Will Miami Dolphins' selection of Ryan Tannehill in first-round of 2012 NFL Draft result in Dolphin season ticket holders calling a timeout, too, and total number of subscriber tickets getting below 30,000 for first time since pre-Don Shula? Yes.

The Jason Taylor "Thank you" sign going up on U.S. 441/N.W. 2nd Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL. The area that my friends and I in NMB in the '70's always just called "around Norland," which was everything from I-95 north to the Broward county line, back when the county line really meant something. Long before there was a city called Miami Gardens. December 30, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

The workers pinch here, and pull there... the fabric ads are so much easier to put up than the old-fashioned ones requiring experienced painters. But then I'm old-fashioned, having grown-up, like my two sisters, with the sight of the iconic motorized Coppertone billboard -with the black terrier puppy pulling the Coppertone girl's bikini bottom down to expose her tan line- at the I-95/Golden Glades Interchange/Cloverleaf exit on N.W. 167th Street greeting us every time we returned from trips elsewhere in South Florida -or out-of-state. For my sisters and I, that amazing Coppertone sign was always the sign that we were finally home. http://www.pbase.com/image/77098090
And the perfect landmark for directions, since it was impossible to miss.
December 30, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

I was never a big fan of Jason Taylor's, per se, like many other devout Dol-fans, as I have noted a time or two here before, but this was a very classy thing to do.

December 30, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved


Rather than my going on-and-on after 1 a.m. about the myriad problems associated with the Dolphins selecting Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill with their eight pick in the NFL draft's first- round about five hours ago, with the idea of keeping him in cold storage for the next year or so, instead of selecting a proven play-maker who can immediately help them win more games this year -I suggested Quinton Coples, who wound-up being drafted at #16 by the Jets- I will ask you this simple question.


Given whom the team has chosen to draft with their first-round selection, a player who will likely not play significantly this year, do you believe the number of Dolphin season tickets will actually go below 30,000 before Ryan Tannehill ever starts three games in a row as a pro?  
Until three months ago, I would never have imagined I'd be saying this, but I now believe the correct answer to that question is YES.


As i stated here recently, I believe that the Dolphins will only sell-out two home ballgames this year, the Jets and the Patriots, which is good news I suppose for the Hurricanes' ticket office.


I also have a very bad feeling that some people in South Florida will be receiving a letter EXACTLY like this one very soon from Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, with only the dates and names changed from the one I received last year.


Yes, it's really starting to feel a lot like IU football circa 2009 around here with the Dolphins, and you know that is NOT a good thing.


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Dolphin Delusions: from my email inbox of July 26, 2011 

BACK TO FOOTBALL |

Dear David, Welcome back to football! We are ecstatic that we can now turn our attention to the 2011 season that lies ahead. I want to assure you - as both a fan and as the owner of the Dolphins - that we share the same goal. We  want to bring a Super Bowl Championship back to South Florida. That's always been my commitment. I feel even stronger about it now. You deserve nothing less. Our coaches and players are eager to kick off the 2011 campaign in a big way. Thanks to the hard work of Jeff Ireland and our football staff, we were able to infuse our squad with a potent combination of speed, power and athleticism during the 2011 NFL Draft. With Coach Sparano's relentless dedication leading the way, we will build a smart, tough and disciplined team. We will continue to be active and aggressive in our ongoing effort to assemble a strong, championship caliber team. Thank you for all you do for the Miami Dolphins. I am proud and honored to be a part of this storied franchise and appreciate your loyal support of our team. I look forward to seeing you at Sun Life Stadium in 2011. Go Dolphins! Sincerely, Steve Ross

This message was transmitted on behalf of:
Miami Dolphins Sales and Marketing
347 Don Shula Drive
Miami Gardens, FL 33056

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http://www.agilitynut.com/roadside.html

A reminder as the NFL Draft approaches... 36 years and counting for a 3rd Super Bowl Trophy. Answer: C.J. Spiller

36 years and counting for a 3rd Super Bowl Trophy...

"It's why you play the game!"
Vince Lombardi Championship Trophies from Dolphin victories
in Super Bowl VII and VIII.
April 2007 photo by Mario J. Bermudez taken at Miami Dolphins
Headquarters, Davie, Florida


Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi; December 21, 1962
Seven years later to the date of this cover, Lombardi coached his
last game, a losing effort for the Redskins.
Nine months later he'd be dead of intestinal cancer at age 57.
The Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown
University is named for him. See http://lombardi.georgetown.edu/
It's located near the French and German Embassies on Reservoir Road.

