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Chicago Bulls 128 Phoenix Suns 121 OT

Posted: February 25, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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It was the first game after the All-Star break for both the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns. The Bulls managed to win the game 128-121 in overtime.

Also these where two of the teams that actually made deals at the trade deadline. The Bulls sent Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Anthony Morrow, Cameron Payne and Joffery Lauvergne and a 2018 2nd round draft pick. Phoenix made two moves at the trade deadline. First they sent P.J. Tucker to the Toronto Raptors for Jared Sullinger and 2017 and 2018 2nd round draft picks. Then the Suns sent a 2017 2nd round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Mike Scott, the rights to Cenk Akyol and cash considerations. The three players the Bulls acquired where unavailable for the game while Phoenix waived both Scott and Sullinger after acquiring them.

Phoenix was able to build a 9 point lead at 19-10, but the Bulls scored 9 nine points in a row to tie the game at 19 all. Phoenix was able to push the lead back to 4 points at 25-21 with just :29 seconds left to play in the quarter. Bulls rookie Denzel Valentine was able to hit a 3-pointer with :16 seconds left to cut the Phoenix lead to 1 point at 25-24 after one quarter.

The 2nd quarter was an evenly played quarter as the Suns built the biggest lead of the quarter with 6:26 left to play at 40-34. The Bulls then scored the next 7 points in the game as well as 9 of the next 11 points in the game to take there first lead. The lead didn’t last long as the Suns went on a 11 to 4 run to build a 53-47 lead with just 1:09 left in the quarter. The Bulls scored 5 of the quarters final 6 points as they cut the Phoenix lead to 2 points at 54-52 going into halftime.

The Suns started the 3rd quarter on a 7 to 1 run to take an early 8 point lead at 61-53. After T.J. Warren scored with 6:11 left in the quarter the Suns had there first double digit lead of the game at 70-59. Phoenix pushed the lead to 13 points at 76-63 before the Bulls started to get back into the game. Chicago went on a big 16 to 2 run to take the lead at 79-78 with :49 seconds left in the quarter. After the teams traded some free throws the Bulls took a 80-79 lead headed into the final quarter.

The 4th quarter stared off with the game being tied one time and the teams swapping the lead three different times. Phoenix final took some control of the game and with 4:31 left to play the Suns had a 11 point lead at 102-91. Phoenix held the lead until there where :48 seconds left when Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 106 all. Phoenix had the basketball and a chance to win it, but an Eric Bledsoe turnover gave the ball back to the Bulls with :31 seconds left in the game. Butler then hit a jumper with :11 seconds left in the game and it looked like the Bulls would pull out a win in regulation. After a Phoenix timeout Devin Booker had the ball with the clock running down and a chance to win the game. Booker’s 3-pointer missed, but Dwayne Wade was called for a foul that he didn’t look like he committed, but Booker went to the free throw line with a chance to win it for the Suns. Booker hit his first two free throws, but missed the third one and the game was headed to overtime tie at 108.

The Bulls got out quick in overtime taking a 6 point lead at 116-110. Phoenix was able to cut the Bulls lead to 3 points at 118-115, but that was as close as they could get in the overtime period. The Bulls ended up tying a franchise record by scoring 20 points in the overtime period as they pulled away for a 128-121 victory.

Dwayne Wade was the Bulls leading scorer with 23 points while Jimmy Butler added 22 points. Nikola Mirotic came off the Bulls bench to score 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to tie for the game lead. Robin Lopez scored 19 points and Denzel Valentine added 15 points off the bench. Rajon Rondo and Butler tied for the team lead in assists with 9.

Devin Booker was the Suns and the games leading scorer with 27 points. Marquese Chriss, T.J. Warren and Eric Bledsoe all scored 17 points in the game. Warren also grabbed 8 rebounds to tie for the game high while Bledsoe handed out a game high 10 assists. Alan Williams came off the Suns bench to score 16 points.

The win got the Bulls back to .500 at 29-29. This was the first game of a back to back for the Bulls as they’ll take the court tonight in Cleveland against the Eastern Conference leading Cavaliers who are 40-16 on the season. The loss give Phoenix the worst record in the Western Conference at 18-40. The Suns get a day off before they head to Milwaukee to face the 25-31 Bucks on Sunday afternoon.

How was your week

Posted: February 25, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, hockey, sports
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The NBA trade deadline was Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time and while there where some moves made none of the big name players that where rumored to be traded where. After all the talk and b.s. reporting that went on Carmelo Anthony is still with the New York Knicks. Jimmy Butler is still with the Chicago Bulls and Paul George is still with the Indiana Pacers. As it turned out the only superstar that ended up being traded was DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings swore up and down that they wouldn’t be dealing him.

Now the rumors on Anthony had cooled greatly as the deadline got closer; so it’s no surprise at all he’s still with the Knicks. There are very few places to even try and deal Anthony and with his no-trade clause he doesn’t have to accept any type of deal. Once there was no deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers there was talk about the Los Angeles Clippers and even some rumors of a deal with the Boston Celtics, but in the end none of those happened. Maybe if Kevin Love was healthy there would of been more movement on an Anthony deal. Now I guess we’ll have to listen to the rumors heading into the off season.

