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How was your week

Posted: March 11, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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NFL free agency started this week and as there always seems to be a lot of player movement took place right at the beginning. Quite a few players have new teams including some quarterbacks; so let’s look and see where some of these quarterbacks ended up.

The San Francisco 49ers brought in two quarterbacks as they signed Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley. Oddly Hoyer and Barkley where both members of the Chicago Bears last season as Jay Cutler’s back up. Now Cutler was finally released by the Bears as they signed Tampa bay Buccaneers back up Mike Glennon as their new starter. Robert Griffin III was released by the Cleveland Browns after one season with the team. Cleveland did add a quarterback as they sent a 2017 4th round pick to the Houston Texans. In return the Browns get quarterback Brock Osweiler, a 6th round pick in the 2017 draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2018 draft. It doesn’t appear as Osweiler is in the Browns quarterback plans as they’ve said they will try to deal Osweiler or just release him before the season starts. A couple of back up quarterbacks got new deals as Landry Jones re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Murray has signed with the Los Angeles Rams. Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender with the Washington Redskins.

Now with all of the quarterback movement you might have noticed that there’s a name missing that most people thought would be on the free agent market. Tony Romo is still a member of the Dallas Cowboys. It was thought and reported that the Cowboys would be releasing Romo allowing him to become a free agent, but then rumors broke that Romo could be traded. The Houston Texans and Denver Broncos had been the front runners to sign Romo if he had been released and they where the first two teams named when trade talk started. You can’t figure it would take any more than a 6th or 7th round draft choice to get Romo from the Cowboys, but there are some questions with dealing for him. Romo is due $14 million dollars in base salary. Plus there’s a $5 million dollar signing bonus and a $5.7 million dollar restructuring bonus. So Romo would be a salary cap hit of $24.7 million dollars for any team that would trade for him. That’s a large salary for a quarterback who’s played 5 games total the past two seasons. Maybe Denver or Houston is trying to get Romo to re-do his contract, but no reports of that have come out. You do have to wonder why a team would give up a draft pick; even a late round draft pick for a player they could possibly get  on there own terms.

The New England Patriots aren’t normally big players in the free agent market, but this year they did sign a top free agent. New England signed cornerback Stephon Gilmore away from the Buffalo Bills. Terms of Gilmore’s deal were not disclosed, but it is being reported the deal is for 5 years. Now the Patriots did re-sign two of their own free agents. They brought back defensive lineman Alan Branch on a 2 year $12 million dollar deal. New England also re-signed safety Duron Harmon to a 4 year $20 million dollar deal. Now you might not see signing one top cornerback and two of your own free agents as big moves, but the Patriots also made three trades this week. First New England sent a 2017 4th round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for tight end Dwayne Allen and a 20017 6th round pick. The Patriots then traded their 2nd round pick in the 2017 draft to the Carolina Panthers for defensive lineman Kony Ealy and a 2017 3rd round pick, but New England wasn’t done. The Patriots finally completed the long rumored trade with the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Bradin Cooks. New England will send their 2017 1st round pick; #32 overall and the 3rd round pick (#108 overall) which is the compensatory pick they got from the Cleveland Browns for linebacker Jamie Collins. In return the Patriots will receive Cooks and the Saints 4th round pick (#118 overall) in the 2017 draft. So ask yourself; did anybody do better during the first week of free agency than the defending champions?

Now there where some other free agents signings involving some top players. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is joining the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive end Calals Campbell and cornerback A,J, Bouye are joining the Jacksonville Jaquars. Wide receiver Terrelle Pryor signed with the Washington Redskins while former Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tight end Martellus Bennett signed with the Green Bay Packers. These are just some of the top ranked free agents that signed this week.

Interestingly there are some big name free agent running backs available, but none of them where signed at the start of free agency. There are names like Adrian Peterson, Eddie Lacy, Jamaal Charles, Latavius Murray and LeGarrette Blount on the open market. Now Peterson, Lacy and Charles are all coming back from injury; so that may hold up there signings as teams look at their medical reports. How long do you think it will be before one of these top running backs is signed?

The Chicago White Sox are in rebuild mode for the 2017 season. Now one of the players that the White Sox haven’t traded, but has drawn a lot of interest is Jose Quintana. Now the White Sox have been looking for a big return for the 28 year old Quintana and that case may have just been made for the White Sox. Quintana made a start for Team Colombia in the World Baseball Classic against Team U.S.A. Quintana faced a line up of major league players and held Team U.S.A. to 1 run over 5 2/3rd innings. Quintana stuck out 4 while walking 1 throwing 63 pitches. Quintana got the first 17 Team U.S.A. batters he faced out before the last batter he faced in the game Brandon Crawford singled to rightfield. Now Team U.S.A. did go on to beat Team Columbia 3-2 in 10 innings, but Quintana was the star of the game and if a team was interested in trading for him the price may have just went up.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but you can also find the podcast anytime you’d like at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Orlando Magic 98 Chicago Bulls 91

Posted: March 9, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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For the fourth straight game the Chicago Bulls played uneven basketball. The Bulls appeared to be in control of the game in the 1st half and took another lead into halftime only to have a poor offensive output in the 2nd half and lose. This time the Bulls suffered there 3rd loss in a row; dropping a 98-91 decision to the Orlando Magic.

