The Weekend In Review

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

During the weekend, our football teams were 2-1.

The Florida Atlantic Owls improved their record to 3-2 with a 45-27 road win against the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

FAU Coach Glenn Spencer coached at UNCC a year ago and when the game was over got a cold shower.

FAU QB Chris Robison picked up where he left off against Wagner the previous week.

In this Nationally televised game on The NFL Network, he was 20-27 with 312 yards and two touchdowns.

Florida Atlantic showed some balance on offense by amassing four rushing touchdowns, two of which came from running back Malcolm Davidson, who had 13 carries for 83 yards.

Two touchdowns occurred in the air.

The Owls have a bye this weekend.

They return to action on Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 4 PM as they face Middle Tennessee State at FAU Stadium.

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The struggles continued for the Miami Dolphins against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The last time the Chargers won a game in South Florida was an overtime playoff thriller on January 2, 1982, in The Orange Bowl in what was regarded as one of the greatest games in NFL History.

The Chargers won a classic 41-38.

Miami proceeded to win eight straight.

QB Philip Rivers threw for 310 yards and two scores to lead LA to a 30-10 win, ending 38 years of frustration. LA improved its record to 2-2 while Miami dropped to 0-4.

Miami has been outscored 163-26 this season, which is the NFL's worst four-game point differential since at least 1940. Moreover, Miami has been outscored 81-0 in the second half this season.

Chargers running back Melvin Gordon was active after reporting this week ending his holdout, but he didn't have a carry.

Dolphins QB Josh Rosen threw for 180 yards and a touchdown, but had an interception and was sacked four times.

Up next for Miami, they have a bye this weekend, then play host to the Washington Redskins on October 13.

The Redskins are 0-4 and are 0-5 at Miami, with the most recent game in 2011. There are rumors that Coach Jay Gruden is on the hot seat.

This game could be the best opportunity for the Dolphins to avoid the 0-16 club which has two members, the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

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Finally, the Jacksonville Jaguars earned a thrilling 26-24 win over the Denver Broncos in Colorado to improve to 2-2.

The Jaguars won despite Jalen Ramsey being inactive for the first time in his career and ending his streak of 131 straight games missing the first game in his four-year career. He missed practice all week, first with an illness, then a back injury and finally for paternity leave.

Despite the drama, Minshew Mania went to the Rocky Mountains and the rookie didn't disappoint his followers.

Despite being sacked five times, Minshew II was 19-33 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't throw an interception.

Jacksonville's rushing game came alive as running back Leonard Fournette had 29 carries for 225 yards and also caught two passes for 20 yards.

Fournette's career day topped his previous high of 181 yards on October 8, 2017 at Pittsburgh.

Kicker Josh Lambo booted all four of his field goals including the game winning 33-yarder as time expired to send the Jaguars home happy.

Minshew II Mania travels to NASCAR Country as the Jaguars visit their expansion brother, the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Motown Vs South Beach

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

If you're looking for a weekend getaway in the sun and get away from the cooler weather in Metro Detroit, this was the time to schedule it.

On Saturday Night October 20, 2018, the Detroit Red Wings traveled to Sunrise, FL to face the Florida Panthers at 7 pm.

Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium at 1 pm, the Detroit Lions made it's every eight-year visit to face the Miami Dolphins.

This past spring, there was a similar situation which took place.

The Detroit Pistons faced the Miami Heat on a Saturday Night, while the Tigers played the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach on Sunday.

Due to medical issues, I was limited to one contest and elected to see the Tigers game. This would be the latest Spring Training venue that we saw and that stadium was dynamite.

The common denominator with all these games is that it's nice to be able to sleep in my own bed during these occasions.

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The Red Wings entered their contest with the Florida Panthers as the only winless team in the NHL with a 0-5-2 mark with two points.

Detroit was playing a Panthers club that was also struggling with a 1-2-2 record with four points.

The Red Wings always seem to play well at the BB&T Center.

Detroit's record against the Panthers was 7-10-2-4.

There was no shortages of chants that said "Let's Go Red Wings."

As we were leaving the game, I saw a Red Wings fan wear a Harold Snepsts white jersey.

How many millennials remember this guy?

After the first period, it looked like the Red Wings were destined for yet another loss spotting the Panthers a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period

But Detroit woke up in the second period scoring three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead.

Florida would score a later goal in the third period to tie the game at 3-3, but Detroit and goaltender Jimmy Howard showed resilience in overtime to come away with a 4-3 triumph.


As I went down to the Red Wings locker room, I saw GM Ken Holland, and he was the most relieved man in the building when I asked him how it felt to get that first win.

When the game was over, I spoke with Dennis Cholowski, who was playing in this arena for the first time, about his thoughts about playing in front of the Metro Detroit transplants.

"It's pretty darn cool and we have a loyal fan base," Cholowski said. "They follow us everywhere through thick and thin. So it's pretty cool to see that."

Cholowski said he was relieved to see the team get that first win out of the way.

"For sure, we were yearning for it and we've wanted it for awhile now. Thankfully, we got the first one out of the way."

Coach Jeff Blashill said getting a win anywhere would have been important but also chimed in on Detroit's home away from home.

"We're fortunate we got lots of Red Wings fans throughout the country," Blashill said. "Certainly, whenever we come here there is a good number of red and white so that's a great thing. We play pretty good in this building and I thought certainly parts of tonight was real good."

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Through the years, I've covered the Lions many times on the road.

But the place which is No.1 on my list is when they face the Miami Dolphins.

When I first became a sports writer, the Miami Dolphins were the first team that I covered working with the legendary Don Shula.

Because I was young, I was a bit intimidated by him. But as I worked with him often, he used to joke around with me and I used to ask for words of wisdom, which he was great about giving me.

I covered the Dolphins when they played at the now demolished Orange Bowl.

I interviewed late Owner Joe Robbie, who built the current stadium which I've seen two Super Bowls along with Lions and Miami Hurricanes games.

I also saw a game when Nick Saban was the Dolphins coach and former Lions QB Joey Harrington faced the Green Bay Packers and legend Brett Favre.

Too many memories to document.

This brings us back to the South Florida/Detroit Showdown Weekend.

The Lions entered the Dolphins game with a 2-3 mark, while Miami is looking for its first 5-2 start since 2003.

The Dolphins are 5-2 in their past seven meeting with the Lions, but Detroit has won each of the past two, including a 34-27 win in the last meeting in South Florida on December 26, 2010.

Today's intrigue would focus on whether Lions Coach Matt Patricia, formerly of the New England Patriots, could use his divisional knowledge to gain a scouting advantage of the Dolphins enabling Detroit to climb to 3-3.

One area Patricia won't have as much knowledge about is Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler, as he will start instead of signal caller Ryan Tannehill, who is sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

On this day, Lions would defeat the Dolphins 32-21.

