MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. Nike React Australia . - With the Miami Dolphins at 7-7 and all but eliminated from the playoffs, defensive tackle Jared Odrick talked about playing out the season.Were on a team thats .500, he said. If you dont believe that youre a .500 team, you have to go out there and prove it. Weve got two more games to do that.So a winning record would be a significant achievement?Nah.Finishing 9-7? Odrick said. Finishing 9-7 and not going to the playoffs doesnt mean a thing.If more Dolphins could reverse direction so quickly, they might be Super Bowl-bound.Its tough to blame Odrick for having trouble convincing himself that Sundays game matters. Motivation can be difficult for teams out of the playoff chase, and thats the challenge both teams face when the Dolphins play the Minnesota Vikings (6-8).Here are things to know about the matchup between also-rans:THE STAKES: The game means a lot to Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, whose job is in jeopardy after lopsided losses the past two weeks likely ensured a third consecutive season out of the playoffs.Players have been vocal in defending Philbin and his staff.I dont think its the coaches fault, receiver Mike Wallace said. I think its our fault. I dont think weve played up to our potential throughout our games. I dont think weve played a full 60 minutes, except maybe two or three times. Were selling ourselves short — the players, not the coaches.Another loss might seal Philbins fate, while a sweep of the final two games would give Miami its first winning season since 2008, a sign of progress that could influence owner Stephen Ross.In the absence of Adrian Peterson, the Vikings have been out of the race since Thanksgiving. But theyve won two of their past three games to give them a shot at a .500 finish under first-year coach Mike Zimmer.Were moving in the right direction, defensive end Brian Robison said. Thats what you want to see out of a club thats under a new regime.QB HOMECOMING: There likely will be lots of empty seats Sunday, but dont blame Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The Miami native will have plenty of family and friends in attendance, although he couldnt provide an exact count because his mother handles ticket requests.Im pretty loved back home in Miami, and a lot of people tell me that Im a role model in my community, Bridgewater said. So itll be amazing to see how many turn out there and get to see me play in person for the first time.Bridgewater grew up a Dolphins fan and attended a couple of their games before heading off to Louisville. He said he envisioned himself playing in the stadium someday.As a child I had high dreams and aspirations, he said. Making it to the National Football League and to be able to play there my first year in the NFL, its pretty amazing.Bridgewater will make his 11th start, passing Fran Tarkenton and Christian Ponder for the most by Vikings rookie quarterback.GOING LONG: Miamis Ryan Tannehill is finally showing progress with his accuracy on long passes.In last weeks loss at New England, Tannehill threw deep to Wallace for 50 yards on the first play, and went long to Wallace for a 32-yard score at the end of the first half. Another deep throw into the end zone was dropped.He had a number of deep balls that were as good as any we have seen him throw in games, offensive co-ordinator Bill Lazor said. We have seen improvement in practice, and we kind of felt like that it should be showing up in the game.For the season, Tannehill is 8 for 36 (22 per cent) on throws of more than 20 yards.COACHING PALS: Zimmer said his friendship with Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle could be a factor in the game. They worked together with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2008-11, when Zimmer was defensive co-ordinator and Coyle coached the secondary.Ive played against guys that have been with me before, and theyll run a play and you will say, Ah, I told them about that, Zimmer said. Its one play here or there.WINTER IN MIAMI: The Vikings practice in their field house with the doors open to simulate colder conditions for late-season games, but this week the doors were closed and the heat turned up to prep for Miami.It will be 80 degrees, Zimmer said before one workout. Not sunny, but it will be 80 degrees.___AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell and Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve_Wine Wholesale Nike React . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games. Nike React Sale Australia . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race. http://www.wholesalenikereactaustralia.com/ .ca/CurlingSkins - with the Top 16 curlers earning a ticket to Banff, Alta. to compete in the TRAVELERS ALL-STAR CURLING SKINS GAME Presented by Pintys, running Jan.INDIANAPOLIS -- This time, Jordan Morgan got the ball to bounce the right way -- and Michigan celebrated. A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7.9 seconds left to give No. 8 Michigan a 64-63 victory over Illinois in Fridays Big Ten tournament quarterfinals and a shot at another league championship. "Im telling you -- I probably exaggerate -- 10,000 times, at least 2,000 times in five years Jordan Morgan has run that same drill," coach John Beilein said. "Theres a bag to hit him, you still got to catch it in a crowd and keep it up and dunk it if he can. He said he wanted to add a little drama to the game, so he decided to put it up on the rim. Illinois had a chance to win it when Tracy Abrams drove in for a layup, expecting contact, but the ball hit the front of the rim and bounced off. No foul was called. Its about time something went right for the Wolverines (24-7) in this tournament. Since going 3-0 to win the first title in 1998, Michigan has not won more than one game in the annual tourney. The Wolverines later vacated that tourney title because of NCAA infractions, and Michigan has endured everything from an embarrassing 21-turnover game in a 2006 first-round loss to Evan Turners buzzer-beating 40-foot heave, which gave rival Ohio State a 69-68 quarterfinal win in 2010. Things are supposed to be different this year. After ending a 28-year drought between outright regular-season titles with a win at Illinois last week, Michigan came into this weekend with the No. 1 tourney seed for the first time in school history and with a full head of steam -- six straight wins. But it almost happened again. Michigan blew a 13-point second-half lead, scored just six points in the final 7 1/2 minutes and then wound up getting bailed out by Morgan when Big Ten player of the year changed the play coach John Beilein called in the huddle. "I was looking to be aggressive and raised up to shoot and man, the guy guarding me was still chasing me and the big was chasing me too and J-Mo rolled down the lane and he was wide open," Stauskas said. "I hit him with the ball and he laid it in." The Wolverines usual trio led tthe way. Cheap Nike React Shoes. Stauskas had 19 points despite going 4 of 12 from the field and 2 of 10 on 3-pointers against Illinois zone defence, Glenn Robinson III had 15 points and seven rebounds and Caris LeVert finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Yet it was Morgan, who wound up the star. He made the only two shots he took -- none bigger than the layup he never expected that sent Michigan into Saturdays semifinals against either fourth-seeded Nebraska or fifth-seeded Ohio State, who played in the second quarterfinal of the day. Michigan swept Nebraska this season and won at Ohio State in this seasons only meeting with the Buckeyes. Morgan, who missed the shot that gave Indiana last years outright regular season title, made this one. "As far as catching it, I just put it on the rim and got a nice roll," he said matter-of-factly. Ninth-seeded Illinois (19-14) was on the cusp of pulling off a major upset after finally retaking a 59-58 lead on Rices driving layup with 4:53 left. The Illini allowed just one 3-pointer, one free throw but couldnt stop Morgans layup the rest of the way. Abrams and Rayvonte Rice each finished with 11 points. Kendrick Nunn had 10 points as the Illini lost for only the second time in seven games. "Its obviously an uncontested shot that I probably could make," Abrams said. "We obviously wanted to get that one in and we wanted to win, but there was a lot of other plays that we can account back to that we could have did different or could have got an extra rebound." Illinois zone defence changed game. Following a media timeout with 11:26 left, Stauskas made two free throws to give the Wolverines a 55-44 lead. The Illini answered with 10 straight points and finally took the lead on Rices driving layup with 4:53 left. Michigan tied the score at 61 with 3:10 to go, but all the Wolverines could muster the rest of the way was one free throw from Stauskas until the surprised Morgan got the right roll. "Well, were thrilled to get that win because as you can see, as Illinois has shown in their last six games, how well the program has played after a tough January," Beilein said. "They proved how good they were, and, fortunately, we got some good bounces around the basket to finish the game." ' ' '