Tampa Bay has had a pleasant run of sports activities success runs in recent times. Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, even a World Series look.

Nowadays, it is our neighbors to the south who’re on a roll, too.

In January, the NFL’s Miami Dolphins squeaked into the postseason for the primary time in six years, and almost beat the closely favored Buffalo Bills with a third-string quarterback. March Madness noticed Florida International University and the University of Miami attain the Final Four of the NCAA males’s basketball match. Also, UM’s ladies’s basketball group was an Elite Eight squad.

And now, guess who’s crashing the ultimate rounds of the NBA and NHL? The Miami Heat Florida Panthers.

Both barely superior to their respective postseasons, as No. 8 seeds. They needed to face the No. 1 general seeds within the first rounds. They needed to win series-deciding Game 7s in Boston to maintain their seasons alive.

And each are Eastern Conference champions and 4 wins from a championship.

“The Heat and the Panthers (are) doing a lot of things that people said they couldn’t do, which I very much appreciate,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated. “We are definitely taking note.”

So is the remainder of the sports activities world.

There’s by no means been a season the place one metropolitan space has gotten to have a good time profitable each the NBA title and the NHL’s Stanley Cup.

There have been 9 earlier tries; in two circumstances there’s been an NHL title and no NBA crown, in three circumstances there’s been an NBA title and no NHL crown, and within the 4 different circumstances each groups have misplaced.

South Florida has an opportunity to alter that.

“That would be insane. … If that would ever happen, that would truly be unbelievable,” stated Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk, who acquired in a blockbuster commerce earlier than the season. “It’s just great how both fan bases have been able to root together.”

It’ll proceed to be that method. Both groups start best-of-seven championship collection this week.

The NBA Finals begin in Denver on Thursday night time with the Heat taking up the host Nuggets. Home video games in downtown Miami’s Kaseya Center are scheduled for June 7 and 9, and one other, if vital, on June 15.

The Stanley Cup Final begins in Las Vegas on Saturday night time with the Vegas Golden Knights taking up the Panthers. Home video games at FLA Live Arena in Broward County are slated for June 8 and 10, and one other, if wanted, June 16.

There might be as many as 14 championship-round video games involving the Heat and Panthers in a span of 19 days. That contains eight video games over a span of 10 days, and the 2 groups by no means play on the identical night time.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stated watching the Panthers’ success has been “one of the great joys of everyone in our locker rooms.”

“I know it’s fun to watch,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice stated of the simultaneous championship runs. “I’m not sure what they’re doing, but it’s (basketball’s) five-on-five, right? I get that. There’s a connection now between the two teams through sports fans down here. So, there’s hockey fans that are probably like me, but now they’re dialed into that because it’s just a great story. And it’s fun to be a part of it.”

Information from the Associated Press was used on this report.