Jason Taylor

Yesterday was the final game of Jason Taylor's career. The longtime Dolphin, who also played with the Redskins and Jets, decided that 15 seasons were enough, and was carried off the field by his teammates in Miami yesterday after 230 games, 578 tackles, and 139.5 sacks. No player has sacked Tom Brady more often than Taylor, who finished his career with 11.5 sacks of his friend, Brady (and also with 6.5 of Drew Bledsoe), and Bill Belichick respected Taylor's play so much that he tried more than once to get him to sign with New England, but it never worked out. Both Belichick and Brady...

MIAMI —The New York Jets will sit out the playoffs, and that's guaranteed. The Jets failed to fulfill coach Rex Ryan's pledge to win a Super Bowl title, with Sunday's 19-17 loss at Miami eliminating them from the chase for an AFC wild-card berth. Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions, the last coming with the Jets threatening to take a late lead. They gave up six third-down conversions during the Dolphins' 21-play, 94-yard drive for their only touchdown. The Jets (8-8)

FOXBOROUGH -- If respect for an opponent can be measured in silence, then the taciturnity of Patriots left tackle Matt Light yesterday spoke volumes about his for Miami defensive end and Patriots nemesis Jason Taylor. Perhaps wary of providing bulletin board material for Taylor, Light elected not to talk to reporters when approached. It was the first time all week the Patriots didn't want to talk about Taylor. Coach Bill Belichick has been showering praise on the four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Yesterday was the final game of Jason Taylor's career. The longtime Dolphin, who also played with the Redskins and Jets, decided that 15 seasons were enough, and was carried off the field by his teammates in Miami yesterday after 230 games, 578 tackles, and 139.5 sacks. No player has sacked Tom Brady more often than Taylor, who finished his career with 11.5 sacks of his friend, Brady (and also with 6.5 of Drew Bledsoe), and Bill Belichick respected Taylor's play so much that he tried more than once to get him to sign with New England, but it never worked out. Both Belichick and Brady...

Black Swan Green By David Mitchell Random House, 294 pp., $23.95 David Mitchell is a writer of high-wire literary feats who disdains any kind of structural safety net. Twice nominated for the Man Booker Prize, he can balance multiple points of view, huge expanses of time, and shifting locales like a prize juggler. His celebrated "Cloud Atlas" thrilled legions of reviewers and triggered proclamations of genius. With his fourth novel, the virtuoso "Black Swan Green," Mitchell clinches the most versatile crown as he narrows his scope to the world in a grain of mustard...

Kurt Warner is being courted by an eager division rival of the Arizona Cardinals. The San Francisco 49ers sent a private jet yesterday for the two-time MVP quarterback, who traveled from Phoenix to the 49ers' training complex in Santa Clara, Calif., for a physical and a meeting with top brass. Warner led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl last season but became a free agent when he didn't re-sign with the club. Arizona has offered a two-year, $20 million contract to Warner, who will be 38 when training camp opens.

MIAMI - The Miami Dolphins acted as though they'd never won a game before. When Greg Camarillo turned a short completion into a 64-yard touchdown in overtime, the bench quickly cleared, with players sprinting en masse to the end zone to mob their teammate. The stunning play made the Dolphins a winner for the first time in more than a year, 22-16 over the Baltimore Ravens, ensuring they'll avoid the first 0-16 season in NFL history. "I'm just glad no one is going to be talking about the winless season," Camarillo said after making just his fourth catch all season.

DAVIE, Fla. - Cam Cameron was still smiling yesterday, with good reason. Sure, his Miami Dolphins own the NFL's worst record. Cameron's job security is a hot topic, the team is apparently for sale, and a game with unbeaten New England awaits Sunday in chilly Foxborough, Mass. Yet after 13 weeks of frustration and disappointment, the Dolphins finally got a win - and even though yesterday was a day to start prepping for the Patriots, Cameron certainly seemed like he was savoring this one. "I can't remember getting so many hugs from...

MIAMI — Braylon Edwards spent the first quarter on the sideline. Soon enough, he was dancing in the end zone for the New York Jets. Benched at the start because of a drunken-driving arrest, Edwards turned a short pass into a 67-yard touchdown, and the Jets beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-23, last night. Mark Sanchez threw three touchdown passes for the second week in a row, and the Jets forged a three-way tie atop the AFC East with the Dolphins and Patriots. All are 2-1. There were cheers for LeBron James, jeers for Jason Taylor, and mostly silence for...

Booed and despised by Jets fans for years, Jason Taylor is now on their side. The former Dolphins linebacker agreed to terms with the AFC East-rival New York Jets on a two-year contract yesterday, according to a person familiar with the deal. It’s another bold offseason move by New York that bolsters the league’s No. 1 defense with a fierce pass rusher. “My expectation is that Jason will be a Jet tomorrow,’’ coach Rex Ryan said during a conference call.

