February 9
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Ten minutes before walking into his morning-after Super Bowl news conference, Saints coach Sean Payton took a congratulatory call from one of his greatest mentors. It was Dolphins football czar Bill Parcells, who hired Payton to his Dallas staff and employed him from 2003-05. "He was just proud," a bleary-eyed Payton said, refusing to divulge any details of the conversation. "Proud and, uh, proud." What about the successful onside kick Payton called to open the second half in Sunday's 31-17 upset of the Colts? What about the fourth-and-goal attempt late in the first half? What did Parcells think of his pupil taking a classic page from his mentor's big-game handbook?"
February 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Fans who weren't able to attend Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV ? and even those who were ? will get a chance to walk onto the same field where the NFL's championship game was contested. Those opportunities will come Monday (for Dolphins season- ticket holders) and Tuesday for the general public. Both sessions will run from 4 to 8 p.m. at Sun Life Stadium. "The Super Bowl is a community event," Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said in a statement. "We want everyone to share in the experience of stepping on a Super Bowl field." All visitors are encouraged to make donations to the Sun Life/Miami Dolphins Haiti Relief Fund. Those organizations have pledged to match every donated dollar with a $2 matching ..."
February 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel appeared in a Broward County courtroom Sunday morning, charged with domestic violence, according to police and court records. McDaniel, 25, and his girlfriend, Alaina Smith, got into a shoving match outside their Davie home Saturday morning. They were arguing over unanswered phone calls and a late night of partying, according to McDaniel's arrest report. The fight happened about 8:30 a.m. Saturday in the 3100 block of Palm Tree Landings. Smith told investigators she had just returned from buying breakfast for houseguests when McDaniel confronted her about not answering her phone when he called. He had just returned from a night out with ..."
February 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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No matter what happens Sunday night in Super Bowl XLIV, Robert Mathis won't soon forget his previous visit to South Florida this season. His Indianapolis Colts, still adjusting to new coach Jim Caldwell, fought back from a three-point deficit in the final four minutes of Week 2 to escape with a 27-23 win over the Dolphins before a national Monday night audience. "That was just a dogfight," says Mathis, the Colts' Pro Bowl defensive end. "Tired, sweaty. Everything you could think of, it was that." Saints safety Darren Sharper has similar memories of a 46-34 win over the Dolphins on Oct. 25. The unbeaten Saints fell into a 24-3 first-half hole and still trailed by 10 at the start of the ..."
February 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Spoke to Chad Henne on Monday at Dan Marino's rained out golf tourney, and Henne again had the highest praise for Chad Pennington. It is clear that Henne would not publicly protest if the Dolphins brought Pennington back. The question is whether it makes sense. The Dolphins like Tyler Thigpen, bit it's not really about that. The question is whether you want Henne looking over his shoulder."
February 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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One month from free agency, Chad Pennington is already fighting an inner battle over what his next stop should be. Should he sign with the team that offers him the best chance to return to a starting quarterback role he held with the Dolphins until getting injured in Week 3 at San Diego last year? Or should he take the best backup role he can find in the best overall situation, even if that means staying in South Florida as Chad Henne's mentor? "I've got all kinds of little voices in my head talking to me every day," Pennington said Thursday afternoon after participating at an NFL-sponsored clinic at the Boys and Girls Club. "It's going to be a tough decision." Pennington's rehab from Oct. ..."
February 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Two key cogs for the Miami Dolphins still want Joey Porter to return in 2010, even after he blasted the coaching staff and his fellow outside linebackers in public comments this week. "Definitely I'd like to have a guy like that back," Lousaka Polite, the Dolphins' fullback, said during a Thursday appearance at an NFL Play 60 event at Sun Life Stadium. "He's the heartbeat of the defense, a leader. He's a great player. He's been around this league. He knows what it takes. So who wouldn't want a Joey Porter on the team?" Cornerback Nate Jones also expressed support for Porter, who all but dared the Dolphins to release him during a two-day media tour early this week. "I love Joey," said ..."
February 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who hasn't missed a game in his sterling 12-year career, traces his reluctance to coming out for even one snap to a 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins in October 2001. The host Colts were up 24-20 in the fourth quarter when Manning took a helmet-to-helmet blow from then Dolphins defensive end Lorenzo Bromell. The personal foul gave the Colts 15 yards, but also gave Manning a broken jaw. "I remember my right tackle Adam Meadows just saying, 'Dude, you just don't look right ... you better come out,' '' Manning regaled Wednesday morning at the team hotel. "I am kind of mad that I even listened to him.'' Manning, dripping blood from the mouth, came out for one ..."
February 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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Monday, in an odd scene, Drew Brees sat in Dolphins headquarters, at the front of the Dolphins' meeting room, under a banner with the Dolphins slogan of "Smart, Tough, Disciplined." "It's kind of interesting, I guess,'' Brees said, his smile saying it was more than that. We don't talk enough about luck around championship teams. It's the taboo subject. It's always about hard work, good decisions, smart blueprints and clutch plays. But this Super Bowl, at its core, is a testament to coin-flip luck. Here's a story: In 1998, Indianapolis was deciding between Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick. Colts General Manager Bill Polian, as smart as anyone in the business, was uncertain ..."
February 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter continued his bridge-burning media tour Tuesday, hinting at a locker-room rift and saying he felt like an "outcast" while rarely speaking to coach Tony Sparano after a midseason benching. "The last seven weeks of the season was no fun for me," Porter said during an appearance on WQAM. "Only time I talked to [Sparano] was on game day." That coach-player relationship went sour, Porter said, after Sparano benched him for the Nov. 15 Tampa Bay game after Porter was spotted out late on a Friday night. Porter said his dinner ended by 10:30, but he was still forced to sit due to a "coach's decision." After that, Porter said, "the writing was on the wall," and ..."
