The mammoth crowd had thinned to a scattered few thousand by this time. The sonic noise was spent. The white towels handed out that had whipped with such frenzy earlier in the day lay now like so many small surrender flags.
If you are too close to something, sometimes it is harder to see it. Stand too close to an oil painting and all you notice is color and brushstrokes. You must step back from it to see the masterpiece.
The Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners football teams arrived in South Florida in a whirlwind Friday afternoon, touching down in chartered jumbo jets and getting whisked away in decorated buses led by police escort.
It's as if the NFL has this refresh button that it keeps punching, renewing itself. How can a league that is 89 years old feel so fresh? It's like watching great-granpappy bopping with his iPod on.
They call the playoffs the "second season.'' Thank God, because the first season kicked my [bleep]. It will not surprise the constant reader to learn … officially, quantifiably … that I have had a lousy year picking NFL games.
The Dolphins' underdog mantra all season has been ''Why not us!'' -- not a question, mind you, but a declarative. To this I would add, ``Why not Chad!''
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Chad Pennington tugged the ball cap low on his forehead -- the freshly minted prize that declared ''AFC East Champions'' -- and, in character, deftly parried every invitation to gloat.
Anybody who has grown up down here and seen South Florida overrun by transplanted New Yorkers knows that this week -- this Dolphins-Jets game up there Sunday -- takes on a context beyond sports.
HOW THE DARTS LANDED Made my picks Wednesday this week instead of Thursday because of the holidays. What, like I could possibly do any worse? I could have made my picks in a drunken stupor at 3:28 a.m. on Tuesdays while being distracted by swarming bees and not had a worse season. I'm headed to my lowest overall percentage in 18 years of doing this, sadly below a .589 mark from 1999. I might narrowly avoid my worst against the spread, which is .449 in 2006. I actually had some nice picks last week...
We think we know a lot about these Dolphins by now. We know the reason for the season starts with Bill Parcells, the vice president in charge of this-can't-be-happening. They could remake The Miracle Worker starring Tuna and we would have no quibble with the casting.
The names were called one by one in the post-game locker room here Sunday, as the warmth of kinship and accomplishment helped the frozen bodies thaw. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was singling out the survivors -- the players who can best savor the satisfaction because they were a part of the suffering.
Local choirs sing every year when the NFL's last unbeaten team inevitably loses and the historical distinction of the Dolphins' 1972 Perfect Season remains unique.
Nailed outright upsets by the Jaguars and Steelers last week, and also had 49ers and Chiefs on the right side of the point spread. Want a new, extreme definition of optimism? Me thinking I still have a shot to reach .500 against the line.
Chad Pennington wasn't going to say it. So focused is he on his team, he deflects individual credit as if it were out to do him harm. Chad's personal motto is a blandly Boy Scouts-like ''Efficient, Effective and Consistent.'' He is the anti-Joey Porter, viewing outspokenness and controversy the way a priest views the devil.
It begins to look like the three biggest reasons for the Dolphins' turnaround from embarrassingly abysmal to playoff-chasing legit -- Tony Sparano, Chad Pennington and Joey Porter -- might be disappointed to varying degrees in terms of postseason honors.
Plenty of fans of the Dolphins and Hurricanes weren't sure who to cheer for -- or, rather, root against -- watching Saturday's Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
ATLANTA -- One team was perfect. The other was better. Flashbulbs popped and streamers fell from the Georgia Dome roof, and confetti flew from cannons as Saturday's epic game ended. And through the merry haze you saw the joyous Florida Gators almost certainly headed to college football's Jan. 8 national championship game at Dolphin Stadium. And you saw the slump- shouldered Alabama Crimson Tide and coach Nick Saban, newly reconciled to sports' unique cruelty: being almost perfect.
Own up: Y'all have been online stuffing the ballot box for the Dolphins, haven't you? C'mon, I have evidence! Four Dolphins -- running back Ronnie Brown, rookie kicker Dan Carpenter, rookie left tackle Jake Long and outside linebacker Joey Porter -- are leading their positions in AFC fan voting for the Pro Bowl, which ends Tuesday. (Players and coaches vote Dec. 11-12, and teams are announced Dec. 16.)
Called the Steelers' miniupset at New England last week, had Broncos with the points at Jets and did hardly anything else right in another week mirroring an awful season for me.
Including the three Thanksgiving Day turkeys they served us, an average margin of 27 points has decided the NFL's past four Thursday games. And you wouldn't call this evening's matchup a likely antidote. Hank Williams Jr. needs to record a special opening: ``Are you ready for some lousy football! A Thursday night disparity!''
RSS|
My Yahoo|
Newsletters|
Widgets|
Mobile|
Alerts|
Twitter
About The Miami Herald| About the McClatchy Company| Terms of Use & Privacy Statement| Corrections| Contact Us| Advertise
Partners: El Nuevo Herald| Newspaper in Education| WLRN | Miami Herald News| CBS4 WFOR-TV| More
Copyright 2009 Miami Herald Media Co. All rights reserved
