After an embarrassing loss to the Washington Wizards a couple of nights ago, the Heat are back home at the AAA for six straight contests, beginning tonight with a critical matchup against the New York Knicks. Game time is 8:00 pm, and you can watch the game on TNT on your cable or satellite system.  The Knicks will probably be without Carmelo Anthony, who suffered a hand injury last night that required five stitches.  Only one other game tonight as part of the TNT doubleheader, the Dallas Mavericks are in Phoenix to take on the Suns, game time is 10:30 pm. 

IN THE NBA LAST NIGHT:  

New York 100 Charlotte 98

JR Smith hit the game winning basket as time expired

Indiana 99 Portland 92

Paul George scored 22 points, George Hill added 18.

Boston 104 Minnesota 94

Rajon Rondo had 17 points and dished out 11 assists

Golden State 104 Detroit 97

Klay Thompson poured in a game-high 27 points, Stephen Curry scored 22 and handed out 10 assists

Atlanta 108 Denver 104

Al Horford led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds

Chicago 95 Cleveland 85

Marco Belinelli had 23 points, Luol Deng added 22

San Antonio 110 Milwaukee 99

Gary Neal and Tony Parker scored 22 points apiece

Utah 87 Orlando 81

Huge game for Al Jefferson - 31 points and 15 rebounds

Sacramento 107 Toronto 100

Demarcus Cousins had 25 points, Tyreke Evens added 23

LA Clippers 112 Dallas 90

Jamal Crawford had 20 points, Blake Griffin had 19 points and 13 rebounds

LA Lakers 103 New Orleans 87

Kobe Bryant became the fifth player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points.  Bryant scored 29 points in the win.

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Kobe Bryant reached the 30,000 point plateau last night, the fifth player in NBA history to do so?  Who are the other four names on that exclusive list?  Tell you later, alligator. 

At the MLB winter meetings, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins completed a trade today, sending Ben Revere to Philadelphia for pitcher Vance Worley and a prospect.  The Angels signed pitchers Joe Blanton and Sean Burnett.  The White Sox and infielder Jeff Keppinger reached agreement on a one-year deal.  Former Marlin Randy Choate signed a three-year deal with the Cardinals.  Arizona and Eric Chavez came to terms on a one-year, $3 million deal.  Outfielder Nate McLouth will be returning to the Orioles after inking a one year contract, $2 million.  

The Atlanta Braves officially exercised their team option for 2014 with manager Fredi Gonzalez.  Congrats to the Braves and to Fredi.    

Some more rumors from the baseball meetings:

The Yankees, who lost out on Eric Chavez and Jeff Keppinger, have set their sights on Kevin Youkilis, and made him an offer of one year, $12 million.  The Bombers better get busy.  

The Texas Rangers and the LA Dodgers look like they’re the last two teams competing for Zach Greinke.  If the Rangers sign Greinke, they will probably back off on trying to re-sign Josh Hamilton, and will continue to pursue a trade for Justin Upton.

THIS BEARS REPEATING OVER AND OVER:  

Note to Jeffrey Loria and his minions:  Please sell the team as quickly as possible.  No player in his right mind will ever want to play here in the future, and most fans will not buy a ticket to a game as long as you are still here.  You are only going to be able to get guys that have nowhere else to go.  You have alienated players on your roster, as well as all the South Florida baseball fans.  One more thing--please do not feed us the “look at what Oakland and Baltimore did last year” story.  That comparison does not apply here.  They had young players in their farm systems that were obviously ready to contribute immediately.  Management here allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible until the team dismantled the major league roster and traded for these new prospects now.  All of those prospects are still a couple of years away from being ready to contribute at the major league level.

The Miami Dolphins are back on the practice field today as they continue preparations for their game on Sunday in San Francisco against the 49ers.  With the Fins limping along with a 5-7 record, all-pro offensive tackle Jake Long’s season is officially over, after being placed on the injured reserve list with a torn tricep in his left arm.  Rookie right tackle Jonathan Martin will move to the left side of the offensive line to replace Long.  Veteran back-up Nate Garner will start at right tackle against the 49ers.  Game time on Sunday is 4:05 pm, and it will be televised by Channel 4, CBS, here in Miami.  

The complete schedule this week in the NFL:

TONIGHT

Denver @ Oakland Oak +10.5

8:20 pm NFL Network

SUNDAY

Miami @ San Francisco SF -10

4:05 pm CBS Channel 4

Dallas @ Cincinnati Cin -3

1:00 pm

St. Louis @ Buffalo Buf -3

1:00 pm

Kansas City @ Cleveland Cle -6

1:00 pm

Tennessee @ Indianapolis  Ind -5.5

1:00 pm

Chicago @ Minnesota Min +2.5

1:00 pm

Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay   TB -7

1:00 pm

Baltimore @ Washington Was -1

1:00 pm

Atlanta @ Carolina Car +3.5

1:00 pm

NY Jets @ Jacksonville Jax +2.5

1:00 pm

San Diego @ Pittsburgh Pit -3

1:00 pm

Arizona @ Seattle Sea -10.5

4:25 pm

New Orleans @ NY Giants         NYG -5

4:25 pm

Detroit @ Green Bay         GB -7

8:20 pm NBC Channel 6

MONDAY

Houston @ New England NE -3.5

8:30 pm ESPN

If the playoffs started today,

NFC

Atlanta 11-1  NFC South

San Francisco 8-3-1 NFC West

Green Bay 8-4         NFC North

NY Giants 7-5 NFC East

Chicago 8-4 Wild Card 1

Seattle 7-5 Wild Card 2

In the hunt:  Dallas (6-6), Tampa Bay (6-6), Minnesota (6-6)

