Don’t forget to catch my fearless predictions for 2013 in tomorrow’s blog.  You may want to write them down.

The Miami Heat trailed the Dallas Mavericks by six points with 3 minutes left in the game last night.  Miami was able to extend the game to overtime, and beat the Mavs by the score of 119-109, thanks to a 25-9 spurt to close out the game.  LeBron James had 32 points, Dwyane Wade had 27, Chris Bosh added 17, and Ray Allen came off the bench and scored 15 points.  The Heat are off today and hit the court again tomorrow night when they host the Chicago Bulls and then welcome the Washington Wizards to the AAA on Sunday.  The Heat have the best record in the Eastern Conference, 22-8.     

In the rest of the NBA yesterday,

Sacramento 97 Cleveland 94

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 18 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists

Indiana 89 Washington 81

29 points and 14 boards for Paul George

Chicago 96 Orlando 94

Carlos Boozer scored 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds

Toronto 102 Portland 79

Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 26 points

Memphis 93 Boston 83

The Celtics have lost 4 consecutive games to fall three games below .500

Houston 104 New Orleans 92

James Harden scored 31 points and dished out seven assists

San Antonio  117 Milwaukee 110

Old Man Time, Tim Duncan, led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds

Brooklyn 110 Oklahoma City 93

Joe Johnson scored 33 points, Brook Lopez added 25

Phoenix 95 Philadelphia 89

Luis Scola had 21 points and distributed 9 assists

Utah 106 Minnesota 84
Gordon Hayward led six Utah players in double figures with 17 points

Golden State 115 LA Clippers 94

Stephen Curry finished with 31 points,  6 rebounds and eight assists; David Lee added 24 points and collected 13 rebounds.  After winning 17 consecutive games, the Clips have lost two in a row.

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:  

San Antonio @ New York 7:30 pm

Minnesota @ Denver 9:00 pm

In NFL news, Ray Lewis, who many consider one of the greatest, if not the greatest, linebacker ever to play the game, told his Baltimore Raven teammates that he will retire after this postseason.  Lewis, who played his college ball at the University of Miami, has spent his entire career with the Ravens.  

  

The list of casualties in the NFL is as follows:

Arizona Cardinals fired Ken Whisenhunt

Buffalo Bills fired Chan Gailey

Chicago Bears fired Lovie Smith

Cleveland Browns fired Pat Schurmur

Kansas City Chiefs fired Romeo Crennel

Philadelphia Eagles fired Andy Reid

San Diego Chargers fired Norv Turner

Of course, since recycling is the norm in the NFL, Andy Reid is expected to join the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Browns are talking to Ken Whisenhunt, and Lovie Smith could be headed to Buffalo.  Don’t be surprised if the Detroit Lions and even the Dallas Cowboys also make changes in their respective coaching staffs. Norv Turner may be headed to New York to take over the offensive coordinator position with the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets.  He would replace Tony Sparano, who reportedly (surprise, surprise) will not be returning to Rex Ryan’s staff.  

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Miami Dolphins were not the first professional football team in Miami.  The Miami Seahawks played in the All-America Football Conference in 1946 before becoming what team?  Tell you later, alligator.

Playoffs kick off this weekend in the NFL:    

SATURDAY

Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston Texans     Hou -4.5

4:30 pm NBC - Ch. 6

Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers       GB -9.5

8:00 pm NBC - Ch. 6

Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens       Bal -6.5

1:00 pm CBS - Ch. 4

Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Redskins             Was +3

4:30 pm FOX - Ch. 7

The Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots are enjoying a first round bye in the AFC, while the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers have the bye in the NFC.

Today’s article of the day comes from ESPN’s David Schoenfield, who talks about cheaters and the hall of fame. http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/31831/gaylord-perry-cheaters-and-the-hall

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? Valentine’s day? Easter? 

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.  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, 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.  Who will be next to go?  Stanton?  Nolasco?  Of course, you and your minions have chosen 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. 

In college football last night, #21 Louisville surprised the #3 Florida Gators, beating them in the Sugar Bowl Classic, 33-23.  Miami Northwestern High School product Teddy Bridgewater threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns.  Tonight, #4 Oregon takes on #5 Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl in what promises to be an offensive display.  Kickoff is at 8:30 pm and you can watch the game on ESPN.   

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

December 26

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL

Central Michigan 24 Western Kentucky 21

December 27

MILITARY BOWL-PRESENTED BY NORTHROP GRUMMAN

#24 San Jose State 29 Bowling Green 20

BELK BOWL

Cincinnati 48 Duke 34

BRIDGEPOINT EDUCATION HOLIDAY BOWL

Baylor 49 #17 UCLA 26

Friday, December 28

ADVOCARE V100 INDEPENDENCE BOWL

Ohio 45 Louisiana-Monroe 14

RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL

Virginia Tech 13 Rutgers 10  (OT)

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL OF TEXAS

Texas Tech 34 Minnesota 31

Saturday, December 29

BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL

Rice 33 Air Force 14

NEW ERA PINSTRIPE BOWL

Syracuse 38 West Virginia 14

KRAFT FIGHT HUNGER BOWL

Arizona State 62 Navy 28

VALERO ALAMO BOWL

#23 Texas 31 #13 Oregon State 27

BUFFALO WILD WINGS BOWL

Michigan State 17 TCU 16

Monday, December 31

FRANKLIN AMERICAN MORTGAGE MUSIC CITY BOWL

Vanderbilt 38 North Carolina State 24

HYUNDAY SUN BOWL

Georgia Tech 21 USC 7

AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL

Tulsa 31 Iowa State 17

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL

#14 Clemson 25 #8 LSU 24

Tuesday, January 1

TAXSLAYER.COM GATOR BOWL

#20 Northwestern 34 Mississippi State 20

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL

Oklahoma State 58 Purdue 14

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

#7 Georgia 45 #16 Nebraska 31

OUTBACK BOWL

#10 South Carolina 33 #18 Michigan 28

ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO

#6 Stanford 20 Wisconsin 14

DISCOVER ORANGE BOWL

#12 Florida State 31 #15 Northern Illinois 10

Wednesday, January 2

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL

#21 Louisville 33 #3 Florida 23

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

As far as FIU is concerned, no news out of the Westchester campus regarding a new coach.  Something needs to happen pretty quickly, although the Miami Herald is reporting that some FIU staffers have been told not to expect anything for 7 to 10 days.  Recruiting is all about timing, and, for example, tomorrow is the last day of the Dead Period, where no coach-initiated contact with potential recruits is allowed.  Friday begins a three-day “quiet period”, where any contact can only take place on campus.  Monday, the full-fledged recruiting period begins and runs through February 3rd.  February 4th through the 7th is another Dead Period, until National Signing Day on February 6th.  I’m still sticking to my previous post that Butch Davis is the guy, regardless of all the denials that we’ve heard.

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Miami Dolphins were not the first professional football team in Miami.  The Miami Seahawks played in the All-America Football Conference in 1946 before becoming what team?  The Miami Seahawks became the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts, although those Colts were not related to the NFL team that played in Baltimore from 1953-1983, and are now the Indianapolis Colts.    

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.