Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Two Thanksgiving Treats

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Fox Football Analyst Jimmy Johnson predicted on Sunday what everyone was hoping would happen.

The Detroit Lions would defeat the Carolina Panthers to improve to 7-3 and face an undefeated Green Bay Packers squad on Thanksgiving Day. The 10-0 Packers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-26 to set the stage for what could be the best game of the holiday.

Do you think Packers Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers is going to get much sleep knowing Detroit has scored 48 points against Kansas City, 45 on the road to Denver and the defeated the Carolina Panthers 49-35 on Sunday?

In the Lions seven victories, the least amount of points Detroit's offense has scored is 24 with a young gunslinging QB Matt Stafford, who is destined to break every team passing record. He had five touchdown passes against Carolina.

The Lions are 33-35-2 on Thanksgiving. They have faced the Packers 19 times, which is the most of any team invited to play in the traditional contest. Detroit is 11-7-1 against Green Bay.

The 1962 game saw an undefeated Packers team, also 10-0,  lose to the 8-2 Lions, 26-14, before 57,000 plus at Tiger Stadium. The Lions sacked Packers Hall of Fame QB Bart Starr 11 times for 110 yards. Green Bay finished the season 13-1 and won the NFL Championship.

Will history repeat itself on Thursday as the Lions Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Nick Fairley, Stephen Tulloch, Cliff Avril and Corey Williams attempt to make life just as miserable for Aaron Rodgers like the 1962 defense did for Starr?

We'll find out if Rodgers is running for his life at Ford Field just as Starr did a few miles away at Tiger Stadium.

Will Mike McCarthy be able to do what the legendary Packers Coach Vince Lombardi couldn't pull off by going undefeated?

The Lions biggest fans will be their former Assistant Coach and Miami Dolphins legend Don Shula, who piloted Miami to a 17-0 mark and a Super Bowl title in 1972. I'm sure the rest of the Dolphins are hoping to pull the corks out of the champagne with a Lions victory.

Another thing to be thankful for is that Major League Baseball agreed to a new labor deal on Tuesday that will ensure labor peace through 2016.

What's so refreshing about this, is that these negotiations were kept out of the media and held privately.

HGH testing will be included and violators will serve a 50-game suspension on the first offense.

The Houston Astros will move to the AL West in 2013 and there will be two 15 team leagues to ensure a balanced schedule and expanded inter-league play.

Did you think any player was going to object to another wild card team being added for a one game play in contest?

No way!

The revenue and interest generated in baseball will only get higher than it is. I wouldn't be surprised to see this take place in 2012. You can bet that about 60 players for two teams, in addition to managers, coaches will be chomping at the bit to have an opportunity to win a championship ring.

Meanwhile, if an extra wild card team had been added this year, the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves could eliminate the words "Monumental Collapses" from their vocabularies.

You can't ask for two better Thanksgiving Treats than these.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Ultimate Bookends

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Daytona 500 supposedly is NASCAR's Super Bowl, but you wouldn't know that after the Ford 400 Sunday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway as the sport crowned a new champion.

On February 20, 2011, Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 as he led six of the 208 laps to become the youngest driver to win the "Great American Race" at 20-years-old and one day.

Little did the Knoxville, Tenn., native, who was born on February 19, 1991, know that the NASCAR season couldn't have started or ended better than it did, thus creating the "Ultimate Bookmarks."

Tony Stewart became the ninth driver in NASCAR history to win three championships. He did it by ending the five year reign of Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart defeated Carl Edwards despite the fact that both drivers finished tied with 2,403 points. The title was decided by a tiebreaker as Stewart won a chase all-time record five races while Edwards won one race this season.

On Sunday, Edwards led the most laps---119 of the 267 but not the last one as he finished second to Stewart in a climactic memorable finish.

As the rain poured after the race, Stewart left Miami with a $5.7 million check and continued to build his Hall of Fame credentials.

Meanwhile, Edwards had nothing to be disappointed about because he competed with class and will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to contend for next years championship.

Although Johnson's incredible run officially ended Sunday, he's the only driver to win five consecutive championships and he finished sixth in the points standings.

With the equipment and crew that his Owner Rick Hendricks provides him, I wouldn't bet against him in 2012.

But Johnson's legacy is cemented.

To win a hand full of championships, let alone in a row at the age of 36, is incredible in any sport.

