Miami Dolphins

MIAMI - Dion Jordan is built like Udonis Haslem. He wants to play like Lawrence Taylor. Jordan, the Miami Dolphins' latest first-round selection, arrived in Miami to great fanfare Saturday. Flashbulbs, his general manager and a lucky season-ticket holder were among those welcoming him to town. But with a passing glance, one could easily confuse Jordan with an NBA small forward and not a budding NFL defensive lineman. He stands more than 6-foot-6, but weighs a mere 250 pounds.

Winning is great. Winning a lot is better. Ask the Penn and Harvard football teams, whose stouthearted lads carry identical 7-0 records into Harvard Stadium today. Ask the NHL's New York Islanders, who recently basked in the thrill of a 9-0-1-1 start this season. Who knows? The team that comes out of today's Penn-Harvard matchup undefeated may be on the road to its own history-making win streak. And if they're students of sports history, they may find inspiration (and instruction)

For 29 boys, ages 8 to 13, the "Brothers" Youth Development Outreach Camp was a week of positive inspiration through interaction with role models. Speakers included Temple basketball coach John Chaney and Irving Fryar of the Miami Dolphins.

The Eagles' game at the New York Giants on Dec. 17 has been moved to a 4:15 p.m. start, the NFL announced yesterday. The game, likely to have NFC wild-card implications, can be seen on Fox. The change was made because of the NFL's new flex scheduling for Sunday night games. Kansas City will play at San Diego at 8:15 on NBC. The Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills game also will shift to 4:05 on CBS.

The Soul signed free-agent quarterback Tim Levcik and released wide receiver/defensive back Van Johnson. Levcik, 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, played briefly in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins. A four-year letterman at Robert Morris University, Levcik was a three-time all-Northeast Conference selection and was the league's offensive player of the year in both his junior and senior season. The Soul have begun their first training camp in the Arena Football League and will open the season against New Orleans at 3 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Wachovia Center.

1. c. 14. 2. d. 1968-69, SBs II and III, both in the Orange Bowl in Miami. 3. d. 9, six times in Superdome (SBs XII, XV, XX, XXIV, XXXI, XXXVI) and three in Tulane Stadium (IV, VI and IX). 4. b. SB XLI, Chicago Bears. 5. c. Three, as Indianapolis Colts in XLI; as Baltimore Colts in V and III. 6. a. One; 16-7 to the New York Jets in SB III. 7. d. Pittsburgh Steelers, with six wins. Dallas and San Francisco have each won five, and New England three. 8. a. Dallas Cowboys, with eight.

Running back Ricky Williams has prepared a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell requesting reinstatement back into the league, his agent said over the weekend. Williams was suspended last April for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy for the fourth time. Williams is not required to wait to send the letter until April 27, which marks the 1-year anniversary of the date his suspension was upheld by the league. The formality of sending the letter will signal the start of the reinstatement process, which includes an investigation into Williams' behavior since last year.

Safety Sammy Knight, who made the Pro Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in 2001, received a free-agent contract offer from the Miami Dolphins yesterday. The Saints decided against trying to keep Knight after last season, saying they wanted more speed at safety. Jets. Free-agent tackle Brent Smith signed with New York after missing the last two seasons with knee injuries. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Smith has been with the Dolphins since entering the NFL in 1997. The Jets also waived quarterback Todd Husak.

Dan Marino decided 420 touchdown passes are enough. The most prolific passer in NFL history will announce his retirement Monday, ending a 17-year career with the Miami Dolphins, a source told the Associated Presss yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Dolphins confirmed a news conference for Marino is scheduled Monday. They declined to comment further. Marino, 38, badly wanted to go out like John Elway and retire as a Super Bowl champion. But after parting ways with the Dolphins, Marino reluctantly rejected an offer to play this year for the Minnesota Vikings.

The Chicago Bears say quarterback Jay Cutler will miss Monday's game at San Francisco because of a concussion. Jason Campbell is expected to start against the 49ers in his place. Cutler's status was in question after he sat out the second half of Sunday's loss to Houston. The Bears believe he was injured on a helmet-to-helmet hit by the Texans' Tim Dobbins, who was fined $30,000 by the league, late in the second quarter.   Bills end skid It took 11 weeks for Mario Williams and the Buffalo Bills' oft-maligned defense to finally flex its muscle and show it's capable of playing up to its high-priced potential.

