South Florida Local News

Today in History: January 5, ‘Rapper’s Delight’ hits Billboard Top 40

Mon, 01/05/2026 - 02:00

Today is Monday, Jan. 5, the fifth day of 2026. There are 360 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 5, 1980, “Rapper’s Delight,” by The Sugarhill Gang, became the first hip-hop song to reach the Billboard Top 40, helping to popularize the emerging musical genre.

Also on this date:

In 1896, an Austrian newspaper reported the discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (RENT’-gun) of a new type of radiation that came to be called “X-ray.”

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In 1925, Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming took office as America’s first female governor.

In 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge; the bridge was completed in May 1937.

In 1953, Samuel Beckett’s two-act tragicomedy “Waiting for Godot,” considered a classic of the Theater of the Absurd, premiered in Paris.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist communist aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon announced the Space Shuttle program, directing NASA to produce a reusable vehicle that would boost manned space exploration while bringing down its costs. (The first shuttle launched in 1981 and the last in 2011.)

In 2022, Australia denied entry to tennis star Novak Djokovic, who was seeking to play for a 10th Australian Open title later in the month; authorities canceled his visa upon his arrival in Melbourne because he failed to meet the requirements for an exemption to COVID-19 vaccination rules.

In 2024, a door plug on Alaska Airlines jetliner blew out shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, forcing the 171 passengers and six crew to don oxygen masks before the pilots made an emergency landing. No one was seriously hurt, but the sudden depressurization left a gaping hole in the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Robert Duvall is 95.
Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is 85.
Actor Vinnie Jones is 61.
TV personality Carrie Ann Inaba is 58.
Rock singer Marilyn Manson is 57.
Actor-filmmaker Bradley Cooper is 51.
Actor January Jones is 48.
Actor Brooklyn Sudano is 45.
Actor Mike Faist is 34.
Actor and model Suki Waterhouse is 34.
Actor Walker Scobell is 17.

Chris Perkins: This offseason is sink or swim for Dolphins

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 20:17

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Miami Dolphins are bordering on being an absolute mess, and they’re bordering on being a playoff team. Considering this organization’s recent history, you’re inclined to think they’ll land on the former.

The difference in those two outcomes will be found in how the Dolphins, who were blasted by the New England Patriots, 38-10, in Sunday’s season finale at Gillette Stadium, handle their uncertainty this offseason. And there’s major uncertainty.

There’s uncertainty ranging from who will be the general manager in the 2026 season to who will be the quarterback. The uncertainty, to a small extent, includes who will be head coach. There’s not yet an assurance Mike McDaniel is back for a fifth season.

Chatter from the locker room is that the organization will figure this out in a positive fashion. In reality, a 7-10 record means you’re not far from being a playoff team.

That’s why players think the Dolphins’ future is fairly bright despite their record this season and their back-to-back losing seasons (the were 8-9 last season).

“They’ve got something special brewing in this building,” safety Ashtyn Davis said, “and I was lucky to be a part of this here.”

The Dolphins could return some respectable, proven talent among running back De’Von Achane, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, center Aaron Brewer, left tackle Patrick Paul, right tackle Austin Jackson, defensive tackle Zach Sieler, linebacker Jordyn Brooks and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Players also think this team was better than its losing record indicates.

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“It’s a much better team than we put on tape,” offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill said.

In truth, however, the Dolphins’ future is very cloudy and very frustrating.

If you’re Dolphins owner Steve Ross (we’re told he didn’t address the team in the locker room after the game) and you really believe that the Dolphins are better than their 7-10 record indicates, that stands as the logic to making sweeping changes.

After all, McDaniel is an unimpressive 35-33 (.515) in the regular season and 35-35 (.500) including his 0-2 playoff record. That’s mediocrity. It’s the status quo. It’s exactly what Ross said wouldn’t be tolerated after last season.

Further, if you really believe the Dolphins are better than their record indicates, you have to wonder what went so wrong and how you prevent something similar from happening in next season.

As much as the players are proud of finishing 5-3 after starting 2-7, you could sense the frustration of a wasted season.

“We’ve got to find a way to stop the run in games like this,” Davis said, likely well aware that the Patriots rushed for 243 yards on 34 bruising carries.

So, yeah, they’re close to being an absolute mess.

Dolphins Deep Dive: What should happen . . . what will happen with McDaniel after season finale? | VIDEO

Brewer said “urgency” needs to become a guiding light.

“The way we’re playing mid-season, we need to start that way and finish the same way,” he said.