Now the Bulls made a deal sending Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne, Anthony Morrow and a 2018 2nd round pick, but Butler stayed put. While Butler’s name came up quite a bit the only team he was ever really linked to going with was the Boston Celtics. Maybe this is another deal that heats up when the draft pick the Celtics own that used to belong to the Brooklyn Nets has a draft spot associated with it.

Paul George’s name came up very late in the trade deadline rumors and George came out and said that he wouldn’t re-sign if he was traded; so you have to think that pretty much killed any deal involving him. At first the trade talk was that the Pacers would be looking to add pieces around George, but as the deadline approached the talk started to turn that the Pacers might look to deal George instead of acquire players to put around him. When was all was said and done Indiana did nothing at the deadline.

Now there where a couple of trades made at the deadline just not that blockbuster that was talked about. The Philadelphia 76ers decided to finally deal one of there big men as Nerlens Noel was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson and a protected 1st round pick. It’s been reported that the 76ers will buy Bogut out; so he’ll be a free agent. The Mavericks also waived Deron Williams. Remember on Valentine’s Day the Toronto Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka from the Orlando Magic for Terrence Ross and a 2017 1st round pick. Well at the trade deadline the Raptors acquired P.J. Tucker from the Phoenix Suns for Jared Sullinger and a 2nd round draft pick in 2017 and 2018. While Tucker isn’t a big time scorer he is a very good defender who could be used to match up in a playoff series with LeBron James if those teams met. In the end the big winners at the trade deadline may end up being the Cavaliers. While the Cavaliers didn’t make a trade at the deadline the reports are that they’ll sign Bogut and Williams as free agents. James complained weeks ago that the Cavaliers needed another playmaker at the point guard position and while he’s not the player he use to be Williams would definitely fit that roll. By adding Bogut they’d be getting a solid big man to come off the bench with championship series experience. How did your favorite team do at the trade deadline?

With the NBA trade deadline past it’s time for the NHL to head towards there trade deadline. The NHL trade deadline is this Monday February 29th. There where a couple of moves made yesterday as teams look towards the deadline.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired Patrick Eaves from the Dallas Stars for a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Eaves is 32 years old and was tied for the Stars lead with 21 goals, including 11 on the power play, which ranked fourth in the NHL. His 37 points in 59 games are an NHL career high. Eaves can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

The other deal saw the Chicago Blackhawks send a 3rd round pick in the 2017 NHL draft to the Detroit Red Wings for Tomas Jurco. Jurco turned 24 in December and had no points and two penalty minutes in 16 games with the Red Wings this season. He had 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in 159 NHL games over four seasons with Detroit, including eight goals in 36 games during the  2013-14 season. Jurco has been described as a “project”, but the Blackhawks are hoping that a change of scenery helps Jurco like it did Richard Panik after they picked him up at the trade deadline last season.

Just like with the NBA there will be some big names that will come up in trade rumors. Brian Boyle of the Tampa bay Lighting, Shane Doan of the Arizona Coyotes and New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak are some of the names out there. It also appears that the St. Louis Blues would be willing to move defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk as a rent a type player. Shattenkirk’s names recently came up as a possible trade candidate after he turned down a long term deal from St. Louis. Who knows if we’ll see any of these players dealt, but by Monday we’ll have the answer.

On the ice Friday night the Washington Capitals picked up there 13th straight home win by beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1. Tom Wilson and Justin Williams scored the goals for Washington and Braden Holtby made 30 saves in goal as the Capitals tied their record for consecutive home wins. Washington is headed out for two games on the road; so they won’t be able to break their record for consecutive home wins until March 2nd when they host the New Jersey Devils.

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

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: February 22, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, sports
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The NBA trading deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. and while there hasn’t been a lot of player movement just yet; there are a ton of rumors out there. It should be interesting to see who goes where or if it was just a bunch of talk.

The one official deal we have right now has DeMarcus Cousin and Omar Casspi going to the New Orleans Pelicans. While the Sacramento Kings will receive Tyreke Evans, Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway, a 2017 1st round pick and a 2017 2nd round pick.

Now it is being reported that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets have made a deal. The reports have Lou Williams going to the Rockets while the Lakers will receive Corey Brewer and a future draft pick.

Now the Lakers did make some big changes in the front office earlier in the week. Magic Johnson has taken over as President of basketball operations. Johnson’s first move was the fire General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Vice President of Public Relations John Black. Now Jim Buss will also leave his position as Executive Vice President of basketball operations. Since Buss is part owner of the team I’m not sure if this qualifies as him being fired, but wither way he won’t be making basketball decisions any more. Since Johnson pretty much cleared out the Lakers front office it looks as he’ll be in charge of any trades the team will make between and Thursday’s deadline.

