Congratulations, Miami Dolphins!

Almost beyond belief, the amazing Miami Dolphins, who almost went winless last year at 1-15, went on the road against the Brett Favre-led New York Jets and won 24-17 a few hours ago, clinching the AFC East championship for the 2008 National Football League season. And they did it with quarterback Chad Pennington, whom the Jets had released after signing Favre. The final Dolphin regular season record was 11 wins and 5 losses, which was the same as their arch-rival New England Patriots. The Dolphins won the division, though, because of their better record within the division. And joy of all joys, the Patriots, my least favorite team in football, was eliminated from making the playoffs as a wild-card team when the Baltimore Ravens secured that last spot with a victory over Jacksonville.

Speaking of the Baltimore Ravens, it’s funny how one team will seem to repeatedly get entangled with another in a fateful way. For example, consider these points:

--The last time Miami made the playoffs (2001), the team they played was Baltimore (losing to them 20-3).

--Late last season, it looked as if Miami would go the entire season without a win. Until they pulled out an improbable close victory over who else but: the Baltimore Ravens!

--Last year’s Dolphins head coach was Cam Cameron. After Bill Parcells was hired into Miami Dolphins management, he decided to replace Cameron with Tony Sparano from the Dallas Cowboys. Cameron was in turn hired as the offensive coordinator for who else but: the Baltimore Ravens!

--Earlier this year, Miami played at home against Baltimore (and Cameron), losing 27-13. At the time, that put their record at 2-4. Miami then won nine out of their next ten games to pull out the AFC East title.

--Next week, Miami will play their first (and hopefully not their last) playoff game against who else but: the Baltimore Ravens!

Parcells, Sparano, and company succeeded by mixing mistake-free play, some special razzle-dazzle playmaking, and a disciplined, professional approach to the game. The Dolphins showed a lot of guts by pulling out several close games, some of them come-from-behind victories. They were also fortunate with few serious injuries to their players (as opposed to the Patriots, who lost star quarterback Tom Brady for the duration of the season). Although Miami had their stars (like Ronnie Brown, Joey Porter, and Ricky Williams), they played with the spirit of a team united as a force to be reckoned with.

Win or lose next week, this is a team that is fun to follow!