How was your week

Posted: February 4, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in football, hockey, sports
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It’s just one day until the New England Patriots face the Atlanta falcons in Super Bowl 51. It looks as though kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. cst on Sunday, but do they ever start on time? I’m just glad that it’s time for the game as the two week build up to it gets tiring. There are only so many times we can hear about Tom Brady being a 6th round draft pick or the fact that this is the first time a lot of the Falcons have made it to the Super Bowl. While the stories get boring no matter what they are or how hard the media tries to come up with different angles on them.

The big story line now is what kind of condition will Falcons center Alex Mack be in. All reports are pointing to him playing, but how long will he be able and will he be able to perform. As the center Mack is in charge of making all the Falcons line calls and adjusting protection for quarterback Matt Ryan. The other Falcons injury question is wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones was limited in practice, but is fully expected to play. Some good injury news for the Falcons was that pass rush specialist Dwight Freeney was removed from there injury report. As I’m sure you could’ve guessed the Patriots injury report is quite full. tight end Martellus Bennett and wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell are listed with knee injuries. Wide Receiver Chris Hogan is listed with a thigh injury that has been bothering him though the playoffs. On the Patriots defense Dont’a Hightower has a shoulder issue while two defensive tackles Alan Branch (toe) and Vincent Valentine (back) made the injury report. Also Patriots safety Nate Ebner left the AFC championship game with a concussion and still hasn’t been cleared tp return. With the exception of Ebner and of course barring any type of injury set back it appears all of these players will play in the game.

If you’re a betting man the Patriots are -3 point favorites right now and the over/under on the game is between 58 1/2 and 59 points. That is the highest over under for any Super Bowl. Of course being that it’s the Super Bowl you can find prop bets on just about everything. If you’re not interested in betting on the actual football game there are plenty of other prop bets out there. You can bet on the national anthem, the halftime show, the announcers (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman) Who’ll win the M.V.P. and if they’ll televise a handshake between Roger Goodell and either Tom Brady, Bill Belihick or Robert Kraft if the Patriots where to win. There are even more prop bets out there, but they’re just too many to list here.

Tomorrow on the Sports Time Radio podcast we’ll reveal are picks on the game. Obviously will pick our winners of the game, but we also do the final score and who we think will win the M.V.P. award. If you’d like to play along with us feel free to leave your picks in the comments here or e-mail them to SportsTimeRadio@Hotmail.com If we get your picks on time will announce yours on air right along with our picks. Really I’d like to see a good game.

In some other football news Michael Vick has said he plans to retire. Vick didn’t play in the 2016 season, but spent 13 seasons in the NFL. This of course is nor counting the 2007 and 2008 seasons when he spent some time in prison and was suspended for his involvement in a dog fighting ring.

The Atlanta Falcons traded up in the 2001 pick to take Vick #1 overall. Vick spent the first six years of his career with the Falcons. Vick made 67 career starts for the Falcons, but played in a total of 74 games for them. He was 38-28-1 as a starter and took them to the playoffs in 2002 and 2004. After his suspension Vick returned to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick spent five seasons with the Eagles appearing in 54 games starting 42 of them. Vick went 20-20 as a starter for the Eagles. Vick spent the 2014 season with the New York Jets where he played in 10 games starting three of them where he went 1-2 as there starter. 2015 saw Vick join the Pittsburgh Steelers where he played in five games starting three of them going 2-1 as a starter for them.

In his career Vick played in 143 games starting 115 of them. As a starter his record was 61-51-1. Vick threw for 22,464 yards with 133 touchdowns and 88 interceptions. Now many will remember Vick for his running ability as a quarterback. In 2006 Vick ran for 1039 yards. In his career Vick rushed for 6109 yards with 36 touchdowns. Vick averaged an amazing 7.0 yards per carry in his career and had a career long run of 61 yards.

Vick had hoped to play in the 2016 season, but was never signed by a team. He did return to the Georgia Dome as a guest of the Falcons for there regular season finale on January 1st. Falcons owner Arthur Blank called Vick “an important player in our history” and the Falcons fans gave Vick a great reception at halftime when he was introduced.

It looks as though the National Hockey League will be playing some games overseas. The NHL is waiting on word for the National Hockey League Players Association on whether they’ll approve two regular season games overseas. It would be the Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators who would play a two game series in Stockholm Sweden on November 10th and 11th. The NHL would also like to have two pre-season games between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks played in China. The China trip would involve either two games in Beijing; or one in Beijing and one in Shanghai.

