Tuesday, April 30, 2013


The Miami Heat are waiting for the winner of the Chicago-Brooklyn series, and that series may be getting interesting.  Last night, the Nets beat the Bulls 105-91.  Brook Lopez finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Deron Williams had his usual solid game, 23 points and 10 assists.  The series is now 3-2 in favor of the Bulls, with game six scheduled for Thursday, in Chicago.  Personally, I’m rooting for the Nets.

In the other first round games yesterday,

Atlanta 102 Indiana 91 Series tied at 2-2
29 points and 11 rebounds for Josh Smith.  Kyle Korver scored 19 points off the bench and Al Horford contributed with 18 points.  

Houston 105 Oklahoma City 103 Thunder lead series 3-1
Chandler Parsons tallied 27 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists as the Rockets staved off elimination and live to play on at least another day.

TONIGHT

Golden State @ Denver 8:00 pm TNT
Game 5 Warriors lead series 3-1

Memphis @ LA Clippers 10:30 pm TNT
Game 5 Series tied 2-2

WEDNESDAY

Boston @ New York 7:00 pm TNT
Game 5 Knicks lead series 3-1

Atlanta @ Indiana 8:00 pm NBA-TV
Game 5 Series tied 2-2

Houston @ Oklahoma City 9:30 pm TNT

Game 5 Series tied 2-2

NBA player Jason Collins, a 14-year veteran who this past season played for the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards, came out and declared he is gay.  Here is the story from ESPN:


Greg Cote of the Miami Herald shares his comments:


My thoughts:  It took a whole lot of courage for Collins to come out and make this public.  Hopefully, he is ready to face a lot of ignorance and bigotry that will come alongside all the praise and support.  I am sure that there are a number of players in all professional leagues that are gay and are afraid to come out, and this may help them.  It has to be very difficult for them to carry this load inside of them and not be able to tell everyone.  This, however, is nothing like Jackie Robinson integrating baseball.  Times were different back then, and Jackie and the Brooklyn Dodgers were opposed by a great majority of people, both inside the clubhouse, in the stadiums, and all around the country, and everyone knew he was black.  Although Collins will undoubtedly face a lot of bigotry and ignorance, society in general will probably be more accepting than what they were back in the 1940’s and 1950’s to Jackie Robinson and the rest of the black players that immediately followed.  

The great pitching matchup yesterday at Marlins Park as Jose Fernandez squared off against Matt Harvey of the Mets just didn’t pan out.  The Fish still aren’t hitting, thus, not providing any support for their starters.  Fernandez, who is on an 85-pitch pitch count this season, was taken out of the game after four innings, and was allowed, again inexplicably, to hit for himself with two outs and runners on first and second in the bottom of the fourth.  John Buck homered for the Mets in the fourth inning to give the Mets a 2-1 lead, and the bullpens were great until the ninth, when the Marlins pushed across the tying run after a leadoff double by Justin Ruggiano, a bloop single by Rob Brantly put runners on the corners with nobody out.  Ruggiano scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Green, but Chris Coghlan ended the threat by grounding into a double play.  The game remained tied until the top of the 15th, when Ruben Tejada’s infield single gave the Mets the lead 3-2.  With one out in the bottom of the 15th, Greg Dobbs singled.  Ruggiano walked, and Rob Brantly hit an RBI single to tie the game.  Nick Green followed with his second sacrifice fly of the game, and that’s the ballgame...everything’s well that ends well.  Marlins win 4-3, and have won consecutive games for the first time since Oct 1 and 2 of last year.  Here are the pitching match-ups for the rest of the series against the Metropolitans:

Tonight 7:10 pm Jeremy Hefner vs Kevin Slowey
Wednesday    12:40 pm Dillon Gee vs Wade LeBlanc 

The Fish are still bringing up the rear in MLB in runs scored, with a grand total of 71 runs in their first 26 games.  I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list.  At this point, I am not very optimistic about this list not being a permanent part of this blog. 

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 7-19             71
Dodgers           12-13              82
White Sox        10-14              83
Cubs               10-15              85
Padres 9-16               88

In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,

Braves 3 Nationals 2
Andrelton Simmons drove in the tie-breaking run in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly.  The Braves have now beaten the Nationals eight times in a row, dating back to last season.

Cubs 5 Padres 3
Scott Hairston and Cody Ransom hit back-to-back homers in the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie.  

