Miami is a name that a person associates with good living, impressive skylines, buzzing nightlife and amazing beaches. This coastal city is located in Florida, United States and is a major finance, entertainment, commerce, media and international trade centre. Several banks, media houses, television studios and banks have their headquarters in this particular city and also have a large concentration of cruise liner companies, international banks and performing arts centers.
The citys changing skyline, with over fifty 400 feet skyscrapers, ranks it as being the third most impressive city in the USA after New York and Chicago. Miami is considered to have an estimated population of 4, 24,662 according to the U.S Census report of 2008 and is ranked as Americas Cleanest City by the Forbs Magazine.
Along with its fast paced life, Miami also has been in news reports for its active sports scene. Miami is home to five major professional sports teams. Their National Football League team is called the Miami Dolphins. The home games of this team are played in the Land Sharks Stadium which is located in the suburbs of Miami Gardens. They are part of the Eastern Division in the NFL and are also among the oldest major league professional sports franchisees in Florida having started playing since 1966.
Miamis professional basketball team is called the Miami Heat. They are a member of the Southeast Division within the Eastern Conference in the NBA and are currently belonging to Mickey Arison. They were formed in 1988 and have been making successful play offs since that time taking seven division titles. They also won the NBA Finals after having defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 with a score of 4-2. They play all their home games in the American Airlines Arena.
The Florida Marlins are Miamis professional baseball team. They’re a part of the Eastern Division of the National League of the Major Baseball League. They have been in existence since 1993 and play all their home games in the Land Shark Stadium. They have been the two times winners in the baseball World Series and also have been the sole team to have won all their post season series.
Ice Hockey is yet another favorite sport in Miami and their professional ice hockey team goes by the name of the Florida Panthers. They’re a part of the National Hockey League and play their home games in the Bank Atlantic Centre.
Along with these four professional sports teams Miami also boasts of two other premier sports leagues from the sports of soccer and basketball. The professional soccer team from Miami is known as the Miami FC. They are a professional American soccer team and play in the USL First Division and also in the second tier in the American Soccer Pyramid.
The Miami Topics are amongst the teams within the Premier Basketball League and are owned by the Imperiali Organization. They initially were a part of the American Basketball Association but moved to the PBL in 2007. They have been the winners of the United States Basketball League champions and have represented United States in the FIBA Americas League championships.