Let’s take a look at some of the trade rumors out there. The Utah Jazz have talked top the Dallas Mavericks about guard Deron Williams. Williams is averaging 13.1 points per game and handing out 6.9 assists per game for the Mavericks this season. Williams was originally drafted by the Jazz in 2005 when he was the #3 pick.

The Indiana Pacers have spoken to the Philadelphia 76ers about Jahlil Okafor. The 76ers have quite a few front court players and there has been a lot of talks about them moving one of them. Since Joel Embiid has been the break out big man for Philadelphia you’d have to think that Okafor or Nerlens Noel would be traded.

The Boston Celtics have had talks with the Los Angeles Clippers about acquiring Blake Griffin. While this could be an interesting deal the Clippers are asking for quite a haul. The Clippers are looking for draft picks along with Jae Crowder and either Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley in return for Griffin. While Boston does have the draft picks to trade that would be a lot to give up for a player who’s contract expires at the end of the season.

The Brooklyn Nets are the worst team in the NBA and they don’t have the draft picks to rebuild the team with. They’ve made it known that they’re willing to trade there best player Brook Lopez. At first the Nets wanted two 1st round draft picks for Lopez, but they made it known this week that they would accept a 1st and a 2nd round pick in exchange for Lopez. Everyone is saying that the 2017 draft is one of the strongest draft in recent years and the more picks the Nets could get in it the better off they are.

Jimmy Butler’s name has come up multiple times in trade rumors, but now it seems as though the Bulls have decided to hold onto him. There are reports out there that the Chicago Bulls have made the entire roster available, but most of the stories I’ve heard have them looking to deal Nikola Mirotic. Taj Gibson’s name has also been mentioned in some trade talks; so maybe he’s the Chicago player traded.

Another deal that has come up had Derrick Rose reuniting with hos former head coach Tom Thibodeau as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. In return for Rose the New York Knicks would receive Rickey Rubio from the Timberwolves. Rubio’s name has been mentioned a few times in different trade rumors, but this is the first time Rose’s name has come up. Rose is also in the final year of his contract; so he’d come right off the books for any team that would deal for him.

While we’re on the Knicks. There hasn’t been a lot of Carmelo Anthony trade talk; so it appears as though he’ll be staying with New York at least through the end of this season. Once the Cleveland Cavaliers said they had no interest in dealing for Anthony there wasn’t really another good match up for the Knicks out there. Now if Rose is dealt they could send Anthony to the Clippers for Griffin, but that’s only if Anthony would accept that deal. Remember Anthony has a no trade clause in his contract.

I guess will have to wait until Thursday to see if any of these plyers have new teams or who else might get traded by the deadline. Sometimes it’s the smaller moves that can really help teams. There’s also the teams that are looking for some salary cap relief and might try to move some guys so they could be a player in free agency this coming off season.

Rob Manfred the commissioner of Major League Baseball held a press conference yesterday to discuss speeding up the pace of play in baseball. Now MLB was unable to make a lot of the changes they where talking about because they couldn’t come to an agreement with the players union on them, but they did make one change. The intentional walk rule is going from the traditional four pitch walk to a dugout signal. I’m not sure how much of a difference this will make, but by getting rid of the old fashioned intentional walk would eliminate about a minute of dead time per walk. Last season in MLB there where 932 intentional walks. So that means there was 1 intentional walk for every 2.6 games played. I’m not sure how big of an impact this rule change will have, but it’s looks to be the start of baseball making changes to try and make the games faster.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com or you find it anytime you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: February 18, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports
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It’s All-Star weekend in the NBA and it started last night. The All-Star festivities kick off with the celebrity game. Which I don’t think I’ve ever watched, but I’m guessing someone does because they keep having it. The other event on Friday night is the Rising Stars game. The roster for this game are compiled of first and second year players and they’re divided into a Team U.S. And a World Team. This game is pretty much the younger guys version of the actual All-Star game is there is no defense at all played. Case in point last night the World Team beat the U.S. Team 150-141. When this game first started I watched a little of it until I realized that it was a joke and they where only interested in seeing how many points they could score and it wasn’t any actual basketball game.

Moving on to the three Saturday events which are a little more entertaining. There’s the Skills Challenge which they ruined for me last year with the changes they made. I understand that they wanted the big men in the competition, but they way they adjusts things for them really ruined the competition.

Here are the players competing in the Skills Challenge.

Kristaps Porzingis (New York Knicks), DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Isaiah Thomas (Boston Celtics) , Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz), John Wall (Washington Wizards) and Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns). Jokic is replacing Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers who is out injured.

Then there’s the 3-point competition which is easily the best of all the events they have on Saturday.

Here are the players you’ll see competing in the 3-point shooting competition.

Defending champion Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) is back to try and repeat. He’ll be competing against Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors), Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) C.J. McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets), Wesley Matthews (Dallas Mavericks) and Nick Young (Los Angeles Lakers)

Then there is the Slam Dunk Contest which use to be the marquee event of the evening, but has really lost it’s luster when the bigger stars in the NBA no longer wanted to compete in it. Zach LeVine of the Minnesota Timberwolves had brought some interest back to the contest the last couple of years and his battle with Aaron Gordon last season was one of the best dunk contest there have ever been. While Gordon is back to compete and LeVine was going to try and defend his title he was injured and is out for the season.

