If you wanted a close game, it doesn’t get any closer and tighter than this. The Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers tipped off their Eastern Conference finals series last night at the AAA, and it was a doozie. 18 ties, 17 lead changes, a last-second desperation three-pointer to send the game to overtime, and a game-winning layup by LeBron James as time expired in the OT. All that, and Miami takes the first game of the series 103-102. LeBron finished with a triple double - 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Heat to the hard-fought victory. You know I love stats . . . LeBron became the first player in NBA history with a triple-double AND a game-winning buzzer-beater in the same game. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, Chris Bosh had 16, and Chris Andersen added 16 on 7-7 shooting. NOTE TO INDIANA COACH FRANK VOGEL: You may want to rethink your strategy of leaving your best defender and shot-blocker Roy Hibbert on the bench for the last 11 seconds of the game, when LeBron successfully scored two layups? Do you really want to give the Heat and LeBron carte blanche to attack the rim with ease just because you were worried about what Chris Bosh may do away from the basket? Oops. Just another example of coaches doing too much thinking, and acting like legends in their own minds. Game two is set for Friday night, also on TNT, at 8:30 pm. I’m sticking by my original pick - Miami in six games or less.
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: LeBron James is the second player in NBA history with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and three blocked shots in a game. Who was the other? Tell you later, alligator.
Former Heat beat writer Israel Gutierrez, now with ESPN, offers this look at LeBron:
In the Western Conference final series, the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies are off until Saturday in Memphis. The Spurs lead that series 2 games to none.
Just in case you missed it yesterday, the NFL is mulling some changes that may include reducng the number of preseason games from 4 to 2 and either adding two regular season games or expanding the playoffs. ESPN has the complete story:
Commissioner Roger Goodell also officially announced yesterday that the NFL draft would be moved to May, sometime between the 8th and 17th of the month.
One of the greatest linebackers in NFL history, Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears, announced his retirement yesterday after 13 seasons in the NFL. Here’s the full story from ESPN.com:
I hope you’re sitting down for this one and are not shocked. The Marlins were shut out yesterday for the umpteenth time this season, falling to Cliff Lee and the Phillies, 3-0. Truth be told, the Marlins have been blanked NINE times so far this season, in 47 games. Do the math . . . that’s pretty much once every five games. That is just awful. It was Lee’s 12th career shutout. The Marlins had the bases loaded and nobody out in the second inning, but Nick Green hit into a 5-2-3 double play to kill that possible rally. The Fish will not lose tonight, as they have the night off. They take on the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series starting on Friday. They return to Florida and take on the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa on Monday and Tuesday and back to Miami for two more games against the Rays next Wednesday and Thursday.
Of course, the Fish are still the worst run-scoring team in MLB, with 125 in their 47 games. I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list. It looks like we’ll be here all season long.
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 13-34 125
Dodgers 19-26 156
Nationals 24-23 159
White Sox 21-24 166
Phillies 23-24 167
In the major leagues yesterday, first in the National League,
Braves 8 Twins 3
El Oso Blanco, Evan Gattis, continues to impress, connecting a grand slam homer. Ramiro Peña and BJ Upton also connected long distance for the Braves, who have won six games in a row.
Pirates 1 Cubs 0
Francisco Liriano threw seven shutout innings, striking out nine and allowing just two hits. Garrett Jones drove in the only run of the game with a single.
Reds 7 Mets 4
Brandon Phillips hit a tie-breaking RBI double in the top of the ninth inning and Todd Frazier drove in two insurance runs later in the same inning.
Dodgers 9 Brewers 2
Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke both drove in two runs
Rockies 4 D-Backs 1
Carlos Gonzalez tripled and homered and finished with two RBI.
Cardinals 5 Padres 3
Another day, another Cardinal rookie pitcher makes a successful major league debut. Tyler Lyons held the Padres to one run in seven innings, a Jedd Gyorko homer.
Nationals 2 Giants 1 (10 innings)
Ian Desmond’s RBI single in the top of the tenth was the difference. Bruce Harper connected long distance for the Nationals for their only other run.
Over in the American League:
Rangers 3 A’s 1
David Murphy and Adrian Beltre blasted first-inning home runs to pace the Rangers.
Jays 4 Rays 3 (10 innings)
Jose Bautista homered twice and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the tenth. Bautista finished 4-4 and drove in all four of Toronto’s runs.
Angels 7 Mariners 1
CJ Wilson threw eight innings of six-hit ball, and got all the support he needed from Alberto Callaspo and Josh Hamilton, who drove in a pair of runs each.
Orioles 6 Yankees 3
Chris Davis went 4-4 and connected long distance. Nick Markakis and Matt Wieters also went yard.
Tigers 11 Indians 7
Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs, and Victor Martinez had two RBI.
Red Sox 6 White Sox 1
David Ortiz and Daniel Nava each drove in a pair of runs. Clay Buchholz improved his record to 7-0.
Astros 3 Royals 1
JD Martinez hit a two-run homer, Jason Castro went 3-4 and drove in the other Houston run.
Today’s games, first in the National League:
Cubs @ Pirates 12:35 pm
Edwin Jackson vs Jeanmar Gomez
Over in the American League:
Orioles @ Blue Jays 7:07 pm
Kevin Gausman vs Brandon Morrow
Twins @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Scott Diamond vs Rick Porcello
Indians @ Red Sox 7:10 pm
Zach McAllister vs Ryan Dempster
Angels @ Royals 8:10 pm
Joe Blanton vs Ervin Santana
Here’s a very disturbing and really gross story from Houston.
Here's the latest Yankee injury report from the New York Post:
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
In college baseball, FIU had a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning against Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns but Jace Conrad hit a three-run homer to end the game and hand FIU a 9-6 loss. FIU faces UALR this afternoon at 12:30 pm in an elimination game of the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Meanwhile, the University of Miami Hurricanes are the eighth seed in the eight-team ACC Tournament, and will square off against North Carolina at Durham, NC today at 3:00 pm.
I’m selling a little over three acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock. Check out some photos here and feel free to contact me if you have any questions:
THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: LeBron James is the second player in NBA history with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and three blocked shots in a game. Who was the other?
Back in 1986, Ralph Sampson had 33 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, and 5 blocked shots against the Denver Nuggets. By the way, blocked shots became an official stat in 1973-74.
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.
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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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