Greg Cote's Random Evidence of a Cluttered Blog

Hard Knocks and Chad Johnson knockout (w/ poll); plus UM/FIU football odds, my latest video, LeBron's gold, D-Wade news, Romney/Ryan & more

LATEST VIDEO! ON DOLPHINS CUTTING CHAD JOHNSON: Click on YouTube/TheGregCote for my channel of frequent mini-commentaries, including the newest on the departure of receiver Chad Johnson. Click Chad Johnson's Out Pattern for today's latest column by me. I say the Dolphins were right to cut Johnson. Have your say in the poll below. 

[1) It is WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15. Marlins lost a third straight game by shutout last night. OK the plastic-bat experiment is not working. Back to the wood. 2) Thanks again for ESPN's Outside The Lines for having us as a guest for a LeBron James/Tiger Woods-related segment. Lots of face-time for me. Ratings must have been plummeting! 3) Thanks, too, to old friend Dan Le Batard for having us on 790 The Ticket for his entire show yesterday. Fun. Maybe we'll do it again, who knows? 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

On the Latest Hard Knocks: Most notable from Tuesday night's Dolphins/Hard Knocks on HBO: 1) Coach Joe Philbin is shown telling Chad Johnson he's done. Chad: "I let you down a little. A lot. " Joe: "I don't see the mesh right now." 2) The news that QB David Garrard injured his knee not on the field but at home watching his kids in the pool. 3) Offensive coordinator Mike Sherman's blistering talk to his unit, including telling rookie TE Michael Egnew, "Get your head out of your ass!" 4) QB Ryan Tannehill, made to sing as all rookies must, serenading the team with the perhaps prescient "Lean On Me." 5) GM Jeff Ireland on his wide receivers: "We got 4's, 5s and 6s. We gotta find who the 1s, 2s and 3s are." Honorable mention: Sherman's Bobby Bowden-esque expletive, "Gosh-daggit!" 

DOLPHINS CUTTING CHAD JOHNSON: RIGHT OR WRONG?: The Dolphins cut receiver Chad Johnson Sunday night in the wake of his dropping the only pass thrown to him Friday night and then his arrest a day later for head-butting his wife in a domestic incident. Monday morning, Dolphins defensive leader Karlos Dansby blasted the team for not giving Johnson a second chance. Coach Joe Philbin later took a mild swipe at Dansby ("I'm of the opinion you should keep things in-house") and explained Johnson was released based on an "overall body of evidence" that Johnson and the Dolphins were not a "good fit." I support the Dolphins' decision on Johnson. Maybe you side with Dansby. Vote and say why.

Poll result: Dear Hanley: Boooo!: We asked in the previous blogpost how Marlins fans should react to Hanley Ramirez in his first return as a Dodger (you can still vote) and booing led with 44.2 percent. Another 27.2 voted for silence and 24.1 for cheering, with 4.5 not sure.

HURRICANES FOURTH-RANKED TO WIN ACC: Bovada's preseason college football coneference odds find Miami a surprisingly high fourth at 9-1 to win the ACC, after Florida State (an even 1-1), Virginia Tech (3-1) and Clemson (5-1). FIU is the Sun Belt favorite at 5-2, with FAU next to last at 30-1. The power-packed SEC is topped by Alabama 2-1 and LSU 5-2, with Florida sixth at 12-1. Other major-league faves are USC in the Pac-12 at a prohibitive 5-9; UCF topping Conference USA at 11-4; Oklahoma an even 1-1 in the Big 12; Louisville 2-1 to take the Big East with South Florida next at 7-2; and the Big Ten co-led by Michigan and Wisconsin at 9-5.

NFL INDIVIDUAL AWARDS ODDS: Also from Bovada, Packer Aaron Rodgers is MVP favorite at 11-2, followed by Patriot Tom Brady at 13-2, then a dropoff to Saint Drew Brees at 9-1 and Eagle Michael Vick and Bronco Peyton Manning both 10-1. Offensive rookie pick is Colt Andrew Luck at 5-2, then Redskin Robert Griffin III at 9-2. Defensive rookie pick is Panther Luke Kuechly at 4-1. Passing yards fave is Brees at 9-2, rushing yards Texan Arian Foster 9-2, and receiving yards Lion Calvin Johnson 7-2. The only Dolphin appearing in any category is Ryan Tannehill, sixth for offensive rookie at 10-1.    