The teams played a pretty even 1st quarter as there where five lead changes and two ties during the quarter. The  biggest lead either team had in the 1st quarter was four points. Mario Hezonja hit a jumper to give Orlando a 19-15 lead with 2:25 left in the quarter. Those would be the last points the Magic would score as the Bulls scored the final seven points of the quarter to take a 22-19 lead after one quarter.

The Magic tied the game back up on there first shot of the 2nd period; a 3-pointer by D.J. Augustin, but the Bulls went right back into the lead and held it for the remainder of the quarter. A 22 to 11 run gave the Bulls their first double digit lead of the game. Jimmy Butler capped off the run  with e 2-pointer to make the score 44-33. Orlando cut the lead down to seven points, but the Bulls pushed the lead right back to 11 points at 50-39 with 1:22 left in the quarter. After the teams traded some baskets in the last minute the Bulls went into half time with a 53-43 lead.

The Bulls took there biggest lead of the game; 13 points and held it until there was 8:44 left in the quarter. Orlando started to work their way back into the game and after Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer with 3:23 left in the quarter the Magic where within one point at 71-70. Chicago was able to push the lead back to five points at two different times in the final three minutes, but the Magic scored seven of the final nine points of the 3rd quarter and the game was tied at 77 all headed into the 4th.

Early in the 4th quarter there where four lead changes and two ties between the teams. With the score tied at 81 all D.J. Augustin hit a lay up to give the Magic a lead they wouldn’t give up. Augustin’s basket was also the start of a 7to 0 run for the Magic. The Bulls then scored five straight points to cut the lead to two points at 88-86. Chicago cut the lead down to two on two different occasions, but they where never able to get the game even or take the lead. The Bulls scored just 14 points in the 4th quarter as Orlando was able to get away for a 98-91 victory.

Elfrid Payton put up his 2nd straight triple-double for Orlando. Payton was the games high scorer with 22 points. He was also the games top rebounder with 14 boards and he also handed out the most assists in the game with 14. Evan Fournier scored 20 points while Terrence Ross scored 14 points and Aaron Gordon added 13 points.

Jimmy Butler was the Bulls leading scorer with 21 points. Butler also handed out a team high 9 assists. Jerian Grant added 13 points and Robin Lopez scored 10 points and was the teams leading rebounder with 9. Cristiano Felicio came off the Bulls bench to score 11 points. Dwayne Wade sat out the game with a thigh injury.

The win improves Orlando’s record to 24-41 this season. The Magic get a day off before they head to Charlotte to face the 28-36 Hornets. This was Chicago’s 3rd loss in a row and their 4th on 5 games. The Bulls are 31-33 and hanging onto the final (8th) playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls also get a day off before they host the 44-21 Houston Rockets on Friday night.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 8, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, sports
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It’s the time of the year in the NBA where the M.V.P. talk starts. For some reason this has been the week where everyone who supported Russell Westbrook earlier in the season have now turned their backs on him and are looking for other candidates for M.V.P. The other names that keep coming up are James Harden, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. So let’s take a look and see how these players match up.

Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder are 35-29 and currently holding on to the 7th spot in the Western Conference. In 64 games Westbrook averages 32.1 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game and 10 assists per game. Westbrook is the leagues leading scorer and he is 3rd in assists he is also 12th in rebounding, but remember he’s a point guard. That’s right Westbrook is averaging a triple-double per game so far this season. The last player to average a triple-double in a season was Oscar Robertson who did in during the 1961-62 season for the Cincinnati Royals.

Harden’s Houston Rockets are 44-20 and are currently in 3rd place in the Western Conference. In 64 games Harden is averaging 29 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game and 11.5 assists per game. Harden is the leagues 2nd leading scorer and is leading the NBA in assists. Harden is tied for 25th in rebounding.

James’ Cleveland Cavaliers are the top team in the Eastern Conference with a record of 42-20. James has played in 57 games this season and is averaging 26 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game and 8.8 assists per game. James is the leagues 8th leading scorer. He is 4th in the league is assists and is tied for 22nd in rebounding.

Leonard’s San Antonio Spurs are 49-13 and in 2nd place in the Western Conference. Leonard averages 26.3 points per game, 3.4 assists per game and 6 rebounds a game. Leonard is the leagues 7th leading scorer. He is tied for 53rd in assists and is tied for 60th in rebounding. I’m sure you’ve noticed that with the exception of scoring Leonard’s stats don’t compare top the other M.V.P. candidates. While that may be the case Leonard is far and away the best defensive player out of the four candidates; so that should help his M.V.P. case.

