IFA W50 und L60 » nnan. Noel, one of the NHLs most quotable coaches b

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - With the Miami Dolphins at 7-7 and all but eliminated from the playoffs, defensive tackle Jared Odrick talked about playing out the season.Were on a team thats .500, he said. If you dont believe that youre a .500 team, you have to go out there and prove it. Weve got two more games to do that.So a winning record would be a significant achievement?Nah.Finishing 9-7? Odrick said. Finishing 9-7 and not going to the playoffs doesnt mean a thing.If more Dolphins could reverse direction so quickly, they might be Super Bowl-bound.Its tough to blame Odrick for having trouble convincing himself that Sundays game matters. Motivation can be difficult for teams out of the playoff chase, and thats the challenge both teams face when the Dolphins play the Minnesota Vikings (6-8).Here are things to know about the matchup between also-rans:THE STAKES: The game means a lot to Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, whose job is in jeopardy after lopsided losses the past two weeks likely ensured a third consecutive season out of the playoffs.Players have been vocal in defending Philbin and his staff.I dont think its the coaches fault, receiver Mike Wallace said. I think its our fault. I dont think weve played up to our potential throughout our games. I dont think weve played a full 60 minutes, except maybe two or three times. Were selling ourselves short — the players, not the coaches.Another loss might seal Philbins fate, while a sweep of the final two games would give Miami its first winning season since 2008, a sign of progress that could influence owner Stephen Ross.In the absence of Adrian Peterson, the Vikings have been out of the race since Thanksgiving. But theyve won two of their past three games to give them a shot at a .500 finish under first-year coach Mike Zimmer.Were moving in the right direction, defensive end Brian Robison said. Thats what you want to see out of a club thats under a new regime.QB HOMECOMING: There likely will be lots of empty seats Sunday, but dont blame Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The Miami native will have plenty of family and friends in attendance, although he couldnt provide an exact count because his mother handles ticket requests.Im pretty loved back home in Miami, and a lot of people tell me that Im a role model in my community, Bridgewater said. So itll be amazing to see how many turn out there and get to see me play in person for the first time.Bridgewater grew up a Dolphins fan and attended a couple of their games before heading off to Louisville. He said he envisioned himself playing in the stadium someday.As a child I had high dreams and aspirations, he said. Making it to the National Football League and to be able to play there my first year in the NFL, its pretty amazing.Bridgewater will make his 11th start, passing Fran Tarkenton and Christian Ponder for the most by Vikings rookie quarterback.GOING LONG: Miamis Ryan Tannehill is finally showing progress with his accuracy on long passes.In last weeks loss at New England, Tannehill threw deep to Wallace for 50 yards on the first play, and went long to Wallace for a 32-yard score at the end of the first half. Another deep throw into the end zone was dropped.He had a number of deep balls that were as good as any we have seen him throw in games, offensive co-ordinator Bill Lazor said. We have seen improvement in practice, and we kind of felt like that it should be showing up in the game.For the season, Tannehill is 8 for 36 (22 per cent) on throws of more than 20 yards.COACHING PALS: Zimmer said his friendship with Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle could be a factor in the game. They worked together with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2008-11, when Zimmer was defensive co-ordinator and Coyle coached the secondary.Ive played against guys that have been with me before, and theyll run a play and you will say, Ah, I told them about that, Zimmer said. Its one play here or there.WINTER IN MIAMI: The Vikings practice in their field house with the doors open to simulate colder conditions for late-season games, but this week the doors were closed and the heat turned up to prep for Miami.It will be 80 degrees, Zimmer said before one workout. Not sunny, but it will be 80 degrees.___AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell and Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve_Wine Taylor Leier Jersey . During halftime, Love told The Associated Press he would receive treatment Saturday night and hoped to play Monday night against Houston. "I knew that my quad was bothering me pretty bad so I went out there and tried to move around a little bit and it just wasnt quite right," Love said. Scott Laughton Jersey .That means, of course, that John Wall beat the Spurs for the first time ever — within weeks of his first wins in head-to-head games against nemeses Chris Paul and Derrick Rose. http://www.officialflyersfanstore.com/authentic-ron-hextall-flyers-jersey/ . To get things started, heres a little photo tour to get you acquainted with all the main characters. Michal Neuvirth Jersey . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Jori Lehtera Jersey . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Wayne Taylor had no intention of racing again when he climbed out of the cockpit following his last start in the Rolex 24 at Daytona four years ago. Then he was given a rare opportunity to race with sons Ricky and Jordan. The 58-year-old Taylor will briefly end his retirement Saturday to drive one stint in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette in the twice-around-the-clock endurance race at Daytona International Speedway. Hes part of a four-driver lineup that includes his sons and team co-owner Max Angelelli. "Im doing this because Im able to be with my kids, and with Max, and Id probably never have this opportunity again," Taylor said. "How many people get this chance? Its amazing. For the family, it is truly an amazing thing and something later in life we will be able to talk about and it will never be able to be taken from me, irrespective of the result." The chance came about late last season when Angelelli saw Ricky Taylor struggling in his first season driving for Spirit of Daytona. Ricky and Angelelli had been teammates for three seasons before Ricky moved on, and younger brother, Jordan, filled the seat. While Jordan and Angelelli were on their way to the Grand-AM drivers championship, Ricky wasnt having much success. So Angelelli offered to step aside this year — hell drive only in the four endurance races — to give his seat to Ricky and allow the brothers a chance to race as teammates. "Max was the one who brought it up midyear last year when Ricky was having a rough year," Jordan said. "We were having such a good year, and it was hard to see Ricky having such a bad year and Max said You know, Im OK to step out of the car next year if you want to have him join Jordan. Once that kind of started it, everyone got excited about the idea." It was a selfless gesture by Angelelli, who was a co-driver with Wayne Taylor for their 2005 Rolex victory. Wayne Taylor also won the race in 1996, and his boys — who are now 24 and 22 — celebrated wildly in Victory Lane. "Max and I have been together for a long time, we won championships and racess together and the 24 Hours together, and hes like a big brother to the boys," Wayne said.dddddddddddd "When there was a possibility that Ricky could come back, and prior to that the boys never ever wanted to drive together but they do now, Max came to me and said Wayne, I know this is difficult for you, but let me make this easy for you: I am going to step aside to put Ricky in the car. "It was amazing. I dont think Id have ever gone to him and asked him. I may have, but he brought it up. It made it a lot easier." For Ricky, theres a lot of pressure in returning to the team that not only won the driver championship in Grand-AM last season — the series merged with American Le Mans this year to create the unified Tudor United SportsCar Championship — but the team also finished second in the 24 Hours last season. Angelelli and Wayne Taylor were vocal last year in that Chevrolet was at a disadvantage to BMW, and the Corvettes seem to have the speed edge this year. Its got some believing the Wayne Taylor entry could be a race favourite should they go the distance. "Weve all been answering lots of questions about what its like driving together — past that, its probably the biggest 24-hour Ive ever done," Ricky Taylor said. "Im driving with Jordan, really, for the first time but, after three test sessions, it already seems like weve been teammates for a whole year. Its a cool feeling for us to hand the car off to each other." The verdict is still out on how it feels for Wayne Taylor. Hes not used to being the slowest driver on the team, and while having both his boys in his car seems ideal, hes not certain his blood pressure can take it over the course of an entire season. "It is so stressful," he admitted. "It is so incredibly stressful when it is your kids. When it is one, you are so stressed and then they get out of the car and turn it over to another driver and you get time to relax. Now I have both of them and there will be no time to relax. But to have them both together, wanting to race as teammates, I guess its living a dream, you know?" ' ' '