The Rocket

Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Sports

First off, let me start by saying that my thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor.

It is a terrible loss for the NFL and football in general. Taylor was always one of my favorite players, and I can't imagine what his teammates and family are going through, especially his 1-year-old daughter.

He will certainly be missed.

I was thinking about a lot of things for this week, and I just couldn't narrow it down to one, so I am going to talk about a plethora of topics. Here we go.

Miami Dolphins- Hey everybody: They are 0-11. They are the worst team in the NFL, right?

Well maybe their record says they are, but they aren't (and I am not saying that because they are my favorite team).

They have lost six games by three points or less. If one or two things had gone the Dolphins way, they could be 6-5.

But they are not.

They make too many mistakes. Dropped passes, shanked punts, costly penalties and turnovers. All reasons why they are 0-11.

It also doesn't help that they lost their starting quarterback (Trent Green), running back (Ronnie Brown, who was having a Pro Bowl season), starting safeties and their backups (they are on their third set of safeties this season) and their starting middle linebacker (Zach Thomas) was the heart of that defense, not to mention games Jason Taylor missed as well.

Put all that together and you are in trouble. There are guys playing on that team that nobody has ever heard of…ever.

I am not using injuries as an excuse, but it is hard to win when you lose half your starting defense.

Either way, they are 0-11. No ifs, ands or buts about it. The Dolphins are bad.

Ricky Williams- I'll stay on the topic of the Dolphins for a second, and I do mean a second. There was a Ricky Williams sighting at Heinz Field on Monday night.

Six carries and 15 yards later, the show was over. Williams is out for the season after tearing a chest muscle.

Thanks Ricky, it was nice to see you for five minutes.

Tony La Russa- Mr. La Russa pleaded guilty to DUI charges Tuesday, eight months after he was found drunk and asleep at the wheel of his car while sitting at a red light.

La Russa, 63, will serve at least six months' probation, complete DUI school and do 50 hours of community service as part of his plea agreement.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Last October, La Russa was the toast of St. Louis after leading the Cardinals to their first World Series since 1982.

But in the course of a year, La Russa's stock has sunk like a rock. His team was a mess this year, missing the playoffs and never really contending, even in a weak National League Central.





As manager of the National League All-Star team he left star first baseman Albert Pujols on the bench with the game on the line, opting to let Aaron Rowand hit instead of letting Pujols take a swing. (The NL lost the game, by the way.)

And now, with his DUI charges, he has given another black eye to baseball.

Tony La Russa, from toast of the town to just toasted.

The BCS- It sucks. We have known that for years. It is the second-dumbest thing to come along in the last 10 years, next only to the Chargers picking Ryan Leaf.

If the NCAA needed more proof that the BCS is horrible, this season is it. Nobody has been able to stay atop the rankings. Anyone that has held either the No. 1 or 2 spot this season has lost.

Now it is West Virginia and Missouri that must try to avoid the BCS curse.

This has been a great year for college football with all the upsets. There is no team within the top 16 that has established itself as a clear No. 1.

Therefore, it is only logical that you take the best teams and put them into a playoff, just like every other sport does.

Unfortunately, this will never happen. There is too much money involved and the athletic directors are not willing to part with it.It is sad to know that money has taken the place of competition when it comes to college football.

BCS should stand for Basically Crappy System.

Isiah Thomas- Up until this year, I always thought that Matt Millen was the worst general manager in sports.

But I was wrong.

The Lions are actually winning this year, which has made people forget about Millen and his awful record as a GM.

The Knicks' Isiah Thomas has now taken over the top spot. Named as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, Thomas has run his talented team into the ground as the GM.

Thomas has assembled a lot of talent with the likes of Nate Robinson, David Lee, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford. He also has an overpaid crybaby on his team in Stephon Marbury, who wants it his way or the highway.

Marbury wants to be the star of team and score 30 points per game. The only problem is that he isn't that good, and the Knicks have some of the most talented big men in the league.

Marbury needs to be a team player and feed the ball down low, but he won't. He will cry and moan about wanting the freedom to shoot when he wants.

The Knicks are 4-9 and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. They have the talent to compete with the likes of the Celtics, Pistons and Cavs.

Unfortunately, Isiah, unless you dump Marbury, you have no shot. Maybe you could get him to stop being so selfish.

Ha, who am I kidding, the Dolphins have a better shot at winning the rest of their games than Marbury passing the ball.

Brandon Fox is an English graduate student and sports editor for The Rocket.

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