Brewers 10 Pirates 4
Five Brewers left the park - Jean Segura, Norichica Aoki, Carlos Gomez, Yunieski Betancourt, and starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo.

Reds 2 Cardinals 1
Mat Latos threw 6 shutout innings, Aroldis Chapman came in and shut the door in the ninth to record his sixth save.  

Giants 6 D-Backs 4
Brandon Belt hit a tie-breaking, two-run single in the eighth inning.  Belt also homered earlier in the game

Rockies 12 Dodgers 2
Wilin Rosario hit a three-run homer, Nolan Arenado connected with a runner on, and Dexter Fowler led off the game with a homer.

Over in the American League:

Astros 9 Yankees 1
Carlos Corporan had four hits, including a home run as Houston pounded Andy Pettitte for seven runs and ten hits.  Brandon Barnes had three hits and drove in three runs.

Indians 9 Royals 0
Ubaldo Jimenez pitched into the eighth inning, Ryan Rayburn went 4-4 with two home runs and finished with 4 RBI.  Jason Kipnis also connected long distance.

Tigers 4 Twins 3
Prince Fielder’s three-run homer in the sixth inning was the difference in the ballgame.  

Mariners 6         Orioles 2
Joe Saunders pitched the complete game, allowing just two runs and four hits.  Michael Saunders connected long distance in the win.  

A’s 10 Angels 8 (19 innings)
Brandon Moss’ two run homer in the bottom of the 19th inning, his second dinger of the game ended the affair.  The Angels have lost six of eight. 

Today’s games, first in the National League:

Nationals @ Braves 7:05 pm
Stephen Strasburg vs Julio Teheran

Padres @ Cubs 8:05 pm
Clayton Richard vs eff Samardzija

Pirates @ Brewers 8:10 pm
Wandy Rodriguez vs Yovani Gallardo

Reds @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Mat Latos vs Adam Wainwright

Giants @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Matt Cain vs Ian Kennedy

Rockies @ Dodgers 10:10 pm
Tyler Chatwood vs Ted Lilly

Over in the American League:

Astros @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Philip Humber vs Hiroki Kuroda

Phillies @ Indians 7:05 pm
Roy Halladay vs Zach McAllister

Red Sox @ Blue Jays 7:07 pm
Jon Lester vs Brandon Morrow

Twins @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Vance Worley vs Justin Verlander

White Sox @ Rangers 8:05 pm
Jose Quintana vs Yu Darvish

Rays @ Royals 8:10 pm
Alex Cobb vs James Shields

Angels @ A’s       10:05 pm
Garrett Richards vs Jarrod Parker

Orioles @ Mariners       10:10 pm
Jason Hammel vs Brandon Maurer

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  Let’s stay on home runs.  Who is the oldest player to ever hit a home run in the major leagues?  Who is the youngest player to connect long distance in the majors?  Tell you later, alligator.  

David Schoenfield of ESPN.com gives out his April grades in the National League:


Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


In college baseball this weekend, FIU will take on Florida Gulf Coast in a doubleheader on Wednesday, and will travel to Troy, Alabama to take on Troy in a weekend series.  The University of Miami welcome St. Johns to Coral Gables this weekend for a three-game series.

Here is the web site for all the latest in High School Baseball - 


Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:


Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio 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:  Let’s stay on home runs.  Who is the oldest player to ever hit a home run in the major leagues?  Who is the youngest player to connect long distance in the majors?          

Tommy Brown was 17 years, 257 days old when he homered for the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 20, 1945.  You may remember the oldest player - Julio Franco, was 48 years 254 days old when he left the yard on May 4th 2007 while playing for the New York Mets.

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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Monday, April 29, 2013


The Miami Heat finished off the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday 88-77, sweeping the opening-round series. Believe it or not, this was the first playoff sweep in the Big Three Era, and they won all four games by 11 points or more.  Playing without Dwyane Wade yesterday, the Heat were led by, who else, LeBron James, who finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.  Ray Allen added 16 points, and Udonis Haslem contributed with 13 points.  The Heat will now rest until probably next weekend, when they would open their second-round series against either the Brooklyn Nets or the Chicago Bulls.  In the other first round games yesterday,

Boston 97 New York 90 OT Knicks lead series 3-1
The Celtics postponed what looks to be the inevitable by holding off the Knicks.  Paul Pierce scored 29 points, but it was Jason Terry with the key baskets, as he scored the last 9 points for the Celtics.

