After losing to the Warriors in Miami back on December 12th, the Heat were out to prove that it was a fluke. After beginning this road trip 1-3, it didn’t look good. LeBron James played only 30 minutes last night, but totaled 25 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds to lead Miami to a 92-75 victory over Golden State. LeBron became the youngest player ever to reach 20,000 points in the NBA, and also surpassed the 5,000 assist mark in his career. Miami took a 34-point lead in the third quarter and Coach Erik Spoelstra was able to rest his starters in the fourth quarter. Immediately after the game, the team boarded a plane and headed to Los Angeles where they will have a nationally televised encounter with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and the rest of the Lakers. Game time tonight is at 10:30, you can watch the game on TNT. After tonight’s game, the Heat are off until Wednesday the 23rd, when they take on the Toronto Raptors back at the AAA.
In the rest of the NBA yesterday,
Orlando 97 Indiana 86
Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 15 rebounds and the Magic hit on 12-21 from behind the three-point arc.
Chicago 107 Toronto 105 (OT)
Luol Deng hit the game-winning jumper with 3.3 seconds left in the overtime period
Atlanta 109 Brooklyn 95
Jeff Teague led the way with 28 points and dished out 11 assists. Al Horford had 17 points and pulled down 13 boards.
New Orleans 90 Boston 78
Al-Farouq Aminu scored 18 points to lead the Hornets to their sixth win in the past seven games
Dallas 105 Houston 100
Dirk Nowitzki led six Mavs players in double figures with 19 points
Oklahoma City 117 Denver 97
Russell Westbrook led the way with 32 points. Kevin Durant and Kevin Martin scored 20 points apiece for the Thunder.
San Antonio 103 Memphis 82
Old man time, Tim Duncan, led San Antonio with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and five blocked shots. Tony Parker had 17 points and 11 assists.
Cleveland 93 Portland 88
Kyrie Irving finished with a game-high 31 points
Sacramento 95 Washington 94
Tyreke Evans’ free throw with 11.9 seconds left gave the Kings the victory
TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Miami @ LA Lakers 10:30 pm TNT
New York @ Detroit 3:00 pm NBA-TV
LA Clippers @ Minnesota 8:00 pm TNT
Milwaukee @ Phoenix 9:00 pm
The Conference Championship games are all set for this coming Sunday. The NFC Championship game will feature the San Francisco 49ers going cross-country to face the Atlanta Falcons. Game time is 3:00 pm, and it will be televised by FOX, Channel 7. In the AFC Championship game, the Baltimore Ravens will travel to New England to take on the Patriots, in a rematch of the 2011 Championship game. Kickoff is at 6:30, and you can watch it on CBS, Channel 4 in Miami. The odds in Las Vegas for these games: San Francisco is favored over Atlanta by 4 points, while New England is a 8 1/2 - point favorite over Baltimore. I’ll continue to watch the odds during the week and track the movement.
Tomorrow, on my Descarga Deportiva segment at 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM, Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez will join me to give us his picks for this weekend’s Conference Championship games. You can also catch the segment on the internet at www.miradioesperanza.com.
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The NFL Draft is coming up in April, and we already know that the Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock. How many University of Miami players have been drafted overall by NFL teams, and how many of them went in the first round? Tell you later, alligator.
THe NFL coaching carousel continues to go round and round, and the merry-go-round only has two open seats left.
The Philadelphia Eagles convinced Chip Kelly to leave the University of Oregon and join them as their new head coach. Two teams are still left without a head coach: The Jacksonville Jaguars are considering an internal option, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, as well as St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, and Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who have all also interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals.