February 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Mount Peezy finally erupted. Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, coming off a frustrating season that included a one-game benching, said Monday he isn't interested in returning as a role player in 2010. "After seeing how last year went, to ask me to come back and play that role again, I can honestly say I won't come back and do that," Porter told ESPN's Jim Rome in a beachfront interview. "I can't be happy about coming back playing that role." Porter, named Sunday to the NFL's All-Decade team, stopped short of demanding a trade but did say it "would be the smart thing to do. Why would you keep a guy there that you want to make a role player? Why pay me all that money and make me a role ..."
January 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Sun Life Stadium's crew might want to leave up a couple of University of Miami signs for Sunday's Pro Bowl game. What better way to make the record-setting 11 Hurricanes selected to the Pro Bowl either as starters, backups or alternates feel welcome in their old backyard? Don't be surprised to see plenty of U's being thrown up during the NFL's showcase game because UM has the most participants one school has had since 1970, which is when the league started keeping Pro Bowl records. And to no one's surprise, they're boasting about it. "It's great to know that the same guys you played in college with you have a chance to play in an handpicked all-star game with," said New England safety ..."
January 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Jason Taylor plans to play in 2010, and wants to remain with the Miami Dolphins, the team he's spent all but one of his 13 seasons in the NFL with. But Taylor has been around long enough to know the Dolphins are actively looking for his replacement, which means he might be searching for another team come March. "It's a business, and we'll see where it takes us," said Taylor, whose 127.5 sacks makes him the NFL's active sacks leader. "If they don't find who they want, and [other] teams don't find who they want, that's when your phone starts ringing." Taylor, a six-time Pro Bowl pick, sought his release from the Redskins last offseason because of a strong desire to return to the Dolphins. ..."
January 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Count Miami Dolphins/South team coach Tony Sparano among those impressed with Miami Hurricanes inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton. Sharpton may be undersized at a shade below 6 foot and 229 pounds, but he's a playmaker who fits the Dolphins' motto of finding guys that are tough, smart and disciplined. He does not, however, fit their size template for the position. "He's had a really good week, he really has," Sparano said here Thursday night at the Senior Bowl. "I've been really impressed with him. He flies all over the place, plays with a lot of energy, makes tackles. I think he shows great range in there. Pretty physical guy. Liked him in the pass rush stuff. Did a good job that way. ..."
January 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Paul Pasqualoni, fired as Dolphins defensive coordinator at the end of the season, is now a member of the Cowboys coaching staff, as he was before the Dolphins hired him in 2008. That means he's a member of the NFC Pro Bowl staff. Was he surprised by his firing? "Somebody's got to be accountable, somebody's responsible. And you know, we gave up some plays. At the end of the day, we just gave up too many big plays. I don't know if surprised is the word. Every day you go in, you know you are responsible, you are accountable, you are in a position of leadership as a coordinator. Somebody's got to be responsible. So at the end of the day, you are prepared for anything to happen. So are you ..."
January 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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None of the three NFL teams that have interviewed Tim Tebow this week – Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs – seems committed to the Wildcat formation as an offensive foundation. But they might have a package drawn up as an option in 2010. Such possibilities might just diversify Tebow's NFL draft stock for most teams around the league. Tebow is at this week's Senior Bowl to prove he's an under-center, pocket passer, but every scout and general manager in Ladd-Peebles Stadium this week knows something else Tebow can do – barrel through a line after taking a shotgun snap, an ideal Wildcat attribute. Tebow doesn't have elite speed, but he's strong and shifty enough to ..."
January 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Seeing as how few people listen and dissect Tony Sparano's words more than me, I consider myself an expert when it comes to Sparano-speak. As your linguistics expert I'll reveal that sometimes the Miami Dolphins' head coach is more revealing in what he doesn't say than what he does. Here are a few things I've discovered over the past two seasons. Sparano prides himself in his honesty. He's never lied to us...YET...and takes pride in that fact. A long pause always means it's a difficult question that will require some tap dancing.... If something is going negative he'll find a way to turn it positive somehow, putting a fresh coat of pain on it.... Sometimes Sparano has messages he wants to ..."
January 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Davone Bess isn't satisfied with being a regular contributor, occasional starter, and go-to slot receiver for the Miami Dolphins. Bess knows he has more to give his team, that's why he closed the chapter on the 2009 season fairly disappointed in his production. As far as stats are concerned, Bess had a breakout year in 2009, his second NFL season. He led the Dolphins with 76 receptions for a team-high 758 yards, and two touchdowns. He was also the NFL's second most production receiver on third downs, bringing in 35 passes for 344 yard and scoring a touchdown on that critical down. But Bess openly admits he played better in 2008, when he came out of nowhere as an undrafted rookie out of ..."
January 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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This week, the Dolphins will be at the Senior Bowl, looking for new players. Over the next few weeks, they'll be making final decisions about many of their holdovers. One of those holdovers is Joey Porter. And while Porter's fate may be decided partly by the Collective Bargaining negotiations -- the expected failure of which could lead to an uncapped year and the ability to clear his contract -- my belief is that the Dolphins need to part ways with him either way. This opinion is based on conversations with several sources, including teammates. It's not that they don't enjoy Porter's company. Most do. And it's not that they all believe he's done. Most think he can still be effective if ..."