The NHL still hasn’t made a decision on if it’s players will be allowed to compete in the 2018 South Korea Olympics, but the players would like to continue playing in the Olympics. The players would love a decision on there Olympic participation before the Sweden and China games are schedule,  but it doesn’t look like that will happen. The NHL, the NHLPA, the International Ice Hockey Federation and, for the first time, the International Olympic Committee are scheduled to meet in New York on Friday. It’s doubtful, but maybe they’ll come to a decision then on if the NHL players will be allowed to compete in the Olympics. Do you want to see the players from your favorite team play in the Olympics?

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalklRadio.com, but you can also get the podcast anytime you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Chicago Bulls 128 Oklahoma City Thunder 100

Posted: February 2, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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With the ice show taking over the Chicago Bulls home area the United Center the team headed out on a six game road trip. The first stop for the Bulls was a visit to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. The Bulls have had some issues within there own locker room, but they picked up a win in there last home game before facing Oklahoma City and they where able to extend there winning streak to a modest two games with a 128-100 win over the Thunder.

The 1st quarter was very even, but the Bulls did build a seven point lead at 14-7 with 4:35 left in the quarter. Oklahoma City finished the 1st quarter with a 13 to 7 run, but the Bulls where able to hold onto the lead at 21-20. Cristiano Felicio hit a jumper as the quarter expired to give the Bulls there one point lead.

The teams traded the lead ten different times in the quarter and the game was also tied five times. After Russell Westbrook made a free throw to finish off a three point play the Thunder took there last lead of the quarter at 42-41 with 2:43 left in the quarter. The Bulls finished the quarter on a 14 to 5 run to take a 55-47 lead at halftime.

The Bulls used a 17 to 5 run to build a 21 point lead at 72-51 with 6:41 left in the quarter. The closet the Thunder could get was 16 points after Joffery Lauvergne hit a 3-pointer to make the score 76-60. The quarter finished with the Bulls outscoring the Thunder 18 to 13 to take a 94-73 lead heading into the final quarter.

Now the Bulls blew a 20 plus point lead on January 25th and ended up losing a 119-114 to the Atlanta Hawks. Fortunately this game didn’t go that route for the Bulls and they where actually able to add to there lead in the 4th quarter. The Bulls outscored the Thunder 34 to 27 in the 4th quarter to pull away for one of there best wins of the season 128-100.

 

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls and tied for the games high scorer with 28 points. Dwayne Wade had 18 points and a team high 7 assists. Robin Lopez scored 14 points while Jerian Grant added 12 points. Cristiano Felicio and Doug McDermott each had 11 points off the Bulls bench while Taj Gibson was the games leading rebounder with 8.

Russell Westbrook with 28 points tied for the games high scorer. Westbrook also handed out a game high 8 assists. Victor Oladipo scored 12 points while Jerami Grant came off the Oklahoma City bench to score 15 points. Andre Roberson and Steven Adams tied for the team lead in rebounds with 6 each.

The win gets the Bulls back to .500 at 25-25 while the Thunder falls to 28-22 on the season. Chicago’s second game of there road trip is tomorrow night when they take on the 36-16 Houston Rockets. Oklahoma City will also get a day off before they host the 30-21 Memphis Grizzlies Friday night.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: February 1, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports
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So it’s Super Bowl week. On the Sunday morning podcast we’ll reveal our picks for the game. Don’t forget with the Super Bowl we not pick who we think will win the game, but what the final score will be and who we think will win the M.V.P. In most cases it’s easy to just take the quarterback from the team you think is going to win the game. Last year I went a different direction and manage to get lucky when I picked Von Miler as M.V.P. As you look at these two teams it can be tough to pick and M.V.P. if you feel that Atlanta is going to win. Now if you’re going with New England to win the game than your M.V.P. pick is probably Tom Brady. It’s difficult to think of who else on the Patriots could win the award besides Brady. Now as for the Falcons there are some players to choice between. The award could easily go to Matt Ryan. Of course if one of the Falcons running backs DeVonta Freeman or Tevin Coleman has a big game could they win the award. Then of course there’s Julio Jones who could easily put up bug numbers and walk away with the M.V.P. award. Now even though New England’s defense has given up the least points in the NFL I find it hard to believe that will see an M.V.P. winner from either defense. Feel free to play along with us. Leave your picks in the comments or e-mail them to SportsTimeRadio@Hotmail.com. Remember it’s the winner of the game with the final score and who you think will win the M.V.P. award.