Now it looks as even if Westbrook puts up the best numbers he’s not going to win the M.V.P. award and that’s even if he averages a triple-double. Since Oklahoma City isn’t really considered a threat to win the NBA title that will hurt Westbrook’s case even though it’s a regular season award. I’m not sold on the Rockets being a title contender either, but the team is much improved this season and Harden is being given the credit for that. I’m not sure why James is even in this conversation. Most people still consider him the best player in the NBA ; so I’m guessing that’s why his name keeps coming up, but he doesn’t deserve to win this award. Leonard is kind of a sleeper pick at this point, but he’s gained some support lately. San Antonio is always a title contender, but I’m not sure that Leonard’s stats are M.V.P. worthy especially when you compare him to the other candidates.

If I had a vote which I don’t I’d cast mine for Westbrook. What he’s doing is historic. Harden would be 2nd on my ballot with Leonard 3rd and James a distant 4th. When it’s all said and done look for Harden to walk away with the M.V.P. award when the voting comes out.

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-111 last night. Neither team is going to make the playoffs this season; so the importance of this game was would Dirk Nowitzki break the 30,000 point mark for his career in this game. Nowitzki came into the game needing 20 points to reach the 30,000 point mark. With 10:58 left in the 2nd quarter Nowitzki hit a jumper to reach the scoring milestone. Nowitzki became just the 6th player to reach the 30,000 point milestone. The other player to reach that mark are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. Nowitzki is in his 19th season and has said he plans on returning for a 20th; all with the Mavericks.

Nowitzki has played in 1377 career games. For his career he averages 21.8 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game. Nowitzki is a 13 time All-Star, he was the M.V.P. for the 2006-07 season and was the finals M.V.P. in 2011 when the Mavericks won their only title over the Miami Heat, Dallas made the finals in the 2006-07 season, but lost to the Heat in the finals. Nowitzki is a sure bet to make the basketball Hall of Fame when his career is over. Don’t forget that Nowitzki was actually drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 9th pick in the 1998 draft. Nowitzki and Pat Garrity where traded to Dallas for Robert “Tractor” Traylor on draft night. Dallas had taken Traylor with the 6th pick of the draft.

NFL free agents can’t officially sign with teams until 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. Of course that isn’t going to stop reports from coming out on who’s going to go where. The first such report that came out has Brandon Marshall staying in New York, but moving from the Jets to the Giants. It’s being reported that Marshall will sign a two year $12 million dollar deal to join the Giants. Marshall had hoped that the Jets would grant him his release and they did saving $7.5 million dollars on their salary cap. There was some talk that the Jets and Marshall engaged in contract extension talks, but in the end the two sides parted ways. The Jets didn’t look for any type of trade for Marshall as the team considered it a “long shot” on getting a deal done. Marshall spent two seasons with the Jets with his first one being much more productive than his second one. Of course quarterback play has a lot to do with how a wide receiver is going to do and the Jets didn’t have very good quarterback play last season. Marshall should be a good fit for the second receiver slot behind Odell Beckham Jr. in the Giants offense. Marshall also gives  Giants quarterback Eli Manning another target to throw to. With the release of Victor Cruz the Giants have found a solid veteran replacement for that wide receiver position. Of course by staying in New York Marshall will also be able to continue to do Inside the NFL.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com but you can also find the podcast in TuneIn.com as well.

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Detroit Pistons 109 Chicago Bulls 95

Posted: March 7, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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In the first half the Chicago Bulls held a double digit lead against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons where able to get the Bulls lead down to four points gong into the half and when the Bulls struggle scoring in the 2nd half again Detroit took advantage and pulled away to a 14 point 109-95 victory.

Early on it was the Pistons who had trouble scoring as the Bulls jumped out to a 13-4. The Pistons ran off 5 straight points to cut the Bulls lead to 13-9 with 5:31 left in the quarter. The Bulls went on a run of 13-5 to finest out the 1st quarter as the Pistons could manage just 14 points in the quarter. Chicago took a 26-14 lead after one quarter.

Chicago was able to build their lead to 13 points early in the 2nd quarter at 33-20, but Detroit scored 4 points in a row to knock the lead back into single digits at 33-24. Chicago was able to push their lead back to double digits four different times. The last double digit lead the Bulls had was 51-41 with 2:00 minutes left in the quarter. The Pistons finished the quarter on a 10-4 run to cut the Bulls lead to 55-51 going into halftime.

Detroit got the game even very quickly in the 3rd quarter at 59 all when Reggie Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 10:11 left in the quarter. The teams traded the lead four different times and the game was also tied four different times in the quarter. Jimmy Butler scored the final basket of the quarter with :03 seconds left to tie the game at 79 all.

