Spring comes none too soon...

With full squads starting to report across Florida and Arizona, 2008 Spring Training is finally upon us. After a winter of discontent for the game of baseball off the field, we get back to playing games on the field. As the press conferences and apologies for offending parties subside, the talk will shift from performance enhancers to performances on the mound, in the batters box, etc. Not to say that the steroids subject will go away- it just won't be all that is discussed when the subject of baseball comes up.

And maybe, just maybe congress can get back to trying to fix the economy or health care or social security, and stop worrying about trying to fix baseball. I understand that there may be a moral obligation for these lawmakers to show that they won't stand for such activities. And what better way to do that than take the power away from these athletes, sunpeona and make examples of them- and broadcast it simultaneously on multiple networks. It all just reeks of grandstanding, and it accomplishes very little. How about introducing new legislature- harsher penalties for steroid dealers and traffickers? Because when all the dust settles, and all the camera crews pack up and head home, we are back square one. The Clemens-McNamee hearing isn't the first of its kind, and probably won't be the last. And the only thing that ever changes is Major League Baseball tightening its rules a bit. Congress basically doing the work that MLB should be doing itself. And don't get me wrong, most of the blame on this one falls on MLB- but I can't shake the fact that if all that is accomplished is baseball changing its business practices a bit here and there, then this is a sorrowful waste of time on the part of these congressmen and women. There are other, more pressing matters at hand. I am talking in circles, but that's how this topic always seems to go.

So baseball then. Hot dogs and home runs and sacrifice bunts. Beats the hell out of hearings and reports and depositions any day of the week in my book. Play frickin' ball already.

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Oh, and unrelated yet so related- Senator Arlen Spector (R- PA), has taken this congressional oversight nonsense a step further in his desire to further the investigation into "Spygate"- the New England Patriots' video taping scandal. Now, while I am willing to give congress a little leeway in regards to the steroid issue- there is valid concern to the public in that regard- I don't understand what Spygate has anything to do with anybody other than parties invloved. Is the distinguished Senator from PA worried that the children of the nation are going run out and purchase video cameras, to record the movemens of their upcoming Pop-Warner opponents? Give me a break already.

There is a Sports God...

Or gods, higher-power, infinite-ubiquitous presence, or what have you...

It had to happen sooner or later. Now, I can't actually speak for this- we'll call it- SportsGod, but I gotta think he (and yes, we'll call it he, to save on keystrokes.. cut me some slack) was getting pretty tired of opening the sports pages everyday and hearing nothing but good news out of Boston. Red Sox win the World Series, Celtics aquire Ray Allen & Kevin Garnett and go on to dominate the first half of the NBA season, the Patriots become the first NFL team to finish the regular season undefeated in 35 years... you get the point. The sun's out. The town that once made a habit of hanging their heads and believing in curses, is now feeling pretty darn good about themselves and their teams.

But into every life, or season, a little rain must fall. And one morning, (figuratively speaking of course because time of day is irrelevant to SportsGod), SportsGod woke up (also figurative because S.G. does not in fact sleep) and realized he could do something about this: So the Patriots lose, in dramatic fashion, ending their bid to end their season perfectly. They lose to one of the biggest underdogs in recent memory. And they lose in the Super Bowl- one of the, if not the most watched games in all of sports history.

Then, Curt Shilling, once an ace (now just an ass) for the Sox, continues his grand spiral into irrelevance- as it is announced he has a shoulder injury and may miss most if not all of the 2008 season. This one's not the end of the world for the Red Sox, but it is a gray cloud as the sun of spring training fast approaches.

Oh and those Boston Celtics, who started the season 30-3, have gone a mere 7-6 since January 9th... Okay that last one is reeeeally stretching it; I mean they are still 37-9 and sitting atop the Eastern Conference... Geez SportsGod or whoever you are, you are starting to slack off, making me look pretty pathetic here... I mean really, SportsGoddammit!

That said, SportsGod, thank you for having the Patriots lose. I know you can't please everyone, but in this case- and I am sure you know this, as S.G. is all knowing- you did please the correct people. And here's to 2008! And don't screw this one up.... honestly.

Pulling for Big Blue (i.e. NOT the Pats)

Living in New York, I have realized that there has been a noticeable increase of Giants garb-clad folks on the street, subways and buses over the past couple weeks. And one can only expect those numbers to increase exponentially with Giants now heading to the Superbowl. Now I am no Giants fan, nor will I be seen wearing any of their paraphernalia the next two weeks- but make no mistake: come Superbowl Sunday I will be be pulling for the Giants like they are my own.

