The Miami Heat are your Eastern Conference Champions and for the third consecutive season, will be in the NBA Finals, this time against the San Antonio Spurs. Miami took out the whooping stick last night and absolutely destroyed the Pacers 99-76. For the first time in the series, the Heat outrebounded the Pacers, and they were all over them from the opening tipoff. Miami’s defense forced 15 turnovers in the first half (21 for the game), and attacked the boards, capturing 9 offensive rebounds in the first 24 minutes. Some guy named Dwyane Wade finished with 21 points, on 7 for 16 shooting, along with nine rebounds, six of them on the offensive side of the court. LeBron was his usual self, leading the team with 32 points, going 8 for 17 from the field and 15-16 from the charity stripe. He finished with 8 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. The Heat do not have a lot of time to celebrate, as they have game 1 of the finals here at home on Thursday, against Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and the rest of the Spurs, who will come into the finals after nine days rest. The Heat will be up for the challenge, as the “Big Three” and the “Little Twelve” totally understand they were not brought together to finish second. By the way, hats off to Erik Spoelstra for making the necessary adjustments and changes to get his team to the Finals once more.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star Ledger has coverage and gives an “explanation” of David West and Roy Hibbert not sticking around and congratulating the Heat after their win. It’s always nice to hear the other side:
My thoughts on the Pacers - they played great against the Heat, but when individual players start bitching about their individual roles on a TEAM, it speaks volumes on their makeup. If a team, regardless of the sport, doesn’t understand the concept of playing as one, it will never be a champion. As the saying goes, there is no “I” in team.
Here is ESPN’s game review:
Let’s go the the diamond. The Marlins lost last night to the Phillies, 7-2. Kyle Kendrick continued to dominate the Marlins, beating them for the tenth consecutive time. Domonic Brown homered for the ninth time in ten games, Erik Kratz and Delmon Young also connected long distance for the Phillies. Derek Dietrich and Marcell Ozuna drove in a run each for the Fish. Tonight it will be Ricky Nolasco vs Jonathan Pettibone, starting at 7:05 pm at Citizens Bank Park. They will close out the three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 pm. Jacob Turner will take on Cole Hamels.
The Fish are still the worst run-scoring team in MLB, with 173 runs in their 58 games. They may be headed in the right direction, as they are now averaging exactly three runs per game. I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list. It still looks like we’ll be here all season long.
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 16-42 173
White Sox 24-31 188
Nationals 28-29 197
Dodgers 24-32 197
Phillies 28-30 209
In the major leagues yesterday, in the American League,
Yankees 7 Indians 4
Brett Gardner had the key hit, a tie-breaking two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mark Teixeira blasted a grand slam, his first homer of the season.
Astros 2 Angels 1
Brandon Barnes’ sacrifice fly gave the Astros their sixth straight win and a sweep of their four-game series against the Angels. Chris Carter connected long distance.
Mariners 4 White Sox 2
Raul Ibañez hit a two-run homer, Kendrys Morales drove in a run.
A’s 10 Brewers 2
Coco Crisp finished 4-5 with a homer, Brandon Moss also went yard. The A’s are on fire, winning four straight and 15 of 17 overall.
Over in the National League,
Reds 3 Rockies 0
Bronson Arroyo threw eight shutout innings. Jay Bruce went 3-4 with a two-run homer.
Braves 7 Pirates 2
Brian McCann, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman all connected two-run homers. McCann later added a single to register the 1,000th hit of his career. Gaby Sanchez drove in a run for the Pirates.
Cardinals 7 D-Backs 1
Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina both connected long distance, Beltran finished with three RBI.
Dodgers 2 Padres 1
Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Van Slyke both homered. Yasiel Puig, making his major league debut, went 2-4.
Today’s games:
In the American League,
Indians @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Scott Kazmir vs David Phelps
Rays @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Matt Moore vs Anibal Sanchez
Orioles @ Astros 8:10 pm
Chris Tillman vs Lucas Harrell
Twins @ Royals 8:10 pm
Samuel Deduno vs Luis Mendoza
Cubs @ Angels 10:05 pm
Scott Feldman vs Jered Weaver
White Sox @ Mariners 10:10 pm
Jake Peavy vs Felix Hernandez
Over in the National League,
Marlins @ Phillies 7:05 pm
Ricky Nolasco vs Jonnathan Pettibone
Mets @ Nationals 7:05 pm
Jeremy Hefner vs Jordan Zimmerman
Pirates @ Braves 7:10 pm
Jeff Locke vs Mike Minor
Rockies @ Reds 7:10 pm
Juan Nicasio vs Homer Bailey
A’s @ Brewers 8:10 pm
AJ Griffin vs Kyle Lohse
D-Backs @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Tyler Skaggs vs Michael Wacha
Padres @ Dodgers 10:10 pm
Eric Stults vs Chris Capuano
Blue Jays @ Giants 10:15 pm
Josh Johnson vs Tim Lincecum
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers is the active player with the most home runs in different parks, connecting long distance in 39 different venues. Who are the all-time leaders in home runs in different fields? Tell you later, alligator.
David Schoenfield takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Phillies’ slugger Domonic Brown:
Hal Steinbrenner is beginning to sound just like his late father. Believe me, that is a good thing:
Unfortunately for all of us, Buster Olney says Mariano Rivera is not reconsidering his decision to retire:
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/post/_/id/1971
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
In college baseball, here is the NCAA tournament bracket this year. Up next, are the Super Regionals, with the winners advancing to the College World Series in Omaha:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers is the active player with the most home runs in different parks, connecting long distance in 39 different venues. Who are the all-time leaders in home runs in different fields?
Sammy Sosa holds the record with home runs in 45 different parks. Sosa is followed by Ken Griffey Jr. with 44, Fred McGriff with 43, and Gary Sheffield and Andruw Jones with 42 each.
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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