Bradley Chubb said the third-quarter woes — Miami was outscored, 127-30, in the third quarter this season — must be fixed.

“It’s kinda what’s been plaguing us all year, that third quarter,” he said.

Miami has also got to find a way to compete with the top teams in the league. The Dolphins finished the season 1-6 against playoff teams, and they’re now 5-26 (.161) against playoff teams in the McDaniel era.

Players will tell you this team is on the right track.

“I think we’ve got a lot of talent,” second-year wide receiver Malik Washington said.

Chubb, whose locker at Gillette Stadium was close to rookie defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, will even give you reasons that the future is bright.

“I think it looks good, man,” Chubb said of the Dolphins’ immediate future. “You got dudes like this, like that dude right here, KG (Grant).

“You’ve got people like him, Zeek (rookie defensive tackle Zeek Biggers), J-Marsh (rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr.), Trader (rookie safety Dante Trader Jr.), all these guys who played a lot of football, they’re young, and they’re going to learn from the positives and negatives of the season and be even better next year.”

It’s true that the Dolphins played lots of young talent this season, especially in the second half of the season when players such as rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers surfaced.

“When you start 1-6 and your season’s left for dead and then you breathe life back into it, for all the young guys that we’re going to be relying upon moving forward, the guys that are on their rookie contracts, it was an incredible learning experience,” McDaniel said.

“That’s probably the silver lining, the only takeaway that I can take away. Moving forward, you have the opportunity to be surrounded by guys that don’t blink in adversity. That’s a huge part of this game.”

The bigger part of the game is winning.

And if the Dolphins don’t handle their uncertainty in this offseason, they won’t be doing much winning in 2026 despite the optimism emanating from the locker room.

Dolphins Deep Dive: What should happen . . . what will happen with McDaniel after season finale? | VIDEO

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 19:04

In this Dolphins Deep Dive video, the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins and David Furones give their initial thoughts on Miami’s disappointing 2025 season. Is there reason for optimism for 2026, and what about coach Mike McDaniel’s future with the team?

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Final week of regular season does Dolphins no favors in regards to NFL draft

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 18:33

The games of the final week of the regular season were not kind to the Miami Dolphins in terms of positioning for the first round of the NFL draft in April.

Miami entered Sunday with the No. 11 pick, with a chance to move up, at most, to No. 8 with a loss to the New England Patriots and other results going its way.

In the opening slate of NFL games Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints lost to the Atlanta Falcons. That meant the Dolphins could no longer move ahead of the Bengals and Saints with a loss to the Patriots.

The highest Miami could move up is to No. 10, with a loss to New England and a Kansas City Chiefs win over the Las Vegas Raiders. But the Raiders defeated the Chiefs late Sunday afternoon.

The Dolphins did indeed lose to Patriots. A win would have had them fall behind the Dallas Cowboys, to the No. 12 pick.

The Dolphins have eight selections in the draft including their first-round pick, one second, three third-round rounders, one fourth, one fifth, and one seventh rounder.

Heat bounce back behind Powell’s 34 with 125-106 rout of Pelicans

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 18:22

MIAMI — Having previously lost to the second to the second-worst team in the Western Conference, the Miami Heat made sure there was no misstep Sunday night at Kaseya Center against the West’s worst.

More to the point, Norman Powell made sure.

So, no, no repeat of the home humiliation against the Sacramento Kings, instead a 125-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans that made it five victories in the last six for Erik Spoelstra’s team.

“We definitely had to come out and set the tone,” Powell said.

With Powell converting 9 of 12 3-point attempts on a 34-point night, the Heat improved to 20-16 while the Pelicans stumbled to 8-29. The nine 3-pointers were a career high for Powell.

“I just kept looking at where they were picking me up and letting it fly,” Powell said.

Aided by 26 Pelicans turnovers, the Heat closed with a season-high 18 steals.

“We’re not a toe-to-toe team, per se,” Spoelstra said, “but we can get teams uncomfortable if everybody’s committed to those kind of efforts.”

Beyond Powell’s offense, the Heat also got 19 points from Nikola Jovic and 16 apiece from Pelle Larsson and Kel’el Ware, on a night they remained without Tyler Herro and this time also were without Jaime Jaquez Jr. Ware also had 12 rebounds.

“Loved the offense,” Spoelstra said. “The ball was really moving. I thought the guys were sharing the ball.”

The Pelicans were led by the 27 points of Trey Murphy III, also getting 12 points from Zion Williamson.