The Lions scored a touchdown on their first possession for the first time this season while snapping Miami's streak of 13 consecutive games without allowing an opening drive touchdown.

Detroit recorded 248 rushing yards as a team, the most since logging 249 yards vs Indianapolis on November 23, 1997.

Rookie running back Kerryon Johnson finished the day in career highs with 19 attempts for 158 yards (8.3 avg.). He added two receptions for 21 yards to finish with a career-most 179 yards from scrimmage. One of his runs was a 71-yard rush in the second quarter.

QB Matthew Stafford finished the day 18-of-22 passing for 217 yards and two touchdowns, good for a passer rating of 138.1.

The Lions left South Beach feeling good about themselves by improving their record to 3-3.

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But how indeed the fortunes have changed for both squads.

After the Red Wings left South Florida they went on a two-game losing streak.

But in their last 10 games, Detroit is 7-3 and through 17 games, the Red Wings have improved their record to 7-8-2 with 16 points.

As for the Lions, they've lost three consecutive contests and are 3-6, as they reside in last place in the NFC North Division.

With their playoff hopes diminishing and a lost season, Coach Patricia finds himself with a lot of work to do to gain the confidence of a fan base that believes his hiring was a huge mistake.

Nonetheless, if you're a Detroit Sports Fan, who was in South Florida for the weekend, going 2-0 was money well spent.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com. He's a member of Detroit Sports Media and also hosts The Sports Exchange on the weinetwork.com.

Smartest NFL Player Ever?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTO BY CANDICE EBLING

It's hard to believe the NFL Pre-Season opens up tonight when the Buffalo Bills face the New York Giants in the Annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

Non-stop football until February to see which team will emerge as Super Bowl Champions.

Will the Seattle Seahawks repeat?

Will there be a last to first story?

Which squad will take that last step?

What new draft choices or undrafted free agents will make an impact this season?

Which players will be good fantasy football selections?

We'll find out in the next four weeks leading to the start of the regular season.

When I was covering the Miami Dolphins in 1982 for the Hallandale Digest, the fish drafted Yale Bulldogs running back Richard Diana in the fifth round, 136th overall.

Diana had impressive numbers playing for the Ivy League School, especially during his final two seasons.

The 5-9, 220 pounder amassed 1,074 yards and five touchdowns in 1980.

In 1981, Diana gained 1,442 yards with 14 touchdowns.

His career total was 2,576 yards.

Diana would also add 426 receiving yards and four touchdowns, in addition to 229 punt and 552 kick-off return yards as well.

Tell me one coach that wouldn't give this guy a chance to play in the NFL. Not bad for fantasy numbers.

These numbers definitely impressed Dolphins Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula, who is the all-time winning coach with 347 wins and has two Super Bowl Championships.

Diana played one season for Miami. He had eight carries for 31 yards, along with two receptions for 21 yards.

In late July of 1983, Diana pulled a rarity that would unlikely happen in today's NFL with the millions of dollars being paid to the players.

He walked into Shula's office, handed him the playbook, retired, then went to Medical School.

Diana traded a potential life with concussions, knee, shoulder and other injuries to become an Orthopedic Surgeon.

This is Diana's Super Bowl and that's to help other people out.

He didn't need to get banged up and could careless about collecting an NFL Pension. Just being drafted by the Dolphins and being in their media guide was good enough.

One of the major story lines the past few years has been lawsuits filed by retired players for damages as a result of long term injuries for their medical care.

Sometimes, we often wonder why Hall of Fame Players like Jim Brown and Barry Sanders retire in their prime.

It's simple.

They minimize their punishment so they don't have to ride around in wheel chairs, use motor scooters, walk with canes, and have a life after football.

When a running back has hit the 2000 carry mark, that's when teams are reluctant to give long term contracts. Age isn't as much of a factor as the amount of carries which is understandable about why these players try to get the front end of their contracts loaded with guaranteed money.

Many people criticized former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams for retiring early. He was concerned that Miami's offense wasn't diverse enough and he was being too depended on.

When Bill Parcells took over Miami's front office, this changed with the implementation of the "Wildcat Offense" therefore, there was less wear and tear on Williams.

Ronnie Brown split some of the running load and the Dolphins were actually fun to watch especially when they upset the New England Patriots the first time with the "Wildcat."

Williams was also aware that Texas alumnus and Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell is in a wheel chair and needs assistance walking.

But back to Diana.

It will be interesting to see how many other players are smart enough to use their education if they're unable to fulfill their dream.

While Diana could have used his NFL paychecks to pay for his Medical School, he managed fine.

On September 6, Diana will turn 54.

He's written books and has made his money in the Medical Field.

I can only imagine how much money Dr. Richard Diana has made doing Public Speaking, Writing Books, in addition to his work in the Medical Field in the past 30 years.

Hopefully, this story sheds a different perspective on not only how we view training camp, plus preseason games, but life on and off the gridiron.

But unlike many NFL players, Diana left on his own terms and traded his early office at the Orange Bowl for a much different office.

Considering that Diana came from the Ivy League, Shula knew that he was Drafting A Smart NFL Player!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

No Repeat Of History at Marlins Park

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

The last time we came to the Orange Bowl Location, history was made.

Henderson Alverez threw the 282nd No-Hitter in MLB History and the fifth since the Marlins were formed in 1993.

This was the first no-hitter that I've ever seen in person.

Miami swept the Detroit Tigers in this three-game series from Sept 27-29 culminating with the season ending finale by Henderson Alverez, photographed celebrating.

Miami would finish the season with a 62-100 record and were 34 games behind first place Atlanta (96-66) in the National League East.

Miami's payroll for this dismal season was $36 Million which was 29th in MLB. This averaged to $1.1 Million per-player.

As I researched this statistic, it was interesting to note that the Detroit Tigers have connections to three of these no-hitters.

On June 10, 1997, the Jim Leyland piloted Florida Marlins, saw pitcher Kevin Brown throw a 9-0 gem defeating the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.

To win on the road in windy San Francisco should count as two no-hitters.

Current Tiger Anibal Sanchez defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 in the Marlins former home, Joe Robbie Stadium on September 6, 2006.

Leyland was once again a part of a no-hitter, but on the wrong end of it as Alverez defeated Detroit 1-0 on September 29, 2014 at Marlins Park in his last regular season game as Tigers skipper.

Here on May 24, 2014, another former Tiger was on the hill for Miami against the Milwaukee Brewers.

His name is Jacob Turner and he entered the game with an 0-2 mark with a 6.59 ERA.

His no hitter ended in the top of the second inning as Carlos Gomez, photographed twice, doubled to deep right field.

Turner pitched 6.1 innings, gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out two.

His ERA dropped to 5.35 with the outing, leaving the game with a 1-0 lead. Turner threw 89 pitches, 57 for strikes.

Turner would go on and get the win and improved his record to 1-2.

