Second Thoughts

Bielema tried to tell Miami about Wilson

While at Wisconsin, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema saw a potential star in Russell Wilson.
While at Wisconsin, Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema saw a potential star in Russell Wilson.

Every team in the NFL except the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders passed on Russell Wilson at least once in the 2012 NFL Draft before the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the third round.

photo

AP

Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson answers a question at a news conference for NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, in Phoenix. The Seahawks play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015.

If Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema had been able to convince the Miami Dolphins that Wilson was worth taking earlier on, Sunday's Super Bowl might be very different. Bielema was the Wisconsin coach during Wilson's final college season and was interviewing with the Dolphins about their head coaching job in early 2012 when Wilson's name came up.

According to ESPN.com, Bielema told General Manager Jeff Ireland and others that he thought the Dolphins should draft Wilson in the second round, but the team disagreed.

"They all looked at me like, 'You can't say that,' " Bielema said. "'That's the difference between college and pro. He's undersized. He can't throw.' I was like, 'OK, all right,' and I honestly, that day, kind of pulled myself out of it."

The Dolphins wound up drafting Ryan Tannehill with the eighth overall pick after hiring Joe Philbin to be their head coach and Tannehill's college coach Mike Sherman as their offensive coordinator, setting up a pretty sizable "what if?" to consider about the trajectory of Miami and Seattle over the past three years.

Recruiting trip

Highly recruited receiver Preston Williams took an official visit to Auburn last weekend.

Tennessee fans were nervous that Williams, a Vols commit since September of 2013, might be wavering on his oral commitment to Tennessee. What if he flipped to Auburn?

Then something strange happened. The buzz fizzled and Williams left Auburn's campus early.

"Williams did end up making the trip, but ended up leaving the visit a day early," according to Rocky Top Insider, a website devoted to Tennessee athletics. "The rumors out of Auburn were that Williams was 'being a distraction' and 'disrupting the weekend,' but we are hearing that Williams was actually asked to leave by Auburn staff members because he showed up wearing nothing but Tennessee apparel and was actively recruiting other visitors to join him at Tennessee."

Winging it

Professional wrestling star Mick Foley was ejected from the Wing Bowl eating contest Friday after stuffing uneaten chicken wings into a fanny pack.

People following the event on social media dubbed Foley's attempt at boosting his wing total "inflate-gate," a play on the New England Patriots' deflated football controversy that has drawn so much attention leading up to the Super Bowl.

Chicago's Patrick Bertoletti won with a Wing Bowl record 444 wings in 26 minutes. He edged out 2014 champion Molly Schuyler of Bellevue, Neb., who eclipsed her record 363-wing mark with 440 wings.

The fan favorite Foley, who is known in the ring as Mankind, said after his ouster that he didn't want to overstuff himself and get sick like other competitors.

"I didn't want that to be my legacy, so I stretched the rules," Foley said. "I thought people would appreciate that, right here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!"

Wing Bowl is a way for Philadelphia's long-suffering sports fans to blow off steam before the Super Bowl. About 20,000 people gathered at the Wells Fargo Arena -- home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers -- to drink beer and watch scantily clad women serve competitors wings.

QUIZ

What year was the first Wing Bowl held?

ANSWER

1993.

Sports on 01/31/2015

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