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 43-39 after the first quarter and 70-62 at halftime.

“It’s pretty easy when you look up at the half and there’s 70 points or whatever it was,” Larsson said of setting a tone.

From there, the Heat pushed their lead to 20 in the third quarter, before going into the fourth up 93-77.

The Pelicans trimmed their deficit to 13 early in the fourth quarter, with Powell and Heat big man Adebayo then returning with 5:51 to play, with the Heat up 111-92.

Order was restored from there.

2. Three for all: The Heat’s first nine shots were all 3-point attempts, including a 4-of-4 start from beyond the arc from Powell and a 3-of-3 start on 3-pointers from Davion Mitchell.

The Heat’s first two-point attempt, with 6:18 left in the opening period, was a driving transition layup by Jovic that was, of course, part of a 3-point play.

And on the Heat’s next possession? Powell was fouled on a three-point attempt, making all three free throws.

The Heat closed 18 of 44 on 3-pointers.

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3. Rotation revision: With Jaquez sidelined by the ankle sprain suffered in Saturday night’s home loss to the Timberwolves, Jovic and Larsson entered together as the Heat’s first two reserves.

Larsson was back after sitting out the previous two games with an ankle sprain.

“The second unit . . . was terrific with their multiple efforts,” Spoelstra said. “It kind of changed the energy of the game.”

It was Jovic who initially replaced Jaquez’s offense, opening 4 of 4 from the field, including 2 of 2 on 3-pointers, with his other two opening baskets a pair of driving layups.

The Heat also cycled through Dru Smith, Kasparas Jakucionis and even Myron Gardner off the bench.

“I like Myron’s energy,” Spoelstra said. “He’s grown on me, he’s grown on the staff, the players in the locker room. I love his personality.”

Jovic closed 7 of 16 from the field, Larsson 7 of 15.

“Pella it’s the human bruise, you know, with all of his activity,” Spoelstra said.

4. Powell’s pop: Powell was up to 20 points by intermission, at 6 of 7 on 3-pointers in the first half.

That was after dealing with leg pain and a blow to the Heat in Saturday night’s loss to the Timberwolves.

Powell extended his streak of games scoring in double figures to 34, dating to last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, one game off the longest such run of his career.

He closed 11 of 15 from the field.

But it was the 12 3-point attempts that Spoelstra noted.

“He should have had 18 attempts, right?” he quipped.

5. Now the road: The Heat next head out on a four-game trip that opens Tuesday in Minnesota and continues against the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

That trip opens a stretch of four of nine on the road.

“We want to do some damage on this road trip and pick up these wins and it’s going to be big for us,” Powell said. “So I thought it was a good starting point for us to go on the road, feeling good about ourselves.”

The Heat’s next home game is Jan. 13 against the Phoenix Suns at the start of a challenging three-game homestand that also includes the Boston Celtics and Thunder.

Winderman’s view: Heat take what is given, appreciating greater challenges ahead

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 18:22

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 125-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans:

– We saw it against the Pacers a couple of weeks back.

– And again this time against the Pelicans.

– An opponent throwing the ball away with reckless abandon, this time 25 turnovers.

– Yes, some credit to the Heat for forcing the mistakes.

– But also a case of conference-worst team being, well … bad.

– As in the Pacers being the worst in the East.

– And the Pelicans worst in the West.

– The irony is both shot the ball well against the Heat when maintaining possession.

– As rare as that was.

– So perspective is needed in these.

– Because this is not even play-in level competition.

– Let alone what the Heat would have to face in the real postseason.

– What you do is take victories like this and move on.

– Perhaps with a token of gratitude for the opposition being so giving.

– Now do it Tuesday in Minnesota and it would come with meaning.

– Still, it does make it five victories in the last six.

– And nothing wrong with that.

– With Tyler Herro in uniform but not considered ready to return, the Heat again opened with a lineup of Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware and Davion Mitchell.

– Powell sizzled from the arc.

– Which basically was all that was needed in this one.

– With Jaime Jaquez Jr. out, the first two substitutes off the bench were Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jovic, who entered together.

– Dru Smith followed.

– With Kasparas Jakucionis making it nine deep.

– Then, in a twist, two-way player Myron Gardner entered off the Heat bench, ahead of Simone Fontecchio.

– With a four-game trip up next, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went in stressing the importance of Sunday night.

– “We know how important this game is before we go on the road,” he said.

– Mission accomplished.

