The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • D1

Page: 1stSection, change SPORTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, EDITOR: JORGE H1 3D UM MEN FACE BIG CHALLENGE IN NO.2 SYRACUSE 4D ODEN SHOWS SIGNS OF PROGRESS INDEX 2-3D BASKETBALL, 3D 3D 4D RACING, 5-6D 6D 7D SCHOOLS, 8D Dawn Aponte. Until a few months ago, that name would have been known only to the most diehard Miami Dolphins fans. These days, as the team is in the midst of a general manager search, that name comes up on local sports-talk radio as frequently as that of coach Joe Philbin, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and owner Stephen Ross. Who is this woman, who until recently had flown under the ra- dar as she quietly but firmly knocked down gender barriers in NFL front offices from New York to Cleveland to Miami? And why has her role in the power structure become such a hot- button issue that some say it is scaring away job candidates? Dawn Marie DiFortuna- Aponte is the vice president of football administra- tion, the chief contract negotiator, a salary-cap guru, a 42-year-old mother of four and no newcomer to the world of professional sports. She is a 23-year veteran of the NFL, a Bill Parcells disciple, an accountant, an attorney and a lifelong sports nut who has been making tough decisions since playing second base for the softball team at Notre Dame Academy, an all-girls high school in Staten Island, N.Y.

She is one of only two female vice presidents in the NFL. The other is Katie Blackburn of the Cincinnati Bengals, daughter of team owner Mike Brown. NFL career began as asummer intern with the New York Jets accounting department while she was a student at the University of Delaware. Instead of soaking up the sun on the Jersey Shore with friends, she was soaking up the intricacies of NFL economics and falling in love with the business. thought it would be so much DOLPHINS DAWN APONTE The woman in the middle To some, Dolphins executive Dawn Aponte is a star in a male-dominated world.

To others, selfish and power-hungry, and is scaring away GM candidates. BY MICHELLE KAUFMAN APONTE TURN TO Just when you thought the search for a general manager was winding down, an intriguing new wrinkle emerged: The team flew in a top scout from one of their fiercest rivals for a chat. Nick Caserio, the director of player personnel, interviewed with the team first thing Friday morning. The surprise interview ran through the early afternoon. If the talk went well, he will be included in the group of finalists, who will meet with owner Stephen Ross again this weekend.

Caserio has spent the past 14 seasons with the Patriots, including 11in player personnel. He becomes the eighth candidate to agree to an interview, including finalists Brian Gaine and Lake Dawson. Speaking of Gaine, he had his second interview with the team not long after Caserio had his first. The assistant general manager is a holdover from the Jeff Ireland regime, but team management is judging him on his own merits in this search. Dawson, the vice president of player personnel, will return for a DOLPHINS GM SEARCH Caserio emerges as 8th GM candidate In a surprising development, Nick Caserio, the director of player personnel, interviewed for the GM opening.

BY ADAM H. BEASLEY CASERIO Inside Brent avoids prison in car-crash sentencing, 2D TURN TO When your opponent brings more talent, as Colorado did to the Panthers on Friday night at Center, you better counter with more giddyup and bury what scoring chances you get. The Panthers did neither for two periods and what water-into-wine goalie Tim Thomas had in him prevent a 3-2 loss to Colorado. just ready to go, and they Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski said. we had our burr up our behinds, we started moving our legs and we got a lot of opportunities.

But anytime down 3-0, tough to come back, especially against a good team like The Panthers roared back in the third period, outshooting the Avalanche 20-6 and getting two AVALANCHE 3, PANTHERS 2 Third-period rally falls short for Cats BUILDING THE LEAD Paul Stastny beats Panthers goaltender Tim Thomas in the opening period Friday to put the Avalanche ahead 2-0. ALAN The Panthers lacked enough energy in the first two periods, and a surge in the final period overcome a 3-0 hole. BY DAVID J. NEAL Next: Panthers at Red Wings, 5 p.m. Sunday, FSNF TURN TO Ayear ago at this time, the Kentucky Derby was the furthest thing on Shug mind.

There a horse in barn that looked or acted the part. were no Derby thoughts at McGaughey said. Three months later, the Hall of Fame trainer and native Kentuckian was standing in the circle at Churchill Downs, positioning a blanket of roses on Orb. The colt a no-name in January emerged from the shadows of obscurity to give McGaughey his first victory in the most fabled thoroughbred race. what happened to McGaughey said of transformation from a nice horse to a great one in the brief span of a few months.

the first of January on he made strides. pretty much all got to go right to get to the Derby, and everything went right with McGaughey, one of the most respected horsemen in the sport, is hoping Derby success a onetime occurrence. The trainer is taking aim on the Roses HORSE RACING Trainer seeks replay of path to Derby win Shug McGaughey is taking aim at the Kentucky Derby with three horses, including two on card at Gulfstream Park. BY CLARK SPENCER TURN TO MELBOURNE, Australia way Rafael Nadal managed to somehow retrieve a forehand midway through the second set shocked even Roger Federer, who has been on the receiving end of the unbelievable shots more than anyone else in Grand Slams. It was a tipping point in their Australian Open semifinal Friday.

Federer had lost the first-set tiebreaker but was still throwing his whole arsenal at Nadal. At 15-30 in the sixth game of the second set, Federer thought he had wrong-footed Nadal with a volley deep into the left corner. Nadal lunged for a desperate forehand, swinging just as the ball was about to bounce for the second time and angling it back over the net. Federer, in good position but not expecting he would need to play another shot, framed a volley. It gave Nadal a break point, and he quickly broke Federer for the first time in the match.

He completed his 23rd win in 33 head-to-heads and ninth in 11Grand Slam matches, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3 in 2hours 24 minutes against the 17-time major winner. Awin over another Swiss, eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, in final would give Nadal his 14th Grand Slam title and make him the first man to win all four majors at least twice in the Open era. Nadal missed the 2013 Australian Open during a seven-month layoff for ill- TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN Armed and ready for final YES! Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating Roger Federer in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday. victory was his ninth in 11Grand Slam matches against his chief rival. AARON FALLING SHORT: Roger Federer makes a backhand return against Rafael Nadal during their semifinal showdown at the Australian Open on Friday.

RICK Top-seeded Rafael Nadal continued his mastery over Roger Federer, beating him in three sets to advance to the final. BY JOHN PYE Associated Press TURN TO AUSSIE.