The Miami Heat are in Dallas to take on the Mavericks tonight.  Tipoff is at 9:30pm, Miami time, and will be the second game of a nationally-televised doubleheader on TNT.  The Heat return home to take on the Utah Jazz on Saturday at the AAA.   

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  This is the 25-year anniversary of the Miami Heat franchise.  Name all the coaches that have led this franchise and which one has the best winning percentage?  Tell you later, alligator. 

In the NBA yesterday,

Indiana 104 Utah 84

Gerald Green tallied 21 points, Paul George and George Hill added 20 each

New York 100 Brooklyn 86

Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup and led the way with 31 points

Orlando 90 Washington 83

JJ Redick had a team-high 17 points

Toronto 97 Detroit 91

DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points

Oklahoma City 100 Atlanta 92

Kevin Durant poured in 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, Russell Westbrook had 27 points and distributed 11 assists

Boston 103 Cleveland 91

Paul Pierce scored 40 points

Houston 125 Philadelphia 103

James Harden had 33 points

Phoenix 121 Charlotte 104

Shannon Brown led the way with 26 points

Memphis 90 Milwaukee 80

Zach Randolph had 15 points and 17 rebounds

Sacramento 131 Golden State 127

Aaron Brooks led seven Kings players in double figures with 23 points

LA Clippers 93 New Orleans 77

The Clips win their 11th game in a row, tying a franchise mark when they were the Buffalo Braves back in 1974-75

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:  

Miami @ Dallas 9:30pm TNT

Oklahoma City @ Minnesota 7:00 pm TNT

Denver @ Portland 10:00 pm

The Miami Dolphins are carrying that very slim possibility of reaching the playoffs into this week’s game against the Buffalo Bills.  The Fins injury list keeps growing, however.  Running back Daniel Thomas and tight end Charles Clay are out for the year. In reviewing what needs to happen for Miami to reach the playoffs: they have to win their final two games, at home against the Bills on Sunday, and then at New England against the Patriots the following Sunday.  Miami also needs the Cincinnati Bengals to lose their two final games, to the Pittsburgh Steelers and to the Baltimore Ravens.  They also need for Pittsburgh to lose to the Cleveland Browns, and the Jets need to lose one more game to avoid a four-way tie at 8-8, where they would not win a tiebreaker.  Game time on Sunday against the Bills is at 1pm at the Seven Names Stadium.  

Today’s articles of the day both come from the New York Daily News:  

First, Daniel Beekman http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jeter-special-call-mom-slain-newtown-teacher-article-1.1224130  

Second, from Pat Leonard http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/cruz-emotional-visit-newtown-article-1.1223760

This week’s complete schedule in the NFL,

SATURDAY

Atlanta @ Detroit Det +3.5

8:30 pm ESPN

SUNDAY

Buffalo @ Miami Mia -4

1:00 pm CBS Ch.4

New Orleans @ Dallas Dal -1

1:00 pm

Tennessee @ Green Bay GB -12.5

1:00 pm

Indianapolis @ Kansas City KC +7

1:00 pm

San Diego @ NY Jets  Jets -1

1:00 pm

Washington @ Philadelphia Phi +6

1:00 pm

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh Pit -4

1:00 pm

St. Louis @ Tampa Bay TB -3

1:00 pm

Oakland @ Carolina Car -9.5

1:00 pm

New England @ Jacksonville Jax +14.5

1:00 pm

Minnesota @ Houston Hou -9.5

1:00 pm

Cleveland @ Denver Den -13.5

4:05 pm FOX Ch.7

Chicago @ Arizona Ari +5

4:25 pm

NY Giants @ Baltimore Bal +1

4:25 pm CBS Ch.4

San Francisco @ Seattle Sea +1

8:20 pm NBC Ch.6

If the playoffs started today,

NFC

Atlanta 12-2  NFC South

San Francisco 10-3-1 NFC West

Green Bay   10-4 NFC North

Washington   8-6 NFC East

Seattle   9-5 Wild Card 1

Minnesota   8-6 Wild Card 2

In the hunt: Chicago(8-6), Dallas (7-6), NY Giants(7-6)

AFC

Houston 12-2 AFC South

Denver 11-3 AFC West

New England 10-4 AFC East

Baltimore   9-5 AFC North

Indianapolis   9-5 Wild Card 1

Cincinnati     8-6 Wild Card 2

In the hunt:  Pittsburgh (7-7), Miami (6-8)  

In baseball, the Los Angeles Angels sent slugger Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for starting pitcher Jason Vargas.  That probably means that the Angels will not be dealing Mark Trumbo, who they had talked about with the Marlins.  Don’t forget the Yankees, who are still lurking.  The Yankees and Ichiro Suzuki finalized a two-year, $12 million contract.  Trust me . . . the Yankees aren’t done.  

In other rumors around the majors, the Chicago Cubs may be very close to signing pitcher Edwin Jackson to a 4-year, $52 million contract.  Cleveland, San Diego, and Texas have also been linked to the 29-year-old righthander.

Dear Santa Claus Jeffrey Loria and minions:  

Why haven’t you sold the team?  What are you waiting for, Christmas?  The New Year?  Your inept management allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible, and have dismantled the major league roster while pissing off the players on the roster and the entire South Florida community.  You allow your management to continue the policy of “sell low and buy high”.  Sell the team so we can once again enjoy baseball in Miami.

