'Tis Christmas eve. On this night, Cubans celebrate Noche Buena, which translated means Good Night. It is the night we believe Mary and Joseph settled in to the manger at the Inn and prepared for the birth of baby Jesus, who is the Christ.
It is a time for glad tidings and festive wishes. We also eat a lot and I plan to do much damage at my in-laws' house. Tomorrow we'll have Christmas dinner at my house. I hope yours is a joyous holiday.
Meanwhile, these are my Christmas wishes for the Miami Dolphins and Dolfans everywhere:
A week of open practices so I can judge for myself how much or how little Pat Turner is progressing.
More screen passes. Remember those?
Better touch passing for Chad Henne.
Better accuracy for Chad Henne.
Better protection for Chad Henne.
Better weapons around Chad Henne.
More of Jason Taylor on passing downs.
Less of Joey Porter on run downs.
Fewer sideline patterns for Ted Ginn. He finds the sideline often enough as is.
More recevier screens with Greg Camaillo running hard for six yards.
A shovel pass every once in a while.
A Pat White completed pass every once in a while.
A Gibril Wilson intercepted pass every once in a while.
A Nathan Jones corner blitz. Remember those?
More tackles for Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele at the line of scrimmage.
Fewer tackles for Yeremiah Bell five yards from the line of scrimmage.
Stability on the offensive line.
An offseason shakeup at WR.
An impact play or two for Kendall Langford.
Double-digit sacks for Randy Starks.
That Pro Bowl berth that follows double-digit sacks for Starks.
More playing time for Brian Hartline.
Fewer fumbles for Davone Bess, who leads the team with six.
A tight end that can eat up the seam route and catch the ball between a linebacker and safety.
A tight end that makes the other team's safeties seem overmatched.
A wide receiver that averages 16 yards per reception.
The same receiver having 82 receptions. (Do the math).
The death of the Orange Carpet.
The rebirth of the Flipper tank.
Cheerleader calendars that aren't rated R.
National anthems sung loud and proud at every game.
Military flyovers at every game.
Victory for the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not a tie. Not a respectful retreat. Victory!
Peace in everyone's heart.
More Miami players that talk the talk ...
... and then walk the walk.
Visiting Jets fans that know when to shut up.
Jets teams that aren't pompous ... even after getting swept.
A rematch with the Patriots ... in this year's playoffs.
A chance to avenge this season's 31-14 loss to Buffalo ... by playing the Bills in next season's AFC title game.
A speedy recovery for Ronnie Brown.
And Jason Ferguson.
And Patrick Cobbs.
And Chad Pennington.
And Will Allen.
All the privacy Ricky Williams so covets ... after he retires.
More attention and appreciation for Tony Sparano, because it's not all about Bill Parcells.
More time for Parcells in that darkened film room, because he loves it there.
More time for Parcells in that white bright afterglow of a Super Bowl victory, because he loves it there even more.
And finally, one request for myself: A sign from Heaven that my mom and dad are pleased with me and are waiting to see me up there some day.
Merry Christmas, my friends.
