Dan Marino

Bernie Kosar saw replay after replay of Wilber Marshall's helmet whamming into Troy Aikman's chin in Sunday's Cardinals-Cowboys game. Kosar finally quit looking.He knows it could happen to Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino -- it happened to Kosar often enough in those nine years he was the stoutest thing in Cleveland -- but Kosar prays Marino "never takes a shot like that."Football's most famous backup quarterback concedes there's a part of him "that misses playing." Just as quickly, he adds, "But no way do I want to get in there because something happens to one of my best friends."

Division predictionThe Bills, in their drive for five, should win this division easily unless Dan Marino makes a rapid recovery to lead a Dolphins challenge. The Patriots are still a year away, and the Jets and Colts will battle to stay out of the cellar. Assuming the Bills get the home-field advantage in January, it won't be easy to keep them out of the Super Bowl.1. Buffalo Bills1993 record: 12-4, first in division; beat Raiders in divisional playoff, beat Chiefs in AFC title game, lost to Cowboys in Super Bowl.

The latest savior of the Washington Redskins and, perhaps, the NFL is from an area hidden away in the Great Smoky Mountains. He was baptized in Deep Creek River, has a Southern twang and charm, and eats bear and boar meat.Dan Marino, move over. Heath Shuler has arrived."History shows that all modern-day quarterbacks have struggled their rookie season except for Dan Marino," said Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. "This kid could have a Marino-like rookie season. He's got everything."Almost.

MIAMI -- The Washington Redskins haven't lost the habit of getting off to slow starts they picked up under former coach Joe Gibbs.Even though they went to four Super Bowls under Gibbs and won three of them, they spent much of his regime digging out of holes: 0-5 record in 1981, 1-3 in 1985, 0-2 in 1984 and 1989 and 2-2 in 1988 and last year.The Redskins made the playoffs only twice in those six years and lost two of their three playoff games.They've already dug themselves into a hole in coach Richie Petitbon's first year at 1-2, and it could get deeper when they play the Miami Dolphins tonight at Joe Robbie Stadium.

Miami -- Back when he was younger and NFL coaches could afford to be as strict as schoolmarms, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula once instituted what he called "The Tuesday Rule."The Tuesday Rule meant that players couldn't have intimate contact with their wives or girlfriends after Tuesday if there was a game on Sunday.You can say many things about Shula, but you can't accuse him of not adjusting."If you're going to succeed, you have to change," says the 63-year-old coach, whose Dolphins (2-1)

Along with the regular midsummer lineup of sports this weekend -- baseball, exhibition football, tennis, golf, volleyball (volleyball?), Hall of Fame Days are upon us, and we'll be getting it both barrels from Cooperstown and Canton.You might ask yourself why baseball and football duel for headlines like this when other weekends are wide open, but neither sport can provide an answer.Maybe the reason both feel comfortable with it is because the networks only do cursory coverage anyway and always have.

PASADENA, Calif. -- When Troy Aikman was a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys and throwing twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdown passes (nine), he admits to wondering if he had a future in the National Football League. What would he have done?"Like a lot of my friends, go back to working on a pipe line in Oklahoma," he said. But that's not going to be necessary.Aikman, coming off a Most Valuable Player performance in Super Bowl XXVII, has quickly established his presence and reaffirmed the belief that he's going to become the pre-eminent quarterback of the decade.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Troy Aikman isn't going to make the same assumption that Dan Marino made eight years ago.Marino led the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl at the end of the 1984 season, his second year in the NFL. He has often said he had assumed the Dolphins would be back several times after they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 38-16, in Super Bowl XIX.Marino still is waiting for that second chance after the Dolphins were blown out by the Buffalo Bills...

MIAMI -- Dan Fouts has been there. He has played against a Bill Arnsparger-designed defense in the playoffs, so he understands the pitfalls that await Miami quarterback Dan Marino and coach Don Shula when they take on the San Diego Chargers here today in Joe Robbie Stadium."