The late Jim Mandich (left) had a great impact on his former play-by-play partner

It’s been more than five months since we lost Jim Mandich, but those who knew him best miss him more than ever.

Bill Zimpfer, the Mad Dog’s play-by-play partner on Miami Dolphins radio broadcasts from 1994-2001, is certainly among them.

“It’s a terrible shame,” Zimpfer said this weekend from the Philadelphia area, ”a terrible tragedy something like that has to happen to such a good person. I kept in touch with Jim a lot. Even though I was not in Miami, I’d make trips to South Florida every so often and tried to catch up with him as much as I could. We talked on the phone a couple weeks before he passed away. I will value our friendship and relationship forever.”

Zimpfer was hired away from the Penn State play-by-play job in ‘94, having never called NFL football before, and the transition could have been much tougher without Mandich’s generosity and support.

“He kind of adopted me when I started working down there,” said Zimpfer, who has done news and sports for WOGL (FM 98.1) the past 17 years. “I knew nobody in South Florida. I lived up here and was traveling down there all the time. Jim adopted me and made me part of his family. [His death] is really just a tragic thing.”

Zimpfer is looking forward to Mandich’s induction into the Dolphins Honor Roll next month. He has not been invited back yet for that event, but sounds open to attending.

“Nobody has asked me,” Zimpfer said, “but I would consider it.”

Considering the eight years Mandich and Zimpfer spent together on the air, it seems clear the Mad Dog’s old radio partner should be on hand when his name goes up alongside all those other franchise greats.

The 2011 season has taken on a nightmare feel, one that reminds me a lot of 2007.

The pressure just continues to build, and if the Miami Dolphins don’t get a release this Sunday against the injury-depleted San Diego Chargers this team might blow up.

It’d be difficult to imagine anything worse than going into the bye week without a victory. That’s why the Dolphins are desperate, and need to play like it.

I’m talking about this being the time for Tony Sparano and his staff to pull out their bag of tricks.

Here are my keys for the Dolphins to pull out a win against the Chargers on Sunday.

Playmakers must deliver for Dolphins. The Dolphins who are making more than $4 million a season need to play up to their salary level. That means Brandon Marshall can’t afford to drop any more touchdown passes. Reggie Bush must contribute at least 80 yards of offense. Paul Soliai and Randy Starks need to be a run stuffing force. Yeremiah Bell has to do better covering the field, and inside linebackers Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett need to contain opposing tight ends and tailbacks, and make game changing plays.

Run the ball effectively against the Chargers. San Diego is holding its opponents to 4.3 yards per carry this season, and opponents have gained 13 first downs through on the ground. The Dolphins are averaging 4.5 yards per carry, but a lot of that total is credited to Daniel Thomas’s 4.9 yards per carry average. Thomas was left in South Florida because of his hamstring injury, so it is on Bush, Lex Hilliard and possibly new addition Steve Slaton to carry the ground game.

Convert on third downs. The Dolphins have been horrible at converting on the most critical down in football. This season the Dolphins are converting 25.6 percent on third down, which has the team tied for second worst in the NFL. Bad down and distance situations haven’t helped. The offense has to take ownership for the unit’s struggles in this regard.

Chad Henne needs to perform like he’s started 30 NFL games. Henne’s proven he’s an average quarterback in his two plus seasons as an NFL starter. It’s time he starts showing that all the time and games invested in him weren’t a waste. To do so he need to execute in the red zone, limit turnovers, and effectively orchestrate a hurry-up offense if the Dolphins are behind. San Diego happens to be the city this team was handed over to Henne in 2009, and he needs to play like he deserves to be behind the wheel.

Generate pressure on Philip Rivers. The Dolphins have only managed four sacks this season. There’s been decent pressure from Cameron Wake and Jason Taylor, but the Dolphins haven’t produced many of those critical takedowns, which put opponents in difficult down and distance situations. Karlos Dansby said the front line needs the linebackers and the secondary to do a better job in coverage to generate more taken downs. That’s going to be hard to do against a gunslinger like Rivers.

