The wait is over. The Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers kickoff their Eastern Conference finals series tonight at the AAA. Game time is 8:30 pm, and you can watch the game on TNT on your cable or satellite system. Game two is set for Friday night, also on TNT, at 8:30 pm. Some of the things to watch in this series is how Chris Bosh matches up with Indiana center Roy Hibbert and how Norris Cole plays on both sides of the court against George Hill. I don’t expect any real drama in this series, and I’m sticking by my original pick - Miami in six games or less.
The Miami Herald’s Greg Cote thinks Miami will dominate in the series:
In the Western Conference final series, the San Antonio Spurs held off a furious comeback by the Memphis Grizzlies and escaped with a 93-89 win in overtime. Memphis outscored San Antonio 21-9 in the fourth quarter to force the extra period, but too much Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in the OT. Parker finished with 15 points and 18 assists, and Duncan scored the first six points in OT for the Spurs, who leave San Antonio with a 2-0 lead in the series, which resumes in Memphis on Saturday.
In the NBA Draft Lottery, for the second time in the last three years, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have the first pick in the NBA draft. The Orlando Magic will have the second pick. Kentucky Center Nerlens Noel is expected to be the first selection of the draft, which will be held on June 27th in Brooklyn, NY. Here’s the complete story from Fox Sports:
In NFL news, team owners voted yesterday to award Super Bowl 50 to San Francisco and Super Bowl 51 to Houston.
All I’m going to say: South Florida again shows that they are very short-sighted and unwilling to face the facts. Whether the Super Bowl comes to South Florida or not doesn’t do anything for the Miami Dolphins. These events only benefit the community as a whole. I’m not going to lose any sleep over this, but it is another example of tunnel vision. Too bad, so sad. No soup for you.
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:
It’s back to the drawing board for the Marlins, who lost to the Phillies last night 7-3. Ryan Howard drove in three runs, and Dominic Brown drove in a pair. Marlins starter Jose Fernandez, who had not given up a run in 13 prior innings against the Phillies, gave up a homer to Delmon Young in his five innings of work and left in a 1-1 tie. The bullpen was not up to the task, especially Duane Below who gave up three runs in an inning-plus. The series with the Phillies concludes tonight. Kevin Slowey will start for the Marlins, Cliff Lee will take the mound for the Phils. Game time tonight is 7:10. The Fish are off on Thursday, and will head up to Chicago for a weekend series against the White Sox. 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 46 games. I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list. We could be here a while.
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 13-32 122
Dodgers 18-26 147
Nationals 23-23 157
Phillies 22-24 164
White Sox 21-23 164
In the major leagues yesterday, first in the National League,
Braves 5 Twins 4 (10 innings)
El Oso Blanco, Evan Gattis, tied the game with a two-run homer in the ninth, and Freddie Freeman won it with an RBI single in the bottom of the tenth. Brian McCann also homered and drove in two runs.
Pirates 5 Cubs 4
Travis Snider was the hero, belting a pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning.
Reds 4 Mets 0
Mike Leake allowed just three hits in his seven innings of work, Devin Morasco homered and finished with two RBI.
Brewers 5 Dodgers 2
Carlos Gomez drove in a pair of runs with a double, Ryan Braun and Yunieski Betancourt added an RBI apiece.
Rockies 5 D-Backs 4 (10 innings)
Wilin Rosario drove in the game-winner in the bottom of the tenth with a single.
Cardinals 10 Padres 2
Daniel Descalso went 3-3 and hit a grand slam.
Giants 4 Nationals 2 (10 innings)
Pablo Sandoval ended the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth inning.
Over in the American League:
Orioles 3 Yankees 2 (10 innings)
Nate McLouth blasted a leadoff homer in the bottom of the tenth inning as the Orioles stopped a six-game losing streak.
Tigers 5 Indians 1
Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer, Andy Dirks also connected long distance.
Rays 4 Jays 3
Kelly Johnson and Desmond Jennings hit solo homers.
A’s 1 Rangers 0
Yoenis Cespedes homered and Dan Straily combined with two relievers to shutout Texas.
White Sox 3 Red Sox 1
Jose Quintana didn’t allow a hit until after one out in the seventh inning. Jeff Keppinger hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Royals 7 Astros 3
Eric Hosmer had two hits and scored two runs as the Royals scored all their runs in the last three innings after Houston starter Bud Norris had shut them out for six frames.
Angels 12 Mariners 0
Mike Trout became the youngest player in AL history to hit for the cycle and finished with five RBI. Jerome Williams threw eight scoreless innings.
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Trout is the third 21-year to hit for the cycle. Who are the other two? Tell you later, alligator.
Today’s games, first in the National League:
Twins @ Braves 12:10 pm
Vance Worley vs Paul Maholm
Reds @ Mets 1:10 pm
Mat Latos vs Matt Harvey
Dodgers @ Brewers 1:10 pm
Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Wily Peralta
D-backs @ Rockies 3:40 pm
Trevor Cahill vs Jorge de la Rosa
Nationals @ Giants 3:45 pm
Gio Gonzalez vs Madison Bumgarner
Cubs @ Pirates 7:05 pm
Jeff Samardzija vs Francisco Liriano
Phillies @ Marlins 7:10 pm
Cliff Lee vs Kevin Slowey
Cardinals @ Padres 10:10 pm
Tyler Lyons vs Burch Smith
Over in the American League:
A’s @ Rangers 2:05 pm
Jarrod Parker vs Ross Wolf
Rays @ Blue Jays 4:37 pm
Jeremy Hellickson vs Mark Buehrle
Tigers @ Indians 7:05 pm
Justin Verlander vs Ubaldo Jimenez
Yankees @ Orioles 7:05 pm
Hiroki Kuroda vs Jason Hammel
Mariners @ Angels 7:05 pm
Brandon Mauer vs CJ Wilson
Red Sox @ White Sox 8:10 pm
Clay Buchholz vs Chris Sale
Royals @ Astros 8:10 pm
James Shields vs Jordan Lyles
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
In college baseball, FIU enters the Sun Belt Tournament as the #6 seed, and will face #3 Louisiana-Lafayette, the hosts of this year’s tournament, tonight at 8:30 pm. 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, also tonight.
Here is the web site for all the latest in high school baseball:
Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:
THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Trout is the third 21-year-old to hit for the cycle. Who are the other two?
Trout and Alex Rodriguez are the only two in the American League, Cesar Cedeño did it while playing for the Astros way back in 1972.
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.
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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