The goofy NFL news of the day Saturday was the renaming of the home of the Miami Dolphins after Jimmy Buffett's beer company. "Land Shark Stadium" will be the fifth different name this building has had since it opened in 1987.The stadium has an interesting history. Its $115 million construction cost was completely privately funded (imagine that!) with the help of season ticket holders who made long-term commitments in exchange for the promise of a state-of-the-art football facility. Joe Robbie, the owner of the Dolphins at the time, envisioned it as a stadium that could host baseball as well as football, and for that reason, the front-row seats are set back further from the sidelines than at traditional NFL venues.
Next February, Super Bowl XLIV will be the fifth Super Bowl this stadium has hosted -- under four of its five different names:
Joe Robbie Stadium (1987-96)
-Name Explained: Named for Joe Robbie, the Dolphins owner whose vision the stadium represented.
-First Super Bowl: XXIII, 1989. 49ers 20, Bengals 16. Remembered for Joe Montana's game-winning drive and TD pass to John Taylor. Jerry Rice was the game's MVP.
-Second Super Bowl: XXIX, 1995. 49ers 49, Chargers 26. Remembered for almost nothing. San Francisco got out quickly and won in a rout as most of the nation was focused on the O.J. Simpson trial. Steve Young passed for six touchdowns and was named the game's MVP.
-Other Notable Events: 1993, the Florida Marlins debut; 1994, stadium appears in Jim Carrey's "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"
Pro Player Park (1996)
-Name Explained: Pro Player was being launched as a sportswear division of Froot of the Loom. If not the first, this was one of the first corporate stadium naming rights deals that have since become commonplace.
-Notable Events: 1996, becomes the first venue to host the Orange Bowl other than...you know...the Orange Bowl.
Pro Player Stadium (1996-2005)
-Name Explained: The word "park" was a little too alliterative, and gave the whole thing a slightly silly feel.
-Super Bowl: XXXIII, 1999. Broncos 34, Falcons 19. Remembered for the fact that the Falcons were in it! Also for Eugene Robinson getting busted for soliciting a prostitute the night before the game. In the final game of his career, Broncos QB John Elway was named Super Bowl MVP.
-Other Notable Events: 1997 and 2003, Florida Marlins win World Series; 2001, Oklahoma defeats Florida State 13-2 for BCS Championship; 2005, USC defeats Oklahoma 55-19 for BCS Championship.
Dolphin Stadium (2006-09)
-Name Explained: The Dolphins play there. And I guess they couldn't get anybody to pay for the name anymore.
-Super Bowl: XLI, 2007. Colts 29, Bears 17. Remembered for the driving rain in which it was played, for being the first to feature two African-American head coaches and for Peyton Manning's MVP performance.
-Other Notable Events: 2009, Florida defeats Oklahoma 24-14 in BCS National Championship Game.
In weekend news from around the NFL minicamps:
NFC WEST
-Instead of practicing with his new teammates, 49ers first-round draft pick Michael Crabtree is riding a stationary bike as he continues to recover from the foot injury he swore wasn't a problem.-The Rams' new head coach, former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, is trying to be everywhere at once.
-Former Seahawk Bryce Fisher is attacking his life after football, even if it came sooner than he would have liked.
AFC WEST
-Chiefs' fifth-rounder Colin Brown says his first love was basketball, but it didn't work out.
NFC NORTH
-The drumbeat grows louder. At this point, would it even be a mild surprise to see Brett Favre in a Minnesota Vikings uniform in 2009?
AFC NORTH
-Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith is dealing with something a lot heavier than offensive linemen -- his four-year-old son has leukemia.
NFC SOUTH
-Buccaneers seventh-rounder Sammie Stroughter opened up about his struggles with depression.
AFC SOUTH
-The rookies in Titans camp are learning how much more complicated the NFL is than college football.
-The Texans have big plans for fifth-rounder James Casey, who could fill a variety of roles for them.
NFC EAST
-Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is simultaneously getting ready for the season and battling skin cancer.
AFC EAST
-The Patriots' Deon Butler relates his experience at Deion Sanders' "Prime U" training camp.
-A couple of mid-round draft picks are hoping the Dolphins' unsettled WR situation means opportunity.
-Jets owner Woody Johnson explains why he's not afraid to spend big money on star players for a franchise that's always fighting uphill, as the No. 2 team in town.
