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For as long as most can remember, Cardinal Gibbons has gotten to a certain point with its football program but just couldn’t get past that next hurdle.

Not since 1990, has the program been to that level – when they lost in the Class 3A title game to Live Oak Suwannee.

But that has been changing.

First with veteran head coach Mike Morrill, and now with one-time Chiefs’ standout football and baseball player and former assistant coach turned head coach, Matt Dubuc.

To illustrate how far this program has come – especially in the offseason – all you had to do was look at last year’s Airo 7v7 State Championship.

This is a program that has rarely taken part in the state and regional 7-on-7 events. But with all the athletes they had on the roster last year, they signed up for the event and ended up winning the “state title”.

In the regular season, the Chiefs used that victory as a springboard. They were 9-2 and finished second, winning a state playoff game.

On Sunday, they were back at it – as the defending state champions of the event, which rolled into McArthur High Stadium with several other programs.

What the Chiefs did was give themselves another chance to win a team 7-on-7 state title as they will be joined in June by Stranahan (All In), Chaminade-Madonna (Lions) and Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer (MT Panthers) in Kissimmee for the state championship.

Cardinal Gibbons is a program that many will be looking at when the 2017 season begins. They have worked toward getting to this level for the past three years.

The major hurdle for this program playing for a state championship will come from its own district once again.

Plantation American Heritage has been the obstacle, and as they head toward the spring, you have to believe that this could be the year things change.

But, as we all know, the coaching and personnel that American Heritage has is top flight.

However, speaking honestly, the gap certainly closed last year – and it was evident in both games.

If you watched Gibbons play last season – you saw speed, athleticism, maturity, leadership and a true belief that they could compete with anyone on their schedule. The Chiefs bring plenty to the table on both sides of the ball.

While Dubuc believes that his offensive and defensive lines have more prospects and promise that just about any in school history – and as a graduate, he knows.

The playmakers they had at the 7-on-7 events will match up against anyone.

In the Sunday event, the Chiefs featured some quality prospects. Athletes who have a real chance of making a major impact in 2017.

Entered as the CHIEFS, prospects who impressed included 2018 receivers Carlos Sandy, Jordan Riggins, Brandon Lee, and brothers Tavontae and Lavontae Decius.

Defensively, secondary standouts Ron Hardge III, Maxwell Worship, Khouri Howson; linebackers Donnell Bennett III, Ryan Saddler and Angel Lozano made a major difference.

There are also Class of 2019 prospects such as quarterback Nik Scalzo; receivers Chris Benestad and Nikolas Ognenovic; athlete Dimon Stewart, and linebacker Nico Scheesley.

The 2020 class is also impressive for the Chiefs as safety/receiver Majon Wright (great family bloodlines) and running back Tajae Davis.

In addition to Cardinal Gibbons, other programs competing for a place in the state championships on Sunday included: Archbishop McCarthy (Mavericks), Vero Beach (Vero Express), North Fort Myers (Big Red), Hialeah (Thoroughbreds), Cypress Bay (Lightning), Blanche Ely, McArthur (Mustangs), Taravella (Trojan Boys), Piper (Bengals), Doral Academy (Firebirds), Champagnat (Miami Lions), American (Patriots) and Edison (Red Raiders).

Here are some of the prospects each team brought:

American (Patriots)
2018 – Javon Gary, CB
2018 – Kevin Georges, RB
2018 – Khalil Love, WR
2019 – Jared Mack, CB
2018 – Dorian Mathis, DL
2018 – Jeremiah Simeon, CB
2019 – Jaysen Soroh, WR
2018 – Wanya Williams, QB
2018 – Greg Wilson, WR

Archbishop McCarthy (Mavericks)
2018 – Ramsey Baty, TE
2019 – Derek Burns, OLB
2020 – Ethan Corbjn, WR
2018 – Andrew Hallman, S
2020 – Cody Hallman, QB
2019 – Khymani Martin, WR
2020 – Daryl Porter, Jr., DB
2019 – Jesse Rivera, QB
2018 – Gino Sandora, LB
2018 – Denzel Simmon, OLB
2020 – Andrew Volmar, WR

Blanche Ely (Tigers)
2018 – Jamal Barton, Athlete
2018 – Jamari Brown, Athlete
2018 – Tayondric Crowder, DB
2019 – Deshaun Davis, Athlete
2018 – James Harris, CB
2018 – Akeem Hayes, WR
2018 – Yanez Rogers, Jr., CB

Chaminade-Madonna (Lions)
2018 – Marvin Alexander, WR
2018 – Zeke Alexander, DE
2018 – Quinn Dempsey, QB
2019 – Jake Hoffman, LB
2019 – Marlin Mayo, WR
2019 – Daelen Menard, QB
2019 – Justin Richardson, DB
2018 – Shaun Shivers, RB
2019 – Keontra Smith, S
2018 – C.J. Williams, LB
2018 – Jordan Williams, LB
2018 – Xavier Williams, WR

Champagnat (Miami Lions)
2020 – Marc Britt, WR
2018 – Terrence Crittenden, RB
2019 – Kevin Dessources, QB/Athlete
2018 – Keyshon Gardner, RB
2019 – Donald Georges, LB
2018 – Donovan Georges, LB
2019 – JaRule Harris, DB
2019 – Daryn Duke Jones, Athlete
2018 – Desjaun Kearse, QB
2019 – Lamarcus King, DB
2020 – Johnquai Lewis, WR
2020 – Jesus Machado, LB
2018 – Michel Maximious, LB
2018 – Leon McClain, WR
2020 – Calvin Montgomery, RB
2019 – Patrell Nadel, WR
2019 – Isaiah Pierre, RB
2019 – Arthur Roberts, Athlete
2018 – Tyrik Robinson, LB
2020 – Dartrell Rolle, DB
2018 – Gregory Rousseau, Athlete
2018 – Jahani Wright, WR

Cypress Bay (Lightning)
2019 – Alejandro Andino
2019 – Bernie Jadotte, WR
2018 – Deeandrew Jean, WR
2018 – Isaac Malcolm, CB
2018 – Ricky Malcolm, CB
2018 – Julian Powell, S
2018 – Marlon Serbin, QB
2018 – Devin Singer, RB
2018 – Matthew Torio, TE/DE
2019 – Michael Weber II, CB
2019 – Jacob Wucher, CB

