him as a baseball coach to the Colorado Rockies, who were specifically looking for bilingual coaches.

He graduated from FIU with a BA Degree in Marketing. He served as manager for the baseball team at G Holmes Braddock High School in Miami Florida. Diaz served as the hitting coach for the Casper Ghosts from 2–1-2006, taking over as their manager in 2007.

Diaz would join the Colorado Rockies in 2017 and stayed in Denver through 2018. His tenure with the Minnesota Twins was from 2019-2024. On April 15, 2025, it was announced that Diaz would be the hitting coach for the Frederick Keys of the MLB Draft League for their upcoming 2025 season.

He was hired to join Walt Weiss’ staff in 2026.

In the dugout, I asked Diaz if he wanted to come on the Motor City Mad Mouth Show. 

He agreed to come on and the PR Guy asked me about the South Florida Tribune. I clarified that all interviews I do go to the Show and I write stories on the Tribune. He understood what I was doing and was totally fine with everything.

These days, I like the people I interview to go in multiple places to maximize the exposure. They’ve been extremely cooperative up to this point.

During my conversation with the energetic Diaz, we talked about his journey to the Big Leagues, and if he aspires to be a manager down the road. We even talked about former Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga, who nearly pitched a perfect game, but a blown call by umpire Jim Joyce, led to MLB eventually adding instant replay.

In this story, you’re going to hear the entire interview and his Manager Walt Weiss raved about having Diaz on his staff. That interview is also included in this article.

Nowadays, MLB teams employ as many as 15-20 coaches to give more attention to the other positions and expedite the development of their players. It’s a far cry from years past when there were approximately eight coaches.

Furthermore, with the increased addition of Latin players, bilingual is a must these days.

This guy is a hidden gem on the Braves staff and you’re going to hear more about him in the future especially since there are more Latin managers being hired.

There is nothing better than a Plan B that turns out well which shows the unpredictability of Spring Training. I really have a blast adapting to these situations.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on X @TribuneSouth and see his broadcasts by subscribing at no cost to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

He also wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which is available on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes and Noble. The audio version is available as well.

Up next, get ready for my story on Cool Today Park.

Astros Josh Hader An Old School Closer

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I have seen some electrifying pitchers over the years that bring unbelievable energy when they step on the hill. 

One of my favorites of all-time was back in 1976 when Mark “The Bird” Fidrych played for the Detroit Tigers.

Before the Houston Astros hosted Miami on March 7 in West Palm Beach, I interviewed Josh Hader, the left-handed hurler as he joined the Motor City Mad Mouth Show.

Josh is an amazing pitcher as well as a person.

This is a guy that could pitch in any era as he’s been known to pitch multiple innings to earn his team a save. I also talked to Astros Manager Joe Espada about his closer. 

Both of the videos are in the story. You can click on them and see them in their entirety.

Hader, 31, a Millersville, Maryland, played for the Milwaukee Brewers (2017-2022), San Diego Padres (2022-2023) and he’s presently with the Astros.

Here are some of  his career highlights:

*He’s a six-time All Star (2018, 2019, 2021-2023 and 2025).

* Hader was selected as All-MLB First team three times (2019, 2021 and 2023).

*He was a three times NL Reliever of the Year (2018, 2019, and 2021).

*Josh was the NL saves leader in 2020 with 13 in 15 chances.

*He’s also pitched a combined no hitter on September 11, 2021.

His MLB statistics through the 2025 season are as follows: he’s 34-31, 2.64 ERA, 829 strikeouts and 227 saves.

He was an intricate part of the Milwaukee Brewers success and now the Houston Astros are counting on him to anchor the back end of their bullpen.

During his appearance on my show, we talked about him pitching multiple innings as well as his stops in MLB.

You won’t find a nicer person than Hader and he’s very well liked in the clubhouse, especially by his manager and the Media raves about him.

I hope you enjoy the interview and I’ll definitely monitoring his performance throughout the 2026 Season and see if he can get the Astros back into the playoffs.

Look for more Spring Training Updates.

Scott Morganroth can  be reached at Southfloridatribune@gmail.com and @TribuneSouth on X.

To see his broadcasts, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel. Just hit the red subscribe button.

Also, he wrote a book: “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle, Barnes and Noble and there is an Audio Book as well…

Sports Scene

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

In this column, it’s time to give a few special shout out to some very good people.

We’ll start with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Bruce Arians on priorities for coaches. He said via the NFL Network “I tell my coaches if you miss a Recital, Football Game, Basketball Game, I’ll Fire You.” He won the Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2021. He goes on to say, “I missed a lot of (My Son’s Games). Those years don’t come back. It means more to your children. When I hear about guys sleeping in their office…I wonder what the hell they’re doing there…The work will always be there, the kids won’t.”

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The Minnesota Twins received a tough break this spring. Pablo Lopez, a guy that could pitch in any era because he’s an innings eater, has a “Significant Tearing” in his right UCL and will be lost for the season. He will undergo Tommy John Surgery. Get well soon, Pablo. He’s one of my favorite pitchers in this generation.

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I’ve enjoyed working with Mario Cristobal and I like his most recent quote pertaining to recruiting. “We don’t get into negative recruiting, but people always negative recruit us, and that’s fine. No one should ever take that personally . Just let it play out.” On recruiting The State of Florida.

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I want to wish a Happy 80th Birthday to one of My Best Friends in Sports Media, Bob Ryan. He retired from the Boston Globe. He’s a mentor to me and much more! You won’t meet a classier individual than this! If you don’t know much about him then look him up on Google.

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It’s time to talk about Pro Sports Valuations with the South Florida Franchises. 1. Miami Dolphins $8.25 Billion, Miami Heat $6.03 Billion, 3. Florida Panthers $1.89 Billion, 4. Inter-Miami $1.45 Billion 5. Miami Marlins $1.30 Billion.

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Netflix is pursuing Barry Bonds for its exclusive coverage on Opening Day between the Giants and Yankees, per The Athletic. Netflix is also trying to sign CC Sabathia for the broadcast.

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I look forward to the next Sports Scene as the objective is to come up with a combination of storylines that  will certainly be enlightening and informative.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at Southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts by Subscribing to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel. Also, he wrote a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes And Noble. The audio book is also available.

Miami’s James Brockermeyer Has A Chip On His Shoulder

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When you get snubbed to go to the NFL Scouting Combine, there is a reason to have a chip on your shoulder.

That turned out to be the case for 23-year old James Brockermeyer, a center, who had to protect QB Carson Beck last Fall. Brockermeyer had a fine season with the Hurricanes.

He was First-team All-American in 2025. He was Third-team All ACC in 2025.

The 6-3, 295 pounder, who attended All Saints Episcopal High School in Fort Worth, Texas., will have to show what he can do when the Miami Hurricanes have their Pro-Day in Coral Gables in a few weeks.

Prior to coming to Miami, he played three years at Alabama from 2021 through 2023, by playing in 16 total games, while utilizing a redshirt season. After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Brockermeyer entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

Brockermeyer transferred to play for the TCU Horned Frogs. 

During the 2024 Season, he appeared in and started all 12 games for the Horned Frogs. After the conclusion of the 2024 season, Brockermeyer once again entered his name into to NCAA transfer portal.

That’s when Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes came into the picture and he would enjoy a ride that would lead himself into the National Championship Game. The Miami Hurricanes came up short 27-21 to the Indiana Hoosiers.

