The Heat released this press release today:

MIAMI,FL – The Miami HEAT announced today that tickets for its October 12th international exhibition pre-season game against European powerhouse CSKA Moscow will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, August 25 at 12:00 p.m. The contest, scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, will be held at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Tickets start as low as $10 and can be purchased by logging onto Ticketmaster.com, visiting any Ticketmaster location, or by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX. Tickets will NOT be available at the Verizon Wireless Ticket Office at the AmericanAirlines Arena for the August 25 on-sale date. Tickets can be purchased at the AmericanAirlines Arena Ticket Office starting August 26 at 10:00 a.m.

Purchasing priority will be given to fans on the HEAT Hopefuls Waiting List. Existing members of the Waiting List will be offered a pre-sale opportunity that will allow them to purchase tickets 48 hours before the general public. The HEAT Hopefuls pre-sale will begin Monday, August 23rd at 12:00 p.m., followed by a pre-sale for HEAT LiveWire subscribers and social media followers on Tuesday, August 24 at 12:00 p.m. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, August 25th beginning at noon. The best way to ensure that HEAT fans get a chance to buy seats to games this year is to join the HEAT Hopefuls Waiting List. To become a member of the HEAT Hopefuls Waiting List, fans can log onto HEAT.com.

“The CSKA Moscow international exhibition game on October 12th is not just the perfect opportunity for the general public to get a look at our new team, but it may very well be the only opportunity to get great lower bowl seats to see the new HEAT team play this season,” said Eric Woolworth, President of The HEAT Group’s Business Operations. “Demand for HEAT tickets continues to soar as we get closer to the start of the 2010-11 season, so we encourage fans to take advantage of what’s sure to be an exciting game against this Euroleague power.”

This season marks the first time the HEAT will host an international exhibition game at AmericanAirlines Arena, when they face CSKA Moscow, winners of two of the last five Euroleague Championships (2006, 2008). CSKA Moscow have also appeared in the last eight Euroleague Final Fours, making four Finals appearances during that span (2006-09). They are headlined by former Euroleague MVP, Ramūnas Šiškauskas. The team features a number of Americans and former NBA players, including Trajan Langdon, JR Holden, Jamont Gordon, Viktor Khryapa and Sasha Kaun, who was a teammate of HEAT guard Mario Chalmers on the 2008 National Champion Kansas Jayhawks.

ESPN continued their month-long Summer Forecast series in anticipation of the start of the NBA season with 5 burning questions devoted to the new-look Miami Heat. Almost a hundred basketball experts and SportsNation were polled and half the TrueHoop Network answered the call to attempt to answer them. My answers are exclusively included here along with a selection of the more interesting ones from my peers along with the poll results. Click on the links for the complete original articles and feel free to take a stab at these questions yourself in the comments. [Read more →]

The Rudy Fernandez saga is getting uglier by the day in Portland and is becoming more and more of a distraction to the franchise as training camp quickly approaches. I’ve detailed months ago how Fernandez would be a great fit for the Heat, long before free agency began and Riley hit the jackpot.

The quick Spaniard with the distinguished last name has made his displeasure over his second season with the Blazers known and needs to go to another team. Whether he’s bought out and returns to play back home remains to be seen but as it stands he has an NBA contract that is a paltry and extremely reasonable $1.2 million. At 6-5 and only 25 years old he brings length, athleticism and basketball IQ who is a proven champion in European and national competitions. Even from a marketing perspective, Fernandez could prove to be a fan favorite much like Carlos Arroyo was last year. Whether he’s included in a trade package or could be pried away with a draft pick, perhaps Toronto’s pick from the Shawn Marion trade or two 2nd round picks, it would be a bargain for the Heat and get Wade a young and athletic running mate. He may not be Manu Ginobili but he could play a similar role for the Heat at a fraction of the price.

Much has changed since then. [Read more →]

After being subjected endlessly all summer to everyone giving their opinions on LeBron James and his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami it’s refreshing to hear what the young man himself has to say about all the madness that transpired in the latest issue of GQ.

J. R. Moehringer was one of the few who were given access to the superstar this summer over a course of several interviews before and after “The Decision” and the following sheds a bit more light into the newest member of the Miami Heat. [Read more →]

Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado was drafted by the Miami Heat with one of their four picks in the second round of this year’s NBA Draft. Which means it was before the Heat acquired Chris Bosh, retained Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony while signing Juwan Howard along with Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Needless to say, Varnado became a longshot to make the roster this year and now he’s signed on to play next season in Italy for second division Carmatic Pistoia, according to BasketNet.

Varnado participated for the Heat at the Summer League in Las Vegas and while his athleticism and shot-blocking abilities were on display with the limited minutes coach David Fizdale gave him, it’s clear he needs more seasoning and for a young player who needs to work on various aspects of his game that can only come with lots of minutes in competitive play.

Like Patrick Beverley and Robert Dozier last year when they played in Europe after being selected in the second round, the Heat retain his rights so it’s possible he will return next year for the Summer League and have another shot at making the roster. Had the draft been held after free agency started there is no doubt the Heat would have approached the draft differently. As it is, the signing of Dexter Pittman and the trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to free up cap space stand as the most significant accomplishments from the draft as fellow second round pick Da’Sean Butler’s status with the team is uncertain as he rehabs from a major knee injury.

It’s a very late-breaking development, and a link will follow once a story appears, but WSVN-Fox 7 in Miami has confirmed with the Florida Highway Patrol that Udonis Haslem was arrested at 3 p.m. today on the Gratigny Parkway in Miami (updated with link to story).
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The giant shadow that’s hung over the Miami celebration over the last month (for those who are aware of boring labor minutiae), is the prospect of a work stoppage. After the time and effort the team and fans have put into the assembling of this squad, the thought of losing a season because of labor issues is horrifying.

That’s why the news this week that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were among the big-name players that attended labor negotiations in New York this week is good to hear. The two, as well as Chris Paul (who is on the players’ executive committee and was scheduled to attend), showed on their own accord, as well as Chauncey Billups, Joe Johnson and Carmelo Anthony.
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Here’s the full press release from the Miami Heat organization:

MIAMI, FL – The Miami HEAT announced their 2010 preseason schedule today, highlighted by an October 12^th match-up against Euroleague powerhouse CSKA Moscow at AmericanAirlines Arena. The preseason will open on Tuesday, October 5, when they host the Detroit Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena and will conclude on October 22 when the HEAT hosts the Orlando Magic in Tampa, FL.

The eight-game line-up includes three contests at AmericanAirlines Arena, which will take place on Tuesday, October 5, at 7:30PM against the Pistons, on Tuesday, October 12 against CSKA Moscow at 7:30PM and on Monday, October 18 against the Charlotte Bobcats at 7:30PM. The HEAT will also travel to Kansas City, MO to host the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Sprint Center on Friday, October 8 in addition to their home game against the Magic in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL.

This season marks the first time the HEAT will host an international exhibition game at AmericanAirlines Arena, when they face CSKA Moscow; winners of two of the last five Euroleague Championships (2006, 2008). They have also appeared in the last eight Euroleague Final Fours, making four Finals appearances during that span (2006-09). They are headlined by former Euroleague MVP Ramūnas Šiškauskas and feature a number of Americans and former NBA players, including Trajan Langdon, JR Holden, Jamont Gordon, Viktor Khryapa and Sasha Kaun, who was a teammate of HEAT guard Mario Chalmers on the 2008 National Champions Kansas Jayhawks. [Read more →]