Miami

John Rochford of Mainland High in Atlantic County, considered among the best high school linemen in the area, has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Miami. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Rochford told the Miami coaching staff of his decision late Saturday. During the spring, he had made unofficial visits to Miami and Penn State. Rochford said that he was also considering North Carolina, Maryland, Boston College, Iowa and Wisconsin. According to NCAA rules, a high school football recruit may not officially sign a letter of intent until Feb. 5. "I really liked the school and loved the coaching staff," Rochford said.

Dwayne Hendricks, the all-American defensive end from Millville High, has made an oral commitment to attend the University of Miami on a football scholarship, Millville coach Dave Heck said last night. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Hendricks, The Inquirer's South Jersey defensive player of the year last fall, had narrowed his choices down to Miami or Virginia. He also visited Iowa and Michigan. Miami's defensive linemen are coached by Greg Mark, the former Pennsauken standout. "Dwayne's always gotten along well with Greg, and Miami is really the place he's always wanted to go," Heck said.

Brooklawn has lost its opening game at the 68th American Legion World Series, in Boyertown. But coach Joe Barth and the New Jersey team's star pitcher, Jack Marcellus, say the young squad still has a solid shot at staying alive in the double- elimination tournament and winning the national title Tuesday at Bear Stadium. A strong and experienced Miami team used one big inning yesterday to slip past Brooklawn, 5-3, dropping Post 72 into the losers' bracket. Brooklawn was scheduled to play in the second game of a doubleheader this morning against Bedford, Va., which lost last night to Salem, Ore., 4-1. "We still have plenty of pitching, and that's what you need in the losers' bracket," Barth said.

MIAMI - Once-woeful Miami won for the fourth time in its last five games on Sunday, beating Oakland 34-14. Reggie Bush ran for 100 yards and a touchdown, Matt Moore had a hand in two TDs and Kevin Burnett returned an interception 34 yards for Miami's final score. The surge came after the Dolphins (4-8) lost their first seven games. In the past five weeks they've outscored opponents 139-54, with the lone loss a one-point defeat at Dallas on Thanksgiving. "We've been on a wild ride here," Moore said.

Everything is happening in threes for the Villanova women's basketball team. The Wildcats, who live and die with the three-point shot, are hitting them with ease to stay among the leaders in the crowded Big East race. Well, actually, 'Nova remains in the logjam of teams fighting for second behind top-ranked and unbeaten Connecticut. Last night, junior Katie Davis became trey-happy and Villanova overwhelmed Miami, 80-52, at the Pavilion. Davis reached a career high in three-pointers made after she shot 7 for 11 from beyond the arc. Going 9 for 13 from the field, she finished with 27 points, her career high.

The University of Miami's executive committee of the board of trustees will meet today to discuss moving from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The university also will host the first of three ACC site visits Friday, the next step in a likely relocation that could drastically change the landscape of college athletics. Miami's executive committee will eventually vote on whether to join the ACC, but university officials don't expect it before the site visit. Teams of ACC officials including an athletic director, faculty representative and conference office official will travel to Miami tomorrow and tour the school's facilities Friday, according to a university source.

For the final 42 seconds, Wally Szczerbiak had to stand and watch. When the buzzer sounded, he was back in the middle of things, just as he'd been all night. Szczerbiak scored 29 points and host Miami of Ohio withstood a late rally by seventh-ranked Xavier, holding on for an 80-72 victory last night. Hundreds of fans chanted "Overrated," stormed the court and surrounded Szczerbiak and his teammates after the RedHawks' first victory over a Top 10 team in 24 years. "I wanted this one so bad," said Szczerbiak, a junior forward who fouled out with 42 seconds left and Miami (5-1)

Defensive lineman Nate Robinson, one of the highest-rated recruits in the country last year, has decided not to enroll at the University of Miami and will instead play at Rutgers. Robinson, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound tackle from Irvington, N.J., signed with Rutgers on Wednesday, after Miami would not declare him academically eligible. Robinson's SAT score of 800 meets the NCAA minimum for high school students with a 3.0 grade point average but is 20 points shy of Miami's institutional standard.

The final visit for Pennsauken's Howard Clark made a lasting impression. Clark, an Inquirer first-team all-South Jersey linebacker, said yesterday that he had made an oral commitment to the University of Miami. Clark, a 6-foot-2, 218-pounder who can run a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, made his decision after returning from his recruiting visit to Miami on Sunday. It was the fifth and final visit for Clark, who also toured Nebraska, UCLA, Florida State and Wisconsin. According to NCAA rules, he may not sign a letter of intent until next Wednesday.

Linebacker Jessie Armstead of Dallas, one of Texas' most highly sought- after recruits, snubbed the Southwest Conference and signed a letter of intent with Miami of Florida yesterday. Other top high school football players who signed yesterday were defensive tackle Ricky Sutton of Tucker, Ga. (Auburn), linebacker Tyrone Morrison of San Diego (Ohio State) and running back Russell White of Encino, Calif. (California). Armstead's decision to sign with Miami gave the Hurricanes two of the top players in Texas.

