Friday, June 6, 2014

The Heat - Spurs was definitely hot last night, but for the wrong reasons.  The air conditioning system went down yesterday in San Antonio, and the heat and the Spurs were too much for the Heat and LeBron James last night.  Spurs win game one 110-95, ending the contest on a 31-9 spurt.  By the way, this was not totally an unexpected result, as the Sours are now 6-0 in games 1 of the NBA finals.  

The Spurs won last night because they played an EXCEPTIONAL fourth quarter.  The Heat led by seven points, 86-79 with 9.22 left in the game.  Just do the math . . . San Antonio outscored Miami 31-9 the rest of the way to win going away.  The Spurs made 14 out of 16 shots from the field in the final quarter, including 6-6 from behind the three-point line.  They showed why they're so good, with 12 assists in the quarter.  Manu Ginobili was HUGE yesterday, with 16 points and 11 assists.  Tony Parker and Tim Duncan were their usual selves, Parker finishing with 19 points and 8 assists, Duncan contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds.  

The Heat, on the other hand, committed 18 turnovers in the game, which  led to 27 Spurs points.  LeBron led the Heat with 25 points, but couldn’t finish the game because of leg cramps.  Chris Bosh finished with 18 points, Dwyane Wade added 19, and Ray Allen came off the bench to score 16.  

If I hear one more person say that the Heat lost because of the A/C, I’m going to explode.  Am I the only person that remembers that the Boston Garden never had A/C?  Please . . . the temperature was the same for both teams.  

BTW, I also don't want to hear all the LeBron haters out there jump all over the fact that he had to come out of the game.  Please.    

Here is the ultimate idiotic tweet yesterday, from none other than the ultimate macho-man, former Dolphin offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, who quit the Dolphins last year after being bullied by his teammates.  

Martin tweeted: 

           "C'mon bruh. Drink a Gatorade and get out there." 
Is this ass-wipe for real?  Martin's telling one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA to "Man-up"?
Fortunately, there will be a Game Two in the series, and it will take place on Sunday.  8:00 pm, on ABC.  I do hope the A/C works. 


What are the South Florida and San Antonio newspapers saying?  

Click below:




Here is the complete series schedule:

GAME 1      SPURS 110, Heat 95

GAME 2      Sunday June 8         Heat @ SPURS      8:00 pm  ABC

GAME 3      Tuesday June 10      Spurs @ HEAT       9:00 pm  ABC

GAME 4      Thursday June 12     Spurs @ HEAT      9:00 pm  ABC

GAME 5       Sunday June 15       Heat @ SPURS     8:00 pm  ABC *

GAME 6       Tuesday June 17      Spurs @ HEAT      9:00 pm  ABC *

GAME 7        Friday June 20        Heat @ SPURS     9:00 pm  ABC *

*  if necessary

Let’s go to MLB:

TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Houston Astros selected high school pitcher Brady Aiken with the first pick in the MLB amateur player draft yesterday.  Who was the last high school pitcher selected #1 overall in the draft?  The answer comes later, alligator.

How ‘bout them Marlins?  The Fish swept their series with the Tampa Bay  Rays, ending the four-game, home and home, series with a 11-6 win.  Giancarlo Stanton and Marcel Ozuna both connected long distance, but it was rookie catcher Jacob Realmuto making the big splash yesterday in his major league debut.  Realmuto went 2-4 with 3 RBI, while another rookie making his MLB debut, Justin Bour, also had two hits in the DH slot.  Another big game as well for Casey McGehee, who had four hits and scored four runs.  Ozuna was 3-5, with three runs scored and four runs batted in.  

The Marlins now find themselves again in a virtual first-place tie with the Atlanta Braves.  The Fish are in Chicago this weekend, to take on the team with the worst record in the NL, the Cubs.    

Here are the projected starters for the series with the Cubs:

Friday         Nathan Eovaldi vs Jason Hammel 4:05 pm

Saturday            Randy Wolf vs Jeff Samardzija             4:05 pm

Sunday Henderson Alvarez vs Jake Arrieta 2:20 pm

After the Cubs series, the Fish will head down to Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers in a brief two-game series next Tuesday and Wednesday, before returning home for a 10-game home stand, when they welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago Cubs, and the New York Metropolitans.

