Dolphins to officially name Tony Sparano head coach.

The Miami Dolphins have hired Dallas Cowboys Assistant Tony Sparano as their head coach, replacing Cam Cameron who was fired earlier in the month. Sparano has coached in the NFL for nine years. Before joining the Dallas staff in 2003, Sparano was on the staffs of Cleveland (1999-2000), Washington (2001), and Jacksonville (2002). He was the head coach at New Haven in the college ranks from 1994-1998. Sparano was also a candidate in Atlanta and Baltimore. The move reunites Parcells with his former assistant. Sparano was the Cowboys play caller in 2006 before giving that up this season to Jason Garrett, who has still not accepted the Ravens offer to become their head coach.

I know Sparano is held in high regard by many around the league, but he's got his work cut out for him in Miami. A first time NFL head coach taking over a 1-15 team with no clear QB, a lack of impact players on offense and an aging defense doesn't sound like a great fit, but when your 1-15 there aren't too many great fits.

Matt Holliday's new nickname....

I'm really liking "The Snowman".
A) He plays in Colorado, where there is a lot of that substance during the winter (unfortunately, not during baseball months so that we could see The Snowman in his natural habitat, but the ice-capped mountains are still there)
B) He has a shiny bald head that makes him look a little bit like a snowman.
C) Guys who lead the league in BA and RBI deserve badass nicknames.

Obviously, The Snowman's hand melted under Barrett's cleat Monday night, and the puddle did touch the plate, the replays clearly show. Only if you have an HDTV, though.

And just since this is my first post, I'm going to make everyone aware of my currently-embarrassing team loyalties.

NFL - Miami Dolphins (0-4 4th place, AFC East) - What can I say positive about my Dolphins other than the fact that Cam Cameron seems to be working well with Ronnie Brown....almost 500 total yards in the last two games, not bad at all. The receivers don't look bad either, and the offensive actually looks good run-blocking, while the pass-blocking has been decent. Our defense is anemic, the secondary is the worst in the NFL and the interior linemen get no movement up front. Trent Green is TERRIBLE as well, and Ted Ginn Jr. was a worse pick than....(this is a nice segway into my next loyalty)
NBA - Orlando Magic- ....Fran Vasquez. Yes, I'm serious (considering what was available to Miami....). Anyway, the Magic are on the upswing, possibly more than any of my favorite teams. I'm looking forward to watching Rashard Lewis, although I don't think he was worth the max contract, sorry 'Shard. Dwight Howard is blossoming, and that alone is worth the price of admission a few times a year. I have my fingers crossed that JJ Redick can play well with a starting role this season and maybe our offense will not be among the worst in the NBA. Hoping for a nice seeding in the Eastern Conference.
MLB - Atlanta Braves (84-78, 3rd NL East, No playoffs again...) - No more Andruw now, either. That move doesn't bother me, he is a shell of his youth right now. Probably going to experience a career turnaround and have another couple peak years, but right now he's not worth the cost to keep him, and he just isn't inspired. I love Tex, though. And if we sign Glavine, that will be a great move. All the young hitters look good, too. I wish our bullpen had been consistent throughout the year and that we'd had one more quality starter.
NCAA - Florida State Seminoles (3-1) - Big win vs Alabama. That felt great to see Nick Saban get crunched, being a Dolphins fan and all. Xavier Lee finally showing promise, we'll see how they look this weekend against NC State. It's a home game, but we always seem to slip up against these mediocre ACC rival schools. Hopefully this weekend is different.