If he doesn't accomplish another thing, he'll take his 55 victories and five championships into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC.

Yet, for some reason, I believe that Johnson has a lot more great racing ahead of him. He's two championships away to match the record of seven set by Richard "The King" Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Although the season ended in South Florida, NASCAR couldn't have scripted a better finale.

When the season starts off with an unknown and ends with a driver with multiple championships, this sport has done a great job mixing in the new with the old. It will only get better as legends enhance their legacies and new stars are created.

The Ford 400 turned out to be the equivalent to a Game 7 of a team sport.

You had two competitors in a winner take all setting. NASCAR couldn't have visualized this in it's Super Bowl in February.

But on Sunday February 20, 2011, exactly nine months after it started, this was the sports' real Super Bowl.

It's amazing to think that in about 90 days, it will start all over in Northern Florida off I-95 at the Daytona International Speedway.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

A Humbled Announcer

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I rarely watch ESPN's College Football Game Day because of my busy schedule.

But because Nebraska was facing the Michigan Wolverines in "The Big House," this was a great opportunity to hear the crews prediction.

Longtime analyst Lee Corso, 76, seemed quite decisive predicting the visiting Cornhuskers. Corso's famous line "Not So Fast, My Friend" bit him good as Michigan crushed Nebraska 45-17 in front of 113,718, the largest crowd to ever see a Cornhuskers contest in this storied program's rich history.

Not only did Corso look bad with with this prediction, his use of the expletive that begins with an "F" as he was ending his show turned out to be a disaster. Even his sidekick Kirk Herbstreit wondered where the delay button was.

But I'm going to give Corso a pass for this mistake. His public on air apology looked sincere, he showed tremendous remorse and he was very humbled by his actions.

If the former 1985 USFL Orlando Renegades Coach loses his job, he could go back to work for the Indiana Hoosiers, whom he coached from 1973-1982 and compiled a 41-68-2 record. The Hoosiers are 1-10 and were hammered by Michigan State 55-3 Saturday in East Lansing.

Guest predictor Carl Lewis also picked Nebraska while Herbstreit, a former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback, did pick his former rival U-M to defeat Nebraska.

The Wolverines, which improved to (9-2, 5-2 Big 10) officially welcomed Nebraska to the conference with this beating....

Michigan State was glad that Herbstreit's prediction came to fruition because they'll play in the inaugural Big 10 Championship Game on December 3 in Indianapolis, Indiana., as winners of the Legends Division. It must have very difficult for the Spartans (9-2, 6-1 Big 10) to root for U-M, but if it made conference history and earns them a trip to a BCS Game, Rose Bowl, I'm sure no one in East Lansing is complaining....

A few years ago, I was angry that the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens and in state rival Delaware State never played at all. But the two schools finally met in the FCS Playoffs and now face each other regularly.

This time, the focus is on the Arkansas Razorbacks, who refuse to play the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference. This season Arkansas State is (9-2, 7-0 Sun Belt) while the Razorbacks are (10-1, 6-1 SEC).

I don't know what the problem is with Arkansas, but this meeting could only bolster the enthusiasm in that state. The Razorbacks should change their name to the "Arkansas Chickens."

There are lots of other great in state rivalries.

Why should an SEC powerhouse even worry about facing a Sun Belt Conference school when most of these games guarantee big pay days for the underdog schools, and seldom do you see wins from these institutions when they play?

Arkansas is coached by a man that didn't have the guts to finish an NFL Season with the Atlanta Falcons named Bobby Petrino. If Petrino had the guts to schedule Arkansas State, I might not be as critical of him. But I know he doesn't have the courage to face the Red Wolves.

Years ago, the college basketball rivalry which reminded me of "Dodgeball" was Kentucky VS Louisville. They were forced to face each other in the NCAA Tournament and that sparked the beginning of a rivalry which is going strong.

The folks in Arkansas should have former President Bill Clinton mediate this boneheaded impasse....

Two major droughts ended on Saturday.

Baylor University, a private Christian institution of 15,000 students located in Waco, Texas., went into Saturday's home game against the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners 0-20 all-time against their rival from Norman. Most of these games weren't even close.