I had the opportunity to speak to Brockermeyer on a couple of occasions at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL and this guy is a pleasure to talk to. I was shocked that he wasn’t invited to the Combine but getting to know him as I did, he’s the type of individual that will utilize this as motivation to get to the NFL. 

If you’re looking for a hidden gem, you might have one in Brockermeyer. The object of the game is to protect the QB so keep your eyes on him. Also please check out the videos in the story. I’m sure that you will enjoy them. 

There are a lot of videos from the Senior Bowl and we’d appreciate it if you would please subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. He also wrote a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which you can purchase on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes And Noble. We also have an audio version as well.

The Senior Bowl, Where Dreams Begin

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL., is no typical postseason game where you’re wondering if players are going to drop out to get ready for the pros.

This is a different animal. Throughout the week, it was great not thinking about Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), just the NFL.

The practices were spirited and it was great watching players pursuing their dreams. Everyone had a story to tell and I was going after as many players I could get. Whether it’s at a podium with a bunch of media colleagues, or on the field after practice, my microphone was ready to roll.

From 1951-2020, the Senior Bowl was held at Ladd Peoples Stadium in a residential area of town. The stadium holds 40,000 for football and has field turf. It is owned and operated by the City of Mobile, AL.

On our free day, my photographer Candy Ebling and I checked out this venue which does have high school games. You could tell that the facility has some wear and tear on it.

The Senior Bowl has been moved to Hancock Whitney Stadium at the University of South Alabama. This venue holds 25,450 and it’s a beautiful facility. 

The Senior Bowl, which is now sponsored by Panini made the right call with the upgraded amenities and additional training facilities in the event of inclement weather conditions.

The Senior Bowl is about players making favorable impressions to their coaches, scouts and all the important decision makers that will determine if they call get paid to play professional football.

With this being my first Senior Bowl Experience I met a few media people that gave me the best advice on how to cover the event.

The Wednesday Media Day was organized and the players had assigned tables. No problem. 

The post-practice was like seek to see who you will find. You can get a good interview or a couple mini interviews because we only had 10 minutes and once our time expired, security would escort everyone off the field. It was like speed dating and take what you can get.

The best parent about this project is that I have enough content that will get me through the NFL Draft which is at the end of April. All the videos will be on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Here is a sample size of the soundbites that you can look forward to seeing on the You Tube Channel and the football podcasts.

At the podium, Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt), Garrett Nussmeirer (LSU) were the big name quarterbacks. Alabama tight end Joshua Cuevas, and outside linebacker Jude Bowry from Boston College had some great insights.

Since we’re from South Florida, we landed two Miami Hurricanes, with offensive tackle Markel Bell and center James Brockermeyer. Running back Kejon Owens played for Florida International University. FIU produced TY Hilton and current Canes head coach Mario Cristobal.

One player who had no travel expenses to make the Senior Bowl was South Alabama wide receiver Devin Voisin, who was wearing his helmet when we were talking.

I always try to target Big Ten players and landed Rayshaun Benny (Michigan) Nick Singleton (Penn State) , Jakobi Lane (USC), Vinny Anthony II (Wisconsin), Bryce Boettcher (Oregon).

Other names worth mentioning include: Keylon Rutledge (Georgia Tech), Cole Payton (North Dakota State), Adam Randall (Clemson). 

The road to the NFL begins with the Senior Bowl, continues with the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Pro Days by each school and culminating with the NFL Draft which will take place in Pittsburgh.

During the week, we dealt with colder temperatures and the Arctic blast continued on game day as the temperature is 34 degrees and it feels like it feels like 21. In 1985, the temperature was 40 degrees.

We’ll see what players will shine and ultimately become contributors or perhaps impact players that could even reach the Super Bowl. These videos on the You Tube Channel will take you behind the personality of the player and what they experience at the Senior Bowl.

This game has higher stakes, a far cry from those bowl games that you’re going to see primarily in December because of what’s on the line. These players aren’t going into the transfer portal.

It was nice to take a break from that this week because it was all about the NFL Dream.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on X @TribuneSouth and see his broadcasts on the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

He wrote a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” which you can purchase on Amazon/Kindle, Barnes and Noble. The Audio Book is also available.

USF’s Mt. Rushmore of Coaches

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

A lot has changed since I graduated from the University of South Florida in 1986.

Back then, I worked for the Tampa Tribune and that’s how I paid my way through college. I went to as many games as I could with my student identification card that allowed me to go to activities. Those fees were included in my tuition.

The athletic department has grown in ways that I never imagined. 

Our Basketball program is where we had our Homecoming Games. The Sun Dome was the venue and I’ve had so many great moments back then. Eighteen months ago, added more memories at the Yuengling Center when USF Men’s Basketball hosted the FAU Owls.

Unlike High School where you attend based on where you live, you can’t choose where you want to go. It’s where your parents set-up shop and proceed from there. 

In my situation, I was looking forward to graduating from Southfield Lathrup High School in Michigan because I had aspirations to play Baseball and enjoyed catching. Unfortunately, my folks opted to follow their passion for horses and bought land and graduated from Lakeland High School in Milford, MI, thus since I didn’t have transportation and there would be no Baseball. 

Turning a negative into a positive, I got involved in Journalism, a 47 years later, I’m in Sports Media.

But in college, I developed a lot of great relationships throughout the years.

The University of South Florida was a commuter school and was the perfect fit for me. I chose to attend this school and created a lot of great memories. I donate to the Alumni Association and now I’m thankful to cover their sports teams from time to time.

When we attended Senior Day on November 29, this was pretty neat. There were 30 seniors recognized before USF thrashed the Rice Owls 52-3 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. 

I did attend a homecoming game years ago when I wrote for the Detroit Monitor vs the Cincinnati Bearcats when the program was in its infancy stages.

I’ve seen many USF Bulls games against the FAU Owls as well. They’re both members of the American Conference so I work hard to plan my schedule to see these two schools face one another. 

I’ve been covering the Owls since 2007 and my football father is the legendary Howard Schnellenberger. I worked my connections in Detroit and FAU got invited to the Motor City Bowl, which Coach and I would talk about a lot and he gave me an autographed copy of his book when he invited me to his house. We always took pictures together.

There was a different feeling covering the Rice contest. All week long, the only thing I kept hearing about was the USF Head Football Coach potentially leaving for another job. Let’s face the reality, until USF lands in a power conference, this will be a stepping stone job.

Knowing this on my drive to Tampa, I had a great idea that it was time for me to implement since I felt the timing was right.

I decided to come up with a Mt. Rushmore of USF Coaches to celebrate the Sports History since the University has its own Hall of Fame which I hope to see at some point. My next visit to campus will likely be when the new Football Stadium opens in 2027.

So here it is, I’m going to release my Mt. Rushmore of USF Coaches. I encourage feedback as to who you would add or subtract.

1. Lee Rose (Men’s Basketball). This is an absolute no brainer! Coach Rose led two teams to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament with the Charlotte 49’ers in 1977 and the Purdue Boilermakers in 1980. How can a guy not be No.1 when he leaves a Big Ten School to coach a young basketball program! He coached at USF from 1980-1986 and was 106-69 during his tenure at USF. He coached the Bulls to their first postseason appearances in team history, reaching the NIT three times before leaving in 1986 for the NBA. His all-time college record was 388-162. Coach Rose and I were close as we spent time at USF and I followed him to the NBA and interviewed him during his stops in the NBA. His first major pro drafted at USF was Charlie Bradley, who was drafted by the Sacramento Kings. Charlie and I are great friends and we still stay in touch on Facebook.

