Washington Wizards 112 Chicago Bulls 107

Posted: March 17, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls made the game a lot closer than it looked early on as they came back from double digits only to lose 112-107 to the Washington Wizards. It was the Bulls seventh loss in their last eight games. It was also the first game the Bulls played without Dwayne Wade. Wade is done for the regular season with a fractured right elbow.

Both teams took a little while to get going as they combined to miss the first seven shots in the game. Jimmy Butler broke the scoring drought with a lay up with 10:18 left in the quarter. The  Bulls held the lead early in the quarter, but the Wizards came back and outscored the Bulls 29-23 in the quarter to take a six point lead into the 2nd quarter.

The Bulls had some offensive issues in the 2nd quarter as they managed to score just 17 points. The Wizards took double digit leads on four different occasions in the quarter only to have the Bulls manage to bring the score back under 10 points. The Bulls did manage to cut the Wizards lead to seven points on a few different occasions before Washington was able to pull away. Washington scored the last 10 points of the quarter to take a 19 point lead 59-40 at halftime.

Previously when the Bulls have had offensive troubles early in the game they’ve carried over through the rest of the game, but tonight was different. While Washington was able to hold onto their double digit lead through the 3rd quarter the Bulls did outscore the Wizards  32-25 in the quarter to knock the lead down to 12 points 84-72 heading into the final quarter.

The Bulls had another good offensive quarter in the 4th putting up 35 points to the Wizards 28 points. While it took the Bulls the majority of the quarter when Nikola Mirotic hit a 3-pointer with 1:23 left in the game the Bulls found themselves down just two points 104-102. Washington pushed the lead back to four points, but then Jimmy Butler hit a 3-pointer with   :39 seconds left and the Bulls where down just one point at 108-107. That was as close as the Bulls could get as the Wizards went four for four on their free throws down the stretch to get a 112-107 win.

Bradley Beal was the Wizards leading scorer with 24 points. Jason Smith scored 17 points while John Wall and Otto Porter Jr. each had 14 points. Wall also had a game high 20 assists. Ian Mahinmi (16 points) and Bojan Bogdanovic (12 points) also scored in double figures. Marcin Gortat and Porter Jr. tied for the team lead in rebounds with 8.

Jimmy Butler was the Bulls and the games high scorer with 28 points. Robin Lopez was the other Bulls starter to score in double figures with 25 points. Lopez also grabbed a game high 12 rebounds. Off the Bulls bench Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and Denzel Valentine add 11 points. Rajon Rondo was the Bulls team leader in assists handing out 11.

Washington improved to 42-26 with the win while the Bulls fell to 32-37 on the season. This was the first of back to back games for both teams. Washington will head to Charlotte to face the 29-39 Hornets on Saturday night while the Bulls head home to host the 43-26 Utah Jazz tomorrow night.

Memphis Grizzlies 98 Chicago Bulls 91

Posted: March 16, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls have had an up and down season. There record seems to always be right around the .500 and they’ve been hanging around the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference for most of the season. As a fan you’d almost want them to miss out on the playoffs rather than be an 8th seed just to improve that draft position a little bit. Well the Bulls chances of making the playoffs took a big blow Wednesday night. Not only did the Bulls lose to the Memphis Grizzlies 98-91, but they lost guard Dwayne Wade for the remainder of the regular season with a fracture elbow. The Bulls are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, but they’re just a game behind the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons who are tied for the 8th place. Even though it’s just a game without Wade it might be tough for the Bulls to make up this game and I guess the question for fans is; do you want them to?

While the Grizzlies always seemed to have the lead in the 1st quarter they could never get ahead of the Bulls by more than four points. The only lead the Bulls had in the 1st quarter was at 2-0 when Rajon Rondo made a lay up for the first points of the game. The game was tied on six different occasions in the 1st quarter and it actually ended tied at 24 all.

Early in the 2nd quarter it was the Bulls turn to take the lead. Chicago had a three point lead on three different, but Mike Conley made two free throws to give Memphis the lead back at 33-32 with 8:52 left in the quarter. The Grizzlies built the biggest lead of the game at six points only to have the Bulls come al the way back and tie the game at one point. Marc Gasol hit the last basket of the quarter to give the Grizzlies a 54-50 lead at halftime.

The Grizzlies came out and scored the first nine points of the 3rd quarter to take a 14 point lead 64-50. The Bulls began chipping away at the double digit lead and got it down to five points before Memphis was able to push the lead back to 10 points at 71-61 with 2:35 left in the quarter. The Bulls finished the quarter on a 10 to 3 run to cut the lead to three points 74-71 heading into the 4th quarter.

