The Detroit Tigers and the San Francisco Giants advanced to the next round yesterday, while the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals lived on to play another day.

In Oakland, Justin Verlander fired his first postseason shutout to lead the Tigers back to the ALCS.  Verlander struck out 11 and scattered only four hits and Austin Jackson had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in two more.  Tigers win, 6-0.  In Cincinnati, the San Francisco Giants became the first NL team in the wild card era to win a division series after losing the first two games at home.  Buster Posey’s grand slam keyed a six-run fifth inning, leading the Giants to a 6-4 victory over the Reds.  

In the nation’s capital, Jayson Werth kept the Nationals alive in dramatic fashion, connecting a home rune in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Nats a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and tie that series at two games apiece.  Adam LaRoche also connected long distance for Washington.  These two teams will play again today to determine who goes on to meet San Francisco in the NLCS.  Game time is 8:00 pm, and you can watch it on TBS.  Gio Gonzalez will start for the Nationals, and the Cardinals will counter with Adam Wainwright.

The Baltimore Orioles refuse to go away quietly against the Yankees.  Another extra inning thriller last night, and it went to the 13th inning, when JJ Hardy’s run-scoring double gave the O’s a 2-1 victory to tie that series up 2 games to 2.  In today’s deciding fifth game, the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound, while the O’s counter with Jason Hammel.  Game time is 5:00 pm, on TBS. 

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Ten former Miami Dolphin players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.  Who are they? Tell you later, alligator. 

In the NFL last night, the Tennessee Titans got four field goals from Rob Bironas, the last one the game winner as time ran out and the Titans got past the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-23.  Matt Hasselbeck threw a five-yard touchdown pass with 4:19 left in the game to tie it at 23. 

The Dolphins take on the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, at 1:00 pm, at the Seven Names Stadium.  Dolhins starting running back Reggie Bush has been limited in practice so far this week due to a left knee strain that has been giving him problems for a couple of weeks.  Bush expects to be on the field Sunday, but expect Lamar Miller to get some reps during the game.  Backup running back Daniel Thomas was held out of practice again yesterday.  Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, who joined the team last week as a free agent, will be ready to play this Sunday against the Rams.  The game will be televised in South Florida, on FOX, Channel 7.

Here’s the complete schedule this week in the NFL,

SUNDAY

St. Louis Rams @ Miami Dolphins

Mia -3.5 1:00 pm FOX Ch. 7

Oakland Raiders @ Atlanta Falcons

Atl -9.5 1:00 pm

Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns

Cle +1 1:00 pm

Indianapolis Colts @ NY Jets

NY -3.5 1:00 pm

Detroit Lions @ Philadelphia Eagles

Phi -4 1:00 pm

Kansas City Chiefs @ Tampa Bay Bucs

TB -4 1:00 pm

Dallas Cowboys @ Baltimore Ravens

Bal -3.5 1:00 pm

Buffalo Bills @ Arizona Cardinals

Ari -4.5 4:05 pm

New England Patriots @ Seattle Seahawks

Sea +3.5 4:05 pm

NY Giants @ San Francisco 49ers

SF -6.5 4:15 pm

Minnesota Vikings @ Washington Redskins

Was -2.5 4:15 pm

Green Bay Packers @ Houston Texans

Hou -3.5 8:20 pm NBC Ch. 6

MONDAY

Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers

SD -1 8:30 pm    ESPN

Bye week for the New Orleans Saints, the Chicago Bears, the Carolina Panthers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In college football this weekend, FIU takes on Middle Tennessee in their Homecoming game at 6:00 pm on Saturday at the Cage.  Don’t miss the game broadcast (in English) on your smartphone or on the computer at www.fiusports.com.  I will be handling the play-by-play, and Pete Pelegrin will be handling the color analysis.  The University of Miami Hurricanes are licking their woulds after getting mauled by Notre Dame last week, and return home to the Seven Names Stadium to take on the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina.  Game time is 2:30 pm, and you can watch the game on ESPN-U on your cable or satellite system.  In other games involving the top-ranked teams, #1 Alabama is at Missouri, #3 South Carolina visits #9 LSU, #4 Florida travels to Vanderbilt, #5 West Virginia goes to Texas Tech, #6 Kansas State is on the road at Iowa State, #7 Notre Dame hosts #17 Stanford, #8 Ohio State is at Indiana, and #10 Oregon State travels to BYU.  #2 Oregon is off this week. 

The Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday in Beijing, 94-80.  LeBron James led the Heat with 20 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds while playing only 26 minutes.  Ray Allen came off the bench to score 15 points on 5-11 shooting, including 4-8 from behind the three-point line.  The Heat and the Clips close out their two game trip to China Sunday at 12:30 am.  You can stay up late on saturday night and watch the game on NBA-TV on your cable or satellite system.

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Ten former Miami Dolphin players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.  Who are they?  Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, Jim Langer, Bob Griese, Larry Little, Don Shula, Dwight Stephenson, Nick Buoniconti, and Dan Marino are the easier ones to come up with.  The tenth honoree only played for the Fins one season, Thurman Thomas.    

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.  

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.  HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ! ! !