The Magical Season of the Dolphins

Well I hope everyone had a great holiday and are ready for the New Year. I know I am, especially the 4th, when my Miami Dolphins will play in the first round of the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens.

That's right folks, the Dolphins are playoff bound after finishing the regular season 11-5. One season after n abysmal 1-15 record, first year coach Tony Sparano came in with new quarterback Chad Pennington and Bill Parcells as VP of operations to tie the greatest turnaround in NFL history. Even though Pennington should probably be named team MVP, this team centered around very stingy defense led by Joey Porter, whom finished second on the league in sacks (17.5). I hardly noticed Jason Taylor was no longer on the team since DE/OLB Matt Roth filled the void very well. Channing Crowder will soon make people not miss Zach Thomas. He's stronger, faster, and has many years left playing in the middle. The one glaring weakness of the defense was the secondary. The only consistent player was Yeremiah Bell, but I anticipate the Fins to look secondary in the first two rounds of the draft.

We were also introduced to the wildcat formation this season. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams did a wonderful job running the rock this season, and I am very confident with keeping that as the backfield next season. Pennington should have some MVP considerations, but due to his lack of TD passes he'll get the shaft. That's fine though, I prefer to have the starting QB that threw the least amount of intereceptions than Tony Romo who can't hold the ball for shit, or lead his team to the playoffs with players like Terrell Owens and Marion Barber on his team. Ted Ginn Jr. finally started to show his talent this season, and did very well as taking over as the #1 wideout after Greg Camarillo went down with a season ending injury. I hope they look for a deep threat receiver during the offseason since most of what we have are small, fast, possession guys. The offensive line improved dramatically. Amazing what can happen when you take a gu like Jake Long and just let him play his game. This allowed right tackle Vernon Carey to move back to his natural position. The best thing about the line is that they are VERY young and will only get BETTER. The tight ends certainly surprised as they accounted for 10 of the 18 receiving touchdowns.

This week will certainly be a tough game against the Ravens (a rematch at that). They match up very well against us and I am not the most confident, but winning the AFC East is practically winning a Super Bowl given this season's expectations.

Abita! Pecan Harvest Ale

On my last six pack, I chose to go with a seasonal (autumn) brew, the Pecan harvest ale from the Abita! Brewing Co. which is based out of Louisiana. I was a bit skeptical at first to try it because for some reason I felt that it was going to taste something along the lines of pecan pie. Not that I have anything against pecan pie, but it is not the taste that I want my beer to have. I could not have been more wrong as it was very tasty.

It poured a orange/copper color that was pretty clear with a small head. My only rag on it was that there was not much lacing, but this made for much "drinkability" that may appeal to you Bud Light fruits. Fortunately the pecan taste was not overpowering at all and it led to a brown ale taste (which is my second favorite to bock beers). I enjoyed how it went with the season and was a good way to close out the fall. I would recommend this and give it a B.

Happy drinking.

Now This Was a Fight

Let me apologize in advance for not mentioning this amazing fight that would have been easily available to most of you. Just last night IBF Cruiserweight Champion Steve Cunningham (unsuccessfully) defended his title against Tomasz Adamek. As opposed to the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight, this was the fight of the year for me so far. The best part about was that the Versus network picked it up and I did not have to go to a bar to watch it. This could have easily been an HBO/Showtime match. Cunningham came into the fight as the favorite, but the GRANITE chin of Adamek kept him in the fight and helped him prevail as the winner. Adamek knocked Cunningham down three times throughout the bout and won in a split decision. I m not too sure what the judge that voted Cunningham was looking at other than the fact he landed more punches. This was Adamek's fight from round 2 (of 12) and should have won unanimously even though it was very close. I would love to see a rematch of this fight since the departure of David Haye has left the division open for someone to take over as the dominating fighter. After last night I see no reason why Adamek should not take this title. Not one punch phased him.

Boxing Match of the Year?

In what was supposed to be the fight of the year, Filipino Manny Pacquiao destroyed the "Golden Boy" (and favorite) Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao proved to be too fast with his left hand and that he was able to compete at the welterweight level. After watching this fight, I agree with the majority of boxing analysts that Manny is the pound for pound king of the boxing world. What I witnessed was the debacle of a once great boxer who should now retire after being embarrassed by a guy who is naturally much smaller. This reminded me of Mike Tyson trying to revive his career against the like of Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. The only problem with De La Hoya's approach was that he was going against a guy who could easily go down as a top 5 boxer by the end of his career instead of some scrub. This was a poor decision by Oscar, whom was nothing but a "former" champ, and in my opinion his career is over.

As for Pacquiao, let's hope that Floyd Mayweather decides to end his retirement shenanigans and accept a fight offer against Manny. This would easily be the fight of the decade.