He are the players in this years Slam Dunk Contest.

Aaron Gordon (Orlando Magic), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers), Glen Robinson III (Indiana Pacers) and Derrick Jones Jr. (Phoenix Suns).

How much of All-Star Saturday night do you watch?

Then there is the All-Star game itself. It’s the 66th NBA All-Star game and they’re in New Orleans this time. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. cst and it’s on TNT. Someone has to explain to me why you’d watch this game. Is it really that interesting to see these guys ply together. The only thing that I want to know if it happens or not is if will see Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder on the court with the four Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry who are on the Western Conference All-Star team, but that’s not enough to make me tune in. Are you going to watch?

In trade rumors that don’t involved Carmelo Anthony it appears as though the Detroit Pistons are in talks with the Orlando Magic to trade point guard Reggie Jackson. The deal as it’s being reported has Jackson going to the Magic for point guard D.J. Augustin and forward Jeff Green. Jackson name had came up in trade rumors early in the season that had him going to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Rickey Rubio. Those trade rumors prompted Pistons coach and team president Stan Van Gundy to publicly proclaim that  Jackson wouldn’t be dealt to Minnesota. There is also a report that if Jackson is available the New Orleans Pelicans would be interested in acquiring him. There where no names reported in a Pistons/Pelicans deal for Jackson.

Jackson is 26 and in the second year of a five-year; $80 million dollar deal with the Pistons. Jackson is averaging 15.2 points and 5.6 assists, but the Pistons are just 16-20 with him in the line up. Now Jackson missed the first 21 games of the season when he was suffering from persistent knee tendinitis. While Jackson was out the Pistons went 11-10.

It seems as though Detroit would like to move on from Jackson and use Ish Smith as there staring point guard. In and interview earlier in the week Van Gundy was quoted as saying “We found a groove with Ish. And when Reggie came back, it has been a big adjustment.” Van Gundy also acknowledged “Reggie came back, and we’ve struggled ever since.”

Detroit is currently in 8th place in the Eastern Conference at 27-30, but they where expecting to compete for a top playoff spot and have a home court advantage in a series or two. The Pistons are just one game behind the Chicago Bulls for the 7th spot in the conference, but they are also just one game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks who are in 9th place while the Miami Heat are in 10 place just two games behind the Pistons. With the trade deadline coming up on Thursday will have to see if Jackson is still with the Pistons after that.

The NHL has ruled that Antoine Vermette will be suspended 10 games for the slashing incident with a linesman Shandor Alphonso in the Anaheim Ducks 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. The NHL announced the decision on Thursday. That was just a day after Vermette had a disciplinary conference call with the league and the players’ union. The NHLPA has notified the league that it will appeal the suspension. Is 10 games enough or too much for Vermette?

You can listen to the Sports Time radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com or feel free to listen any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Chicago Bulls 104 Boston Celtics 103

Posted: February 17, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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There has been a lot of talking about the Chicago Bulls and if they will traded there All-Star Guard/Forward Jimmy Butler. There are a few teams who’s names have come up in a deal involving Butler, but the one that has come up the most is the Boston Celtics. Thursday night these two teams met at the United Center in Chicago and Butler was a huge part of the finish to the game. The Bulls found themselves down 103-102 with the clock running down and the basketball in Butler’s hands. As Butler went for the game winning shot with just .4 seconds left in the game the whistle blew and a foul was called on Marcus Smart of the Celtics as Butler was shooting. Even on replay it’s tough to see the foul and it’s been called “ticky-tack”, but the referees made the call and Butler calmly stepped to the free throw line made both free throws and after a last second shot by the Celtics failed the Bulls walked away with a 104-103 victory.

The Celtics started off the game on a 15 to 7 run to take there biggest lead of the 1st quarter. The Bulls where able to cut the lead down, but each times Boston was able to push it back to 8 points. Gerald Green hit a  3-pointer with 3:38 left to give the Celtics that 8 point lead for the final time in the quarter at 25-18. Chicago was able to score the final 4 points of the quarter to cut the lead to 25-22 at the end of the 1st quarter.

The Bulls started off the 2nd quarter by scoring the first 5 points to take the lead at 27-25. The teams traded the lead six times before the Celtics went on a 15 to 4 run to take a double digit lead at 45-35. The Bulls spent the rest of the quarter trying to cut into the lea and with just :33 seconds left they had the Celtics lead down to 3 at 55-52. Isaiah Thomas then hit a 3-pointer with :28 seconds left to give Boston a 6 point lead 58-52 heading into halftime.

Chicago started the 3rd quarter on a 15 to 7 run to take the lead at 67-65 on a Jerian Grant 3-pointer with 7:35 left in the quarter. The Bulls took there biggest lead of the quarter at 75-68 on a Robin Lopez tip in with 4:30 left in the quarter. Boston finished the quarter on a 10 to 6 run to cut the Bulls lead to 3 points 81-78 after three quarters.