Doral Academy (Firebirds)
2020 – Elijah Abreu, S
2019 – Tavares Bradley, WR
2020 – Kahlil Brantley, WR
2018 – Brandon Dominguez, S
2021 – Timothy Burns, Jr., DB
2018 – Terrell Cofield, LB
2019 – Brieon Fuller, WR
2019 – Paul Galeano, FS
2018 – Ariel Garcia, WR
2019 – Oscar Garcia, LB
2020 – Harry Henderson, S
2019 – Johnathan Nunez, DB
2020 – Jethro Joseph, LB
2020 – Shemar Paul, RB
2018 – Natavious Payne, WR
2019 – Wendol Philord, CB

Dwyer (MT Panthers)
2018 – Justin Birchette, CB
2018 – Anfernee Coleman, WR
2018 – Lubens Ervil, WR
2018 – Jahmai Fletcher, LB
2018 – Zephanijah Fletcher, WR
2019 – Daniel Foster, TE
2019 – Reginald Gadson, WR
2018 – Andrew Kasten, WR
2018 – Trevor Omans, QB
2019 – D’Andre Ruiz, DE
2018 – Darius Sephus, DB
2018 – Cephus Smith, WR
2019 – Daquan Williams, DB
2018 – Carl Willis, Jr., CB

Edison (Red Raiders)
2019 – Marcus Barthel, RB
2018 – T.J. Craig, QB
2018 – Keythan Drayton, Jr., WR
2018 – Lamont Finnie, Athlete
2019 – Ricky McKnight, WR
2018 – Jermaine McMillian, S
2018 – Myki Morno, Athlete
2018 – Andrew Reese, DB
2018 – Alvonta Shelton, WR
2018 – Nate Webster III, S

Hialeah (Thoroughbreds)
2020 – Andre Beneby, S
2020 – Emmanuel Leatherwood, Athlete
2018 – Jason Lubin, CB
2018 – Nick Rivera, DE
2020 – Jovon Smith, Athlete
2018 – Juwan Starks, CB
2018 – Mitrelle Strong, WR
2019 – JuZion Wade, QB
2019 – Ricardo Young, Athlete

McArthur (Mustangs)
2020 – Jeremy Acosta, LB
2020 – Horace Atkins, QB
2020 – Newton Frank, CB
2019 – Kenny Joseph, WR
2020 – Dontae Lunan, Athlete
2019 – Andrew Manning, Athlete
2018 – Wilson Martinez, LB
2019 – Michael McPhee, Jr., CB
2020 – Ja’tere Rodwell, WR
2019 – Roshaughn Sutherland, LB
2020 – Jaclyn Taylor, RB
2019 – Kelvin Taylor, Jr., WR
2019 – Kevonta Walker, WR
2018 – Dominick Watt, WR

North Fort Myers (Big Red)
2018 – Fa’Najae Gotay, LB
2018 – Cameron Howitt, Athlete
2018 – Blake McPherson, WR
2018 – Toby Noland, QC
2018 – Joe Wilkins, Jr., WR

Piper (Bengals)
2020 – Devonte Brown, Athlete
2019 – Keyshawn Dawkins, WR
2018 – Marcus Decius, WR
2018 – Markel Grant, RB
2019 – Jamarcus Hallman, DB
2019 – Zane Hight, DB
2020 – Derohn King, QB
2019 – Darius McKenzie, LB
2019 – Patrick Ottey, CB
2020 – Jakari Ponder, RB
2018 – Josh Riles, DB
2019 – Jadus Rogers, LB
2018 – Nathaniel Stubbs, RB
2020 – Omar Sweeting, WR
2020 – Jalen Thomas, Athlete

Stranahan (All In)
2018 – Jaquan Brayboy, WR
2018 – Milton Cook, WR/CB
2018 – Trevontae Cunningham, LB
2018 – Maurquel Dillard, Athlete
2018 – Uchenna Ezewike, LB
2019 – Edward German, WR
2018 – Jyiquon Grisswell, RB
2018 – Dionte Henderson, FS
2018 – Ginial Isma, CB
2018 – J’Veion Johnson, LB
2019 – Kyle McGregor, WR
2019 – Albert Pickett, FS
2019 – Jonathan Solomon, QB

Taravella (Trojan Boys)
2018 – Malik Beckford, QB
2019 – John Duron, RB
2018 – Alexander Hubbard, LB
2018 – Dorian Johnson, WR
2018 – Wayne Parrish, WR
2018 – Moses Snell, Jr., WR
2018 – Jamal Walsh, RB
2018 – Jordan Walsh, WR
2019 – Vantravious Williams, WR

Vero Beach (Vero Express)
2018 – Jacob Bell, WR
2019 – Javien Cuff, WR
2018 – Akeem Dixon, RB
2019 – Demarcus Harris, WR
2020 – Ryan Jankowski, QB
2018 – David Reese, LB
2018 – Will Stribling, WR
2018 – Jamar Trusty, WR

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With the Miami Heat playing for their playoff lives in the final two games of the regular season, they got some uplifting news Monday.

Per the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson are all out for Monday night’s game in Miami. The injury report said James is out with a calf injury; Irving a knee injury and Thompson a thumb injury.

Also listed on Cleveland’s injury report is forward Kevin Love as questionable with an unspecified illness.

James, Irving and probably Love’s absence come on the heels of the Cavaliers blowing a 26-point fourth quarter lead and losing to the Atlanta Hawks in overtime Sunday.

Cleveland is tied with the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the East, his highness King James recent made comments saying that individual regular season games and the top seed in the conference weren’t that important to him.

No matter who plays, the playoff implications on Monday night’s game couldn’t be thicker.

The Heat are currently tied with the Chicago Bulls for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference. Both teams share a 39-41 record and they are both one game behind the seventh place, 40-40 Indiana Pacers.

Miami doesn’t completely control its own playoff destiny.

The Heat needs to win their final two games – home tilts with the Cavs and the Washington Wizards (on Wednesday). If they win both of those games, Miami will then need either Indiana or Chicago to lose one of their next two games.

The Bulls have two home games against Orlando and Brooklyn. Before you snicker because Chicago has a cakewalk, remember it was a Bulls lost to Brooklyn last week that kept Miami’s playoff hopes alive to this point.

Indiana will play at Philadelphia and close the season at home against the Hawks.

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While Butch Davis is certainly the main attraction at Florida International University these days, the veteran football coach is only a part of what’s new at a school that has truly floundered long enough.

What has happened to the Panthers is they hit a huge crossroad with the program.

Perhaps a lot of losing and missing out on key local recruits has put this team in a position that is gotten too used to.