The Falcons do have a couple of injuries to keep an eye on as teams start practicing a little more intensely for the game. Julio Jones has been dealing with a toe sprain since the Falcons game against the Kansas City Chiefs back on December 4th. While Falcons center Alex Mack is dealing with a left fibula injury that he suffered in Atlanta’s win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. Jones did return to practice on Friday, but he was limited while Mack didn’t practice at all last week. Jones has played through injuries all season and missed two regular-season games because of the sprained toe. Mack has not missed a start, but he didn’t finish the NFC title game; Ben Garland played the final series in place of Mack against Green Bay. The Falcons where off yesterday, but they’ll return to practice today, tomorrow and Friday at Rice University. These three practices are all closed practices. You’d have to think that both Jones and Mack will play on Sunday, but you should keep an eye on them just in case.

I have to tell you that I’m done with all of the LeBron James crybaby garbage and I don’t even want to get into the stuff with him and Charles Barkley. I’m sure Dan the Man and I will discuss it on the live version of Sports Time Radio today at 5:30 p.m. on BlogTalkRadio.com.

What I will get into with the Cleveland Cavaliers is that they’re still looking for a play maker. The Cavaliers are actually going to hold a tryout with some names that you’ll recognize attending. Veteran point guards Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich and Jordan Farmar as well as guard/forward Lance Stevenson will all work out for the Cavaliers today. There will be other free agents at this try out, but these where the names that have been reported to be there. There are also reports out there that the Cavaliers will sign one or possibly two of the players from this try out. Report are that if the Cavaliers do decide to sign any players from this try out they’ll do it just prior to the All-Star break. The Cavaliers have one open spot on there roster, but they could easily open up another roster spot by waiving center Chris Andersen. Andersen is out for the season with a knee injury.

Chalmers is recovered from an Achilles injury he suffered last March and is a former teammate of LeBron’s. James played with Chalmers for four season in Miami. As teammates they made it to the finals four times and won two NBA titles. Chalmers has career averages of 9.0 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Hinrich is a 13 year NBA veteran, He played last season for the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks. Hinrich has a career scoring average of 10.9 points per game and 4.8 assists per game. Hinrich is a career 38% shooter from behind the three point line.

Farmar played two games this season with the Sacramento Kings. For his career Farmar averages 7.7 points, 2.9 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game. Farmar has spent parts of 10 seasons in the NBA with five different teams.

Stevenson is healthy after rehabilitating a groin injury that required surgery in November. The New Orleans Pelicans released Stevenson do to roster constraints. Stevenson is the youngest of this group at 26 years old and has played for five NBA teams in seven seasons.

The Cavaliers went 7-8 in January, but are still on top of the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 32-15. The Cavaliers host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight before they head out on a four game road trip that will see them play the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, Indiana pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The NHL returned from there All-Star break with 14 games last night. In one of those games the Winnipeg Jets beat the St, Louis Blues 5-3. This morning the Blues fired there head coach Ken Hitchcock and replaced him with associate coach Mike Yeo. This move was actually suppose to take place after this season as Hitchcock had planned to retire, but with St. Louis having a record of  24-21-5 and 53 points general manager Doug Armstrong decided to make the move early. St. Louis is tied for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with the Calgary Flames. Just behind the Blues and the Flames sit the Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks all with 52 points. Yeo has been with the Blues since last summer; so the transition should be an easy one, but even with a coaching change will the Blues find there way into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Chicago Bulls 121 Philadelphia 76ers 108

Posted: January 31, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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Now I don’t know if it was the allure of the NHL All-star game or maybe it was the draw of the NFL going back to the old AFC vs. NFC format in the Pro Bowl, but I missed the Chicago Bulls 121-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night. I remember turning on the game right before it was scheduled to start and then for some reason I went away from it and just never found my way back to it. So instead of our normal Bulls game recap let’s just take a look at the box score and move on.

Jimmy Butler was the Bulls leading scorer with 28 points. Robin Lopez added 21 points and grabbed a team high 10 rebounds. Dwayne Wade and Doug McDermott (off the bench) each scored 14 points. Paul Zipser and Nikola Mirotic each scored 13 points off the Bulls bench. Rajon Rondo led the Bulls in assists with 10.

All five 76ers starters scored in double figures led by Ersan Ilyasova with a game high 31 points. Robert Covington scored 21 points and grabbed a game high 12 rebounds. Nik Stauskas scored 15 points. T.J. McConnell scored 14 points and handed out a game high 12 assists. Nerlens Noel added 12 points for the 76ers.

