One of the Dolphins' most improbable starters thought he would spend his life in math or science, perhaps be an engineer. Instead, Greg Camarillo's career took such an unexpected twist that now "old friends are e-mailing saying they picked me up on their fantasy teams. That's crazy to me. I'm thinking, 'Damn - they passed up another good receiver to pick me up!' ''
Asking and answering: Having been granted a 24-hour extension, the Dolphins must sell ''a few thousand'' tickets by 1 p.m. Friday for Sunday's game against San Diego to be televised locally. Under either scenario, what games will we see on TV on Sunday?
Chatter on Canes issues: The struggling secondary: Coach Randy Shannon said Tuesday he's considering changes for Saturday's FSU game, and cornerbacks Bruce Johnson (ranked the nation's 32nd-best senior by Scouts Inc.), Chavez Grant and DeMarcus Van Dyke are ``not doing what we want them to do, but we only have five corners. We can't pull rabbits out of a hat.''
Heat camp chatter: Dwyane Wade disputed a report in Newsday (N.Y.) that he would love to play for the Knicks and said he has a hunch he will remain with the Heat after he can opt out of his contract in summer 2010. ''That's my goal,'' Wade said, indicating he would love to retire as a Heat player.
In its first year of postseason baseball, Turner Sports couldn't approach the excellence of its NBA coverage. And so TBS is tinkering as it prepares to air four first-round series next week and the American League Championship Series in two weeks.
Now that he's wreaking havoc and sacking quarterbacks, Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, at least so far, has made his case: He says he's back to being the disruptive force he was in Pittsburgh and attributes it to these coaches using him correctly.
Chatter on three units the Dolphins expect more from: offensive line, secondary and receiver: Offensive line: Miami's 3-yard rushing average ranks third-worst, and ''it's nobody's fault but our own,'' left guard Justin Smiley said of the underachieving line. ``Enough is enough. Offensive lines take time, but we don't have time.''
A year after replacing Joe Theismann with Ron Jaworski in the Monday Night Football booth, ESPN craved viewer feedback on its $1.1 billion-a-year property. And so the network assembled focus groups in three cities this past off-season and determined that viewers want the announcers to talk more about football (shocking!) and aren't fond of distracting graphics (you don't say?).
With Heat camp opening late next week, new coach Erik Spoelstra admits ''there is an element of fear of the unknown. But the overriding emotion is excitement about leading this team.'' Spoelstra, mulling lineups, addressed several issues:
Besides the young starting pitching, here's another reason the Marlins should be encouraged, even with changes looming. Jim Fleming, Florida's vice president/scouting, said last week the Marlins have the highest number of promising position player prospects ``in the seven years I've been here. Our system is as full as I can remember.''
Mostly positive reviews for NFL analysts in Week 1 Views from an opening NFL weekend on the couch: Among the positives: Dan Patrick's flawless and witty narration of highlights on NBC and Michael Strahan's promising debut in Fox's studio.
All Dolphins chatter on opening day: Ricky Williams has done a lot most players haven't: won a Heisman Trophy, led the NFL in rushing, lived in a tent in Australia. Now add something else: Williams disclosed Friday he negotiated his own contract extension with Bill Parcells in less than 10 minutes. General manager Jeff Ireland was the only other person there, Williams said.
Analysts sounded off about the Dolphins on conference calls this week. Some of the feedback: NBC's John Madden: ``I've always liked Chad Pennington. If you surround him with a pretty good team, he's going to be a winner. I saw them in preseason a couple times, and I was impressed with them as being solid.
The suspicion was there, even among some players, initially: Would Tony Sparano command respect on his own or would he simply be considered a puppet for Bill Parcells?
Canes-Gators week is here, and UM players can hardly contain their anticipation. ''Can't wait to play against [ Tim Tebow],'' UM safety Lovon Ponder said. Robert Marve even kept a picture of Tebow (and other UM opponents) on his dorm wall as motivation, Jermaine McKenzie noted.
ESPN relegated UM's opener against Charleston Southern to the Internet on Thursday, and technical problems severely marred espn360's coverage. But the Sept. 6 Canes-Gators game at 8 p.m. will deliver high-profile exposure, especially with ABC not airing a game that night because of a NASCAR race.
Chatter on several looming Dolphins decisions: Starting battles: Three or four remain in play, with safety and running back the most intriguing. Of the Ricky Williams/Ronnie Brown battle, coach Tony Sparano said Tuesday, ``I need to see more of Ronnie before I make that decision. If I don't see a whole lot more Ronnie, then Ricky will start.''
Pelted with potshots about his arm strength since two shoulder surgeries in 2005, Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington has heard enough. ''The perception is that way because I never defended myself -- I just let people talk,'' he said in a private moment last week. ''But it's perception -- it's not reality. You get tired of hearing about it.'' A few points to consider:
Olympic reflections after two weeks on the couch: MVA (Most Valuable Announcer): 1. Bob Costas. Delivered another exceptional effort as NBC's prime-time host, offering perspective, consistently relevant information, measured doses of humor and asking all the right questions of his interview subjects (from President Bush to Michael Phelps' mother). 2. Tim Daggett on gymnastics. Outstanding at explaining the reasons for scoring deductions -- usually before scores are even posted.
Sports Buzz: Olympics rake in ratings Olympics play to big audience The Beijing Olympics remain on pace to be the most-watched non-U.S. Olympics ever, validating NBC's high-volume approach.