San Antonio 103 LA Lakers 82 Spurs win series, 4-0
Tony Parker had 23 points as the Spurs completed the series sweep.  In his final game before becoming an unrestricted free agent, Dwight Howard scored seven points before getting ejected early in the third quarter after two technical fouls for arguing.  He's such a class act.

Golden State 115 Denver 101 Warriors lead series 3-1
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points, including 22 in the third quarter.  Jarrett Jack had 21 points and nine assists.

TONIGHT

Chicago @ Brooklyn 7:00 pm TNT
Game 5 Bulls lead series 3-1
Indiana @ Atlanta 7:30 pm NBA-TV
Game 4 Pacers lead series 2-1

Oklahoma City @ Houston   9:30 pm TNT
Game 4 Thunder lead series 3-0

TUESDAY

Golden State @ Denver 8:00 pm TNT
Game 5 Warriors lead series 3-1

Memphis @ LA Clippers 10:30 pm TNT
Game 5 Series tied 2-2

The NFL Draft is over, and the Dolphins and their GM, Jeff Ireland, are very happy with what they were able to do this weekend.  In all honesty, all teams feel the same way after the draft.  Once training camps open, we’ll be able to see more, and the first true test is when the Fins kick off the exhibition season in the Hall of Fame game against the Dallas Cowboys on August 4th.  I’m not going to sit here and give them, or any other team, for that matter, a “grade”.  You don’t know what you’re getting until the players take the field and play for a season.    

My commentary:  Credit where credit is due.  They felt very strongly about Dion Jordan, and they went out and got their man, not overpaying for swapping their #12 for Oakland’s #3.  They also strengthened the defensive backfield with three very fast and athletic DB’s, added a linebacker with excellent cover skills, a solid offensive line talent, and one of the nation’s best kickers.  They are still going to have to make some finishing touches on the offensive side of the ball, especially the offensive line.  

Here are the Dolphin picks in this year’s draft.  Click on their names for a scouting report, and my comments are right below their name, as well.

ROUND NAME POS. SCHOOL

1 Dion Jordan OLB Oregon
Rated by many as the most dominant pass rusher in the draft, and has the ability to drop back into pass coverage.  At 6’6” and 250 lbs, he is a Jason Taylor clone.  Teamed with Cameron Wake, that is one very good pash-rushing combo.  

2 Jamar Taylor CB Boise State
Key player in a Boise State defense that only allowed four passing touchdowns all year.  Not afraid to attack the line of scrimmage, very fast, very athletic, and very strong.

3 Dallas Thomas OG Tennessee
Playing in the very difficult SEC, his Tennessee team only gave up a total of eight sacks in 2012.  Played OT in 2010 and 2011, and at G in 2012.

3 Will Davis CB Utah State
Very athletic and very fast as well, and a real playmaker on defense.  

4 Jelani Jenkins OLB Florida
One of the better cover linebackers in this draft.  Injuries took a toll last season, including hamstring, broken foot, and broken thumb.  Could be one of the steals in the draft. 

4 Dion Sims TE Michigan State
Doesn’t have game-breaking speed, but is a clutch receiver, as 29 out of his 36 receptions last season went for first downs or touchdowns and a very good blocker as well.

5 Mike Gillislee RB Florida
Ran for 1,152 yards on 244 carries with 10 touchdowns.  Could battle for playing time behind Jamar Miller this season.  Good receiver out of the backfield, pretty good blocker as well.  

5 Caleb Sturgis PK Florida
Connected on 24 of 28 field goals in 2012, including all three of his attempts from 50-plus yards.  In his career at Florida, he hit on 70 out of 88 field goals, was 62-75 inside of 50 yards, and was 8-13 from beyond 49 yards.  Will give Dan Carpenter a run for his money in training camp and in the preseason.

7 Don Jones S Arkansas State
Numbers don’t lie - 4.39 40-yd dash, 44-inch vertical leap, 17 bench-press reps at 225 pounds, and is considered one of the best special-teams players in this year’s draft.

In my pre-draft blog last Thursday, I gave you Jamar Taylor and Dallas Thomas as Dolphin picks in my mock draft, told you they would draft a running back in the middle rounds, as well as a kicker, and a linebacker.  Overall, a good draft for the Dolphins.