The No. 22 Bears (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) finally ended years of misery thanks to the performance of Robert Griffin III by improving to 1-21 as the quarterback threw for 479 yards, four touchdowns including a 34-yarder to Terrance Williams with eight seconds left in the game ending Oklahoma's chances of winning a BCS Championship.

The Virginia Cavaliers (8-3, 5-2 ACC) snapped Florida State's five game winning streak with it's fourth straight win in this 14-13 road triumph.

The Cavaliers had never won in Tallahassee going 0-8 in their previous trips to the Florida State Capital. Virginia is now 1-8 in the Panhandle.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Denver Broncos Underdog

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If I had to comprise a list of athletes that I truly despise, Deion Sanders, Brian Bosworth and Dan Marino would rank at the top of my list.

Six NFL players that I truly enjoyed were John Elway, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Barry Sanders and Bo Jackson.

Then there are the numerous busts which could cost General Managers and Head Coaches there jobs.

The six that come to mind are Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, JaMarcus Russell and Tony Mandarich.

But if there is one athlete that I'm really hoping succeeds, it's Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow.  He's a player that you hope doesn't fall into the category, "Nice Guys Finish Last."

The coach who served as Tebow's biggest supporter was former Broncos head coach and current St. Louis Rams Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. Despite Tebow's unorthodox throwing motion and lack of experience under center, McDaniels never had the chance to complete his pet project.

Over the years, I've always found myself in an underdog role.

Dating back to my college days at Broward Community College in Pembroke Pines, Florida., and the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, in addition to learning a new profession selling in the Home Improvement Business, I always relished the opportunity to prove my doubters and critics wrong.

I'll never forget in 1983 when I was in a Bowling Class, I won a trophy for "Most Unusual Form." This came after my late Uncle Sam Morganroth, who lived in Cape Coral, Florida., and I used to go bowling a lot when I visited him for three day weekends. But I could never get comfortable throwing the ball the proper way. When I won that trophy, Uncle Sam did get a few laughs.

My father has been great giving me his old slip on shoes because I don't like tying them. To this day, I don't have the patience to tie them.

I've always invested into clip on ties or had the knots made in advance.

So I can totally relate to Tebow. He's had many people work on his throwing motion but still can't seem to make that transformation. He reminds me of former NFL Quarterback Bernie Kosar.  Despite his awkward style of throwing, Kosar played in the NFL from 1985-1996.

Although Tebow has abnormalities in his throwing motion, plus a sub-par NFL arm to go deep, the former Florida Gator is a winner.

He's an exceptionally elusive signal caller and rushed for 118 yards in the Broncos 38-24 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. Very rarely do you see a quarterback rush for nearly more yards than he had passing. But Tebow managed 124 yards in the air for a six yards differential.

Despite the 45-10 pounding and seven sack performance to the Detroit Lions 11 days ago, the former Heisman Trophy Winner rebounded nicely on the road in Oakland. He-s 3-3 as a starter and you don't win a BCS National Championship by accident.

The bottom line is the Denver Broncos have to create a system which Tebow can flourish in. Coach John Fox and Elway know that and have to figure it out.

If these two can work on Tebow's passing game, surround him with good receivers and tight-ends, he'll be fine. They need to provide him with good running backs and this will give him a solid security blanket in the backfield both as rushers and in the short passing game.

But there is one intangible that Tebow doesn't need to work on.

He's a high character person!

Don't expect him in handcuffs anytime soon and taking mug shuts or getting finger printed in jail. I don't care if he demonstrates his faith publicly.

He will serve the Denver community proud whether it's at football camps instructing kids or at any public event delivering speeches. Overall, he seems to be a nice guy and his No.15 jerseys do sell and bring the Broncos revenue. He's a good role model.

Don't expect Tebow to blow a gasket at reporters as Leaf did in the San Diego Chargers locker-room when he alienated the media.

Time will tell if Tebow ever develops into a good NFL quarterback, but with his Blue Collar work ethic, at the age of 24, at least he's professional, conscientious, and has the determination to make you want to root for him.

He has plenty of time to develop with the right coaching.

Will Tebow ever make the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

That's a major stretch.

But if he starts winning, then adding Super Bowl rings to his resume, then this Underdog will prove his critics and doubters wrong.

But right now, he's a Hall of Fame Person and one individual that we won't see in Commissioner Roger Goodell's office for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy.

