This is my last blog for the year. I will be returning on January 2. My family and I wish all of you a very Happy New Year!
The Miami Heat put their six-game winning streak on the line tonight in Detroit, where they take on the Pistons. They will be playing without Dwayne Wade tonight, who will serve a one-game suspension (without pay) after flailing his leg and inadvertently kicking Charlotte Bobcat guard Ramon Sessions in the groin. On Twitter yesterday, Wade said: "I'm far from being a dirty player, (plus) my intent was never 2 kick Ramon Sessions. I just reacted to the contact that I got from him." "More than anything, I think of my boys watchin me be4 retaliating 2ward any player." Game time tonight is 7:30 pm, and you can watch the game on SunSports. Wade and his teammates will be back in action tomorrow, in Milwaukee, against the Bucks. They will then be in Orlando for the 31st against the Magic, before returning home for a game on the 2nd of January against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Miami Heat put their six-game winning streak on the line tonight in Detroit, where they take on the Pistons. They will be playing without Dwayne Wade tonight, who will serve a one-game suspension (without pay) after flailing his leg and inadvertently kicking Charlotte Bobcat guard Ramon Sessions in the groin. On Twitter yesterday, Wade said: "I'm far from being a dirty player, (plus) my intent was never 2 kick Ramon Sessions. I just reacted to the contact that I got from him." "More than anything, I think of my boys watchin me be4 retaliating 2ward any player." Game time tonight is 7:30 pm, and you can watch the game on SunSports. Wade and his teammates will be back in action tomorrow, in Milwaukee, against the Bucks. They will then be in Orlando for the 31st against the Magic, before returning home for a game on the 2nd of January against the Dallas Mavericks.
Two games in the NBA yesterday,
Oklahoma City 111 Dallas 105 (OT)
Russell Westbrook scored eight points in the closing stages of overtime, including the go-ahead basket with just over a minute left.
LA Clippers 106 Boston 77
The Clippers led wire to wire to capture their 15th consecutive win. Do the Lakers still play in LA?
TONIGHT IN THE NBA:
Orlando @ Washington 7:00 pm
Phoenix @ Indiana 7:00 pm
Charlotte @ Brooklyn 7:30 pm
Atlanta @ Cleveland 7:30 pm
Toronto @ New Orleans 8:00 pm
Denver @ Dallas 8:30 pm
Houston @ San Antonio 8:30 pm
LA Clippers @ Utah 9:00 pm
New York @ Sacramento 10:00 pm
Portland @ LA Lakers 10:30 pm
Philadelphia @ Golden State 10:30 pm
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The incredible Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to 15 games last night after beating the green out of the Boston Celtics, 106-77. Can you name the last team to achieve a winning streak of 15 games in the NBA? Tell you later, alligator.
Nothing new to report from the FIU Campus in Westchester regarding their head coach situation. As I reported here last week, I confirmed through a couple of sources that that Butch Davis will be named the new head coach at FIU, with the official announcement coming after New Year’s Day. Although that story has been denied, even by people who haven’t been asked, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
As I told you before, there was no conceivable way that FIU Athletic Director Pete Garcia was going to fire Mario Cristobal and not have a proven and experienced head coach in place to replace him. I have a lot of respect for both Mario and Butch, and wish them both the best. Hopefully it is a win-win situation for both of them and that all’s well that ends well.
Regardless of that, I still believe that Coach Cristobal’s firing was definitely not the correct decision nor was it the right thing to do.
The Miami Dolphins are playing for nothing but pride this Sunday, when they take on the AFC East champion New England Patriots. Game time has been changed to 4:25 pm, and you can watch it locally on CBS, Channel 4. Reggie Bush needs 40 yards to become the third Dolphin to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons and continues to make his case to return to the Fins next season. Bush repeated yesterday what he has been saying all along. “I would definitely love to be back.” “For one, I don’t want to bounce from team to team, I want to have a home base. I really enjoy the fan base here, the city of Miami, and there’s also a great tradition here of winning, of excellence. Think back to the ’72 Dolphins, the great players, Larry Csonka, Dan Marino, stuff like that.” “It’s just good company, and something we can build off. When asked I talked about wanting to bring back the passion to the city and building a winning franchise.”