2. Eddie Cardieri (Baseball). This is also a no-brainer! Cardieri, who was Major League Hall of Famer Robin Robert’s top assistant three seasons before assuming control in 1986. He coached the Bulls to tremendous success over the next 21 seasons and compiled a 731-546 (.572) record to become the winningest coach in USF Baseball history, surpassing the next closest coach by more than 460 wins and logging five seasons with 40 plus wins and 16 seasons with 30 or more.

Cardieri led USF Baseball to eight conference titles across three conferences. The Bulls won five regular season and two conference championships and made nine NCAA Regional Appearances, the most for any coach in program history.

He was inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame. 

We’re great friends and I’ve added him to My Media Network as a Baseball Analyst. He’s an outstanding job for us. More importantly, he’s an unbelievable human being!

3. Jim Leavitt (Football). When I was on campus last weekend, I did a video at Gate A showing where the new on campus stadium is and it was neat to the construction in progress. We also saw the new athletics center on the outside adjacent to the stadium.

But there is one man who is responsible for this stadium. Leavitt defines what loyalty is in every sense of the word and I truly hope he gets a statue somewhere in this stadium!

Jim Leavitt was hired as the first coach of the USF Bulls in 1997. He worked at Kansas State from 1990-1995 as an assistant coach in different capacities. He had the dubious task from starting this program from scratch and the football team’s offices were in trailers. But that didn’t stop Jim as he found a way to work through the early obstacles of building the program.

The first time I met Jim was when I covered a Homecoming Game vs the Cincinnati Bearcats as a writer for the Detroit Monitor. I mentioned this earlier in the story. 

USF won the game and afterwards, I approached Jim about doing an interview on the field. He was hesitant but after I told him that being an alumnus, my goal was to promote my alma-mater and used my loud demeanor to get the message across! I had to be loud because of the amount of noise on the field. He definitely agreed to the interview. 

We talked about numerous things and it was a great experience. When the interview was over, we hugged for a few minutes he knew that my heart was in the right place. I’m proud to know Jim Leavitt!

His overall record at USF was 95-57. Unfortunately, Jim is too high strung at times and is an in your face type of person. That demeanor ultimately led to his controversial dismissal at USF. I do believe he is mis understood. Nevertheless, after USF, he never got another head coaching job again. His flamboyant personality wouldn’t be a good fit with today’s student athlete.

Leavitt, was inducted into the USF Hall of Game this past fall. Unfortunately, his high strung personality bit him again as the administration elected not to be present at the ceremony as a result of a recent legal issue. He was cleared of any wrongdoing, therefore both sides wanted to let the other inductees speak about their accomplishments. Both Leavitt and the administration made the right decision.

But when you look at the overall picture, without Jim Leavitt, USF wouldn’t be where it’s at today. He was extremely loyal and with the job he did, there is no doubt he could have used USF as a stepping stone job, earned more money as many coaches do these days. His loyalty counts for something! 

Our paths would cross again as he was a defensive coordinator for FAU in 2020. He deserves to be on My Mt. Rushmore!

4. Alex Golesh (Football). This guy inherited one of the biggest rebuilding jobs on the planet as he succeeded Jeff Scott, who was 4-26 as head coach. Scott worked with legendary Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney and one would think that his background could translate into success in Tampa. It didn’t and as a result, he was employed with South Florida from 2020-2022. 

Enter Alex Golesh, who came to USF from the University of Tennessee after being an assistant coach. Golesh was the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach and he had no head coaching experience. What Golesh does have is an electric personality and great mind.

After the Jeff Scott debacle, the success was evident in the first season as Golesh was 7-6. He followed that season up with another 7-6 mark then battered Syracuse University by humiliating the Orange 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Golesh’s third season was a breakout, culminating with a 9-3 record—-USF’s first nine win campaign since 2017 and their best overall mark in eight years. The team ranked third nationally in total offense and fifth in scoring, returning to the AP Top 25, (peaking at No.18) for the first time in seven years. Key early victories included a dominant 34-7 over No. 25 Boise State in Week 1 and an 18-15, road win against No.23 Florida in week two were both signature triumphs that propelled USF to  6-1 start, and secured USF  to bowl eligibility for the third straight year.

Golesh’s offensive brilliance saw USF score 50 points in five games. 

QB Bynum Brown had a breakout out year with Golesh’s up-tempo offense. He became the first USF QB to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season (joining Jayden Daniel’s as one of only two FBS players to do so), and finished first in the AAC and 7th in FBS in total yards per-game (318.8).

Golesh’s overall record in three campaigns was 23-15! That’s why he’s on this list. One of the questions I asked him during the post-game media session was are you pleased with the fact that the program is in better shape than you found it? The entire interview and all of the others are included in this story.

As much as I enjoyed my time up in Tampa last weekend, there was one incident that led to a bad taste in my mouth with a USF PR Person. 

I will not divulge his name.

But when I see him, he will apologize to me because he didn’t know my intentions for taking a certain action! 

He doesn’t know me as much as I thought he did. 

But, he’ll know more about me soon enough!

If he doesn’t apologize, there will be consequences about future coverage among other things! 

Don’t alienate an alumnus who donates money and supports the program in other ways.

With all the information regarding Golesh’s future, this media session with the coach lasted 21:08 seemed like a swan song. Instead of talking about a convincing victory over Rice, all the talk was about whether the coach was coming or going. This was a topic on Tuesday’s edition of Inside The Pigskin on Tuesday Night. Check it out.

Knowing all of this on my four hour trek on I-75 North, I made a decision on the way up to find a way to get a photo with Golesh. 

There was no opportunity to get one after the Syracuse win in Boca Raton, FL and after the Miami Hurricanes ran USF out of Hard Rock Stadium with a 49-12 thrashing, that wouldn’t have worked.

With that said, I made the bold decision with this on my mind, I needed to get this photo to insert in this story, to get a photo with Golesh after he spoke at the podium. I wish I could have found a way to get the photo. 

All this situation did was raise my blood pressure and stress level. But it is what it is.

I can appreciate the fact that timing may not have been the greatest as the PR guy stated. To his credit, his emotions were in the heat of the moment, thus I accept that.

But where I’m, outraged with this guy is what he told me that I like drawing attention to myself. 

He’s dead wrong and I’ll let him know to his face to make sure he never questions my integrity again! 

Mark my word! My instincts drive me to make decisions! 

I have “No Ego” at all! 

All I do is lead by example and look to make people better around me!

I don’t need to draw attention to myself for a coach that 12 hours later proceeded to land the head coaching job at Auburn University!

My goal is to represent My Media Outlet which I own and have built from scratch which is getting bigger by the day with the editorial and broadcast departments. 

Our You Tube Channel is closing in on 1 Million Views and we’re looking for a big year in 2026!

I don’t have to draw attention to myself! 

I’ve been fortunate to interview so many great personalities across all of sports. I wonder if this guy has ever heard of Muhammad Ali, Tommy Lasorda, George Steinbrenner, Richard Petty, Isiah Thomas, ESPN Legend Bob Ley, Don Mattingly, Howard Schnellenberger, Don Shula, Chuck Daly, and many others that are in My Book “Lessons From The Microphone” and I have every intention of writing the second one in 2026.