You know Goodell is rooting for Tebow along with many others.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Relief In Kansas City

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The Miami Dolphins will not join Lions in The 0-16 Club, but they have another thing in common with the players from Detroit.

On September 18, 2011, Detroit hammered the Kansas City Chiefs 48-3 at Ford Field.

To earn their first victory of the season, Miami limited Kansas City to a field goal and pounded the Chiefs 31-3 at Arrowhead Stadium.

But despite my criticism of the Dolphins yesterday, by no means am I ready to jump on their bandwagon. The organization is still a mess. The team is 1-7!

However, on Sunday, certain players lived up to their potential. Reggie Bush rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown. He added 50-yards in receiving. Brandon Marshall caught eight passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Quarterback Matt Moore threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went to tight end Anthony Fasano. Moore had a QB rating of 147.5 and zero interceptions.

Since the start of the 2010 season, the Dolphins have made a turnover in every game. Today's win over Kansas City produced zero turnovers.

Former Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn, who watched the Lions long losing streak end, is an assistant coach for the Chiefs. He's been through this drill.

But in the end, what did we learn about Miami's win?

First, founding owner Joe Robbie won't turn over in his grave because there won't be an Imperfect Season in his stadium.

Second, the Dolphins can focus their quarterback search in the 2012 NFL Draft to Landry Jones of the Oklahoma Sooners instead of Stanford's Andrew Luck, who could be headed to the Indianapolis Colts.

Third, the team is playing hard under embattled Head Coach Tony Sparano and the three hour flight to South Florida had to be much more satisfying.

Now the question remains, can the Dolphins go 2-0 against NFL teams that have Indian Nicknames?

The Dolphins face the Washington Redskins on Sunday November 13, 2011 at Joe Robbie Stadium. Miami's next goal is to avoid being the eighth team in NFL History to lose 15 games if they fail to win a contest the rest of the season.

But although I saw the Dolphins losing Sunday against Kansas City, I know that the whole football world is shocked as to what happened in Western Missouri.

However, on Saturday, the Northwestern Wildcats (4-5) upset the No. 10 Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-2) in Lincoln, 28-25.

So you can rest assure that this part of the Midwest was quite shocked as to what happened the entire weekend on the gridiron.

The visitors put the Stop Sign on some major losing and certainly validated the fact that games are won on the field and not on paper.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

NBA's Self Destruction

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Day 128 of the NBA Lockout is history and the impasse between the players and the owners continues.

But is anybody really surprised this saga has dragged on?

NBA Commissioner David Stern gave the players an offer and a Wednesday deadline to accept 51-percent of basketball-related income or get ready for a deal that's a whole lot worse.

You know the players are going to reject this proposal, but does anybody really care?

No.

The NFL and College Football Seasons are in full gear so nobody pays any attention to the NBA until Christmas. That's when the NBA has a handful of games and 10 television markets involved.

College Basketball figures to gain from the lockout because for those die hards looking for hoops action, they'll be able to follow their respective universities as they hope to make a run to the NCAA Basketball Tournament in March.

The biggest beneficiary should be the National Hockey League. They'll have the Winter Professional Sports Market all to themselves.

This would be a great opportunity for NBC and Versus to add more games to their television schedule. Maybe they could move a game or two to Christmas Day.

More importantly, the game attendance in the NHL, especially in cities where there are NBA teams, should increase because the fans will have an alternative.

It's a great way for the NHL to entice those NBA fans to attend their games and expand their fan base. Lets see if the NHL marketing people can create new promotions aimed at putting bodies in the seats using the NBA Lockout in their campaigns to fill their stadiums.

The NBA players just seem to forget that there is a major recession going on in this country.

At my day job, I work in Credit Repair as a Sales Representative for Acquinity Interactive (Unique Consulting Group).

The stories that I hear could produce multiple books and I get sick to my stomach when I listen to the misfortunes of other people. Yet it amazes me inside and drains me at night when I can or can't help someone out.

One of my colleagues is a retired major league baseball player and it boggles our minds at what we hear on a daily basis.

So for those players that think they have things tough, I dare them to talk to a single person that is on Social Security Disability, who gets paid once a month, with an income ranging between $500-$1000 per-month, and also needs food stamps.

These folks can't get new vehicles because their credit score is poor, have a low income, are victims of Identity Theft, went through Bad Divorces and are flooded with Collection Mail, etc...

