Ups And Downs

MIAMI - Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis blitzed from the blind side for his first career sack, then dashed upfield in jubilation. A dazed Carson Palmer rose slowly, looked back at Davis and did a double take, as if startled to discover his tackler was a 5-11 cornerback. The Dolphins, who host the Eagles next Sunday in Sun Life Stadium, are full of surprises lately. Once-woeful Miami won for the fourth time in the past five games yesterday by beating the Oakland Raiders, 34-14.

MIAMI - Once-woeful Miami won for the fourth time in its last five games on Sunday, beating Oakland 34-14. Reggie Bush ran for 100 yards and a touchdown, Matt Moore had a hand in two TDs and Kevin Burnett returned an interception 34 yards for Miami's final score. The surge came after the Dolphins (4-8) lost their first seven games. In the past five weeks they've outscored opponents 139-54, with the lone loss a one-point defeat at Dallas on Thanksgiving. "We've been on a wild ride here," Moore said.

OKLAHOMA STATE'S fifth-year senior, who turned 28 on Oct. 14, was older than 14 of the NFL quarterbacks who started in Week 1. Shades of Chris Weinke, who became the oldest player to win the Heisman Trophy as a 28-year-old for Florida State in 2000 after pursuing a baseball career. The year before, he helped the Seminoles win a national title. Now, Weeden is trying to do both in the same season. The Cowboys, 10-0 for the first time, are coming off a 66-6 win at Texas Tech. It's the sixth time they've scored at least 52. They haven't been held under 30. Last year, in his first full season as a starter since 2001, Weeden became OSU's first all-league QB since the 1930s.

Closing in on 600 wins, Villanova women's basketball coach Harry Perretta doesn't want all the credit. "In this business, it's not the coach that wins 600 games or 700 games or 500 games," Perretta said. "It's the players who have played in the program. This is more of a reflection on the players at Villanova than the coach. I just happened to have been here for all 600 wins. " With a remarkable 598-378 record in 33 seasons at Villanova, Perretta is just two wins away from the career milestone.

City Councilman Bill Green has made no secret of his interest in running for mayor in 2015, four years from now. But he's been more explicit than ever before in five or six recent appearances on the campaign trail, most of them talking to Democratic committee people at preelection ward meetings. Other candidates - for City Council, row offices, and judgeships - have been going to the same meetings and hearing Green give the same pitch, multiple times. So much so that at one recent meeting, one candidate nudged a sidekick while Green was speaking and predicted (accurately)

College football can be a grind. Week after week of nonstop, high-impact collisions can take their toll on even the most well-conditioned athletes. So it is no surprise that Ohio University loves being in the midst of a 10-day break before hosting Wednesday's Mid-American Conference game against Temple. "The timing couldn't be better for us," Bobcats coach Frank Solich said. "Hopefully, we will get a few guys back that had extensive injuries. " Like Temple (5-3, 3-2 MAC)

After getting no bites from the NFL following his televised workout Tuesday, Terrell Owens might consider the Arena Football League. The Chicago Rush became the first team to offer T.O. a contract: a "standard player agreement," which comes with a salary of $400 per week. "We feel that this is an ideal time to approach the future NFL Hall of Famer," Rush GM and president Gene Nudo said in a statement. "It would be a fantastic honor to add Terrell to our current roster for the 2012 season.

The markets have just been plain wacky of late. It took me a long time to learn about market volatility and why it is important for investors. But understanding volatility helps to have a broader sense of why markets move the way they do and how to split up portfolios between stocks, bonds, and other assets. I'll share some things I've read recently about why the stock market has been gyrating like a carnival ride. First, the definition of volatility: It refers to the range of movements in either direction, up or down.

I AM WRITING this the Saturday after Game 5 of the Phillies-Cardinals series. The pain is still fresh, and it's intense. It's intense because I wanted very badly for us to go all the way, for us to be champions again. I wanted another parade. I wanted that euphoric feeling. It's also intense because I believed - and still do - that we are one of the best teams in baseball. I know that we could have proved that only by winning the World Series. Anything less would make this season in the pundits' and fans' eyes a failure.

MOST HIGH SCHOOL quarterbacks would be content to achieve a 50 percent success rate. Jim Haley believes he can double that. Wait, we're not talking passes. We're talking identifications of family members, and Haley, a 6-2, 175-pound junior who plays QB and safety at Monsignor Bonner High, believes he could go 91-for-91. "Probably . . . On a good day . . . If I really tried, I could name all 91," he said, smiling. It's impressive enough that Haley, who shares grid importance with his brother, Joe, a senior tight end and linebacker, is one of 10 children.