We can talk about Don Strock, Mario Cristobal and Ron Turner all you want and look at a 52-112 all-time record, but the fact is – this program has never had that perfect storm – if you will.

In Davis, they have something brewing.

A coach and staff that come in with loads of experience and start getting high-level local players to come in their very first recruiting class.

It is a head coach who has indeed been there and done that – and he has surrounded himself with those very same people.

The mark of a good coach to have quality assistants, and during the spring game last Friday night, you could see it. Coaching going on all over the field; progress.

It is also a head coach that could very well do what Howard Schnellenberger did and become the face of the program over the long haul. Davis wanted to coach, teach and recruit – and at FIU, he will do just that.

While the Golden Panthers are not going to run all over people this coming year, they do have talent.

Plenty of that talent was on display on Friday at the newly named Riccardo Silva Stadium.

Taking nothing away from those gifted athletes this team has on its roster, and there are outstanding players who will indeed help, but that ratio of local prospects to outsiders cannot be the way it is and expect local support.

This spring, there are 52 football players on this roster who come from north of Palm Beach County. That is a recipe for open seats and potential recruits not wanting to come.

But before you get ready to jump off that ledge FIU fans, the first recruiting class of the Davis era was impressive, and fed that local need.

Another aspect of what Davis brings are local coaches. Tim “Ice” Harris, Jr., who was part of the last staff, and Aubrey Hill, fresh off a Class 6A state championship with his alma mater, Miami Carol City, are part of what will continue this South Florida pipeline.

So are former UM standouts Kenny Holmes and Earl Little, who recently joined the Panthers.

LOCALS STANDOUT IN SPRING GAME
Last year, Austin Maloney was one of the recruits that many couldn’t wait to see. Things never went the way the former Christopher Columbus standout receiver expected. But things changed.

When Coach Davis and his staff came in, more attention was paid to this gifted athlete, and judging from an outstanding spring and impressive spring game, he was one of the local prospects that caught everyone’s eye.

Also, Miami-Dade and Broward prospects that are expected to make an impact in 2017 include freshman kicker Jose Borregales (Miami Booker T. Washington), veteran lineman Jordan Budwig (Fort Lauderdale University School), Coral Gables linebacker Shakur Cooper, versatile Tony Gaitor IV, (WR, Miami Westminster Christian), veteran Hialeah safety Niko Gonzalez, Miami Central running back Anthony Jones and defensive lineman Fermin Silva.

Other South Florida athletes to keep an eye on as well:

Kai Absheer, OL, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
Maurice Alexander, QB, Booker T. Washington
Wendell Ashley, DB, Coral Gables
Trayvon Blake, S, Fort Lauderdale
Olin Cushion III, DB, Miami Central
Jean Estinor, LB, North Miami
Jordan Guest, LB, Miami Christopher Columbus
Pol Guzman, OL, Hialeah
Xavier Hines, DB, Miami Belen Jesuit
Brandon James, LB, Miami Southridge
Tyree Johnson, LB, Miami Carol City
Chris Judge, LS, Coral Springs Charter
Emmanuel Lubin, DB, North Miami Beach
Giovanni Menocal, LB, Miami Belen Jesuit
Kyle Perez, DB, Plantation American Heritage
Shermarke Spence, S, Miami Northwestern
Khairi Reaser, DB, Miami Westminster Christian
Darrius Scott, WR, Booker T. Washington
Jermaine Sheriff, DL, Hialeah
Scott Wade, PK, Plantation American Heritage
Trayvon Williams, LB, Miami Norland
Anthony Wint, LB, Homestead

RECRUITING GAME IS WORKING
To show what Davis has already meant to this school, all you have to do is go back to February – and National Signing Day. What happened in the short period of time that he had on the job, Davis went to work and knocked on enough doors and rekindled old friendships to come away with a very good LOCAL class.

At the spring game, many of those Class of 2017 signees attended along with plenty of outstanding local high school players, who were showing their support to Davis and FIU, but the very fact that area coaches have a place in this program, is exciting as well.

Among those 2017 prospects (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach) who figure to add to what’s already aboard include:

Cody Bowes, OL, Miami Sothridge
Romelo Brooks, OLB, Miami Killian
Rashad Colson, DL, Miami Norland
Noah Curtis, Athlete, Delray American Heritage
Richard Dames, DB, Miami Booker T. Washington
Rishard Dames, DB, Miami Booker T. Washington
Jamal Gates, OLB, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer
Dorian Hall, Athlete, Hollywood South Broward
Tevin Jones, DE, Miami Norland
Mershawn Miller, OL, Miami Central
Kevin Oliver, DE, Davie Western
Willa Pierre, OL, Miami Booker T. Washington
Shemar Thornton, WR, Hallandale
DeAndre Williams, WR, Miami Booker T. Washington

PLAYER: Wayne Parrish
POSITION: WR/S
SCHOOL: Coral Springs Taravella
CLASS: 2018
HEIGHT: 6-1
WEIGHT: 185

SCOUTING: When we last checked in on this quality football player during the season, very few people had heard of him. While that has changed and the interest has started to pick up, there are many who feel that Parrish is still being way undersold. Coaches, players and those who evaluate football players, strongly feel that this is someone who can be a difference-maker for years to come. Parrish is a very physical pass catcher who has also been relied on to play in the defensive secondary. He does not back down from anyone – on either side of the ball. Watch his stock rise when more school get a chance to evaluate him during the spring.

TAPE: http://www.hudl.com/profile/6083650/wayne-parrish

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CONNECTICUT (CBSMiami) – A Connecticut teenager is making medical history. She’s one of the first in the country to receive a so called artificial pancreas. The new technology could change the lives of tens of thousands of people living with type 1 diabetes.

Claire Bickel suffers from type 1 diabetes and keeping her blood sugar in check is a constant struggle.

“Especially when I’m juggling field hockey, the spring musical, track, biology, checking my blood sugar,” Bickel said.

But now, the active 14-year-old said a small device is going to simplify her life dramatically.

Medtronic’s MiniMed 670G hybrid closed looped system, the first FDA-approved “artificial pancreas” device for people with type 1 diabetes. (Source: Medtronic)

She’s one of the first patients in the country, and the first pediatric patient, to receive the MiniMed 670G since it was FDA approved last year.

The system from Medtronic automatically measures her blood sugar and delivers personalized amounts of insulin 24 hours a day with less interaction from Bickel.

Dr. Stuart Weinzimer at Yale Children’s Diabetes Program said reducing the burden to patients and families is huge.