I hear the word Bankruptcy in my sleep at night and the ways people reached that point is beyond my wildest of imaginations.

How about some of these other athletes that made their millions of dollars and are bankrupt that lost their homes. They made bad investments and realize their income levels would never meet their overhead when their playing days are over.

In recent years, former NBA Players like Rick Mahorn, Derrick Coleman, Latrell Sprewell and former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar come to mind. I know there are many others that I'm not mentioning. These are just a few examples.

But as I spend 40 hours a week listening to the hardships of others, my message to NBAPA President Derek Fisher, is if the NHL can shut down for a year, the NBA is prepared to.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Stern are close friends. You know they've talked about this and Stern is ready to finally find a system that makes sense for his league.

Once the Christmas Games are cancelled, you know that Stern will give Bettman his blessings to see if he can land another nationally televised game or two if the NHL were to go in this direction.

The NBAPA can hold out all they want. But will they be able to a year from now? How far will all these antitrust actions go in court?

It is an owners right to make as much money as they can and certainly be able to determine if they should operate a business if they're going to lose money?

One thing that I find amusing about all of this is would Charlotte Bobcats Owner Michael Jordan take the same deal his fellow owners are offering if he was still playing?

Whether it be 47-51 percent, I doubt it. But the Hall of Fame player is now a business man and he doesn't want to lose money.

The fans will have no trouble filling their holidays if the NBA isn't on television. Whether it's the other sports, spending more time with their families, etc... nobody really cares and sympathy will be at an all-time low especially in this economy.

Sports fans will also talk about the great World Series that just concluded, the off-season managerial changes that are expected to be filled shortly in Boston, Chicago Cubs and World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

There will be the hot stove league as teams make changes to take the Cardinals title away. Then in February, it will be time for Spring Training.

But when the lockout does end, just like in other sports, the backlash from the fans will be tremendous and I do believe that it will take years for the NBA to recover.

When you lose a season, people will find other ways to entertain themselves. When a league loses the playoffs and doesn't crown a champion, that's fatal.

Major League Baseball and the NHL have already done this and found out the hard way. The bad taste left in the mouths of the fans takes several years to recover.

The NFL has labor peace and we'll be able to count on many more Super Bowls to be played. Thankfully, no Super Bowl has ever been lost. We have another Super Bowl to look forward to in February in Indianapolis.

So by the end of business Wednesday, will we be seeing more players looking to play basketball overseas, or will they be opening up NBA arenas this year?

My prediction, Good Riddance NBA until we meet again in 2012-2013 when one party is going to cave in.

This time though it will be the players that finally realize their bills have due dates and if they don't pay them, they'll need Credit Repair Services.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

FAU in Big East?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

On Friday when I was picking up My Game Credential at the Tom Oxley Athletic Center, FAU Assistant Media Relations Director Justin Johnson and I were joking around about the fact that the new Owls Football Stadium could expand two more times. It can be expanded to 45,000 and 65,000 fans in two different phases.

We did agree that it's doubtful that both of us we'll be around when these expansions take place.

But as I sit on the Sixth Floor in the Press Box with a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean 2.1 miles east, watching the Owls Homecoming Game against Arkansas State, it's very easy to let your imagination allow you to meditate about what the future holds for the FAU Football Program.

As I continue to watch the college football landscape change, and as conferences find new teams to fill the void left by the departures of other schools, it makes me think of where FAU will land one day?

My best guess, and I repeat, best guess, would be the Big East.

Even though the Big East plans to enforce their bylaws to keep Pittsburgh and Syracuse from moving to the ACC immediately and West Virginia, which is Big 12 bound, to maintain any credibility long term, they'll eventually have to have 12-16 teams in football even when the 27 months end.

There are plans to invite Boise State, Navy and Air Force for football only. Central Florida, Houston and SMU would participate in all sports. The total with these additions and subtractions would be 11.

Why would FAU be a good fit for the Big East?

The conference lost it's presence in the South Florida market when the Miami Hurricanes joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2004.

The Big East added the University of South Florida and gained the Tampa Bay market and with Central Florida it will add Orlando.

For FAU, the Big East would regain it's presence in South Florida and now with this cozy new stadium in Boca Raton, this would be a natural fit to return.