The regular season ends this Sunday. Here’s the complete schedule in the NFL:
SUNDAY
Miami @ New England NE -10
4:25 pm CBS Channel 4
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta
1:00 pm
NY Jets @ Buffalo Buf -3.5
1:00 pm
Baltimore @ Cincinnati Cin -1
1:00 pm
Chicago @ Detroit Det +3
1:00 pm
Jacksonville @ Tennessee Ten -4
1:00 pm
Houston @ Indianapolis Ind +7
1:00 pm
Carolina @ New Orleans NO -5
1:00 pm
Philadelphia @ NY Giants NYG -7.5
1:00 pm
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh No Line
1:00 pm
Oakland @ San Diego No Line
4:25 pm
Arizona @ San Francisco SF -16.5
4:25 pm
St. Louis @ Seattle Sea -10.5
4:25 pm
Green Bay @ Minnesota Min +3.5
4:25 pm
Kansas City @ Denver Den -16
4:25 pm
Dallas @ @ Washington Was -3.5
8:20 pm NBC Channel 6
If the playoffs started this week:
AFC:
Cincinnati @ New England
Indianapolis @ Baltimore
Houston and Denver would enjoy a bye week
NFC:
Minnesota @ San Francisco
Seattle @ Washington
Bye week for Atlanta and Green Bay
Here’s the playoff picture as of this minute: (* clinched)
NFC
Atlanta 13-2 NFC South *
Green Bay 11-4 NFC North *
San Francisco 10-4-1 NFC West
Washington 9-6 NFC East
Seattle 10-5 Wild Card 1
Minnesota 9-6 Wild Card 2
In the hunt:
Chicago (9-6), Dallas (8-7), NY Giants (8-7)
Dallas will win the NFC East if they beat Washington Sunday night.
Washington wins the NFC East if they beat or tie Dallas.
New York advances as a wild card only if they beat Philadelphia and if Dallas loses and Minnesota and Chicago also loses.
Chicago makes the playoffs if they beat Detroit and if Minnesota loses to Green Bay.
The playoff scenario in the AFC is a done deal:
AFC
Houston 12-3 AFC South *
Denver 12-3 AFC West *
New England 11-4 AFC East *
Baltimore 10-5 AFC North *
Indianapolis 10-5 Wild Card 1 *
Cincinnati 9-6 Wild Card 2 *
Today’s article of the day comes from ESPN’s Jim Bowden. The former General Manager of the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals talks about five best trades (in his not-so-humble opinion) that are yet to be made: www.insider.espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office/post?id=5662
Dear Santa Claus Tooth Fairy Cupid Easter Bunny Jeffrey Loria and minions:
You still haven’t sold the team? Christmas came and went! What are you waiting for, the New Year? Valentine’s day? Easter?
Your inept management allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible, and now 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”. Please 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. Who will be next to go? Stanton? Nolasco? Of course, you and your minions have chosen not to field a quality major league roster this coming season.
We’ll continue to keep our fingers crossed and light a candle in the meantime.
In college football last night, #24 San Jose State beat Bowling Green in the Military Bowl, 29-20. Cincinnati outlasted Duke 48-34 in the Belk Bowl, and Baylor beat up on #17 UCLA 49-26 in the Holiday Bowl.
Today, Ohio takes on Louisiana-Monroe in the Independence Bowl at 2:00 pm. At 5:30 pm, Rutgers plays Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl, and at 9:00 pm, Minnesota faces Texas Tech in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. Ball State against Central Florida in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg. You can watch these games on ESPN.
The complete bowl results and upcoming schedule in college football:
December 15
GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL
Arizona 49 Nevada 48
FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL
#22 Utah State 41 Toledo 15
December 20
SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL
Brigham Young 23 San Diego State 6
Friday, December 21
BEEF O’BRADY BOWL ST. PETERSBURG
Central Florida 38 Ball State 17
December 22
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Louisiana-Lafayette 43 East Carolina 34
MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS
#19 Boise State 28 Washington 26
December 24
SHERATON HAWAII BOWL
Southern Methodist 43 Fresno State 10
December 26
LITTLE CAESARS BOWL
Central Michigan 24 Western Kentucky 21
December 27
MILITARY BOWL-PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN
#24 San Jose State 29 Bowling Green 20
BELK BOWL
Cincinnati 48 Duke 34
BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION HOLIDAY BOWL
Baylor 49 #17 UCLA 26
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: The incredible Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to 15 games last night after beating the green out of the Boston Celtics, 106-77. Can you name the last team to achieve a winning streak of 15 games in the NBA? The Boston Celtics did it four years ago, and their winning streak in that 2008-2009 season extended to 19 games in a row.
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!
IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