Here is the division-by-division analysis of the draft, starting with the AFC East.  You can find the other divisions in links in the article:


Mel Kiper’s grades for every team:


From the Miami Herald, Armando Salguero’s focus now shifts from GM Jeff Ireland to Head coach Joe Philbin and QB Ryan Tannehill:


After drafting QB Geno Smith in the second round of the NFL Draft, the New York Jets today released QB Tim Tebow.  Mark Sanchez could be next.


Let’s go to baseball.  Finally, a win for the Marlins over the Cubs.  After losing the first three games this weekend, the Fish got two home runs yesterday from the Man-Child, Giancarlo Stanton, and they beat the Cubbies 6-4.  Nick Green added a solo homer, and Ricky Nolasco evened his record at 2-2, giving up 3 runs and only four hits in seven innings of work.  The Marlins now welcome the Mets for a three game series.  Here are the pitching match-ups for the series against the Metropolitans:

Today 7:10 pm Matt Harvey vs Jose Fernandez
Tuesday 7:10 pm Jeremy Hefner vs Kevin Slowey
Wednesday    12:40 pm Dillon Gee vs Wade LeBlanc 

The Fish are still bringing up the rear in MLB in runs scored, with a grand total of 67 runs in their first 25 games.  I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list.  At this point, I am not very optimistic about this list not being a permanent part of this blog. 

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 6-19             67
Dodgers         12-12            80
Cubs 9-15            80
White Sox       10-14            83
Padres 9-15            85

By the way, the Marlins are also last in the majors in home runs (12), and last in team batting average (.220).  

In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,

Phillies 5 Mets 1
The Phillies swept the three-game series at Citi Field.  Ryan Howard’s two run double in the seventh inning broke a 1-1 tie.

Reds 5 Nationals 2 
Tony Cingrani had 11 strikeouts in six shutout innings.  Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart each drove in a pair of runs.  Aroldis Chapman registered his fifth save of the season.

Pirates 9 Cardinals 0
Russell Martin hit two home runs, Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones also connected long distance in the win.  

D-Backs 4 Rockies 2
Arizona took three out of four against the Rockies.  

Padres 6 Giants 4
Chase Headley went 3-3 and had one of three San Diego home runs.  Alexi Amarista and Nick Hundley also went yard for the Padres, who swept the three-game series against the Giants.

Dodgers 2 Brewers 0
Carl Crawford accounted for all the runs with two home runs.  Clayton Kershaw threw eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts, before handing the ball to closer Brandon League, who notched his eighth save of the season.

Over in the American League:

Yankees 3 Blue Jays 2
Lyle Overbay blasted a two-run, go-ahead homer in the seventh inning.  Brennan Boesch also homered for the Yankees, who came from behind in every game this series sweep.

Red Sox 6 Astros 1
Stephen Drew and David Ortiz each drove in two runs.  The Red Sox swept the Astros and have the best record in the Major Leagues at 18-7.

Rays 8 White Sox 3
Ben Zobrist went 3-5 with two RBI, and Matt Joyce hit a two-run homer.  David Price finally picked up his first win of the season.

Royals 9 Indians 0 (Game 1)
Indians 10 Royals 3 (Game 2)
Jeremy Guthrie improved his record to 3-0 this season in game 1, and is 8-0 over his last 16 starts, including last year.  In game 2,
Mike Aviles homered and finished with five RBI.  

Twins 5 Rangers 0
Justin Morneau hit a two-run homer in support of Kevin Correia, who threw eight shutout innings.

A’s 9 Orioles 8 (10)
Eric Sogard scored the winning run in the tenth.  Yoenis Cespedes sent the game into extra innings with a two-run homer in the ninth.

Mariners 2 Angels 1
Michael Morse crushed a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a 1-1 tie.  Seattle took three out of four in the series, as the Angels were 0-17 with runners in scoring position for the series. 

Tigers 8 Braves 3
Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson connected three-run homers and Omar Infante also went yard.  

