The Miami Heat finally return to the court tonight, again at the AAA, against Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs.  Heat forward Shane Battier will be out for a few games due to a knee strain, an injury that seems to be minor, although the number of games he will miss is yet to be determined.  Battier said he would be “back in a few”.  After the game against the Spurs, the Heat welcome the Brooklyn Nets to the AAA on Saturday, go on a quick trip to Washington DC for a game against the Wizards on Tuesday, and they return home for six straight games, beginning with the Knicks on Thursday, December 6th.

Last night in the NBA, 

Brooklyn 95 Boston 83

Joe Johnson scored 18 points, Andray Blatche added 17 points and pulled down 13 boards.

Washington 84 Portland 82

The Wizards finally win their first game of the season after 12 straight losses.

Oklahoma City 120 Houston 98

Kevin Durant led the way for OkC with 37 points.

Chicago 101 Dallas 78

Luol Deng scored 22 points

Memphis 103 Toronto 82

Marreese Speights had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph added 17 points apiece

New York 102 Milwaukee 88

Carmelo Anthony poured in 29 points

LA Clippers 101 Minnesota 95

23 points and 11 assists for Chris Paul

Detroit 117 Phoenix 77

Brandon Knight and Charlie Villanueva scored 19 points apiece

Atlanta 94 Charlotte 91

Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Lou Williams all scored 17 points

San Antonio 110 Orlando 89

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 20 points, Tim Duncan scored 15 points in only 27 minutes

Utah 96 New Orleans 84

Al Jefferson scored 19 points, Marvin Williams and Paul Millsap added 16 each

Only two games tonight, both on TV: 

San Antonio @ Miami 8:00 pm Sun Sports and TNT

Denver @ Golden State 10:30 pm TNT

Free agent outfielder BJ Upton is no more, reaching agreement with the Atlanta Braves on a five-year, $75 million contract.  Good deal for the Braves, who needed a center fielder as well as another right-handed bat with pop, and they get the top position player available in free agency for his ages 28-32 seasons.  Upton is an very good defensive center fielder, and has raw power and a history during his career of discipline at the plate.  Upton hit 28 homers last year with Tampa Bay, although his .248 batting average was not up to par.  The Braves continue to be an organization with a plan, and they continue to plug in holes where needed, while maintaining some fiscal stability.  

The Yankees signed Andy Pettite to a one-year deal for $12 million, and are now trying to finalize a contract with Mariano Rivera.  Ryan Madson, who missed all of last season due to injury, signed a one-year, incentive-laden contract with the LA Angels.  

The Hall of Fame announced the names of players on the ballot for the first time, and let the steroid fireworks begin.  Among the 24 names up for election for the first time are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, and Curt Schilling.  The top holdover candidates are Jack Morris, Jeff Bagwell, and Tim Raines.  It is going to get ugly.

Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt suggests a new voting process for the Hall, in which the entire pool of voters all vote for 10 finalists, and then set up a committee to select the inductees from that list of 10.  Schmidt’s plan has some merit, as players from the “steroid era” enter the ballot.  Writers are fully divided on what to do about these players, with some voters who won’t vote for anyone who used performance-enhancing drugs, but you also have voters that won’t vote for players who they suspects used PED’s, while some voters won’t vote for muscle-bound players.  

The Winter Meetings start next Monday, December 3rd, in Nashville.  I fully expect a lot of trade activity during those meetings, as well as decisions on some of the popular names among the free agents, such as Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke, Mike Napoli, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Adam LaRoche, Kyle Lohse, and former Marlins Cody Ross and Anibal Sanchez.  

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who were the first five players inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame?  Tell you later, alligator. 

The Miami Dolphins are getting ready to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday at the Seven-Names Stadium, something that is never an easy task.  Tom Brady is playing at his usual level, so the Dolphins defense will have their work cut out for them this week.  The Pats have won five games in a row, and during those five games, they are averaging 44 points per game.  In his last four games here in Miami, he has completed 91-126 passes (72.2%) with an average of 344 yards per game, 13 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions.  As Fins coach Joe Philbin said, “We’re going to have to play our best game of the year to win.”  Game time on Sunday is 1:00 pm, and it will be televised by Channel 4, CBS, here in Miami.   

This week’s complete schedule in the NFL:

THURSDAY

New Orleans @ Atlanta

Atl -3.5 8:20 pm NFL Network

SUNDAY

New England @ Miami

Mia +9 1:00 pm CBS  Channel 4

Jacksonville @ Buffalo

Buf -5.5 1:00 pm

Seattle @ Chicago

Chi -3.5 1:00 pm

Indianapolis @ Detroit

Det -4.5 1:00 pm

Minnesota @ Green Bay

GB -9.5 1:00 pm

Houston @ Tennessee

Ten +6 1:00 pm

San Francisco @ St. Louis

StL +7 1:00 pm

Arizona @ New York Jets

NYJ -4.5 1:00 pm

Carolina @ Kansas City

KC +3 1:00 pm

Tampa Bay @ Denver

Den -8 4:05 pm

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore

Bal -3 4:25 pm

Cleveland @ Oakland

Oak -1.5 4:25 pm

Cincinnati @ San Diego

SD +1 4:25 pm

Philadelphia @ Dallas

Dal -10.5 8:20 pm NBC  Channel 6

MONDAY NIGHT

New York Giants @ Washington

Was +1 8:30 pm ESPN

Key games this week in NCAA football:  

TONIGHT

Louisville @ Rutgers 7:30 pm ESPN

FRIDAY, 11/30

#21 N. Illinois @ #17 Kent State 7:00 pm ESPN2

MAC Championship

#16 UCLA @ #8 Stanford     8:00 pm FOX Ch 7

Pac-12 Championship

SATURDAY, 12/1

Central Florida @ Tulsa 12:00 pm ESPN2

Conference USA Championship

#11 Oklahoma @ TCU 12:00 pm  ESPN

Middle Tennessee @ Arkansas State 3:00 pm ESPN3

Determines the Sun Belt Champion

#2 Alabama @ #3 Georgia 4:00 pm CBS Ch 4

SEC Championship

#18 Texas @ #6 Kansas State 8:00 pm ABC Ch 10

#12 Nebraska @ Wisconsin 8:00 pm FOX Ch 7

Big 10 Championship

#13 Florida State @ Ga. Tech 8:00 pm ESPN

ACC Championship

SATURDAY

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Who were the first five players inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame?  The year was 1936, and the first players to enter the hallowed hall were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.         

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.