LeBron James scored 40 points, superstar sidekick Dwyane Wade added 30 - 22 in the second half - and Miami's dynamic duo took over after halftime to get the Heat even in the series with a 101-93 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday in Indianapolis. With Chris Bosh injured and back in Florida, the James-Wade tandem saved the Heat, who will host Game 5 on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. James was at his MVP best, adding 18 rebounds and nine assists and refusing to let Miami's season slip away.

The Indiana Pacers, showing more balance, toughness, and togetherness than visiting Miami, throttled the Heat, 94-75, Thursday night in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals. Overlooked during the regular season and given little chance to upset the reigning East champions, the Pacers took a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday at Indianapolis' raucous Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Roy Hibbert had 19 points and 18 rebounds, George Hill scored 20, and Danny Granger had 17 for the Pacers, who outscored Miami, 51-32, in the second half when the Pacers could do no wrong.

No Big Three meant one big problem for Miami, and one very big win for Indiana. David West scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, George Hill added 15, and the Indiana Pacers took home-court advantage away from Miami by beating the Heat, 78-75, in Game 2 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night in Miami. LeBron James scored 28 points for Miami and Dwyane Wade finished with 24, but both missed big chances for the Heat late. James missed two free throws with 54.3 seconds left and Miami down one, and Wade was short on a layup that would have tied the game with 16 seconds remaining.

CARLOS ZAMBRANO pitched a three-hitter for his first win of the season and Giancarlo Stanton extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a two-run homer, leading the visiting Miami Marlins to their seventh straight win with a 4-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night. Stanton's homer into the Crawford Boxes in leftfield put Miami up 2-0 in the fourth inning and gives him six home runs and 12 RBI during his streak. Logan Morrison walked with one out before Stanton went deep.

Forget the comparisons of LeBron James to Michael Jordan. That debate ended last season when James shrunk at the biggest moments of the Miami Heat's loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. James can never be considered greater than Jordan — not when he's is already 0-2 in the NBA Finals, while Jordan went 6-0. I can forgive the 2007 NBA Finals loss, when James, in his Finals debut, and his inferior Cleveland Cavaliers team got swept by Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs, who won their fourth title.

As long as they pick a guy with better luck than Jerome McDougle, the Eagles should land a decent player Thursday night if they hold on to the 15th pick. Looking back at that spot, not every guy has been a gem, but most have at least been serviceable. Here are some of the recent No. 15s: 2011, Mike Pouncey, C, Dolphins: Started all 16 games for Miami and was arguably their best lineman. Grade: A. 2010, Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, Giants: The guy Eagles fans always think of whenever Brandon Graham's name comes up. Not good.

MIAMI - Agustin Roman, the first Cuban to be appointed bishop in the United States, has died in Miami. He was 83. The Archdiocese of Miami announced Roman went into cardiac arrest and died last Wednesday. He had suffered from heart disease for several years. Archbishop Thomas Wenski called Roman a "great patriot" to the Cuban nation. Officials say Roman and 132 other priests were expelled from Cuba in 1961. He arrived in Miami, where he became a spiritual leader and advocate first for Cuban exiles and later for many other immigrants, including Haitian refugees.

MIAMI - Ozzie Guillen sat alone at a podium and began in Spanish, then halted in the middle of a sentence when his voice wavered. The chastened Miami Marlins manager took a sip of water and cleared his throat, then continued. Suspended for five games Tuesday for his comments lauding Fidel Castro, Guillen again apologized and said he'll do whatever he can to repair relations with Cuban Americans angered by the remarks. "I'm very sorry about the problem, what happened," said Guillen, who is only five games into his tenure with the Marlins.

THE SELLOUT CROWD in the Miami Marlins' new ballpark cheered the introduction of their starters, who were accompanied by women dressed as Latin showgirls. There was another roar for Muhammad Ali, who delivered the first pitch. Then Kyle Lohse and the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals went to work, and the place grew quiet. Lohse held Miami hitless until the seventh inning and pitched into the eighth to help the Cardinals win the first game in Marlins Park, 4-1, Wednesday night.

Mitch Glazer has been breathing, thinking, and talking Magic City for decades. The show's creator, writer, and co-executive producer was born to it. Glazer, who grew up in Miami Beach, drew on his childhood memories to create Starz's lush new period drama, which premieres Friday at 10 p.m. for an eight-episode first season. Set in the late 1950s, Magic City stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Gray's Anatomy) as Ike Evans, a cabana boy turned tycoon who builds one of the first of the luxury hotel-resorts that came to define Miami Beach in the Rat Pack era. A widower, Ike lives in his shiny new palace with his two grown sons, Stevie (Steven Strait)