Jason Taylor stood at his 10-yard line, motioning with both arms to coax more noise from the crowd as the Miami Dolphins tried to hang on to a late lead. It was Taylor's way of waving goodbye. His penetration on the next play harried Mark Sanchez into an interception that helped seal the victory, and Miami eliminated the New York Jets from playoff contention by winning 19-17 Sunday. Taylor, the NFL's active sacks leader, played his final game in a 15-year career. He didn't add to his sack total of 139 ½, but he lined up at tailback for the final two plays as the Dolphins ran out...

MIAMI (AP) —The New York Jets will sit out the playoffs, and that's guaranteed. The Jets failed to fulfill coach Rex Ryan's pledge to win a Super Bowl title, with Sunday's 19-17 loss at Miami eliminating them from the chase for an AFC wild-card berth. Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions, the last coming with the Jets threatening to take a late lead. They gave up six third-down conversions during the Dolphins' 21-play, 94-yard drive for their only touchdown. The Jets (8-8)

The Miami Dolphins are winless. Soon, coach Tony Sparano could be jobless. The NFL is a cruel, bottom-line business. Miami dropped its third straight game to start the season Sunday with a 17-16 loss to Cleveland, whose offense sputtered all day before quarterback Colt McCoy drove the Browns 80 yards in the final minutes, throwing a 14-yard touchdown to wide receiver Mo Massaquoi with 43 seconds left. The Dolphins (0-3) needed a win to take some heat off Sparano. Instead, the pressure intensified.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Despite getting considerably outgained, the Dolphins were a half-yard from pulling within a touchdown of the Patriots in the fourth quarter last night. But a fourth-down pass from the 1-yard line sailed high, and on the next play, Wes Welker delivered a crushing touchdown, taking a Tom Brady pass 99 yards to all but obliterate the Dolphins' chances at a comeback with 5:44 left. Said Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, "I told [Brady] after the game that he threw the ball well and they made plays but the thing is, we had chances to be...

MIAMI — Braylon Edwards spent the first quarter on the sideline. Soon enough, he was dancing in the end zone for the New York Jets. Benched at the start because of a drunken-driving arrest, Edwards turned a short pass into a 67-yard touchdown, and the Jets beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-23, last night. Mark Sanchez threw three touchdown passes for the second week in a row, and the Jets forged a three-way tie atop the AFC East with the Dolphins and Patriots. All are 2-1. There were cheers for LeBron James, jeers for Jason Taylor, and mostly silence...

Booed and despised by Jets fans for years, Jason Taylor is now on their side. The former Dolphins linebacker agreed to terms with the AFC East-rival New York Jets on a two-year contract yesterday, according to a person familiar with the deal. It’s another bold offseason move by New York that bolsters the league’s No. 1 defense with a fierce pass rusher. “My expectation is that Jason will be a Jet tomorrow,’’ coach Rex Ryan said during a conference call.

MIAMI -- They're all the same when they get hit too much. Tom Brady is better than most quarterbacks when it comes to being patient, avoiding mistakes, and giving his team a chance to win no matter what the situation, but when you get knocked around the way he was being knocked around last night at Semi-Pro Player Park, there's not much you can do but hope for the best and accept the consequences. Last night the consequences were four interceptions, including back-to-back ones on the final two drives.

MIAMI -- Oops. OK, so the big game Jan. 23 will be in Pittsburgh, after all. I mean, that's all we really care about, isn't it? Of course, if the Patriots don't play better than this against the Jets next Sunday, and, God forbid, against the 49ers the week after that, they'll never last long enough to see the Steelers. This is a team that got what it deserved last night. And that was a shocking 29-28 loss to the Miami Dolphins, who scored twice after falling behind by a 28-17 score with 3:59 remaining to pull off one of the big upsets of the NFL season.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - If this season’s been a little weird in New England, then what happened yesterday makes all the sense in the world. The Patriots established themselves as the favorite in the AFC East. Without playing. First, you can forget about Buffalo, which took a 10-6 halftime lead at home and promptly blew it in a 31-10 loss to visiting Houston. Second, even after what became an exciting game at the Meadowlands, the Jets and Dolphins left with more questions than they possibly could have arrived with.

Kurt Warner is being courted by an eager division rival of the Arizona Cardinals. The San Francisco 49ers sent a private jet yesterday for the two-time MVP quarterback, who traveled from Phoenix to the 49ers' training complex in Santa Clara, Calif., for a physical and a meeting with top brass. Warner led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl last season but became a free agent when he didn't re-sign with the club. Arizona has offered a two-year, $20 million contract to Warner, who will be 38 when training camp opens.