“You still have to do some basic things like testing your blood sugar… dosing what you are eating. This is going to operate and do a lot of the important safety work in between meals, during exercise and at night,” Dr. Weinzimer said.

Those are the times Bickel’s mother would worry about blood sugar dropping the most. But the device is really helping her bring the worry level way down.

“Oh, it brings it down. I slept ALL night last night,” she said.

Bickel’s now looking forward to a future with less stress.

“I think going away places, going to college… a lot of those things I want to do by myself, it’s just a lot easier to do,” she said.

Giving both her and her mother peace of mind – and another reason to smile!

Close to 1.25 million Americans are currently living with type 1 diabetes.

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The NFL has released the 2017 preseason schedule and the Miami Dolphins are opening up at home.

Week 1 (August 10-14): Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins

Week 2 (August 17-21): Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

Week 3 (August 24-27): Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 4 (August 31-September 1): Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings

Even though the Fins had a successful season a year ago, making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2008, they will not be playing in a nationally televised preseason match.

CBS4 will once again be the preseason television home of the Dolphins. For your radio needs, the games will be carried on 560 WQAM and KISS 99.9.

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MIAMI (SportsDirect Inc.) – The Cleveland Cavaliers have fallen apart in consecutive games down the stretch and hope to have enough in the tank to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat still are trying to sneak in at the other end of the playoff race as they open a two-game homestand Monday with a crucial matchup against the Cavaliers.

After being outscored by 14 points in the final eight-plus minutes of a home loss to Atlanta on Friday, Cleveland choked away a 26-point, fourth-quarter advantage and eventually fell by one in overtime at Atlanta two days later.

“Obviously, the last 10 games, we’ve been 5-5,” Cavaliers superstar LeBron James told reporters. “We had some good moments and we had some not-so-good moments today. The best thing for our team is, we want to go down the stretch, be healthy and put a game plan together.”

The Heat capped a 2-1 road trip with a vital 106-103 win at Washington on Saturday and pull into this contest tied with Chicago for the eighth seed, although the Bulls own the tiebreaker.

Hassan Whiteside recorded 30 points and 12 rebounds while providing a key block in the closing moments as Miami won for the fourth time in its final five road games.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (51-29): In addition to the negativity surrounding Sunday’s collapse, Cleveland will be hard-pressed to find the energy to get past a motivated Miami squad, as James (47 minutes), Kyrie Irving (45) and Kevin Love (42) were used heavily. Additionally, Irving – who recorded 45 points and nine assists – has been bothered by a sore knee while James is averaging 42.3 minutes over a five-game span. The Cavaliers averaged 95 points in losing a home-and-home series with the Heat last month, which began with a 120-92 loss at Miami.

ABOUT THE HEAT (39-41): Saturday’s win had a playoff feel to it, and the manner in which Miami responded down the stretch proved it is not ready to pack things up. “These guys in the locker room right now feel alive,” coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “You can’t pay enough money to feel like that.” Forward James Johnson is averaging 21 points and 8.3 rebounds over a three-game span.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Miami has won 12 straight meetings at home.

2. James also notched 16 rebounds and 10 assists Sunday for his 13th triple-double.

3. Heat SG Dion Waiters (ankle) has missed 11 straight contests and SF Luke Babbitt (hip) has sat out three in a row.

PREDICTION: Heat 108, Cavaliers 106

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — City officials are issuing a precautionary boil water notice for parts of Miami that will take effect Tuesday.

The order covers the area along Biscayne Boulevard, between NE 25th Street to NE 26th Terrace, and along NE 25th Street, from Biscayne Boulevard to the bay.

Miami-Dade Water and Sewer contractors will install a 24-inch valve in the area.

As a result, the water service will be interrupted Tuesday from 10 p.m. to Wednesday at 6 a.m.

Once the water is restored, those in the area should boil any water used for drinking or cooking until further notice.

Water needs to be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute.

The Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Department will sample the water for 48 hours once it’s back on. When the water samples show good results, the boil water restriction will be lifted.

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) —  Airlines had to scrub at least 150 flights but Delta Airlines cancelled more than 3,200 over the weekend due to strong storms. For one woman, Delta gave her some major money to for her trouble – $11,000 to be exact.

Hours after the storms moved out from Hartsfield Jackson Airport, people were still camping out on the floor of the second floor atrium – victims of the old domino effect of delay.

“We were going to visit my husband’s parents in Aventura. It’s right next to Fort Lauderdale,” said Laura Begley Bloom whose family made the major bucks from the delays.

Bloom knows how they felt. She was delayed too while traveling on Delta Airlines from New York to Florida with her husband and 4-year-old.

“The flight kept getting delayed and there was a lovely woman at the desk and we just kind of kept begging her, and finally she got a manager to sign off and they signed off on the gift cards,” said Bloom.

“And it was kind of a repeat on Saturday. We got to the airport. The flights were delayed and they were already asking for volunteers and I checked in that morning and we said hey if they give us more money, let’s do it again and pretty much the exact thing happened,” said Bloom. “We walked away with 11 thousand dollars total.”

As much as Bloom and her family feel lucky to get all that money, she also feels happy to help the people who really needed to get to their destinations.

“There were so many people at the airport who were heading to weddings, people who were going to funerals, people who were going to see their dying parents, who had real reasons to go.  And of course, we had a reason to go – we wanted to see our family but it wasn’t a life or death situation,” said Bloom.

Laura Begley Bloom is also a Forbes.com contributor. She wrote about what happened for the magazine. She’ll also be a guest on ‘CBS This Morning’ on Tuesday.

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – You may not know who Angela Duckworth is, but some of the biggest names in business and professional sports sure do.

They hire her to get ahead. Why? Because she’s the world’s leading expert in the study of excellence and everyone wants to learn her secrets.

Duckworth is an internet superstar.  Her TED Talk on “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” has 10 and a half million views.

“I don’t think I have as many views of my TED Talk as any cat video,” she said.

“You have millions of views,” CBS4 News Anchor Rick Folbaum responded.

“Look at any cat video and there are 15 million views,” she said.

“You’re close to that,” Folbaum replied.

“You know, maybe,” Duckworth said.

The professor and social scientist is modest, but people all over are listening to her lectures and reading her best-selling books, hungry for clues to be more successful in life.  The main ingredient, she says, is grit.

“I define grit as the combination of perseverance and passion for really long term goals,” Duckworth said. “So working really hard at something for a long time, but working really hard at something that you love.”

Duckworth was recently in South Florida, the final speaker in this year’s Broward College Speaker Series.

