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Mandich, 5 years ago (Miami Herald)

Miami Dolphins radio commentator Jim Mandich (above left with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat President Pat Riley) was well enough as he battles cancer of the bile duct to make a rare appearance at a Miami charity dinner the other night.  Mandich, 62, who was known as Mad Dog when he played tight end for the Dolphins, was awarded an Excellence in Sports Broadcasting award in an emotional ceremony bef0re dozens of local sports icons at the charity gala thrown by Miami Heat broadcasters Eric Reid and Tony Fiorentino at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Among those who played in the March 12 charity golf tournament and showed up for the gala: Former Heat standout Alonzo Mourning (below), U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and former Dolphins Jim Kiick, Bob Kuechenberg, Larry Little and A.J. Duhe. (Click here for more)

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For more about this story:

– Click here for the Fox Sports account of the dinner

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Khloe, strolling down a Miami Beach street earlier Wednesday (Click on the photo for more)

With the Los Angeles Lakers in SoFla, where they were beaten by the Miami Heat last night, you knew that basketball wife and reality TV star Khloe Kardashian would be popping up all over the place.

Here is the 26-year-old (above) at actor Danny DeVito’s Miami Beach eatery, DeVito South Beach, with husband and Lakers forward Lamar Odom, and Palm Beach County restaurateurs David and Lynn Manero, who co-own the joint.

I’m told Khloe, aka Kim’s lil’ sis, and her honey dined on carpaccio, sole and meat balls while filming for their new E! reality show, Khloe & Lamar.

– Click here for all the photos of Kardashian’s trip to Miami Beach and other celebs hanging in the area

In Boca Raton, meanwhile, the law firm of Brotman, Nusbaum and Fox celebrated the grand opening of their new building on Royal Palm Road with a giant shindig. Former Heisman Trophy winner and Green Bay Packers great Desmond Howard was a guest.

Partner Marc Brotman (below, with Howard) couldn’t resist taking the Heisman pose that Howard reveled in taking after scoring touchdowns for the University of Michigan. Howard, however, wouldn’t strike the pose, saying people would make fun of him.

No, they wouldn’t!

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James, against the Bulls Sunday (AP Photo)

The booing, four-game losing streak and tears shed in the locker room aren’t LeBron James‘ only problems these days.

The Miami Heat’s golden child, 25, is being sued by the owners of a nightclub in Atlanta who claim breach of contract he reneged on a promise to show up at their joint, Opera, March 17.

The Miami Heat, who lost a big game at home Sunday against the Chicago Bulls after James missed a layup, are scheduled to fly into the ATL that night for a March 18 game against the Atlanta Hawks.

The owners of Opera claim they had an agreement with James that he’d show up for an hour in exchange for $25,000, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

You read right. That’s $25,000 for an hour of standing around and looking like he’s having a good time!

Instead, James is announced at a rival club in Buckhead that night. The lawsuit claims James already received a $15,000-deposit for his promise to show up at Gold Room.

James’ aura is “crucial” to business at Opera, according to the suit filed in Atlanta, “and the public has an expectation that defendant James will appear at Opera.”

Opera would suffer “irreparable injury, loss and damage” if James appears at the Gold Room, the AJC reports.

Bosh (left), Wade and James

Remember the hoopla in July, when the then-Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said he’d take “his talents” to South Beach?

Three days later, Miami Heat fans packed like sardines inside the American Airlines Arena downtown Miami welcomed James, new signee Chris Bosh and returning vet Dwyane Wade like they were the three kings.

Eight months later, the Heat and its threesome are lacking sorely in mental toughness, especially on defense.

– Poor play? Who cares! Click here to see the palaces where the Heat stars nurse their bruised egos

The Heat were walloped by the San Antonio Spurs last night, on a nightmarish week that also include losses the Orlando Magic Thursday night and the New York Knicks a week ago.

Coming up: the Chicago Bulls tomorrow on ABC and Los Angeles Lakers Thursday, which doesn’t bode well for the Heat.

– Click here for a bird’s eye view of the Heat stars’ homes on the exclusive Page2Live map of celebrities

So far this season, meanwhile, our trio of $100 million-ballers and its supporting cast have won a grand total of one game against teams that matter, at the Lakers last Christmas, while piling on the easy Ws against weak teams.

Wait! Isn’t that what bullies do?

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Miami Heat President Pat Riley, team superstar Dwyane Wade and retired Heatster Alonzo Mourning at the Miami Children's Hospital Gala (Michele Sandberg/Special to Page2Live)

The sideshow of Dwyane Wade making it sorta official that he’s dating C-list actress Gabrielle Union didn’t distract from the true nature of Friday’s fund-raiser for the famed Miami Children’s Hospital, a traditional kickoff of SoFla’s social season.

More than 400 well-heeled South Floridians plunked down $1,000-per for the black tie at the Biltmore Hotel. They watched Wade getting inducted into the hospital’s Hall of Fame for his work with children. And they heard Oprah Winfrey protege Charice, a 17-year-old singer, perform in a voice that puts Whitney Houston’s to shame.

Hard to believe, but the gala was scaled down from last year, when the party on the floor of the AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami featured pop superstar Beyonce.

Still, the guest list this time around wasn’t too shabby. It included Miami Heat head honcho Pat Riley and retired Miami Heat tall-head Alonzo Mourning, who flashed a photo of his month-old son Alijah to anyone who’d offer congratulations.

Organizers already knew they wouldn’t be able to equal last year’s loot, a SoFla-record $12 million. But they tried hard, with clever things like the $1,000 lemonade glass (Frangelico, Stoli, lemonade — and a diamond).

For a slew of pictures of the gala by Michele Sandberg, look below

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Ball chairman Juan Carlos Mas and wife Vivian