The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • C1

PAGELABELTAG The Palm Beach POSt Thursday, March 9, 2017 Sports MARLINS' YELICH HAPPY TO BE PLAYING INWBCC4 INSIDE CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING C7-C9 Sports editor: Mark Bradley (561) 820-4489 ormbradleypbpost.com On the web: palmbeachpost.com MIAMI DOLPHINS With Andre Branch re-signing with Miami, what other DEs could the Dolphins pursue in free agency? We offer 1 3 options in BASEBALL Head to PBPost.comsports for our exclusive photo gallery of Tim Tebow's spring training debut with the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. MIAMI HEAT Does the team's recent hot streak without Justise Winslow suggest he could be expendable? Anthony Chiang answers that and more in Zone" blog. ONLINE EXTRAS NFL FREE AGENCY ACC TOURNAMENT MIAMI 62, SYRACUSE 57 DOLPHINS TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN True to word, Miami retains Stills, Branch as its first moves in free agency. REPORT: TIMMONS TO VISIT DOLPHINS Veteran Steelers linebacker hits open market today, C7 COWBOYS TO RELEASE ROMO Waiving the expendable quarterback will save Dallas $5 million, C7 today at 4 p.m.

The Stills' signing ends an anxious wait for coach Adam Gase, who less than a week ago wondered if the bond he established with Stills was worth more than the millions of dollars that might entice him to leave. "Kenny and myself have a very close relationship," Gase said. "The worst thing about the NFL is sometimes that doesn't matter. Sometimes the money is what guys are looking for. Kenny, obviously, he'd love to stay here, but he's going to stay for the Dolphins continued on C7 By Jason Lieser andJoe Schad Palm Beach Post Staff Writers On the eve of NFL free agency, the Dolphins reached agreements with two key unrestricted free agents, keeping wide receiver Kenny Stills and defensive end Andre Branch on the roster.

Stills may have gotten more had he stoked a bidding war, but vowed at the end of the year he would do "whatever we can" to stay with Miami. He backed that up by agreeing Wednesday to a four-year, $32 million deal. Branch was a Dolphin for only one season. But the team saw enough WR KennyStills (left) agreed to four-year, $32M deal; DE Andre Branch reached three-year, $27M contract. to know it liked what he brought to the table opposite Cameron Wake -even at the reported three-year, $27 million price.

Neither deal can be finalized until NBA HEAT 108, HORNETS101 Miami's Kamari Murphy dunks for two of his 16 points in Wednesday's win over Syracuse in the ACC Tournament in New York. ALBELLOGETTY IMAGES Gunning for playoffs Surging Heat just a half-game out as clutch late points by Waiters, Dragic spark win. Canes get win in ACC opener Brooklyn native Murphy has career-high 16 points to lead Miami. By Tom D'Angelo Palm Beach Post Staff Writer MIAMI The Miami Heat are as close to a playoff spot as they have been since the first week of the season. Miami erased a five-point fourth quarter deficit with a 12-0 run and hung on for a 108-101 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night in a game played in a playoff atmosphere.

The Heat (31-34) received 24 points from Dion Waiters, including nine on three clutch 3-pointers in the final four minutes, and 22 from Goran Dragic, including two free throws in the final seconds after Miami had missed four straight earlier in the fourth quarter. They combined to shoot 14 of 29 overall, 6 of 13 on 3's. "You get to these types of game that are so competitive, it felt like a playoff atmosphere, that you need guys that can create something out of nothing," Heat coach Erik Spoels-tra said. "Goran has that ability, but Dion against teams that step up their defense, he can create off the dribble. "We were dead in the water, their defense really got us flattened out and he saved us on a couple of possessions." Miami now has won 20 of 24 and moved to within one-half game of the seventh and eight playoff spots in the East.

Kemba Walker's 33 points Heat continued on CIO By Matt Porter Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The Hurricanes opened the ACC Tournament with a bang Wednesday, snatching a 62-57 win over Syracuse as the underdog in a noon matchup at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Hurricanes (21-10), who like Syracuse (18-14) went 10-8 in regular-season conference play, meet top-seeded and sixth-ranked North Carolina today at noon. That game, a rematch of Miami's 77-62 win in Coral Gables over the ninth-ranked Tar Heels on Jan. 28, could help boost UM even higher come Selection Sunday. Here are our five takeaways from the game: Hot start, shaky close: Miami won this game based on its first 20 minutes, not its last 20.

The Hurricanes shot 62 percent from the floor in the first half, their best first half of shooting this season, and made 6 of 11 3-pointers Hurricanes continued onC5 TODAY'S GAMES ACCTOURNAMENT, New York Miami vs. North Carolina, noon FSU vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. FRIDAY'S GAME SECTOURNAMENT, Nashville Florida vs. Vanderbilt or Texas 7 p.m.

Inside: UF a No. 4 seed? C5 SATURDAY'S GAME Raptors at Heat, 8 p.m., Sun Sports ALSO INSIDE Weber faces off against Heat, CIO Dion Waiters exults after hitting one of his five 3-pointers in the Heat's victory over the Hornets. Waiters hit three 3-pointers in the final minutes and finished with 24 points, alan diaz associated press BASEBALL METS WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC Tebow goes 0 for 3 in Mets debut Event with international flair is an acquired taste Ex-Gators QB strikes out twice and grounds into double play. By Adam Lichtenstein Palm Beach Post Staff Writer PORT ST. LUCI Tim Tebow strode up to the plate, wearing No.

97 82 digits more than the No. 15 he wore when quarter-backing the Florida Gators and in batting practice and was greeted by thunderous applause or about as thunderous as 6,538 fans can get at a Wednesday afternoon spring training game in early March. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner turned baseball player, made his spring training debut for the New York Mets, starting at designated hitter, at First Data Field. He had a rough first game, going 0 for 3 with a hit by pitch and hitting into a Tebow continued on C4 Takes a little getting used to, this World Baseball Classic, or as I call it, March Weirdness. For one thing, you might notice that many spring-training tickets appear to buy admission to split-squad affairs, even when they are not designated as such.

The Houston Astros, for example, have loaned seven players from their 40-man roster to various WBC teams Jose Altuve to Venezuela, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Correa to Puerto Rico, Alex Bregman to Team USA and so forth. Next comes the risky concept of major league stars gearing up for highly signifi- Dave George cant competition at a time of the year when it's normally all about loosening up and looking out for every little report of elbow soreness or back tightness or even hangnails up and down the pitching staff. Last comes the tricky notion that any baseball tournament, George continued on C4 The Mets' Tim Tebow poses with fans before Wednesday's game against the Red Sox in Port St. Lucie, richardgraulich the palm beach post.