Always looking for ways to improve himself, Folbaum was lucky enough to emcee the event and spend some one-on-one time with Duckworth ahead of the talk.

“How do parents instill grit in our children?” Folbaum asked her.

“It’s hard, right?” Duckworth responded. “I have two teenagers at home. I think that I model working really hard. I model falling down. But I hope I model getting back up again… I think a lot of parenting is modeling… I’m not a perfect person, but I try to model well.”

She says that as kids get older, they might find success in different places.

“I think in adolescents, some kids will learn grit in the classroom.  For a lot of kids, they’re going to find more passion outside the classroom, and I think that should be encouraged,” she said.

She says that everyone comes into life with two lists. One is made up of things we can’t control – like our sex, the family we’re born to, the time and place of our birth and upbringing. That’s one list.

“There is another list, and those are the things you can change. And that’s a long list. You can change what you do in the morning. You can change your habits. Your attitude, the people you hang out with.  You can find yourself a mentor,” she explained. “World-class performers don’t spend all their time thinking about things they can’t change. They spend their time mostly thinking about things they can.”

And don’t think having grit means you have to mean.  Duckworth’s easiest piece of advice is one of her last: be nice. As big a star as she’s become, she was certainly that.

Here is the link to watch Duckworth’s TED Talk.

Follow this link to visit her website.

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Miami’s police union president got his gun back Monday, but he lost an effort to get rid of a temporary restraining order against him.

FOP boss, Lt. Javier Ortiz, was in family court, along with Claudia Castillo who wants a judge to keep a stay away order against Ortiz in place.

It started in January, 2016. Claudia Castillo rolled her cell phone video on what she said was a speeding Miami-Dade cop. On the cell recording, Castillo can be heard saying the officer must have been going 100 miles per hour. When she caught up with him near an exit ramp, Castillo pulled the officer over, flashing her lights.

“It’s your speeding!” Castillo can be heard telling the officer. “Well, I apologize and I’ll be sure to slow down,” the officer responds.

The civilian-stops-cop video went viral. And Javier Ortiz went ballistic, launching an online attack on Castillo. It included a shot of her at the wheel of a boat holding a can of beer. He published her cell phone number. She says she got nasty calls at all hours. She didn’t file for a restraining order, though, until just last month, after she encountered Ortiz at a meeting of the Civilian Investigative Panel, a police oversight board, that found Ortiz guilty of breaking multiple department policies in this online treatment of Castillo. Castillo said a visibly angry Ortiz tried to follow her to the parking lot. She hasn’t discussed the incident on camera but told CBS4 News after she filed for the restraining order that she was afraid of Ortiz.

“I fear for my safety because I don’t have a gun or a badge,” she said.

Ortiz’ attorney says there was no encounter at the meeting.

“We will present evidence from police witnesses that he went into an office, and she was free to leave, and he didn’t follow her, and she even had a police officer escort to her car,” said Ortiz’ attorney, Rob Buschel.

Judge Deborah White-Labora refused to lift a temporary restraining order.

“The judge did the right thing by keeping the restraining order in place,” said Castillo’s attorney, Paul Petruzzi. “Lt. Ortiz has some serious issues.”

The judge did grant the cop one request: “I will remove the provision preventing firearms,” White-Labora ruled.

The decision allows Ortiz to carry his weapon at all times – not just when on duty.

Ortiz is a colorful, controversial figure with a history of speaking his mind:

– He waged cyber war on a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who pulled over a speeding Miami cop. The trooper said the Miami officer was doing “over 100 miles per hour.” Ortiz and many other officers were incensed that the trooper drew her gun on the Miami officer who was in a marked squad car.

– He made national news when he called for Miami Police to boycott a Beyoncé concert because of what he called her anti-cop beliefs.

– He slammed a Pinecrest police officer who he said refused to render aid to two, fatally injured victims at a car crash. The Pinecrest officer, first recommended for termination by the police chief, eventually was given a suspension without pay.

Ortiz has enjoyed the support of the rank and file in jousting with city hall and police department brass for better pay and benefits. The union recently won a state supreme court ruling that could see the city eventually have to reimburse millions of dollars in back pay that had been unilaterally cut from salaries during a declared “financial emergency.”

A man of many words, Ortiz had little to say following Monday’s hearing.

“I have full trust in the criminal justice system and having me vindicated,” Ortiz said as he brushed by reporters.

Judge White-Labora will hold a full blown hearing, a trial of sorts, next week on whether the temporary restraining order against the police union president should be made permanent. Ortiz, his alleged victim and others could testify.

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A new report by a non-profit gun control advocacy website shows the number of road rage incidents involving guns is on the rise.

The report by The Trace found there were more than 1,300 gun-related road rage incidents nationwide between January 2014 and December 2016.

There were 146 incidents in Florida – the highest number in the country.

Florida State Senator and gun proponent Dennis Baxley says guns aren’t to blame for the issue.

“This is a cultural problem that we have, and it’s accelerated by the use of drugs in our culture. A gun is an inanimate object, it accelerates nothing,” said Baxley. “It’s only a weapon when someone decides to use it as a weapon.”

The report also found more than 130 people nationwide were killed in road rage incidents involving firearms over the past two years, and about 360 have been wounded.

With road rage incidents increasing overall, states are passing laws to keep traffic moving. In Florida, drivers can only go 10 miles per hour under the speed limit while in the fast lane.

A 2016 AAA survey says nearly 80 percent of drivers admitted to at least one instance of aggressive driving within a year.

“The more congestion that we experience, the more people have to stop-and-go or sit in traffic jams, the more frustrated they get,” said Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president & chief public affairs officer at AAA.

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LAUDERHILL (CBSMiami) – More than a dozen families are left without a home in Lauderhill as a fire breaks out at an apartment complex.

As fire took over an entire corner of the Cypress Tree Apartments, a mother-to-be who lived there raced out before flames grew even larger.

Glenton Daley says the fire started at his apartment where his pregnant daughter, due in just two weeks, woke up to the blaze shortly after 11:30 a.m.

Everything in their apartment was destroyed, including all of the gifts his daughter received at her baby shower recently.

“Everything. The stroller, car seat. Whatever. Everything for the baby is all gone,” said Daley.

“Everything was just popping as if some of the material inside the apartment, maybe the gas or microwave, was exploding. The patio was collapsing on the ground and flames along with it,” said witness Shaneice Stewart.

“There was fire shooting out the window… the roof collapsed in, pieces of the house was breaking down the floor,” said witness Maurice Thomas.

