Free Republic

Two Franciscana dolphins were ripped from the waves near an Argentinan resort last week, then manhandled to shore, where they were passed around a clutching mob seeking cute selfie moments. In the process, at least one of the intelligent, playful cetaceans died from the experience. Franciscana, or La Plata, dolphins are unable to spend as long out of the water as their larger brethren. “At least one of these dolphins suffered a horrific, traumatic and utterly unnecessary death, for the sake of a few photographs,” a spokesperson from the World Animal Protection group told ABC in Australia, condemning the despicable...

Houston ship pilot Lou Vest has a knack for snapping pics at just the right moment

After 12 weeks of the NFL season, the New England Patriots are still the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl. Using Nate Silver's "2015 NFL Predictions," a model that rates each team and then projects how the regular season and playoffs will play out, we can get a better sense of which teams are the true Super Bowl contenders. Heading into Week 13, the New England Patriots are still the favorite with a 28% chance to win the Super Bowl, down from 33% a week ago. The Carolina Panthers (20%) are the favorite in the NFC. In fact, according...

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh disregarded play calls from defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle in the team’s loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, reports the Miami Herald. By “freelancing” at times, Suh created confusion on the Dolphins defensive line, the Herald reports.

Bill Arnsparger designed the first four Miami Dolphins Super Bowl defenses – the No Name Defense of the three 1970s Super teams and The Killer Bs that carried the 1982 Dolphins into the Super Bowl. Of the first eight Super Bowls, five had defenses with Arnsparger’s fingerprints.

'I've never seen this before': How a family outing took 'totally bizarre' turn after dolphin lands in boat, breaks woman's ankles. For a few moments, it was pure bliss as dolphins swam alongside the Frickman family’s small boat, leaping toward the sky and doing flips. The Frickman family had been enjoying a sunny afternoon June 21 – the first day of summer, Father’s Day and also Dirk and Chrissie Frickman’s 18th wedding anniversary – when they came across the pod of dolphins as they were heading back to the Dana Point Harbor. Tristan, 12, and Courtney, 16, edged toward the...

Word on the street is Miami Dolphins reserve defensive tackle A.J. Francis has good acceleration, an excellent motor and a high ceiling in his 2014 Dodge Charger. He's an Uber driver. Francis is under contract to earn $510,000 this year in his third NFL season, but paychecks don't start coming until July, and it's uncertain he'll make the team. He wanted some extra spending money, so in April he became a driver for hire with Uber, making $40 to $50 an hour. "I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket," Francis said following the Dolphins' offseason practice Monday. "Where...

The Niners acquired Martin last March in a deal with Miami. Martin had left the Dolphins in October 2013 after accusing teammate Richie Incognito of bullying...Martin started seven games at right tackle last season in place of injured Anthony Davis. He struggled in that role and allowed 7 1/2 sacks

The Miami Dolphins have reportedly agreed to a massive contract that will land them the most prized free agent of the NFL offseason: former Detroit Lions star Ndamukong Suh.

Why shouldn't this man be (or have been) allowed to marry his dolphin sweetheart? After all, it's only "love" that matters in holy matrimony, not building a family and a safe environment in which to raise kids. It's all to do with "feelings" these days, little else is important, and obviously we are here talking about the feelings of adults. (The feelings of children of anomalous families carry little weight.) Love in particular, however defined. For some people, like paedophile Oscar Wilde who was paying to have sex with working-class rent boys, the definition of love is lust. A...

Former Miami Dolphins fullback Rob Konrad apparently fell off his boat off the South Florida coast but arrived safely on shore early Thursday morning after swimming at least 10 hours and nine miles through the Atlantic Ocean waters, according to the Coast Guard. Konrad was wearing only his underwear when he approached the driveway gate of 1800 S. Ocean Blvd. and told a Palm Beach police officer working a security shift about his incredible experience, a Palm Beach police report says.

WASHINGTON – Worried about collateral damage to whales, dolphins and other marine life, environmentalists are fighting the U.S. Navy in court in a bid to protect the creatures of the sea from war games in the Pacific Ocean. "The worst harm comes from the explosives going off," said David Henkin, an attorney for EarthJustice. U.S. Navy testing and war games are underway in American waters off the coasts of California and Hawaii. The drills amount to critical practice for the military and last through 2018, but environmental groups like EarthJustice say hundreds of marine mammals will die or get injured...

Miami Dolphins' defensive end Derrick Shelby was arrested at a Fort Lauderdale nightclub after an incident that began with touching women without their permission, according to an incident report released on Monday. Also on Monday, the Dolphins suspended Shelby indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team

A group of around 30 protesters lined up outside of the Mirage today to call on the casino to release the dolphins from Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Decked out with colorful signs, activists gathered at around 5 p.m. near the casino’s main entrance off of Las Vegas Boulevard to support the Free the Mojave Dolphins campaign, which argues that keeping the dolphins at the resort amounts to trapping them unnaturally in the middle of the Mojave desert.

As expected, the suspension of Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones effectively cost him a few days of the voluntary offseason workouts. Jones, who was fined and excused from the team after tweeting "omg" and "horrible" when Michael Sam and his boyfriend kissed following Sam's selection in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, making Sam the first openly gay player in the NFL.

DAVIE, Fla. -- It has not been a banner week for Miami Dolphins players on social media. Just 48 hours after Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey found himself in hot water over recent Twitter comments, Dolphins second-year player Don Jones tweeted a controversial reaction to the St. Louis Rams drafting Michael Sam, who became the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL. Soon after Sam was drafted, Jones tweeted "OMG" and "horrible." Those tweets since have been deleted.

Russian forces completed their take over of the Ukrainian navy’s assets in Crimea with the storming of the minesweeper Cherkessy. The Ukrainian navy has been reduced to only 10 vessels, with the other 51 it held at the beginning of this month, including its only submarine, now flying the Russian flag. But of all the Ukrainian military assets Russia has seized during the annexation, none is quite as unusual as the combat dolphin program. The Soviet Union began training dolphins and other marine mammals to locate mines, mark underwater and obstacles and detect – and if necessary kill – enemy...

The report by independent investigator Ted Wells on the state of the Miami Dolphins organization was released on Friday morning after months of research, and the results are clear — offensive guard Richie Incognito did lead a systemic campaign of bullying and ridicule of not only offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, but also at least one of Incognito’s and Martin’s teammates, and at least one team employee. Wells, a partner in the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, was hired by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in early November to exhaustively investigate the Dolphins franchise from top to...

A New York mom vacationing in South Florida was expecting a healthy dose of sun, surf and fun. Imagine her surprise when her daughter unzipped a bag in their rental Nissan Rogue and found a rifle — a big rifle. Looking just like the ones real soldiers use. Horrified, she immediately called E-Z Rent-A-Car and then drove to the nearest police station.

Dolphins are said to share the human traits of bravery, jealousy and even a sense of humor. But it seems they share some worrying vices as well. Scientists were amazed at footage of the mammals apparently getting “high” with the help of a toxic puffer fish. In an extraordinary scene filmed for a new TV series, the dolphins are shown gently passing the fish between them. Experts believe the creatures are using the toxins, which emerge from the puffer fish as part of its defense mechanism, for their own enjoyment. They nudge the fish with their snouts and as the...