Click below for yesterday’s recaps and results in the major leagues:



Here are the standings in MLB:


Today’s complete schedule in the major leagues:


Here are the individual leaders in the majors:


Some other things I’m keeping my eye on around the diamonds:

The Marlins had the number 2 pick in the first round yesterday, and selected Texas high school pitcher Tyler Kolek.  The 6’5” right-hander is 18 years old and possesses the fastest fastball ever recorded by a high school pitcher at 102 mph.  The Fish stayed with high school prospects in the other two picks they made yesterday.  With the #36 selection, the Fish chose catcher Blake Anderson, from Collinsville, Mississippi.  With the 43rd selection in the draft, the Marlins then took infielder Justin Twine from Texas.  Before the team figures out if these guys can play or not, the task now is to sign them.  

Joe Frisaro from MLB.com has all the details here:


Henderson Alvarez tossed his third shutout of the season against the Rays earlier this week, and it was his third win of the year.  In fact, his last four wins have all been shutouts.  Remember, his last win last season was when he threw his no-hitter.

Keep voting for Giancarlo Stanton for the All-Star game.  The man-child is now third among NL outfielders.  Let's make sure he gets in. 

Speaking of the voting for the All-Star game, two players suspended for PED use - Nelson Cruz and Melky Cabrera, are among the leaders in the voting to play in the All-Star game.  Cruz leads all the DH’s, while Cabrera is third in the outfield voting.  

The Houston Astros brought up another one of their prized prospects, Jonathan Singleton.  They also gave him a $10 million contract without having played a single game in the majors.  Of course, Singleton homered in his first game.

Masahiro Tanaka continues to bring it, beating the red-hot Oakland A’s yesterday, 2-1.  He is now 9-1 this season.  

Speaking of Japanese pitchers, one of the best kept secrets in baseball is Seattle pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma.  Iwakuma threw seven shutout innings on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves to improve his record to 4-2 this season, with a 2.66 ERA.  You may not remember that Iwakuma finished third in the Cy Young voting last year in the AL, after a 14-6 season, in which he finished with a sparkling 2.66 ERA.     

More from MLB:



Let us move on to the Miami Dolphins and the NFL.

Click below for the latest:



Here’s more on the Miami Dolphins from Armando Salguero:


Chris Perkins and Omar Kelly bring us their Dolphin blog:


The countdown is on until the Dolphins take the field.  Their first preseason game is just over two months away.  Here are both the Preseason and Regular Season schedules:

2014 MIAMI DOLPHINS Preseason schedule: 

Aug. 8         at Atlanta Falcons             (Fri)    7:00 pm
Aug. 16       at Tampa Bay Bucs           (Sat)     7:00 pm
Aug. 23       Dallas Cowboys                (Sat)     7:00 pm
Aug. 28       St. Louis Rams                 (Thu)    7:00 pm

2014 MIAMI DOLPHINS Regular Season schedule:

Sep. 7         New England Patriots                    1:00 pm
Sep. 14       at Buffalo Bills                              1:00 pm
Sep. 21       Kansas City Chiefs                         4:25 pm
Sep. 28       at Oakland Raiders  (London)         6:00 pm
Oct. 5         BYE
Oct. 12       Green Bay Packers                         1:00 pm
Oct. 19       at Chicago Bears                            1:00 pm
Oct. 26       at Jacksonville Jaguars                  1:00 pm
Nov. 2        San Diego Chargers                         1:00 pm
Nov. 9        at Detroit Lions                              1:00 pm
Nov. 13      Buffalo Bills              (Thu)              8:25 pm
Nov. 23      at Denver Broncos                           4:25 pm
Dec. 1        at New York Jets      (Mon)              8:30 pm
Dec. 7        Baltimore Ravens                           1:00 pm
Dec. 14      at New England Patriots                  1:00 pm
Dec. 21      Minnesota Vikings                           1:00 pm
Dec. 28      New York Jets                                 1:00 pm

For more from around the NFL, here is NFL NATION:


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

From around the universities,

Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have all the latest from the University of Miami.


From FIU, David J. Neal of the Herald has the latest in his blog:


Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and the Seminoles:


From Gainesville and the University of Florida:


The Central Florida Knights are in the house:


In other sports,

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


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION:  The Houston Astros selected high school pitcher Brady Aiken with the first pick in the MLB amateur player draft yesterday.  Who was the last high school pitcher selected #1 overall in the draft?   

You have to set the DeLorean all the way back to 1991, when the Yankees selected Brien Taylor with the top pick.  That did not work out for the Yankees as Taylor first tore his shoulder in a fight, and was totally ineffective as a pitcher after that.  He later went on to a life of crime, and ended up in jail for cocaine trafficking.  He is scheduled to be released from prison later this year.

Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.  HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

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