[Sunrise, FL] Veteran hard rock act Van Halen is currently out on the road to promote their first new studio full-length release in 15 years. They will make several stops in Florida, including Sunrise (April 10, sold out), Orlando (April 12), Tampa (April 14, sold out) and Jacksonville (April 16).

The new album, A Different Kind Of Truth, is a nod to their past, as the band went back to their forgotten demos from the early days, dusted them off, and recorded them for this new release. By all accounts the record is satisfying to longtime fans yearning for the sounds of yesteryear.

But there was a reason those songs didn’t make the cut back then, and consequently, those new-old tracks don’t quite hold up alongside classics like “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “Panama” in a live setting, according to concert reviews.

Nonetheless, both the new record and the supporting tour are a big deal, as far as the living history of American rock and roll goes. Without a doubt, Van Halen are musical icons – they’ve been one of the biggest and best of the rock genre since the seventies.

The current line-up includes original lead singer and one-time (still?) panty wetter David Lee Roth, but notably absent is long-time bassist Michael Anthony who was not invited back for the big reunion. Playing bass for the band now is Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen and nephew to drummer Alex Van Halen.

Yes, for those of you doing the math, the band is now three-fourths Van Halen.

The hullabaloo surrounding this album and tour wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for the inclusion of Roth, who left the band after 1983′s blockbuster album 1984 to pursue a solo career. That solo career actually went pretty well, as did Van Halen’s subsequent hiring of Sammy Hagar as “Diamond Dave”‘s replacement.

But fans wouldn’t be quite as jubilant and eager to buy tickets if it was Sammy on the mic (although the “Van Hagar” catalog is still quite impressive). Everybody knows that it has taken the Van Halens decades to be able to have a conversation with Roth, let alone record an album and go on tour with him.

So, cherish the current album and tour while you can, rock fans, because we all know this won’t last forever.

Photo: Van Halen

(L-R) David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen

Wait … Did You Say Kool & The Gang Is Opening?

Yes I did. Interestingly, the opening act for the current tour, which opened on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky, is another throw-back act: pop-funk-R&B legends Kool & The Gang. You know, the guys behind the massive hits “Celebrate,” “Ladie’s Night” and “Jungle Boogie” (although we’re still trying to forget about that awful ballad “Joanna”).

Back in February, band co-founder Robert “Kool” Bell – a Central Florida resident – talked about how the odd pairing came about in an interview a few shows into the tour.

“[Van Halen singer David Lee Roth] saw our show in London last year for the big Glastonbury Festival and as they were putting together the Van Halen reunion tour, he went back to his camp and said, ‘Hey, man, I’d like to have Kool & The Gang open up for us,’” Bell said.

“They kind of felt it was a little strange in the beginning, but David kind of said, ‘Hey, I think it’ll work because in the ’80s, Van Halen was sort of like the rock party band and Kool & The Gang was the pop funk party band.”

So far, everything has worked out well, according to Bell.

“The beer-drinking Van Halen [fans] at the tour the other night, they came in and by the time Kool & The Gang finished ‘Ladies Night’, they were jumping up and down. So they might have been hardcore fans in the beginning, but it’s all kind of working out.”

Van Halen with special guests Kool & The Gang dates in Florida:

Photo: Van Halen

David Lee Roth & Eddie Van Halen together again – enjoy it while it lasts

Here’s the set list that Van Halen played at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia in early March (subject to change):

By: Mark Christopher/Sunshine Slate

Images: Van Halen

Van Halen

Here’s a double-dose of Miami Heat action from over the weekend …

[Philadelphia, PA] Coming off of very tough back-to-back loses against the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat were looking toward getting back on the path to victory on a Friday night against the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the last game, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined to score more points than the rest of their team. But tonight, it was an all-around effort from the whole South Florida squad.

In the first quarter, the Heat came out on fire, starting the game out on a 19-5 run. LeBron was said to be not exactly 100% coming into the game. He sure seemed 100%, scoring 14 points in the first. D-Wade only scored 2 points, but distributed 5 assists. At the end of one, the Heat were up 31-18.

It got much better for the Heat and, consequently, much worse for the Sixers in the second. Miami started off on a 22-9 run, to take a 24-point lead. The Sixers battled back, but at the buzzer, Mario Chalmers hit a 3-pointer to allow the Miami Heat to take a 17-point lead into the locker room. At halftime, the Heat were up 57-30.