Contain Pro Bowl receiver Vincent Jackson. This won’t be easy because of how many young cornerbacks (Nolan Carroll and Jimmy Wilson) are playing in the Dolphins secondary. It would be ideal to have Sean Smith shadow Jackson all game. But that probably isn’t possible because of how much zone the Dolphins play, and Carroll and Wilson’s experience level.

So, in your opinion, what do you think will be the key to Sunday’s game against San Diego?

G.G.A.T.G.

Remember those clever, Southwest Airlines television commercials?

The ones in which some poor sap would put himself in an embarrassing predicament?

Selling you on the catchphrase, “Wanna get away?”

That’s what came to mind as I watched the Miami Dolphins stumble through the boos to another loss at No Life Stadium, where, judging by all the empty seats, legions of South Florida football fans already have given up on the season — and those that haven’t are becoming hostile.

The Dolphins need to get away.

Away from home.

Away from their fans.

Away from all the negativity.

“You can’t blame the fans or anybody else,” Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said after the 23-13 loss to the Houston Texans. “It’s us.”

Maybe so, but the way things have been going at home, the NFL schedule maker might’ve done the Dolphins a favor by sending them on the road for their next three games: at Cleveland (Sunday), at San Diego (Oct. 2) and at the New York Jets (Oct. 17).

Those trips, along with an Oct. 9 bye, will keep the Dolphins away from their unhappy fans until Oct. 23, when they’ll return home to play against Denver.

By then, perhaps, the Dolphins will have won a game — something they can’t seem to do at home, where they’ve lost 11 of their past 12, including their last five.

Certainly, they need to.

They’re 0-2, and the rest of the AFC East is 2-0. And, based on what we’ve seen thus far, beating the Chargers and Jets won’t be easy. Heck, the way the Dolphins are playing, beating the Browns on the banks of Lake Erie could be a challenge?

But at least they won’t feel the pressure of having to perform on their home stage and giving the home crowd a reason to cheer. Nor will they look up and see rows of no-shows.

Instead, they’ll get to play in stadiums filled with passionate fans eager to energize their teams. They’ll get to forget about their home-field failures and any other homegrown distractions. They’ll get to just play football.

“All I know is, when I go on the road, I have my team’s full attention,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. “I’m with them longer. I get to be around them longer. They get to be around the coaches longer. That’s what I know. If that’s a good thing, that’s a good thing.”

Clearly, it’s not bad.

Last season, the Dolphins were 1-7 at home and 6-2 on the road, where they opened with back-to-back victories at Buffalo and Minnesota, upset eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay in overtime at Lambeau Field and knocked off the playoff-bound Jets at The Meadowlands.

“We may be a better road team,” receiver Brandon Marshall said.

We’ll see.

They couldn’t be a much worse home team.

There’s absolutely nothing that gets under my skin more in this industry than when media outlets/members take things out of context.

We are the gatekeepers of information, and if we don’t disseminate it properly then we’re feeding the masses garbage (bad information). When garbage goes in, garbage comes out.

The point of this finger waging is to point out the South Florida media, and the public have taken Tony Sparano’s  “I don’t have any answers for it” comment about the team’s struggles at home out of context.

It’s unfair, and irresponsible to take that one sentence, pull it out, and run with it, and it was done repeatedly on TV, radio and in newspapers.

The question was: How do you explain being 1-11 over the past 12 games at home?

Sparano’s answer was: “It’s baffling to me, it really is. I don’t have an answer for it. We’ve just got to do a better job,” Sparano said.

He then continued, without delay: “I told you before if you look back last year its turnovers, and a high turnover ratio. Today [vs. Houston] we turned it over twice and I don’t know if we [got a turnover] so its two more in the hole. Last week [against the Patriots] we wound up one behind, so you’re minus three in turnovers again, and those things [turnovers] hurt you. There’s some other things out there that we have to take ownership of. There are some things out there that we left out there on the field that we’ve got to take ownership of. It starts in practice and our team has to do a better job in practice.”

