A couple of weeks ago, we announced an XFINITY contest to find the next Sports Social Media star. That contest continues this week, with your chance to vote for the best entries to the contest:

Have you ever watched one of those TV shows where from thousands of hopefuls, one star is born? Well, Phinsider readers, here's your chance to play "starmaker" and help pick the new voice of sports in social media!

XFINITY is looking for the next renowned sports social media star through its Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest. The winning candidate will serve as the new voice of XFINITY in the sports social media space and go behind-the-scenes at some of the biggest sporting events in 2012, sharing exclusive insights and updates with fans.

From February 9-19, you can review qualified entry videos and vote for the contestant you'd like to see advance to the finals of the XFINITY Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest. The five entrants with the most votes will advance to the final round of the contest where they will cover one of five premier sporting events the weekend of March 8-11. Fans can head today to Facebook.com/XFINITY and click on the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest tab to vote for your favorite personality (once per day)!

Will you choose the brainiac with the encyclopedia of stats, the former jock who knows the game inside out, or the corporate type who gets the marketing side of the business? You decide. Vote today at Facebook.com/XFINITY!

Make sure you vote!

Continue reading this post »

Late last week, I said that the Dolphins' best chance of pulling out a Christmas Eve win in New England was to contain Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski, batter Tom Brady often and get after the Patriots' ultra-porous secondary. Surprisingly, the Dolphins did all of those things during the first half of Saturday's game, and took a 17-0 lead into halftime. A three-score lead isn't nearly enough against a peeved Tom Brady, however, and he proceeded to undo all of the Dolphins' first-half defensive accomplishments with a big second-half performance, securing a 27-24 Patriots victory.

Don't worry, plenty of blame can/should go around for this Dolphins loss.

Continue reading this post »

All hail the short-term Todd Bowles era in Miami!

As Dolphins fans, we have three things to be thankful for on this last Sunday before the Christmas holiday: a rare, late-season Dolphins victory in upstate New York; the New York Jets being beaten to an unrecognizable pulp (by the Jekyll and Hyde Philadelphia Eagles, no less); and the Kansas City Chiefs ending Green Bay's bid for an undefeated season. That's as sweet a football Sunday as you'll find in Miami, and it began with a 30-23 victory for the Dolphins in semi-snowy Buffalo--Miami's first sweep of the Bills since 2008.

Continue reading this post »

The Dolphins must've really liked Robert Griffin's Heisman acceptance speech on Saturday night, because against the Eagles yesterday, Miami looked like a team positioning itself for a top 10 draft pick, not the hungry upstarts that dominated their competition through most of November and early December. Add in game-ending injuries to Jake Long and Matt Moore, and you have the formula for a 26-10 Dolphins loss. Just when you thought this team was starting to figure it out ...

Continue reading this post »

Is there anything better than the Dolphins clobbering the silver and black? How about when it's the AFC-west-leading Raiders arriving in Miami for a game that the "experts" thought would be a victory lap for Carson Palmer and company? Regardless of scenario, it's always sweet to see the Dolphins stomp out the "commitment to excellence," and considering that the Dolphins of September/October 2011 would've been reeling for weeks after a tough loss like the one they suffered in Dallas 10 days ago, it's hard not to be impressed by Miami's thorough pasting of a very game Raiders squad yesterday.

And so much for the Dolphins just beating up on weak teams, eh? This was actually Miami's most impressive victory of the season--a showcase for their burgeoning defense and take-what-you'll-give-us offense. Dare I say it, but it's almost as if this team has decided on an identity for the time being--fast, smart, resilient and equipped with a sense of relentlessness matched only by Nicolas Cage's character in Valley Girl. And you know what? I can live with this culture for another month.

Continue reading this post »

It's one thing to come slamming back down to Earth after a nice three-game win streak; it's another to completely revert back to old habits in the process ... habits that many people assumed wouldn't be an issue during the rest of the Miami Dolphins' 2011 season.

On Thursday, those old, ugly habits reared their heads in one fell swoop and spoiled what could've been a signature win for this young, eager and increasingly tenacious Miami squad. Instead, the Dolphins left Dallas with a 20-19 loss. Such is life when a young team is beginning to develop an identity on both sides of the ball, but this loss is going to sting for a while.

Forget about the offensive line false starts; the missed opportunities on defense in the fourth quarter and Mike Pouncey's nervous, cannon-like shotgun snaps in the first half. Forget about all of that. Yesterday's game was lost because of one very simple principal: the Dolphins absolutely could not convert in the red zone against the Cowboys. In their three victories this season, the Dolphins' were 11-for-14 in the red zone. Yesterday, they were 0-4. That, right there, is how you lose football games on the road. Jake Long's four penalties didn't help Miami's cause during the game, nor did Pouncey's maybe-too-quick shotgun snap that bounced off Matt Moore's hands and was recovered by DeMarcus Ware. But that kind of stuff is going to happen when young players are in a very loud, hostile road environment. 

Continue reading this post »

Earlier this season, few Dolphins fans were excited about the Buffalo Bills coming to town in Week 11. Buffalo, who were 5-2 just four weeks ago and fighting with the Patriots and Jets for the AFC East's top spot, figured to be a virtual death sentence for the Dolphins and their ineptitude in the red zone, along the offensive line and in the defensive secondary (through the first seven games of the season, at least).

The Bills' mid-November visit to Miami was a disaster all right, but not for the Dolphins. Instead, it was Buffalo who was humiliated early and often during the game. And when it was said and done, the Dolphins walked away with a decisive 35-8 victory over their bitter division rival.

Clearly, this isn't the same Miami Dolphins squad that was a virtual punching bag the first two months of the season.

Continue reading this post »