As they prepare for their seasons, how much will the Dolphins and University of Miami allow fans and media to follow and chronicle practices -- either in person or through blogs or Twitter?

There is mixed news.

On the Dolphins front, 19 full practices will be open to the public, beginning at 2 p.m. Sunday, and those and five others will be open to the media. The NFL does not require teams to open practices to fans, so credit the Dolphins for not closing them. The league does require all practices be open to the media through the second preseason game.

But the Dolphins are requiring reporters to turn off electronic devices once the individual portion of practice ends. That means reporters cannot Twitter or blog during team drills unless they leave the practice-field grounds and return to an area where they cannot see the field. That delays the flow of information, but fans will still get updates through newspaper websites, including this one.

Like past years, the Dolphins also have told reporters they cannot report what they witness in practice if it's ``anything deemed to competitive.'' That includes game strategy, formations, substitutions, what positions players worked at and the number of repetitions players had at certain positions. But fans who attend the open practices can see any of that and naturally can share that information with whomever they choose.

So as in past years, expect the Dolphins to be cautious about what they show in open practices.

Fans at Dolphins practices cannot bring electronic devices except still cameras (with no bigger than eight-inch lens), cellphones and I-pods. Though fans can use cellphones during practice, the Dolphins announced they will prohibit fans from electronic transmission of data during practice (blogging, tweeting and texting). So, for example, you cannot send your buddy Elroy a text message saying, ``Pat White overthrew a pass that hit Tony Sparano in the clavicle.''

That fan policy would seem highly difficult to enforce, and the Dolphins declined to say how they will try to do it.

As for UM, coach Randy Shannon struck a deal with reporters in spring practice: They could watch practice and report what they saw (except trick plays). In exchange, Shannon would not be asked to speak to the media after every practice.

But that deal has not been offered for practices leading up to the opener. So all practices will be closed to both the media (except the scintillating stretching drills) and to the fans, except the first one -- at 8 a.m. Aug. 8 at Cobb Stadium on campus. That session will be open to season-ticket holders and reporters.