Why? Because the Patriots must lose. I hate to be one of the bitter masses- cheering against a team, rather than just not rooting for them- but there you have it. I will say this: I always root against the Pats, as they are a rival of my lowly Dolphins, so at least I am not guilty of being a bandwagon-hater. In a season where everything has gone right for them, now would be the perfect time for things to fall apart for them. Of course, I also thought the past two weeks would have been a good time too- but who's counting? But for the Pats to fall on the grand stage that is the Superbowl, would satiate my desires. For Tom Brady to have that game that costs his team the championship, I could rest easy (darn near happened yesterday- fortunately for him he threw his three picks to a team with endzonaphobia). That's it... all I'm saying. Go Giants (sort of)!

DO-OVER!

That's Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga who can be heard calling "do-over" in Miami. One year ago, after being rebuffed by Nick Saban for a return the college ranks, Wayne and the Dolphins conducted a hard target search for a new head coach. A search that included flights on Huizenga's jet all over the country and even down to Central America, where Wayne wooed USC head coach Pete Carroll while he was on vacation. And when the San Diego Chargers were bumped from the playoffs early, their man was made available: then Chargers' offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Wayne's jet flew to San Diego to pick him up and bring him back to Miami. There was talk of returning the franchise to glory, of improvement, of changing the way things were done in Miami. GM Randy Mueller was retained, and even extended.

And then, the perfect storm that was the 2007 football season happened for the Dolphins.

Flash to late December 2007, as Bill Parcells is brought in by Huizenga to be the guy in charge of all things pertaining to football. Within the first couple weeks, Parcells cleans house- Mueller, Cameron, and the entire coaching staff: gone- and he replaces key positions with guys he has a recent personal history with. Case in point: Cowboys' director of scouting Jeff Ireland, who Parcells worked with in his stint in Dallas, is tabbed as the the Dolphins new GM.

Which bring us to now, nearly a year after this all began. And again another high-profile playoff team gets bounced early- this time Parcells' old club, the Cowboys- and again the Dolphins' appear to have their man: current Cowboys' assistant head coach Tony Sparano. And reports are Huizenga's jet has left for Dallas with Jeff Ireland on board to bring Sparano back to Miami with him. We are sure to hear some more of the "return to glory" stuff, with promises of greater fortune for the franchise.

It all has a sickening deja-vu feeling about it all. But Parcells has already put his stamp on this franchise, and will continue to in the next few months. And one thing is clear: the decisions made in the next few months will decide what Bill Parcells' legacy in Miami is. And another thing we can be sure of: Parcells will not be calling "do-over" this time next year.

Happy New Year from Happy A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez made a surprise appearance with Carson Daly at just few a minutes to midnight last night on NBC's New Year's coverage in Time Square. The seemingly impromptu visit by the AL MVP appeared to be an "I love New York" public-relations move from A-Rod's camp as he attempts to repair his up and down, and at best rocky relationship with the fans of New York. He showed up just short of the stroke of midnight, to the supposed surprise of Daly, in his casual best- complete with a Yankees cap on his head. He nervously chit-chatted with the host for a a few minutes, who had to interrupt A-Rod as the ball began its descent.

2007 was A-Rod's most comfortable at the plate in Pinstripes, but that comfort has never translated for A-Rod in his off-field persona. God love the guy, but he is just not comfortable in his own skin, so putting him in conversational situations like this one on live TV is not going to be a huge strong point. Some advice for A-Rod's PR machine: keep him well hidden, and have him focus on baseball. If A-Rod keeps hitting, and stays out of the newspapers for non-baseball related issues, he may just go down as one of the all-time great Yankees. His skills at the plate are definitely stuff of legend, so really all he needs to is stay out of his own way off the field.

Big Tuna starts his swim upstream in Miami

The Bill Parcells era for the Dolphins officially began December 26th. But his first big stamp on the organization came on Monday, when he arrived at for work at 8am, walked into GM Randy Mueller's office and told Mueller his services were no longer required in Miami. Parcells and Mueller hadn't sat down prior to this, and apparently never will. Sorry Randy, your term of "final word" on the roster after the Nick Saban years lasted but one season. And it can't be taken as a shock- everyone knows that Parcells is gonna get his guys into place in the front office. New York Jets' director of college scouting Joey Clinkscales, and Jeff Ireland, vice president of college and pro scouting for the Dallas Cowboys appear the early front-runners for the vacated position, with a big edge going to Ireland- having just worked with Parcells in Dallas. Word on the new GM could come as early as tonight.