I don’t need this or any other coach to draw attention myself. 

I’ve lasted in this industry 47 years and I’m looking to reach 50 years. I might scale things back to work on other projects and partially retire to do some more traveling. 

These days, I mentor all the people that come to me and think of others first!

I’ve heard some boneheaded statements, but drawing attention to myself Takes The Cake! 

This PR Guy will realize it when we meet again! I promise you that! 

These days, I choose the projects that I want to take on and don’t mind spending money if they benefit the platform as a whole!

To be able to write a Mt. Rushmore Story about My Alma-Mater is truly special and I’m deeply proud of connection to the university!

Early in the story, I talked about not choosing my high school. I chose USF! 

Time will tell what the future holds about how much we promote this university.

But the individuals that made the list are well deserving of the recognition!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. 

To see his broadcast, you can subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no charge and hit the notifications button to see the latest.

Also, Scott wrote a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes and Noble. The Audio book is coming up soon.

Don Mattingly Deserves To Be In Hall of Fame!

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The reason why Baseball is such a true passion of mine is not only have I played the game, but have covered it for over 45 years.

The relationships one makes in this game are truly remarkable. 

I’ve made so many that it would be hard to list all of them.

On Saturday, August 23, 2025, there is one person that I wanted to do an interview with in person. 

We’ve talked so many times at Marlins Media Availabilities, Zoom Calls and privately, but there was some unfinished business to take care of. We worked together through Covid-19.

He was born on April 20, 1961 and is 64 years old in Evansville, Indiana.

He made his MLB debut for the New York Yankees on September 8, 1982 and his last appearance on October 1, 1995 for the Bronx Bombers.

His nickname is “Donnie Baseball” and spent his entire 14-year MLB Career with the New York Yankees, and later managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for five years and the Miami Marlins for seven years.

Don Mattingly has a lot of memorabilia in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but the only thing that’s missing is a plaque. 

He hit .307, amassed 2,153 hits, added 222 home runs and has 1,099 RBI. 

Other players have made it to Cooperstown with similar numbers. 

The reality is a back injury cut Mattingly’s career short, but he still has a chance to be inducted through the veterans committee.

My good friend, Bob Ryan from the Boston Globe definitely believes Mattingly belongs in the Hall of Fame. Ryan is a voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in Basketball. I value his opinion immensely!

My interview with Bob is in this story. I hope you enjoy it.

This Baseball Lifer and I go back many years dating back to the 1980’s when we were both in the Yankees farm system. 

I wrote for the Hallandale Digest covering the Fort Lauderdale Yankees and New York in Spring Training. Don played for the Greensboro Hornets and marched his way through the system and landed in the Bronx.

Although he’s not in the Hall of Fame yet, his No. 23 is retired and is in Monument Park as a honoree with the Yankees. 

He’s the only player without a World Series to earn that honor.

But to me, Mattingly is a friend and a brother! 

He’s the older brother that I never had! 

I love this guy!

When we’re not talking baseball on the microphone, we’re talking about life. 

In recent years, I’ve been dealing with head trauma such as concussions and now have Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Don felt bad when he heard this information. Don has always been there to give me moral support. 

The Toronto Blue Jays were in Miami to face the Marlins the weekend of August 22-24. 

We contacted the Blue Jays communication department to see if Don would come on the Motor City Mad Mouth Show for about 10-15 minutes. 

Last year, the Blue Jays did approve us to attend a game in Toronto and we reminisced on the field.

We told the Blue Jays that Don and I have been friends for years dating back to the 1980’s.

We received an email back from the Blue Jays and Don, true to who he is, gladly appeared on my show and our interview lasted nine minutes. 

As my friend and mentor Craig Mish looked on, Don and I did our thing and we talked about the Hall of Fame as well as other Baseball Topics. 

Once again, the interview lasted nine minutes and we covered everything that I had outlined. I knew Don had to take care of his coaching responsibilities on the field and also caught up with other people in Miami where he was very likeable by all.

When the interview was over, we took pictures with each other and exchanged hugs. 

Mish came up to me and said, “Scotty, I thought you were going to go 15 minutes, and you did a good job making it shorter. Short interviews are the way to go.” 

Those kind words by Mish were worth a Kodak moment as Craig is another great friend!

The Blue Jays Communications Department told Candy Ebling that Mattingly rarely grants one-on-one interviews, but he was glad to accommodate me and understood the value of our friendship.

Candy told the traveling Blue Jays Communications Department Representative that we plan on covering the team during Spring Training in Dunedin, Fla. 

They said they’ll be more than happy to accommodate us.

I hope that when that happens, that if it’s meant to be, Mattingly finally gets his due in Cooperstown and will finally have his moment on a bright summer day in Upstate New York. 

Back in the 1990’s when I was in Cooperstown, I spent $350 for a Hydrostone Statue with Mattingly holding a bat in his hand swinging. It’s currently sitting in My Studio.

While he’s comfortable in his own skin, as his accomplishments speak for themselves and is honored by the Yankees in New York, former Dodgers Manger Tom Lasorda once told me, “Because God Delays, Doesn’t Mean that God Denies.” 

The same can be said that he hasn’t been to a World Series yet. 

The Yankees made it in 1981 before he arrived and lost, then won it in 1995 the year he retired. 

My sentimental favorite is to see the Blue Jays at least get and hopefully win the World Series. 

A championship ring on Mattingly’s finger would have true meaning to this Baseball Lifer.

It’s time for Mattingly to get his moment in immortality!

In recent years, the Baseball Hall of Fame has seen many of its members unfortunately pass away.

Words of wisdom from Lasorda, another man that I cherish who has meant a lot to me throughout my lifetime are always things that I keep in my mind!

But Don Mattingly is simply one of a kind! 

I’m truly grateful to the New York Yankees, Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays for giving me one more amazing memory with a person that I view as the older brother that I never had at LoanDepot Park in Miami! 

This was a day where a Detroiter/Midwesterner had the opportunity to hang with a fellow Midwesterner from Evansville, will remember. 

Once upon a time, the Detroit Tigers had a AAA team in Evansville called the Triplets. Mattingly and I once talked about this.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, there is no charge to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Scott has a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” that can be purchased on Amazon-Kindle and Barnes & Noble. This book talks about Old School Media vs New School Media.

Marlins Surpass Last Year’s Win Total

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Miami Marlins were attempting to take a page from the Florida Panthers.

They were looking to be the next feel good in South Florida. There was a period where the Fish were 8-1-1 in series, had a nine game winning steak and even sent a few players to the All-Star Game in Atlanta.

We did a podcast on the Marlins after they swept the New York Yankees 3-0 and sold out all three games at LoanDepot Park “Are the Marlins Contenders or Pretenders?”  Miami won on the field and at the gate as 101,000 + fans .

Many of us felt that Manager Clayton McCulllough had his young team trending in the right direction.

After the Yankees series, the Houston Astros came to town and the Fish were feeling good.

But it didn’t take long for the series and what took place from August 4-6 for reality to set in.

An August 4, the Astros pounded Miami 10-2 in front of 10,827. The Marlins lost 7-3 to Houston on August 5 as 12,186 saw them lose to the first place Astros. In the finale on August 6, 10,073 saw Houston lose 6-4 win as Miami averted the sweep. The attendance for the three games was 33,086.