Tobias Harris scored the first basket of the 4th quarter to give the Pistons the lead at 81-79. It was a lead that the Pistons would never relinquish. Chicago cut the Pitons lead to one point on a couple of occasions, but the Bulls scored just 16 points in the 4th quarter. The Pistons slowly built there lead; they even scored the final 7 points of the game to take a 109-95 win.

Reggie Jackson was the Pistons leading scorer with 26 points. Jackson score 24 of his team high 26 points in the 2nd half of the game. Jon Leuer scored 16 points, Marcus Morris scored 13 points and Andre Drummond added 12 points. Tobias Harris (13 points) and Aron Baynes (12 points) came off the Detroit bench to reach double figures. Drummond and Harris tied for the team lead in rebounds with 8 apiece while Ish Smith handed out a team high 7 assists.

Jimmy Butler was the Bulls and the games high scorer with 27 points. Butler was also the games top rebounder grabbing 9 of them. Robin Lopez added 18 points for the Bulls while Bobby Portis scored 10 points. The only Chicago player to reach double figures coming off the bench was Cameron Payne with 14 points.

The win by the Pistons made their record the same as the Bulls at 31-32. While the teams have the same won-loss record Detroit holds the tiebreaker and is currently holding the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference while Chicago is the 8th seed. Detroit gets a day off before they play a road game Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers ate currently 32-31 a game ahead of the Pistons in the standings. The Bulls also get a day off as they’ll stay on the road to face the 23-41 Orlando Magic Wednesday night.

Los Angeles Clippers 101 Chicago Bulls 91

Posted: March 5, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls managed to scored just 12 points in the 3rd quarter and only 30 points in the 2nd half as they dropped a 101-91 game to the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night. This was a nationally televised game, but it was on ABC not TNT where the Bulls have a 19 game winning streak on.

The Clippers held the lead early in the game. but there where five ties during that time. The last tie of the quarter was at 14 all before the Bulls took their first lead of the game. After one more tie at 19 all Chicago finished the quarter on a 10 to 4 run to take a 29-23 lead after one quarter.

The Bulls built there lead to 10 points five different time during the quarter and while the Clippers never held the lead in the quarter they where able to knack the Bulls lead under double digits. The Bulls last 10 point lead was 50-40 with 5:41 left in the quarter. After Chris Paul hit a 3-pointer with :04 seconds left in the quarter the Clippers had cut the Bulls lead to six points at 61-55 going into halftime.

Chicago scored the first two points of the 3rd quarter and managed to hold the lead until Blake Griffin made two free throws with 5:37 to play to tie the game at 68. The Bulls scored just five more points in the quarter as the Clippers pulled out to a nine point lead 82-73 after three quarters.

With the Bulls scoring drought carrying over into the 4th quarter the closet they could get was when they cut the Clippers lead to eight points early in the quarter. The Clippers took there first double digit lead of the game with 10:19 left in the game on a Jamal Crawford jump shoot to make the score 86-76. Chicago was only able to get the lead into single digits one time the rest of the game while the Clippers built a 16 point lead at one time. In the end Los Angeles went away with a 10 point 101-91 win.

Jamal Crawford came off the Clippers bench to be the leading scorer in the game with 25 points. Chris Paul scored 17 points while Blake Griffin added 16 points and had a team high 7 assists. J.J. Reddick went for 13 points and Luc Mbah a Moute scored 12 points. DeAndre Jordan was the games leading rebounder grabbed 14.

The Bulls where led by Jimmy Butler with 16 points. Robin Lopez scored 12 points while Bobby Portis had 11 points and Dwayne Wade added 10 points. Paul Zipser came off the Bulls bench to score 10 points. Rajon Rondo handed out a game high 9 assists while Portis and Nikola Mirotic tied for the team lead in rebounds with 7.

The Clippers improved top 37-25 with the win. After a short two game road trip the Clippers return home for a nationally televised game on Monday night against the 40-22 Boston Celtics. The loss sends the Bulls back to the .500 mark at 31-31. Chicago get s day off before they head out on the road for a Monday night game against the 30-32 Detroit Pistons.

How was your week

Posted: March 4, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in hockey, sports
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Eight months ago the Montreal Canadiens and the Nashville Predators swapped All-Star defensemen. The Canadiens received Shea Weber and in return they sent P.K. Subban to Nashville. On Thursday Subban made his first return to the city of Montreal. Subban spent the first 6 seasons wearing a Canadiens sweater and the team played a tribute video for him that brought him to tears. Subban made two All-Star teams (2013 and 2015) and won the Norris trophy with Montreal in 2013 and the video was a nice touch. The Canadiens did go on to win the game 2-1 in Subban’s return visit. Also something with this trade that doesn’t seem to happen to often is that it’s benefitted both teams.