As those flames leaped from the fourth floor of the building, the real drama was building in the back, on the other side of the hallway from that fire. A mother and her 4 and 5-year-old kids were trapped on the balcony. They couldn’t get out of their apartment because of the thick smoke from the huge fire on the other side, just feet from her front door.

Oshine Graham threw mattresses to the ground as she toyed with a terrifying decision – should she throw her children over the railing?

“It was kind of hard to throw them from the fourth floor because it’s a long way down,” said Graham.

R.O. Dawkins lives nearby. He had already raced through the building to get people out. Now he was ready to catch those kids if need be.

“We was ready. We was ready to catch those kids. She was ready to throw the little one. The baby was first. I was like this under, to catch the baby. As soon as the truck came around, I said thank God,” said Dawkins.

Firefighters arrived just in the nick of time. First, one child was hoisted over the side. The rescuer carefully carried her down. Then the 5-year-old boy was carefully handed to firemen.  He too made it down just fine. Everyone was okay, thanks to those firefighters. One of them was just out of the academy.

“We keep our skills sharp and it showed today,” said Daniel Speerin with Lauderhill Fire Rescue.

“It’s what we train for and when the day comes and you actually have to put that training in use, you’re ready for it,” said Lt. Jamal Clarke with Lauderhill Fire Rescue.

That wasn’t the only act of bravery.

Travis Williams raced into the burning building, up to the fourth floor where he rescued a handicapped elderly woman

“I had her on my back walking downstairs,” said Williams.

As for injuries, one person – an expectant mother – suffered from smoke inhalation.

The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the apartment clubhouse as everyone tries to figure out how they are going to replace their belongings and start all over again.

“I don’t know how I’m going to manage but it’s just one step at a time,” said Daley.  “We find a hotel for maybe one or two nights and then we take it from there.”

As for the cause of the fire, the cause is under investigation

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MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Johnson scored 24 points, including the game’s final four from the foul line, and the Miami Heat remained alive in the postseason chase by rallying to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-121 on Monday night.

Hassan Whiteside scored 23 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Miami, which would have been eliminated with a loss. Josh Richardson scored 19 points, James Johnson had 16 and Goran Dragic added 15.

Deron Williams had a season-high 35 points, along with nine assists and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, who fell to 0-7 this season when LeBron James doesn’t play.

The Cavs were also without Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and fell a game behind Boston in the race for No. 1 in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Love scored 25 points, Channing Frye had 21 and Kyle Korver had 18.

Miami survived despite Cleveland getting two four-point plays in overtime, including one by Williams with 34 seconds left that put the Heat on the brink. But Johnson scored the last four points, and Miami stayed in the No. 9 spot in the East.

No. 7 Indiana and No. 8 Chicago both won earlier Monday, and would have clinched playoff trips with a Heat loss.

Instead, it’s on to Game No. 82 on Wednesday night to decide it all.

Cleveland’s lead was as many as 15, and was still 14 late in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Frye. Williams connected on another 3 with 2.1 seconds left in the period, and the Cavaliers took an 81-70 lead into the fourth.

In just over three minutes, the lead was gone.

The Cavs wasted a 26-point lead going into the fourth at Atlanta on Sunday, and an 11-pointer in the final 12 minutes of regulation of this one.

James Johnson had seven quick points to start Miami’s rally, Tyler Johnson’s 3-pointer tied the game at 95, and Wayne Ellington connected on a pair of 3s to push Miami’s lead out to 106-99.

Cleveland scored the next nine points, going back on top when Love put back his own miss for a 108-106 lead with 1:40 remaining. Dragic tied it for the Heat with a long jumper, Miami got a stop on the final Cleveland possession and to overtime they went.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: If history holds, James won’t play Wednesday. He hasn’t appeared in a regular-season finale since 2007. … Thompson and Irving were on the floor working out pregame. Thompson missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right thumb. … G Kay Felder (left lower leg) was injured in the third quarter and did not return. … Williams’ high with the Cavs was 19, until Monday. He had 20 by the midpoint of the third quarter.

Heat: Dion Waiters (ankle) was listed as questionable, but missed his 12th consecutive game. The Heat are 27-19 with him and now 12-23 without him. … Ellington connected from midcourt just after the third-quarter buzzer. It would have gotten Miami within eight going into the fourth.

BIRDMAN VISITS

Chris “Birdman” Andersen, who played for both Cleveland and Miami in his career, was in a baseline seat opposite the Heat bench. Andersen won a title in Miami in 2013. He appeared in 12 games with the Cavs this season before being sidelined by a knee injury.

L2M FALLOUT

The league’s Last Two Minute Report of Sunday’s Cleveland-Atlanta game showed three calls late in regulation and overtime that negatively impacted the Cavs’ chances in what became a 126-125 loss. “It’s too late now. It’s over,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “Can they give us the game back? Well, we don’t need to talk about it then. If they can’t give us the game back, it doesn’t matter.”

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Host Toronto on Wednesday, the last tune-up before the playoffs start.

Heat: Host Washington on Wednesday, looking to go 4-0 against the Wizards this season.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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CHICAGO (CBSMiami/AP) — A video of a passenger being dragged off an overbooked United Airlines flight sparked an uproar on socials media as the airline insists its employees had no choice but to contact authorities and remove the man.

As the flight waited to depart from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, officers could be seen grabbing the screaming man from a window seat, pulling him across the armrest and dragging him down the aisle by his arms. The airline was trying to make room for four of its employees on the Sunday evening flight to Louisville, Kentucky.

Other passengers on Flight 3411 are heard saying, “Please, my God,” ”What are you doing?” ”This is wrong,” ”Look at what you did to him” and “Busted his lip.”

Passenger Audra D. Bridges posted the video on Facebook. Her husband, Tyler Bridges, said United offered $400 and then $800 vouchers and a hotel stay for volunteers to give up their seats. When no one volunteered, a United manager came on the plane and announced that passengers would be chosen at random.

“We almost felt like we were being taken hostage,” Tyler Bridges said. “We were stuck there. You can’t do anything as a traveler. You’re relying on the airline.”

When airline employees named four customers who had to leave the plane, three of them did so. The fourth person refused to move, and police were called, United spokesman Charlie Hobart said.

“We followed the right procedures,” Hobart told the Associated Press in a phone interview. “That plane had to depart. We wanted to get our customers to their destinations.”

Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines’ parent company, described the event as “upsetting” and apologized for “having to re-accommodate these customers.” He said the airline was conducting a review and reaching out to the passenger to “further address and resolve this situation.”