The win improved the Bulls record to 24-25. On Wednesday the Bulls will start a 6-game road trip against the 28-20 Oklahoma City Thunder. The loss dropped the 76ers to 17-29, but Philadelphia did pick up a 122-119 win on Monday against the Sacramento Kings to make there record 18-29. Philadelphia also plays Wednesday night as they are on the road against the 18-30 Dallas Mavericks.

How was your week

Posted: January 28, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports, Uncategorized
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Are the Chicago Bulls in trouble? On Wednesday night the Bulls had a 10 point lead over the Atlanta Hawks with 3:01 left to play in the game. The Hawks had beaten the Bulls six times coming into that game, but with a double digit lead and just a little time left it looked as though the Bulls would snap that streak. The Bulls managed just 4 points in those final three minutes while the Hawks scored 19 points to pick up there 7th straight win over the Bulls 119-114.

After a tough loss Dwayne Wade and Jimmy Butler both torn into there teammates about the loss. Wade (33 points) and Butler (40 points) combined to score 73 of the Bulls 114 points in the game.  Wade and Butler both made some really derogatory comments about there teammates. These comments where met by a Rajon Rondo response on Instagram. Friday night was the first game that the Bulls where going to play since all of these comments where made. How would the team play?

Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg decided that Wade and Butler would start the game on the bench for the comments they made after Wednesday’s game; so Paul Zipser and Doug McDermott where in the Bulls starting line up Friday. Rondo would also come off the bench in this game, but he’s been in that role since losing his starting spot back in December. It was reported that Wade, Butler and Rondo where all fined.

So the Miami Heat came into Chicago on a 5-game winning streak to face the Bulls Friday night and the Bulls didn’t respond well. Jimmy Butler may have had the worst game of his NBA career. Butler played 33 minutes going 1 of 13 from the field while splitting a pair of free throws. Butler scored just 3 points in the game. Wade was the Bulls leading scorer in the game playing 28 minutes and scoring 15 points. Wade shot 6 of 17 from the field in the game. Out of the three Rondo was the only one who had what would be considered an average night. Rondo scored 13 points while grabbing a team high 7 rebounds as well as handing out a team high 7 assists.

When it was all said and done Miami extended it’s winning streak to six games with a 100-88 victory. With the loss the Bulls fell to two games under .500 at 23-25, but are still holding onto the 8th and what would the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are off on Saturday before they host the 17-28 Philadelphia 76ers Sunday evening. Philadelphia is just 6-13 on the road this season, but they have won 7 of there last 10 games. Can the Bulls get there ship righted? or are they destined to slide down the Eastern Conference standings and fall out of a playoff spot?

We don’t talk a lot about tennis on the Sports Time Radio podcast, but the final at this mornings Australian Open featured Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams. Venus is a 7-time grand slam winner while Serena is was tied with Steffi Graf for the most major title in women’s tennis history at 23. In the end it was Serena who broke her tie with Graf by beating her sister 6-4, 6-4 to win the Australian Open.

This was Serena’s seventh Australian Open title and second in the past three tournaments in Melbourne. She also has seven titles at Wimbledon, six at the US Open and three at the French Open. Serena is now just one major championship behind the all-time leader Margaret Court. Court won 24 titles in the Open and amateur eras. Court won 13 majors before the dawn of the Open era in 1968. Court is from Australia and was in attendance for this match up between Venus and Serena.

The men’s final of the Australian Open will be played tomorrow live at 2:00 a.m. CST at Rod Laver Arena. The men’s final features the 9th seeded Rafael Nadal against 17th seeded Roger Federer.

It’s All-Star weekend in the NHL. The All-Star game itself will be played on Sunday with a schedule start time of 2:30 p.m. CST. The NHL is using the sane format as last season. It will be set up with two divisions playing a 20-minute, 3-on-3 game before the next two divisions play in another game, The two winners will meet to play for a $1 million prize in the final, another 20-minute, 3-on-3 game. Any tie games will be decided by a shootout.

Of course the NHL also has a Skills Challenge which is tonight starting at 6:00 p.m. CST. It will feature six challenges: The Skills Challenge Relay, the Four Line Challenge, shooting accuracy, fastest skater, hardest shot and a shootout. The Skills Competition will be broken down into the four All-Star rosters by division, and each of the 44 All-Stars will participate in at least one event. The winning division will get to select which game and division it will play first in Sunday’s All-Star game.

