The Miami Heat lost last night to the much-improved Golden State Warriors, 97-95.  Rookie Draymond Green scored the game winning basket with less than one second left on the game clock, thanks to a miscommunication on defense between Ray Allen and Shane Battier.  It shouldn’t come as a total shock that the Warriors beat the Heat.  Golden State has won 9 games on the road this year, including their last five in a row, and they are off to their best start since 1991, with a 15-7 record.  After a Dwayne Wade jumper, Miami led by four points, 95-91, with 3:17 left in the game, but couldn’t score again.  On to the next game, which is on Saturday, again at the AAA, against the Washington Wizards.  Game time on Saturday is 7:30 pm, and you can watch the game on Sun Sports on your cable or satellite system.  In the NBA yesterday,

Indiana 96 Cleveland 81

Paul George had a team-high 27 points

Atlanta 86  Orlando 80

Al Horford notched his seventh straight double-double, with 13 points and 13 rebounds

Brooklyn 94 Toronto 88

CJ Watson scored all of his 16 points in the second half.  

LA Clippers 100  Charlotte 94

Make it eight consecutive wins for the Clippers

Chicago 96 Philadelphia 89

Joakim Noah led the way with 21 points

Boston 117 Dallas 115  (2 OT)

Paul Pierce scored 34 points and Rajon Rondo added 16 points, 15 assists, and 9 rebounds

Houston 99 Washington 93

James Harden had 31 points

Milwaukee 98 Sacramento 85

Monta Ellis posted 17 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds

Minnesota 108 Denver 105

Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Jose Juan Barea scored 17 points, distributed 8 assists, and collected 5 boards.

Oklahoma City 92 New Orleans 88

Kevin Durant scored 35 points

Phoenix 82 Memphis 80

Goran Dragic’s layup with 0.5 seconds remaining was the game winner

Utah 99 San Antonio 96

Mo Williams waited until the last second and nailed a 3-point shot as time expired

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:  

Charlotte @ Atlanta 7:00 pm

LA Lakers @ New York 8:00 pm TNT

San Antonio @ Portland 10:30 pm TNT

The Miami Dolphins return to the field at the Seven-Names Stadium on Sunday to play the Jacksonville Jaguars.  There will be a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Perfect Season at the stadium.  Most of the players from that undefeated team will be there.   

This week’s complete schedule in the NFL,

TONIGHT

Cincinnati @ Philadelphia Phi +4

8:20 pm NFL Network

SUNDAY

Jacksonville @ Miami Mia -7

1:00 pm CBS Ch. 4

NY Giants @ Atlanta Atl -1

1:00 pm FOX Ch. 7

Green Bay @ Chicago Chi +3

1:00 pm

Washington @ Cleveland Cle +1

1:00 pm

Minnesota @ St. Louis StL -1

1:00 pm

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans NO -3.5

1:00 pm

Denver @ Baltimore Bal +3

1:00 pm

Indianapolis @ Houston Hou -9.5

1:00 pm

Seattle @ Buffalo (Toronto) Buf + 5.5

4:05 pm

Detroit @ Arizona Ari +6

4:05 pm

Carolina @ San Diego SD -3

4:05 pm

Pittsburgh @ Dallas Dal +1

4:25 pm CBS Ch. 4

Kansas City @ Oakland Oak -3

4:25 pm

San Francisco @ New England NE -5

8:20 pm NBC  Channel 6

MONDAY NIGHT

New York Jets @ Tennessee Ten -1

8:30 pm ESPN

If the playoffs started today,

NFC

Atlanta 11-2  NFC South

San Francisco 9-3-1 NFC West

Green Bay  9-4 NFC North

NY Giants 8-5 NFC East

Chicago 8-5 Wild Card 1

Seattle 8-5 Wild Card 2

In the hunt:  Washington (7-6), Dallas (7-6), Minnesota (7-6)

AFC

Houston 11-2 AFC South

New England 10-3 AFC East

Baltimore 9-4 AFC North

Denver 10-3 AFC West

Indianapolis 9-4 Wild Card 1

Pittsburgh 7-6 Wild Card 2

In the hunt:  Cincinnati (7-6), New York Jets (6-7)  

In baseball, the Yankees and Ichiro Suzuki are finalizing a contract, and the deal will probably be signed no later than tomorrow.  The deal with Ichiro could be for more than one year, as he is within 394 hits of reaching the 3,000 hit plateau.  Good news from Mariano Rivera, who said yesterday that he will be ready to pitch on Opening Day.  The 43-year-old greatest closer of all time spoke to reporters at the Yankees annual food drive. 

The Boston Red Sox aren’t standing still, and are very close to an agreement with pitcher Ryan Dempster.     

It still bears repeating:

Dear Santa Claus Jeffrey Loria and minions:  

Why haven’t you announced that you are selling the team?  What are you waiting for, Christmas?  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.  Sell the team so we can enjoy baseball in Miami again.

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. 

We’re just going to keep our fingers crossed and light a candle in the meantime. 

Today’s article of the day comes from Maury Brown from the Business of Sports network.  On the Biz of Baseball web site, he writes about the health of MLB.  Check it out here: MLB Revenues $7.5B for 2012, Could Approach $9B by 2014

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Yesterday, we talked about Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, Larry Csonka, and Mercury Morris.  Who were the rest of the starters on offense for the only team to inhabit “Perfectville”?  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 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

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  On Sunday, the Dolphins will be celebrating the 40-year anniversary of the 1972 Perfect Season.  Yesterday, we talked about Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, Larry Csonka, and Mercury Morris.  Who were the rest of the starters on offense for the only team to inhabit “Perfectville”?  The offensive line that opened the holes for the running backs and protected the QB’s were tackles Wayne Moore and Norm Evans, guards Larry Little and Bob Kuechenberg, and center Jim Langer.  The tight end(s) were Marv Fleming and Jim Mandich, the wide receivers were Paul Warfield, Howard Twilley, and Marlin Briscoe.  Let’s not forget punter Larry Seiple, kicker Garo Yepremian, and holder Karl Noonan.           

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.