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE: I DON’T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR IT?

It’s one thing to challenge Sparano for in-game decisions and mismanagement of the roster, which I’ve recently done in one of my more critical blogs in years. But it is completely irresponsible to use that quote out of context against Sparano as evidence he’s clueless, and in over his head.

The next day Sparano even reiterated his initial point, explaining that costly turnovers are the reason the Dolphins keep losing at home….

“Criticism doesn’t bother me one way or the other, ok.  But the question that I was asked is that we’re 1-11 at home or something to that affect. I still don’t really have answers for that. I mean I gave you the answers that I gave you. All I know is that when we play home games, for whatever the reason, we are behind in the turnover ratio. And when you turn the ball over in this league, particularly when you turn it over in their end of the field and give them the ball on the seven, eight yard line, whatever it is, you’re struggling.

“You got to work your way out of those things and it’s hard.  Those people ended up scoring points there and in that situation you can’t do those kind of things.  That’s the only thing that I can give you that’s tangible,” Sparano said. “When I look at all the numbers and I look at the all the things that are out there on paper right now, the turnover ratio is what sticks out at me.”

But nobody cared! We’re too busy finger pointing, claiming he’s in over his head, and that’s disappointing.

Again, most of you know how I work. I don’t have a horse in this race. I’m nobody’s boy, or puppet. All I care is accuracy and getting people the right information. What was done following Sunday’s game was wrong.

Sparano has enough working against him right now. He has fall guy written all over him. But there’s no need to charge him with a quote taken out of context.

Here’s what else the Sun-Sentinel has to offer you today.

Sparano admits “I have my team’s full attention” on the road, where the Dolphins will play 5 of the next 6 games.

Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall says “It’s the same story from last year’ when referring to the team’s red zone struggles.

The Dolphins are seeking confidence after 0-2 start. Where can this team turn to for improvement.

Here are Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde’s Ten thoughts on Dolphins loss to Houston.

Kevin Burnett says the Dolphins defense must simiplify things. OR, you could just replace the players that keep making mistakes and aren’t performing at a high level.

Dolphins ‘concerned’ about Karlos Dansby’s groin injury and could be forced to play without him. It’s also possible Vontae Davis might be limited. Here’s the options.

G.G.A.T.G.

S. Fla. Man Rehabs Abused Animals In Florida City Backyard

For more than 20 years, Dirk Neugebohrn has run the South Florida Wildlife Rehabilitation Center out of his backyard. On his own dime, he rescues, takes care of and rehabilitates dozens of animal species who have previously been obtained illegally or abused.

Damon Higgins/The Palm Beach Post

Bob Griese, who was the first Dolphins player to have his number retired by the team, says that while growing up, he never had big dreams of playing pro football.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

1:35 p.m. EDT, August 16, 2011

So Ricky Williams is gone. Officially gone. It never seemed too likely that the Miami Dolphins would re-sign Williams for an eighth season, or more. Some held out hope that would indeed return – that he’d be a veteran presence for the Dolphins, who drafted Daniel Thomas and acquired Reggie Bush via trade.

Instead, though, Williams is off to Baltimore. The video above contains an interview Williams gave to WQAM. During that interview, he explained why he made the move to join the Ravens.

Not that it matters, but I have to say I’m bummed that Ricky is gone. I wish I’d had the chance to cover him. All too often these days, reporters and athletes play a game. You ask the question you need to ask. They give the answer they need to give. It becomes routine.

Williams, though, challenged the routine. Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde wrote an insightful column that appeared in the paper today. It summarizes Williams’ legacy in South Florida, where he became one of the most beloved – and controversial – sports figures in this area’s history.

Hyde recalled a conversation he shared with Williams that went like this:

Dave: “How’s it going?”

Ricky: “I’m alive.”

Dave: “That beats the alternative.”

Ricky: “Some people don’t think so.”

Dave: “Who?”

Ricky: “Some deeply spiritual people. Death is welcome to them.”