Zonk! Miami Massacres Minnesota

Larry Csonka, January 21, 1974

Miami All The Way

Bob Griese, January 22, 1973

1972 Miami Dolphins team photo at The Orange Bowl

The same color photo of the 17-0 Undefeated Team that for six years,
rested in a frame on top of my bedroom dresser at my home in North
Miami Beach. There it stayed 'till that fateful day in August of 1979,
when I began packing for my new life in Bloomington. The photo made
the trip to Bloomington intact, where it remained on my desk in
Briscoe Quad 427-A for two very eventful years at IU, the latter.
1980-'81 being the year we beat North Carolina for the NCAA title.
I placed the photo right below my 8' x 11' b&w glossy of the Miami
Herald's All-County Gymnastics team that I got from the Herald
Sports Dept. That was a tremendously talented team that featured
many friends of mine from all over Dade County -like the late Dee
Leutner of Hialeah Miami Lakes, my charming, sweet friend and
future Georgia GymDog, who sat next to me when we took the SATs
in the NMB cafeteria, and smiled at me and said "Good luck" right
before we opened the test- as well as my own talented friends and
classmates at North Miami Beach High, like Lisa Martin, Karen
Ginsberg and Linda Zobler -the best of the best.

Last year, it was a Hoosier who led the way to the Lombardi Trophy...

Above, former IU Hoosier and Saints 2008 Number Two
Draft Pick Tracy Porter makes the play of the game and
intercepts Peyton Manning and scores a TD against the
Colts during Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, leading the Saints
to their first Super Bowl 31-17, Feb. 7, 2010.

With the 11th pick in this year's Draft, if he's still available,
as Charley Casserly expects him to be as of late Wedesday
night, the Dolphins should take dynamic Clemson RB
C.J. Spiller, the single-most exciting player I've seen
in years and who consistently made big plays when
big plays needed to be made.

Almost single-handedly last year, Spiller defeated the
Hurricanes in a way that showed how woebegone the
Miami defense and special teams had become, as he
seemingly toyed with them time and again.





If he has already been selected, they should select a player
who most approaches Bears Hall of Famer Mike Singletary,
a player who had zeal, smarts and intuition, and who plays
all-out on every play and won't tolerate slacking in his
teammates.
That would likely be Texas LB Sergio Kindle.

The lack of mental and physical toughness in the Dolphins
defense the past ten years has been one of the most galling
aspects of their decline into mediocrity for longtime Dolphin
fans like me, who have lived long enough to know what a
solid defense actually looks like.
It's NOT what we have now.

Their inability to consistently pass rush, tackle and field
opportunistic ball-hawks just leaves you dumbfounded at times.
It's nice to beat the Patriots once a year, but one good game
does not a season make.

With their second round pick, if he's available -and Spiller
has gone elsewhere- the Dolphins ought to select Stanford
RB and Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart before
the Patriots snap him up.

At New England, Gerhart would become the latest
Dolphin-killer as he becomes the player who always
leads the Patriots to late-game victories, year-after-year,
with his versatility: powerful goal-line plunges, scampers
down the sidelines on draw plays, or swing passes where
he -shocker!- beats Dolphins' LBs, and you're screaming
at your TV even before he scores a TD to kill the Dolphins
once again.
Made worse because we could've taken him.

I suppose it's worth reminding you here given recent news
that I've never been a Jason Taylor fan, and wanted him
gone years ago when he could still demand something in a
trade.

I remind you how lacking he was in leadership at the very
end of Cam Cameron's painful one and only year as head
coach, when some leadership was needed and yet from
most accounts, Taylor sat by and did nothing when defensive
teammates cursed-out coaches on plane flights, including
Cameron, and played out-of-control during games,
as if they didn't know their assignments.
Or simply didn't care anymore.

His coddled status irked me to no end and probably did him
no favors with Bill Parcells, either.

But what really irked me about him was the clueless rhetoric
down here on sports talk radio about him and Canton, as
real NFL fans around the country who know their history
know that Taylor was simply not as good or dominant as
former Bears great Richard Dent, a Super Bowl MVP,
who twenty years later, unbelievably, is still NOT in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame, even though he should've gotten
in MANY years ago.

If a dominant player of his era like Dent, who dominated
good-to-great offensive teams like the 49ers, Redskins and
Giants is STILL not in all these years later, Jason Taylor
ought to make himself comfortable, as he's in for a very,
very long wait -IF he ever gets in, which I think is unlikely.

South Beach Hoosier Trivia:
My first Dolphin game at the Orange Bowl came in December
of 1970, aged 9, a 45-3 win over Buffalo that propelled them
into their first ever playoff appearance.