On Friday Night, the Marlins began their Memorial Day Weekend three-game series and with Miami deciding to leave the retractable roof open.

Giancarlo Stanton and Garrett Jones put on a power display by each hitting two homers, all were solo shots but that wasn't enough as Milwaukee pounded Miami 9-5. The paid attendance was 18,989.

Going into Saturday's game, Milwaukee battered the Marlins 20-6 in their last 26 meetings and had a five-game winning streak.

In 2013, Milwaukee was 5-1 against Miami and shutout the Marlins three straight games from July 19-21 in Wisconsin.

The Marlins game on Saturday would be a 4:10 p.m. start by no means a conflict with the Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers just a handful of miles downtown that would begin at 8:30 p.m. at the American Airlines Arena.

There would definitely be no parking issues for this inner city double-header.

There would be No Repeat of what would happen in September. With the temperature 87 degrees on the outside, the only air was the air conditioning.

The Marlins (26-24) defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. The paid attendance was 25,819. The Brewers dropped to 29-21. Miami snapped it's five-game losing streak to Milwaukee.

Milwaukee still leads the all-time series with the Marlins 60-57, but is 29-34 in South Florida.

On Sunday, Milwaukee ripped Miami 7-1 to improve the all-time series against the Marlins 61-57, and 30-34 in South Florida.

Ryan Braun led the way in this contest by amassing four hits, scoring two runs with one RBI, in front of a paid attendance of 21,897.

The three game series drew a total paid attendance of 66,705 which Milwaukee took two of three.

The only difference between the last time these teams met in South Florida was both were struggling squads.

In 2013, Milwaukee finished 74-88 and dealt with the 65-game suspension of star player Ryan Braun which originated in Miami 7.13 miles and 15 minutes away at the Biogenesis Clinic of America.

He missed a total 86 games, 21 due to a right thumb contusion.

In 2014, Braun, photographed, has quietly put some respectable numbers on the board with a .315 average, seven homers and 23 RBI in 36 games.

In 2014, Milwaukee is currently in first place in the National League Central with a 32-22 record while Miami is close to halfway towards it's win total of 2013 with 28.

The Marlins are 28-25 and they've slightly raised their payroll to 47.5 Million which is still 29th in MLB.

Before the game, I had a chance to speak with Hall of Famer Tony Perez, photographed with me to the left, while former Tigers Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez holds the same title for Miami.

The former Cincinnati Red legend, Perez looks fantastic at the age of 72 and is a part of the Marlins front office.

This is a young staff that has an ERA of 3.78 and is in contention in the National League East .5 games behind division leading Atlanta 29-25 at the time of this post.

It will be interesting how this young squad progresses and whether the fans fill Marlins Park.

There is still a lot of backlash aimed at Miami Owner Jeffrey Loria who has a new expensive stadium, but has yet to field a competitive team.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

On Monday February 24, 2014, I decided to put Detroit Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland into My Detroit Mt. Rushmore for Detroit Front Office Executives.

On Wednesday, Holland proved why he deserved to be on this list by acquiring Center David Legwand from the Nashville Predators in the final minutes of the NHL's trade deadline. It was a move designed to bolster a position which has been decimated by injuries. It showed the city and his team that he wants to maintain the winning tradition. No fire sales and selling, just buying.

Before the Olympic Break, I had the opportunity to speak with Holland in this Q & A Interview about some of the latest developments with the Red Wings when Detroit played the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center.

Q: Are you relieved that the Red Wings will be taking future face offs in a new stadium?

A: Yes. It's a big step. It's really important because it allows our organization, franchise and city to remain competitive in the NHL.

Q: What do you think the new facility should look like?

A: One of the benefits of being one of the last buildings built is the opportunity to tour a lot of the buildings. I know the people from the Ilitch family and the people they have hired have taken the opportunity to go tour, plus the hockey people like Myself and Coach Mike Babcock, have suggested some of the good things we like in certain buildings.

Hopefully, we can take the best of all the buildings. I know they've asked other buildings if you could do things differently, what would you do? A state-of-the-art stadium would be fantastic not only again for our team and city, but it will really help in the re-vitalization of Downtown Detroit.

Q: Ken, I'm an old school guy, have you heard anything about Olympia being used in the name of the new arena? Olympia Stadium would sound great!

A: I haven't gotten involved in the conversations. I will say this. The history of the Red Wings is very important to our ownership. We're one of the few franchises that we don't have a third jersey. We've done very little tinkering with our jersey.

When the Ilitches bought the team in the early 1980's, they wanted to have the history and respect it. So I'm sure those things will be discussed and talked about. The history of our team will be up front first and foremost.

Q: But do you have a gut feeling, and I'm just asking you for a gut feeling, whether Olympia would be a part of the name?

A: I don't really know. At the end of the day, you can name some rooms and other parts of the building different things. In this day and age there is naming rights. I don't know if they're looking at naming rights.

My thing is to keep the Red Wings competitive on the ice. We do go to regular meetings. They've asked our input in the designing of the locker room. We want a state-of-the-art locker room as we go on the road and see other locker rooms.

They ask us what I like about different rinks in the NHL. It's not my job on a day to day basis.

Will Olympia be in the name? I really have no idea.

Q: Since I live in South Florida, the Miami Marlins recently built a new stadium on the site of the historical Orange Bowl. Did you ever hear if the old Tiger Stadium site was ever considered?

A: I don't know. I'm sure the planning started 4,5,6,7 years ago. I'm not sure what was ever considered. Someone did there work that made the current location the best sense. I'm sure there were a lot of great areas and opportunities. You have to buy land, the city made a major move by doing some re-zoning, had to put parcels of land that they owned with the development package. I'm not sure what was ever considered.

One good thing about this location is it's close to Comerica Park, Ford Field and more of these big venues brings people downtown. You can start by having bars and restaurants then younger people start moving downtown. Build out from there. One of the advantages of this location is it's closer to other locations.

I moved to Detroit in 1994, and what's good about this is we can start by bringing energy and different businesses. The city can go from there.

It's important to have a Downtown District in every city in the USA and Canada for that matter.

Detroit is on the way back. It takes time to kind of lose your sex appeal and it takes awhile to build back your sex appeal. The people of Michigan and Detroit are going through the process to get Detroit back to what it is. It's one of the great cities in America.

Q: Now we can move on to some easier hockey questions and we'll start with the Red Wings move to the Eastern Conference. Some thoughts?

A: It's going to be fantastic for us. It's going to take time. Other than Toronto, Montreal, and the other "Original Six" teams, (Boston and NY Rangers) to go along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, whom we played in the finals twice in 2008 and 2009; the other teams we played once a year and in some years we didn't play them.

Even though Anaheim is on the West Coast, we had a good relationship/rivalry with them because of the playoff match-ups through the years. I think it's going to be awesome with us being in the Eastern Conference. It's going to take 2-4 years to build up relationships and rivalries with some of these cities beyond the "Original Six."