It’s the home stretch in the NHL regular season as most teams have 20 games or less left to play. With teams looking to find there way into the playoffs it’s a tough time of the season for a team to suffer an injury. The Buffalo Sabres who are trying to make a playoff push and find themselves 4 points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference just suffered a big loss due to injury. Kyle Okposo who is the Sabres leader in points this season suffered an injury to his ribs and is expected to miss both of the Sabres games this weekend and possibly more. Being that it’s an NHL injury there isn’t a lot of information out there about Okposo’s injury. Okposo had 2 assists in Buffalo’s 6-3 win Thursday night over the Arizona Coyotes before being injured. Okposo was the team’s top free agent addition last summer and leads Buffalo with 43 points. Okposo has scored 19 goals and has 24 assists in 63 games this season for the Sabres.

The Sabres first game without Okposo is Saturday night when they’ll host the 29-26-8 Tampa Bay Lighting before they head to Pittsburgh for a Sunday match up against the 39-16-8 Penguins. It would be a long shot for the Sabres to make the playoffs as they’d have to jump five teams for that final wild card spot, but Tampa Bay is one of those teams ahead of them in the standings; so a win tonight would at least keep there playoff hopes alive. There’s no actual timetable for Okposo’s return, but the Sabres are hopefully he’ll return for Tuesday nights home game against the 30-26-7 Philadelphia Flyers.

The Chicago Blackhawks also had an injury loss as they placed defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on injured reserve with an “Upper Body Injury”. Hjalmarsson was on the ice for just 3 minutes in the Blackhawks 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on February 23rd. Hjalmarsson has missed the Blackhawks last three games and is expected to miss Chicago’s game tonight against the 32-23-9 Nashville Predators in Nashville. There is a chance that Hjalmarsson will return for the Blackhawks next set of back to back games. Chicago host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday March 9th before they head to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Friday March 10th.

While Hjalmarsson isn’t a scoring defenseman having 14 points on the season. Scoring 5 goals on 9 assists, but he averages over 21 minutes of ice time per game for the Blackhawks. That’s the 3rd highest average on the team. Hjalmarsson has played in 60 games for the Blackhawks and is 2nd in the NHL in shot blocks. Hjalmarsson has blocked 156 shots this season and is second to Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators who has 168 shot blocks this season.

Another loss for the Blackhawks was back up goalie Scott Darling who was hurt in practice before last nights game and is expected to miss three weeks. Darling had to fill in for Blackhawks #1 goalie Corey Crawford who was out with an illness last week and won both of his starts, Darling has actual won his last 4 starts in a row and is 16-5-2 as a starter this season. While Darling is out injured the Blackhawks have called up goaltender Jeff Glass from Rockford of the AHL to serve as Crawford’s back up.

Week two of the NASCAR season takes the teams to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 on Sunday. Kevin Harvick took the pole for Sunday’s race with a qualifying speed of 190.398 m.p.h. Ryan Newman will start 2nd while Kyle Busch starts 3rd, Rickey Stenhouse 4th and Brad Keslowski will start 5th to round out the Top 5. Last week’s winner Kurt Busch will start 13th in Atlanta.

There where some qualifying issues as five teams didn’t clear inspection. Michael McDowell, Cole Whitt, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Derrike Cope and Cody Ware were the five drivers who failed to post an official lap when the 20 minute clock expired; ending the first of three qualifying rounds. Their position in the starting field was determined based on 2016 championship owner points. There where also a couple of teams that just made it out with enough time to get onto the track for qualifying. Team Penske’s (#22) Joey Logano and Stewart-Haas racings (#14) Clint Bowyer just made it. Logano will start 6th while Bowyer will start 25th on Sunday.

In last nights 135-130 win by the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Atlanta Hawks the Cavaliers set a record for the most made 3-pointers in a game with 25. The Cavaliers hit on 25 of the 46 (54.3%) 3-point shots they took against Atlanta. LeBron James led the way with six made 3’s. Kyrie Irving had five made 3’s as part of his game high 43 point night. Channing Frye, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams all had three 3’s. While Iman Shumpert hit two 3’s.

The Cavaliers broke the record that was just set by the Houston Rockets on December 16th 2016 against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was Korver who hit the 25th and final 3-pointer for the Cavaliers against his former team. Korver spent five seasons with Atlanta before being traded earlier this season to Cleveland.

How long do you think this record will stand? I’m not even sure if it will make it to the end of the regular season which is April 12th. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rockets regain the record and of course the Golden State Warriors would be a front runner to break this record. Of course with this style of play in the NBA just about any team in the association could break this record on any given night. What team do you think will break this record? and when?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast in BlogTalkRadio.com or find the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Chicago Bulls 94 Golden State Warriors 87

Posted: March 3, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Even though it was a home game for the Chicago Bulls it has to be considered an upset that they beat the best team in the NBA (record wise) the Golden State Warriors 94-87 Thursday night.