Today’s games, first in the National League:

Nationals @ Braves 7:05 pm
Stephen Strasburg vs Julio Teheran

Padres @ Cubs 8:05 pm
Clayton Richard vs eff Samardzija

Pirates @ Brewers 8:10 pm
Wandy Rodriguez vs Yovani Gallardo

Reds @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Mat Latos vs Adam Wainwright

Giants @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Matt Cain vs Ian Kennedy

Rockies @ Dodgers 10:10 pm
Tyler Chatwood vs Ted Lilly

Over in the American League:

Astros @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Lucas Harrell vs Andy Pettitte

Twins @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Mike Pelfrey vs Max Scherzer

Indians @ Royals 8:10 pm
Ubaldo Jimenez vs Wade Davis

Angels @ A’s                 10:05 pm
Tommy Hanson vs Dan Straily

Orioles @ Mariners         10:10 pm
Zach Britton vs Joe Saunders

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  20-year-old Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper hit his ninth home run of the season yesterday, and is now seventh all-time in home runs before his 21st birthday, with 31.  Who’s number 1?  Tell you later, alligator.  

There was a very ugly incident in Tampa yesterday, between Cy Young winner David Price and home plate umpire Tom Hallion.  I believe David Price.  Umpires still believe that they are the reason why people go to baseball games:


After losing pitcher Ivan Nova and catcher Francisco Cervelli to injuries, the Yankees may also have to add another player to the DL:


The Dodgers got some good news regarding Hanley Ramirez, but bad news on their Cuban prospect Yasiel Puig:


In other California news, the Angels are not enjoying their season so far:


Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


In college baseball this weekend, FIU lost two out of three against Louisiana-Lafayette.  This week, they will take on Florida Gulf Coast in a doubleheader on Wednesday, and will travel to Troy, Alabama to take on Troy in a weekend series.  The University of Miami also lost two out of three to Boston College up in Chestnut Hill.  The Canes welcome St. Johns to Coral Gables this weekend for a three-game series.

Here is the web site for all the latest in High School Baseball - 


Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:


Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio 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:  20-year-old Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper hit his ninth home run of the season yesterday, and is now seventh all-time in home runs before his 21st birthday, with 31.  Who’s number 1?         

Mel Ott hit 61 dingers before his 21st birthday.  By the way, young Mr. Harper will not turn 21 until October 16th, so he has plenty of time to climb up to the top of the list.  Here’s the rest of the baby-boomers:     

Mel Ott 61
Tony Conigliaro 56
Ken Griffey, Jr. 38
Mickey Mantle 36
Frank Robinson  34
Al Kaline 32
Bryce Harper 31

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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Friday, April 26, 2013


The first round of the NFL draft is history, and the Dolphins pulled the biggest surprise of the night out of their hat, trading their #42 pick in the second round to the Oakland Raiders to switch places, from #12 to #3, and selected DE/OLB Dion Jordan from the University of Oregon.  Jordan, who was ranked among the top five players in everyone’s lists, is a player with excellent pass-rushing skills and has the athletic ability and the speed to also drop back into coverage.  At 6’6” and 248 pounds, he reminds a lot of people of former Dolphins great Jason Taylor.  If he continues to remind people of Taylor when he takes the field, the Fins have something.  

My commentary:  It would be very easy to second-guess the pick because it is not what the Dolphins were expected to do and because they gave up their second-round pick to trade up to get him.  You need to give draft picks, and trades as well, time before you criticize them.  Again, Jordan was a top-5 talent on everyones' lists, and they did not overpay for trading up.  All that being said, my pick would have still been the TE from Notre Dame, Tyler Eifert, who went to Cincinnati with the 21st pick.  Only time will tell.

We’ll know later today if the Dolphins are going to pull the trigger on a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for Branden Albert of if they are content to head in another direction.  The Fins are also actively trying to trade WR Davone Bess, looking to get a fourth or fifth round pick for Bess.  The second and third round of the draft is today, and starts at 6:00 pm.  Rounds 4-7 are tomorrow, and they get underway at 12 noon.

The Dolphins still need to address other issues, including the offensive line.  I still see them adding a slot receiver to possibly replace Bess, offensive line help, and cornerback and tight end are also possibilities.  Also, look for them to draft a kicker, either Dustin Hopkins of Florida State, or Caleb Sturgis from Florida.  

