Totally Random

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Trash talk in the NFL never ends. After the Miami Dolphins defeated the Denver Broncos, 26-17, on Sunday, Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter called Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall “soft,” someone who will “mope and cry” if he doesn’t get the football.

Tuesday, Marshall issued a response to reporters huddled around his locker.

‘Yeah, Joey Porter’s one of them guys, when you got guys who talk a lot of trash, just want to talk about people or put people down, they have their own insecurities,’ Marshall said. ‘And his insecurities I don’t know. ... All those muscles are popcorn muscles. He’s soft.

‘You know, we hear stories floating around the league all the time about him as far [as being] in nightclubs dancing with his shirt off like a girl or in the playground getting beat up back in California.

‘He’s one of those guys that no matter how big he is, he can still get knocked on his butt and he’s soft. He’s soft at heart and you can tell by the way he talks.

‘And his nickname is ‘Peezy.’ I don’t know what ‘Peezy’ is.’

Any guesses?

Trivia time

Greg Maddux won another Gold Glove on Wednesday, meaning he will probably retire with a record 18 of the fielding excellence awards. Maddux received his first Gold Glove in 1990, failing only once to win the award since then. Who interrupted Maddux’s streak and when?

Where’s the romance?

Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon embarks on a honeymoon with his second wife on Monday, a trip that will include stops in Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic. There, Maddon hopes to achieve a goal: Being recognized because of his association with the Rays.

‘I’m hoping to be recognized in Europe,’ Maddon told the Associated Press, ‘because that would truly indicate the Tampa Bay Rays have arrived on the continent. That was one of my goals prior to the season.’

He also said he wanted to see somebody wearing Rays gear. ‘And I shall take a photograph,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask that person to pose.’

Maddon might have to wait a long time. Unless he brings some Rays gear and bribery, er, enticement funds. Art lovers, be warned: Maddon says he would love to put a Rays cap on the head of the statue of David.

Lost weekend?

How low can the football played in the state of Washington go?

Last weekend, for the first time in 60 years, Washington and Washington State were shut out on the same day. Washington lost, 56-0, to USC and incredibly kept things closer than Washington State did against Stanford. The Cougars lost to the Cardinal, 58-0.

That dropped the Huskies and Cougars to a combined 1-16 for the season. They plod along on a track that leads to their Nov. 21 meeting in Pullman, where Washington could potentially be winless and a double-digit favorite over Washington State.

Long live the Apple Cup!

‘A rotten apple, I guess,’ Washington center Juan Garcia told the Associated Press.

Trivia answer

Mike Hampton in 2003.

To know or no?

From Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Marion Jones didn’t know there was something fishy in the ‘flaxseed oil’ coach Trevor Graham gave her? That’s like Bonnie saying she thought Clyde was using his ATM card to make all those bank withdrawals.’

-- Mike Penner

quarter of the Dolphins’ 26-17 victory Sunday. Credit: David Zalubowski / Associated Press