The Bulls held the lead until Terry Rozier hit a 3-pointer with 6:15 left in the game to tie things up at 92 all. The game was tied three more times before the Bulls took the lead at 98-97 after Taj Gibson made two free throws with 2:54 left in the game. The Celtics went right back to the lead, but could never get any farther ahead than 3 points. After Doug McDermott hit two free throws with 1:20 left in the game the Bulls where down just 1 point at 103-102. On the defensive end Jimmy Butler blocked an Isaiah Thomas shot to give the Bulls the basketball back and a chance to win. Butler and the Jerian Grant missed 3-pointers to give the Bulls the lead. After each team used a timeout Isaiah Thomas missed a jump shot and Michael Carter-Williams got the rebound to set up the game ending scenario for Jimmy Butler. Butler missed the shot as time was expiring, but Marcus smart was called for the foul while Butler was in the act of shooting. Butler proceeded to hit both of his free throws to give the Bulls a 104-103 win.

Jimmy Butler was the Bulls leading scorer with 29 points while Bobby Portis came off the Bulls bench to score 19 points. Robin Lopez had 15 points wile Taj Gibson scored 12 points and grabbed a game high 9 rebounds. Doug McDermott also came off the Bulls bench to hit double figures with 11 points while Jerian grant added 10 points. Rajon Rondo didn’t score in the game, ubt he did hand out a game high 8 assists.

Isaiah Thomas was the Celtics leading scorer with 29 points and a team high 7 assists. Off the Celtics bench Kelly Olynck scored 17 points and grabbed a team high 7 rebounds while Terry Rozier scored 11 points. Amir Johnson had 10 points for Boston.

With the win the Bulls will head into the All-Star break with a record of 28-29 which is good for 7th place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics fall to 37-20 with the loss, but are still in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and find themselves just 3 games out of the top spot. The Bulls return to action on February 24th when they host the 18-39 Phoenix Suns. The Celtics are also off until February 24th, but they’ll be on the road against the 33-24 Toronto Raptors.

Chicago Bulls 105 Toronto Raptors 94

Posted: February 15, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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On Tuesday the Toronto Raptors traded Terrence Ross and a 1st round pick to the Orlando Magic for Serge Ibaka. Of course with the deal just being made Ibaka wasn’t available as the Raptors faced the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night. For the 11th time in a row the Bulls picked up a win over the Raptors 105-94. The last time the Raptors won a game in this series was December 31st 2013.

Toronto took a quick 4-0 lead, but then the Bulls ran off the next 8 points to take the lead. The game was tied a couple of times before the Raptors where able to go back into the lead at 15-14. The teams traded the lead three more times before the Bulls where able to final 8 points of the quarter to take a 24-18 lead after one quarter.

The teams started the quarter out trading baskets as the Bulls slowly added to there lead. Chicago finally put there lead into double digits when Rajon Rondo hit a 3-pointer to make the score 41-29 with 6:09 left in the quarter. The Bulls continued to add to the lead with the largest lead hey built was 21 points at 56-35 with 1:44 left in the quarter. Toronto scored 4 of the final 6 points in the quarter to cut the Bulls lead to 58-39 going into the half.

Early in the 3rd quarter the Bulls pushed the lead to 23 points at 66-43 when Jerian Grant hit a 3-pointer with 7:48 left in the quarter. The Raptors did outscore the Bulls in the quarter 25-20 and managed to cut the lead to 14 points at 78-64 by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Chicago has had trouble hanging onto big leads this season and when Toronto started the quarter on a 9 to 5 run you had to wonder if they where headed down that road again. Toronto got the Bulls lead into single digits when Corey Joseph hit a 3-pointer with 6:00 minutes left to play to make the score 88-80. After DeMar DeRozen hit a pair of free throws the Raptors where just down 5 points at 96-91 with 2:08 to play. This time the Bulls finished the game on a 9 to 3 run to get by the Raptors 105-94.

Doug McDermott came off the bench to lead the Bulls in scoring with 20 points. Jimmy Butler returned to the line up and struggled from the field making just 2 of the 10 shots he attempted. Butler did go 15 of 19 from the free throw line and posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 assists. Taj Gibson had 14 points while Rajon Rondo (12 points) and Cristiano Felicio (10 points) came off the Bulls bench to score in double digits. Felicio also tied with Robin Lopez for the team lead in rebounds with 6 apiece.

Kyle Lowry was the Raptors and the game high scorer with 22 points. DeMar DeRozen added 18 points while Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and grabbed a game high 9 rebounds. Off the Raptors bench Norman Powell scored 13 points and Corey Joseph scored 10 points. Lowry and Powell tied for the team lead in assists with 4 each.

The win improves the Bulls record to 27-29. Toronto falls to 32-24 with the loss. Chicago gets a day off before they host the 36-19 Boston Celtics. The Raptors don’t get a day off as they return home to host the 24-31 Charlotte Hornets.