The All-Star Skills competition will be shown on the NBC Sports Network. While the All-Star game itself will be shown on NBC. This year the NHL All-Star festivities are being held at the Staples Center. The home of the Los Angeles Kings.

Heading into the All-Star break it’s the Washington Capitals who have accumulated the most points with 70. The Minnesota Wild have picked up 69 points while the Columbus Blue Jackets have 68 points. Then there’s the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens with 65 points. Teams have played between 47 and 52 games coming into the All-Star break.

As far as individual statistics go Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is leading the NHL in points with 59. He is followed by a pair of Pittsburgh Penguins teammates as Sidney Crosby has 55 points and Evgeni Malkin has 54 points. Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks has 51 points while Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Brad Marchand of the Boston bruins are tied with 49 points. Crosby leads the NHL in goals with 28. Cam Atkinson of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Jeff Carter of the Los Angeles Kings have 24 goals. Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs have scored 23 goals. McDavid leads the league in assists with 42 while Kane and Nicholas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals have 34 assists. Malkin and Alexander Wennberg of the Columbus Blue Jackets each have 32 assists.

Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets leads all goaltenders in wins with 28. Devin Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild has 27 wins. Cam Talbot of the Edmonton Oilers has 26 wins. Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks has 25 wins while Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals have 24 wins. Dubnyk is the Goals Against Leader at 1.88 followed by Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings and Holtby at 1.96. Peter Budja of the Los Angeles Kings is at 2.06 and Bobrovsky is at 2.10. Dubnyk is also the leader in save percentage at .936. Howard is behind him at .934 followed by Holtby at .930 then it’s Bobrovsky at .929 with Thomas Greiss of the New York Islanders rounding out the Top 5 at .928

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

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Miami Heat 100 Chicago Bulls 88

Posted: January 27, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Miami Heat came into Friday nights game on a five game winning streak. While the Chicago Bulls came in the game after blowing a late double digit lead in the final three minutes of there last game. The Bulls are also dealing with the post game interviews by Dwayne Wade and Jimmy Butler calling out the team and then Rajon Rondo calling out Wade and Butler on Instagram. Wade and Butler where held out of the starting line up as punishment over the interview comments as Rondo continued to come off the bench. In the end it all played out with the Heat picking up their 6th straight victory 100-88 over the Bulls.

After five ties the last being at 15 all early in the 1st quarter the Heat went on a 12-0 run to take a 27-15 lead with 4:20 left in the quarter. The Bulls where able to cut into the Miami lead a little bit and when Rajon Rondo hit the final basket of the quarter the Bulls had the lead under double digits at 33-24 after one quarter.

The Bulls were able to knock a couple of more points of the Miami lead and with the score 37-30 both teams struggle to get the next basket. There where four missed shots, three turnovers, two fouls and a full timeout before Paul Zipser hit a jump shot to end the drought. The Bulls came all the way back to tie the game at 40 all and then took the lead at 45-42 when Zipser hit a 3-pointer. The game stayed close as there where four more ties including at the end of the quarter as the game went into half time tied at 53 all.

The 3rd quarter started out even between the two teams. Miami found themselves up two points at 63-61 with 7:31 to play before going on a 14 to 6 run to take a 77-67 lead with 1:00 minute left in the quarter. Neither team was able to score in the final minute of the quarter and the Bulls managed just 14 points in the 3rd quarter. So the 3rd quarter ended with Miami up 77-67.

The Bulls scored 7 of the first 10 points in the 4th quarter to cut the Miami lead to 80-74. The Heat then scored seven straight points to build a double digit lead at 87-74. The Bulls where never able to get closer than 11 points which they did on three different occasions as Miami was able to extend there winning streak to six games with a 12 point 100-88 victory.

Miami’s Goran Dragic was the games high scorer with 26 points. Dragic also handed out a game high 11 assists. Willie Reed had 20 points while Dion Waiters scored 19 points. Wayne Ellington came off the Heat bench to score 14 points. James Johnson grabbed a game high 9 rebounds for Miami.

Dwayne Wade was the Bulls leading scorer coming off the bench to score 15 points. Taj Gibson and Paul Zipser each had 14 points for the Bulls. Rajon Rondo score 13 points and was the team leader in assists with 7 and rebounds with 7. Jimmy Butler had one of the worst nights of his NBA career, Butler went 1 for 13 from the field and split a pair of free throws managing to score just 3 points in the game.

