Going into last night’s game four in the NBA finals, the Miami Heat understood that they needed to avoid a 3 games to 1 deficit, a deficit that has happened 31 previous times in history and has never been overcome. One of the things that Miami has shown during this season, it is their capacity to recover after a loss. Miami’s Big Three were not about to let the team lose consecutive games since January 8th and January 10th. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh combined for an overwhelming 85 points, 30 rebounds, eight blocked shots, 10 steals, and committed only two turnovers as the Heat beat the Spurs, 109-93, and the series is tied at 2-2. LeBron finished with a game-high 33 points, Wade scored 32 points, and Chris Bosh finished with 20 points and 13 boards. The Finals series now becomes a three-game series, and Miami, once again, has the homecourt advantage. Game Five will be on Sunday in San Antonio. Tipoff will be a little after 8:00 pm and we can all watch it on ABC, Channel 10 in South Florida. The schedule for the rest of the series:
Game 5 Sun, June 16 8:00 pm @ San Antonio
Game 6 Tue, June 18 9:00 pm @ Miami
Game 7 * Thu, June 20 9:00 pm @ Miami
* -- If Necessary
One of the things I mentioned in my analysis before the Finals started, was that Miami would be able to play extra shooter on the court at the same time, something they finally did last night. Udonis Haslem played only 10 minutes off the bench in game four, and the Birdman didn’t play at all. Ray Allen played 33 minutes and Mike Miller played 20 minutes, and their presence opened up the lanes to the basket for the Heat, who were 11-15 on drives by LeBron and D-Wade. The Big Three combined to score 44 points in the paint last night, doubling their average in the first three games of the series.
ESPN’s J. A. Adande talks about the Spurs’ struggles against the Heat when they went “small”:
Yahoo! Sports was impressed with the performance of Miami’s Big Three last night:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Dwyane Wade became only the second player in NBA Finals history to record at least 30 points and six steals in a game. Who is the other player? Tell you later, alligator.
The Dolphins ended minicamp yesterday, and head coach Joe Philbin was very impressed with the work that Ryan Tannehill put in and how he looked:
Where have you gone, Armando Salguero? The Dolphin nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo, woo, woo.
The Marlins enjoyed a day off yesterday, and they will host the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game series this weekend here at Marlins Park. Here are the expected pitching matchups for the series:
FRIDAY Tyler Lyons vs Jose Fernandez 7:10 pm
SATURDAY Lance Lynn vs Tom Koehler 4:10 pm
SUNDAY Michael Wacha vs Ricky Nolasco 1:10 pm
After the series with the Cardinals, the Fish will head west. They open up with a three-game series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks from Monday through Wednesday, and four games in San Francisco against the Giants from Thursday through Sunday. The team will then return home to take on the Minnesota Twins in a two-game set starting on Tuesday, June 25th, and a four-game long weekend series against the Padres at Marlins Park.
The Fish are still the worst run-scoring team in MLB, with 194 runs in their 65 games. Here are the bottom-dwellers:
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 19-46 194
Nationals 33-32 229
White Sox 28-35 229
Dodgers 28-37 232
Mariners 29-38 237
Even though the team continues to struggle, the Marlins’ youngsters have been quietly making quite an impression, especially Marcell Ozuna and Jose Fernandez. Clark Spencer of the Herald has more:
Don’t forget to keep your eyes on second baseman Derek Dietrich, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, and catcher Rob Brantly as well. They all may not have been 100% ready for prime time, but they are closer than we expected. It is time for ownership to step up and define what this team is going to look like two years from now. (Spelled: Take care of Giancarlo Stanton).
In the major leagues yesterday, in the American League,
A’s 3 Yankees 2 (18 innings)
Nate Freiman ended the game with a bases-loaded single as the A’s swept the three-game series vs. the Yankees. They have beaten the Yankees seven games in a row at the Oakland Coliseum.