 

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: February 15, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, sports
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With pitchers and catchers just reporting the St. Louis Cardinals got some bad news already. The Cardinals top pitching prospect and the #6 rated minor league prospect overall Alex Reyes needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2017 season. An MRI revealed a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.Reyes had the MRI on Tuesday after letting the Cardinals of elbow discomfort. The scan was examined by team physician Dr. George Paletta; who confirmed that Reyes requires Tommy John surgery. The images have been sent to Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion, but the Cardinals do not expect the diagnosis to change. Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Reyes will likely have the surgery on Thursday. It will be performed by Paletta. Reyes first notified the Cardinals of arm discomfort late last week, and the club recommended the imaging scan after running Reyes through a physical exam at their spring training complex. Reyes has been pitching with a compromised ligament in his right elbow since at least 2013; when he was diagnosed with an elbow strain. Reyes will no longer pitch for the Dominican Republic team in next month’s World Baseball Classic. Reyes pitched in 12 games last season for St. Louis making 5 starts. He pitched a total of 46 innings going 4-1 with an E.R.A. of 1.57 and getting 1 save. Reyes was expected to contribute at the major league level this season, but his role hadn’t been decided yet. While it was never announced you have to believe there was a plan in place to limit his innings this season be it as a starter or out of the bullpen. Not that you ever want to lose a player for the season this early, but the Cardinals do have Lance Lynn returning from Tommy John surgery which cost him the entire 2016 season. St. Louis also has 23 year old prospect Luke Weaver who made 8 starts for them last season to help in the rotation if needed. Weaver was 1-4 in those 8 starts with an E.R.A, of 5.70 over 36 1/3rd innings. Weaver did make one relief appearance last season.

Kyle Schwarber has said that he wants to continue to catch and the Chicago Cubs cane out yesterday and said that they will allow him to do some catching this spring. Schwarber  tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in the third regular season game in 2016 was examined by the Cubs medical staff yesterday and if they clear him he’ll catch one or two days a week this spring. Schwarber miss all but those first three games of the regular season, but he did return to serve as the Cubs designated hitter in the World Series. Schwarber will have to wear a brace on his left knee this season and possibly the rest of his playing career. The Cubs are working on creative ways for Schwarber to work with the catchers and not put any unnecessary stress on his knee. Coming into the 2017 season Wilson Contreras looks to be the Cubs starting catcher with Miguel Montero being his back up. If Schwarber can catch he could be a very valuable 3rd catcher for the Cubs.

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is scheduled to miss 6 weeks. Love began suffering from a sore left knee Saturday against the Denver Nuggets and sat out from the Cavaliers game Tuesday. An MRI on Sunday didn’t reveal any structural damage, but Love sought out a second opinion. If Love is out the 6 weeks he should be able to return at the start of April and that would give him 7 games to get ready for the playoffs. That actual should give Love enough time to test the knee out and get back into game shape. Love is currently 3rd on the Cavaliers in scoring averaging 20 points a game. He is the teams leading rebounder grabbing 11.1 per game. Love is also one of the Cavaliers best 3-point shooters making 38.4% from behind the 3-point line. Cleveland is 38-16 and have a 2 1/2 game lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. Will they still be in 1st place when Love returns? More importantly does it matter at all where the Cavaliers are seeded come playoff time? You have to think that even if the Cavaliers fall into 2nd or even 3rd place they would still be the clear favorites to win the conference and go to the NBA Finals.

The Anaheim Ducks beat the Minnesota Wild 1-0 last night, but they may lose Antoine Vermette to a suspension after he slashed linesman Shandor Alphonso. After losing a face off with 7:33 left in the 3rd period Vermette slashed the leg of the linesman. This earned Vermette a 10 minute penalty for game misconduct and an ejection for abuse of an official. NHL Rule 40.3 explains that a player will receive a 10 game suspension for deliberately applying physical force to an official in any manner. Vermette’s slash fits into this category. Just last season Dennis Wideman of the Calgary Flames received a 20 game suspension for cross-checking a ref on his way back to the bench. Wideman’s suspension was later reduced to 10 games through an appeal. Vermette is in his 13th NHL season, but this is his 1st one with Anaheim. In 58 games this season Vermette has 22 points on 8 goals and 14 assists, but is a -10 for +/- this season. There is no timetable for an NHL ruling on Vermette’s slash, but you have to think there will be a suspension involved with this incident.

For the Super Bowl the Atlanta Zoo had a bet with the Rhode Island Roger Williams Park Zoo that the loser would name a baby animal after the winning team’s star quarterback. The Atlanta Zoo paid off there bet by naming a Madagascar hissing cockroach Tom Brady. The animal to be named had been agreed upon between the two zoo’s since it was expected the loser of the bet would be bitter. The zoo introduced a whole family of cockroaches in a video Monday, including a tiny Tom Brady.