I’ll continue to show the list of coaching casualties in the NFL until replacements are final:
Arizona Cardinals
fired Ken Whisenhunt
Buffalo Bills
fired Chan Gailey, HIRED DOUG MARRONE
Chicago Bears
fired Lovie Smith, HIRED MARC TRESTMAN
Cleveland Browns
fired Pat Schurmur, HIRED ROB CHUDZINSKI
Jacksonville Jaguars
fired Mike Mularkey
Kansas City Chiefs
fired Romeo Crennel, HIRED ANDY REID
Philadelphia Eagles
fired Andy Reid, HIRED CHIP KELLY
San Diego Chargers
fired Norv Turner, HIRED MIKE McCOY
In MLB news, the Washington Nationals traded outfielder Mike Morse to the Seattle Mariners in a three-team deal that also involved the Oakland A’s. The A’s got catcher John Jaso from Seattle, while the Nats reacquired pitching prospect AJ Cole and minor league pitcher Blake Treinen. The Marlins made a splash, although it was in the kiddie pool by signing infielder Nick Green and outfielder Austin Kearns to minor league contracts, with invitations to spring training. The Fish also signed right-handed reliever Michael Wuertz to a minor league deal. Wuertz was out of baseball last year and last played in the big leagues with Oakland in 2011, where he was released due to a total lack of control on the mound, issuing 7 walks for every 9 innings pitched. Be still my beating heart!
In Yankee news, Derek Jeter has been cleared to start baseball activity as he prepares to return from his broken ankle, and the captain repeated yesterday that he will be in New York’s starting lineup for the opener on April 1. Meanwhile, the surgery on Alex Rodriguez’ left hip went as planned and without any complications, according to the team. A-Rod should be released from the hospital today, and it is expected that a full recovery will take approximately six months. That puts his return to the Yankees in the end of July.
The arbitration process has begun in MLB, with 133 players filing for arbitration. Under the latest labor agreement, 22% of the players with at least twoyears service but less than three years, are eligible. Players and teams are scheduled to exchange salary figures on Friday, with the arbitration hearings taking place next month in Arizona. Of course, most of these cases settle before reaching the arbitrators.
Two articles for today. The first one comes from Buster Olney of ESPN talking about potential trades.
The second article comes from my good friend, David Villavicencio, who talks about all the coaches to reach the NFL via the University of Miami. Great stuff, David.
Dear Santa Claus Tooth Fairy Cupid Easter Bunny Jeffrey Loria and minions:
What do you mean, you still haven’t sold the team? Christmas came and went! The New Year is here!!! What are you waiting for? The Super Bowl? Valentine’s day? Easter? Next year’s HOF election?
Your inept management allowed the Marlins farm system to deteriorate to the point of being horrible, and now have dismantled the major league roster while pissing off the players on the roster and the entire South Florida community. How soon before you get rid of Giancarlo Stanton for another group of so-called prospects? You allow your management to continue the policy of “sell low and buy high”. Please sell the team so we can once again enjoy baseball in Miami.
All kidding aside, your window of opportunity to get out of town is opening up in just a few weeks. 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. Of course, you and your minions have already decided not to field a quality major league roster this coming season, hopefully setting up the sale of the team.
We’ll continue to keep our fingers crossed and light a candle in the meantime.
Here’s the answer to today’s question: The NFL Draft is coming up in April, and we already know that the Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock. How many University of Miami players have been drafted overall by NFL teams, and how many of them went in the first round? How many University of Miami players have been drafted overall by NFL teams, and how many of them went in the first round? A total of 309 UM players have been drafted, 59 of them in the first round, two of them were the first overall pick, Vinny Testaverde by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987, and Russell Maryland by the Dallas Cowboys in 1991.
We continue to wait on the NCAA to publicly notify the University of Miami football and basketball programs with their notice of allegations that will hopefully put an end to the investigation into illegal recruiting activities, illegal payments, and additional infractions. Coaches and personnel that are no longer with the U and working elsewhere will also be answering these allegations specifically. The University has been more than cooperative to this point, with self-imposed penalties and bowl game bans and are hoping that the NCAA, who act as both judge and jury, will be lenient in their handing out of additional sanctions. After the notice of allegations is officially received, the University will have 90 days to respond before an NCAA hearing that would most likely take place in June. After that hearing, the NCAA committee will probably make the total report public, along with the penalties, hopefully by August or September. This could get ugly.
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!
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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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