The passenger told the manager that he was a doctor who needed to see patients in the morning, Bridges said.

“He was kind of saying that he was being singled out because he’s a Chinese man” when speaking to the manager, who was African-American, Bridges said.

“You should know what this is like,” the man said, according to Bridges.

The AP was unable to confirm the passenger’s identity or ethnicity.

Two officers tried to reason with the man before a third came aboard and pointed at the man “basically saying, ‘Sir, you have to get off the plane,'” Bridges said. That’s when the altercation happened.

The four United employees then boarded the plane.

“People on the plane were letting them have it,” he said. “They were saying you should be ashamed to work for this company.”

A few minutes later, the man who was removed from the plane returned, looking dazed and saying he had to get home, Bridges said. Officers followed him to the back of the plane. Another man traveling with high school students stood up at that point and said they were getting off the plane, Bridges said.

About half of the passengers followed before United told everyone to get off, he said.

The man who was originally dragged down the aisle was removed from the plane again, and United employees made an announcement saying they had to “tidy up” the aircraft, Bridges said.

Bridges’ wife told him she saw the man taken away on a stretcher, he said.

After a three-hour delay the flight took off without the man aboard, Bridges said. A United employee apologized to passengers, he said.

Airlines are allowed to sell more tickets than there are seats on the plane, and they routinely overbook flights because some people do not show up.

It’s not unusual for airlines to offer travel vouchers to encourage people to give up their seats, and there are no rules for the process. When an airline demands that a passenger give up a seat, the airline is required to pay compensation of double the passenger’s fare, up to $675, if the passenger can be placed on another flight that arrives one to two hours later than the first flight, or four times the ticket price, up to $1,350, for longer delays.

When they bump passengers, airlines are required to give those passengers a written description of their compensation rights.

Hobart declined to say how the airline compensated the passengers who were forced to leave the plane, saying he did not have those details from employees on the scene.

Last year, United forced 3,765 people off oversold flights and another 62,895 United passengers volunteered to give up their seats, probably in exchange for travel vouchers.

That’s out of more than 86 million people who boarded a United flight in 2016, according to government figures. United ranks in the middle of U.S. carriers when it comes to bumping passengers.

ExpressJet, which operates flights under the United Express, American Eagle and Delta Connection names, had the highest rate of bumping passengers last year. Among the largest carriers, Southwest Airlines had the highest rate, followed by JetBlue Airways.

Bridges said United should not have boarded the flight if it was overbooked.

“The man handled it wrong,” he said. “The police were kind of put in a bad spot. There’s a lot of ways United could have handled it, and that was not one of the good ways.”

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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (CBSMiami/AP) — A teacher and a student were shot to death and a second student was critically wounded after a murder-suicide inside an elementary school classroom in San Bernardino Monday afternoon, police said.

Police said the 9-year-old and the boy who died were behind their special-education teacher, Karen Elaine Smith, 53, the target of the man she had married months earlier.

The shooting left hundreds of distraught parents waiting for hours to reunite with their children.

Staffers knew Cedric Anderson, who had been estranged from his wife for about a month, and he got into the school by saying he had to drop something off for Smith, officials said.

“No one has come forward to say they saw this coming,” police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters.

Anderson had a history of weapons, domestic violence and possible drug charges that predated the short marriage, authorities said.

He frequently wrote social media posts about his wife over the past month. On what appeared to be his Facebook page, Anderson said he “loved being married to Karen Smith-Anderson!” and posted a photo of the two of them on March 4 in what he described as a date night. He posted several photos of his wedding to Smith early this year and their honeymoon in Sedona, Arizona.

Smith’s mother, Irma Sykes, said her daughter had been friends with Anderson for about four years before they got married.

“She thought she had a wonderful husband, but she found out he was not wonderful at all,” Sykes told the Los Angeles Times. “He had other motives,” Sykes said. “She left him and that’s where the trouble began. She broke up with him and he came out with a different personality. She decided she needed to leave him.” She did not elaborate further.

Sykes said her daughter was a dedicated teacher who took up the profession about 10 years ago after her four children grew up.

Fifteen students ranging from first to fourth grade were in the special-education classroom at North Park Elementary School, along with two adult aides and Smith, when Anderson emptied a large-caliber revolver and reloaded. Then, he turned the gun on himself.

Marissa Perez, age 9, was in the classroom hiding under a table.

“A boy just walked in with a gun,” she said shortly after she and her mother, Elizabeth Barajas, were reunited. The two cried, hugged and trembled. Barajas held the sweater her daughter had been wearing. It was speckled with blood.

“He just shot everywhere,” Marissa said. “My friend and my teacher. They got shot.”

Jonathan Martinez, the 8-year-old, was airlifted to a hospital and died soon after arriving, Burguan said. The 9-year-old boy, whose name was not released, has been stabilized at a hospital.

The 600 other students at the school were bused to safety at California State University’s San Bernardino campus, several miles away, after many walked off campus hand-in-hand, escorted by police.

Panicked parents had to wait hours before being reunited with them at a nearby high school.

Holly Penalber, whose 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter attend the school, called it “every parent’s worst nightmare.” She said the long wait was “frustrating but also understandable.”

When the buses first pulled away from the elementary school, some parents ran alongside, waving and trying to recognize their children inside. Many said their children were too young to have cellphones. Others said the phones rang unanswered.

When students got to the high school, many carrying glow sticks they had been given to pass the time, they got hugs from emotional parents, many in tears. Police officers applauded and high-fived them.

Alberta Terrell said she cried with relief when she was told that a family friend saw her 9-year-old granddaughter getting safely onto a bus.

“I was really elated. But I won’t be truly happy until I see her and can give her a big hug,” Terrell said as she sat in the bleachers near Cajon High School’s baseball diamond, waiting for her granddaughter to arrive.

San Bernardino, a city of 216,000 people about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, was the site of a December 2015 terror attack that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a meeting of San Bernardino County employees. Husband-and-wife shooters Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik were later killed in a gunbattle with authorities.

“Tragedy has again befallen our city,” Police Lt. Mike Madden said Monday of a community that has struggled in recent years.

Once a major rail hub and citrus producer, San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after struggling to pay its employees despite steep cuts to the budget. It was hit hard by the great recession, seeing rises in unemployment and violent crime.

An overflow crowd gathered at sunset at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in San Bernardino to mourn and pray for the victims and survivors of Monday’s shooting.