– He also said no need to look back to Saturday night’s home loss to the Timberwolves.

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– “We want to just put that game behind us from last night and just focus on this game and have that similar type of compete level,” he said, “and then bring a more efficient game on both sides of the court, where we’re getting to our identity more consistently, not letting teams to take us out of that identity.”

– With Jaquez (ankle) out, Spoelstra said it was beneficial to have Pelle Larsson (ankle) back.

– “He can do some of it,” Spoelstra said of Larsson as Jaquez. “He does it in a different way, but pace can also take care of some of that. It’ll have to be in a lot of different other buckets.”

– Which Larsson did, in a solid two-way effort.

– Pelicans coach James Borrego became the latest to praise the Heat’s pace.

– “The way they get it out, the pace, make or miss, this is as fast as I’ve seen them,” he said. “So to their credit, they’ve done a heck of a job doing it. They do it very well, they trust it, they get the ball to the floor, they put pressure on you constantly.”

– Borrego added. “It’s kind of the philosophy I’ve shared over the years offensively – just keep as much pressure on the defense for as long as possible. And they’re doing that, they do it with the drive, the pace, the ball movement.”

The Heat then launched 57 shots in their 70-point first half.

– And kept going from there.

– It was the 100th career regular-season appearance for Ware.

– Ware extended his career-best run of games with multiple offensive rebounds to 17.

– Along the way, Jovic reached his 500th career rebound.

Miami Dolphins’ opponents for the 2026 season

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 18:16

The Seattle Seahawks win over the San Francisco 49ers in the final week of the regular season on Saturday simplified the formula to figure out the one remaining opponent for the Miami Dolphins to be determined for the 2026 schedule.

The Los Angeles Rams’ win over the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday’s late afternoon game means the Dolphins will visit the 49ers next season.

That’s because of the swing in the third-place finisher in the NFC West the result creates, with the Dolphins, the AFC East’s No. 3 team, due to play that team on the road.

Miami is already set to play their three divisional opponents — the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets — home and away, the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears at Hard Rock Stadium and Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers on the road.

The NFL will release the full 2026 week-by-week schedule later in the year.

Here is a note for each non-division game next season:

Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium

Patrick Mahomes has played two games at Hard Rock Stadium, both six years ago. The first, on February of 2020 was in his first Super Bowl, against the 49ers. The second, in December, was his lone game against the Dolphins in South Florida. In that matchup, the AFC champion had a 30-10 lead in the fourth quarter before taking their foot off the gas, winning 33-27. The Dolphins have a five-game losing streak against the Chiefs and haven’t beaten them in Miami Gardens in 20 years.

Los Angeles Chargers at Hard Rock Stadium

In his four career games against the Dolphins, Justin Herbert, selected sixth in the 2020 draft after the Dolphins picked Tua Tagovailoa, has averaged 26.8 points a game, including 29 in a pivotal game for the Chargers early in the 2025 season. The Dolphins have averaged 27.3 points a game in that quartet.

Chicago Bears at Hard Rock Stadium

Former Dolphins assistant Ben Johnson makes his first return to Hard Rock Stadium since his stint with Miami from 2012-18. After the Dolphins grabbed a 4-0 lead in the all-time series with the legendary Monday Night Football win over then-undefeated Chicago in 1985, the Bears won four of the next seven games between the teams. However, Miami has a three-game win streak.

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Detroit Lions at Hard Rock Stadium

Another former Dolphins assistant coach, and former interim head coach, comes back to Miami Gardens for his first time since finishing his six-year tenure in South Florida in 2015. The last time the Dolphins beat the Lions in South Florida was a 49-21 walloping in the season opener of 2002, which was also Ricky Williams’ Dolphins debut.

Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium

Joe Burrow will be looking to improve to 3-0 all-time against Miami, having averaged 36 points a game in games against the Dolphins.

Denver Broncos at Empower Field*

Broncos coach Sean Payton will have been waiting three years for this game, his Broncos having been ravaged for 70 points in Miami Gardens in 2023 the most recent time the teams played.

Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium*

One of the rare flips of series record in the Dolphins’ favor since Don Shula left after 1995, the Dolphins trailed Oakland/Los Angeles 6-16-1 heading into the 1996 season. The past 20 years, however, the Dolphins have rolled Oakland/Las Vegas 15-5, and now the series is squared at 21-21-1.

Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field*

The Dolphins had been 8-0 against Green Bay when Jimmy Johnson took over for Don Shula in 1996, but the Packers, powered by Hall of Fame quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, have cruised through the Dolphins with wins in seven of the teams’ nine matchups since then.

Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium*

The Dolphins have played a Brian Flores-coached defense once since he and Miami parted ways after 2021, and that was a 16-10 Dolphins win in 2022 when the Steelers dropped four Tua Tagovailoa passes that hit both hands.

Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium*

The Colts, before collapsing, arguably had their best game of their season in the opener against the Dolphins, a 33-8 shellacking in Indiana.

San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California*

There is some argument that one of the last moments the Dolphins felt like things had finally turned around was the first-play-of-the-game 75-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Trent Sherfield the last time Miami traveled to Santa Clara. However, the host 49ers rebounded to rout Miami, who had entered the game 8-3. Miami sputtered to 9-8 to squeak into the playoffs, where they lost to Buffalo 34-31.

(* Denotes there is a possibility this game may be played internationally.)

Dave Hyde: The most damaging season in Dolphins history finishes in an awful fashion

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 18:04

Congrats, it’s over. You can open your eyes now.

You survived another Miami Dolphins season.

You didn’t even need to watch their 38-10 loss at the New England Patriots, because you’ve seen the movie so many times through the years you have the ending memorized:

On one sideline, New England celebrated their 14-win season, celebrated their winning coach-quarterback combo and really celebrated the coming home playoff game.

On the other sideline, the Titanic sunk.

The Dolphins season has been done for weeks — months, really — but this made it official. All the monsters can go away now or just go hiding under the bed where they’ll conveniently be forgotten amid the coming happy talk for the next eight months.

The offseason is here. You made it. Dolphins seasons have been mostly various forms of calamity for most of this millennium. But offseasons have become a fascinating haven of rebuilt hope and optimism and belief good things will happen again.

Everyone could use some hope, too, after the worst Dolphins season since … um … since ever? Could there have been a worse one than this? Maybe that 1-15 season in 2007? That was so bad then-owner H. Wayne Huizenga cried when they finally won a game.

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That season had no lingering issues, though. The odor of this season won’t leave so easily. So, if not the worst, then this is the most damaging season in Dolphins history. Consider:

1. The quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, who you gave a four-year, $212 million contract shrunk right before your eyes to the point he was benched, forgotten and would be an afterthought moving forward except he’s owed a NFL-record $99 million coming up.

2. The 2020 and 2021 drafts will probably have one survivor after this offseason. Those are the drafts the Dolphins tanked for in 2019 to get five, first-round and four, second-round picks Receiver Jaylen Waddle looks like the lone survivor. Tua won’t be back. The other Dolphin holdover from those drafts, tackle Austin Jackson, might be too injured to carry his medium-sized contract. Any questions why general manager Chris Grier was fired?

3. The coach, Mike McDaniel, proved a creative play-drawer, but dug an 0-3 hole in the season’s opening 12 days and beat just one winning team, Buffalo. What will owner Steve Ross do with him?

4. The Patriots have passed the Dolphins by again in the AFC East.

That last one sums up the state of the Dolphins. Five years ago, the Patriots dynasty was six feet under after quarterback Tom Brady left and coach Bill Belichick had no answers.

There was some we-warned-you gloating from Dolphins fans suffering since Dan Marino retired as the Patriots had consecutive, four-win seasons without Brady. Throw in Patriots owner Bob Kraft’s moaning and Belichick’s North Carolina adventure and at least you could enjoy their suffering for the next decade, right? Pass the popcorn.

Then quarterback Drake Maye came two drafts ago. And coach Mike Vrabel was hired last offseason. Suddenly, the Dolphins aren’t just looking up at Buffalo and Josh Allen for the next decade. Suddenly, it’s the rebuilt Patriots.

What, they had five years wandering the wilderness?

Dolphins Deep Dive: What should happen . . . what will happen with McDaniel after season finale? | VIDEO

Maye might be the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in his second season. He completed a pedestrian 14-of-18 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown Sunday. He also ran for 44 yards, which might not seem much but is more than Tagovailoa ran for all this season.

The Dolphins ran seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers out there Sunday without De’Von Achane or Waddle and asked him to carry the banner of tomorrow. It’s not his fault he looked like a seventh-round rookie.

If you were looking for some good news Sunday, you couldn’t even look at the Dolphins’ draft order. They didn’t improve from their 11th spot in a way that make you wonder what’s at work.