Both teams stayed even for most of the third quarter. The Heat came out with a big lead, with most of the points coming from Wade. But, Philadelphia came back and were able to cut the distance down to 13. At the end of three, the Heat were up 69-56.

Photo: Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers gave the Heat a run for their money in the fourth. Around halfway through, the Sixers went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 5. But, the Heat pulled away from Philly, thanks to several clutch shots from Udonis Haslem. The final score was Heat 84, Sixers 78.

LeBron James scored 29 points and dished out 8 assists. Dwyane Wade scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds.

The Heat seem to have been struggling these past few games. Even Udonis Haslem took notice of it, saying, “We’ve got to do better. Talk about winning a championship, and that second-half effort wasn’t good enough.”

Dwyane Wade & The Miami Heat Blow By The Orlando Magic

[Miami, FL] With that close call against the Sixers still fresh in their minds, the Heat were ready to give it their all against their in-state rivals, the Orlando Magic, on Sunday.

The biggest headline in the NBA last week was whether Dwight Howard would leave or stay with Orlando. Eventually, he decided to stay with the Magic. It was great news for the Magic, but bad news for Miami, as the Heat’s front line had to go up against the unstoppable force that is Howard.

Copyright NBAE 2012 (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Miami Heat apply “small ball rebounding” against the Orlando Magic

In the first, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat dominated, with Bosh pouring in 12 points and claiming 3 rebounds. The Heat’s 23-12 run put Orlando on their heels, despite great play by Howard, who scored 8. At the end of the first quarter, the Heat were up 31-20.

It was raining 3-pointers for Orlando in the second as the Magic made 4-out-of-4 three-pointers attempted, bringing them back from down by 11 points to only be down by 3. Dwyane Wade scored 8 points in the quarter while Bosh scored 6 points. At halftime, the Heat were up 50-47.

Both teams stayed pretty even throughout the third. The most Miami or Orlando led by was 5. At the end of the thirdquarter, the Heat were up 67-63.

Wade and the Heat dominated in the fourth, with Wade scoring 14 of his 31 points in the quarter. The veteran hit jump shot after jump shot which eventually led to the Heat winning by the final score, 91-81.

Dwyane Wade scored 31 points and pulled down 6 rebounds in this one. Chris Bosh also played great, scoring 23 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. This was the Heat’s thirteenthstraight home win.

“Dwyane certainly made some big plays down the stretch,” Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Defensively he was terrific in terms of his toughness.”

By: Michael Tristani III/Sunshine Slate

Lead image: Copyright NBAE 2012 (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

Miami Heat

[Orlando, FL] “Practice? We’re talking about practice. We are not talking about the game, when it really matters, we are talking about practice.”

These are the famous magical words of former Philadelphia 76ers great Allen Iverson. Well, coming into tonight’s game with a record of 20 wins and 9 loses, it looks like these 76ers may have been doing just that, practicing.

On pace for their first winning season since the 2004-05 golden year, Philly may have found “the answer” to all their questions about how to win; it’s really quite simple, it’s called playing TEAM BALL.

Welcoming all-star Andre “Iggy” Iguodala and the Philadelphia 76ers to town tonight, the Orlando Magic (18-11) knew going into this game they would have their hands full, to say the least. But that’s something they are used to – just look how they handled the Miami Heat earlier this month.

And with the likes of Jason Richardson, J.J. Redick, and Ryan Anderson playing very good as of late, I think this game has all the making for a nail biter.

With the game starting out with Dwight Howard winning the jump ball over Lavoy Allen (who?) then going down and opening the game with a pretty bank shot, it felt like the big man had finally decided to show up again (Howard’s last game, you may remember, he put up a pathetic 11 points and nabbed only four rebounds).

Photo: Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson taking it to the hoop

And after going up 18-6 in the first six minutes thanks to J-Rich and Anderson (again), it felt like this game might end up going the Magic’s way after all. Helping their cause was that it appeared as if t a high school team had kidnapped the actual 76ers.

Calling all cars: if you have any information on the whereabouts of a certain basketball team from Philadelphia, please contact the NBA.

At the end of the first quarter the score was Ryan Anderson 14, the Dr. Phillips JV girls basketball team 16. The Magic were up 29-16 after one.

This just in … the Philadelphia 76ers have been finally spotted at the Amway Center. The Sixers started off the quarter on an 11-6 run led by Louis Williams, cutting the lead down to 8 by the 7:36 mark.  But before you knew it, the Magic had built the lead back up to a 12.