At the time of the trade deadline, Miami decided not to sell. 

They kept Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera.

The only player that was moved was outfielder Jesus Sanchez to the Houston Astros for three minor leaguers. The way the Marlins change their roster, these guys can be in the Big Leagues in no time, 

But to be 55-55 after the Yankees series was quite an accomplishment. 

Miami is the only team to have a winning record all-time vs the Bronx Bombers. 

At one point, the Marlins were 16 games under .500 and rolled out six consecutive series wins to reach 55-55.

The 2025 season has had its’ peaks and valleys.

One of the lowest points of the season occurred during a three game series vs the Colorado Rockies. At the time, the Rockies were playing such poor baseball that there was a chance they could challenge the Chicago White Sox futility record last year.

Here is how things shook out during the series that took place from June 2-4.

On June 2, the Rockies defeated Miami 6-4 in front of 5,894 fans. The Rockies won their 10th game of the season.

On June 3, 7,583 attended a 3-2 loss while on June 4, the Colorado won 3-2 in front of 6,261 fans.

For the three game series, 19,738 fans attended in a ballpark that has a capacity of 37,442. The Marlins lost money staffing the ballpark for the Rockies series. What’s embarrassing about this series is Miami averaged 11,649 fans. 

The Athletics average 10,069 at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, as the park’s capacity is 14,000. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays are averaging 9,872 At George M Steinbrenner Field which holds 11,206.

The biggest feel good story of the year has by far has been left-handed hitter Kyle Stowers, who was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline for All-Star Trevor Rogers. 

Before he went on the Injury List, Stowers was hitting .288 with 25 homers and 73 RBI in 457 plate appearances. The injury that sidelined him was a grade one left side strain. On July 13, he hit three home runs and collected six RBI., against his old team the Baltimore Orioles.

As of August 7, the Rogers trade for Stowers was a win-win situation for both sides. Stowers was hitting .294 with 25 homers and 71 RBI. Rogers had a 5-2 record with a 1.44 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP for the Baltimore Orioles.

Stowers and Nick Kurtz of the A’s won the player of the Month honors for July.

Kurtz hit .395, with 11 RR, 27 RBI and a 1.269 OPS.

Stowers hit .364, with 10 HR, 20 RBI and 1.269 OPS.

The Marlins playoff hopes have nose dived especially after the Houston series

Miami hit the road and lost to Atlanta 4-1 in a five game series. The Marlins traveled to Cleveland and lost a three game series to the Guardians 2-1. The road trip continued and so did the losing as Boston took the series 2-1 at Fenway Park.

Would coming home change in terms of winning series? 

No.

The Marlins lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves 2-1 in these respective series. In the opening game of the Cardinals series, St. Louis snapped a five game losing streak.

There is no question that losing outfielder Stowers has been a difficult blow to the Marlins. 

But injuries are part of the game.

Earlier this season, we saw Cal Quantrill pitch the immaculate inning. He was the only major league signing this off-season.

The right-handed pitcher was placed on outright waivers. He was owed the remainder of his $3.5 Million salary, posting a 5.50 ERA in 24 starts, including a 11.25 ERA in three starts in August.

The Atlanta wasted no time adding Quantrill, whose record stands at 4-12, with a 6.07 ERA and 85 strikeouts. 

In his most recent game, he gave up nine runs, nine hits in 3.1 innings as the Braves we’re shelled by the Philadelphia Phillies 19-4 on Thursday Night in Philly.

In this story, are some videos that I know you will enjoy and these will talk about the peaks and valleys that the Marlins are dealing with in the summer.

A year ago, the Marlins finished with a 62-100 record. 

With the Marlins 7-4 win at New York over the Mets Thursday Night, the Marlins won the 63rd contest surpassing last season’s total. 

It will be interesting to see what the final triumph total becomes.

Manager Clayton McCullough is one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with. Not only is he pleasant to work with, but he has a good temperament with the fans. 

I hope he has the time to see the fruits of his labor. 

Unfortunately, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter and Kim Ng weren’t able to complete what vision they had for the franchise.

It’s good that the Marlins have had the opportunity to honor championship managers Jim Leyland and Jack McKeon this season.

Now we’ll see if the Marlins retire those skippers numbers and other players in the future who are inducted into their Hall of Fame, perhaps Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis and Josh Beckett.

To date, there are no numbers retired in the rafters and a good spot for them would be next to the Championship Banners of 1997 and 2003.

The lesson McCullough has had to covey to his players, these are the dog days of summer. 

Many of these players came from somewhere to get their chance of playing Major League Baseball.

It will be interesting to see if the Marlins can learn enough this season and change the narrative as to how to become contenders thus convincing fans to continue to coming to the ballpark. 

This is a fanbase which has experienced so much losing and when the team becomes consistent winners, aside from the New York Yankees, Mets, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers, it will be a tough sell. 

The Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers come every two years.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com. You can follow him on X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, go to YouTube and Subscribe to South Florida Tribune.

He also wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which talks about Old School Media vs New School Media. It’s available on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

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Marlins and Giants Make Things Interesting

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

There have always been some interesting moments when the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants square off through the years.

In 2003, I attended the Marlins clinching victory when the Florida Marlins defeated the Giants 7-6 in the fourth game to win the series 3-1. But the play that will always be remembered was when J.T. Snow was in scoring position with two men on. 

He tried to score on a single to left by Jeffrey Hammond. Jeff Connie’s throw was on target, and Ivan Rodriguez tagged snow at the plate as Snow barreled into him. Rodriguez fell backwards, and, as he rose, showed that he had held on to the ball, preserving the Marlins win. 

Miami would defeat the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS and went on to win the World Series.

Since that game, I’ve always tried to see these squads face each other and these series’ have always been entertaining. But every time I see these teams, the memories always stand out in my mind watching Barry Bonds lose in the post-season and I was in the Marlins clubhouse getting doused by champagne.

I had no interest in dealing with Bonds because of his arrogant demeanor, plus at the time my Gastonia Rangers colleague Wayne Rosenthal was Miami’s pitching coach and we proceeded to have a blast hanging out.

Earlier this month, we saw a pair of games with these two teams.

On May 31, 2025, a guy, who I interviewed at the All-Star Game in Miami, Robbie Ray, who pitched for the Seattle Mariners at the time, was on the hill for the Giants. 

He entered the game with a 7-0 record with a 2.56 ERA. He faced Edward Cabrera (1-1, 4.73 ERA).

Before the game, I asked Marlins Manager Clayton McCullough his thoughts about facing a hurler who has overcome Tommy John Surgery and is pitching outstanding. 

You can hear that interview in this story, in addition to the fact that the skipper also answered a question that I presented about future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander.

This contest turned out to be a pitchers duel as Cabrera pitched 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball. The Marlins scored the only run of the game in the second to win the contest 1-0. The bullpen kept to Giants off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Ray was tremendous as he pitched seven innings, allowed just two hits, walked three and stuck out nine. He is currently 8-2 with a 2.68 ERA with 97 strikeouts.

On Sunday, June 1, the Giants bounced back and won the game 4-2. They scored four runs off of Miami starter and loser Ryan Weathers, who hurled six innings and yielded four runs.