Royals 10 Rays 1
Elliot Johnson hit a three-run homer to cap an eight-run sixth inning. Ervin Santana allowed just five hits and an unearned run in his 7 2/3 innings of work.
Blue Jays 3 Rangers 1
Edwin Encarnacion drove in the tie-breaking runs in the top of the seventh with a double.
Orioles 5 Red Sox 4 (13 innings)
Chris Davis‘ RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning gave the Orioles the victory.
Phillies 3 Twins 2
Ben Revere went 4-6 and scored two runs. Cliff Lee improved to 8-2, allowing two runs on three hits in seven innings.
Over in the National League,
Cardinals 2 Mets 1
Adam Wainwright became the first ten-game winner in the majors. Allen Craig drove in the eventual winning run in the eighth inning.
Nationals 5 Rockies 4
Ian Desmond went 4-4, including the game-winning RBI single in the eighth inning.
Cubs 6 Reds 5 (14 innings)
Julio Borbon won the game with a pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the 14th.
Giants 10 Pirates 0
Matt Cain threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings and Hunter Pence blasted a three-run homer.
Today’s games:
In the American League,
Nationals @ Indians 7:05 pm
Gio Gonzalez vs Justin Masterson
Red Sox @ Orioles 7:05 pm
Ryan Dempster vs Chris Tillman
Royals @ Rays 7:10 pm
Luis Mendoza vs Matt Moore
Blue Jays @ Rangers 8:05 pm
Mark Buehrle vs Justin Grimm
White Sox @ Astros 8:10 pm
Chris Sale vs Erik Bedard
Tigers @ Twins 8:10 pm
Rick Porcello vs Scott Diamond
Yankees @ Angels 10:05 pm
Andy Pettitte vs CJ Wilson
Mariners @ Athletics 10:05 pm
Joe Saunders vs Tommy Milone
Over in the National League,
Dodgers @ Pirates 7:05 pm
Stephen Fife vs Jeff Locke
Cubs @ Mets 7:10 pm
Edwin Jackson vs Shaun Marcum
Cardinals @ Marlins 7:10 pm
Tyler Lyons vs Jose Fernandez
Brewers @ Reds 7:10 pm
Kyle Lohse vs Bronson Arroyo
Giants @ Braves 7:30 pm
Madison Bumgarner vs Kris Medlen
Phillies @ Rockies 8:40 pm
Kyle Kendrick vs Juan Nicasio
D-Backs @ Padres 10:10 pm
Trevor Cahill vs Eric Stults
In an article from ESPN The Magazine, Buster Olney sits down with Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who is not acting like the man with all the cash:
In Detroit, we could soon be seeing the arrival of South Florida product Nick Castellanos, who played his high school baseball at Archbishop McCarthy.
What’s wrong with the San Francisco Giants’ starting pitching? Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports tries to come up with the answer:
Meanwhile, on the other side of the San Francisco Bay, the Oakland A’s are on fire. Here’s Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
According to Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald, UM president Donna Shalala opened the three-day hearings in front of the NCAA and its committee on infractions, with a pretty strong case. Here is Manny’s report:
For one day, at least, it seems that Shalala earned her paycheck.
In college baseball, the College World Series begins tomorrow in Omaha. Love the CWS in Omaha! Saturday’s schedule has Missisippi State taking on Oregon State at 3:00 pm, and Indiana facing Louisville at 8:00 pm. On Sunday, North Carolina plays North Carolina State at 3:00, and UCLA battles LSU at 8:00. How does LSU do it, year in and year out?
From BleacherReport.com, here is the complete bracket and their analysis and previews:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Dwyane Wade became only the second player in NBA Finals history to record at least 30 points and six steals in a game. Who is the other player?
Turn on the time machine, and go back to 1988, when Isiah Thomas scored 42 points and had six steals in a sixth-game loss against Pat Riley’s Los Angeles Lakers, who ended up winning the series against the Pistons in seven games.
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. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!
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