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Minnesota Timberwolves 117 Chicago Bulls 89

Posted: February 12, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls wrapped up there six game road trip in Minnesota to face there former head coach Tom Thibodeau and the Timberwolves. Going into the game the Bulls where the definition of short handed as they would be missing four players. Jimmy Butler was out with a bruised heel. Dwayne Wade missed the game with a right wrist injury. Nikola Mirotic sat out with lower back trouble and Paul Zipser missed the game with a right ankle injury. Any way you look at it the Timberwolves had no issues handling the Bulls as they coasted to a 28 point victory 117-89.

The Bulls had two leads in the game; 2-0 and 4-2. The Timberwolves doubled the Bulls offensive output in the 1st quarter 34-17 and setting the tone for the game very early. Minnesota took there first double digit lead of the game with 7:30 left in the 1st quarter and the game was never in doubt after that.

The Timberwolves scored the first five points of the 2nd quarter to find themselves up 21 points at 39-17. The Bulls didn’t get the deficit under 20 points until there was 0:49 seconds left in the quarter. Jerian Grant’s 3-pointer was the last basket of the quarter for Chicago and the game went into halftime with the Timberwolves up 57-40.

Minnesota scored the first four points of the 3rd quarter to push the lead right back to 21 points at 61-40. The closest the Bulls could get in the quarter was 15 points as the Timberwolves outscored them by two 27-25 in the 3rd quarter to extend there lead to 19 points at 84-65.

With the outcome pretty  much in hand the Bulls still started off the 4th quarter scoring four of the first six points, but there was no hope of a big comeback as the Timberwolves outscored them again in the final quarter 33-24. The biggest lead Minnesota had in the 4th quarter was 28 points as they cruised to a 117-89 victory.

Andrew Wiggins was Minnesota’s and the games high scorer with 27 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 pints while Rickey Rubio scored 17 points and had a game high 11 assists. Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and grabbed a game high 13 rebounds. Off the Minnesota bench Nemanja Bjelica (16 points) and Shabazz Muhammad (12 points) reached double figures in points.

The Bulls where led by Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis (off the bench) who each had 16 points. Michael Carter-Williams scored 12 points grabbed a team high 7 rebounds and tied for the tem lead in assists with 6. Robin Lopez and Rajon Rondo (off the bench) each scored 10 points. Rondo also handed out 6 assists to tie for the team lead.

Minnesota had lost five of there last six games coming into this contest, but the win improved there record to 21-34 on the season. The loss drops the Bulls to three games under .500 at 26-29. The Timberwolves will get a day off before a Valentine’s Day match up against the Eastern Conference leading 37-16 Cleveland Cavaliers at home. The Bulls went 2-4 on there road trip. Chicago will also get a day off before they host the 32-22 Toronto Raptors Tuesday night.

Phoenix Suns 115 Chicago Bulls 97

Posted: February 11, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Jimmy Butler returned to the Chicago Bulls line up after missing the previous three games. Butler played 30 minutes, but is still listed as day to day with that bruised heel.

Even with the return of Butler to the starting line up the Bulls suffered there third loss in there last four games and there second loss in a row as the Phoenix Suns beat them 115-97 Friday night. This was the Bulls fifth game on there current six game road trip and was easily the most disappointing loss on the trip. Phoenix has the second worst record in the NBA and you would’ve thought that the Bulls would’ve been able to get by them, but not only did they lose they where beaten by 18 points.

The game was tied four different times in the 1st quarter. An 11 to 4 run gave the Bulls the biggest lead of the quarter 23-16 with 3:04 left to play. It was then the Suns turn to make a run as they finished the quarter on a 12 to 3 run taking a two point lead 28-26 after the 1st quarter.

The Bulls scored the first six points of the 2nd quarter to take the lead back early at 32-28. Phoenix worked there way back to tie the game at 37 all and then the teams where tied again at 39 all before the Suns scored six points in a row to take the lead 45-39 with 3:11 left to play. Phoenix finished the quarter on a run of 11 to 4 run to take a 56-43 lead going into halftime.

Chicago started the 3rd quarter off by scoring nine of the first 11 points in the quarter to cut the Suns lead to six points at 58-52, but that was the closest the Bulls could get in the quarter. Chicago did outscored Phoenix in the quarter 33-30. Even winning the quarter the Bulls still found themselves down double digits 86-76 heading into the final quarter.

Phoenix’s first two baskets of the 4th quarter where 3-pointers by Jared Dudley. The second one gave the Suns a 12 point lead at 92-80 with 9:11 left to play. Chicago never got closer than nine points again in the game as the Suns slowly puled away for an easy 18 point victory 115-97.

Devin Booker of the Suns was the games leading scorer with 27 points. Eric Bledsoe added 23 points and a game high 8 assists while T.J. Warren scored 16 points. Alan Williams came off the Phoenix bench to score 14 points and grab a game high 11 rebounds.

Jimmy Butler played 30 minutes in his return and led the Bulls in scoring with 20 points and also handed out a team high 6 assists. Dwayne Wade added 18 points while Robin Lopez scored 12 points and a team high 7 rebounds. Taj Gibson had 10 points while Doug McDermott came off the Bulls bench to score 11 points.