Kansas City lost on a last-second, 60-yard field goal to Las Vegas and stayed in the 10th spot. Cincinnati lost on a similarly, last-second 49-yard field goal to Cleveland and stayed ahead of the Dolphins, too.

Why can’t a drop of good fortune come your way?

At least you can exhale after Sunday’s ugly loss in New England. You did it. You made it. You officially came through another awful Dolphins season.

Panthers hold off Colorado 2-1, hand Avs just third regulation loss of season

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 17:50

By TIM REYNOLDS

SUNRISE — Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad scored unassisted goals, Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves and the Florida Panthers snapped Colorado’s second 10-game winning streak of the season by topping the Avalanche 2-1 on Sunday night.

Colorado fell to 31-3-7, its 69 points still the second-most in NHL history through 41 games and the most in nearly a century. Boston had 73 points through 41 games in 1929-30. The NHL added regular-season overtime along the way and changed the points structure in 1999-2000 to add a point for losses past regulation.

But the Panthers never trailed Sunday. Bennett scored 6:27 into the game, and Ekblad made it 2-1 with 1:48 left in the second period.

Artturi Lehkonen scored midway through the second period for Colorado, which lost captain Gabriel Landeskog early in that period with what the team said was an upper-body injury.

The three regulation losses for Colorado tie the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest through 41 games of any season. The Avalanche had gotten at least one standings point in 30 of their last 31 games coming into Sunday, going 26-1-4 in that stretch.

It was the third time this season Colorado was held to one goal. The Avs won both of the previous games.

Scott Wedgewood stopped 23 shots for Colorado, his record falling to 18-2-4 on the season.

The Panthers were further short-handed than usual. U.S. Olympic team defenseman Seth Jones (upper body) was out for Florida, and the Panthers expect word Monday on how much time he’ll miss. He was hurt in the first period of Friday’s Winter Classic.

Florida leaves for a six-game trip Monday and Matthew Tkachuk — who has yet to play this season following August surgery to repair a torn adductor and sports hernia — will be on the plane. It’s unclear yet if Tkachuk will play during the trip.

That trip is the start of a second half where Florida plays 26 of its final 41 games on the road.

Up next

Panthers: At Toronto on Tuesday night.

Things we learned in Miami Dolphins’ 38-10 loss at New England Patriots

Sun, 01/04/2026 - 17:46

FOXBORO, Mass. — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel might have coached his last Dolphins game in Sunday’s 38-10 loss at the New England Patriots. Or, McDaniel might have only put a wrap on the part of his Dolphins head coaching era that included former general manager Chris Grier, who was fired on Halloween, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was demoted three games ago.

Perhaps we’ll find out this soon whether McDaniel will remain the Miami Dolphins coach for 2026. Or perhaps we’ll get a name or two on the list of general manager candidates.

Until then, we’ll reflect on the job done by McDaniel, Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, and a host of other players, mostly youngsters.

By the way, it should be noted the Dolphins (7-10), who suffered double-digit losses for the first time since finishing 5-11 in 2019, were without several key starters including Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane (shoulder), wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (ribs) and right tackle Austin Jackson (back/groin).

Here’s what we learned in Sunday’s season finale:

Tua has quiet day

Tagovailoa, in what might have been his last game in a Dolphins uniform, had a low-key day that mostly involved standing on the sideline with a warming jacket over his shoulders. Tagovailoa, designated as the emergency third quarterback, wasn’t writing formations on the whiteboard for Ewers, which is a duty he handled on the sideline in his first two games as a reserve quarterback. For the record, Tagovailoa has seemed to be in good spirits since his benching, often mixing and laughing with teammates in the locker room. He’s never been seen publicly pouting or seeming unhappy.

Tagovailoa is due $55 million next season. If he’s released it’ll cost Miami $99 million in dead money which they could take a one-time hit in 2026 or split into a two-year hit with $67 million in dead money in 2026 and $32 million in dead money in 2027. — Chris Perkins

Ewers shows promise

Ewers, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a right knee ailment, showed enough in three starts that he could be in the mix for the starting job in training camp. Sunday’s performance had some good and some not-so-good.

Ewers was making his third start Sunday. He was 1-1 in his previous two starts, losing at Pittsburgh and defeating Tampa Bay.

Ewers started the game with a nine-yard run. He almost had a touchdown pass to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., but Wilson couldn’t quite come up with the reception before falling out of the back of the end zone.

Ewers bounced back with a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tahj Washington. Ewers had a couple of close calls on passes. He had an incomplete pass in the end zone that went between Washington and fellow wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. Ewers also had a close call on a throw for Washington deep in the third quarter. Washington and Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez get their feet tangled up and both went to the ground.

