The Miami Heat return to the court tonight at the AAA as they welcome the new and improved Brooklyn Nets.  They will then embark on a two-week, six-game road trip, which takes them to Atlanta on Friday to meet up with the Hawks; then they’re off to Memphis, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix.  The team returns home to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, November 21.  In the NBA yesterday,

Chicago Bulls 99 Orlando Magic 93

Loul Deng scored 23 points, Joakim Noah added 20

Oklahoma City 108 Toronto Raptors 88

Russell Westbrook led the way with 19 points and 8 assists

Denver Nuggets 109 Detroit Pistons 97

Andre Iguodala led a balanced Nuggets attack with 17 points and 10 rebounds

TODAY’S GAMES IN THE NBA

Brooklyn Nets @ Miami Heat 7:30 pm Sun Sports

Phoenix Suns @ Charlotte Bobcats 7:00 pm

Washington Wizards @ Boston Celtics 7:30 pm

Indiana Pacers @ Atlanta Hawks 7:30 pm

Philadelphia 76ers @ New Orleans Hornets 8:00 pm ESPN

Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets 8:00 pm

Orlando Magic @ Minnesota Timberwolves 8:00 pm

Memphis Grizzlies @ Milwaukee Bucks 8:00 pm

Toronto Raptors @ Dallas Mavericks 8:30 pm

LA Lakers @ Utah Jazz 9:00 pm

Detroit Pistons @ Sacramento Kings 10:00 pm

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Golden State Warriors 10:30 pm

San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers 10:30 pm ESPN

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  A major sport in North America is not playing at this time because of labor issues between teams and players.  What sport am I referring to?  Tell you later, alligator. 

The Dolphins are back on the practice field today in preparation for Sunday’s game at the Seven Names Stadium against the Tennessee Titans sat 1:00 pm.   The spotlight this week will fall on the defense, as they have been exposed as the third-worst pass defense in the NFL, giving up just a fraction under 300 yards per game, including Sunday’s game against the Colts, in which Andrew Luck torched them for an NFL rookie record 433 yards.  It seemed that everyone in the secondary had an awful game, and they went away from being aggressive in their coverage.  After being ranked last in the league last year against the pass, everyone was looking for some improvement in 2012, but that improvement hasn’t arrived yet.  As bad as they were last year, the Dolphins gave up 300-yard games last year only twice, to Tom Brady and Eli Manning.  In eight games this year, they have already given up three 300-yard games.  Tighten up, “D”.

This week’s games in the NFL:

THURSDAY

Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars 

Jax +3 8:20 pm  NFL Network 

SUNDAY

Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins

Mia -6 1:00 pm CBS Channel 4

New York Giants @ Cincinnati Bengals

Cin +4 1:00 pm

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings

Min +1 1:00 pm

Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots

NE -11 1:00 pm

Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints

NO +2.5 1:00 pm

San Diego Chargers @ Tampa Bay Bucaneers

TB -3 1:00 pm

Denver Broncos @ Carolina Panthers

Car +3.5 1:00 pm

Oakland Raiders @ Baltimore Ravens

Bal -9.5 1:00 pm

NY Jets @ Seattle Seahawks

Sea -6.5 4:05 pm CBS  Ch. 4

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles

Phi -1 4:25 pm FOX Ch. 7

St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers

SF -11 4:25 pm

Houston Texans @ Chicago Bears

Chi -1 8:20 pm NBC Ch. 6

MONDAY

Kansas City Chiefs @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Pit -11.5 8:30 pm ESPN

Bye week for the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins

The GM meetings in Major League Baseball get under way this week, and this is when teams set the framework for possible trades.  Look for the Marlins to be very active in the trade market.  Nobody is untouchable from a trade standpoint on the Marlins major league team.  

In college football, the FIU Panthers are off this weekend, and will return to the field on Friday, November 16th, in Boca Raton, against Florida Atlantic.  Game time will be 8:00 pm.  Remember, you can catch the FIU game broadcasts (in English, no less) 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 can clinch the ACC Coastal Division championship with wins over Virginia this Saturday and Duke next week.  This division has only one bowl-eligible team so far (Duke), and UM is unranked, with four losses, and under the black cloud of an NCAA investigation.  The 2012 version of the Canes is 97th in the country running the football, averaging 130 yards per game, and 84th in the nation in points defense, allowing over 30 points per game.  This team is not anywhere close to getting back to the level of prominence it has enjoyed in the past.  This saturday's game between the Canes and Virginia is a 12 noon kickoff and you watch the game on ABC, Channel 10 in Miami.

In top ten action this week in college football:

On Thursday, #10 Florida State will be on the road to take on Virginia Tech.  

On Saturday, 

#1 Alabama hosts #15 Texas A&M 

#2 Kansas State visits TCU

#3 Oregon travels to California

#4 Notre Dame goes on the road to play Boston College

#5 Georgia is at Auburn

#6 Florida takes on Louisiana-Lafayette at the swamp

#7 LSU entertains #21 Mississippi State

#8 South Carolina hosts Arkansas

#9 Louisville visits Syracuse

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  A major sport in North America is not playing at this time because of labor issues between teams and players.  What sport am I referring to?  Ice Hockey.  The better question should be, “Is anyone losing any sleep over this situation?  Talk about shooting yourselves in the foot.      

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. 

I can’t leave you today without a personal note from the heart, which is beyond sports.

In sports, as in politics, there is only one thing worse than a sore loser, and that is an ungracious "winner".  Try to raise yourselves above that level, people.  Be gracious in victory, and move on.  You need to grasp the reality that 50.1% of the vote doesn't constitute a mandate. 

In his inaugural speech in 1961, President John F. Kennedy said "My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." 

In just over 50 years, we have shifted to a dangerous dependence on government, a system in which the people will elect the candidate that promises to give them more "stuff". This is NOT what the Democratic Party should stand for. President Kennedy must be turning in his grave.

We have elections every four years to fix what may be broken.  However, if the last four years showed us anything, is that electing any candidate who plays to people's sense of being entitled doesn't get the job done. 

Everyone should just go back to what Condaleeza Rice said: “If you are taught bitterness and anger, then you will believe you are a victim. You will feel aggrieved and the twin brother of aggrievement is entitlement. So now you think you are owed something and you don't have to work for it and now you're on a really bad road to nowhere because there are people who will play to that sense of victimhood, aggrievement and entitlement, and you still won't have a job.”

The United States of America is the greatest country in the world. The USA needs to go back to asserting itself as a leader both at home and abroad. Our voting process has some flaws, but it beats any alternative out there. 

Let's hope and pray that the next four years prove to be better than the last four years. May God Bless America.

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.  As Little Orphan Annie sang, “The sun will come out tomorrow.....”