Next on the packed off-season agenda is the decision on current head coach Cam Cameron. Parcells has said he wants to have his Gm in place before that decision is made, but a meeting is supposed to take place between he and Cameron today. While a decision may take a couple days, Parcells knows he has to work quick; especially if we wants to bring in who many feel would be his top choice, Cowboys' assistant Tony Sparano as a possible candidate- the Cowboys have a bye this week before starting their playoff run.

And then all that's left to do is a major roster overhaul, including making some decisions on key veterans on both sides of the ball, evaluating young players and determining their future with the team, and getting ready for the draft- where currently the Dolphins hold the first overall pick- and deciding on prospects and/or trades that may materialize.

Now Parcells is no dummy, and he knew exactly the situation he was getting into. And he has said that he is going to leave the final decisions to the people he puts in place. But he will most assuredly give himself free reign this off-season to leave his mark, setting up his regime and making the big decisions, before he steps back and lets those individuals run the show. He knows that this off-season, the decisions he makes- from the front office to the roster- will most likely dictate the direction of the franchise under his tenure.

Cameron- A phish out of water?

There certainly wasn't a lack of moisture last night in Pittsburgh, either in the air or on the field (if you want to call it a field). But Cam Cameron, king fish of the Dolphins, has to be gasping for air at this point.

Cameron was brought in last off-season, with the hopes of steadying a franchise who has been for years in constant flux: A parade of coaches since Don Shula to match the parade of quarterbacks that have come through since Dan Marino. Touted as an "offensive genius" he came in part to fix a struggling offense, to bring their level up to that of the Dolphins top-notched defense. Cameron brought in Trent Green, a veteran QB Cameron was familiar with, to take the reigns for a bit, while they groomed 2nd round draft pick John Beck. No one had delusions of grandeur, thinking this made the Dolphins Super Bowl contenders. But an improvement over the previous season's 6-10 record, was a safe assumption- if not down right expected- and a there was at least a glimmer playoff hopes.

Fast forward to last night, and the Dolphins inability to put a single point up on the board, losing a sloppy battle to the Steelers, 3-0. Trent Green is done for the season. John Beck is starting. Those glimmers of playoff hopes have vanished, and have been replaced by utter desperation to get on the board in the win column, as the Dolphins sit at 0-11. Many things have conspired against them this year: injuries, inexperience. But the inexperience of the head coach, is what seems to be hindering them the most.

Cameron came in and decided he wanted full autonomy over the offense, as he would wear both the hat of offensive coordinator and head coach. Now it is one thing for a veteran coach to take over play calling if he doesn't like how things are being handled. But it is hard enough for a rookie head coach in the NFL without having to worry about the plays. And it appears as though one thing can't get out of the way of the other for Cameron this year, as his decision making has been debatable at best: both in-game and personnel. Last night's decision to scrap plans for a field goal after a delay of game penalty remains the freshest.

With the score knotted at zeroes in the fourth quarter, Cameron decided not to try a 42 yard go-ahead field goal after the Dolphins were pushed back five yards on a penalty. Previous to that, the Dolphins had lined up to kick- which was blocked only to be washed out by the penalty. That brought the Dolphins to 4th & 11 on the Steelers 25 yard line. Somehow, Cameron felt that the conditions lent themselves more to a big play on offense (remember it is 0-0 after 50 minutes of football), rather than risking a shot at taking the lead (not to missed is the fact that after the five yard penalty, it put the ball on a patch of the playing surface that was in much better condition- a fact which kicker Jay Feeley lobbied for on the sideline). Cameron's decision to go for the first down led to a sack of John Beck, to turn it over on downs. A missed field goal attempt would have netted the same result. A made field goal? Well, I'm no math wizard, but...

This is just another in a long line of poor decisions by Cameron. From sticking with a lame-duck quarterback (second-stringer Cleo Lemon) for too long, to various questionable play calls, it has left Dolphin fans with a lack of space on their heads left to scratch. There have been, in recent weeks, many in the media and on various blogs calling for Cameron's firing already, and I have been one to dismiss them. But watching his post game press conference last night, the guy just looked like a deer in the headlights: A shell-shocked shell of the offensive genius that was hired to stop the mediocrity. It occurred to me that Cam Cameron may just be in it way over his head. A great offensive coordinator doesn't necessarily make a great head coach. And wearing two hats in this league can prove to be too much. So if Cam can't re-distribute some of the responsibility he'd asked for, this may spell doom and turbulence for him and the franchise he was supposed to stabilize. Fire him now? Call this one a lost battle and part ways? I am suddenly not sure it is a bad idea. Another year of flux maybe what the Dolphins need in order to steady the ship for years to come.