FAU has approximately 28,000 students and is the Alma-mater to more than 120,000 alumni worldwide.

Add the fact that the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area is a top 10 Television Market plus the West Palm Beach audience, and there is a lot of exposure in the region. I've driven up the Florida Turnpike and once saw a Rutgers Football billboard, therefore, nobody can forget that there are a lot of transplanted Northeasterners that traded their shovels for the palm trees.

But for all of this to happen, we all know that the next major decision Owls Athletic Director Craig Angelos makes will be the biggest.

Who will follow Howard Schnellenberger? Hopefully, we'll find out by the holidays.

The potential is here for big things especially when FAU starts winning and has a high profile coach and packs 30,000 fans at this Cozy Palace.

For the Big East to market the largest cities in Florida would provide great exposure and could only bolster their bargaining power in future television negotiations.

Now we'll just see if the Big East is Smart Enough to recognize this and quit dwelling on who is leaving the conference and find the new members that could expand their market. The addition of FIU in Miami would be a great move!.

To have four Florida Schools in the Big East would also create some good in state rivalries.

There are nothing but positives to this eventually becoming a reality.

Down the road after the coaching search, I do plan to address Angelos about his team going to the Big East.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at http://www.scottsports33.com/.

Dolphins A Complete Mess!

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Please tell me that I'm not suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

Is the NFL Draft in April or November?

As dumb as this seems, why are we talking about Stanford Cardinal QB Andrew Luck being the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft?

We're only halfway through the 2011 season and the majority of the discussion should be focused on the playoff chase and surprise teams.

The feel good stories include the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.

But that's today's media.

Luck is indeed the hot topic. His destinations appear to be either the Indianapolis Colts or the Miami Dolphins. Both are winless but for entirely different reasons.

The Colts can't win without future Hall of Fame first year lock Peyton Manning. If Manning is able to return this season with his competitive nature, Indianapolis will not join The 0-16 Club, in which the Lions are the only members. I could see a victory or two for the Colts.

Besides, Colts Owner Jim Irsay will never let the Peyton Manning era end on a bad note. Look for a statue in front of the Colts Stadium when his career is over.

But I do believe the Lions will have company in The 0-16 Club.

The Dolphins are a bad football team!

They tried to lure former Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh during the off-season while their current head coach Tony Sparano was under contract. That failed and Sparano was given a contract extension.

They allowed Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to leave through free agency and traded for Reggie Bush.  The former Saint and USC Trojan, has 75 carries for 335 yards with zero touchdowns. He has 21 receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown. He's only returned five punts for 44 yards.

Rookie Daniel Thomas hasn't scored a touchdown and like Bush, has 75 carries but for 302 yards.

I've always viewed Bush as a finesse back, who has versatility to catch the ball out of the backfield. He's not a four-down power runner and he's a solid special teams player.

The Dolphins haven't been satisfied with the performance of former Michigan Wolverines QB Chad Henne, but didn't pull the trigger when they had the chance to trade for Denver Broncos signal caller Kyle Orton during the off-season. Miami blew an opportunity to land former Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard.

Now the Dolphins QB's are former Carolina Panther Matt Moore, Sage Rosenfels and former UFL journeyman J.P. Losman, a former Buffalo Bill.

Losman led the Las Vegas Locomotives to the inaugural UFL Championship on November 27, 2009. Losman signed with Miami on Oct 25, 2011, while Rosenfels was placed on the reserve/non-football list.

It wouldn't matter which signal caller was under center because there is no talent around them.

The Dolphins are A Complete Mess!

Miami ended the 2010 season with a three game losing streak to finish 7-9. The Dolphins had the worst home record in the league with a 1-7 mark.

At  0-7 going into their road game against the Kansas City Chiefs at noisy Arrowhead Stadium, the losing streak has hit 10 and counting.

The Chiefs are 4-3 and are in a three-way tie for the AFC West lead.

Do you see 0-8 and an 11-game losing streak? I do.

The Dolphins have flirted with 0-16.

On December 16, 2007, Miami was one touchdown pass from joining the 2008 Lions.

Cleo Lemon threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Greg Camarillo as the Dolphins defeated the Baltimore Ravens 22-16 in overtime at Joe Robbie Stadium and ended a 16-game losing streak.

