Miami, FL
Dolphins 2024 Top 10: The Biggest Stories
The Miami Dolphins’ 2024 season was disappointing for sure, but it most definitely wasn’t boring.
Between off-the-field incidents, some bizarre situations involving big-name veterans and an opening-day scene straight out of a movie, this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill NFL season.
So then, here it is, our list of the 10 biggest Dolphins stories of 2024:
This is a pretty easy choice, no? And any quarterback missing six games with injuries would be the top story for most teams, but it’s especially so when that quarterback has the kind of injury history (particuarly with concussions) that Tua Tagovailoa. This actually was a three-part story with the concussion against Buffalo, his impressive return against the Arizona Cardinals, and then the hip injury that cost him the final two games of the 2024 season.
Making the Tua story even bigger was how much the offense struggled without him in the lineup from Week 3-7, and it sure didn’t help that the Dolphins went through three other quarterbacks during that span between Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley.
Sure, this was a massively overblown story because expectations all along should have been modest for Beckham based on his previous few seasons. But he’s a big-name player who once was among the best in the NFL at his position, and star power sells. Maybe the biggest part of this story, other than Beckham being waived at his request, was GM Chris Grier admitting the Dolphins knew that Beckham might not be ready for the start of the regular season after undergoing a knee procedure in the offseason.
Calais Campbell’s performance at the age of 37 alone was worthy of constant attention, but the drama surrounding the NFL trade deadline added an interesting twist. Campbell made no secret of the fact he still played in 2024 because he’s looking for a ring and the Dolphins were ready to trade at the deadline when they were 2-6 until Mike McDaniel insisted he be kept because he was confident a turnaround was on the horizon and Campbell would be needed. In the end, the Dolphins did turn things around, just not enough for them to get into the playoffs and keeping Campbell until the end cost him his chance at chasing a ring in the playoffs.
Beckham was one of the four players who began the regular season on the Physically Unable to Perform list and once the four — Bradley Chubb, Isaiah Wynn and Cameron Goode were the others — were eligible to return, this became a weekly watch as to when each would return to practice. In the end, all made their way back to the 53-man roster except for Chubb.
What happened with Tyreek Hill being detained by police for speeding outside of Hard Rock Stadium and thrown to the ground, and then handcuffed being placed on Campbell for stopping to see how he could help always will rank as one of the wildest game-day incidents in Dolphins history.
For all the talk of the Dolphins not making their players more accountable, the team sure didn’t play games with linebacker David Long Jr. After he was voted a team captain at the start of his second season with the team, the veteran first was demoted in favor of Anthony Walker Jr. and later waive when the Dolphins claimed fellow linebacker Tyrel Dodson. It was quite the fall from grace.
Injuries are a part of the NFL, but the Dolphins caught a really, really bad break during the week of Tagovailoa’s return when team MVP Zach Sieler caught a finger in the eye and caused an injury serious enough that he was forced to miss two games. Perhaps not coincidentally, the defense didn’t hold up its end in either of those two games against Arizona and the Buffalo Bills and the Dolphins lost despite strong efforts by Tagovailoa and the offense.
Yeah, that Shaq Barrett saga was something. He pretty much was forgotten by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, everyone now OK with the idea he had decided to abruptly retire before the start of training camp after signing with the Dolphins in the offseason. But then Barrett decided he indeed wanted to resume playing, with the Dolphins forced to make a quick decision on whether they activate him, keep him on the Retired list or waive him so he could sign with another team. The Dolphins choose a combination of B and C, making him a bit before waiving him (with a non-injury settlement likely involving some reimbursement of his signing bonus money).
For the last story, we bypassed the bizarre Blake Ferguson saga that ended with him sidelined for the final 12 games after his coaches kept telling the media the long-snapper likely would return at some point in favor of the sad story of Jaelan Phillips seeing his hard work to come back from an Achilles tendon injury go to waste with an unfortunate misstep in the Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans that resulted in a torn ACL.
Miami, FL
Miami residents sue over land for Trump presidential library
A group of Miami residents has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and the state of Florida over a land giveaway for his proposed presidential library.
Almost three acres of prime waterfront land that once belonged to Miami Dade College (MDC) was illegally gifted to the US president by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, the lawsuit states.
It cites the domestic emoluments clause of the US constitution that prohibits a sitting president from receiving any personal gain, profit or advantage from their position.
The action was brought in US district court for the southern district of Florida by the Washington DC-based Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) on behalf of plaintiffs including an MDC student, a Miami non-profit, and residents, who state the land “is no longer available to serve MDC’s student community and downtown Miami”.
Instead, the filing states, “the land will house a Trump hotel that brings riches to the President”.
