WRITER ARGUES SHULA’S OWN TEAM DESERVES ASTERISK: Don Shula shouldn’t be tossing out talk of asterisks when his own 1972 team could have one:

Jim Litke of the ASSOCIATED PRESS argues that the former Miami Dolphins coach should speak for himself when it comes to criticizing New England’s possible perfect run.Before bumming it on South Beach, Shula was in charge of the Baltimore Colts. After the 1969 season, then-Dolphins owner Joe Robbie talked with Shula and convinced the coach to head to Miami.

However, the NFL didn’t like the discussion, and charged the Dolphins with tampering & gave their first-round draft pick to the Colts. Three seasons later, Shula had his Super Bowl ring & undefeated season.

As for critics calling out the Pats for running up the score, Litke points out that one of Miami’s wins during their perfect drive was a 52-0 thrashing of New England.Litke believes that if the Patriots’ “Spygate” scandal deserves a little star mark on a 19-0 record, then Shula’s move south should result in “17-0*”.

But it’s hard to see Litke’s assessment as more than just homerism for the Boston boys, after reading his thoughts on a Pats penalty last week.

During the 2nd quarter of the Indy-NE game, Pats tackle Matt Light leg-swiped Colts defender Dwight Freeney, resulting in a personal foul call.Litke proudly wrote, “It was one of those win-at-all-cost maneuvers that few people would have admired more than Belichick and Light’s teammates would have admired.”

We’re pretty sure Belichick & teammates wouldn’t admire getting pushed back 15 yards because of a dumb penalty.