Q: Now that you're not switching time zones as much, would you say that the team will benefit with more practices with less travel wear and tear?

A: I don't know that the 82-game regular season in the Western Conference was that bad. We have our own private airplane. The schedule makers did work with us.

The wear and tear was in the playoffs. In a seven game series in California, you're flying back and forth. If you're fortunate enough to win the series, there could be another seven game series to Western Canada going back and forth.

As we go forward, and we're able to make the playoffs, there will be less wear and tear in the Eastern Conference. We'll build up more rivalries, plus there will be more road games in prime-time on TV for our fans in Detroit. Fans love rivalries. We have Toronto and Montreal that go back in the beginning of time.

Hopefully, over the next 10-15 years, we'll have playoff series with Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington, and another with Pittsburgh. The more playoff series you're in with both cities, there is a build-up of emotional energy for that team which is good going forward.

Q: Would you say that the early returns to the Eastern Conference are good?

A: I love it!

Q: Let's talk about your Coach Mike Babcock. With a 22-year playoff streak on the line trying to reach 23, is this one of his best coaching jobs?

A: He did a tremendous job last year with a lot of people out. He kept us afloat structure.

This year, he's played a lot of kids. This has been a great year for our team because we're set-up going forward. If we didn't have the injuries, we wouldn't know about Riley Sheahan, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, and Tomas Jurco.

They've had opportunities. We count on these guys night after night after night. Hopefully, our organization will be much deeper in March than we were in November. When we head into the off-season, we have to make a decision about our team. We've watched these kids play.

We played in Vancouver and Sheahan went head-to-head against Ryan Kesler a world class player. You normally don't get that opportunity to watch these players play in those situations.

But this year, we have.

The Red Wings (29-21-13) get to showcase their young talent on Sunday as Detroit faces the New York Rangers (34-26-4) in Madison Square Garden on NBC at 12:30 pm.

Another "Original Six" match-up with both teams driving to make the playoffs in The Big Apple.

Despite the fact that Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will be out for an extended period of time, this team will only get scarier in the playoffs upon their return.

The only curiosities that I have at the moment are the progression of these kids and how much Legwand contributes. But being a hometown player despite Legwand's pending free agency, I couldn't imagine Holland making a trade for a rental especially for a guy that waived his no-trade clause to come home.

As much as I used to enjoy watching Lions Hall of Fame Running Back Barry Sanders march to the top of the all-time rushing chart, I am looking forward to seeing how many teams the Red Wings pass if they're able to get a a red hot streak.

We've all heard the phrase being "Thrown into the Fire," these kids are definitely getting "On the Job Training" at the highest level in the NHL and the rest of the teams know it.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Penn State's VS Wisconsin---Michigan Connections

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING
MADISON, WI

There were a lot of interesting story lines during the Penn State Nittany Lions recent visit to Camp Randall Stadium on November 30, 2013, which is the fifth oldest stadium in the country.

There were two members from the Orange Bowl Committee scouting the Wisconsin Badgers because it appeared to be quite possible that there would be three Big Ten teams heading to BCS Bowls.

Normally, the Atlantic Coast Conference Champions would get an automatic Orange Bowl bid. As it turned out, two Big Ten teams made it to BCS Bowl games.

No.2 Florida State (13-0) jumped to No.1 thanks to No.4 Auburn's 34-28 win over No.1 Alabama (11-1, 7-1) in the Iron Bowl on 11-30-2013.

The Seminoles 45-7 pounding of Duke (10-3, 6-3) in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday earned FSU the right to play in the National Championship Game in Pasadena, CA on January 6, 2014.

The Orange Bowl will now feature No.12 Clemson (10-2) against No.7 Ohio State (12-1) on January 3, 2014 in Miami.

Auburn (12-1, 8-1) will face Florida State (13-0, 9-0) in the National Championship Game after their 59-42 win over the Missouri Tigers Saturday in the SEC Championship Game.

Ohio State was defeated by a hot Michigan State squad 34-24 (12-1, 8-1) in the Big Ten Title Game Saturday and the Buckeyes are heading to South Florida.

The Big Ten is always a Big Draw in Florida.

Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa (Outback Bowl) and Nebraska (Gator Bowl) are playing in the post-season in The Sunshine State.

The Badgers took a seven-game winning streak into their contest against Penn State.

That was until the Nittany Lions figured this game was their bowl game and stunned the Badgers 31-24 in front of 78,064 fans. Any chance of a BCS Bowl ended with an inspired Penn State effort which allowed the Nittany Lions to improve to 7-5 and 4-4 in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin lost at Camp Randall Stadium for just the third time in the last four years and is now 61-7 at home since the start of the 2004 season. UW entered the game with the third-best home record in the nation since 2004.

Penn State entered the game as 24-point underdogs.

Head Coach Bill O'Brien said his players felt disrespected about the odds makers prediction.

"Our guys practice hard, they love to play and you know I can tell you flat out that they took offense to the fact that they were 24-point underdogs and that nobody even in State College thought they could win that game, except for the kids in that locker room and the coaches in that locker room.

"So I think that those kids took it personally. You know, you take those things personally. It's just the way it is, that's football. I really feel good about the seniors that they were able to go out on a winning note."

Because of the Jerry Sandusky Child Abuse Sex Scandal, Penn State is ineligible for the post-season.

Penn State ended the season on a winning note thanks to the play of freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who went 21-30, for 339 yards, four touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

The No. 19  Badgers dropped to (9-3, 6-2) and will play No. 9 South Carolina in the Outback Bowl on January 1, 2014 in Orlando.

Wisconsin needed just 34 rushing yards to break the school record of 3,309 set last season in 14 games. The Badgers added 120 and set a new school record with 3,396 yards in 12 games. These numbers will increase in Wisconsin's upcoming bowl game. The previous 12-game mark was 3,305 set in 1999.

There are two Metro Detroit Players that are performing well for Penn State.

Junior Wide Receiver Allen Robinson is from Southfield, MI and played High School Ball at Orchard Lake St. Mary's.

Entering the final week of the regular season, Robinson is third in the NCAA with 1,310 receiving yards and fifth in the nation with 119.1 yards a game. His 89 catches are seventh in the NCAA and his 8.1 yards are eighth nationally. He's also has six touchdowns.

Against the Badgers, Robinson had eight catches, for 122 yards. He finished the season with 1,432 yards which is a school record, and also added another school record for receptions in a single season compiling 97 receptions.

Despite one year left of eligibility, it is likely that he'll declare for the 2014 NFL Draft.

O'Brien wasn't thinking about whether Robinson would be back and said, "He made a lot of plays again tonight. I think even the plays that he didn't make it helped because there was the threat of him making a play and I think that always helps in the running game, which it was very hard to run the football tonight.

