Wednesday, December 11, 2013

There are only 13 shopping days until Christmas, and counting.  What are you waiting for?

The Dolphins are tied with Baltimore with 7-6 records as they fight for the sixth and final playoff spot, but the Ravens have the tiebreaker advantage.  For all intents and purposes, the post season is NOW for the Fins.  Next opponent for the Fins are the New England Patriots here at the Seven Names Stadium next Sunday, while the Ravens travel to Detroit for a Monday night encounter with the Detroit Lions.


The odds may favor the Dolphins making the playoffs, but they are still going to need help and they need to take care of business.  
Here is the remaining regular season schedule for the Fins:

12/15 New England 1:00 pm CBS
12/22 @ Buffalo 1:00 pm CBS
12/29 NY Jets 1:00 pm CBS

Here’s more on the Dolphins:




More on the Dolphins from Armando Salguero:



Here is this week’s schedule in the NFL, along with the early lines.  I finished last week 4-3.  My record so far this season is 51-43-4 against the spread, and 58–40 straight up. 

THURSDAY

San Diego @ Denver +10 8:30 pm NFL NETWORK

SUNDAY

New England @ Dolphins +2 ½ 1:00 pm CBS

Houston @ Indianapolis -5 ½ 1:00 pm CBS

Buffalo @ Jacksonville +2 1:00 pm CBS

Washington @ Atlanta -6 ½ 1:00 pm FOX

Chicago @ Cleveland -1 1:00 pm FOX

Philadelphia @ Minnesota +5  1:00 pm FOX

Seattle @ NY Giants +7 1:00 pm FOX

San Francisco @ Tampa Bay +5 1:00 pm FOX

Kansas City @ Oakland +4 ½ 4:05 pm CBS

NY Jets @ Carolina -11 4:05 pm CBS

Green Bay @ Dallas  NO LINE 4:25 pm FOX

Arizona @ Tennessee +3 4:25 pm FOX

New Orleans @ St. Louis +6 4:25 pm FOX

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh +3 8:30 pm NBC

MONDAY NIGHT

Baltimore @ Detroit -6 8:30 pm ESPN


Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with more news from all around the league:


Of course, we can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.  

In baseball:

There were a couple of deals yesterday at the MLB winter meetings, and some more moves are brewing.




The Marlins introduced Garrett Jones to a two-year contract.  Gotta love his optimism, as he says the Marlins will “shock the baseball world”.  




Here’s the latest buzz from the winter meetings:





Marlins’ pitchers and catchers report February 16th, position players arrive February 20th, and the spring training games begin February 26th, when the Fish play the University of Miami Hurricanes.  They will then play the FIU Panthers on the 27th.  Both of those games will be in Jupiter.  

Here is the complete preseason schedule for the Fish:


In college football,

Is Nick Saban ready to bolt Alabama and head to Texas?



The Heisman Trophy will be awarded on Saturday.


MY TAKE:  Two big “IFS” - - - IF Alabama hadn’t lost to Auburn on that freak play at the end of their game, and IF I had a Heisman vote, I would have voted for A. J. McCarron.  That being said, my non-existent vote would now go to Jameis Winston of Florida State, who I fully anticipate and expect will take home the hardware.  

The BCS National Championship game will have the Florida State Seminoles squaring off against the Auburn Tigers in Pasadena on January 6th.  The rest of the bowl schedule is here, including a good one in the Orange Bowl Classic, where we will see the Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes do battle at the Seven Names Stadium.


Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have the latest from Coral Gables.



Here’s the latest from FIU.  David J. Neal of the Herald is on the prowl:


Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and #1-ranked FSU:


From Gainesville and the University of Florida:


Here are the NCAA Football rankings for this week:  


Here is the complete schedule in College Football for week 15, including Conference Championship match ups and TV listings:


Moving to the hardwood:

The Miami Heat lost to the Indiana Pacers last night 90-84.  Miami fizzled in the second half after enjoying a 13-point lead midway through the second quarter and led by seven, 47-40 at halftime.  Roy Hibbert, Pau George, and David West led the Pacers.  Hibbert scored 24 poings, and West and George each pumped in 17 points.  LeBron James finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, but was just 3-11 from the field with only nine points over the final three quarters.  Dwyane Wade added 17 points and Chris Bosh had 12.  The Heat only shot 4-21 from three-point range and they lost for the third time in their last five games.  The Heat will now have a few days to work things out before they welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to the AAA next Saturday night. 


TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: After last night’s loss to the Pacers, the Heat fell to a record of 16-6.  What was their record at the same time the last two seasons?  The answer comes later, alligator.

The Heat’s upcoming schedule of games for the remainder of 2013:

Heat @ Pacers Tue   12/10 7:00 pm  Sun Sports
Cavaliers @ Heat Sat 12/14 7:30 pm Sun Sports
Jazz @ Heat Mon 12/16 7:30 pm Sun Sports 
Pacers @ Heat Wed 12/18 7:00 pm Sun Sports
Kings @ Heat Fri 12/20 7:30 pm Sun Sports
Hawks @ Heat Mon 12/23 7:30 pm Sun Sports
Heat @ Lakers Christmas Day 5:00 pm ABC
Heat @ Trailblazers Sat 12/28      10:00 pm Sun Sports
Heat @ Nuggets Mon 12/30 9:00 pm Sun Sports

More Heat coverage:







Here is the Heat’s complete regular season schedule:


On the NHL ice, the Panthers beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2.  The next game for the Cats will be on Friday night, when they welcome the Washington Capitals to the BB&T Center.  They will drop the puck at 7:30 pm, and you can watch the game on Fox Sports Florida on your cable or satellite system.



In boxing news,

Here is Santos Perez’ weekly boxing spotlight column from the Miami Herald:


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I’m selling three lots totaling a little over five acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock.  Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions: 


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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: After last night’s loss to the Pacers, the Heat fell to a record of 16-6.  What was their record at the same time the last two seasons? 

2012-2013 16-6
2011-2012 16-6

Just as a reminder, back in 2005-06, the Heat were 12-10 after 22 games.


Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. 

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