The Miami Heat extended their current winning streak to 11 games over the weekend, beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, 114-90. LeBron James had a triple double, 16 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds while Dwyane Wade handled the scoring load with 33 points. On Sunday, not as easy, as Miami blew a 22-point lead and were trailing by eight with 5:16 seconds in the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. D-Wade scored 11 of his 24 points in those final five minutes, and the Heat came out on top, 109-105. LeBron finished with 28 point to lead Miami. The Heat are the first team in the East to reach 40 victories this season, and are sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 40-14 mark. Miami will return to the hardwood tomorrow night, again at the AAA, to take on the Sacramento Kings. They will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, and then travel to New York for a Sunday afternoon encounter with the New York Knicks.
In the rest of the NBA yesterday,
LA Lakers 103 Dallas 99
Kobe Bryant poured in a game-high 38 points, Steve Nash added 20 points. Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 31,000 points in his career.
Golden State 100 Minnesota 99
Jarrett Jack had 23 points and 8 assists, David Lee finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
New Orleans 110 Sacramento 95
Anthony Davis scored 20 points and collected 8 rebounds. Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson had 17 points apiece.
Memphis 76 Brooklyn 72
Zach Randolph finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Marc Gason had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and blocked four shots. The Grizzlies have won seven games in a row.
New York 99 Philadelphia 93
Carmelo Anthony led the way with 29 points, Amare Stoudemire added 22 in the win.
San Antonio 97 Phoenix 87
The Spurs continue to dominate, even though they were playing without Tony Parker. Six Spurs players were in double figures yesterday, as San Antonio completed their “Rodeo” 9-game road trip, winning 7 out of 9. The Spurs have the best record in the NBA, 45-13.
Portland 92 Boston 86
Wesley Matthews scored 24 points, Nicholas Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18and 16 points, respectively.
Oklahoma City 102 Chicago 72
Russell Westbrook had 23 points, Kevin Durant registered 19. Chicago shot a season-low 29% from the floor and the Bulls have now lost 6 out of their last nine.
TONIGHT IN THE NBA:
Washington @ Toronto 7:00 pm
Atlanta @ Detroit 7:30 pm
LA Lakers @ Denver 9:00 pm
Boston @ Utah 9:00 pm NBA-TV
In college hoops, the University of Miami Hurricanes lost their first game in ACC play this season, falling to Wake Forest on Saturday, 80-65. Road games in ACC play are never easy. The Canes lost their first game since Christmas, and will return to action on Wednesday against Virginia Tech here at the BankUnited Center.
The FIU Panthers return to the hardwood on Thursday, in Louisiana-Monroe, against the Warhawks.
In college baseball, both local universities swept their weekend series. Miami swept their 3-game series against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and FIU also used their brooms against Manhattan.
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Not a sports question today. What movie won the Best Picture award in last night’s Oscars? Tell you later, alligator.
The Miami Dolphins and the rest of the teams in the NFL are attending the NFL combine in Indianapolis, where they are getting a real close look at the players that will be available for the NFL draft in April. The Dolphins have five picks in the first three rounds, and general manager Jeff Ireland will be under pressure to make them count. Yesterday, for example, the wide receivers had a chance to show off in front of all the scouts, and a couple of them threatened Chris Johnson’s combine record of a 4.24 time in the 40-yard dash. Tavin Austin from West Virginia ran the 40 in 4.27, while Marquise Goodwin from Texas posted a 4.34. The top-rated wide receiver in the draft, Cordarelle Patterson, ran a 4.42, the sixth fastest time of the day. Many mock drafts have the Dolphins taking him with the 12th selection in the first round, but his stock may be rising. I still see the Dolphins going after a free agent receiver, either Mike Wallace of the Steelers, or Greg Jennings of the Packers. As I have been saying since the end of the season, the Miami Dolphins can make the playoffs next season, with a strong draft and smart spending in the free agent market, where they have plenty of $$$ available under the salary cap. The Dolphins lost four games last season, by less than 6 points, including two overtime losses in games they had multiple chances to win. Playoffs in 2013.
ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson talks about some of the top prospects in the draft, including QB Geno Smith from West Virginia.
In news around the Major League Baseball, the Yankees lost OF Curtis Granderson at least until the middle of May after he suffered a broken forearm after being hit with a pitch on Sunday.
Here’s a good article from Ben Lindbergh on ESPN.com, listing the 10 players who project to be better in 2013 than they were in 2012.
Ryan Braun homered in his first exhibition game at bat yesterday. Here are all the scores from yesterday’s spring training games. You can “click” on the box scores or recap under each individual game’s line score.
I continue with my analysis of all 30 MLB teams as we hit spring training running. Today’s oscar nominees are the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland Athletics.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES 79-83 Mgr. CLint Hurdle
The Pirates almost ended a 20-year streak of ending with a sub-500 record last year, but fell apart at the end. They were aggressive in the off season, signing Russell Martin, pitchers Jeanmar Gomez, Mark Melancon, Jonathan Sanchez, and Vin Mazzaro. Their starting staff was very good last year, led by AJ Burnett, who won 16 games last year. They will also have a new closer this year, Jason Grilli, who replaces Joel Hanrahan. OF Andrew McCutchen is the leader on the field for the Pirates, and he needs to continue to improve. Is this the year they finish over .500?
OAKLAND ATHLETICS 94-68 Mgr. Bob Melvin
After winning the AL West last season, the question is, Can the A’s repeat? They came out of nowhere last season to overtake the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels. The A’s add OF Chris Young, SS Horoyuli Nakajima, C John Jaso, Inf Jed Lowrie, and P Fernando Rodriguez. Gone are P Brandon McCarthy, SS Stephen Drew, and OF Jonny Gomes, among others. Can the bullpen match last season’s success? Will starting pitchers Brett Anderson and Bartolo Colon return healthy and clean. respectively? Will OF Yoenis Cespedes prove to be the real deal in his second MLB season? It’ll be a lot tougher this year for the A’s in the AL West.
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria wrote a “Letter to our Fans” that was published in the three South Florida major newspapers. After you read it, please feel free to comment with your thoughts.
Mr. Loria vows better communication with fans. Here’s the story from Joe Frisaro from MLB.com
THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Not a sports question today. What movie won the Best Picture award in last night’s Oscars?
The Oscar goes to “Argo”, the true story of the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis. Ben Affleck directed and starred in the movie. The winner wasn’t Jeffrey Loria’s “Letter to our Fans”.
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.
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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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