Here are my MOCK Dolphin picks that remain, pending any trades, of course:

MY MOCK REMAINING DOLPHIN PICKS

54. Second Round WR Ryan Swope Texas A&M
77. Third Round OT Terron Armstead Arkansas Pine-Bluff
82. Third Round G/T Dallas Thomas Tennessee 
111. Fourth Round RB Christine Michael Texas A&M
146. Fifth Round K Dustin Hopkins Florida State
166. Fifth Round G Earl Watford James Madison
217. Seventh Round DE Tourek Williams FIU
224. Seventh Round LB Lerentee McCray Florida
250. Seventh Round QB Colin Klein Kansas State

Here are the complete first round picks, with analysis from ESPN:


Mel Kiper Jr. has his Top 10 list of best available:


Kiper’s winners and questions from the first round:


Reaction from Armando Salguero from the Miami Herald:


I hit on 22 of the 32 picks in the first round, three of them were right on the money (right pick, right team).  

Here is how the real experts did in their mock drafts:

Mel Kiper Jr ESPN 27 out of 32 9 right on the money
Todd McShay ESPN 27 out of 32 9 right on the money
Mike Mayock NFL Network 27 out of 32 9 right on the money
Nate Davis USA Today 26 out of 32 6 right on the money
Peter Schrager Fox Sports 24 out of 32 7 right on the money
Peter King CNN/SI 24 out of 32 1 right on the money
Doug Farrar Yahoo! Sports 24 out of 32 1 right on the money
Jason La Canfora CBS Sports 23 out of 32 4 right on the money 

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Dolphins are hoping this draft, along with all the free agent moves they made, get them back into the playoffs.  When was the last time the Dolphins participated in the post season?  Tell you later, alligator.  

The Miami Heat took it to the Milwaukee Bucks last night in Milwaukee, 104-91.  Old Man Time, Ray Allen scored 23 points and set the NBA career playoff record for three-pointers, with 322.  He passed Reggie Miller who finished his career with 320.  LeBron James scored 22 points, while Chris Bosh added 16 points and 14 rebounds.  The Bird Man scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in less than 14 minutes of playing time.  Dwyane Wade had an off shooting night, going 1-12 from the court, and finished with only 4 points.  He did contribute with 11 assists, 9 rebounds, five steals, and two blocked shots.  Miami looks to end this series on Sunday in Milwaukee.  Game time on Sunday is 3:30 pm, and you can watch it on ABC, Channel 10 in Miami.  In the other first round games last night,

Chicago 79 Brooklyn 76   Bulls lead series 2-1
Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Bulls, Luol Deng added 21 points and 10 rebounds.  The tenacious and thug-like Bulls defense held the Nets to 34.6% shooting from the court.  

Memphis 94 LA Clippers 82   Clippers lead series 2-1
Zach Randolph finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, Marc Gasol contributed with 16 points and 8 rebounds.  

TONIGHT

New York @ Boston 8:00 pm ESPN
Game 3 Knicks lead series 2-0

San Antonio @ LA Lakers 10:30 pm ESPN
Game 3 Spurs lead series 2-0

Denver @ Golden State 10:30 pm ESPN-2
Game 3 Series tied 1-1

SATURDAY

Brooklyn @ Chicago 2:00 pm TNT
Game 4 Bulls lead series 2-1

LA Clippers @ Memphis 4:30 pm TNT
Game 4 Clippers lead series 2-1

Indiana @ Atlanta 7:00 pm ESPN
Game 3 Pacers lead series 2-0

Oklahoma City @ Houston 9:30 pm ESPN
Game 3 Thunder lead series 2-0

SUNDAY

Miami @ Milwaukee 2:00 pm ABC - Ch. 10
Game 4 Heat lead series 3-0

New York @ Boston 8:00 pm ESPN
Game 4 Game 3 being played tonight

San Antonio @ LA Lakers 7:00 pm TNT
Game 4 Game 3 being played tonight

Denver @ Golden State 10:30 pm ESPN-2
Game 4 Game 3 being played tonight

Another day, another gut-wrenching and heart-breaking loss for the Marlins.  The Cubs dealt out the punishment last night, beating the Fish 4-3.  The Cubbies erased a 3-1 deficit, tying the game on a Nate Schierholtz home run in the sixth inning and then Luis Valbuena connected long distance against Steve Chisek in the ninth inning for the go-ahead run.  Another good effort by Marlins starter Kevin Slowey goes down in flames.  