This is the first time since April of 2015 that Golden State has lost back to back games. That time the Warriors lost to those two games in a row one was to the San Antonio Spurs and the other was to the New Orleans Pelicans. Both of those games where on the road like both of these losses were. The Warriors first lost was on Tuesday night 112-108 to the Washington Wizards. This also happened to be the first full game Golden State played without the injured Kevin Durant.

This game was broadcast national on TNT. In an odd stat the Bulls have won 18 straight home games that where shown on TNT and have won 19 games in a row that where televised on TNT. An even stranger fact to this streak. The last team to beat the Bulls on TNT was now Bulls player Dwayne Wade’s Miami Heat back in February of 2013.

The game was tied six different times in the 1st quarter. The last time was at 15 all with 3:13 left in the 1st quarter. After a Rajon Rondo turnover Golden State went on a 11 to 4 run to end the quarter and take a 26-19 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

After Matt Barnes hit a lay up Golden State had it’s first double digit lead of the game at 34-24 with 7:50 left in the quarter. Chicago used a 10 to 2 run to cut the Warriors lead to just two points at 36-34 with 5:22 left to play in the quarter. The Warriors built a six point lead two different times the rest of the quarter, but after Jimmy Butler hit two free throws to end the quarter the Warriors had a 51-47 lead going into halftime.

Golden State was able to maintain the lead until Jerian Grant hit a 3-pointer with 8:25 left in the quarter to give the Bulls a 59-58 lead. The Warriors were able to take the lead back, but the Bulls then tied the game at 65 all. Chicago finished the quarter on a 14 to 8 run to take a 79-73 lead after three quarters.

Now you would think down just six points that this is the type of game the Warriors would come back to win. It didn’t go that way for them in this game. Both teams combined for just 29 points; that’s right combined! The Bulls put up 15 points while the Warriors managed just 14 points in the 4th quarter. Golden State actually took the lead one time in the 4th quarter, but couldn’t hold it as the Bulls where able to hang onto to get a 94-87 win.

Jimmy Butler made all 10 of his free throws on his way to being the Bulls high scorer in the game with 22 points. Bobby Portis posted a double-double with 17 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Dwayne Wade scored 12 points while Robin Lopez added 10 points. Cristiano Felicio grabbed 11 rebounds off the Bulls bench while Butler was the teams leader in assists with 6.

Steph Curry was the games high scorer with 23 points. Klay Thompson scored 13 points; Draymond Green scored 12 points handed out a game high 7 assists and grabbed a team high 8 rebounds. Patrick McCaw starting in place of the injured Kevin Durant scored 11 points. Andre Igoudala came off the Golden State bench to score 10 points.

With the win the Bulls go a game over .500 at 31-30. Chicago will have another nationally televised game, but this time it’s on ABC. The Bulls will host the 36-24 Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. This was the 4th of a 6 game road trip for the Warriors. Golden State will have a couple of days off before they try to break their two game losing streak Sunday afternoon when they face the 25-36 New York Knicks.

Denver Nuggets 125 Chicago Bulls 107

Posted: March 2, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls had a four game winning streak coming into Tuesday nights game against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets used a big send half to pull away from the Bulls for an easy 18 point victory 125-107.

It was a very even 1sy quarter that saw  seven lead changes and four ties between the teams. The Bulls never had more than a three point lead while the Nuggets never had a lead bigger than two points in the quarter. The final tie of the quarter was at 20 all. The Bulls scored five of the final seven pints in the quarter to take a 25-22 lead after one quarter.

The 2nd quarter ended up being dead even as each team scored 34 points in the quarter, but early it looked like the Bulls would pull away. The Bulls biggest lead of the quarter was eight points which they did twice. The last time the Bulls had an eight point lead was with 6:56 left in the quarter and the score was 45-37.The Nuggets came all the way back to take the lead at 54-51 with 1:54 left in the quarter. Chicago finished the quarter on a 8 to 2 run to go into halftime with a 59-56 lead.

Chicago built an eight point lead two more times in the 3rd quarter. The last time was with 9:08 left in the quarter with the score 70-62. The Nuggets cut the Bulls lead down to one point at two different times during the quarter before finally taking the lead at 78-77 with 3:31 left in the quarter. After getting the lead the Nuggets just started building on it. They finished the quarter on a 13 to 6 run to take a 91-83 lead after three quarters.

The Nuggets just continued to build their lead at the start of the 4th quarter. Denver scored the first 8 points of the 4th quarter to take a 99-83 lead. Denver took there first 20 plus point lead of the game when Jamal Murray hit a 3-pointer with 7:24 left in the quarter to make the score 110-89. The closet the Bulls could get was 16 points at 123-107 before Denver hit the final basket of the game to pick up the 125-107 victory.

