" When Dolphins tackle Jake Long heads down the Florida turnpike on Jan. 31, it will be the same drive he makes at least 10 other times each football season. He will exit at the same stadium, and he will run out of the same tunnel to the same field.

It all will feel very familiar. All except for this: Long won't be surrounded by a Dolphins teammate.

As the only Dolphins player named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, Long, the top pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, will serve as the team's ambassador when the league's all-star game comes to South Florida for the first time since 1975.

``I am looking forward to representing the Dolphins, especially since the game will be played in Miami,'' Long said in a statement Tuesday. ``It will be a special thrill to run out of the tunnel on to our own field.''

A RARE FEAT

It's all excellent news for Long, who joins Dolphins great Richmond Webb as the only other tackle in team history to be named a Pro Bowl starter. (Last year, Long attended the game as a backup.)

Still, the unveiling of the roster wasn't as kind to other Dolphins, namely fullback Lousaka Polite and defensive end Randy Starks. Both were considered the team's most likely contenders other than Long.

Polite's absence will be especially disheartening to his teammates, given his success this season in short-yardage situations. On the 16 occasions when the Dolphins put the ball in Polite's hands in third-and-1 or fourth-and-1 situations, Polite got a first down all 16 times."