You will soon have the window of opportunity you need to get out of town.  The five-year anniversary of the Marlins and Miami-Dade County agreement for the baseball stadium is coming up on February 21, 2013.  After that time, the “penalty” for selling the team is only 5%, a mere pittance, based on a $250 million value of the team.  You’ve already saved much more than that on the salary dump this season alone 

We’ll continue to keep our fingers crossed and light a candle in the meantime. 

In college football tonight, Brigham Young takes on San Diego State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.  Game time is 8:00pm and you can watch it on ESPN.

The complete bowl results and upcoming schedule in college football:

December 15

GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL

Arizona 49 Nevada 48

Arizona scored two TD’s in the last 46 seconds of the game to beat Nevada

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL

#22 Utah State 41 Toledo 15

Kerwynn Williams ran for 235 yards on 18 carries.  The Aggies scored 28 points in the last seven minutes of the game

Thursday, December 20

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL

Brigham Young vs San Diego State

8:00 pm ESPN

Friday, December 21

BEEF O’BRADY BOWL ST. PETERSBURG

Central Florida vs Ball State

7:30 pm ESPN

Saturday, December 22

R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL

East Carolina vs Louisiana-Lafayette

12:00 pm ESPN

MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS

Washington vs #19 Boise State

3:30 pm ESPN

Monday, December 24

SHERATON HAWAII BOWL

Fresno State vs Southern Methodist

8:00 pm ESPN

Wednesday, December 26

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL

Western Kentucky vs Central Michigan

7:30pm ESPN

Thursday, December 27

MILITARY BOWL-PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN

#24 San Jose State vs Bowling Green

3:00 pm ESPN

BELK BOWL

Cincinnati vs Duke

6:30 pm ESPN

BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION HOLIDAY BOWL

Baylor vs #17 UCLA

9:45 pm ESPN

Friday, December 28

ADVOCARE V100 INDEPENDENCE BOWL

Ohio vs Louisiana-Monroe

2:00 pm ESPN

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL

Rutgers vs Virginia Tech

5:30 pm ESPN

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL OF TEXAS

Minnesota vs Texas Tech

9:00 pm ESPN

Saturday, December 29

BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL

Rice vs Air Force

11:45 am ESPN

NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL

West Virginia vs Syracuse

3:15 pm ESPN

KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL

Navy vs Arizona State

4:00 pm ESPN-2

VALERO ALAMO BOWL

#23 Texas vs #13 Oregon State

6:45 pm ESPN

BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL

TCU vs Michigan State

10:15 pm ESPN

Monday, December 31

FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY BOWL

North Carolina State vs Vanderbilt

12:00 pm ESPN

HYUNDAY SUN BOWL

USC vs Georgia Tech

2:00 pm CBS Ch. 4

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL

Iowa State vs Tulsa

3:30 pm ESPN

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL

#8 LSU vs #14 Clemson

7:30 pm ESPN

Tuesday, January 1

TAXSLAYER.COM GATOR BOWL

Mississippi State vs #20 Northwestern

12:00 pm ESPN-2

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL

Purdue vs Oklahoma State

12:00 pm ESPN-U

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

#7 Georgia vs #16 Nebraska

1:00 pm ABC Ch. 10

OUTBACK BOWL

#10 South Carolina vs #18 Michigan

1:00 pm ESPN

ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO

Wisconsin vs #6 Stanford

5:00 pm ESPN

DISCOVER ORANGE BOWL

#15 Northern Illinois vs #12 Florida State

8:30 pm ESPN

Wednesday, January 2

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL

#21 Louisville vs #3 Florida

8:30 pm ESPN

Thursday, January 3

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL

#4 Oregon vs #5 Kansas State

8:30 pm ESPN

Friday, January 4

AT&T COTTON BOWL

#9 Texas A&M vs #11 Oklahoma

8:00 pm FOX Ch. 7

Saturday, January 5

BBVA COMPASS BOWL

Pittsburgh vs Ole Miss

1:00 pm ESPN

Sunday, January 6

GODADDY.COM BOWL

#25 Kent State vs Arkansas State

9:00 pm ESPN

Monday, January 7

DISCOVER BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

#2 Alabama vs #1 Notre Dame

8:30 pm ESPN

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  This is the 25-year anniversary of the Miami Heat franchise.  Name all the coaches that have led this franchise and which one has the best winning percentage?  Has it really been 25 years?  Here’s the list:

Coach Years          W-L %

Ron Rothstein 1989-1991  57-189 .232

Kevin Loughery    1992-1995  133-159 .455

Alvin Gentry 1995 15-21 .417

Pat Riley 1996-2008          454-395 .535

Stan Van Gundy  2004-2006         112-73 .605

Erik Spoelstra   2009-present 210-124 .727

        

Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com. 

The 9:25 am segment on Radio Esperanza is brought to you by the fine folks at La Lechonera Products.  The inventors of the original mojo criollo way back in 1970, also offer the BEST naranja agria (sour orange marinade) product on the market, along with the latest additions to the family - the SALSA PICANTE (hot sauces, both HOT and EXTRA HOT), SALSA DE ALITAS (Buffalo Wings Sauce) and the truly incredible SALSA PICANTE con AJO (Garlic Pepper Sauce - Sriracha).  Look for all the La Lechonera products at Publix, Winn Dixie, Sedano’s, Presidente, and GFS.  If they don’t have it where you shop, ask nicely the first time, then use whatever means necessary to make sure they start offering the complete line of products.  Go to www.lalechoneraproducts.com and LIKE them on Facebook.  Check out some great recipes!  

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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.