“Sometimes all we can do is cry. And today is the day for that,” Bishop Gerald R. Barnes told the gathering. “We’ll get up again. We’ll move on. We’ll become stronger. But today is the day to cry.”

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A new CBS News poll shows most Americans agree with President Donald Trump’s decision to attack a Syrian air base.  The move helped boost his approval rating, now at 43 percent, but there is still concern about what happens next.

The U.S. missile strikes in Syria topped the agenda at G-7 meetings in Italy, where Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is working to build international support.

“Syria’s continued violations of U.N. resolutions and previous agreements that Syria had entered into regarding the Chemical Weapons Accord would no longer be tolerated,” said Tillerson.

The attack was in response to the country’s use of chemical weapons on its own citizens killing more than 80 people last week.

Trump administration officials said Russia is partly to blame because it was supposed to remove those weapons as part of a 2013 agreement.

“Russia knew about chemical weapons because they were operating exactly from the same base,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona).

Russia and Iran are both threatening a strong response if the U.S. launches another attack on Syria but the White House says all options are on the table.

“If we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action,” said White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer during the daily briefing on Monday.  “If you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb in to innocent people, you will see a response from this president.”

A new CBS News poll shows 57 percent of Americans agree with the president’s decision to bomb the air base but few people believe the U.S. should take further military action.

As for Tillerson, he will have a chance to discuss the situation in Syria with Russian officials this week when he makes his first trip to the Kremlin as Secretary of State.

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Police have arrested a man accused of using his cellphone to record a naked woman at a tanning salon.

Business is good at Zoom Tan. Night and day, a mostly female crowd pays good money for the perfect artificial tan.

But there was a disruption at this upstanding establishment.

Police said they busted Javier Sotomayor for using his cellphone to shoot pictures inside the tanning salon.

“Oh my God, it is a terrible situation. It should not be happening in a community like this,” said “Marta.”

CBS4’s Hank Tester went to Sotomayor’s listed address. No one answered. He arrested over weekend..

“What is your reaction to that?” Tester asked a salon patron.

“Creep, weird, sick,” said “Gloria.”

According to the police arrest report, the victim noticed that there was a cellphone camera pointing at her private parts from the bottom of the floor up, in between a wooden wall that divides her room and the room of the person that was recording her.

Police said that person was Sotomayor.

Detectives said the victim took cellphone video of Sotomayor that eventually led to his arrest.

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – An investigation is underway after a man was shot and killed in unincorporated Broward early Tuesday morning.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office said just after 3 a.m. they received a call about gunfire near the intersection of 28th Avenue and NW 8th Street.

When deputies arrived they found the body of a man who had been shot. His name has not been released.

Chopper4 over the scene spotted investigators focused on a white pick up truck. They have not said what they suspect led up to the shooting.

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LITTLE HAVANA (CBSMiami) — It’s not unusual for soulful jazz tunes to waft from an upstairs room at Miami Lighthouse for the Blind.  For Danays Bautista and Jeff Zavac, it’s a harmony that goes deeper than the tunes they play.

“Playing together, enjoying music together, is the greatest learning any musician can have, I think,” said Bautista.

Bautista lost her vision when she was five years old, caught in the crossfire of a police shooting in her native Cuba.  But that has not slowed down the prolific musician.

She has found a friend and mentor in Jeff Zavac, a fellow musician who is also blind.  Zavac teaches a jazz history course at Miami Dade College, and music lessons at Lighthouse.

“Everyone has a problem, and they can work at it and turn it into a blessing for themselves,” said Zavac.  “And the reverse of that is that every person is also given a blessing.  The thing I advise my students to do– and the thing I try to do myself– is to tell them that these jazz musicians that we’re learning about did this thing, which was to get together, learn, hone their craft, struggle with it, work with it, get to another level and struggle with that, so that they can have a good time with it, and they can give other people a good time because of what they have done.”

Zavac has been blind since he was a baby, born premature and given too much oxygen.  As a child, his classmates teased him until he started playing the saxophone in fourth grade.  He went on to learn clarinet, piano, and flute; studied jazz and classical music and earned a Master’s degree in jazz performance from the University of Miami.

Now, he says his greatest gift is bringing others the joy of music.

“A good day for me occurs when I can reach one person with my music,” said Zavac.

Since meeting Bautista a year ago, Zavac has had many good days.

An accomplished musician in his own right, Bautista was born with music in her blood.

“Since I was a very little girl, maybe two years old, or three, I remember myself picking up branches from the ground, and saying, ‘This is my guitar,'” said Bautista.  “I always loved music.  Always.”

Bautista also has a formal education in music.  She studied the prestigious Havana Conservatory of Music and moved on to perform professionally, eventually moving to Spain, where she performed for almost a decade.

It was there that she experienced what she calls her “second accident.”

“I was trying to enter the subway, and I was confused,” said Bautista.  “I thought it was the door to enter the subway, but it was not the door.”

Instead, she walked into the space between two train cars and fell onto the tracks just as the train started moving, crushing her.

“I lost my left arm,” said Bautista.  “Guitar has always been my passion.  I knew I couldn’t play anymore at some point when I woke up, and it was really hard.  Still, guitar is something I dream of doing, playing guitar.  But at the same time, music is like medicine.  It’s something that I love, and it’s something that helped me go on again.”

After 50 days in bed, Bautista started singing again; giving a concert the week she left the hospital.

Then, she moved with her husband to Miami, where she met Zavac.  They clicked right away.

“That’s something that happens immediately between musicians,” said Bautista.  “It’s a kind of extra communication.  It’s straight forward.”

“The whole idea was to make Danays feel comfortable so that she would want to sing her best, and give her best music to the Lighthouse and our group,” said Zavac.  “I had heard some stuff that she’d done on the Internet and in Spain, and I thought, oh my gosh, this lady really has a great way with the song.”

Zavac worked hard to make Bautista feel at home.  He incorporated her into his band, showed her around and taught her the meaning of patriotic American songs.  Now, they practice, collaborate and perform together regularly.

Zavak Bautista inspires him.

“With all the changes Danays has come through, she has a wonderful spirit,” he said.  “That spirit comes out when she sings a song.”

“I think life is always a matter of learning if you are open to it,” said Bautista.  “So listening to other musicians, or people, or whatever, you can always learn.  Jeff, I like him, because he has a professional attitude, and I love it.  He is always willing to help.”

Bautista even calls Zavac her hero.

“It’s one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten from anyone,” said Zavac.  “It keeps me very humble to hear that, and I’m glad to hear that, but I hope that she has many more wonderful heroes as life goes on.”

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