"You can't say enough about Allen Robinson. He's an excellent football player, a great guy to coach and a great guy to be around."

Red-shirt Junior C.J. Olaniyan has started 12 career games including every game in 2013 at defensive end. He ranks second in the conference with three forced fumbles, is tied for 10th in tackles for a loss (11) and is tied for ninth in the Big Ten in sacks (5.0).

Olaniyan, who is from Warren, MI and played for Warren Mott High School, Earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors with eight total tackles, four assisted and four unassisted, had 2.5 sacks and forced his first career fumble in the second quarter of Penn State's 43-40 (4OT) home win over No.18 Michigan on October 12.

Going into the Badgers game, Olaniyan had 25 unassisted tackles.

Against Wisconsin, Olaniyan had a 33-yard interception return that led to a Penn State 28-yard field goal which gave the Nittany Lions a 24-14 lead. He also had three QB Hurries.

Coach O'Brien said he's very pleased with Olaniyan's improvement this season.

"He's had a good year for us," O'Brien said. "He's made a lot of plays, is an instinctive player, has played much better this year than last year. C.J. has another year for us and we're excited about that. He's made key plays for us all year in the games we've won."

Olaniyan knew that there were plenty of Michigan Schools he could have attended and said Penn State was simply a better fit.

"It was all about the visit and I walked around the facilities and they were fine," Olaniyan said. "When I talked to coach J (late-Joe Paterno), I knew this was the place I wanted to be. When I came to Penn State, it had to do with the people and the fans. By them (NCAA) taking away the bowl games, it didn't effect me much because I had the opportunity to play in front of our great fans. That's all that mattered to me."

When the NCAA hammered Penn State with major sanctions in the Jerry Sandusky Child Abuse Sex Scandal, this would have been a perfect opportunity for Olaniyan to leave.

But he knew that the hiring of former New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator O'Brien's NFL connections would be helpful in his pursuit of a professional career.

"He's going to tell you straight up what you need to do to improve," Olaniyan said. "He won't tell you want you want to hear, but what you have to hear. He will tell it like it is. He won't lie to you. He's been in the business a long time."

There are two players on Wisconsin's roster that are from Michigan.

Senior Tight-End Jacob Pedersen is from Menominee and Senior Offensive Lineman Zac Matthias (No. 75 in photo above) is from Hemlock. Matthias is 6-5, 318 pounds.

Pedersen had four receptions for 64 yards against Penn State. He finished with 501 yards this season. In his four years with Wisconsin, he amassed 1,344 yards and 17 touchdowns. Pedersen was a captain for his final home game in red.

Interesting Note: Thanksgiving Weekend wasn't a good one for Wisconsin based teams facing Lions nicknames. Wisconsin lost to the Nittany Lions while the Green Bay Packers went to Detroit and were thrashed by the Lions 40-10 at Ford Field.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

History At Old Orange Bowl Location

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

I've seen a lot of great football games featuring the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes, but in all of my years of covering baseball, this is the first no-hitter I've ever seen in person.

Of all places, it happened on the site of the Historic Orange Bowl Location.

On Sunday September 29, 2013, a crowd of 28,315 at Marlins Park saw Tigers Cy Young Award Winner Justin Verlander throw six scoreless innings.

He was relieved by Doug Fister in the seventh inning. Rick Porcello entered the game in the eighth, retired the side and had two strikeouts. He was relieved by Luke Putkonen in the ninth.

This was a tune-up for the Tigers as Detroit prepared for the playoffs.

The fans got more than they bargained for as the story in this game was Marlins right-handed pitcher Alvarez Henderson. He threw a 1-0 no-hitter against the Tigers and it was the fifth in Marlins history.

The winning run came on a bases loaded wild pitch by Putkonen that allowed Giancarlo Stanton to score from third base. Stanton originally reached base with a single.

Henderson had one walk, four strikeouts, hit Prince Fielder with a pitch then cruised to improve his record to 5-6. He threw 99 pitches and 66 were strikes.

The Marlins swept the Tigers as they improved to 62-100 while the Tigers dropped to 93-69.

It was a very unusual game in the sense that Alvarez was facing a pitcher that has two no-hitters himself speaking of Verlander.

The Tigers were resting most of their star players, but by no means am I taking anything away from the kid's accomplishment.

I didn't pay much attention to the pace of the game as I was working on a story and was dealing with technical issues getting online.

My photographer Candice Ebling sent me a text message that she was debating switching positions about the potential no-hitter, but opted to stay put by the Tigers Dugout.

That's when I started taking notice to what could be history.

Indeed that became the case.

Alvarez became the 282nd pitcher in MLB History to throw a no-hitter and he's likely to have some mementos sent to the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

Alvarez, who was born on April 18, 1990, became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the final game of the season since Mike Witt in 1984 when he did it for the California Angels.

When no-hitters are thrown, in many instances it's by a pitcher that we've never heard of.

Alvarez's career record is 15-23 with a 4.25 ERA and 176 strikeouts.

He was acquired by the Marlins along with six other players from the Toronto Blue Jays in a 12-player trade where five players went North of the Border. Three of the key players sent to Canada include Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle.

Since the Alvarez no-hitter, these words have become more common for the Detroit Tigers. In Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Oakland A's, Verlander went into the eighth inning with one.

In Game 1 of the American League Championship Series in Boston versus the Red Sox, Anibal Sanchez took to the Tigers into the sixth and the bullpen carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. The Tigers were two outs away from making history. Detroit won the game 1-0.

In Game 2 of the ALCS, Max Scherzer took a no-hitter in the sixth inning before it was broken up against the Red Sox. The Tigers bullpen imploded in a 6-5 loss to Boston.

Nonetheless, these masterpieces don't happen often and they do indeed sneak up.

What made Alvarez situation so unusual was that he was sitting in the on deck circle when the freak play occurred and the celebration was as different as it could be.

But only in baseball just when you think you've seen everything, something else dazzles in amazement.

Who knows what this kid will accomplish in his career, but on this one autumn afternoon in South Florida, he dominated the headlines all over the country before the playoffs.

He did it starting against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Justin Verlander and one of the best teams.

During this series, Miami couldn't have asked for a better result at the gate with the Tigers.

During the Friday Night September 27th, 3-2 win, 26,992 showed up as the capacity for Marlins Park was 72.1% full.

On Saturday Night September 28th this was another positive result at the gate as 28,750 (76.8%) saw the Marlins prevail in 10 innings 2-1.

But for those that saw this finale, this is a day that they'll be talking about for years knowing they saw a youngster make a name for himself.

It will be interesting to see what future final games of the year will be like for the Marlins.

Now the question remains, how long will Alvarez remain with the team?

If you're a Marlins fan, the way they have fire sales with star players which has outraged the fan base, I'd find it hard pressed to see them get excited.

