The Harrington Family Foundation

Twenty questions with Dolphins quarterback Joey Harrington, who plays his previous employer in Detroit today:

Q: You play the piano. How often?

A: "During the season I play about five times a week. I've played since I was 4. I've played in a few jazz bands along the way and had a chance to play with some pretty cool musicians. I love it. I enjoy it.''

Q: Is it ever the subject of on-field conversation with your fellow savages?

A: "I've been made fun of a few times on the field. It's pretty Neanderthal. I just laugh it off.''

Q: Did you lure more women in college because you were the All-American quarterback or because you are an accomplished piano player?

A: "Boy. How do I answer this one? I try to answer all questions honestly. You'll find that out about me. But I'm trying to dodge the question. I'm getting married shortly. I got dates because I was a good person. Honest. Forthcoming. How's that? I'm sure there were one or two ladies at the bar who talked to me because I played football.''

Q: What do you hate most about football?

A: "Money. Clouds the game, without a doubt. I think college football is still the purest form of football. Money clouds -- I want more; I want this and that. Just play the game. Have fun. I have the luxury of saying that as someone who was drafted in the first round. I understand that. But I think money causes too many problems.''

Q: One defensive guy in the league you always prefer wasn't on the other side of the ball?

A: "I never like the really big guys. Gilbert Brown. Ted Washington. Everyone always asks what it's like to get hit by Brian Urlacher or Zach Thomas, but that's the fun part of football. You get popped, and you go flying. It's the big guys, the 350-pounders, who scare you. They wrap you up. You can't move. And then they do the belly-flop and you injure your shoulder.''

Q: Your favorite movie ever?

A: "You can't do that to me. One? Caddyshack is the first one to come to mind [he recites about 10 straight lines of dialogue from the movie]. You can't get much better than that. Animal House. Throw that in there. Tommy Boy. Anchorman. [Quoting from Anchorman] `I don't know how to say this, but I'm kind of a big deal. People know me. I have many leather-bound books. My apartment smells like mahogany. Merlin Olsen visits once in a while.' ''

Q: You ever done that in the huddle? Quoted movie lines?

A: "Every once in a while. I've called someone a dirty pirate hooker [from Anchorman]. I told Ray Brown jokes in Detroit. I was a rookie, and he turned 40 my rookie year. I don't know if I looked nervous or what, but he looked at me and asked, `Are you all right, kid? Field is still 100 yards long.' So I told him a joke to show I was OK. Did it every game.''

Q: You quoted Austin Powers in your last postgame news conference. That's got to be unprecedented. Can't imagine Joe Montana doing that.

A: "It just came to me. I can't keep them out. I'm an honest guy. If it comes to my head, I'm saying it. I felt pretty proud of that one. No impersonations, though. My talent stops at memorization of lines. It's like the Rain Man. Just pops up.''

Q: What has been the hardest thing about Miami?

A: "Honestly, it's just change. I needed it, but that doesn't mean it's easy. I knew the streets, my address, restaurants in Detroit. I was comfortable. Then you have to pick up and learn a new playbook and the names of the guys in the locker room and what makes each of them tick. I'm trying to figure all that out while trying to relocate the last four years of my life to a place 6 hours from where my family is.''

Q: Give me the most complicated-sounding play in your playbook?

A: "Shift to dot right slot z mo jet right z drive rows. That's just a screen to the right.''

Q: Single greatest reason, above all others, for your lack of success in Detroit?

A: "Tough question. A lot went into it. [Laughs] Can we talk about the piano more? One thing that jumps out -- a lot of different agendas. People play for different reasons. All different agendas in the same locker room -- different work ethics, different willingness to work and study. We had a big problem with people getting on the same page. You get injuries, mistakes, penalties, and they all compound each other. I put so much pressure on myself to do everything.''

Q: One word to describe Terrell Owens?

A: ``[Laughter] Loud.''

Q: Best thing about South Florida?

A: "It's 1,500 miles from Detroit? Is that OK? No, how about that it's a fresh start?''

Q: True or false -- the dumbest guys in the league are on the defensive line.

A: "Not always. Pretty true? Truish?''

Q: You pumped about playing Detroit?

A: "I think people are making too big a deal out of it, making it some personal vendetta for me against the Lions. That's not the case. If I were to say it's just another game, that would be a bit of a stretch. But we've got something going on here. We're starting to get confident. For me to let personal feelings get in the way of that would be a big mistake. It's not like I have a harbored animosity. I was given my first NFL experience in Detroit, and I'll be forever grateful.''

Q: Cornerback Dré Bly is still there, right? He was publicly critical of you while there. You've said it's the angriest you've ever been with a teammate. What will happen between you [today]?

A: "Nothing. If he comes and says hello, I'll say hello. If he comes by and I see him, I'll say hello to him. I've forgiven him. No sense in harboring animosity. It's worthless, wasted energy. He made a mistake, and he apologized to me, and we've moved on.''

Q: You more comfortable today than you were three weeks ago -- after three straight victories?

A: "Three weeks ago was about the time I started to become more comfortable, figuring this team out and my role on it. My experience in Detroit really shook my confidence, to be perfectly honest. I had something to prove to myself here, so I came out firing, throwing into tight windows. I learned through that experience, and seeing how well our defense can play, I have to harness that aggression and be smart.''

Q: You started out losing here after losing in Detroit. You ever say to yourself, `Good Lord, can I win in this league?'

A: "There were a couple of times. I came back after the Green Bay game this year and my fiancee says, `Something has to give. I've never seen someone throw for 400 yards and lose.' I told her it has happened once in a while, but I just kept plugging. I knew it was going to break. But you never really know. You hope. I went into Detroit hoping and knowing that we'd be in the playoffs and then it was 4-12, 6-10 and 3-13, and now I'm here in Miami. You just keep doing the things you know are right.''

Q: There are times you are going down the field, perfectly accurate and precise, and then you throw an interception that has everyone asking, 'How did that happen? How did he not see that?' What happens in those instances?

A: "Those happen to everybody. I don't look at that. I learn from it and move on. I look at the other 32 passes we completed in the Green Bay game or the 200 yards in the fourth quarter against the Jets. Those are the things I build on. Everyone throws bad interceptions. The ones who survive and win are the ones who move on without dwelling.''

Q: Mean Joey Green? Joey Montana? Joey Torre? Why haven't you lost the 'Y' on Joey yet? The only famous Joeys are you and Joey Buttafuoco.

A: "Why do I have to lose something? I was given a nickname, and it stuck. It suits me well. I'm not going to change to fit someone else's stereotype. That's what everyone wanted me to do in Detroit. I tried so hard to be that guy for everyone -- the guy everyone wanted, the savior of the Lions, and it got me in trouble. Forget it. I'm me. Joey. That's been asked a bunch. It's a sore spot. It's like pushing on a bruise.''