Weekend Roundup: Talking season previews, Channing Crowder's non-injury & more

Unless you are a Miami Heat fan, this past weekend was a rather uneventful weekend. The Dolphins don't kick-off training camp for a little over two weeks and there wasn't much Dolphin news to be found. Well, unless you count the false report made by a Jets beat writer that claimed Channing Crowder was out for the season with an injured right foot.

I just wanted to point out real quick, though, that this incident is further proof of the power of Twitter. The writer, Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, just made a simple tweet. But it spread like wildfire. Before you knew it, it was all over Dolphin message boards and blogs. ProFootballTalk, which is now part of NBC Sports, wasted no time getting the story out there - rather than checking the report for accuracy (which they've since removed from their list of storis on their front page). Rotoworld, also part of NBC Sports, ran with the story and posted a blurb about it (which they, too, have since taken down). This could have gotten rather ugly in terms of misinformation if the fire wasn't put out quickly. It went so far as to have Adam Schefter have to make a Tweet refuting the original report.

This is further proof that the traditional media needs to realize that Twitter and other social media sites (as well as blogs) are no longer second-rate sources for news. They need to understand that posting a tweet is essentially the same as writing an article for a traditional newspaper. Facts need to be checked and re-checked before running with a report - whether it's in a paper or on Twitter.

Otherwise you end up looking stupid - a la Mr. Mehta.

Some love being shown to Dolphins
While the major sports news entities won't be releasing predictions on their website for over another month, some sites have released their season previews. And there are a lot of good things being said about our Dolphins.

Let's start with one of the major news entities, though. Michael Lombardi recently left the National Football Post in favor of NFL.com. His stuff is as good as it gets and is a must read for all football fans. In his debut column for NFL.com, Lombardi shows Miami some love. Under his "Things I Think" section, he writes:

The Dolphins are going to have a great year. Each time I review tape, I marvel at their execution. With a few more offensive playmakers, they will be tough to beat.

The man's been involved with the NFL for longer than I've been alive so I won't argue with him. I'll just hope he's right.

But Lombardi isn't the only one jumping on the Dolphin bandwagon. WalterFootball.com released their Dolphins' season preview. It's a good read and I recommend taking some time to check it out. And it closes like this:

Too many people are sleeping on the Dolphins. Some (ESPN) foolishly have them in the early 20s of their uninformed 2010 NFL Power Rankings.

The Dolphins are unquestionably one of the top teams in the NFL and a legitimate Super Bowl contender. There will be a ton of money to be made by betting on them early and often during the first half of the upcoming season.

Projection: 11-5 (Tied 1st in AFC East)

A legitimate Super Bowl contender? I wouldn't even go that far just yet. I think there are still legitimate questions that must be answered first. But you never know.

Athlon Sports has also released their preview. It's not as glowing as some others. But they, too, have the Dolphins reaching the playoffs, albeit via the second Wildcard spot. The hang-up they have? It's the quarterback position:

They have their quarterback, and they have their style of player (big, physical) at virtually every position. But it won’t be a championship team until Henne takes a step toward the elite, which could be a year or two away, if it happens at all.

That's a fair point, of course. While most of us believe Chad Henne will eventually be a really good quarterback, we can't be sure of how quick his ascension is. Could he become a top 10 quarterback in 2010? Sure. But like this preview points out, it could be a year or two away.

The bottom line, though, is that there's a lot to be excited about as the 2010 season approaches.

Quick Hits
A couple other Dolphin quick hits:

• Sources indicate that fifth round pick Reshad Jones will sign his contract on Monday, leaving only Jared Odrick, Koa Misi, and John Jerry as Miami's three unsigned rookies. But fear not - I highly doubt any of these three become holdouts - or even miss a single practice.
• The Dolphins took out a full page ad in local newspapers on Sunday congratulating the Heat on their big week. They thanked Dwyane Wade for coming back to Miami while welcoming LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Classy move? Sure. But is it also one that was made to "remind" Miami sports fans that there's a football team in town as well? Possibly. Still, I firmly believe Miami will remain a football-first sports town...for now.