Tunnel Vision? –

It’s a tumultuous if not unprecedented time to be a sports fan in South Florida.

The Marlins are in the midst of another sell-a-thon.

The Miami Heat are old, slow, overpaid, and have only won 1 game thus far, prompting coach Pat Riley to proclaim that should he suit up he’d play better than anyone on his team.

And the Miami Dolphins are, well, the Miami Dolphins.

Each team more egregious than the next, almost as if they’re in the midst of some competition for all around suck-age.

They are the complete antithesis of the Boston sports scene, where each team is poised to not only compete, but to win consecutive championships for the next decade.

We are the Ying to their Yang.

Unfortunately, there is no light at the end of an alleged tunnel.

Without a new stadium, the Marlins are going to continue this cycle of trading their best players for young talent, which they will in turn trade again once they’ve matured and bloomed enough to earn high salaries. Even with a proposed stadium at the soon to be defunct Orange Bowl site, a new stadium does not guarantee success and prosperity (see Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Seattle, et al.)

The Heat’s championship in 2006 seems like it took place a decade ago.

Today they are a team with glaring holes, un-spirited play, aging veterans, huge contracts, a coach who can and will depart at any time, and Dwyane Wade. We’re about 10 more consecutive losses from Pat Riley throwing his hands up in the air, appointing Ron Rothstein or Bob McAdoo as head coach, and Shaq sitting out 30 games.

Finally we have the Dolphins, who have been giving us no shortage of subjects to talk about.

The most recent of course coming in the form of Ricky Williams’ reinstatement.

I’ve been championing a Ricky return for quite some time now, if not for his talent alone, then for the simple reason that if Miami wants something for him, they’re going to need to play him and see what he’s got left in the tank. He has zero trade value right now, and if they cut him immediately, they risk having someone like the Patriots snatch him up where he’d surely explode, and be left with nothing in return.

While bringing Ricky back is no doubt the right decision, it also serves to show us the type of people in charge at the Miami Dolphins.

Ironically, for a team that alleges to emphasize character value so highly, they show very little of it.

It wasn’t so long ago that the Dolphins were 0-0, with brand new head coach Cam Cameron at the podium. On that day, when asked if he’d accept Ricky Williams back on his team, Cam puffed out his chest and uttered the same tired garbage that any new coach with a chip on his shoulder spews.

“The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior” he states, clearly indicating that he doesn’t care for Williams, regardless of what he might do for the team. “We want character guys on this team.”

Now, with the Dolphins staring directly in the face of 0-9 and with the increasing and likely possibility of going winless for the year, Cam sings a different tune.

With sure hall of famers in Bill Cowher and Bill Parcels waiting in the wings, Cameron and GM Randy Mueller are in full blown panic mode.

Out is all the talk about character, about behavior, about rebuilding.

By bringing Ricky back, Cameron and Mueller have shown a hypocrisy that while not unprecedented, is nonetheless damaging.

We’ve yet to hear from Cameron and Mueller directly regarding this fascinating turn of events, but without a doubt they’ll talk about how the move makes them a better football team, how Ricky has proven to be a character guy who wants to be there, and how happy they are to welcome him back.

In reality, make no mistake that this move is a clear desperation tactic and last ditch effort at saving their jobs instead of one in order to make an evaluation on a player who makes the team better.

Bringing Ricky back might get the Dolphins a win or two and it might even make their pick of John Beck look better than it is. After all, it’s tough to look like a bad quarterback when you’re handing the ball off 40 times a game. Then Cam and Mueller can say “see? we told you Ginn and Beck were the right guys!”

The results of today’s moves aren’t yet clear.

What is painfully clear however is that this regime can now add hypocrisy and cowardice onto a list that was already unflattering.

A light at the end of the tunnel?

You have to get to the tunnel first.