This was the first game of a back to back for the Heat and the win improved there record to 17-30. Miami will return home and put there six game winning streak on the line as they host the 21-25 Detroit Pistons. The loss dropped the Bulls to 23-25. Chicago will get a day off before they host the 17-28 Philadelphia 76ers Sunday night.

Atlanta Hawks 119 Chicago Bulls 114

Posted: January 26, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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The Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls for the 7th straight time, but it took a big time comeback for the Hawks to get a 119-114 victory Wednesday night in Chicago. The win improves Atlanta’s record to 27-19. The Hawks are currently 4th in the Eastern Conference standings. With the loss the Bulls drop back under .500 at 23-24. Chicago is still holding onto the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are a game ahead of the 9th place Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bulls got off to a quick start as they scored the first seven points of the game. With 4:58 left in the quarter the Bulls found themselves with a double digit lead at 21-11. The Hawks went on a 9 to o run at that point and cut the Bulls lead to just one point at 21-20 with 2:42 left to play in the quarter. The Bulls then made their run as they finished the quarter by outscoring the Hawks 8 to 2. The 1st quarter ended with the Bulls up 29-22.

The 2nd quarter was very even for the teams as the Bulls managed to outscore the Hawks, but just by one point in the quarter 30-29. Every time the Hawks made a dent in the Bulls lead, Chicago was able to battle back. The closest Atlanta was in the quarter, was three points at 44-41 with 5:46 left in the quarter. After Atlanta got that close, the Bulls scored the next six points to make it a 50-41 game. The Hawks knocked just one point off the Bulls lead after that. Chicago went into halftime with a 59-51 lead.

The 3rd quarter played out very much like the 2nd quarter did, but this time it was the Hawks that outscored the Bulls 27-24 in the 3rd quarter. With 3:51 left in the quarter, Thabo Sefolosha hit a 3-pointer and the game was tied at 72 all. After another tie at 74 all, the Bulls went on a 9 to 4 run to end the quarter and took a 83-78 lead headed into the final quarter.

Early in the 4th quarter any time the Hawks cut into the lead the Bulls were able to re-establish the lead. After Dwight Howard made a pair of free throws, Atlanta was within four points at 95-91 with 6:22 left in the game. Chicago scored the next seven points of the game to build a 11 point lead at 102-91 with 5:11 left to play. Atlanta did cut the Bulls lead to five points one more time, but the Bulls managed to get the lead back to double digits at 110-100 with 3:01 left to play. Atlanta made one more run in the game and this time it was a 19 to 4 run to end the game and take the victory 119-114.

Six Atlanta players scored in double figures lead by Dennis Schroder with 24 points. Schroder also handed out a game high 9 assists. Paul Milsap scored 21 points while Thabo Sefolosha added 18 points. Atlanta’s other two starters Dwight Howard and Kent Bazemore each scored 16 points. Howard also grabbed a game high 12 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the Atlanta bench to score 17 points.

Jimmy Butler (40 points) and Dwayne Wade (33 points) accounted for 73 of the Bulls 114 points in the game. The only other Bulls player to reach double figures was Doug McDermott. McDermott came off the Bulls bench to score 10 points. Butler also led the Bulls in rebounding grabbing 9. Butler also tied with Rajon Rondo and Jerain Grant for the team lead in assists with 3.

The Hawks get a day off as they return home to host the 26-20 Washington Wizards Friday night. After playing back to back games the Bulls also get a day off as they’ll host the 16-30 Miami Heat on Friday night.

Chicago Bulls 100 Orlando Magic 92

Posted: January 25, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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In the first game of another set of back to back scheduling the Chicago Bulls picked up there 2nd win in a row 100-92 over the Orlando Magic. The win got the Bulls back to .500 at 23-23 and bumped them up to the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. The loss dropped Orlando to 18-29 on the season.

The Magic got off to a quick start scoring 8 of the games first 10 points. The Magic were able to hold onto the lead and even built it to eight points. The Bulls started to work there way back into the game and when Rajon Rondo hit a short jump shot with 1:31 left in the quarter the game was tied at 18 all. The Bulls took the lead 20-18 after Paul Zipser hit two free throws, but the Magic scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 22-20 lead after one.

Orlando took a five point lead right at the start of the quarter, but a 9 to 4 run by the Bulls made it a tie game at 29 all. The game was tied again at 32 all before Orlando took a short lived three point lead. When Cristiano Felicio scored with 6:46 left in the quarter it gave the Bulls there first lead in the quarter. The biggest lead the Bulls could build was seven points, but the Magic cut into that as they went into halftime down three points at 52-49.