The Bulls managed to tie the game at 80 and then again at 83 all in the 4th quarter before six straight points to take the lead for the final time in the game. The Bulls never got closer than three points in the game again and while it was a close game the Grizzlies always had a small lead. Robin Lopez hit the final basket of the game for the Bulls to make the final score 98-91 Memphis.

Marc Gasol and Mike Conley tied for the top scoring honors in the game and for the Grizzlies as they each went for 27 points. Conley was also the games top rebounder with 9 boards and Conley and Gasol also tied for the team lead in assists with 7. The only other Memphis player to score in double figures was Tony Allen who had 10 points.

The Bulls where led by Rajon Rondo who had 17 points. Rondo also handed out a game high 8 assists. Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic (off the bench) each scored 14 points while Denzel Valentine added 11 points off of the Bulls bench. Butler, Valentine and Bobby Portis each grabbed 7 rebounds to tie for the team lead.

This was the first of back to back games for the Grizzlies and the win improved their record to 38-30. The Grizzlies will turn around and head to Atlanta to face the 37-30 Hawks tonight. The Bulls fall to 32-36 with the loss. Chicago gets a day off before they head out on the road to face the 41-26 Washington Wizards Friday night.

 

 

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 15, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, College Basketball, football, sports, Uncategorized
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We’re just one day from the NCAA men’s basketball tournament starting; otherwise called March madness. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know a whole lot about college basketball, but I filled out a tournament bracket. I think there are a lot of people in the same situation as I am. What I’d be interested to know is; how did you pick your bracket? Now I’m not the kind of person who fills out multiple brackets to try to get the best outcome. I actually do two bracket and they always seem to end up being pretty much the same. I one of my brackets I have Villanova, Duke, Kansas and Louisville in the final four with Duke and Kansas meeting in the finals and Duke winning it. My second bracket has Duke and Kansas in the final four again, but this time they’re joined by Florida St. and UCLA. My finals match up is Duke vs. UCLA with UCLA winning it all. I don’t know if this will actually help anyone and I doubt it will, but those are the teams I went with.

My next question for you about March madness is; what’s your favorite part of it? Now for me I like the first weekend of the tournament more than the rest of it. You always get those big upsets in the first weekend. Sometimes it’s a #5 seed beating a #12 or like last year we got a #2 seed losing to a #15 seed. Of course the one upset we’ve yet to see is a #1 seed going down at the hands of a #16 seed. I don’t think that we’re going to see one of those upsets this season, but it would be fun if we did. Who’s your big time underdog team that’s going to pull off these upsets. It seems as though the experts like Wichita St. who drew a 10th seed, but everyone seems to think is better than that. I think after all the hype I heard about Wichita St. I picked them to win their 1st round game, but I’m not sure if I have them going any farther than that. There always seems to be that one team that wins a couple of games that no one was expecting and this of course can make or break your bracket. I’d love to know which higher seeded team you picked to make a tournament run.

With NFL free agency still rolling along a running back has finally signed with a team. I think  most people thought we’d see Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles be the first running back to sign, but it turned out that Eddie Lacy was the guy. Lacy signed a 1 year $5.5 million dollar deal with the Seattle Seahawks. $3 million dollars in Lacy’s deal is guaranteed.

Lacy is looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2016 season. Lacy played just 5 games last season. Lacy was averaging 5.1 yards per carry before he injured an ankle that required surgery and ended his season. Lacy was a 1000 yard rusher his first two seasons (2013 & 2014) in the NFL, but rushed for just 758 yards in the 2015 season. Lacy can also be a factor in the passing game as he has a career high of 42 receptions in 2014.

The biggest issue with Lacy seemed to be his weight. He was listed at 235 pounds by the Green Bay Packers, but I’m not sure anyone ever believed that. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll mentioned that they’d like to see Lacy’s weight in the 240’s.

Lacy is being brought in to help a Seahawks running game that averaged 3.8 yards per carry and ranked 24th in the NFL last season. It was a tough season for the Seahawks running core as they struggled though injuries which led to 18 different guys getting a carry during the season. Lacy will join Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise in the Seattle backfield mix. Rawls had a very good rookie season averaging 5.6 yards per carry and rushing for 830 yards. Last season Rawls battled through multiple injuries playing in 9 games last season and rushing for 349 yards and 3.2 yards per carry. Prosise was a rookie in 2016 playing in 6 games and rushing for 172 yards and averaging 5.7 yards per carry. The Seahawks are hoping that Prosise will blossom into a 3rd down back. Carroll has said often that his preference is to go with multiple backs. Lacy is the favorite to get the bulk of the carries, but Rawls and Prosise will also factor in.