Plans for the “gaudy” project were unveiled in March, to be built next to Miami’s iconic Freedom Tower, the historical landmark and community art museum. A giant golden statue of the president will stand before a 50-story tower block that will feature the controversial $400m Boeing “flying palace” jumbo jet gifted to him by Qatar, but not yet in service, in its cavernous lobby.
At the time, Trump said the building was “most likely going to be a hotel”.
The land on which it will sit, the lawsuit said, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Rather than prevent President Trump from using the gifted land for personal gain, Florida … required that the conveyed land include only ‘components of a Presidential library, museum, and/or center’, leaving the door open for the President to develop the property in any way he sees fit,” the CAC said in a statement.
The library has already been the subject of one lawsuit that claimed MDC trustees, most of them handpicked by DeSantis, erred by originally handing the land to the state in September during an unadvertised meeting with no public discussion.
The board held a do-over in December, and voted unanimously to proceed with the transfer.
The Guardian has contacted the Trump Presidential Library Foundation and DeSantis’s office for comment.
Miami, FL
Inter Miami CF scores three late goals to defeat FC Cincinnati, 5-3
To no one’s surprise, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF engaged in a scorefest May 13 at TQL Stadium.
A hat trick by one of the best goalscorers in the history of the game, Lionel Messi, sparked Miami to a 5-3 win. Miami scored three times from the 79th minute on to come from behind.
A sellout crowd of 25,513 witnessed the showdown, the club’s sixth home sellout of the season.
FC Cincinnati falls to 4-5-4, staying at 16 points, taking its first loss since April 4 at Red Bull New York. Miami improves to 7-2-4 for 25 points, improving to 7-1-1 on the road this season. Miami moved into second place in the Eastern Conference behind Nashville. Cincinnati started the night tied for fifth but could drop depending on games later on.
Second half highlights as FC Cincinnati squandered a late lead
Cincinnati took a 3-2 lead in the 64th minute.
Evander fired a rocket from the top of the 18 into the top left corner. Deneky passed ahead to him, then he maneuvered around two defenders, and no one stepped up to him. It is Evander’s seventh goal of the season.
Miami tied it in the 80th minute, 3-3.
After a Cincy turnover, Rodrigo De Paul quickly found Messi in transition, who delivered to Mateo Silvetti. Silvetti, playing his first game in a month, maneuvered in space and scored from the top of the box for his fourth of the season.
Miami took a 4-3 lead in the 83rd. A Messi free kick from 35 yds was saved by Cincy keeper Roman Celentano. He collided with Andrei Chirila, which knocked the ball out of his hands. Miami’s German Berterame pounced on the rebound to give Miami the lead, his fourth goal of the season.
Chirila landed hard after the collision and was taken out of the game.
Miami took a 5-3 lead when Messi made a sliding shot after a cross from Silvetti. The ball went off the post, then off Roman Celentano, who was on his stomach trying to get the ball, then in. Messi was credited with the goal and a hat trick.
FC Cincinnati took a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute.
Pavel Bucha scored from close range. He took a crossing pass from Bryan Ramirez after Denkey found him on the left side in transition.
It was Bucha’s second goal of the MLS season and the second assist for Ramirez. Bucha was hit in the head late in the first half and examined by trainers, but stayed in the game.
Moments later, Messi had a free kick from 30 yards saved by Celentano.
Messi scored again in the 56th minute to tie it, 2-2. He had a nice give-and-go with Rodrigo De Paul, who dribbled near the end line and crossed to him from the right side. Messi was unmarked and scored easily from near the penalty spot.
In the 62nd minute, Luis Suarez missed an open shot that Celentano saved, set up by a quick transition by Miami.
Miami ended with 17 shots to 10 for Cincinnati, six on target. After an even first half, Miami controlled the expected-goals mark, with 4 to 1.6 for the home team.
First half highlights
Messi scored from close range in the 24th off a turnover by Matt Miazga. Miazga tried to pass to a teammate on the side but the pass went straight to Messi.
He had a goal in the fifth minute waved off by offsides.
In the 32nd minute, Cincinnati won a corner kick, which Evander placed right in front of the goal line but the ball was cleared away.
In the 42nd minute, a Kevin Denkey penalty kick tied it up. Denkey drew the PK after collecting a good pass into the box by Pavel Bucha and being grabbed by Gonzalo Lujan. Denkey converted for his team-high eighth goal of the season.
The first half was tied 1-1 and virtually even on statistics. Both sides had seven shots, one on goal, and 1.1 expected goals. Neither keeper made a save.
What’s next for FC Cincinnati?
Cincinnati heads to the West Coast to play San Diego FC 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16. It is the first meeting between the teams. San Diego, 3-5-4 for 13 points, was set to play Austin later May 13. Cincinnati will leave for California on May 14.
Miami, FL
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