But they cheer them when they come back. Just ask Miguel Cabrera.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

Sonny Hirsch's Dream In Miami

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When I think of the Miami Marlins, it was a totally different era.

The team's General Manager was my late friend Sonny Hirsch. The Marlins played at the now demolished Miami Stadium.

In 1949, the cost to build Miami Stadium was $2,200 and it was located at 2301 Northwest 10th Ave, Miami, FL 33127.

This building was within a couple miles from the historic Orange Bowl  and also used to hold concerts. The stadium held 13,000 and was demolished in 2001. The Miami Stadium Apartments now occupy this address.

The Orange Bowl's address was 1501 NW 3rd Street, Miami, FL, 33125 and opened on December 10, 1937.

The Baltimore Orioles called Miami Stadium their Spring Training Home from 1959-1990. Their Class A Florida State League (FSL) team the Miami Orioles produced young talent like Hall of Famer Cal Ripken among others from 1971-81.

The history of the Miami Marlins dates back to 1956-1960 when they played in the AAA International League.

From 1962-1970 they played in the FSL and after the Orioles departed the Marlins returned from 1982-1988. They were affiliated with the San Diego Padres and produced Benito Santiago in 1983 during their lone season affiliated.

Hirsch, who was a South Florida Sports Radio & TV Personality, loved baseball and once told me that in order for this area to land major league baseball that there had to be a team in Miami.

The Florida Marlins inaugural season was in 1993 and Hirsch was the official scorekeeper up until his death due to a heart attack at his Miami Lakes home on March 25, 1999. He was found by his longtime companion Betty Sands, and had no survivors. Hirsch was 65.

When I was covering the Fort Lauderdale Yankees from 1982-84, Hirsch and I used to talk baseball all the time.

My best memory of Sonny was back in 1983 when there was a double-header on a Sunday night which started at 6:30 p.m., and ended around 3:30 a.m. at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

There were numerous rain delays and the umpires never called the game. But everyone in the press box never cared. When the food at the concession stand wasn't available, we found a place to order out. Sonny and I just talked baseball all night.

Hirsch has a street sign named after him and he was the voice of Miami Hurricanes Sports for 28 years.

When I returned to see baseball on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 as the Marlins faced the Milwaukee Brewers, It was a totally different feeling. I have seen games in the past with the Florida Marlins at Joe Robbie Stadium.

The last time I saw a MIAMI MARLINS game was with Hirsch.

My last trip to the Orange Bowl was on November 24, 2007 as the Florida Atlantic Owls blasted the Florida International University Golden Panthers 55-23 to win the Don Shula Bowl.

Only 6,122 fans showed up in a stadium which had a capacity of 72,319. Needless to say, there were plenty of good seats available in a venue, that from 1977-1980, held 80,045 fans.

The Orange Bowl closed on January 26, 2008 and was demolished on May 14, 2008.

Marlins Park holds 37,442. There are 39 premium suites, and the stadium is 928,000 square feet on the former Orange Bowl site. The cost to build this facility is $634 million.

The roof opens and closes in 13 minutes. The glass wall opens and closes in 4-5 minutes and Marlins Park is the sixth retractable roof facility in Major League Baseball.

It's constructed on 17-acres of the 42-acre Orange Bowl site with parking garages very convenient.

As for less congestion with the final football capacity, there is a difference of 34,877 less fans on game day.

In the Marlins 5-4 win over the Brewers, a season low of 13,110 fans saw the contest.

But it was a different feeling for me on this night. I've covered the Miami Dolphins and Hurricanes many times. To see a baseball diamond take the place of a gridiron took some getting used to.

This is a beautiful stadium and now the question remains will the area be able to support Major League Baseball?

During their history, the Marlins have won a pair of World Championships in 1997 and again in 2003. In both cases, the team got rid of its star players.

If only the Chicago Cubs could have such luck since they've been without a championship for 104 years.

The Detroit Tigers reaped the benefit of the Marlins salary dumps by landing Ivan Rodriguez, Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante and Triple Crown Winner Miguel Cabrera. They also had to eat Dontrelle Willis' salary as part of a throw in to acquire Cabrera. Willis struggled with Detroit and was eventually shipped out of town.

President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland are a big part of Marlins history.

The former Tigers that are a current part of Marlins history include pitching coach Chuck Hernandez (former Fort Lauderdale Yankee), infielder Placido Polanco, catcher Rob Brantly, pitchers Brian Flynn and Jacob Turner. Against the Brewers, Turner earned a no-decision.

Detroit will get a chance to see Marlins Park for the first time during a season ending series from September 27-29. I'll be curious to see how many Detroit fans show up for this series. We'll see if Cabrera is on the verge of repeating as a Triple Crown Champion and whether the Tigers will win another division title in hopes of returning to the World Series.

Will Cabrera alone be able to draw more than 13,000 being a former Marlin with star power? We shall see.

But once again, this is a very nice ballpark!

I do wonder down the road if this building should have been built more centrally located towards Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Considering the fact that the Marlins got a sweet deal on the land and concessions deal,  I get that.

Also, anytime a historical sports site gets replaced by a new one, it does enhance an areas tradition connecting generations and past memories.

However, down the road, I still have doubts as to whether this team can keep the fans interest.

As I've seen over the years, in South Florida, if teams win, the fans will come out. The Miami Heat does pack their stadium downtown as they continue to be in the hunt for an NBA title.

But the fans in Miami are furious because a year ago Owner Jeffrey Loria spent lots of money to land veterans. He spent $108 million and has slashed the payroll down to nearly $35 million which is one of the lowest in MLB getting rid of its star players.

Now his 20-47 team looks like a squad of minor leaguers playing in front of paltry crowds. To date, the Marlins have used 14 rookies.

Yet, in Miami, it's still baseball and Hirsch would be proud to see a major league team in a stadium where he had many memorable sports moments.

Baseball is alive in Miami, but is it well?

Now the question remains, will the Marlins be able to do what the Dolphins and Hurricanes did and that's win championships at this historic location.

The Hurricanes have five National Championships while the Dolphins own a pair including the only undefeated season in NFL history.

When will No. 8 come? Stay tuned, but rest in peace Sonny because you're the Real Reason Baseball is back in Miami.

Because of your hard work decades ago, Your Dream Came True.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.
Photos By Candice Ebling.

Rivalry Waiting To Develop

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

There are different rivalries on I-95 since the Interstate extends from Florida all the way to Maine.

These rivalries have long histories in all sports.

But one match-up is very intriguing in the State of Florida.

It involves two cities which are five hours apart and have hosted Super Bowl Games.

It involves two of the most veteran and personable Public Relations staffs in the NFL. It would be hard to find a pair of nicer guys than Harvey Greene of the Miami Dolphins and Dan Edwards of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Although these two guys won't be issuing post-season credentials for the upcoming playoffs, they'll have plenty to do during the off-season as each of their rosters figure to have plenty of new faces.

