Let’s start off with the NFL playoffs. This past weekend,
SATURDAY
Baltimore Ravens 38 Denver Broncos 35 (2-OT) Den -9.5
The Ravens rallied to tie the game with 31 seconds left in the contest on a 70-yard prayer of a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Jacoby Jones and won it on a Justin Tucker field foal 1:42 into the second overtime period. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who has announced his retirement after this season, will play at least another game. Lewis led the Ravens with 17 tackles in Saturday’s game, played in 13-degree weather in Denver.
San Francisco 49ers 45 Green Bay Packers 31 SF -3
Colin Kaepernick passed for 263 yards and ran for a QB-record 181 yards. He threw two touchdown passes to Michael Crabtree and ran for two other scores. The second-year quarterback made his playoff debut a monster one, and made more impressive when you realize that this was only his eighth NFL start.
SUNDAY
Atlanta Falcons 30 Seattle Seahawks 28
Atl -1
Matt Ryan finally won a playoff game, throwing for 250 yards and three touchdowns, but it took a 49-yard field goal by Matt Bryant with under 10 seconds remaining to give the Falcons the win. The Seahawks erased a 20 point deficit in the second half and took the lead with just over 30 seconds left in the contest. Seattle QB Russell Wilson threw for 385 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 60 yards and another touchdown.
New England Patriots 41 Houston Texans 28
NE -9.5
Tom Brady completed 25-40 passes for 344 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to lead the Patriots to their second straight trip to the AFC Championship game. Brady took over first place in NFL history with 17 postseason victories, breaking a tie with Joe Montana. Under the leadership of Bill Belichick and with Brady at the helm, the Pats are playing in the AFC Championship game for the seventh time.
Thusly, 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 opening odds for these games: San Francisco is favored over Atlanta by 3 1/2 points, while New England is a 9-point favorite over Baltimore. Let’s watch the odds during the week and track any movement.
In Dolphin news, the team will be holding a press conference today to announce the details of a $400 million plan to renovate the Seven Names Stadium. Team owner Stephen Ross will ask state and local governments to help pay for the renovations, which reportedly will include a partial roof and a redesign of the seating configuration to improve the views. These fixes are necessary in order for South Florida to be a player in attracting future Super Bowls and BCS National Championship games.
I’m all for government pitching in with $$$ to renovate the stadium, especially with millions and millions of dollars that Super Bowls and BCS Championship games bring to the South Florida community. However, there is a HUGE difference in this situation and the situation with the Marlins ballpark that will have to be addressed. Stephen Ross is 100% owner of the Seven-Names stadium, while Miami-Dade County owns the baseball park.
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
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
San Diego Chargers
fired Norv Turner
After losing their second game in a row, a 2-point heartbreaker to Portland late Thursday night, the Miami Heat were looking to stop that streak Saturday night in Sacramento against the Kings. Mario Chalmers, who missed what would have been the game-winning 3-point shot at the end of that game in Portland, went nuts on the Kings on Saturday, tying a team record with ten 3-point baskets, scoring a total of 34 points and leading the Heat to an easy 128-99 win over the Kings. The Heat return to the hardwood tonight, in Salt Lake City, against the always-tough Utah Jazz. Another later-than-usual night for Heat fans in South Florida, tipoff is at 9:00 pm, Miami time. The Heat close out their long road trip with back-to-back games against Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, and against the Lakers the next night in Los Angeles.
In the NBA yesterday,
New York 100 New Orleans 87
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 27 points, including 18 in the second quarter. The Knicks had lost three games in a row.
Milwaukee 107 Toronto 96
Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 10 assists for the Bucks, who managed to erase a 20-point first half deficit.
Brooklyn 97 Indiana 86
Deron Williams scored a team-high 22 points, to go with nine assists and 5 rebounds.
San Antonio 106 Minnesota 88
Tony Parker led the way with 20 points and handed out six assists
Denver 116 Golden State 105
21 points for Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson added 20. The Nuggets have won five consecutive games
Oklahoma City 87 Portland 83
Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook had 18 points, nine assists, and 8 rebounds
LA Lakers 113 Cleveland 93
The Lakers stopped a six-game losing streak. Dwight Howard returned to the lineup and had 22 points and 14 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points and had six assists.
TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Miami @ Utah 9:00 pm Sun Sports
Orlando @ Washington 7:00 pm
Charlotte @ Boston 7:30 pm
Atlanta @ Chicago 8:00 pm NBA-TV
LA Clippers @ Memphis 8:00 pm
Minnesota @ Dallas 8:30 pm
Oklahoma City @ Phoenix 9:00 pm
Cleveland @ Sacramento 10:00 pm
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Mario Chalmers' ten 3-point baskets on Saturday night against Sacramento tied a Miami Heat record for 3-point baskets in a game. Two-part question today: Who did he tie for the Heat record, and what is the all-time record in the NBA and who holds the record? Tell you later, alligator.
Slow weekend in baseball, but we heard that MLB and the Player’s Association agreed to add in-season blood testing for HGH (Human Growth Hormones) to determine abnormal levels of testosterone. This is in addition to the already existing guidelines for urine tests for other performance-enhancing substances. Now we can look forward for more players to get caught.
Today’s article of the day comes from FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi, with an in-depth look at SF 49er QB Colin Kaepernick, drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2009 as a pitcher. Good stuff!
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: Mario Chalmers' ten 3-point baskets on Saturday night against Sacramento tied a Miami Heat record for 3-point baskets in a game. Two-part question today: Who did he tie for the Heat record, and what is the all-time record in the NBA and who holds the record? Chalmers now shares the Heat all-time record with Brian Shaw, who did it in 1993. The NBA record for 3-pointers in a game is 12, and the record is shared by Donyell Marshall (2005) and Kobe Bryant (2003).
In UM news, expect 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!
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment