There are only 18 shopping days until Christmas, and counting.
The Dolphins travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers on Sunday, and they Steelers may be a little angry. First, they lost a very close game to the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving Day, and their head coach, Mike Tomlin, was fined $100K by the NFL for stepping onto the field during a kickoff return by Jacoby Jones, and impeding a possible touchdown. The team may also be penalized with a loss of a draft pick. Make no mistake about it . . . this game is the season for both teams. Game time on Sunday is 1:00 pm, and weather may be a factor in the Steel City. Thinking out loud, isn’t weather ALWAYS a factor during football season in Pittsburgh?
Here is the remaining schedule for the Fins:
12/08 @ Pittsburgh 1:00 pm CBS
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 are this week’s NFL games, with the current point spreads. After a perfect 7-0 record last week, I am 47-40-4 against the spread, and 54-37 straight up. Looking for similar results this week.
THURSDAY
Jacksonville 27 Houston 20
I officially give up on the Houston Texans. This team went 12-4 last season, and have now somehow managed to lose 11 games in a row this year. That is unfathomable. They look totally unprepared to play week in and week out. Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Head Coach Gary Kubiak fired immediately, if not before the end of the season.
SUNDAY
Dolphins @ Pittsburgh -2 ½ 1:00 pm CBS
The Steelers have beaten the Dolphins in their last five meetings. The last time they lost was in September, 1998. The Dolphins’ offense gained a season-high 453 total yards against a very good Jets defense last week. The Steelers defense hasn’t been very steel-like recently against the pass, as they have given up an average of 288 years and a total of nine TD passes over the last five games. Steelers QB Ben Rothlisberger has completed 64% of his passes for 841 yards and eight TD’s with no interceptions over the last three games. This contest could come down to a field goal, and Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis has been inconsistent lately, and it is never easy to kick in Pittsburgh. Hope I’m wrong. Taking Pittsburgh minus the 3 points.
Indianapolis @ Cincinnati -5 ½ 1:00 pm CBS
Cleveland @ New England -11 1:00 pm CBS
Oakland @ NY Jets -2 1:00 pm CBS
Buffalo @ Tampa Bay -2 1:00 pm CBS
Kansas City @ Washington +3 1:00 pm CBS
Minnesota @ Baltimore -7 1:00 pm FOX
Atlanta @ Green Bay -7 1:00 pm FOX
I don’t like the Packers without Aaron Rodgers at the helm. The Falcons have kicked it up a little recently, even though they are still a huge disappointment this season. I’ll take the Falcons on the road plus the points.
Detroit @ Philadelphia -3 1:00 pm FOX
Tennessee @ Denver -11 4:05 pm CBS
St. Louis @ Arizona - 4 ½ 4:25 pm FOX
Arizona has one of the best run defenses in the NFL, allowing just over 87 yards per game this season. Also noteworthy is that they are 5-1 playing at home. After a heartbreaking loss at Philadelphia last week, Head Coach Bruce Arians will have his team ready against St. Louis this week. I’m going with Arizona at home, minus the points.
NY Giants @ San Diego -3 4:25 pm FOX
Seattle @ San Francisco even 4:25 pm FOX
Seattle is looking for their eighth victory in a row, and have already earned a playoff berth. They have dominated the 49ers in their last two meetings, outscoring them 71-16, but they have lost four games in a row against the 49ers at Candlestick Park, getting outscored 109-54. I’ll take the 49ers in a bit of an upset.
Carolina @ New Orleans -2 8:30 pm NBC
The loud sound you hear is the Panthers coming down to earth this week inside the Superdome. Their winning streak will end at eight games Sunday night. The Saints were embarrassed by the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, and the Saints haven’t lost consecutive games in a single regular season under Sean Payton since 2009. The Saints are 6-0 this season at home, outscoring their opponents 199-95. The Panthers, however, are the last team to beat NOLA at the Superdome, but that was last year on December 20th. I’m taking the Saints minus the points.
MONDAY NIGHT
Dallas @ Chicago even 8:30 pm ESPN
This could be a fun game to watch. Both defenses have struggled, and it could be a game with offensive fireworks galore. The Bears have lost two in a row, and three out of four, while the Cowboys have won two in a row, and three of their last four. Tough one to pick. I’ll take Dallas.
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:
The Seattle Mariners and Robinson Cano just came together this morning on a 10 year, $240 million contract. Can you spell M-I-S-T-A-K-E?
MY TAKE: If I were a GM, there is no way in hell I would give Cano, as great a player as he is, a 10-year deal at the age of 31.
This means that the New York Yankees are officially in the market for a second baseman. Will it be free agent Omar Infante? Will they go after Brandon Phillips in a trade with the Reds? Would they take a chance on Dan Uggla, knowing that Atlanta will be willing to eat some $$? Some options out there.
The Marlins and infielder Rafael Furcal agreed on a one-year contract yesterday. According to the team, Furcal will play second base, although he has only played the position 36 games in his career. I don’t know about this move.
In other hot-stove news,
MY TAKE: Like I mentioned before, I would have loved to see the Marlins go and get Arencibia. Only time will tell.
MY TAKE: In my opinion, this guy has only one option on where to sign: the New York Yankees. The Yankees do not put the player’s name on the back of their uniform. His name will definitely not fit on the back of his jersey.
Expect some more wheeling and dealing from the baseball winter meetings, which will be from December 9th through December 12th.
More rumors:
A sad commentary on the situation with Cuban ballplayers coming to the US. The US government charged three Cuban nationals with kidnapping, extortion, and conspiring to smuggle Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the Cuban government was profiting from this enterprise. I’m sure that we will hear more on this situation in the very near future.
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:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Edwin Encarnacion was the last major league player to homer twice in one inning, accomplishing the feat on July 26th, 2013. Only one Marlin player homered twice in one inning. Who was he? The answer comes later, alligator.
In college football,
Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have the latest and greatest from Coral Gables:
Here’s a positive FIU story, albeit it is about the basketball team. David J. Neal of the Herald has the details:
Neal also has a followup on yesterday’s story on his blog:
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 took it on the chin in Chicago last night, losing to the Bulls 107-87. Nothing good to talk about here. Next game for the Heat is in Minnesota on Saturday against the Timberwolves.
The Heat’s upcoming schedule of games:
Heat @ Minnesota Sat 12/7 8:00 pm Sun Sports
Heat @ Detroit Sun 12/8 6:00 pm Sun Sports
Heat @ Pacers Tue 12/10 7:00 pm Sun Sports
QUESTION TO THE MIAMI HERALD: How do you justify not having the results of a game that ended before midnight in your morning paper? This is 2013, for God’s sake. Nothing has changed from the 1960’s, and then they wonder why newspaper subscriptions are down?
More Heat coverage:
Here is the Heat’s complete regular season schedule:
On the NHL ice, the Panthers take on the Winnipeg Jets here at the BB&T Center tonight. 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: Edwin Encarnacion was the last major league player to homer twice in one inning, accomplishing the feat on July 26th, 2013. Only one Marlin player homered twice in one inning. Who was he?
Gary Sheffield did it way back on July 13, 1997. Two former Marlins did it with other teams. Carl Everett did it with the Texas Rangers in 2002 and Andre Dawson did it twice with the Expos, in 1978 and in 1985.
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! ! !
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