Danilo Gallinari was Denver’s and the games leading scorer with 22 points. Wilson Chandler added 20 points while Nikola Jokic went for a triple-double scoring 19 points grabbing a game high 16 rebounds and handing out a game high 10 assists. Gary Harris (15 points) and Jameer Nelson (12 points) also reached double figures as all of Denver’s starters hit double digits in points. Off the Nuggets bench Will Barton scored 15 points while Jamal Murray had 14 points.

The Bulls where led by Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rondo (off the bench) who each scored 19 points. Wade also led the team in assists with 6. Bobby Portis had 12 points while Robin Lopez added 10 points. Denzel Valentine led the Bulls in rebounds with 7.

Denver actually has=d to turn around and pay the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. The Nuggets got a win over the Bucks 110-98. The wins makes the Nuggets 28-33 on the season. Denver will return home with there two game winning streak to face the  Charlotte Hornets. The loss drops the Bulls back to .500 at 30-30. The Bulls are one of the feature games tonight as they play host to the 50-10 Golden State Warriors.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 1, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports
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I’m sure that every Golden State Warriors fan held there breath last night when Kevin Durant went down about one minute into last nights game against the Washington Wizards. There was a loose ball situation early in the game. Wizards center Marcin Gortat ended up fouling Warriors center Zaza Pachulia on the play. Pachulia’s momentum took him into the back of Durant’s legs. Durant jumped away from Pachulia’s contact, hopping while holding his left leg. Durant actually tried to play the next two possesions befiore asking Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to calla timeout so he could come out of the game. After being looked at by trainers on the bench Durant headed to the locker room holding his leg and didn’t return to the game. Durant underwent an MRI after suffering what was being called a hyperextended left knee, but the results have yet to be released. In what has to be an odd coincidence. The last time Durant played in his hometown of Washington, while with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to miss six games.

Durant took only one shot; which he missed, and left with zero points. By not scoring Durant’s streak of 562 regular season games (653 including the postseason) in which he scored at least 10 points came to an end.

In the wake of Durant’s injury the Warriors agreed to a deal with veteran swingman Matt Barnes. Barnes was released by the Sacramento Kings after they made there trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans. Barnes spent two seasons in Golden State, from 2006 to 2008. Since Golden State will be adding Barnes it will be forced to abandon its plans to sign Jose Calderon on Thursday after Calderon clears waivers. It is being reported that the Warriors will sign Calderon to a rest of the season deal and then promptly waive him, ensuring Calderon earns the money he would have received in Golden State but also leaving a roster spot open to add Barnes.

Barnes had played in 54 games for the Kings starting 13 of them before being waived. He was averaging 7.6 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game with Sacramento. For his career Barnes averages 8.2 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists per game. Barnes is in his 14th NBA season including two tours with the Warriors and two with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Here’s the official report on Durant’s knee. Durant suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain, tibial bone bruise. He will be re-evaluated in four weeks, but is out indefinitely. It hasn’t been ruled out that he could return to the court before the end of the regular season.

It appears that a couple of other recently waived players have found new teams. Brandon Jennings who was released by the New York Knicks on Monday has verbally agreed to sign with the Washington Wizards. Jennings asked the Knicks to release him so he could join a contending team. Jennings played in 58 games for the Knicks starting 11 of them. He was averaging 8.6 points per game, 4.9 assists per game and 2.6 rebounds per game this season. On Monday the Cleveland Cavaliers added point guard Deron Williams after he was released by the Dallas Mavericks, Now it appears as though Andrew Bogot will also sign with the Cavaliers when he clears waivers on Wednesday. Bogot was a teammate of Williams with the Dallas Mavericks, but was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers at the trade deadline. Bogot agreed to a buyout with Philadelphia on Monday making him a free agent. The Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics where all interested in Bogot’s services, but he chose to sign with the Cavaliers. Bogot had played in just 26 games with the Mavericks due to injury. He started in 21 games for Dallas. Bogot was averaging 3.0 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game and 1.0 blocks per game. Bogot won an NBA championship with Golden State in the 2014-15 season.