The win improved Phoenix’s record to 17-37. This was the first of back to back games for the Suns as they had to head out on the road to face the 39-17 Houston Rockets Saturday night. The loss sent the Bulls back to two games under .500 at 26-28. Chicago get a day off before they finish up there road trip in Minnesota. They’ll face the 20-34 Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon.

How was your week

Posted: February 11, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports
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Spring training opens next week with most camps opening February 14th. Pitchers and catchers are the first group of players scheduled to report, but not all catchers have a team to report to. Matt Wieters is still out on the free agent market. Wieters will turn 31 in May and is big for a catcher at 6’5 and 230 pounds. Wieters did have Tommy John surgery back in 2014 and you have to wonder if that is scaring some teams off. What looks like his former team the Baltimore Orioles handled him very carefully after the surgery. Wieters caught in just 55 games during the 2015 season, but came back last season to catch in 117 games; so health doesn’t look like an issue. Last season Wieters accepted the qualifying offer from the Orioles which paid him $15.8 million dollars, but this season Baltimore didn’t put a qualifying offer on Wieters; so there’s no draft pick attached with signing him. That makes it even more confusing as to why Wieters hasn’t been signed. Now Wieters is represented by Scott Boras and there are teams that don’t like to deal with him and his clients, but if you’re still looking for a catcher this late in the off season you have to look at Wieters. Last season Wieters hit .243, but for his career his batting average is .256. He hit 17 home runs with 66 RBI’s. His fielding percentage as a catcher last season was .994 and he threw out 35% of runners who tried to steal against him. Those numbers are right in line with his career numbers .993 fielding percentage and 33% of baserunners thrown out. Wieters won the Gold Glove award in back to back season 2011 and 2012 and is a four time All-Star. The negative on  Wieters appears to be the overrated pitch framing stat. According to StatCorner; Wieters ranked 68th in framing among catchers who received at least 1,000 pitches last season, saving -7.3 runs compared to the average catcher. Buster Posey was first at +26.8.

Now there are some teams out there that Wieters would be an upgrade at the catching position and a couple of them are considered contenders for the upcoming season. The Washington Nationals added Derek Norris in a trade this off season, but he’s had a couple of down years. Will moving to a better team help Norris? Jose Lobaton appears to be the back up, but Washington does have a young catching prospect in 23 year old Pedro Severino. If the Nationals signed Wieters to a one or maybe two year deal he could hold down the position until Severino is ready. How about another National League East contender the New York Mets. It appears as the Mets like Travis d’Arnaud, but he’s been injury prone and hasn’t produced at the plate. Maybe a one year deal allowing d’Arnaud to be the back up might help him overall. The Colorado Rockies have been very active on the free agent market this off season spending close to $100 million dollars, but behind the plate it looks like they’re going with the young duo of Tom Murphy who’s 25 and Tony Wolters who’s 24. A veteran like Wieters could be a big upgrade for Colorado. The Arizona Diamondbacks sign renowned pitch framer Jeff Mathis who’s a career .197 hitter. They also added Chris Iannatta on a one year deal. Arizona has also added Josh Thole and Hank Conger to minor league deals. This is another situation where Wieters would be a huge upgrade. The Tampa Bay rays signed Wilson Ramos as a free agent, but he’s recovering from a knee injury and might not be ready for the start of the season. That leaves the Rays with Curt Casali and Luke Maile as the catching duo to start the season. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim acquired Martin Maldonado a highly regarded pitch framer in a trade and they have a prospect in Carlos Perez, but again Wieters would be a huge upgrade. The Chicago White Sox appear to be in full rebuild mode. They’re going into the season with a young starting rotation and relying on Geovany Soto behind the plate. If the White Sox could add Wieters on a one year deal he could work with the young rotation while also being used as trade bait to help the rebuild along. It’s highly unlikely that Wieters would return to the Orioles. Baltimore brought back Mark Trumbo on a free agent deal and it looks as though they’re settled on Wellington Castillo as there catcher. The Orioles also have some big time players looking to enter free agency at the end of the 2017 season. Manny Machado, Chris Tillman and Zach Britton are three of the Orioles who enter free agency at the end of the season. If the Orioles intend to bring back any or all of those three players then Wieters might be the expendable piece. There’s a few options still out there for Wieters. Where do you have him landing?

The Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies last night 122-107 and in the game Draymond Green had a triple-double. That may not be a huge news grabbing type of story as the Warriors win a lot of games and there is always a plyer on the Warriors who could get a triple-double. Now when you dig deeper into Green’s triple-double you’ll see that he had 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals while only scoring 4 points. It’s the first time in NBA history a player has recorded a triple-double while not scoring at least 10 points. It also was only the second in NBA history with at least 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in a game. The first one was back in 1986 by Alvin Robertson, but he scored 20 points when he did it. Green was the first player in NBA history to record 10 steals and five blocks in a game since the 1973-74 season; when those became official statistics. Green’s 10 steals set a Golden State record and it was the first time a player had 10 steals in a game since Brandon Roy did it in 2009. Green has always been considered a unique player and this kind of a stat line really shows that about him.

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