Going into their Dec 16, 2012 contest, these teams had met only five times. Jacksonville led the series 3-2.

The most meaningful game occurred on January 15, 2000 as Dolphins Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino played his last game in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars crushed Miami 62-7 and sent Marino into retirement Ringless after the Devastation of this Playoff Game. Dolphins Coach Jimmy Johnson returned to Fox Sports as an analyst for the pre-game show where he's been since.

On this Dec 16, 2012 day, the Dolphins honored former Defensive Coordinator Bill Arnsparger by putting him into their Ring of Honor. They also celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 Undefeated 17-0 Team.

As for the game, Miami was mathematically alive for the playoffs. The Dolphins have a bright young QB in rookie Ryan Tannehill, who faced last year's Miami starter Chad Henne.

Miami would win this game as Tannehill was 22-28-220 yards and two touchdowns. He had a QB rating of 123.2. Meanwhile, Henne's return trip to Joe Robbie Stadium saw him go 18-34-221 yards in a 24-3 loss evening the all-time series at 3-3.

Time of possession was the story of this game as Miami dominated 35:38-24:22.

Henne downplayed his return to South Florida and said it didn't affect his play.

"It was a fun experience but obviously you want to come out with a win," Henne said. "I thought our guys fought hard and they played well on the other side of the ball. Their offense moved the ball and our third quarter was the biggest problem. Overall, it was a good atmosphere.

"My attitude right now is to prove to the Jaguars that I'm going to do the best I can to help this team win."

Jaguars Coach Mike Mularkey said he has the utmost respect for Henne.

"He is as much of a competitor that I've ever been around," Mularkey said. "He's scrappy and fights his tail off to give us a chance. We knew we were going to have a fight up front with our line and their defensive line.  For the most part, we held up as well as we could. There was pressure in front.

"We had chances to make plays. We didn't. We had some drops and a number of drives were stalled."

The Jaguars currently stand at 2-13 and have set a franchise record for most losses. Although Miami is now out of the playoff hunt, the Dolphins have a 7-8 mark, but are on the right track.

A crowd of 53,667 showed up for this Florida match-up and paid tribute to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

During the past few days, there is news that Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan wants former Florida Gators Heisman Trophy Winning QB Tim Tebow.

It appears as though Tebow could be returning home in 2013 since he said he wants out of New York after being surpassed by Greg McElroy as the new Jets starting QB.

If Tebow returns to Jacksonville, it's obvious he'll put fans in the stands, generate merchandise revenue and add energy to a franchise which desperately needs it.

The Pakistani-born American Billionaire Businessman Khan knows the value of his franchise will increase. In addition to the fact that the Jaguars will be playing future home games in London, England., this figures to generate an International Fan Base for the Jaguars.

I have a feeling that my good friend Edwards will have less free time on his hands when the "Tebow Circus" comes to town.

Meanwhile, between Tebow and the high pick Jacksonville will receive in 2013 NFL Draft, perhaps things will look brighter for the franchise in North Florida.

It would be great to see this rivalry become what it can become. All it needs is some star power, wins, playoff appearances in a state that has won only three Super Bowls, but has hosted many.

There is no reason that crowds of 70,000 shouldn't become common.

I have covered sporting events in many towns that have only one team and the atmospheres have been passionate, rabid and enjoyable.

There is no reason that Jacksonville can't follow suit, just as Miami did in the 1970's and 1980's playing at the Orange Bowl then moving to Joe Robbie Stadium.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.

FAU Football Stadium Events?

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

It's hard to believe that in 94 days, the FAU Owls Football Team will begin a new era with their new on-campus stadium.

I'm amazed that in the 1980's, FAU was a commuter school and it has now grown up into a Division I institution.

By the time FAU plays in its' new stadium, the Owls will have played five road games. Their first three games will be against the Florida Gators, Michigan State Spartans and defending National Champion the Auburn Tigers. While it seems destined FAU could start 0-3, they'll definitely get three big pay days to put in the athletic departments checkbook.

FAU's first two Sun Belt Conference games are at the University of Louisiana Lafayette and North Texas.

By the time Oct 15 rolls around and FAU faces Western Kentucky (2-10), the Owls should be able to win its first game in the new stadium against the Sun Belt Conference last place Hilltoppers.

Will the Owls be out of the post-season picture and be looking for a miracle to become bowl eligible? Time will tell. 

I've always wondered that with a 30,000 seat expandable stadium, that this season will occupy five dates. In the future it could have as many as seven home games.

The question remains, what events could we see down the road? 

I anticipate that there could be a bowl game.

Here are some ideas for Athletic Director Craig Angelos.

Angelos should have no problem attracting events because being in South Palm Beach County, this stadium is centrally located to Palm Beach, Broward, Dade and Martin County.

There is no doubt that Angelos will get his fair share of concerts.

Years ago, the Orange Bowl (OB) was a venue that attracted concerts. The Marlins new baseball stadium, on the OB site, will be ready by next season. Although there will be competition for the outdoor market, I do believe that there is enough room for two outdoor concert facilities.

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers played their home games at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Even though Lockhart was horrible for the Owls because of the poor locker-room's, it was good for a North American Soccer League team.

Major League Soccer has a solid fan base in the USA so it's time to see if Angelos can get a team on campus and call it the South Florida Strikers.

In 1983, FAU Coach Howard Schnellenberger left his National Champion Miami Hurricanes for the USFL to coach a team in Miami at the Orange Bowl. This move backfired because the league never played a game in this market and subsequently folded.

The Spring of 2012 marks the return of the New USFL. While I highly doubt we'll see the 77-year old Schnellenberger coach this team, it would be neat to see a team in the area in a league where he wanted to coach in the pros again.

Back in the old USFL, there used to be a territorial draft where teams could draft players that played at local schools. I could see a territorial draft with Miami, FIU and FAU and there will be old faces chasing their dreams in Boca Raton.

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

Lions Losing Streaks Falling

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

When the Detroit Lions snapped their 26-game road losing streak to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 19, it marked the second straight week that they ended a futile drought.

On December 12 at Ford Field, a 7-3 win over the Green Bay Packers halted a 19-game losing streak to NFC North opponents.

During the Lions Post-Game Press Conference in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium after Detroit removed a Gorilla off it's back against the Bucs, Head Coach Jim Schwartz candidly told the Media that We'll find another streak to create.

So out of respect to Schwartz, I found three streaks for the coach that would either continue or also come to an end.

1) The Miami Dolphins are 7-2 in the all-time series, but have won five straight games dating back to 1994. On November 23, 2006, former quarterback Joey Harrington led the Dolphins to a 27-10 win on Thanksgiving Day.

2) The Miami Dolphins are 4-0 at home in two stadiums starting with the now demolished Orange Bowl and their current home Joe Robbie Stadium.

3) In this series, the month of December hasn't been kind to the Lions.

