Miami Dolphins end distraction, ditch the ping-pong table; 'problem solved' | KEN WILLIS

Ping Pong Table (free to good home)

Miami Gardens

The above Craigslist offering hasn’t actually been posted yet, but depending on how Sunday goes, you might find it listed Monday morning.

Professional football players, by definition, are very good at football. Given the need for many of them to have excellent hand-eye coordination, you assume many of them are also pretty good at ping pong.

Turns out, however, those two endeavors are a bad mix. Could cost you a couple ballgames.

Or so the thinking goes down south, where the Miami Dolphins lost their quarterback, then their backup quarterback, two straight football games, and now, in some sort of sacrifice to the Win-Loss gods, they’ve put away the ping-pong table.

Apparently, receiver Tyreek Hill was the ringleader in exposing the detrimental nature of table tennis, as it’s known in proper circles.

“Tyreek and the captains decided that they wanted to take a step forward with all their opponent prep, with regard to the team and with their preparation with our game plans in general,” began head coach Mike McDaniel.

“So he made the move to take the ping-pong table out of the locker room. That, to me, is leadership.”

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McDaniel’s wonkish nature and droll sense of humor naturally make you think he might be joking.

Nope. Apparently not.

“To me,” he continued, “leadership is acting, not talking. There's a bunch of different examples from those guys and that's why they're captains. That's why we rely on them.”

When they see a problem, by golly, they roll it out to the curb. You’ll notice, however, no 85-inch Samsungs were cast aside. The leather furniture and barber shop also stay.

McDaniel had more to say, and again, there’s no evidence to suggest he’s having a good laugh at our expense. At least not yet. Please let this be parody.

“. . . It's about solving problems, not complaining about them,” the coach continued. “They collectively as a group of players wanted more time investment during the week on their jobs for Sunday.

“So instead of just saying it, they did something about it and that's the whole reason that I really have a lot of love for those guys.”

It was just over 50 years ago when President Richard Nixon gave us the term “Ping Pong Diplomacy,” which involved the U.S. sending a table tennis delegation to the long-closed Republic of China.

And exactly 50 years ago when Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China. Also 50 years ago when China returned the favor and sent its own table tennis group to play in the U.S.

And finally, yes, it was also 50 years ago when the Miami Dolphins put together an undefeated season and won the first of two straight Super Bowls.

Seems to me the current Dolphins are toying with the karma gods.

The Picks

It’s been a long time coming, but important October football has returned to Knoxville. Josh Huepel has turned around the Vols, who are currently ranked sixth in the nation, riding a high-speed offense, and all they have to do to keep it rolling is something they’ve never, ever done.

They have to beat Alabama while Nick Saban is standing on the sideline. We’re not talking about a handful of games. As head coach at ’Bama, Saban is 15-0 against the Vols and six different UT coaches.

The Vols also have to face the Tide a week after they shoulda/coulda lost to Texas A&M, which means Saban had no problem getting everyone’s attention this week.

We’re big on trends around here, and if 15-0 isn’t a trend, what is? Also, a few longtime Rocky Toppin’ friends are convinced a certain whammy goes along with being picked (by a certain someone) to win big football games.

This one is for them — ’Bama over the Vols by 7.

• Elsewhere: Florida by 2 over LSU; Michigan beats Penn State; Ole Miss over Auburn; Clemson comfortably over FSU; Miami beats Virginia Tech; Notre Dame by 12 over Stanford; Utah mildly upsets Southern Cal; Mississippi State beats Kentucky; TCU over Oklahoma State; and in the annual tilt between two small private Minnesota schools, the Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus by 8 over the Hamline Pipers.

BTW: Some 400 years ago, ol’ Gus was the beloved king of Sweden who inherited three ongoing wars from his dad, Charlie, and was eventually killed in one of them.

Every Nov. 6, the date of his death, Swedes gather and celebrate Gustavus Adolphus Day while eating pastries with his chocolate likeness adorning the top. You’ve got a few weeks to find a proper recipe, but prepare to learn more than you ever cared to know about marzipan.

— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Miami Dolphins lose Tua, Teddy . . . and now table tennis! | KEN WILLIS