Surprised by Florida Pro Teams' Success in This Pandemic Year

Nearly two weeks ago the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup went to the Tampa Bay Lightning, arguably the best team in the league but with a fresh memory of being shut out in the first round of the playoffs last year by Columbus...this time they handled the Dallas Stars in six games during the final round after a long postponement in the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Major League Soccer decided to begin their delayed season with a tournament...Orlando City, which had never even made the playoffs before, found themselves surging and made the final match before bowing to Portland...now in the regular season they're still surging.  In Major League Baseball, the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays have gone beyond expectations with both making the playoffs and the latter accumulating the best record in the American League during this attenuated 60-game regular season.  Miami even won their first round in the playoffs against the Cubs before falling to the Atlanta Braves...the Rays have gone farther, first knocking out Toronto and then defeating the New York Yankees last night in their series' deciding game on an eight-inning homer. And in the National Basketball Association the Miami Heat, led by Jimmy Butler...one of my favorite players, who has a penchant for turning average teams into contenders...has defied the odds and is playing competitively against the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers for the league title.  They won a close contest last night and have narrowed their Lebron James-led opponent's lead to three games to two.  I'd like to report that this trend is extending to pro football as well, but alas, the three Florida teams are floundering as usual though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with their "new" quarterback Tom Brady, are at least supporting a winning record and are (barely) in front of their division.  But Brady seems out of it and even lost count of the down he was on during a decisive late-game possession against Chicago last Sunday.  Still, the other sports seem to be shining on the Sunshine State and there's still time for the Bucs, Jaguars, and Dolphins to straighten out and fly right...