The Contest is Over!

Well the Dolphins have reportedly agreed to terms with drafted Tackle, Andrew Gardner. The terms have not yet been disclosed, but I believe it was for 'free use of the weight room and 5 meals a week'.

More importantly than what he's getting paid, is that we can now finally officially end contest # 2!

Very good timing since contest # 3 is coming up in the not too distant future!

So, without further ado, let's do this:

CONTEST # 2 - "THE SPRING FLING"

1. Let's start with an easy one. Jake Long wears the number 77 for the Dolphins. He also wore this number at Michigan. But in OTAs in 2008, he started with a different number. What was it? (2 points) Answer: #79. The number 77 was originally worn by Drew Mormino who was waived after the start of OTAs in 2008 after he failed his physical.

2. Let's see if you've been following/reading with a keen eye. Ted Ginn, Jr was drafted in 2007 to bring 'family' values and special teams prowess to the Dolphins. How many special teams touchdowns has Tedd Ginn had called back by officials in his NFL career, and how many special teams TDs has he had stand? We are looking for two numbers here, so make sure you type them in the right order or label them. (4 points) Answer: For this question I accepted two different answers. If you put 4/1 or 5/1 you got the points. That's right, this guy is an elite return specialist, as long as he doesn't have any blockers drawing penalties.

3. Who will be the next rookie signed by the Dolphins? (6 points) Answer: Andrew Gardner. Quite a few people got this one right.

4. The Dolphins have another OTA open to the media next week. This means another Tony Sparano press conference. Sparano is known for using 3 or 4 phrases several times in his 20 minute sessions. Multiple choice question: Which phrase will Sparano use the most? (4 points) Choose one:
a. "one way or another"
b. "at the end of the day"
c. "starting to feel"
d. "with that being said"
Answer: D. "with that being said" Sparano was impressively cliche-free for most of the interview, but he did say this one 3 times.

5. The Dolphins tied 2 NFL records in 2008. Name them. (4 points) Answer: 1. Least turnovers in a 16 game season. They tied the Giants, but then in the playoffs it all came undone. 2. Best turnaround in NFL history, ten games. tied the Colts.

6. There are 3 current Miami Dolphins that were Wildcats in College. Name them. (6 points)
Answer: This was a trick question. There were actually FIVE Wildcats: Tearrius George, Lionel Dotson, JD Folsom, Ike Ndukwe, and Jared Bronson.

7. The dude below is a Miami Dolphin. Name him. (5 points)
Answer: Well I feel bad because I think I jinxed him, but this was the now former Dolphin, Todd Lowber. I was shocked only 3 people got this one right. But don't worry, he was cut days after becoming question # 7, so you don't need to recognize him anyway.

8. "We're in the air, We're on the ground, we're always in control, and when you say Miami, you're talking Super Bowl, cause we're the Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins number one!" This fight song came into being before the 1972 season. How many games did the Dolphins win in the first two years of its use? (2 points) Answer: This was also a slightly tricky question. The Dolphins won the SuperBowl in both years and more than a few of you tripped up on that assuming that the records did not include the playoffs. Though these days we never say the Bears went 17-1, or the Dolphins went 11-6, back then they counted all the games. 17-0 and 15-2 were the final records, including playoffs/super bowl. So the answer was 32.

As an extra tribute to the song that Jimmy Buffet recently called 'god-awful' while singing the 89th verse of Daquiri-ville, one of our contestants actually owns the original record and was kind enough to send in a couple of photos. He bought it in 1972. Looks like he played it once, thought it was god awful, then put it away for the last 27 years.

9. Bryan Clay is the reigning Olympic Champion in the Decathlon. Great job, Bryan! But there's a Miami Dolphin who can jump higher than him. In fact, he registered the second highest vertical jump ever recorded at a pro-football test (i.e combine/pro day). Name this player. (3 points) Answer: The answer is Cameron Wake. He posted a 45.5" vertical, which was more than Chris Chambers

10. Which member of the Miami Dolphins Staff has not used his real name in over 50 years? (6 points)
Answer: I was worried this was too easy of a question but I was shocked by how many people don't know this one.
Bill Parcells' real name is Duane Charles. He was mistakenly called Bill by a teacher repeatedly, and he decided he liked the sound of it and has used it ever since.

TIE-BREAKER QUESTION

11. Tin's Fins is nearing 5 months on the 'net. I like to think of myself as having created almost all of the pre-draft buzz about Connor Barwin in Miami Dolphins'land. I did such a good job that Houston drafted him. The most visits ever recorded in one day was when I posted video of Connor Barwin's pro day workout. I can say with near-complete confidence I was the only Dolphin blogger to do so, and as a result, the article was linked to by a couple of much more well-known blogs. For the tie-breaker, without going over, guess how many hits that one article received on that one day.
Answer: 816 unique visitors in the first day. It's no longer the most-visited article all-time, but it still holds the record for most-visited in one day.


And the winner is...drumroll...UKFINFAN!! (37)

Once he converts his prize money into pounds it's about 75 pence, but good job anyway!

Second was C-Holmes! (34)

Third was a tie, but with the tie-breaker the prize goes to Gina_C! (30 + tie-breaker guess of 577)

Honorable mention to Canamdolphin. (30 - tiebreaker guess of 1500).

I will have the prizes out by the end of the day. Thanks to everyone who participated and a warning to all of you, the next one is going to be a DOOZY!