All in all, Ewers showed promise in his three starts.

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McDaniel is a .500 coach (including playoffs)

McDaniel finishes his fourth season with a 35-33 (.515) regular-season record, 35-35 (.500) including his 0-2 playoffs record.

The Dolphins rallied to finish 7-10 this season after starting 0-3, 1-6 and 2-7.

Last season they rallied to finish 8-9 after starting 2-6.

In 2022, the Dolphins started 8-3 but slumped to a 1-6 finish, including their wild-card round playoff loss at Buffalo.

In 2023, the Dolphins started 9-3 but slumped to a 2-4 finish, including their wild-card loss at Kansas City.

TO margin/penalties

The Dolphins ended with season minus-4 in turnover margin. After having seven penalties for 52 yards, they also ended with 107 penalties for 841 yards.

The Dolphins began play Sunday tied for 17th in the league in turnover margin at minus-2. In 2024, they were tied for 29th at minus-7. In 2023, they were tied for 12th at plus-2, and in 2022 they were tied for 28th at minus-7.

The Dolphins began play Sunday tied for 12th fewest penalties with 100, and 11th in fewest penalty yards with 789.

As for penalties, in 2024, the Dolphins were 30th in penalty yards with 1,030 and their 125 penalties were tied for 29th.

In 2023, the Dolphins were No. 5 in the league with 719 penalty yards while they were tied for 13th fewest penalties with 96.

In 2022, the Dolphins were No. 19 in penalty yards with 799 yards while they were tied for No. 4 in penalties with 84.

Cold weather games

Miami is now 1-7 (.125) in cold weather games under McDaniel. Sunday was a “cold weather” game with the definition for this purpose being 45 degrees or colder at kickoff. The “feels-like” temperature at kickoff was 23 degrees. The actual temperature was 28 degrees.

Cold weather has been a big deal for the Dolphins under McDaniel. Miami began play Sunday with a 1-6 (.143) record in cold weather losing twice in Buffalo in 2022 (regular season and playoffs), once in Kansas City (playoffs), once in Green Bay (Thanksgiving 2024), losing against the New York Jets (2024 finale), winning at the New York Jets (this season) and losing at Pittsburgh (this season).

It should be noted that six of the eight cold weather games came against playoff teams.

Run defense sags again

New England rushed for 243 yards 34 carries. The Dolphins began play Sunday ranked 24th in run defense at 125.5 yards allowed per game. When these teams played in September, New England rushed for 122 yards. They were second of seven consecutive Dolphins opponents to rush for more than 100 yards.

Late-season road games

Miami is now 3-11 in December-January road games under McDaniel.

The Dolphins were winless in January road games under McDaniel when play began Sunday, posting an 0-4 record.

The verdict on recent Grier draftees, free agents

All of the Dolphins draftees that played Sunday, and almost every Miami player that took the field, were drafted or selected by Grier, who was widely ridiculed for his drafts and free agent signees. The list from Sunday ranges from Ewers to linebacker Jordyn Brooks and kicker Riley Patterson.

In the past two years Grier’s players posted losing seasons but last year they finished 6-3 and this year they finished 5-3.

The final conclusion on the draftees and free agents is likely similar to the final conclusion on each these seasons — mediocre-ish.

Special teams surface again

Defensive tackle Zach Sieler blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt shortly before Patterson booted a 52-yard field goal. Last week rookie defensive tackle Zeek Biggers blocked a 55-yard field goal attempt.

It’s been an eventful special teams season for the Dolphins, and it’s involved a punt return touchdown, allowing a kickoff return touchdown immediately afterward, running into the punter, roughing the punter, allowing an opponent to recover an onside kick, recovering an opponent’s onside kick, punter Jake Bailey and Patterson turning in exemplary seasons.

Third-quarter woes

The Dolphins were outscored in Sunday’s third quarter, 14-0. For the season they were outscored, 130-27, in the third quarter.

Dolphins Deep Dive: What should happen . . . what will happen with McDaniel after season finale? | VIDEO

That Patriots first touchdown was a rarity

The Patriots received the opening kickoff and began the game with a three-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. It marked the first time under Mike McDaniel that an opening-possession-of-the-game touchdown drive of that length had taken up three plays or fewer.

The Dolphins offense under McDaniel had accomplished the feat twice: In San Francisco in 2022 and against the Broncos in the 70-20 game in 2023.