Interesting. Williams was more than just a football player, though when he was at his best, he played his position as well as anyone. Dolphins fans are most likely to remember fondly his finest season, in 2002. He ran for 1,853 yards and 16 touchdowns in his first season in Miami.

There were only two more 1,000-yard seasons, one coming before the 2004 season, which he sat out amid his self-imposed exile from the game, and one coming after it. Williams was never again as good on the field as he was in ’02, but for the past three seasons he still played a valuable role in the Dolphins’ backfield.

It’s doubtful, though, that Williams wants to be defined by his on-the-field legacy. The question, then, is what exactly his legacy will be in South Florida. How will you remember him? What will you miss most now that Ricky’s gone?

Ronnie Brown had held out hope that he’d be back in South Florida, back with the Miami Dolphins — the only team he’d known since entering the NFL in 2005.

But Brown on Tuesday signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Ronnie is an all-around running back with a versatile skill set,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said in a news release. “He can run the ball, catch it, and does very well in pass protection. He’ll add some good size to our backfield and he’s a good character guy. We think he’ll be a tremendous compliment to LeSean [McCoy] and the other young backs on this team that we really like. You can never have enough good running backs in this league and we are happy to have Ronnie join us.”

Brown, who made the Pro Bowl in 2008, is expected to backup LeSean McCoy with the Eagles.

Brown is the seventh major acquisition Philadelphia has made in the last week, joining defensive linemen Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins, cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha, offensive lineman Evan Mathis and veteran quarterback Vince Young.

But whenever Brown, who’d been a free agent, talked about his future during the past several months he made clear his desire to return to the Dolphins, who selected him second overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. Brown said he’d built a life in South Florida. He said he was happy here.

The Dolphins, though, made equally clear they were headed in a different direction. They drafted former Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas in the second round of the draft in April. Then, just before its first practice of the season, Miami acquired Reggie Bush from New Orleans.

In six seasons with the Dolphins, Brown ran for 4,815 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. He broke the 1,000-yard mark once, in 2006, when he ran for 1,008 yards and 5 touchdowns. He ran for 10 touchdowns in 2008.

Brown tore the ACL on his right knee in 2007 and missed the final seven games of 2009 with a foot injury. He started all 16 games in 2010.

Brown, who made his mark running the “Wildcat” in recent years, played in 76 games for the Dolphins, starting 71 of them.

He ranks third on the Dolphins’ all-time rushing list behind Larry Csonka (6,737) and Ricky Williams (6,436). His 15 100-yard rushing games tie him with Csonka for second in team history.

Williams, Brown’s running mate in the backfield for the past several seasons, remains a free agent. His return to the Dolphins is unlikely.

On a bizarre day during a bizarre week, the Dolphins’ practice field was covered with important people like owner Stephen Ross, running back Reggie Bush and quarterback Chad Henne. But that’s not where the real action was going down.

Even on the first day of training camp Friday, the real drama — the juicy, good stuff — was happening in general manager Jeff Ireland’s office, the one upstairs and inside the team’s Davie facility.

That’s the place where Ireland made a shocking move to sign former Carolina quarterback Matt Moore, an unrestricted free agent who played for Denver coach John Fox last year. You know, the coach who currently has Kyle Orton on his roster.

It’s also the place where Ireland concocted another surprise: He waived six-year veteran linebacker Channing Crowder, while taking only a few hours to replace him with former Chargers linebacker Kevin Burnett.

Burnett agreed to terms on a four-year contract that is going to guarantee him nearly $10 million, a source said. He is expected to replace Crowder at inside linebacker, but like all free agent signings, he won’t be able to practice until the NFLPA recertifies.

The same goes for Moore, who arrived in South Florida on Friday to sign a two-year contract, another source said. It’s a deal that will land him on the team’s depth chart as the backup quarterback to Henne.

Moore and Burnett will be at the team’s facility Saturday to begin acclimating themselves with the organization and their teammates, just as Bush did as he wandered the sidelines shaking hands with his new family.

