Dolphins

This week's guest is Thomas A. Kiefaber, owner of the Senator Theatre. Jamison Hensley Ravens, 20-17 As long as the Ravens don't turn the ball over, they'll escape embarrassment ... barely. Edward Lee Ravens, 30-13 At least the Ravens players haven't quit on Brian Billick the way the Dolphins have soured on Cam Cameron. Rick Maese Ravens, 3-0 If the Ravens lose, there are a couple of people in purple who shouldn't bother boarding the return flight to Baltimore. Don Markus Ravens, 21-10 Finally, a team for the Ravens to beat.

DAVIE, Fla. - Finally, a winning season and AFC East championship for the first time this decade. Iconic former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula couldn't think of a sweeter way to bring in the new year and sounded as proud as if he were still patrolling the sideline, as he did from 1970 to 1995. "Just a great turnaround from going from where they were last year, nearly going 0-16 and turning it around and making a run like they have for the playoffs," said Shula, a former Baltimore Colts player and coach, who was watching snow fall in Vail, Colo.

DAVIE, Fla. -- This is how bad the news was for the Miami Dolphins yesterday: A guy who didn't even play Sunday inCleveland was forced to have surgery.The news was, as expected, bad for quarterback Dan Marino when tests revealed that he had ruptured his right Achilles' tendon. Marino had surgery early yesterday and is expected to be out for four to six months, essentially the rest of the season.Likewise, the news on linebacker John Offerdahl was bad. Offerdahl has a separated right shoulder and will miss at least three and perhaps as many as six weeks.

Nearly 27 years ago, Don Shula lost a game to the New York Jets that changed his life and his career and was instrumental in his move to Miami.What may have been his most significant loss since then came last Sunday -- again to the Jets -- and it could be the beginning of the end of Shula's Miami career if the Dolphins don't snap out of it.When Shula's Baltimore Colts were upset by the Jets in Super Bowl III, the loss soured his relationship with owner Carroll...

In yesterday's editions, a player for the Miami Dolphins was identified incorrectly in a photo caption. The Dolphin pictured was Lamar Thomas.The Sun regrets the error

MIAMI -- The Bobby Humphrey merry-go-round spun wildly again yesterday, leaving the Miami Dolphins running back with a bullet wound in his leg and a bunch of explaining to do.Humphrey was shot in the right thigh yesterday morning by Mark Steven Petties, a close friend and former football teammate of Humphrey's, as the two rode through Alabaster, Ala., in Humphrey's red Lexus.Humphrey wasn't badly hurt and was discharged from the hospital in the afternoon. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Petties told U.S. Marshal Chris Harding at the shooting scene, 30 miles south of Birmingham: "Bobby was driving fast and crazy.

Jamison Hensley Dolphins, 13-10 If the Ravens couldn't beat Cleo Lemon last year, they won't beat Chad Pennington this time. David Steele Ravens, 24-20 Both teams will run. The Ravens will stop the run better. Edward Lee Dolphins, 16-10 Cam Cameron will learn how it feels to be on the other end of a Ravens-Dolphins meeting. Peter Schmuck Ravens, 20-9 Perfect time and place for the Ravens' first road win in a year. Ken Murray Ravens, 24-17 Another losing streak into Miami, but this time the Ravens get it right.

Three new dolphins were coping well at the National Aquarium today after a five-hour plane ride from Florida last evening, said Vicki Aversa, an aquarium spokeswoman.The dolphins, all female, were resting in an isolated pool. They will remain there for a few weeks until they are ready to move into a 1.2 million-gallon display tank in the marine mammal pavilion. The pavilion is to open in late December.The dolphins -- Hailey, Schooner and Shiloh -- will share the tank with the three beluga whales and three other dolphins that arrived from Texas in August.

MIAMI -- Under pressure to pay estate taxes on the sports empire built by their father, the Robbie family has signed a letter of intent to sell the Miami Dolphins and their half of Joe Robbie Stadium, sources said yesterday.The Robbies have agreed to sell the team to a group headed by investor Nelson Peltz and real-estate mogul Bruce Frey, said three people familiar with the talks.Sources said the price, which is subject to negotiation, ranges from about $140-$157 million. Peltz is an investor who recently bought control of DWG Corp.

About 40 dolphins, which apparently took an unorthodox detour on their spring journey up the Atlantic coast, were spied yesterday visiting the Choptank River near Cambridge.Armed with binoculars and cameras, a group of astonished spectators counted the dolphins as they swam past about 200 yards off the Horn Point Environmental Laboratories."It was kind of impressive. They took about an hour to pass by," said Wayne Bell, vice president for external affairs for the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies, which operates the laboratories.