My focus turns to New Orleans this Sunday, when the Crescent City hosts its tenth Super Bowl, the first since Hurricane Katrina tried to wipe NOLA of the face of the earth. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have established the San Francisco 49ers as a 3 1/2-point favorite over the Baltimore Ravens. Interesting note to remember, however, is that only one of the previous nine games held in New Orleans have ended with a winning margin of under 10 points. The over-under on total points scored is now down to 47 and the opening lines were 5 points and over/under of 49. Game time is Sunday at 6:30 pm, and the endless number of pre-game shows started some time last week. You can watch the game and the commercials on CBS, Channel 4 in South Florida.
A lot has been written and said about SF quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and the fact that he only has nine starts under his belt. In a game of this magnitude, it may not be a bad thing to come in a little bit naive. If the 49ers have a weakness it is in their wide receivers, but they do have some weapons in Michael Crabtree, tight end Vernon Davis, Randy Moss, and they even have former Dolphin bust Ted Ginn Jr. Frank Gore is a stud running back and the added threat of Kaepernick and the spread option scheme has made Gore even better. Can the Ravens defense that has come to life in the last few games continue to play at this high level for Ray Lewis’ last game? The rest of the league is going to be watching to see if the Baltimore defense comes up with an answer to the spread option. This defense historically has had the ability to come up with the big plays, so you need to look out for the Ed Reed factor.
The defensive line of the 49ers is as good as they come, and their linebackers are probably the best group in the NFL, but they have given up an average of 28 points per game in four playoff games the last two seasons. They will try to put the pressure on Joe Flacco by limiting running backs Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce, but these guys are smash-mouth, in-your-face runners. Flacco is playing with a chip on his shoulder and has shown the ability to play well in big games. He will connect on some big plays to his very talented group of wide receivers, Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Jacoby Jones and tight end Dennis Pitta, but will it be enough? This game may come down to the kickers, where the Ravens seem to have the edge. I will be rooting loudly for the Ravens, and I do like Baltimore and the 3 1/2 points. My pick: Ravens 24-21.
In today’s featured articles, FOX Sports brings us two slide shows:
The top ten Super Bowl plays of all time:
The top ten Surprise Super Bowl stars:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Both the SF 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens are unbeaten in their Super Bowl appearances, San Francisco is 5-0 and Baltimore is 1-0. Who are the other three teams that are unbeaten in their Super Bowl games? Tell you later, alligator.
The Miami Heat take on the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis tonight. The Heat come in to tonight’s game having won five of their last six games, after losing three of their previous four. The Pacers beat the Heat in Indianapolis on January 8th, 87-77. Indiana outrebounded Miami by a 55-36 margin, and the Heat will definitely need to improve on those numbers. The Pacers have beaten Miami in their last two regular-season encounters after Miami had won the previous five games against Indiana. The Pacers have won 12 consecutive games at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Game time tonight is at 7:00 pm, and you can watch the game on Sun Sports or on ESPN. The Heat will conclude this 4-game road trip with a game in Toronto against the Raptors on Super Bowl Sunday at 2:00 pm. Hope LeBron and his teammates have DVR's.
In the rest of the NBA yesterday,
Oklahoma City 106 Memphis 89
Kevin Durant scored 27 points and Russell Westbrook added 21.
Golden State 100 Dallas 97
Klay Thompson led the way with 27 points, David Lee had 15 points, 20 rebounds, and nine assists.
TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Miami @ Indiana 7:00 pm Sun Sports, ESPN
LA Clippers @ Toronto 7:00 pm
Orlando @ Boston 7:30 pm
Chicago @ Brooklyn 7:30 pm
Milwaukee @ New York 7:30 pm
Sacramento @ Philadelphia 7:30 pm
Cleveland @ Detroit 7:30 pm
Washington @ Memphis 8:00 pm
New Orleans @ Denver 9:00 pm
Portland @ Utah 9:00 pm
Dallas @ Phoenix 9:00 pm
LA Lakers @ Minnesota 9:30 pm ESPN
In college hoops, the FIU basketball team blew a 17-point halftime lead and lost to Middle Tennessee 66-64 on a last second shot by Hialeah High product Shawn Jones. FIU will host Louisiana-Monroe tomorrow night at the US Century Bank Arena.
The University of Miami also return to the hardwood tomorrow night. The #14 Canes are in Raleigh where they will take on #19 North Carolina State. You can watch this game on CBS, Channel 4 in Miami, starting at 4:00 pm.
MLB is kicking up their investigation of the latest performance-enhancing drug scandal, of course, based in South Florida. In case you missed them, here are the original articles as published in the Miami New Times:
In related news, today we hear that A-Rod does not plan to retire and has every intention to play out the remaining five years of his contract with the Yankees. Here’s the article from Yahoo! Sports: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--alex-rodriguez-doesn-t-intend-to-retire-204613665.html
We again want to congratulate the Marlins ownership for causing us to lose out on another All Star game. Everyone had their sights set on getting the 2015 midsummer classic, but thanks to the dismantling of the team this winter, MLB has again decided to punish Miami and will award the 2015 game to Cincinnati. If this sounds familiar to you all, it should. We were supposed to also host the 2000 All Star game, but after the 1998 dismantling of the 1997 world championship team, MLB also dissed South Florida.
Dear Santa Claus Tooth Fairy Cupid Easter Bunny Jeffrey Loria and minions:
You guys are still here? What do you mean, you still haven’t sold the team? 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. This latest dismantling now cost Miami the 2015 All-Star game. You really didn’t think that MLB would award you the game after this offseason, did you?
How soon before you get rid of Giancarlo Stanton for another group of so-called prospects, as you continue to allow your management to “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: Both the SF 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens are unbeaten in their Super Bowl appearances, San Francisco is 5-0 and Baltimore is 1-0. Who are the other three teams that are unbeaten in their Super Bowl games?
The New Orleans Saints, the New York Jets, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers all won their only Super Bowl games.
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. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND ENJOY YOUR SUPER BOWL PARTY!
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