But the bright spot for Miami was the play of Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards. He had a franchise record setting afternoon by going 5-5 with five hits. He’s just an amazing player and it seems like every time I see him, he plays spectacular. 

When I saw him play last year in Milwaukee, he recorded the first cycle in team history.

Hayden Birdsong earned the win for the Giants and his record improved to 3-1 while Camilo Doval notched his seventh save.

The Marlins lost the first game of the series as Cal Quantrill, the author of a game that we attended when a pitched “The Immaculate Inning” was on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision. He pitched five innings, gave up eight hits, two runs but amassed seven strikeouts with just one walk.

The Giants won the series 2-1.

Since this series, the Giants swung a trade with the Boston Red Sox and acquired Rafael Devers to bolster their offense. 

We talked about this on Monday Night’s Edition of 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk which is included in the story.

To date, the Giants record is 41-32 and they’re 3.5 games back in second place behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Western Division.

Meanwhile, Miami is 29-42 and is in fifth place in the National League East, 15 games behind division leader the New York Mets.

McCullough was named as a coach to the National League All-Star Game in Atlanta joining Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts. Before taking the Miami job, McCullough earned a World Series title with Roberts.

The game will take place on July 15 at Atlanta’s Truist Park.

My next trip to Miami will be the weekend of July 19-20, one of those games as the Fish host the Kansas City Royals. Former Florida Gator Jac Caglianone comes to town. He was the No.6 overall player in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Baseball Expert Harold Reynold describes him “as a player that we’re going to be talking about this guy for years to come.”

I’ll be taking my first trip across the Big Pond, with stops in London, England, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway and Iceland.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, there is no charge to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Finally, Scott wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which talks about Old School Media Vs New School Media. It’s a good read for everyone especially for students looking to get into the industry. This can be purchased at Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Are The Mets Ready To Seize The Big Apple?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Could there be another Subway Series in the Fall Classic in October?

The way things are going right now, it’s hard to bet against it.

During the off-season, the Mets landed former Yankee Juan Soto in free agency. 

He’s the latest to play for both New York clubs. 

He’s joins Darryl Strawberry, Gary Sheffield, Rickey Henderson, Curtis Granderson, Doc Gooden, David Cone, Robinson Cano, Bartolo Colon, Yogi Berra, and Carlos Beltran. 

This is quite a list.

There are so many intriguing parts of the Soto signing. 

His 2025 Salary of $61.9 Million is larger than the Miami Marlins Opening Day Payroll of $47.9 Million.

The perks in his 15-year deal worth $765 Million include the following:

1. No.22 Jersey

2. Luxury Suite at Citi-Field

3. Four Premium Seats Per-Game.

4. Award Bonuses.

5. Security For Family.

There is one perk which is missing. 

There is no Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for line-up protection.

On May 20, Juan Soto thought he homered so he stood in the batters box to watch it. 

The play ended up being a long single. 

After the game, Mendoza wasn’t happy with the effort. “You gotta get out of the box. We’ll discuss that..” Mendoza was alluding that Soto didn’t hustle out of the box.

Let’s face the reality, the New York Mets are going to have an eventful year as they battle for the front pages with the New York Yankees. 

The Soto signing is going to add to the intrigue.

On last week’s edition of 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk, My crew included: Eric Katz, George Eichorn, Trent Clark and longtime New York Mets fan Stuart Hack.

The title of the show was “Biting Into Big Apple Baseball” as we talked about should be Hall of Famers on both sides, each team’s revenue sources as well as values, clips from Mets Sports Writer Tim Healy, as well as other storylines. All the videos are in this story.

Clark is a Baseball Lifer that’s worked with the LA Angels, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. He’s a regular panelist on our show that airs at 8:30 PM ET Monday Night’s on You Tube. 

The one thing that he said which stood out is the length of Soto’s contract which as we mentioned is 15-years. 

The length is always a concern these days when signing a mega super star. 

We’ll find out down the road if that comes to fruition with Soto. We’ve seen this happen with Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols.

This is why owners are reluctant to had out deals much longer than eight years. 

The smaller markets could do it in order to keep a player in their market for a long time and make them the face of the franchise.

At the moment, Soto is ———————————————————————————. 

The Mets are currently in first place with a record of ———- —- games ahead of second place ——————. 

Time will tell whether Soto was worth the investment or whether he’ll be traded before the end of the contract. 

His signing is another development in the Subway Series and he joins the list mentioned above that has worn both sets of pinstripes.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. 

To see all of his broadcast, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

He also wrote a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble. It’s mainly Old School Media vs New School and is a great read for those learning about the industry or can serve as a hand book for others in the industry.

The Magnitude Of Head Trauma

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If there is anybody that knows about the damaging effect about head injuries, it’s myself.

During the past three years, I’ve had four concussions. 

I wouldn’t even begin to count how many more that I’ve had throughout the years. 

I sustained my latest concussion during Easter Weekend and was in the hospital for four days.

Unfortunately, my diagnosis has led to Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s a condition that I know that I will succumb to in the next few years. 

I’m currently taking a lot of medication prescribed by my doctors and staying active by writing, covering sporting events, doing podcasts and plan to write a pair of books in the next 12 months. 

My doctors are telling me the more activity the better and they don’t even mind me drinking a lot of caffeine to keep me stimulated. 

In fact, I schedule my appointments on late Friday afternoons, and one of the nurses subscribed to my You Tube Channel loves when I come in. 

I’m so wired with caffeine that I really make her laugh by firing one-liners faster than Indy Cars race around a track. 

She laughs real hard especially when she has patients that are down in the dumps which makes her feel sad. When I’m there it’s a much higher octane energy level!

She uses my shows at home when she needs a good laugh to keep her upbeat.

It’s safe to say that my sleep pattern is totally unpredictable.

When I went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, I attended a couple of interesting events. 

First, I went to the NFLPA Press Conference and one of the topics the players discussed was whether they would approve of an 18-game season which would reduce the pre-season down to two contests. During this meeting, the players were totally against it due to safety concerns.

After the meeting, I did an interview with Chicago Bears backup QB Case Keenum and we talked about that very subject and helmets. Our interview is in this story, in addition to the NFLPA meeting. Check them out. I know you will learn something from them.

The next event I attended was the day before the Super Bowl. 

It was Super Agent Leigh Steinberg’s annual party. 

It was interesting to see the different vendors and I met a doctor who talked about a jaw protection product called Neurogard +. I actually did an interview with him as well. This is also included in the story.

Player safety has been a concern for years and there was a recent settlement that was handed out to players due to their head injuries and other ailments. These injuries have led to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), CTE, Parkinson’s Disease, and Dementia among others.

But the reality of the situation is the players can balk at the 18-game season all they want. 

It will eventually get negotiated into the new collective bargaining agreement. 

What will end up happening is there will be an extra bye week, increased roster sizes and the owners will increase their revenue streams. The extra game will end up being an international contest which we know the NFL is working diligently to market the game globally. We all know with extra games, there will be more practice time which also adds hits. The players will make more money per-year.

During the press conference it was very interesting to hear the different viewpoints on these head injuries including one from Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler. If there is anyone prone to get hit high, it’s running backs. 

During the Miami Hurricanes Spring Practice, I noticed the team wearing Guardian Caps. I wasted no time asking Hurricanes Coach Mario Cristobal whether we would see the team wearing Guardian Caps in the Fall. That interview is also included in the story.