Now there was another running back signed, but again it wasn’t Peterson or Charles. Rex Burkhead signed with the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Tuesday. Burkhead spent his first three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, but was the #3 running back behind Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard. Do to injuries Burkhead saw a little more playing time last season. I the final week of the season Burkhead rushed 27 times for 119 yards against the Baltimore Ravens. Burkhead has returned kicks as well as playing other special team role and he has lined up as a slot receiver. With that kind of versatility he seems like a good fit for the Patriots. Burkhead will compete with Dion Lewis and James White in the New England backfield, but should see more time on the field than he did in Cincinnati as the Patriots use all of their running backs on the roster.

It appears that the two teams that everyone expected to make it to the NBA finals have it a regular season wall. The Cleveland Cavaliers did right their ship a little last night with a 128-96 win over the Detroit Pistons, but even with that win the Cavaliers have lost 4 of their last 6 games. The Golden State Warriors also managed to get a win last night, but they struggled to do that. Golden State beat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-104 Tuesday night. Coming into that game the Warriors had lost three games in a row. Now the Cavaliers are still on top of the Eastern Conference by 2 1/2 games, but Golden State has fallen off the top of the Western Conference standings. The San Antonio Spurs have taken over the top spot in the Western Conference by 1/2 game. Both teams are dealing with injuries to top players and the NBA regular season is long even with the days off. With both teams hitting this bad stretch do you think will see anyone else in the finals besides the Warriors and the Cavaliers?

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

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

 

Chicago Bulls 115 Charlotte Hornets 109

Posted: March 14, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls have been struggling coming into Monday nights game on a five game losing streak. Luckily the Bulls ran into another team who’s having a disappointing season the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets have dropped two of their last three games coming into Monday nights match up. In the end it was the Bulls who broke their losing streak as they picked up a 115-109 victory over the Hornets.

There where five lead changes and three ties between the teams in the 1st quarter. The last tie was at 24 all with 1:49 left in the quarter after Treveon Graham hit his second of two free throws. Graham’s free throw was the last points the Hornets would score as the Bulls hit four three pointers to close out the quarter and take a 36-24 lead after one quarter.

The teams played a very even 2nd quarter. The biggest lead Chicago was able to build was 15 points at 44-29 with 9:41 left in the quarter on a Nikola Mirotic 3-pointer. The closest Charlotte could get in the quarter was seven points at 45-38 when Jeremy Lamb hit a jumper with 6:09 left in the quarter. Charlotte was able to outscored the Bulls by two points in the 2nd quarter 24-22. The Bulls headed into halftime with a 10 point lead at 58-48.

The Hornets started out the 3rd quarter on a 11-2 run and cut the Chicago lead to one point at 60-59. The Bulls pushed the lead back to five points, but the Hornets came right back and made it a one point game at 66-65. Chicago took a four point lead again,  but this time Charlotte came all the way back to tie the game at 69 all with 5:20 left. The Bulls finished the quarter on a 18 to 8 run and built their lead back to 10 points at 87-77 heading into the final quarter.

The Hornets made a couple of 4th quarter runs getting the Bulls lead down to three points on two occasions. The last time the Hornets got to within three was when Jeremy Lamb made a lay up with :23 seconds left in the game. The Bulls made five of their six free throw attempts down the stretch to cap off their 115-109 victory.

Nikola Mirotic came off the Bulls bench to post a double- double. Mirotic was the teams high scorer with 24 points and also led the team in rebounding with 11. Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade each had 23 points while Butler also handed out a game high 11 assists. Rajon Rondo was back in the starting line up for the Bulls and scored 20 points. Denzel Valentine also scored in double figures coming off the Bulls bench as he went for 11. points.

Jeremy Lamb was the games leading scorer with 26 points. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 22 points. Kemba Walker and Marvin Williams each posted double-doubles. Walker scored 21 points and handed out a team high 10 assists while Williams scored 13 points and grabbed a game high 18 rebounds. All of Charlotte’s starters reached double figures in scoring as Cody Zeller also added 11 points.

With the win the Bulls record goes to 32-35. Chicago will get a day off before they host the 37-30 Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night. The Hornets fall to 29-38 with the loss. Charlotte will also get a day off before they go on the road to face the 34-32 Indiana Pacers.

Boston Celtics 100 Chicago Bulls 80

Posted: March 12, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls offense continued to struggled as they lost their 5th game in a row. It was also their 6th loss in their last 7 games as the Boston Celtics easily dispatched of the Bulls 100-80 Sunday afternoon on ABC.

The Celtics scored the first 10 points of the game. Boston also scored 15 of the first 17 points of the game as they led rom wire to wire and put the Bulls away very early. The Bulls managed just nine 1st quarter points and where pretty much done from the opening tip. By the end of the 1st quarter the Celtics had a 13 point lead 22-9.

