Welcome to Friday’s Morning Mashup, where we’ll get you caught up on what’s going on in the sports world and beyond.

FOOTBALL: Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Dolphins should be a good one. Chris Price has Five Things to Watch For in this key divisional battle.

Adalius Thomas said rumors of a players strike during the playoffs are “totally absurd.”

Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The National Organization for Women called for Raiders coach Tom Cable to be suspended.

D.J. Bean has his fantasy football can’t-pass-up matchups.

Dan Rowinski has Five Questions for Boston College during its off week. Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant lost his final appeal with the NCAA.

BASEBALL: The Red Sox traded for Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida. Alex Speier delves into the thinking behind this low-risk/potentially high-reward transaction.Curt Schilling was on Dennis & Callahan yesterday, and he revisited the Pedro Martinez-Red Sox prima donna controversy.

The Angels signed Bobby Abreu to a two-year deal. Tim Hudson and the Braves are closing in on a three-year deal.

Dan Guttenplan says the key to the Yankees winning was Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter learning how to get along. Yankees manager Joe Girardi stopped to help a car crash victim on his way home from Yankee Stadium after his team won the World Series. Jamie McCourt’s bid to get her job back with the Dodgers was denied by a Los Angeles court. Giants ace Tim Lincecum was cited for possession of marijuana.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics are No. 1 in Michael Holley’s NBA power rankings. Wyc Grousbeck says the Celtics are not having financial problems. Gary Marbry has some stat nuggets from the Celtics’ wins this week. LeBron James was denied on a final shot and the Cavaliers lost to the Bulls.

HOCKEY: The Bruins finally scored a goal, but they lost to the Canadiens in a shootout. David Krejci was sent home after testing positive for H1N1.The B’s signed goalie Tuukka Rask to a two-year extension.

The Penguins finally lost a road game.

The Sharks put defenseman Rob Blake on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Kings forward Andres Nocioni was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. According to a business report, Columbus will have trouble keeping the Blue Jackets due to financial problems.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: The offseason following the 1976 season marked the first time for free agency as we know it in Major League Baseball, following an arbitrator’s ruling the year before. On Nov. 6, 1976, the Red Sox made the first and biggest splash in that year’s free agency, signing which pitcher?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We scored. Obviously, that’s a positive we can take out of the game.” — Forward Blake Wheeler, after the Bruins ended a 192-minute scoreless streak last night in a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal

STAT OF THE DAY: 27 — Consecutive quarters scoring 20 or more points by the Celtics until they scored 19 in the first quarter Tuesday night (thanks to Gary Marbry for that stat)

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Paul Pierce appeared on the Dale & Holley show yesterday. When asked about the Rajon Rondo-Chris Paul incident, he said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“In the people’s — as if there was this transcript of the technology called open you know to look closely from the rights. As — in the view of — the minister of Soviet.”

What he actually said: “Hey, it’s up to you to be able to just concentrate and focus on the game and not get caught up in that, because people are going to say things some nights, and if it throws you off your game and gives us an advantage, so be it.”

‘NET RESULTS: On Monday, we showed the video of San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobli swatting a bat out of the air during a game. The website Mental Floss came up with 10 instances of animals delaying sporting events. Here’s No. 1:

TRIVIA ANSWER: Bill Campbell, who previously pitched for the Twins

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Eugene Pitt of the Jive Five is 72 today. Here the 1965 hit “I’m a Happy Man” (recorded at a reunion show in 1982) to get you in a good mood for the weekend.

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