Miami rolled to a 34-7 win on December 15, 1973 at the Orange Bowl.

Six years later, the Dolphins whipped the Lions 28-10 on December 9, 1979 at the Pontiac Silverdome.

On December 25, 1994, Miami came away with a Christmas Night Prime-Time 27-20 victory at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Finally, the Dolphins improved to 4-0 in December as they defeated the Lions 33-30, on 12-7-97 at Joe Robbie Stadium.

So what was going to give as the Lions made another Christmas time appearance on December 26, 2010 wearing their blue home jerseys facing former U-M Wolverines QB Chad Henne and Left Tackle Jake Long?

The Dolphins (7-7) were 1-6 at home going into their Joe Robbie Stadium Finale. Their lone win occurred on November 14 as they defeated the Tennessee Titans 29-17.

When the contest was over, the Lions received a belated Christmas Gift from Henne. Going into the contest, the former Wolverines signal caller was 266-430 for 2,952 yards with 14 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. By the end of the afternoon, went 29-44 for 278 yards with two more interceptions and one touchdown.

Both interceptions occurred in the fourth quarter. The first was picked off by Nathan Vasher at the 3:48 mark and four plays later led to a 47-yard field goal by Dave Rayner which tied the game at 27-27 with 2:44 remaining in the game.

With 2:25 left, Henne's pass short in the middle that was intended for Davone Bess was intercepted by DeAndre Levy at the Miami 30-yard line and returned for a touchdown. Demonstrating a little showmanship, Levy took a 30-yard run and worked his way to the middle of the field and it looked like a 50-yard run. Yet the end result turned out to be Detroit 34-27 win over the Dolphins. As the clock read 2:11, the Dolphins fans were totally stunned. The only word you'd hear in the Press Box was "Wow."

Levy said the team scouted Henne's tendencies and knew he has a history of making mistakes late in games.

"We knew he had some shaky numbers," Levy said. "A lot of people from the outside look at that and say that's the reason they struggle with so many play makers. But we never want to underestimate a guy. We've had second, third string quarterbacks that, you know, people may not expect much out of come in and win games. We never overlook anybody. We want to come in and execute and do what we're supposed to do."

After both interceptions, 66,731 fans were booing Henne out of the stadium.

Yet when the contest was over, Lions Coach Jim Schwartz didn't know about the three streaks written here in Miami. Just the three-game winning streak the team has and winning a pair in Florida in consecutive weeks against teams that were playoff contenders leading Detroit's development throughout the year.

"Going back if you look at our losses, I don't know if there was a common vein in any of them in any of them," Schwartz said. Each one was a little different. It is a credit to the team. We learned from those. We have not gotten beaten the same way twice. We are used to playing in close games. We are playing with quarterbacks like Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton even though they are second and third stringers this year that have a lot of experience this year. So it is not new for any of these guys."

Now the Miami Dolphins find themselves 7-8 and finished the season 1-7 at home.

The Lions improved to 5-10 and 2-6 on the road. There is no doubt that the next opponent they scout will be live as the Minnesota Vikings contest against the Philadelphia Eagles has been postponed to Tuesday night at 8 pm due to a Snow Storm in Pennsylvania.

It's not hard to figure out which team will be tired as they Lions now have a built in advantage with the extra rest as they look hope to finish the season with a 6-10 record and four-game winning streak.

In addition to the three historical notes listed above, Lions Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh racked up his ninth sack of the season which tied Jerry Ball for the third most at his position in Detroit history.

Suh said the team is playing with heart not being a playoff contender and, "It's more of an understanding in the locker room we all understand that we're not going to the playoffs. We have our own schedule we need to work on for and work at, finish the season out and get ready for next year."

Before Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson injured his ankle, he had four receptions for 52 yards. Johnson endured the Lions 0-16, 2-14 seasons and has watched the team progress to five victories with one more game to go.

Was a pleased at the outcome of the contest?

"Three wins-in-a-row man, we hadn't really seen that since I've been here. I might have seen it in my first year, I'm not positive," Johnson said. "I don't really remember. But we put some good things together, good December. And these things will carry over. I think it's guys just focused in and we're not killing ourselves with mistakes. That's what we were doing most of the season. We'd been in all the games, the games were close and draw some penalties and stuff like that. These last few weeks, it hasn't been the same thing."

Hill was 14-26 222 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was a 53-yard strike to Running Back Jahvid Best in the fourth quarter which saw Miami's lead shrink to 27-24.

What did Hill see in the Dolphins coverage which enabled his running back shock the crowd at Joe Robbie Stadium?

"They were playing two man, he came out on the weak side of the formation and they were pre-occupied with Tony Scheffler and Brandon Pettegrew, " Hill said. "He just came out there free and took off."

When the Lions airplane took off from South Florida, it did with the team improving to 7-3 all-time against the Dolphins. There was no more five game losing streak to Miami. In the eyes of the late Ernie Harwell it was "Long Gone."

Detroit did it despite yielding the second highest rushing total to the Dolphins with 154 yards.

They left the Sunshine State with a 2-0 record in successive weeks.

In this very building on November 27, I watched the Miami Hurricanes lose 23-20 in overtime to the University of South Florida. Later that night, the Hurricanes fired Head Coach Randy Shannon.

For some reason, I have a feeling that Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano will experience the same fate. The team's final game is Sunday January 2nd in New England against the 13-2 Patriots. The Patriots currently have a seven game winning streak.

If the Dolphins lose, Miami will finish with a 7-9 season. On October 4, the Patriots drilled the Dolphins 41-14 in a Nationally Televised contest on ESPN.

Miami's only chance at an 8-8 season is if the Patriots rest some of their players now that they have clinched home field advantage in the AFC throughout the playoffs.

Miami experienced another National Embarrassment when the Chicago Bears blanked the Dolphins 16-0 in Prime-Time on the NFL Network on Thursday November 18.

When the NFL schedule was released in April, who would have thought that when the 2010 season was over that the records of these two teams could be potentially so close? But should Detroit conclude its season 6-10 and Miami 7-9, that's what we're potentially looking at.

Regardless, there are no more Ghosts in the Lions closet in South Florida.

Yet before the game, since 1970, the Miami Dolphins still owned the second best record in the NFL with a 379-249-2 mark, yet that seems like a distant reality since they have two Super Bowl titles to show for their efforts. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the best team with a 382-246-2 mark and six Super Bowl titles.

Judging by the Lions recent futility and Miami's overall success, one would think these two teams didn't need to be mentioned in the same sentence. Miami was 7-9 in 2009 and Detroit 2-14. Now they're much closer to one another in the standings.

On December 26, 2010, none of the streaks or records mattered. Three were snapped.

The only things that mattered was Detroit's win total is 2 1/2 times more than last year and with a Sunday win against the Vikings, there could be an improvement of three times last years totals.

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