The 2nd quarter wasn’t much Better for Chicago as they scored 17 points in the quarter. The Bulls never got any closer to the lead than 11 points as the Celtics held a double digit lead the entire quarter. Boston took it’s first 20 point lead of the game with 3:58 left in the quarter and 20 points is the lead they held going into halftime at 46-26.

The Bulls did score the first three points of the 3rd quarter and from an offensive stand point they did play better scoring 31 points. Of course with the offense looking like it belonged in the NBA the defense went away as the Celtics scored 30 points in the quarter. Heading into the 4th quarter the Celtics had a 19 point lead 76-57.

With the big lead the Celtics where able to rest some of their top players. Even with some of the starters on the bench for the entire quarter the Celtics still managed to outscored the Bulls 24-23 in the quarter. At one point the Bulls found themselves down 25 points, but in the end they lost by just 20 points 100-80.

Isaiah Thomas was the games leading scorer with 22 points. Thomas got in points in just 24 minutes of game action. Avery Bradley had 17 while Al Horford added 12 points. Horford also tied for the games top assists honors handing out 6. Three players came off the Celtics bench to score in double figures. Marcus Smart had 12 points while Jaylen Brown and Kelly Olynyk each scored 11 points. Jae Crowder also grabbed a game high 10 rebounds for Boston.

The Bulls where led by Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine who each scored 13 points. Bobby Portis scored 12 points and grabbed a team high 8 rebounds. Cristiano Felicio also added 10 points. Rajon Rondo had 6 assists to tie for the top honors in that category.

With the win Boston improves to 42-25. The Celtics get a couple of days off before they host the 27-38 Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. The Bulls fall to 31-35 with the loss. This was the first of a back to back set of games for the Bulls as they’ll head to Charlotte to face the 29-37 Hornets on Monday night.

Houston Rockets 115 Chicago Bulls 94

Posted: March 11, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Chicago Bulls lost their 4th game in a row on Friday night 115-94 to the Houston Rockets. The Bulls offense disappeared again but this time it was in the 2nd and 3rd quarters as they managed to score just 30 points combined in those quarters. With this loss the Bulls also fall out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

There where three ties very early in the game before the Bulls where able to build a lead. After Robin Lopez hit a jump shot with 5:41 left in the quarter the Bulls had a nine point lead at 20-11. The Rockets never got closer than five points and it looked like the Bulls would take a 13 point lead into the 2nd quarter,  but Eric Gordon hit a 3-pointer with :27 seconds left to cut the Bulls lead to 10 at 33-23 after one quarter.

Houston started the 2nd quarter on a nine to three run to cut the Bulls lead to three points at 35-32. The Bulls where able to push the lead back to six points, but the Rockets slowly worked the Bulls lead down and after Clint Capela scored with 7:01 left in the quarter Houston was down just one point 42-41. Both teams went cold as neither team scored for about a two minute stretch before Houston took it’s first lead of the quarter at 43-42. The teams traded the lead four times in the final five minutes before Houston was able to pull away a little and take a 56-49 lead at halftime.

The Rockets scored 24 of the first 26 points scored in the 3rd quarter to take a 80-51 lead and pretty much put the game away. The Rockets hit five 3-pointers in while pulling away. The Bulls never got closer than 14 points in the quarter and managed to score just 14 points in the quarter as the Rockets took a 92-63 lead headed into the 4th quarter.

Houston pushed it’s lead to 31 points twice early in the 4th quarter before getting their starters out of the game and allowing them to rest. With the Houston bench getting big minutes in the quarter the Bulls where ale to outscore them 31-23, but the outcome of the game was well in hand as Chicago never got closer than the 20 points. Houston ended up with an easy 115-94 victory.

Ryan Anderson was the Rockets leading scorer and tied for the game high honors with 21 points. James Harden and Trevor Ariza posted double-doubles. Harden had 19 points and a game high 13 assist while Ariza went for 13 points and a game high 11 rebounds. Clint Capela added 17 points while Lou Williams came off the Rockets bench to score 18 points.

Dwayne Wade returned from a thigh injury to lead the Bulls in scoring and tie for the games top scorer with 21 points. Jimmy Butler scored 16 points while Cameron Payne (off the bench) added 11 points. Joffery Lauvergne was the teams leading rebounder with 9 and Jerian Grant led the team in assists with 5.

The Rockets improved to 45-21 with the win while the Bulls fall to 31-34 on the season. Houston gets a day off before they have a marquee match up Sunday night on ESPN against the 42-21 Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland. The Bulls also head out for a road game on Sunday. Chicago will try to break it’s 4 game losing streak Sunday afternoon on ABC against the 41-25 Boston Celtics.

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.

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