With 9:27 Nikola Vucevic gave the Magic the lead back at 58-57. The teams traded the lead three times before they ended up tied at 63 all. The Bulls scored the next six points to build a lead. Orlando was able to cut the lead to one point on two different occasions before the Bulls ended the quarter by scoring the last four points to take a 78-73 lead after three quarters.

The Bulls built an 11 point lead as they started the quarter on a 12 to 6 run and it looked as they might cruise to a victory. With 4:03 left in the game the Bulls took there biggest lead at 96-84. The closest Orlando could get after that was six points. The Bulls got the last basket of the game to make it an eight point victory 100-92.

Dwayne Wade and Jimmy Butler where the only two Bulls starters to score in double figures. Wade had a game high 21 points while Butler scored 20 points and handed out a team high 4 assists. Off the Bulls bench Cristiano Felicio posted a double-double with 12 points and a game high 10 rebounds while Doug McDermott added 12 points going 4 of 6 from behind the 3-point line.

All five of the Magic starters scored in double figures led by Nikola Vucevic with 20 points. Serge Ibaka scored 16 points and grabbed a team high 8 rebounds. Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green each scored 13 points while Elfrid Payton added 10 points. C.J. Watson came off the Orlando bench to lead the team in assists with 6.

Since this was the first of a back to back for the Bulls they have to turn right around and play tonight at home against the 26-19 Atlanta Hawks. Orlando gets a couple of days off before they have to travel to Boston to face the 26-18 Celtics.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 25, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports
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I’ve been a sports fan for a long time and I’ve seen great players come and go. What I’m trying to remember is if I’ve ever heard a great player complain as much as LeBron James does. It started with there not being enough time off for the All-Star break. The NBA gave in and made the All-Star break a week long. I think that with this extra time James took a trip to Miami instead of spending that extra time with his family which is what he said when he cried about the break being extended. James also complained about back to back games and playing three games in four days. Now under the new CBA these issues have been address. So expect an even longer NBA season starting next year when the new CBA kicks in. Then earlier this season James  started kicking and screaming that the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a shooter. So Cavaliers general manager David Griffin managed to swing a deal with the Atlanta Hawks for one of the best shooters in the NBA Kyle Korver. When things didn’t turn around right away after they acquired Korver the excuse James gave was that they hadn’t had any practice time together. The Cavaliers have now lost five of there last seven games and you knew that James would have an excuse or at least something to cry about and he didn’t disappoint. James has squarely placed the blame on Griffin and has now said that the Cavaliers need a play maker. James called the current Cavaliers roster “ill-equipped” and then later tried to back pedal on Twitter saying “I not mad or upset at management cause Griff and staff have done a great job, I just feel we still need to improve in order to repeat…if that’s what we wanna want to do”. James posted this in two separate tweets and the spelling is all his; so don’t blame that one on me. James is looking for the Cavaliers to add a back up point guard to lighten the load on himself and Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers do have other point guards on there roster. Cleveland has Kay Felder there 2nd round pick from 2016 as well as DeAndre Liggins who is in his 4th NBA season. Now you have to ask yourself if it’s the general managers fault that James had the Cavaliers over pay his friends and now there in a tight salary cap spot even with the increase the NBA just had. It’s clear that James doesn’t want to see Felder or Liggins on the court; so they’re as good as done with the Cavaliers. Now the Cavaliers are still on top of the Eastern Conference at 30-13, but there lead is down to just three games over the Toronto Raptors. The more you listen to James talk you actually have to wonder if this is just a guy trying to cover his rear end in case the Cavaliers don’t make it to the NBA finals.

So where are the Cavaliers going to get a back up point guard. I’m sure James would love to see Cleveland go out and get his buddy Chris Paul. Paul is currently out after having thumb surgery, but I don’t think that Cleveland could get Paul’s salary under the cap unless Irving is headed the other way in the deal and that doesn’t solve the Cavaliers problem. James’ other buddy Dwayne Wade isn’t a true point guard, but I’m sure the Chicago Bulls would part with Wade’s teammate and true point guard Rajon Rondo. Rickey Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves name has come up in trade rumors; so maybe he could be an option for Cleveland. There could also be a players like Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat or Tim Frazier of the New Orleans Pelicans available. The question is which one if any of these players James would accept as a teammate. Then of course the Cavaliers would have to make sure they could make a deal with the salary cap. Of course with what the Cavaliers are paying in luxury tax penalties now; would a little more even matter?

