The Miami Dolphins lost 23-16 to the New England Patriots on Sunday at the Seven-Names Stadium.  The Fins defense played relatively well against Tom Brady and his high-powered offense, but too many mistakes again plagued Miami, including a dropped snap by punter Brandon Fields and a very inconsistent game from rookie QB Ryan Tannehill.  This Dolphin team has a long way to go to catch up to the Patriots, but we have to take a “glass half-full” approach with this team.  The future is brighter than it was the last few years.  They need to make some good decisions as to who is going to be there the next few years.  Regardless of what you hear, they need a couple of playmakers on offense, especially at the wide receiver position.  It doesn’t get any easier next Sunday, as the Fins travel to San Francisco to take on the 49ers, a team that is going to be a little angry after losing yesterday, in overtime, to the St. Louis Rams.  Game time on Sunday is 4:05 pm, and it will be televised by Channel 4, CBS, here in Miami.   

The complete scoreboard in the NFL:

New England 23  Miami 16 Mia +9

Buffalo 34 Jacksonville 18  Buf -6

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes and ran for another

Seattle 23 Chicago 17 (ot) Chi -3.5

Russell Wilson connected with Sidney Rice on a 13-yard TD pass in OT

Indianapolis 35  Detroit 33 Det -5

Andrew Luck threw four TD passes, including the game winner to Donnie Avery on the last play of the game

Green Bay 23 Minnesota 14 GB -9.5

Aaron Rodgers threw for 286 yards and a touchdown.  Adrian Peterson had another monster day for the Vikings, with 21 carries for 210 yards, including an 82-yard TD run.

Houston 24  Tennessee 10 Ten +6

Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes

Kansas City 27 Carolina 21 KC +3

Just over 24 hours after linebacker Jovan Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend before taking his own life at the team’s facility, the Chiefs snapped an 8-game losing streak.  Brady Quinn completed 19-23 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

St. Louis 16 San Francisco 13 (ot) StL +7

Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein hit a 53-yard field goal to tie the game as time expired in regulation, and kicked a 54-yarder with 26 seconds left in OT to secure the win.

Arizona 7  New York Jets 6 NYJ -4.5

In what had to be the most boring game of the day, Greg McElroy replaced Jets QB Mark Sanchez in the third quarter and led New York to the only touchdown of the game.  

Denver 31 Tampa Bay 23 Den -8

Peyton Manning completed 27-38 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns.  The Broncos clinched the AFC west with the win, and the Atlanta Falcons clinched the NFC south with the Buccaneers loss. 

Pittsburgh 23  Baltimore 10 Bal -3

Surprise, surprise.  Shaun Shisham hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired.  The Steelers third-string QB, 99-year old Charlie Batch, finished 25-36 passing with 276 yards and a touchdown against the vaunted Ravens defense.

Cleveland 20  Oakland 17 Oak -1.5

Brandon Weeden threw for 364 yards and a touchdown

Cincinnati 20  San Diego 13 SD +1

Andy Dalton’s six-yard TD run in the fourth quarter gave the Bengals the win.  

Dallas 38 Philadelphia 33 Dal -10.5

Tony Romo completed 22-27 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns

TONIGHT

New York Giants @ Washington

Was +1 8:30 pm ESPN

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Tony Romo’s three touchdown passes last night against the Philadelphia Eagles put him at the top of Cowboys history with 166 TD passes.  Whose record did he break?  Tell you later, alligator. 

The Miami Heat erased a 14-point deficit in the first half and beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 Saturday night at the AAA.  Dwayne Wade scored 34 points, LeBron James added 21, and they got some contributions from the bence, Ray Allen had 13 points and Norris Cole finished with 12.  Miami has now won six straight games and they are still perfect at home, 8-0.  The Heat are taking a quick trip to Washington DC for a game against the Wizards tomorrow, and then return home for six straight games, beginning with a critical matchup against the New York Knicks on Thursday.

Only two games in the NBA last night, 

New York 106 Phoenix 99

Carmelo Anthony led the way with 34 points, Raymond Felton scored 23, and Tyson Chandler added 15 points and collected 13 rebounds.

Orlando 113 LA Lakers 103

The Magic didn’t miss their former All-Star center yesterday.  In their first game against Dwight Howard, Arron Affialo scored 30 points for the Magic, Jameer Nelson registered a double-double, with 19 points and 13 assists.  Howard scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds, but was horrible from the foul line, missing 12 of 21 free throws.  

TONIGHT IN THE NBA

Portland @ Charlotte 7:00 pm

Cleveland @ Detroit 7:00 pm

Milwaukee @ New Orleans 8:00 pm NBA-TV

Toronto @ Denver 9:00 pm

LA Clippers @ Utah 9:00 pm

Orlando @ Golden State 10:30 pm

The MLB winter meetings are under way in Nashville.  The news of the day, so far, is that Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez is headed for some more hip surgery and will miss anywhere from three to six months.  There goes any possibility of an A-Rod trade this winter.  Eric Chavez has indicated that he wants to return for 2013, so expect him to re-sign with the Bombers.  There is also the possibility of trying to work out a trade for San Diego’s Chase Headley.  Expect GM Brian Cashman to be busy knocking on doors in Nashville this week, and don’t be shocked if he approaches the Marlins to discuss Giancarlo Stanton.  

The Boston Red Sox came to terms with free agent catcher Mike Napoli on a 3-year, $39 million contract.  The Red Sox still have Cody Ross, Nick Swisher, and Shane Victorino on their radar screen.  The Texas Rangers and Geovany Soto signed a one-year, $3 million dollar deal as well.

Sources are reporting that the Detroit Tigers offered former Marlin Anibal Sanchez a four-year, $48 million contract.  However, that is not close to the six-year, $90 million that Anibal is looking for.

The Atlanta Braves are still looking for an outfield bat to play left field, allowing Martin Prado to take over full-time at third base.  It would be great if they could work out a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for Justin Upton, so he could join his brother BJ in an outfield that, along with Jason Heyward, would have to be considered as one of the best tandems in baseball.  The Braves have a stockpile of young pitching and young talent, although the name that Arizona supposedly wants is young SS Andrelton Simmons, who the Braves say they absolutely will not consider trading.  

The Tampa Bay Rays solved their first base situation, signing James Loney to a one-year, $2 million contract.  The Rays have also been rumored in trading starting pitcher James Shields, and have been talking to the Washington Nationals on a trade of Shields for Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa, although the Nats don’t really want to trade Espinosa.  

Nobody expects the Marlins to be active during these meetings, but I do see them making a trade or two, including recently acquired Yunel Escobar (Tampa Bay?).  I’m still holding out a small glimmer of hope that they add a bat to protect Mike Stanton in the lineup.  I still believe that Michael Morse would fit that bill nicely if the Nationals can’t work something out with Tampa Bay.  Wouldn’t you offer Logan Morrison and a pitcher for Morse?  

HERE ARE THE BOWL MATCHUPS 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:  Tony Romo’s three touchdown passes last night against the Philadelphia Eagles put him at the top of Cowboys history with 168 TD passes.  Whose record did he break?  Troy Aikman previously held the record with 165. Danny White is next with 155, Roger Staubach had 153, and Dandy Don Meredith had 135.          

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.