After the 76ers went on a little 8-2 run to bring it to within 6, everything seemed to fall apart for the visitors. The Magic went into the locker room at halftime leading 55-39.

First half leaders for the Orlando Magic: Ryan Anderson (14 points), Dwight Howard (13 points, 7 boards). Philly Cheese Mistakes: Louis Williams (11 points, 4 assists).

Going into the second half, the 76ers knew they had to change their strategy if they wanted a chance to win, and it appeared that they had figured it out early. Giving the ball to “Iggy” to see what this NBA All-Star could do, he put up 7 points in the first minute and a half.

Photo: Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard rules the paint

But every shot Iggy hit, the Magic had an answer to – for much of the quarter, the Sixers never got closer than 10. But after a few hit shots and a couple of lucky bounces, the 76ers found themselves down by only four points (66-62) with 5:46 left in the third. Maybe I should eat that Philly Cheese Mistake now.

Then again Philly went stagnant, finding themselves down 9 after at the end of three quarters, 79-70. Anderson had 22 for the Magic at this point, and Iggy led the stooges with 15.

Not sure if the 76ers were just playing that bad, or if the Magic’s defense was that good – either way the Magic started off the fourth going up 84-71. They never looked back. After some more basket matching and plenty of three’s for the Magic, the final score: Orlando Magic 103, Philadelphia 76ers 87.

Wow, the Sixers looked extremely out of sync with each other, turning the ball over more than usual and playing sloppy. It was like watching a bad college team. If this is what they look like on a regular basis, Philly fans shouldn’t expect to win anything anytime soon.

And they had been doing great at the start of the season.

Leading the way tonight for the Orlando Magic was none other than Ryan Anderson with 27 (he’s now one of the best in the league). Also in double figures for the Magic: D12 had 17 points (somewhat disappointing) and 14 rebounds, Jason Richardson (14), Jameer Nelson (12), J.J. Redick (12) and Hedo Turkoglu with 11 (he needs to wake up).

The top point scorers for the 76ers were Louis Williams with 21 points and 7 assists, Andre “Iggy” Iguodala (15 points, 5 boards and 4 assists) and Elton Brand (13 points).

Mike’s Pick

The Orlando Magic play their next game at home this Friday against the pesky Milwaukee Bucks. Matching up for the second time in a week, expect this one to have similar results as to the last time they played. Not much has changed other than Brandon Jennings‘ head continues to grow slightly as his stats continue to diminish (averaging just 10.3 ppg over the past 6 games).

Expect the Magic to win this one comfortably, especially with the way they have been playing as of late.

My Prediction: Magic 102, Bucks 91

Game Notes: Just like earlier this week, starting center Andrew Bogut is still out and the Bucks will be starting Drew Gooden in his place.

Position Advantage:

PG – Even

SG – Magic

SF – Magic

PF – Magic

C – Magic

Bench – Magic

By: Mike Yesenko/Sunshine Slate

Images: Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic

[Philadelphia, PA] Coming off of a very disappointing loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, the Miami Heat wanted to bounce back with a win against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. Philly and Miami both have 16 wins and 6 losses. A victory for the good guys would keep them as the number two team in the East.

In the first quarter, the Heat and Sixers went back and forth, both hitting 3-pointers and playing great defense. Both Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers scored 6 points in the quarter. This was a battle. At the end of one, the Heat were up 25-24.

In the second quarter, Wade, Norris Cole, and LeBron James combined to score 18 points to keep the Heat in the lead. But the 76ers stayed right with Miami, thanks to the play of Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young.

At halftime, the score was Miami Heat 51, Philadelphia 76ers 47.

Both teams struggled to score throughout the third quarter. The Sixers and the Heat were missing shots left and right. But towards the end of the quarter, LeBron caught fire, scoring 8 points. That propelled led the Heat on an 8-2 run that put them up by four. At the end of three, the Heat were up 67-63.

In the fourth, the Heat took care of business and closed out the game on a 23-8 run which led to a huge lead. The Heat outscored Philly 32-16 in the quarter.

The final score was Heat 99, 76ers 79.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 points while LeBron James managed 19 points and had 12 rebounds. And coming off the bench, Mike Miller registered 13 points.

“In the fourth quarter, we were able to play efficiently and pull away,” said Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

The players were equally impressed with themselves.

“This was probably the best game from start to finish in terms of playing together and communicating,” said James.

By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate

Image: Miami Heat/Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

Miami Heat