The previous time the Dolphins had allowed such a touchdown had been against Peyton Manning and the Colts 16 seasons ago. Pro-football-reference.com’s database covers the 21st century, and the Dolphins hadn’t given up such a touchdown that featured only running plays in the past 25 years at least. Once, in 2005, the Browns on their first possession (but after Miami also had had a possession) saw Reuben Droughns take their opening snap 75 yards to the house. — Steve Svekis

Patrick Paul became a bit of a flag machine late in the season

After a first 15 games where he had been nabbed for only 6 flags, Dolphins second-year tackle Patrick Paul saw four penalties attached to his number in the final two games against the Buccaneers and Patriots, including a trio (holding, false start and illegal man downfield) in a span of 8:18 in Foxborough. He is to be lauded for playing all 34 of the possible games his first two seasons.

Boo! Ollie Gordon was a short-yardage liability after Halloween

Maybe as a rookie, Ollie Gordon hit a rookie wall, but his effectiveness in short-yardage situations fell off a cliff after October. Before Halloween, Gordon had been fine 6 for 7 converting on third- or fourth-and-1 runs. However, in November onward, he converted in only 2 of 6 situations, losing 5 yards in total.

2026 schedule tidbits

Here is a note for each non-division game next season:

Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium

Patrick Mahomes has played two games at Hard Rock Stadium, both six years ago. The first, on February of 2020 was in his first Super Bowl, against the 49ers. The second, in December, was his lone game against the Dolphins in South Florida. In that matchup, the AFC champion had a 30-10 lead in the fourth quarter before taking their foot off the gas, winning 33-27. The Dolphins have a five-game losing streak against the Chiefs and haven’t beaten them in Miami Gardens in 20 years.

Los Angeles Chargers at Hard Rock Stadium

In his four career games against the Dolphins, Justin Herbert, selected sixth in the 2020 draft after the Dolphins picked Tua Tagovailoa, has averaged 26.8 points a game, including 29 in a pivotal game for the Chargers earlier this season. The Dolphins have averaged 27.3 points a game in that quartet.

Chicago Bears at Hard Rock Stadium

Former Dolphins assistant Ben Johnson makes his first return to Hard Rock Stadium since his stint with Miami from 2012-18. After the Dolphins grabbed a 4-0 lead in the all-time series with the legendary Monday Night Football win over then-undefeated Chicago in 1985, the Bears won four of the next seven games between the teams. However, Miami has a three-game win streak.

Detroit Lions at Hard Rock Stadium

Another former Dolphins assistant coach, and former interim head coach, comes back to Miami Gardens for his first time since finishing his six-year tenure in South Florida in 2015. The last time the Dolphins beat the Lions in South Florida was a 49-21 walloping in the season opener of 2002, which was also Ricky Williams’ Dolphins debut.

Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium

Joe Burrow will be looking to improve to 3-0 all-time against Miami, having averaged 36 points a game in games against the Dolphins.

Denver Broncos at Empower Field*

Broncos coach Sean Payton will have been waiting three years for this game, his Broncos having been ravaged for 70 points in Miami Gardens in 2023 the most recent time the teams played.

Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium*

One of the rare flips of series record in the Dolphins’ favor since Don Shula left after 1995, the Dolphins trailed Oakland/Los Angeles 6-16-1 heading into the 1996 season. The past 20 years, however, the Dolphins have rolled Oakland/Las Vegas 15-5, and now the series is squared at 21-21-1.

Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field*

The Dolphins had been 8-0 against Green Bay when Jimmy Johnson took over for Don Shula in 1996, but the Packers, powered by Hall of Fame quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, have cruised through the Dolphins with wins in seven of the teams’ nine matchups since then.

Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium*

The Dolphins have played a Brian Flores-coached defense once since he and Miami parted ways after 2021, and that was a 16-10 Dolphins win in 2022 when the Steelers dropped four Tua Tagovailoa passes that hit both hands.

Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium*

The Colts, before collapsing, arguably had their best game of their season in the opener against the Dolphins, a 33-8 shellacking in Indiana.

San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California*

There is some argument that one of the last moments the Dolphins felt like things had finally turned around was the first-play-of-the-game 75-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Trent Sherfield the last time Miami traveled to Santa Clara. However, the host 49ers rebounded to rout Miami, who had entered the game 8-3. Miami sputtered to 9-8 to squeak into the playoffs, where they lost to Buffalo 34-31.

(* Denotes there is a possibility this game may be played internationally.)

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