‘72 Dolphins finally get to White House
Better late than never.
Nearly three dozen members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins finally received their White House moment Tuesday, 40 years after they made NFL history by winning 17 games and losing none - an undefeated NFL feat that still stands today.
President Barack Obama welcomed the former players to the East Room, which has become a common occurrence at the White House these days for current sports champions.
It wasn’t four decades ago, and besides, President Richard Nixon was a little tied up with that whole Watergate thing. So, the 1972 Dolphins never had an opportunity to enjoy their White House moment until Tuesday.
“I know that some people may be asking why we are doing this after all these years,” Obama said. “My answer is simple: I wanted to be the young guy up here for once.”
Hall of Famers Larry Csonka,the team’s star fullback, quarterback Bob Griese, offensive lineman Larry Little, linebacker Nick Buoniconti and Coach Don Shula were among the group on hand, even if they were a little grayer and didn’t move quite as quickly as they once did.
“Some of them are a little harder to recognize these days,” Obama said. “They don’t have the Afros, the mutton chops, the Fu Manchus.”
The president also noted that he recognized the 1985 Bears on the south lawn of the White House two years ago after the Bears failed to receive a White House reception in 1986. That decision was attributed to the space shuttle Challenger disaster, which occurred two days after the Bears beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“That day I called them the greatest team ever but, I mean, take it with a grain of salt,” Obama, a Chicagoan, said sheepishly. “The Bears lost once in their nearly perfect season.”
Of course, it just happened to be against the Dolphins.
Thanks, guys
Benches cleared Sunday during a game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees after Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster hit Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez with a pitch.
It turned ugly quickly.
“A-Rod was shoved, taunted, cursed,” wrote Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald, “and that was just by his own Yankee teammates.”
Brand name
Tennis player Maria Sharapova has soured on a sweet idea.
The Times of London reported that Sharapova had been considering changing her name to Sugarpova - which is the name of her candy company - for the U.S. Open, but her agent said Tuesday the four-time Grand Slam champion had decided against it.
Sharapova - a Russian citizen who resides in Florida - would have had to file a name change petition in the state, submit fingerprints, have a background check and have a hearing before a judge to officially change her name. In the end, it just wasn’t worth the hassle.
“Maria has pushed her team to do fun, out-of-the-box-type things to get the word out about Sugarpova. … This was an idea that fell along those lines,” agent Max Eisenbud told ESPN.
“But, at the end of the day, we would have to change all her identification, she has to travel to Japan and China right after the tournament, and it was going to be very difficult.”
Quote of the day
“You can express your opinion and be upset with someone, but you just can’t start throwing baseballs at people.” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi on Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster intentionally hitting Alex Rodriguez
Sports, Pages 18 on 08/21/2013