Make it two embarrassing losses in a row for the Miami Heat.  After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the lowly Washington Wizards earlier this week, the Heat laid another defensive egg against the New York Knicks last night at AAA.  The Knicks, who were without Carmelo Anthony, lit up an invisible Miami defense for 18 three-point baskets and crushed the Heat 112-92.  Two of the big three were searching for the proverbial side of the barn yesterday.  Dwayne Wade scored only 13 points, hitting on only 3 of 13 shots from the floor, while Chris Bosh scored 12, connecting on only 3 of 12 shots.  LeBron James finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.  The Heat return to the court tomorrow night for their second of six straight contests here at home, as they take on the New Orleans Hornets.  Tipoff tomorrow is at 7:30 pm, and you can watch the game on Sun Sports on your cable or satellite system.  Only one other game last night in the NBA.  OJ Mayo hit the game-winning basket with just over 30 seconds to play and the Dallas Mavericks escaped Phoenix with a 97-94 victory over the Suns. 

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:  

Boston @ Philadelphia 7:00 pm ESPN

Denver @ Indiana 7:00 pm

Golden State @ Brooklyn 7:30 pm

Washington @ Atlanta 7:30 pm

Chicago @ Detroit 7:30 pm

Memphis @ New Orleans 8:00 pm

Cleveland @ Minnesota 8:00 pm

Charlotte @ Milwaukee 8:30 pm

Toronto @ Utah         9:00 pm

LA Lakers @ Oklahoma City 9:30 pm ESPN

Orlando @ Sacramento 10:00 pm

The MLB winter meetings concluded yesterday, and there are a lot of possible trades in the works, while the top free agents are still free agents.  Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke, and Michael Bourn are still out there, with the usual suspects and some new entries into the free agent market are pushing hard.  The Dodgers and the Rangers are pursuing Greinke, but the Dodgers may be getting to the point where they will settle for Anibal Sanchez and another starting pitcher.  The Seattle Mariners, who apparently have money to burn, are in on the Hamilton sweepstakes, along with Texas.  Don’t be alarmed, but some sources are saying that the New York Yankees may be lurking in the background. I DON’T THINK SO. (see below)  The number of possible landing places for Michael Bourn have dwindled, as the Phillies worked out a trade with the Minnesota Twins and obtained Ben Revere.  The Phillies gave up a lot, trading Vance Worley and highly touted prospect Trevor May, but I believe the Phillies made out like bandits. Revere is the real deal, and hit .294 last season with 40 stolen bases in only 124 games.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. may not be done yet, as they are talking to the Texas Rangers about a potential trade for Michael Young. 

A well-placed source in New York told me yesterday that the Yankees have been listening to offers for outfielder Curtis Granderson, Phillip Hughes, and Ivan Nova.  The Yankees absolutely love Giancarlo Stanton, and both he and starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco are unhappy with the direction their team is headed.  The Yankees did absolutely nothing during the winter meetings.  I’ll leave it up to you to do the math.

Dear Santa Claus Jeffrey Loria and minions:  

If you are not going to try and field a competitive team immediately, please do yourself and the South Florida baseball fans a favor and sell the team as quickly as possible.  Unless you make a TRUE EFFORT, no player in his right mind will ever want to play here in the future, you have alienated players on your roster, 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.  Please refrain from feeding 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.  Inept management allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible until the you 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.  You got a wonderful ballpark built in South Florida.  Sell the team so we can enjoy baseball in Miami again.

The Miami Dolphins have lost four out of their last five games and are headed to San Francisco to play the 49ers on Sunday.  There is an APB out for the Fins offense.  In those four losses, Miami has averaged just over 13 points a game, and that will not cut it in the NFL.  The running game has not been as effective as it was earlier in the season, and part of the problem has been that Ryan Tannehill has not been able to establish a vertical passing attack.  The Fins need to be able to throw the ball downfield more effectively, something that may be difficult this week against the 49ers.  With all-pro offensive tackle Jake Long out for the year, rookie right tackle Jonathan Martin will move to the left side of the offensive line to replace Long, while veteran back-up Nate Garner will start at right tackle.  Matched up against a San Francisco defense that is ranked second in the NFL against the pass and third against the run, it does not look promising this week, at least on paper, for the Fins. Lucky for them, they don’t play the games on paper.  Game time on Sunday is 4:05 pm, and it will be televised by Channel 4, CBS, here in Miami.  

Last night, in the NFL

Denver 26 Oakland 13 Oak +10.5

Peyton Manning continued his hot stretch, as the Broncos won their eighth consecutive game.  Manning completed 26-36 passes for 310 yards and a TD pass against the Raiders, and during this streak, Manning has tossed 19 touchdowns.  I realize I may be going out on a limb, but I truly feel it is safe to say that Manning  has recovered nicely from the neck surgeries that kept him out for the entire 2011 season.

The complete schedule this week in the NFL:

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 -6.5

1:00 pm

Tennessee @ Indianapolis  Ind -5

1:00 pm

Chicago @ Minnesota Min +2.5

1:00 pm

Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay  TB -9

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 -9.5

1:00 pm

Arizona @ Seattle Sea -10.5

4:25 pm

New Orleans @ NY Giants   NYG -4.5

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.  

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  If Johnny Manzel wins the Heisman trophy on Saturday, he will have a chance to become only the second player in Heisman history to win the award more than once.  Who is the only player to win the Heisman two times?  Tell you later, alligator. 

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:  If Texas A&M’s Johnny Manzel wins the Heisman trophy on Saturday, he will have a chance to become only the second player in Heisman history to win the award twice.  Who is the only player to win the Heisman two times?  Ohio State running back Archie Griffin won the Heisman in 1974 and 1975.            

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.