The Miami Heat are on a nice roll, and last night they won their sixth straight contest, defeating the Charlotte Bobcats 105-92.  Miami never trailed in the game, building a 19 point lead.  The Bobcats made it close, cutting the lead down to two points, 84-82 with just over 7 minutes left in the game, before the Heat went on a lightning-quick 11-3 run to put an end to that.  LeBron James had 27 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists.  Dwayne Wade led Miami in scoring with 29 points.  The Heat return to the hardwood tomorrow in Detroit against the Pistons, then on Friday in Milwaukee to face the Bucks.  They will then be in Orlando for the 31st against the Magic, before returning home for a game on the 2nd of January against the Dallas Mavericks.   

In the rest of the NBA yesterday,

New Orleans 97 Orlando 94

Robin Lopez led the way with 29 points, Grelvis Vasquez added 27

Cleveland 87 Washington 84

Tristan Thompson hit the game-winning layup with 24 seconds remaining in the game

Atlanta 126 Detroit 119 (2OT)

Josh Smith and Al Horford combined for 53 points

Philadelphia 99 Memphis 89

Ex-Heat Dorell Wright had 28 points in the win

Milwaukee 108 Brooklyn 93

25 points and six assists for Brandon Jennings 

Houston 87 Minnesota 84

James Harden scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter

San Antonio 100 Toronto 80

Old Man Time (Tim Duncan) scored a game-high 15 points, Manu Ginobili had 14 points, Tony Parker added 13 and seven assists

Denver 126 LA Lakers 114

Corey Brewer came off the bench to score 27 points, including six 3-point shots

New York 99 Phoenix 97

JR Smith hit two off-balance jump shots in the last 10 seconds to give the Knicks the victory

Golden State 94 Utah 83

Stephen Curry had 23 points and seven assists

Portland 109 Sacramento 91

LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 28 points and 12 rebounds

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:  

Dallas @ Oklahoma City 8:00 pm TNT

Boston @ LA Clippers 10:30 pm TNT

Nothing new to report from the FIU Campus in Westchester regarding their head coach situation.  As I reported here last week, I confirmed through a couple of sources that that Butch Davis will be named the new head coach at FIU, with the official announcement coming after New Year’s Day.  Although that story has been denied, even by people who haven’t been asked, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.   

As I told you before, there was no conceivable way that FIU Athletic Director Pete Garcia was going to fire Mario Cristobal and not have a proven and experienced head coach in place to replace him.  I have a lot of respect for both Mario and Butch, and wish them both the best.  Hopefully it is a win-win situation for both of them and that all’s well that ends well.  

  

The Miami Dolphins are playing for nothing but pride this Sunday, when they take on the AFC East champion New England Patriots.  Game time has been changed to 4:25 pm, and you can watch it locally on CBS, Channel 4.  There are a few playoff slots up for grabs this week in the NFC.  This week’s schedule in the NFL:    

SUNDAY

Miami @ New England

4:25 pm CBS Channel 4

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

1:00 pm

NY Jets @ Buffalo

1:00 pm

Baltimore @ Cincinnati

1:00 pm

Chicago @ Detroit

1:00 pm

Jacksonville @ Tennessee

1:00 pm

Houston @ Indianapolis

1:00 pm

Carolina @ New Orleans

1:00 pm

Philadelphia @ NY Giants

1:00 pm

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh

1:00 pm

Oakland @ San Diego

4:25 pm

Arizona @ San Francisco

4:25 pm

St. Louis @ Seattle

4:25 pm

Green Bay @ Minnesota

4:25 pm

Kansas City @ Denver

4:25 pm

Dallas @ @ Washington

8:20 pm NBC  Channel 6

If the playoffs started this week:

AFC:

Cincinnati @ New England

Indianapolis @ Baltimore

Houston and Denver would enjoy a bye week

NFC:

Minnesota @ San Francisco

Seattle @ Washington

Bye week for Atlanta and Green Bay

Here’s the playoff picture as of this minute:  (* clinched)

NFC

Atlanta 13-2  NFC South  *

Green Bay 11-4 NFC North  *

San Francisco 10-4-1 NFC West

Washington   9-6 NFC East

Seattle 10-5 Wild Card 1

Minnesota   9-6 Wild Card 2

In the hunt: 

Chicago (9-6), Dallas (8-7), NY Giants (8-7)

Dallas will win the NFC East if they beat Washington Sunday night.

Washington wins the NFC East if they beat or tie Dallas.

New York advances as a wild card only if they beat Philadelphia and if Dallas loses and Minnesota and Chicago also loses.

Chicago makes the playoffs if they beat Detroit and if Minnesota loses to Green Bay.

The playoff scenario in the AFC is a done deal:

AFC

Houston 12-3 AFC South *

Denver 12-3 AFC West *

New England 11-4 AFC East *

Baltimore 10-5 AFC North *

Indianapolis 10-5 Wild Card 1 *

Cincinnati   9-6 Wild Card 2 *

Today’s article of the day again comes from ESPN’s Jason Stark:  http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8772294/strange-true-feats-2012-mlb-season.  Funny and true stuff.  

In news around the majors, the Boston Red Sox completed a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Red Sox receive closer Joel Hanrahan and minor league infielder Brock Holt.  Pittsburgh gets releiver Mark Melancon, pitcher Stolmy Pimentel, infielder Ivan de Jesus, and first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands.  For some reason, the Red Sox have not completed the signing of Mike Napoli and may be turning their attention to another free agent, Adam LaRoche.  

Meanwhile, sources are reporting that the Yankees have reached an agreement with backup outfielder Matt Diaz on a contract. That does not qualify for a move to keep up with Toronto or Boston.  

Dear Santa Claus Jeffrey Loria and minions:  

Why haven’t you sold the team?  What are you waiting for, Christmas?  The New Year?  Your inept management allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible, and have dismantled the major league roster while pissing off the players on the roster and the entire South Florida community.  You allow your management to continue the policy of “sell low and buy high”.  Sell the team so we can once again enjoy baseball in Miami.

You will soon have the window of opportunity you need to get out of town.  The five-year anniversary of the Marlins and Miami-Dade County agreement for the baseball stadium is coming up on February 21, 2013.  After that time, the “penalty” for selling the team is only 5%, a mere pittance, based on a $250 million value of the team.  You’ve already saved much more than that on the salary dump this season alone 

We’ll continue to ask the question every day, keep our fingers crossed and light a candle in the meantime. 

In college football last night, Brigham Young beat San Diego State 23-6 in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.  Tonight, Ball State against Central Florida in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg.  You can watch it on ESPN, kickoff is set for 7:30 pm. 

The complete bowl results and upcoming schedule in college football:

December 15

GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL

Arizona 49 Nevada 48

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL

#22 Utah State 41 Toledo 15

December 20

SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL

Brigham Young 23 San Diego State 6

Friday, December 21

BEEF O’BRADY BOWL ST. PETERSBURG

Central Florida 38 Ball State 17

December 22

R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL

Louisiana-Lafayette 43 East Carolina 34

MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS

#19 Boise State 28 Washington 26

December 24

SHERATON HAWAII BOWL

Southern Methodist 43 Fresno State 10

Wednesday, December 26

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL

Central Michigan 24 Western Kentucky 21

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 Ch. 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 Ch. 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 Ch. 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

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.