AFC

Houston 11-1 AFC South

New England 9-3 AFC East

Baltimore 9-3 AFC North

Denver 9-3 AFC West

Indianapolis 8-4 Wild Card 1

Pittsburgh 7-5 Wild Card 2

In the hunt:  Cincinnati (7-5)  

The three finalists for the 2012 Heisman Trophy have been announced.  The award will be handed out on Saturday at 8:00 pm on ESPN.  They are:

Collin Klein - QB, Kansas State - the senior accounted for 37 of his team’s 56 touchdowns this season. 

Johnny Manziel - QB, Texas A&M - the redshirt freshman with the monicker “Johnny Football” became only the fifth player in history (first freshman ever) to pass for at least 3,000 yards and run for 1,000.

Manti Te’o -  LB, Notre Dame - this senior had a team high 103 tackles, becoming the first Notre Dame player ever to lead the team in tackles three consecutive seasons.  His seven interceptions are the most ever for a Notre Dame linebacker.  

The complete bowl schedule in college football:

Saturday, December 15

GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL

Nevada vs. Arizona 1:00 pm ESPN

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL

Toledo vs #22 Utah State 4:30 pm ESPN

Thursday, December 20

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL

Brigham Young vs San Diego State 8:00 pm ESPN

Friday, December 21

BEEF O’BRADY BOWL ST. PETERSBURG

Central Florida vs Ball State 7:30 pm ESPN

Saturday, December 22

R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL

East Carolina vs Louisiana-Lafayette 12:00 pm ESPN

MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS

Washington vs #19 Boise State 3:30 pm ESPN

Monday, December 24

SHERATON HAWAII BOWL

Fresno State vs Southern Methodist 8:00 pm ESPN

Wednesday, December 26

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL

Western Kentucky vs Central Michigan 7:30pm ESPN

Thursday, December 27

MILITARY BOWL-PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN

#24 San Jose State vs Bowling Green 3:00 pm ESPN

BELK BOWL

Cincinnati vs Duke 6:30 pm ESPN

BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION HOLIDAY BOWL

Baylor vs #17 UCLA 9:45 pm ESPN

Friday, December 28

ADVOCARE V100 INDEPENDENCE BOWL

Ohio vs Louisiana-Monroe 2:00 pm ESPN

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL

Rutgers vs Virginia Tech 5:30 pm ESPN

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL OF TEXAS

Minnesota vs Texas Tech 9:00 pm ESPN

Saturday, December 29

BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL

Rice vs Air Force 11:45 am ESPN

NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL

West Virginia vs Syracuse 3:15 pm ESPN

KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL

Navy vs Arizona State 4:00 pm ESPN-2

VALERO ALAMO BOWL

#23 Texas vs #13 Oregon State 6:45 pm ESPN

BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL

TCU vs Michigan State 10:15 pm ESPN

Monday, December 31

FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY BOWL

North Carolina State vs Vanderbilt 12:00 pm ESPN

HYUNDAY SUN BOWL

USC vs Georgia Tech 2:00 pm CBS Channel 4

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL

Iowa State vs Tulsa 3:30 pm ESPN

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL

#8 LSU vs #14 Clemson 7:30 pm ESPN

Tuesday, January 1

TAXSLAYER.COM GATOR BOWL

Mississippi State vs #20 Northwestern 12:00 pm ESPN-2

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL

Purdue vs Oklahoma State 12:00 pm ESPN-U

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

#7 Georgia vs #16 Nebraska 1:00 pm ABC Channel 10

OUTBACK BOWL

#10 South Carolina vs #18 Michigan 1:00 pm ESPN

ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO

Wisconsin vs #6 Stanford 5:00 pm ESPN

DISCOVER ORANGE BOWL

#15 Northern Illinois vs #12 Florida State 8:30 pm ESPN

Wednesday, January 2

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL

#21 Louisville vs #3 Florida 8:30 pm ESPN

Thursday, January 3

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL

#4 Oregon vs #5 Kansas State 8:30 pm ESPN

Friday, January 4

AT&T COTTON BOWL

#9 Texas A&M vs #11 Oklahoma 8:00 pm FOX Channel 7

Saturday, January 5

BBVA COMPASS BOWL

Pittsburgh vs Ole Miss 1:00 pm ESPN

Sunday, January 6

GODADDY.COM BOWL

#25 Kent State vs Arkansas State 9:00 pm ESPN

Monday, January 7

DISCOVER BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

#2 Alabama vs #1 Notre Dame 8:30 pm ESPN

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Kobe Bryant reached the 30,000 point plateau last night, the fifth player in NBA history to do so?  Who are the other four names on that exclusive list?  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is on top with 38,387 points, followed by Karl Malone (36,928), Michael Jordan (32,292) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419).          

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!  

IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com

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