Monday’s Morning Links:

Miami Taps Golden To Be Their Next Head Coach: The Miami Hurricanes named Al Golden to be their next head football coach yesterday. While I realize that some Miami fans might be wondering why they chose Temple’s coach to rebuild their program, I think they made a fine choice. Yes Miami and Temple have basically nothing in common when it comes to football and recruiting, but I think Golden will do well there. He is a young passionate coach who demands excellence in the classroom and on the football field. With his level of accountability the Hurricanes should have any collapses like they have in the past. Golden’s biggest challenge will be convincing all of Miami’s recruits (and any players that want to transfer) that this ‘no-named’ coach can lead the Hurricanes back to glory.

Jets Trip A Dolphins Player, But End Up Flat On Their Face: This was one of the most despicable things we have seen in the NFL in quite sometime. A member of the Jets coaching staff tripped a Dolphins player on his way down the sideline to cover a punt. Really?? I mean what are you thinking? Do you really think none of the cameras will be able to see what happened? Or that it is ‘part of the game’? I mean cheap shots are bad enough when it is player on player, but when coaches are doing stuff like that it is inexcusable. That trip could have seriously injured the player, and there is just no place in the game for that. If players get fined $40K for a helmet to helmet hit or hitting a defenseless receiver, I think a similar discipline should occur here. If he isn’t out right suspended or fired, he should face a hefty fine. The only good thing to come out of it is the Dolphins ended up to hold on to win the game, in a bit of Karma.

Cliff Lee To Make A Decision This Week: While the rumors are swirling in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes I do believe the reports that a decision is coming. It makes sense for Lee to finalize his deal before Christmas, and it wouldn’t shock me if we know within 72 hours. It looks to be down to the Rangers and Yankees, although there is a ‘mystery team’ in the mix. Also, while the Nationals appear to be out of it, you never know how quickly a team can come back into the race in one of these situations. In the end though I think it comes down to the Yankees or Rangers. While all along I’ve assumed it to be the Yankees, it does seem like the Rangers are gaining significant ground where it could go either way. Right now I’ll stick with saying the Yankees get it done, but my confidence level in that statement is pretty low.