This is a subject that will continually be analyzed on all levels from youth, college, professional football as well as all the medical people analyzing the data.

Dealing with Brain Trauma first hand gives me first hand experience as to what these players are facing from migraines to short term memory and maintaining balance when walking with the fear of falling. 

My toughest challenges about head injuries stem from lack of stability in my body, short term memory loss and now I tend to make simple mistakes on the road such as forgetting my location or even missing exits on the highways. 

I struggle going to places with lots of noise and it’s increasingly difficult to be around loud children which sets off my migraine headaches.

I’ve driven over four million miles in my lifetime and I enjoy being on the road to meditate by listening to music. 

Now I spend 24 hours at home working remotely from my computer unless I go out for a quick networking meeting or a restaurant, sporting event with my wife.

In early August, I leased a Honda Odyssey and have 50,000 miles included in my package, and on Memorial Day, I finally surpassed the 1,000 mile mark.

I struggle dealing with this all of the time. I can’t drive more than 15 minutes without my wife and these days, she drives the majority of the time. 

This is the part that’s killing me inside!

Now I have to find other ways to meditate and miss those drives on the ocean looking at the Atlantic Ocean and beaches. Being a resident in Florida, there are tons of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

My recent concussion led to a broken left thumb and being in the protocol took me off the road for six weeks.

One of my closest friends is named Jennifer Lee-Cobb. 

She is a former St. Louis Rams Cheerleader and Jennifer has been on my podcast a few times. She’s dealt with head injuries living through it with family members. She’s currently leading the fight against Parkinson’s Disease.

Legendary fighter Muhammad Ali died of this disease. One of my colleagues former UCLA Broadcaster Chris Roberts recently passed away. 

Actor Michael J. Fox, former Hockey Coach Barry Melrose are also dealing with Parkinson’s Syndrome.

LA Times columnist and former Around The Horn panelist Bill Plaschke reveals he’s been battling Parkinson’s Disease for the last four years.

Former Bears Hall of Famer Steve McMichael recently lost his battler with ALS. The only thing we can be thankful for is he was inducted into the HOF in 2024.

Jennifer and I are very close and although we haven’t met in person yet, she keeps tabs on all of my activity especially content I produce. She’ll appear in the chat room from time to time and she’s also in my book, “Lessons From The Microphone” because of what she does and how we connected. I’m very confident that we will meet down the road.

I know you’ll enjoy her story that’s included in this article. 

Head injuries are about education through all kinds of sources. 

I’m hoping to talk to more players, coaches and medical professionals in the future as I aim to educate others while going through my own battles.

In the end, the next time you watch any heavy contact sport such as Football, Hockey, Boxing, MMA, Wrestling and Bareknuckle Fighting, we have to be conscious of the head gear as well as the impact of the contact for which the blows the head is subjected to.

But no matter what we find out, we must understand that while head injuries are common in sports, anyone can be subjected to them. When they’re subjected to them, the focus then gets placed on the caregivers. It’s a domino effect. 

As I get ready to embark on my first trip overseas which will take my wife and I to London, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway and Iceland, I’ve prioritized my bucket list now so when the time comes and I need more advanced care, I’ll appreciate the things I want to do while I can enjoy them. All of these places will be on a cruise ship.

If my health holds up, the target is to hit Paris, France., Barcelona, Spain., Rome, Switzerland, Portugal and if I’m ambitious, my wife and I will get to Germany. Realistically, I’m not holding my breath on Germany. But if we do this land trip, another book will follow.

The amazing part about my diagnosis is my doctor that told me about this didn’t think I would be able to write another book sighting the early short term memory loss. 

My wife looked at her as we walked out the door and told this female physician let me give you some sound advice, “Don’t put anything past my husband. I’ve seen him do some unbelievable things especially when his back is to the wall as he feeds off of pressure. Bad move because he thrives on proving people wrong!”

So here we have it. I’ve had a chance to give you a glimpse of my story and talk about sports. The videos inside this article will speak volumes since they come from a wide range of sources!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. Also, there is no charge to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel to see his broadcasts.

Also, he has a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased at Amazon/Kindle, Barnes & Noble. We’re working on getting the Audio Book. 

This book is great for individuals that want to learn about the Media and talks about Old School Media Vs New School Media. Students use it as a handbook to learn about the business.

The Evolution of Spring Football

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The United Football League’s playoffs start this weekend.

The defending UFL Champions Birmingham Stallions face the Michigan Panthers in one contest while the DC Defenders tackle the St. Louis Battlehawks in the other game.

Aside from college football, the UFL has been a good feeder system for the NFL. 

NBC has been a broadcasting partner in the past while FOX owns the league. 

ESPN is carrying the games this league. 

It’s been a good opportunity to keep their main broadcasters busy during the offseason while others actually got jobs for the networks in the NFL. Greg Olson got his start in Spring Football.

The Birmingham Stallions are the three-time champions and play their games at UAB and they’re seeking a fourth title under Skip Holtz.

The Detroit Lions found their kicker across the building at Ford Field when Jake Bates was kicking bombs for the Michigan Panthers. 

QB A.J. McCarron has enjoyed a nice career with the St. Louis Battlehawks. 

QB’s Luis Perez and Jordan Ta’amu have found themselves on NFL rosters in the summer and this year QB Matt Corral along with wide receivers Hakeem Butler (Battlehawks) and Deon Cain (Panthers) could be playing on Sundays.

The city of St. Louis has been the benefactor of Spring Football as The Dome at America’s Center have seen the Battlehawks draw crowds in the 30-40,000 range. This is another reason why St. Louis shouldn’t have lost the Rams but Owner Stan Kroenke opted to move to Los Angeles and has flourished back in the Rams original home.

I’ve enjoyed covering Spring Football dating back to 1984 when I covered the original United States Football League. In fact, I wrote a story in college and it won an award. I enjoyed watching the Tampa Bay Bandits and saw Steve Spurrier’s coaching career get started. His Bandit Ball was fun to watch. 

I attended the 1984 USFL Championship Game at Tampa Stadium. In fact, that weekend, myself and other reporters were invited to current President Donald Trump’s suite to talk about the USFL. Trump was the owner of the New Jersey Generals and his star was running back Herschel Walker.

I’m not going to go over the demise of that league because it’s not applicable to what we’re doing. But that USFL had stars like Walker, Houston Gambler’s QB Jim Kelly, LA Express QB Steve Young, Memphis Showboats DT Reggie White and many other competing with the NFL for star-studded talent. The teams were privately owned. They had an 18 game schedule and also produced a lot of great coaches.

This version of Spring Football’s teams are not privately owned. The regular season is 10-games with two playoff games including the Championship which takes place on June 14th in St. Louis.

The league is owned by Dwayne “Rock” Johnson and his ex wife Dany Garcia. They’ve done a good job in slowly developing the financial blueprint to keep the league on a sustainable path for gradual growth.

They’ve done some innovative things that the NFL can use to see if those rules could either be added or modified. 

They hired FOX’s Mike Perreira and Dean Blandino to oversee the officiating. These guys analyze replays in the booth and make the changes and all the people can watch the transparency of why the calls were made and changed. 

I’ve seen offensive and defensive coordinators make calls in the booth and relay them to the players on the field. Holtz is a hands on coach and you can see his expertise on offense. 