The National hockey League trade deadline is today at 3 p.m. Eastern time and there has been quite a it of player movement these last couple of days. Here’s some of the deals that have happened. The Montreal Canadiens picked up Center Steve Ott from the Detroit Red Wings for a 2018 6th round draft pick. The San Jose Sharks got Right Wing Jannik Hansen from the Vancouver Canucks for Left Wing Nicolay Goldobin and a 2017 conditional 4th round pick. The Edmonton Oilers got Center David Desharnais from the Canadiens for Defenseman Brandon Davidson. The Canadiens will play 20% of Desharnais remaining salary. The Chicago Blackhawks got Johnny Oduya from the Dallas Stars for Center Mark McNeill and a 2018 conditional 4th-round pick. Dallas will pay 50% of Oduya’s remaining salary. The Ottawa Senators got Left wing Viktor Stalberg from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2017 3rd round pick and a 2018 2nd round pick. The New York Rangers picked up Defenseman Brendan Smith from the Red Wings for a 2017 3rd round pick and a 2018 2nd round pick. The Rangers also picked up Center Daniel Catenacci from the Buffalo Sabres for Defenseman Mat Bodie. The Washington Capitals picked up Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, and Goalie Pheonix Copley from the St. Louis Blues for Centers Brad Malone, Zach Sanford, a 2017 1st round pick and a 2019 conditional 2nd round pick. The Canadiens acquired Defenseman Jordie Benn from Dallas for Defenseman Greg Pateryn and a 2017 4th round pick. The Senators picked up Right Wing Alex Burrows from the Canucks for Center Jonathan Dahlen. The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up Center Brian Boyle from the Tampa Bay Lighting for Center Byron Froese and a 2017 2nd-round pick. The Arizona Coyotes got Teemu Pulkkiene from the Minnesota Wild for Future Considerations. The Wild also got Centers Martin Hanzel, Ryan White and a 2017 4th round pick from Arizona for Goalie Grayson Downing, a 2017 1st round pick, 2018 2nd round pick and a 2019 conditional pick. The Coyotes will pay 50% of Hanzel’s remaining salary. The Los Angeles Kings acquired Goalie Ben Bishop and a 2017 5th-round pick from Tampa Bay for Goalie Peter Budaj, Defenseman Erik Cernak, a 2017 7th-round pick and a 2017 conditional pick. Tampa Bay will pay 20% of Bishop’s remaining salary.

There are the deals that have been made so far. How many move trades do you think we’ll see before the 3 p.m. Eastern deadline?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com or you can find the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com.

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

Chicago Bulls 117 Cleveland Cavaliers 99

Posted: February 26, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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With Kevin Love still out with a knee injury and LeBron James taking the night off due to an illness the Chicago Bulls where able to pull away from the Cleveland Cavaliers late and pick up there 4th win in a row 117-99 in the NBA primetime Saturday night game.

The biggest lead either team could get out to was six points when the Cavaliers took a 20-14 lead with 2:31 left in the quarter. There where four ties in the quarter and the Bulls only lead twice. Most importantly they led at the end of the quarter 23-22 after Nikola Mirotic hit a 3-pointer with :01 second left in the quarter to give the Bulls the lead.

The 2nd quarter played out very similar to the 1st quarter. The biggest lead that any team could build was again six points. This time it was the Bulls who took the six point lead at 28-22 with 10:55 left in the quarter. There where five ties and as well as five lead changes, but this time it was the Cavaliers who ended up with the lead at the end of the quarter at 56-55.

Cleveland went out to an early six point lead at 65-59 with 9:15 left in the quarter. The Bulls then went on a 17 to 2 run to take the lead at 76-67 and began to build there lead. Cleveland cut the lead to five points, but the Bulls scored the next six points to go up by 11 points. After Rajon Rondo hit a jumper with the quarter expiring the Bulls had there biggest lead of the quarter at 89-76.

With two of there big three out the Cavaliers had no answer for the Bulls on this night as Cleveland could never get closer than 11 points. The Bulls outscored the Cavaliers 28 to 23 in the final quarter as they built to there winning margin of 18 points. Chicago actually scored the final eight points of the game to make the final score 117-99.

Dwayne Wade led the Bulls in scoring with 20 and missed a triple-double by 1 rebound. While Wade just missed a triple-double his teammate Jimmy Butler got one. Butler had 18 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Robin Lopez was the other Bulls starter to score in double figure getting 10 points. Off the bench the Bulls saw Rajon Rondo (15 points), Nikola Mirotic (14 points), Denzel Valentine (11 points) and Cristiano Felicio (10 points) all reach double figures. Butler and Mirotic each had 10 rebounds to tie for the game high while it was Butler and Wade with 10 assist apiece to tie for the game high in that category.

Kyrie Irving was the Cavaliers and the games high scorer with 34 points. Irving also handed out a team high 7 assists and tied for the team lead in rebounds with 9. James Jones and Kyle Korver came off the Cavaliers bench to score 14 points apiece while Channing Frye added 11 points. Tristan Thompson tied with Irving for the team lead in rebounds with 9.

The win puts the Bulls a game over .500 at 30-29. The Cavaliers are still leading the Eastern Conference, but the loss dropped there record to 40-17. The Bulls return home to put there four game winning streak on the line Tuesday night when they host the 26-32 Denver Nuggets. This game was the first of a back to back for the Cavaliers. They should have LeBron James back tonight as they host the 25-31 Milwaukee Bucks.

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