So what happened to Crowder? And perhaps more importantly, what happened to the potential trade with the Broncos for Orton? Let’s begin with Crowder, since the explanation is easier.

Put simply, the Dolphins no longer saw him as being as valuable as other available options, like Burnett, a 16-game starter in San Diego last year. Nothing more to it than that. If only the same could be said about the team’s quarterback situation.

When it comes to the addition of Moore, it’s probably nothing more than Miami not valuing Orton as much as was being asked. They liked Moore all along. Perhaps with Orton out of the mix, the Dolphins simply moved onto Moore.

But consider the Orton situation: Engaged in a stare down after negotiations had heightened earlier in the week, the Dolphins began to pull away from a deal that they felt was going to cost them too much for a quarterback they lacked conviction about.

Ross, during a morning news conference before word of the Moore deal originally began leaking out, made it clear that he and Ireland agreed they didn’t want to reach for somebody.

“We’d upgrade that position if there’s somebody that much better available,” Ross said. “I don’t think there is really anybody that would drop that far, outstanding [enough] that you’d say is much better than Chad to upgrade that position to start with.

“So I don’t know what’s going to happen out there.”

By all means, Ross was suggesting the possibility of the Orton trade was all but dead. Then again, should, say, the Broncos decide to lower their asking price and Orton agrees to a more reasonable restructured contract, there would be nothing to stop the Dolphins from still potentially pulling the trigger on a deal.

Jul 25, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jul 25, 2011

|Column| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Forget Donovan McNabb and Marc Bulger. This isn’t 2007.

Forget Vince Young for now. Would he be your first hope with your job on the line?

The way the Dolphins have worked it, the desperate manner they’ve boxed themselves in, there’s only one way Chad…

Tags:

Donovan McNabb,
Cam Cameron,
Miami Dolphins,
Football,
Kyle Orton

Jul 25, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

The Miami Dolphins have re-signed the majority of the free agents the organization planned to keep in 2011, so it’s doubtful most – if any – of the team’s remaining free agents will be retained when the NFL’s signing period begins later this week.

But…

Tags:

Contracts,
Defense,
Daniel Thomas,
Football,
Tony Sparano

Jul 25, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Starting pitchers blow up. It happens to everybody once in a while. To Ricky Nolasco, it happens more than it should.

Nolasco, Tuesday’s starter in Washington, is coming off the worst start of his career. He gave up nine earned runs on nine hits over 1…

Tags:

Roy Halladay,
Ricky Nolasco,
Brad Penny,
Florida Marlins,
San Diego Padres

Jul 25, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jul 25, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jul 25, 2011

|Blog| Sun-Sentinel

Jul 25, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Bombs away: Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison each homered off Chris Capuano as part of a four-run Marlins sixth that eclipsed a 2-0 deficit. Sanchez added one more in the seventh, giving him three in two games. Morrison 14th was part of his first…

Tags:

Emilio Bonifacio,
Chicago Cubs,
Florida Marlins,
Chris Capuano,
Baseball

Jul 23, 2011

|Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jul 23, 2011

|Column| South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Read More: Ahmad Bradshaw (RB – NYG), Miami Dolphins, New York Giants

Drew Rosenhaus reportedly told Sports Xtra that Ahmad Bradshaw is interested in playing for the Miami Dolphins next season, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Twitter. According to Rosehaus, “If they are interested in Ahmad, we’re interested back.”

The Dolphins could certainly use the infusion of fresh legs, with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown potentially finished in Miami. The Dolphins took Daniel Thomas in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, in part due to his experience in the Wildcat formation in junior college. Bradshaw would go nicely with the physical Thomas, and would be a nice door prize for the team should they strike out on a bigger name like DeAngelo Williams.

Considering this is all coming from the mouth of Rosenhaus, one should absolutely approach this rumor with the proper levels of suspicion. The Giants will likely push hard after Bradshaw, or face the prospect of rolling with the injury-prone Brandon Jacobs as a lead back. It would not be surprising if the Bradshaw camp were simply trying to put a squeeze on the New York front office.