The Washington Wizards arrived dressed in black funeral wear for what they openly labeled a grudge match against the Boston Celtics Tuesday night. Bradley Beal scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to help  the Wizards extended their home winning streak to 14 games with a 123-108 victory over Boston. John Wall had 27 points while Markieff Morris register a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. This was a bit of revenge for the Wizards from the Last time these two teams met which ended with a Boston 117-108 victory. That game featured five technical fouls and ended with Wall and Jae Crowder getting into a verbal confrontation that almost started a brawl. That prompted the Wizards to show up to Verizon Center on Tuesday wearing all black, funeral themed clothing. Wall’s apparel consisted of a designer T-shirt beneath a varsity style jacket as he arrived. Beal who came up with the idea showed up wearing an oversized black winter trenchcoat complete with hood and matching scarf. He would later have his best offensive night since that game in Boston. There was no blow up between the teams this game, but there was some action on the Boston bench as Marcus Smart got into an argument with Boston’s assistant coaches in the 4th quarter. Celtics coach Brad Stevens explained that the argument came from Smart wanting to go back into the game, but was on an minute limit for the half.

The rivalry in more interesting between these two teams since they’re both have good seasons. Boston is currently 3rd in the Eastern Conference standings at 26-18 while the Wizards are currently 5th in the Eastern Conference standings at 25-20. Maybe there will end up being a playoff series between these two teams.

Believe it or not we’re getting close to the start of baseball spring training. Pitchers and catchers report starting February 13th with all players being in camp by February 20th. So ready or not it’s almost time for baseball.

 

Chicago Bulls 102 Sacramento Kings 99

Posted: January 21, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
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It took two defensive stops that resulted in Dwayne Wade steals for the Chicago Bulls to break there two game losing streak beating the Sacramento Kings 102-99. The win improved the Bulls record to 22-23 on the season while the Kings dropped to 16-27 with the loss.

It was a tight first quarter as the biggest lead either team could get was four points which the Bulls did twice. The Bulls last four point lead was 19-15 with 1:45 left in the quarter, but the Kings scored six of the next eight points to tie the game at 21 all. Jimmy Butler completed a three point play to end the quarter and give the Bulls a 24-21 lead.

The Bulls scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a eight point lead at 29-21. Sacramento went on a 13 to 5 run to take the lead at 34-32. The game was tied six times through the rest of the quarter and neither team could get a lead bigger than four points. With the game tied at 52 all Jimmy Butler was fouled on a three point shot with :01 left. Butler made all three free throws to give the Bulls a 55-52 lead at halftime.

The Kings went to the lead in the 3rd quarter and built that lead to seven points at 70-63 with 5:39 left after DeMarcus Cousins hit a jump shot. The Bulls went on a 10 to 3 run to tie the game at 73 with 2:24 left in the quarter. After Jimmy Butler made a lay up to give the Bulls at two point lead at 75-73 with 1:40 left in the quarter the teams combined to miss the seven final shots of the quarter. So the Bulls took that 75-73 lead into the final quarter.

Sacramento was able to go right back to the lead at the start of the 4th quarter and after Ty Lawson hit a short jump shot the Kings had a five point lead at 82-77. The teams hit another stretch of no scoring as they combined to miss nine shots and two free throws before Dwayne Wade ended the drought by making the second of two free throws with 8:27 ;left to play. That free throw was the start of a 9 to 2 run that saw the Bulls tie the game at 86 all. The teams traded the lead five times down the stretch and when Dwayne Wade split another pair of free throws the Bulls had a one point lead 100-99 with :14 seconds left to play. The Kings went to DeMarcus Cousins to try and get the final shot, but Taj Gibson knocked the basketball away and Dwayne Wade dumped it off to Michael Carter-Williams for an easy lay up and a Bulls 102-99 win.

Dwayne Wade was the Bulls leading scorer with 30 points while Jimmy Butler added 23 points and handed out a game high 7 assists. Paul Zipser came off the Bulls bench to score 13 points while Nikola Mirotic; also off the Bulls bench added 10 points. Cristiano Felicio grabbed a team high 10 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.

DeMarcus cousins was the only Sacaremento player to score in double figures and he had a game high 42 points as well as a game high 14 rebounds. Ty Lawson handed out a team high 6 assists for the Kings.

The Bulls get a couple of days off before they head to Orlando to face the 18-27 Magic on Tuesday night. This game was the second of an eight game road trip for the Kings. Sacramento gets a day off before they head to Detroit to face the 21-24 Pistons.

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