There are no extra points as they have the one, two and three point conversions. To think that a team can actually tie a game on a nine-point play is totally surreal. But I’ve seen it happen.

I’ve enjoyed the in game interviews with the coaches and players as they are excited for the opportunity to be seen on television with the hopes that these opportunities give them another a chance to play in the NFL. Since I have covered minor league sports through the years, it’s refreshing to see players and coaches have a chance at upward mobility. Keep in mind, the NFL is looking for new officials.

Before the opening game of the year, DC Defenders Head Coach Reggie Barlow took the head coaching job at Tennessee State and succeeded Eddie George, who landed at Bowling Green University. Barlow brought his defensive coordinator Greg Williams to Tennessee with him.

Meanwhile, Shannon Harris succeeded Barlow and guided his team to a playoff berth.

In addition to Holtz, Mike Nolan has done a good job with the Michigan Panthers, Wade Phillips guided the San Antonio Brahmas to the UFL title game a year ago, while former Oklahoma Sooners legendary coach Bob Stoops has transitioned into Pro Football with the Arlington Renegades. His offensive coordinator is former Detroit Lions signal caller Chuck Long.

But let’s make no bones about it, the league is struggling with attendance issues on the field playing inn front of sparse crowds. 

Birmingham has struggled at the gate despite winning championships especially during a time in the spring in a football state which has powerhouses like Alabama and Auburn.

The Houston Roughnecks and Memphis Showboats franchises could be on the move and the league is considering expanding by two next year in addition to relocation. I truly thought Houston made a mistake not going back to its past and using the Gamblers.

In May and April, the following UFL trademarks were updated as live and pending. The Portland Breakers, Orlando Renegades, Jacksonville Bulls, Baltimore Stars, Houston Gamblers, LA Express, Denver Gold, Oakland Invaders, Tampa Bay Bandits, Philadelphia Stars, New Jersey Generals, Arizona Outlaws, (Chicago) The Blitz, New Orleans Breakers and Oklahoma Outlaws.

Who knows what will become of this. But I will say, the league should put a team in San Diego and Oakland and follow the path of the Battlehawks as markets that had NFL teams which would appreciate having Pro Football again. Time will tell if that happens.

Here at the South Florida Tribune, we do provide UFL Feeds thanks to Mark Perry who is in charge of that website. I had him on a podcast which is included in this story. You’ll find it very informative and we hope to have him on again. 

We also did a recent podcast on our which is titled “Is The UFL Any Value To The NFL?” 

You’ll find the opinions and insights quite interesting.

Finally, at Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans, I had an interview with Darryl “Moose” Johnson and he’s the man calling the shots. We all know that he was a legend with the Cowboys and does an outstanding job with FOX, but I truly enjoyed our conversation and I know you will as well.

This story is designed to give you an in-depth perspective of Spring Football, past and present and let’s not lose sight that it’s also beneficial for the television networks to provide programming during the off-season as well. 

In fact, I was pleased with the amount of views that Perry’s appearance provided on our network, then again I shouldn’t have been since we were talking about football.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can see his broadcasts and subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel at no charge.

You can follow the South Florida Tribune on Instagram as well as on Twitter/X.

Scott wrote a book on called “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

He’s the Publisher of The South Florida Tribune,

Citrus Series Produced Interesting Storylines

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Anytime the Miami Marlins face instate rival Tampa Bay, these two squads with the lowest payrolls in baseball always find a way to make each series competitive.

Entering the last series from May 16-18, the “Citrus Series” which is separated by 205 miles, saw the teams 56-56 in 112 games. 

Miami has won a pair of World Series while the Rays have been there but were unable to win the Fall Classic.

The 2025 season has presented new challenges for both teams.

Miami replaced Skip Schumacher with Clayton McCullough as the new skipper. Former Rays executive Peter Bendix is running the show for Miami, as he replaced Kim Ng.

Meanwhile, the Rays had to relocate to George M Steinbrenner Field as on October 9, 2024 as Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field where much of the fiberglass roof membrane was ripped off. Although the renovation is planned for 2026, its future is uncertain.

The Marlins will face the Rays in Tampa from June 6-8th.

During their recent series with the Rays, the Marlins came away with 9-4 and 5-1 triumphs and lost 4-0.

We attended the Saturday and Sunday contests between the two teams and I asked McCullough what he thought about facing the Rays. My colleague Craig Minervini also added an excellent follow up question which you’re going to see in the story about this topic and much more.

Leave little doubt that there will be speculation about the future of Marlins Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara’s availability as we approach the trade deadline.

On Saturday, Alcantara pitched four clean innings before yielding four runs in the fifth inning. 

He pitched five innings, allowed five hits, had two walks and struck out three. 

But he had difficulty holding runners which led to four stolen bases including a pair to Jose Caballero in the fifth inning that led to the winning run. Tampa Bay won the contest 4-0 and the Rays pitching staff limited Miami to six hits.

Alcantara’s record dropped to 2-6 with a 7.99 ERA.

Sunday’s game featured a pitching match-up between Cal Quantrill for Miami who entered the contest with a 2-4, 7.00 ERA squaring off against Tampa Bay’s Shane Baez 3-2, 5.02 ERA.

It seems like everytime I go to Loan Depot Park there is always a memorable moment and on this day another one occurred. 

I’ve seen a no-hitter, All-Star Game and thanks to Quantrill’s fifth inning, you can add “The Immaculate Inning” to the list. In the fifth inning he struck out Jonathan Aranda, Christopher Morel and Kameron on nine pitches. 

It was truly something worth watching and that was the lead topic on Monday’s edition of 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk which you can see the entire episode by clicking in this story. We broke down all of the facts about Quantrill’s accomplishment.

During the fourth inning, Quantrill worked out of a jam but was fortunate to only yield one run.

The Marlins amassed 10 hits in the contest and had a pair of homers by Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks. 

Hicks had two hits in the game while Eric Wagaman reached base three times with a pair of hits.

Quantrill’s final line was he pitched five innings, gave up two hits, one run walked two and stuck out six to improve to 3-4. After Quantrill’s departure, the team used four pitchers and there was no save credited,

Meanwhile, Baez pitched six innings, gave up nine hits, five runs, walked three, struck out two and yielded the pair of round trippers to fall to 3-3.

Miami came away with a 5-1 win and now lead the all-time series 58-57 with a return trip in early June.

As of 5-29-2025, The Tampa Bay Rays are 28-27 which is good for second place in the AL East behind the New York Yankees.

Miami stands at 22-32 and are in fifth place in the NL East.

This weekend, the San Francisco Giants come to town for a three game series.

Quantrill will return to the hill Friday Night with his 3-4 mark and 6.09 ERA. He’ll face Kyle Harrison (0-1, 9.1 IP, 3.80 ERA).

On Saturday, Edward Cabrera (1-1, 4.73) faces Giants All-Star Robbie Ray (7-0, 2.56 ERA). I had a chance to speak with Ray when he was an All-Star in Miami.

On Sunday, the Marlins throw out Ryan Weathers (1-0, 15.2 IP, 1.15 ERA) against Hayden Birdsong (2-1, 32,2 IP, 2.48 ERA).

The only way the Marlins fans will see Justin Verlander is in the Giants dugout talking to his teammates, as he’s currently on the injured list.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can also follow him on X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, there is no charge to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune YouTube Channel.

Finally, he wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon/Kindle and Barnes & Noble.