The Detroit Tigers look like they’re in control of their series with the New York Yankees, as they take a 2-0 series lead into tonight’s third game in Detroit, and they will have their ace, Justin Verlander, on the mound.  The Yankees are hitting just .192 as a team this series, and have been shutout in 20 of the 21 innings they have played.  In two postseason appearances against New York, Verlander is 1-0 with a 5.02 ERA.  The Yankees will send Philip Hughes to the mound to try and stop the bleeding.  Hopefully, the Yankees packed their “good” bats.  

In San Francisco, Marco Scutaro and Ryan Theriot slapped two-run singles and the Giants evened their series with St. Louis, beating the Cardinals 7-1 last night.  Ryan Vogelsong gave up only the one run in seven innings, while St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter didn’t have it last night, allowing five runs, only two of them earned, in just four innings.  The series moves to St. Louis where they return to action tomorrow.  

In other baseball news, the Cincinnati Reds reached an agreement with their manager Dusty Baker on a new two-year contract.  ESPN is reporting that Derek Jeter will likely  undergo surgery on his broken left ankle.  Jeter will be visiting a foot and ankle specialist in North Carolina in the coming days.  The Yankee shortstop has been affected by an injury he sustained on Labor Day against Tampa Bay, and aggravated it in Boston a few weeks later when he fouled a ball off the same foot.  

In the Monday Night Football extravaganza last night, if you went to bed with the San Diego Chargers leading the Denver Broncos 24-0 at halftime, you missed the Payton Manning Show in the second half.  Manning directed a furious Denver comeback, throwing three touchdown passes and the Broncos turned two Phillip Rivers turnovers into touchdowns and Denver beat San Diego, 35-24.   

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Last night’s comeback by the Denver Broncos, erasing a 24-0 halftime deficit was really impressive, but it wasn’t the biggest comeback ever in the NFL.  What was the biggest comeback victory in NFL history? Tell you later, alligator. 

The Dolphins are going to enjoy their bye week this week, after beating the St. Louis Rams 17-14 last Sunday, notching their second consecutive victory.  Rokkie QB Ryan Tannehill continues to show improvement every week, and, for the first time in a long time, I am now certain that the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT an oncoming train.  The next Dolphin game is a doozie, as they travel to New York to take on the Jets at 1:00 pm on the 28th.  Going into this week’s action, all four teams in the AFC East are tied with 3-3 records.  The rest of the NFL schedule this week:  

THURSDAY

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers    

SF -7 8:20 pm NFL Network

SUNDAY

Tennessee Titans @ Buffalo Bills

Buf -3 1:00 pm

Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts

Ind -3 1:00 pm

Green Bay Packers @ St. Louis Rams

StL +5 1:00 pm

Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings

Min - 6 1:00 pm

Washington Redskins @ New York Giants

NY -6.5 1:00 pm

New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Bucs

TB +2.5 1:00 pm

Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers

Car +1 1:00 pm

Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans

Hou -6 1:00 pm

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Oakland Raiders

Oak -4 4:25 pm

New York Jets @ New England Patriots

NE -10.5 4:25 pm CBS Ch. 4

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals

Cin +1 8:20 pm NBC Ch. 6

MONDAY

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears

SD -5 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 their show on the road this saturday when they visit Troy.  Game time is 1:00 pm, 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 coming off consecutive losses to Noter Dame and North Carolina, and they wwill be at the Seven Names Stadium on Saturday at 8:00 pm against Florida State.  You can watch the game on ABC, Channel 10 in Miami.  ESPN-U on your cable or satellite system.  In other games involving the top-ten teams this week, on Thursday, #3 Oregon visits Arizona State.  On Saturday, #1 Alabama is at Tennessee, #2 Florida hosts #7 South Carolina, #4 Kansas State is at #13 West Virginia, #5 Notre Dame is at home against BYU, #6 LSU travels to #18 Texas A&M, #8 Oregon State hosts Utah, Kansas is at #9 Oklahoma, and #10 USC is at home against Colorado.   

The Miami Heat are back home after their tour of China, and their exhibition season continues as they return to the court on Thursday, here at the AAA, against the Detroit Pistons.  On Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs will come calling.  

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Last night’s comeback by the Denver Broncos, erasing a 24-0 halftime deficit was really impressive, but it wasn’t the biggest comeback ever in the NFL.  What was the biggest comeback victory in NFL history?  It was the playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Oilers on January 3, 1993.  The Bills recovered from a 32-point deficit to win in overtime behind backup quarterback Frank Reich, who replaced an injured Jim Kelly. You may recall that Reich, while a backup at the University of Maryland, came in to a game in the third quarter against the University of Miami Hurricanes and led the Terrapins to a 42-40 victory, after Miami led at the half 31-0.     

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.