The Miami Heat got back to Miami after a victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, 97-88.  With the win, the Heat improved to 8-3 on the season, and ended their six-game road trip with a 4-2 record, in spite of Dwayne Wade missing three games.  The team played good defense on Saturday night, holding the Suns to only 36 points in the second half.  LeBron James was battling flu-like symptoms, but still ended up playing 41 minutes and scoring 21 points.  Chris Bosh led the way with 24 points and pulled down 9 boards.  A couple of days rest will definitely do the team good, and they return to the court on Wednesday, here at the AAA, against the Milwaukee Bucks.  Game time against Milwaukee is 7:30 pm, and you can watch the game on Sun Sports on your cable or satellite system.  In the NBA yesterday,

New York 88 Indiana 76

Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 26 points

Toronto 97 Orlando 86

DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and Jose Calderon dished out 18 assists

Philadelphia 86 Cleveland 79

Evan Turner had 19 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds

Brooklyn 99 Sacramento 90

Andray Blache led the way with 22 poings

Oklahoma City 119 Golden State 109

Kevin Durant posted his first triple-double of his career with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists

Detroit 103 Boston 83

Six Pistons scored in double-figures, led by Greg Monroe’s 20 points

Portland 102 Chicago 94

Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews scored 21 points each

LA Lakers 119 Houston 108

Dwight Howard had 28 points and 13 rebounds, Kobe Bryant tallied 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists

TODAY’S GAMES IN THE NBA

Indiana @ Washington 7:00 pm

Milwaukee @ Charlotte 7:00 pm

Orlando @ Atlanta 7:30 pm NBA-TV

Denver @ Memphis 8:00 pm

Golden State @ Dallas 8:30 pm

LA Clippers @ San Antonio 8:30 pm

Houston @ Utah 9:00 pm

The Miami Dolphins return to the field on Sunday against the surging Seattle Seahawks.  Game time at the Seven-Names Stadium is 1:00 pm, and you can watch the game on Channel 4, CBS in South Florida. The Dolphins are tied with the Bills and Jets with identical 4-6 records.  

Yesterday in the NFL: 

Atlanta Falcons 23 Arizona Cardinals 19 Atl -9.5

The Falcons somehow managed to win in spite of five interceptions thrown by Matt Ryan.  This was the first time in NFL history that a QB threw for 5 interceptions and no touchdowns while winning the game.

Dallas 23 Cleveland 20 (ot)      Dal -9.5

Dan Bailey’s 38-yard field goal was the game winner

Green Bay 24 Detroit 20      Det +3.5

Green Bay has won five games in a row

Cincinnati 28 Kansas City 6 KC +3.5

Andy Dalton threw two touchdown passes and ran for another

NY Jets 27 St. Louis 13 StL -3.5

The Jets defense forced three turnovers, leading to 14 points

Washington 31 Philadelphia 6 Was -3.5

Robert Griffin III threw four touchdown passes

Tampa Bay 27 Carolina 21  (ot) Car +1

Josh Freeman threw three touchdown passes, including the game winner in OT

Houston 43 Jacksonville 37  (ot) Hou -15

Matt Schaub threw for a career-high 527 yards and 5 touchdowns, connecting with Miami High and UM product Andre Johnson for the game winner in OT.  Johnson caught 14 passes for 273 yards 

New Orleans 38 Oakland 17         Oak +4.5

After losing their first four games, the Saints are now 5-5 and back in the playoff hunt

Denver 30 San Diego 23 Den -8.5

Peyton Manning threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns

New England 59 Indianapolis 24 NE -9.5

Total domination by the Patriots

Baltimore 13 Pittsburgh 10 Pit +3

Jacoby Jones returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown giving the Ravens the win

TONIGHT

Chicago Bears @ San Francisco 49ers

SF -5 8:30 pm ESPN

Bye week for the Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks 

The Marlins signed 35-year-old outfielder Juan Pierre. giving the Marlins a viable option in the outfield until top-prospect Christian Yelich is ready for the majors.  Pierre hit .307 and stole 37 bases in 130 games for the Phillies last year.  JP’s contract is for one year, $1.6 million.  Good pickup for the Fish, both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Around the Major Leagues, the Toronto Blue Jays reached agreement with free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera.  Cabrera agreed to a two-year deal, worth $16 million.  Outfielder Torii Hunter signed a two year, $26 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.  Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves signed backup catcher Gerald Laird to a contract, replacing the departed David Ross, who jumped ship to the Boston Red Sox.  The Braves are now focusing on center fielder B. J. Upton, who is probably looking at a contract in the neighborhood of 5 years and $75 million.  Not a bad neighborhood to be in.

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Juan Pierre ranks first among active major leaguers with 591 career stolen bases.  Who is second? Tell you later, alligator.  

The University of Miami Hurricanes beat up on the South Florida Bulls on Saturday, 40-9.  This morning, the University announced that for the second consecutive season, they have chosen to self-impose a bowl ban, and the ban will also keep the Canes from playing in the ACC Championship game, even if they beat Duke on Saturday.  There is a black cloud over the University due to an on-going NCAA investigation.  The school feels that voluntarily withholding the team from a second postseason in a row will hopefully lessen the punishment that will undoubtedly be handed down by the NCAA and allow the university to move forward as quickly as possible.  The Canes will close out their season at 12:30 pm this Saturday at Duke against the Blue Devils. 

The FIU Panthers beat their rivals from Boca Raton, Florida Atlantic, 34-24 on Saturday to take home the Don Shula Trophy for the second year in a row.  Unfortunately, these two teams will not meet next year, when FIU moves to Conference USA.  University President Dr. Mark Rosenberg told me on Saturday during our game broadcast that he is working with his counterpart at FAU to get the game back on the schedule, possibly as early as 2014.  This Saturday, FIU closes out the season as they host UL-Monroe at the Cage.  Game time is 6:00 pm, and you can listen to 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. 

Another shakeup in college football this past weekend, as the both #1 and #2 lost on saturday.  #1 Kansas State lost to Baylor, 52-24 and #2 Oregon fell in overtime to Stanford, 17-14.  The new rankings have Notre Dame in the top spot, followed by three teams from the SEC, Alabama at #2, Georgia is #3, Florida is #4.  Oregon fell to fifth, K-State dropped to 6th.  LSU is #7, Stanford is #8, Texas A&M is 9th, and Florida State rounds out the top ten. 

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Juan Pierre ranks first among active major leaguers with 591 career stolen bases.  Who is second?  Ichiro Suzuki, with 452 thefts.  Rounding out the top five active thieves are Carl Crawford (432), Jose Reyes (410), and Johnny Damon (408).     

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 their recipe for PAVO CON MOJO (Thanksgiving Turkey with Mojo).  

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