Here are the pitching match-ups for the rest of the series this weekend:

Today 7:10 pm Scott Feldman vs Wade LeBlanc
Saturday 7:10 pm Travis Wood vs Alex Sanabia
Sunday 1:10 pm Carlos Villanueva vs Ricky Nolasco 

You won’t want to miss Monday’s game against the Mets.  Matt Harvey will be on the hill for the Metropolitans, Jose Fernandez for the Marlins.

The Fish are still bringing up the rear in MLB in runs scored, with a grand total of 57 runs in their first 22 games.  I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list.  At this point, I am not very optimistic about this list not being a permanent part of this blog. 

TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 5-17          57
Dodgers 10-11         67
Cubs 7-14          69
Padres 6-15          69
White Sox 9-12          71

In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,

Pirates 6 Phillies 4
Garrett Jones hit the go-ahead two-run double as part of a three-run eighth inning.  Former Marlin Gaby Sanchez homered and finished with three RBI.

Dodgers 3  Mets 2
Juan Uribe drove in the winning run with an infield single in the top of the ninth inning.

Nationals 8 Reds 1 
Gio Gonzalez allowed only one hit in eight innings - a solo HR by Joey Votto, and the Nats ended a four-game losing streak.  Danny Espinosa and Bryce Harper homered, Espinosa and Denard Span each drove in three runs.

D-Backs 3 Rockies 2
Paul Goldschmidt clubbed a two-run homer in the win.  

Over in the American League:

Royals 8 Tigers 3 (10 innings)
The Royals scored 5 runs in the top of the tenth inning, capped off by a grand slam by Alex Gordon.

Red Sox 7 Astros 2
David Ortiz went 3-4 with a homer and two RBI.  Clay Buchholz improved to 5-0 this season, Astros starter Philip Humber fell to 0-5.

Yankees 5 Blue Jays 3
Robinson Cano, Vernon Wells, and Francisco Cervelli all connected long distance.  The Yanks came back from a 3-0 deficit.

White Sox 5 Rays 2 
Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in support of Chris Sale, who allowed only 2 runs and 4 hits in his seven innings of work.

Rangers 2 Twins 1
Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus drove in a run apiece in the win.

Orioles 10 A’s 2
Nate McLouth, Nick Markakis, and Chris Davis each drove in a pair of runs.

Mariners 6 Angels 0
Brandon Mauer combined with two relievers to shut out the offensively-challenged Angels.  Kyle Seager and Carlos Peguero connected long distance, Seager finished with three RBI.  

Today’s games, first in the National League:

Reds @ Nationals 7:05 pm
Homer Bailey vs Jordan Zimmerman

Phillies @ Mets 7:10 pm
Kyle Kendrick vs Dillon Gee

Pirates @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Jonathan Sanchez vs Lance Lynn

Rockies @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Juan Nicasio vs Brandon McCarthy

Giants @ Padres 10:10 pm
Tim Lincecum vs Andrew Cashner

Brewers @ Dodgers     10:10 pm
Hiram Burgos vs Josh Beckett

Over in the American League:

Blue Jays @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Josh Johnson vs Ivan Nova

Braves @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Paul Maholm vs Anibal Sanchez

Astros @ Red Sox 7:10 pm
Erik Bedard vs Ryan Dempster

Indians @ Royals 8:10 pm
Scott Kazmir vs Ervin Santana

Rangers @ Twins 8:10 pm
Justin Grimm vs Scott Diamond

Rays @ White Sox 8:10 pm
Roberto Hernandez vs Jake Peavy

Orioles @ A’s               10:05 pm
Wei-Yin Chen vs Tommy Milone

Angels @ Mariners         10:10 pm
CJ Wilson vs Aaron Harang

Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:


Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:


In college baseball this weekend, FIU is home for a weekend series against Louisiana-Lafayette.  Meanwhile, over in Coral Gables, the Canes are in Chestnut Hill, MA to take on Boston College.  

In high school baseball, congratulations go out to Coach Oscar Benitez and his LaSalle Royal Lions, who captured the District 15 4A Championship last night, beating Terra 7-2.  

Here is the web site for all the latest in High School Baseball - 


Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:


Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio 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:  The Dolphins are hoping this draft, along with all the free agent moves they made, get them back into the playoffs.  When was the last time the Dolphins participated in the post season?        

The last time the Dolphins went to the playoffs was after the 2008 season, when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round, 27-9.  I’m sticking to my guns - - - the Dolphins will return to the playoffs this season.       

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.  HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
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