Monday, March 25, 2013


The consecutive game winning streak is now at 26, after the Miami Heat took care of business this weekend, first beating the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, 103-89, and crushing the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday, 109-77.  LeBron James led the Heat in scoring both games, hitting for 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists on Friday, and then just falling short of a triple-double yesterday, as he finished with 32 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds.  Chris Bosh and Norris Cole added 15 points each in yesterday’s win.  Heat coach Erik Spolstra decided to give Dwyane Wade the night off after he complained of knee soreness before the game, something that the team medical staff considered minor.  The team was definitely ready for a couple of easy games this weekend.  The team hits the road this week, starting tonight in Orlando, against the Magic.  Remember thatthe Magics have given Miami fits this season.  After tonight’s game, they head for Chicago to face the Bulls on Wednesday, then to New Orleans for an encounter with the Hornets Friday night.  On Sunday, they will face what will probably be the biggest hurdle on the way to catching the Laker’s 33-game winning streak, when they face the Spurs in San Antonio.  Tonight’s game is first, and it tips off at 7:00 pm on Sun Sports and NBA-TV at 7:00 pm.  I’ll repeat what I’ve been saying:  The Heat need to stay alert and keep their guard up, because long winning streaks have a tendency to come to an end against teams that you normally wouldn’t and shouldn’t lose to.  That being said, if they get past the Spurs next Sunday, I feel they will set a new record for consecutive wins.  

In the NBA yesterday,

Atlanta 104 Milwaukee 99
Al Horford scored 24 points, Josh Smith finished with 23. 

Houston 96 San Antonio 95
James Harden finished with 29 points, including the game-winning basket with 4.5 seconds left in the contest.
Oklahoma City 103 Portland 83
Kevin Durant scored 24 points, Russell Westbrook had 21 points. 
Chicago 104 Minnesota 97
Nate Robinson led the way with 22 points and 10 assists, Carlos Boozer chipped in with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Dallas 113  Utah 108
Mike James scored a team-high 19 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 17 points in the win.

Brooklyn 102 Phoenix 100
Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Deron Williams had 20 points and 11 assists.

Philadelphia 117 Sacramento 103
Jrue Holiday had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.  Dorell Wright scored 22 points to lead the Sixers to a rare road win.

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:  

Miami @ Orlando 7:00 pm Sun Sports, ESPN
Memphis @ Washington 7:00 pm
Atlanta @ Indiana 7:00 pm
Denver @ New Orleans 8:00 pm
Philadelphia @ Utah 9:00 pm
LA Lakers @ Golden State       10:30 pm

In college hoops, the NCAA tournament is down to the sweet sixteen, and if you have a perfect bracket, you are either lying or you picked the games at random from out of a hat.  In the West Regional, we have the #2 Ohio State, #6 Arizona, #9 Wichita State, and #13 La Salle advancing.  In the Midwest, #1 Louisville, #2 Duke, #3 Michigan State, and #12 Oregon keep on dancing.  In the South Regional, #1 Kansas, #3 Florida, #4 Michigan, and #15 Florida Gulf Coast move on.  The Eastern Regional is the only one that came out as it was seeded, with #1 Indiana, #2 Miami, #3 Marquette, and #4 Syracuse all advancing to the round of sixteen.  My bracket is pretty much a distant memory.  I must say, however, it has been an exciting and very interesting tournament so far. 

The Sweet Sixteen match-ups are as follow: 

THURSDAY’S GAMES (March 28):

West Regional

Ole Miss vs Wichita State

Arizona vs Ohio State

Southeast Regional

Indiana vs Syracuse

Miami vs Marquette

FRIDAY’S GAMES (March 29)

South Regional

Kansas vs Michigan

Florida vs Florida Gulf Coast

Midwest Regional

Louisville vs Oregon

Duke vs Michigan

Here’s the complete Bracket, so you can see what yours and mine DID NOT look like:


TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Most people were anticipating that the State of Florida would be represented by two teams in this year’s Sweet 16, Florida and Miami, but Florida Gulf Coast???  Florida Gulf Coast became the first #15 seed EVER to advance to the Sweet 16 to make it three teams from the state of Florida.  Where in the world is Florida Gulf Coast University?  What is their team nickname?  Tell you later, alligator.

Here are my bracket selections for the tournament, along with where I went wrong.  (Look at it on the bright side - Seven out of my picks to be in the Elite Eight teams are still dancing): 

Sweet Sixteen

Louisville vs St. Louis Oregon

Duke vs Michigan State

Kansas vs VCU Michigan

Florida vs Georgetown Florida Gulf Coast

Ole Miss LaSalle vs Gonzaga Wichita State

Ohio State vs New Mexico Arizona

Indiana vs Syracuse

Marquette vs Miami

Elite Eight

Louisville vs Duke

Ohio State vs Gonzaga

Kansas vs Florida

Miami vs Indiana

Final Four

Louisville vs Ohio State
Miami vs Florida
National Championship game

Louisville vs Miami

National Champions

Louisville

In exhibition baseball, the Marlins lost to the Houston Astros yesterday, 4-1, in a rain-shortened affair.  More importantly, Marlins starting pitcher Jacob Turner got rocked again, giving up 4 runs in 4 2/3 innings before the rains started.  At this point, it is very probable that the 21-year-old Turner will not be in the Marlins‘ starting rotation when the season opens.  The Fish host the Detroit Tigers this afternoon in Jupiter.  Wade LeBlanc will toe the rubber for the Marlins, while Rick Porcello will take the hill for the Tigers.  Game time this afternoon is 1:05 pm, and you can watch it on MLB.TV.  

Here are all the scores from yesterday’s spring training games.  You can “click” on the box scores and the recap under each individual game’s line score.  


Great article in the April 1 issue of ESPN The Magazine.  Take the time to read it to get some real insight into Miguel Cabrera:


ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark talked to Jimmy Rollins, who wants the World Baseball Classic to be played every two years, instead of every four.  I TOTALLY AGREE.  Here’s Stark’s conversation with Rollins:


In Atlanta Braves news, I recently told you to look out for this name:  Evan Gattis.  David O’Brien from the Journal-Constitution fills us in:


The Yankees are in the process of adding some much needed help, as they are putting the finishing touches on a trade with the Angels for outfielder Vernon Wells.  The trade is still not complete, but it should be a done deal later today. Here are all the details from ESPNnewyork.com:


ESPN.com is reporting that Derek Jeter will definitely begin the regular season on the disabled list:


If that wasn’t enough, George King of the New York Post is concerned that Mariano Rivera’s headaches in recent weeks, have been severe migraines.  Here is his report:


In NFL news, the Baltimore Ravens agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Elvis Dumervil.  There is no truth to the rumor that Broncos president John Elway has destroyed all the fax machines in their offices. ESPN.com has the full story:


In college baseball, FIU lost two out of three over the weekend to Western Kentucky, only managing to win yesterday’s game, 5-2.  The Panthers will take on Arkansas State in a three-game series beginning on Friday.  Meanwhile, over in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes fared much better, taking 2 out of 3 against Virginia Tech.  Miami will host Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, before heading to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in a three-game weekend series.  
  
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 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Most people were anticipating that the State of Florida would be represented by two teams in this year’s Sweet 16, Florida and Miami, but Florida Gulf Coast???  Florida Gulf Coast became the first #15 seed EVER to advance to the Sweet 16 to make it three teams from the state of Florida.  Where in the world is Florida Gulf Coast University?  What is their team nickname?   

The university is located in Fort Myers. The Eagles are their name and basketball is, obviously, their game.

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. 

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