MIAMI - Dion Jordan is built like Udonis Haslem. He wants to play like Lawrence Taylor. Jordan, the Miami Dolphins' latest first-round selection, arrived in Miami to great fanfare Saturday. Flashbulbs, his general manager and a lucky season-ticket holder were among those welcoming him to town. But with a passing glance, one could easily confuse Jordan with an NBA small forward and not a budding NFL defensive lineman. He stands more than 6-foot-6, but weighs a mere 250 pounds.

NEW YORK - Lane Johnson sat in the green room at Radio City Music Hall with his wife, parents, in-laws, aunt, uncle, and grandparents when an announcement was made that the Miami Dolphins had acquired the No. 3 pick. Johnson's family started to hug him. There were smiles at his table, and the thought of replacing Jake Long on the Dolphins' offensive line and living near the beach with no state income tax entered his mind. Then came the announcement that the Dolphins had selected Dion Jordan.

EVEN IF VOTERS approve using tax money to help upgrade the Miami Dolphins' stadium, a deal might be contingent on the NFL awarding the 2016 Super Bowl to the city. The Dolphins confirmed Monday they've reversed their position and agreed to a referendum. A "no" vote would scuttle the plan. Should the measure pass, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said, county commissioners still ought to have final approval - and insist on assurances from the NFL that the city will host the 50th Super Bowl in 2016.

Norman Braman, who became a billionaire thanks to Florida car dealerships and investments in fine art and the Philadelphia Eagles, is no fan of taxes paying to upgrade Sun Life Stadium for the Miami Dolphins. "This is still welfare for a multi-billionaire. It's wrong," Braman said, according to WSVN-TV in Miami. This morning, South Florida's NFL franchise announced it would accept letting voters approve a deal that would fund $400 million worth of renovations. Supporting the deal was Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who said final OK by lawmakers should hinge on landing the 2016 Super Bowl.

The Chicago Bears say quarterback Jay Cutler will miss Monday's game at San Francisco because of a concussion. Jason Campbell is expected to start against the 49ers in his place. Cutler's status was in question after he sat out the second half of Sunday's loss to Houston. The Bears believe he was injured on a helmet-to-helmet hit by the Texans' Tim Dobbins, who was fined $30,000 by the league, late in the second quarter.   Bills end skid It took 11 weeks for Mario Williams and the Buffalo Bills' oft-maligned defense to finally flex its muscle and show it's capable of playing up to its high-priced potential.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Leodis McKelvin scored on a 79-yard punt return, and the oft-maligned Mario Williams-led Buffalo Bills defense finally flexed its muscles in a 19-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. Safety Jairus Byrd recovered a fumble and made a diving interception, and Bryan Scott sealed the win with an interception to end the Dolphins' final drive. Williams had one of three sacks for a Buffalo defense that limited the Ryan Tannehill-led Dolphins to 184 yards.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Reggie Bush and the Miami Dolphins were over all that trash talking from earlier in the week. The New York Jets? They were still going at it after the game. But after a week of back-and-forth chatter, the Dolphins settled this one on the field. And it was no contest. Matt Moore threw a touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano after stepping in for injured Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins didn't miss a beat, rolling past the New York Jets, 30-9, on Sunday for their third straight victory.

POOR CHAD JOHNSON. Earlier this month he was cut by the Miami Dolphins. And on Thursday, he found out he'd been cut by Madden 13 too. "That awkward moment when you realize you're not on Madden13 and have to create yourself . . . " Johnson tweeted to his followers. Actually, the athlete formerly known as Chad Ochocinco is part of Madden 13. He has just been moved to the free-agent pool. In a somewhat related story, the Dolphins seem hell-bent on signing a receiver familiar with the arrest process.

Rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill, once rumored as a possible Eagles pick, has won the Miami Dolphins' starting job, getting a chance he never would have had with the Birds. Tannehill, who played at Texas A&M, was the eighth overall pick, beating out Matt Moore, who finished last year as Miami's starter. Since Dan Marino retired following the 1999 season, the Dolphins have had more starting quarterbacks than any other team. Tannehill will become the 17th, and amazingly, he'll be the first rookie to start an opener at QB for Miami.

DAVIE, Fla. - When the Miami Dolphins lost their first six games, coach Tony Sparano decided to change his ways. He eased up in his players' routine and solicited their feedback on how to improve the gloomy mood. He made practices later, shorter and less rigorous. He even altered the way the team stretched. "It's a deviation really from much that I know," Sparano said. They lost their next game to go to 0-7. But then, a dramatic turnaround came. Since then, the Dolphins have outscored opponents by 85 points while winning four of their past five games.