The stage is set for the Super Bowl after a couple of good Conference Championship games yesterday. It will be a Super Bowl that only a mother wouldn’t love, as the Ravens‘ John Harbaugh and the 49ers‘ Jim Harbaugh will face each other on February 3rd.
San Francisco 49ers 28 Atlanta Falcons 24
The 49ers are going back to the Super Bowl for the sixth time, and first time since 1994. Frank Gore scored two touchdowns in the second half and San Francisco came back against Atlanta, holding them scoreless in the second half of the game. By the way, the 49ers are 5-0 and will be trying to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with six Super Bowl championships.
Baltimore Ravens 28 New England Patriots 13
Ray Lewis will have the chance to retire on top as the Ravens scored 21 unanswered points in the second half of the game to reach their first Super Bowl in 12 years. Joe Flacco connected on three touchdown passes, two of them to Anquan Boldin. The Patriots’ Tom Brady was 67-0 when his team was leading at halftime. That streak is now a memory, as they were also shut out in the second half.
The opening Las Vegas odds have the 49ers as 4-point favorites to win the Super Bowl over the Ravens. The over-under on total points scored is 48 1/2. Those numbers will most likely change over the next two weeks before the game. The least-interesting, least attended, and least watched of all the all star games, the NFL Pro Bowl, will be played in Hawaii this coming Sunday.
Thanks again to Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez for joining me on my NFL picks this past Friday on my radio segment. Fredi and I both took the Ravens plus the 8 1/2 points, and we both pushed on the 49ers and Falcons. He took the 49ers -4, I went with the Falcons +4.
All the seats are now taken in the NFL coaching carousel:
Arizona Cardinals
fired Ken Whisenhunt, HIRED BRUCE ARIANS
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 HIRED GUS BRADLEY
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
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION (and a bit of history): The first Super Bowl (originally not named the Super Bowl) was played on January 15, 1967. The Super Bowl came to be when the NFL and the AFL agreed to merge in 1966, a merger that would take effect in 1970. The owners originally named the game the “AFL-NFL Championship Game”. KC Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt originally coined the name Super Bowl in a letter he sent to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Obviously, the name stuck. What two teams participated in the first “Super Bowl”? Who won the game? Who was the game’s MVP? Tell you later, alligator.
The Miami Heat are off until Wednesday when they welcome the Toronto Raptors to the AAA. They’ve been busy, however, and the team announced yesterday the signing of 6’10” forward/center Chris “The Birdman” Andersen to a 10-day contract. This guy, comes with a lot of excess baggage along with the most tattoos on any player in the NBA. He was barred from the league for just over two years because of substance-abuse issues, and had his home in Colorado searched last May as part of an investigation into what was described as Internet-related crimes against children. He was excused from team activities by Denver and subsequently waived by the Nuggets last July.
''There has been an investigation and I have cooperated fully with the authorities in Denver,'' Andersen said. ''I am not the target of the investigation and no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed against me. I'm grateful for this opportunity that the Miami Heat has given me." Bottom line, he has 10 days to prove himself.
In the NBA yesterday,
Toronto 108 LA Lakers 103
Jose Calderon had 22 points and nine assists.
Dallas 111 Orlando 105
Shawn Marion led the Mavs with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Seven Maverick players scored in double figures.
Detroit 103 Boston 88
Greg Monroe had 15 points and 11 rebounds
Denver 121 Oklahoma City 118 (OT)
It is tough to win in Denver, even for the Thunder, who saw their six-game winning streak come to a screeching halt in the Mile High City. Corey Brewer led the Nuggets with 26 points.
TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Indiana @ Memphis 1:00 pm ESPN
Sacramento @ New Orleans 1:00 pm
Houston @ Charlotte 2:00 pm
Minnesota @ Atlanta 2:00 pm
Brooklyn @ New York 3:30 pm NBA-TV
LA Clippers @ Golden State 4:00 pm
San Antonio @ Philadelphia 7:00 pm TNT
LA Lakers @ Chicago 9:30 pm TNT
Washington @ Portland 10:30 pm
An awful weekend in the world of baseball. Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Earl Weaver, as well as the most influential coach ever in college baseball, UM’s Ron Fraser, all passed away this weekend. Musial’s career numbers and lifetime achievements speak for themselves, as do Weaver’s results as one of the best managers of all time. Nobody had more influence on college baseball than Coach Fraser had while coaching at the University of Miami.
Today’s article comes from Buster Olney of ESPN who rates the top ten starting rotations in the history of MLB. (Hint: #7 and #9 on his list should have been ranked higher)
Dear Santa Claus Tooth Fairy Cupid Easter Bunny Jeffrey Loria and minions:
What do you mean, you still haven’t sold the team? You’re still 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 first Super Bowl (originally not named the Super Bowl) was played on January 15, 1967. The Super Bowl came to be when the NFL and the AFL agreed to merge in 1966, a merger that would take effect in 1970. The owners originally named the game the “AFL-NFL Championship Game”. KC Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt originally coined the name Super Bowl in a letter he sent to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Obviously, the name stuck. What two teams participated in the first “Super Bowl”? Who won the game? Who was the game’s MVP? The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 to win the first one. Packer QB Bart Starr was named the game’s most valuable player.
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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