They finished the year 1-15 and seven teams in NFL history have lost 15-games in a season.

After this disaster, the Dolphins turned to Bill Parcells and the first year, the drafting of Henne and his Wolverines offensive lineman Jake Long, to go along with former Jets signal caller Chad Pennington, enabled Miami to land in the 2008 playoffs. Using a gimmick offense "The Wildcat" and maximizing the skills of Brown and Williams, the Dolphins finished 11-5.

The Ravens would get their revenge a year later with a 27-9 win and the Dolphins haven't returned to the playoffs since 2008.

Two 7-9 seasons and a pair of third place finishes in the AFC East have seen the Dolphins fall hard again. Parcells retired midway through the 2010 season.

He has returned to ESPN either to become a full-time Sunday analyst or size up his next challenge. Evidently, he had no desire to work with current Dolphins Owner, Stephen M Ross, A Michigan Wolverine Alumnus, after Wayne Huizenga sold the team.

Now the team is being run by CEO Mike Dee, General Manager Jeff Ireland (hired by Parcells) and Sparano, a former Parcells assistant coach.

Don Shula is the Vice Chairman, though I'd wonder if he has much input into the daily operation.

Yet this franchise which has 22 Playoff Appearances, 13 Division Championships, five Conference Championships, a pair of Super Bowl Titles including the 1972 Perfect Season (17-0), has a chance make history by joining the Lions for all of the wrong reasons.

When the Lions had their 0-16 record in 2008, the year before, they were 7-9.  The Dolphins find themselves in the exact same situation and lost to the Lions 34-27 at home last December.

Another Dolphins/Lions irony is Detroit had another former Wolverines offensive lineman, as Jeff Backus suffered through that imperfect season. The Dolphins have Long.

As I look at the Dolphins schedule, there best chance for a win was on October 25. Former Florida Gator QB Tim Tebow rallied the Denver Broncos from a 15-0 deficit to an 18-15 overtime win. A week later, Tebow faced the Lions and was sacked seven times as Detroit (6-2) crushed Denver 45-10 in Colorado.

Beginning with Sundays road game against Kansas City, the Dolphins road schedule includes the Dallas Cowboys, and in mid-December face the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots in potentially winter and blizzard conditions.

The remaining home games are against the Washington Redskins, Bills and in early December the Oakland Raiders travel to the east coast while the Philadelphia Eagles come to town.

The Bills are improved and recently gave their quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick a new contract. Coach Chan Gailey has done an outstanding job in Western New York.

Each of these teams are competing for playoff spots.

But the Redskins are experiencing quarterback problems with former Gator Rex Grossman and former Dolphin John Beck trying to get a grasp on the starters role.

The Redskins game is still Miami's best chance at a win. The Lions ended their long losing streak at Ford Field in 2009 against Washington and across the Beltway, the Ravens spared the Dolphins history.

There is no way that Rex Ryan will allow his New York Jets to be Miami's first victim on January 1st.

CBS has the honors of showcasing a potential winless Dolphins team on Thanksgiving, as Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino has to talk about his former team on the pre-game show against the Cowboys.

Marino played his entire career with Miami from 1983-1999, had 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns, playing for Coach Shula, who let him do whatever he wanted to do.

This is the same Marino that in 2004, who was named Senior Vice President of Football Operations, but resigned three weeks later. He wasn't going to get paid millions of dollars as he did when he led the team to one Super Bowl, a 38-16 loss to the San Francisco 49'ers on Jan 20, 1985.

While it is hard to believe that a team can go an entire season without a win, this situation is quite possible. We've seen it twice with the Lions and the expansion Tampa Bay Bucs finished 0-14 in 1976 as they played in the AFC West.

But if this happens, former Dolphins Owner Joe Robbie will turn over in his grave knowing this infamous perfect season happened in his stadium.

For the time being, I have a feeling there will be less traffic jams at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Whoever the Dolphins take in the NFL Draft in April 2012, better learn the Bible from cover to cover. He's going to need to say a few prayers as to how this team will ever get back to respectability.

The only two real perks the Dolphins next Football Man will have is he won't pay any State Income Tax on his paycheck and the nice weather.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.

Gloor’s Road To New Orleans

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH One of the things that I’ve enjoyed doing prior to FAU’s Men’s Basketball Games is interview the oppositions announcer. ...