BASKING IN THE GLOW OF GOLD: Ghurka, manufacturer of upscale leather goods, is coming out in September with a line of "man bags" called the Ghurka Cavalier series inspired by LeBron James and partly designed by LeBron' personal stylsit, Rachel Johnson. (Who knew LeBron had a personal stylist?) The three sizes will range in price from $695 to $1,495. I'm guessing the biggest of the three bags will be large enough to hold an NBA championship trophy, an Olympic gold medal and the adulation of millions. At left: One of the he-purses in LeBron's collection. Above: LeBron (lower left) and his Team USA mates exalt as well they should in Sunday's gold-medal triumph over Spain.

D-Wade's fantasy camp: Men, would you spend big bucks to hear Dwyane Wade pretend that he is truly impressed by your mad skills on a basketball court? Read on! Wade's second annual fantasy camp for men 35 and older is this Thursday through Sunday, August 16-19 at Loews Miami Beach. And it's only $12,500! But at least the list of coaches is seriously impressive, including Wade, Erik Spoelstra, Tim Hardaway, Rick Barry, Frank Martin and Jim Larranaga. Visit dwyanewadefantasycamp.com to register or for more info.

OLYMPIC WRAP-UP: I guess I'm the only soul on Earth who was disappointed with Sunday night's Closing Ceremonies from London, a very disjointed music-themed extravaganza. There were rumors of a big closing number by the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Paul McCartney, which might have redeemed the whole show. Never happened. Rule of thumb: When your show's most talked-about aspect is a Spice Girls reunion, you're in trouble. Pertinent final medals leaders.

United States 46G - 29S - 29B -- 104

China 38 - 27- 23 -- 88

Russia 24 - 26 - 32 -- 82

Great Britain 29 - 17 - 19 -- 65

Germany 11 - 19 - 14 -- 44

Cote d'Ivoire 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0

Cote, the Official National Team of This Blog, disappointed with nary a single medal. You let us down, d'Ivores. You did not do my name proud. Sincerely yours, Greg d'Ivoire, The Miami Herald.  

UH-OH. HERE COMES A POLITICAL ITEM: ("What the--this is supposed to be a bleepin' sports blog you moron!") Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate is interesting. Ryan looks like Romney's son. At left, Romney relays a story about that time Paul broke curfew as a teen and Dad took away the keys to the yacht for an entire week. A movie about this campaign could be called WHITE & WHITER. The Republicans fight the perception they are for the rich in terms of tax breaks. Given that, I'm not sure if I think the Romney/Ryan campaign logo (right) is a smart idea. Cannot confirm rumors that, if this ticket is elected, the presidential residence would henceforth be called The Whitest House. (Note: Since the preceding item will be seen as pro-Democrat, let me balance that by pointing out that Barack Obama has comically big ears, leading directly to America's staggering 8.3 percent unemployment rate).

Click back. Will be updating/adding much more to this latest blogpost. Maybe even some sports stuff...

PS1: Tampa 20, Dolphins 7: Bad game, good Tannehill: Future is now!; plus Chad Johnson cut, LeBron is golden, new video, Hanley, Heat & more

NEW VIDEO! DOLPHINS-BUCS POST-MORTEM: Click on YouTube/TheGregCote for our video channel and watch my latest "The View From Miami" mini-commentary. It's four quick thoughts on last night's Dolphins preseason opener.

[1) It is MONDAY, AUGUST 13. Watch for a new blogpost coming later today. 2) Dolphins release WR Chad Johnson following his domestic violence arrest. No surprise. Seems justifed. Blew the comeback chance. It's on you, Chad. 3) Team USA beats Spain for Olympic gold medal, led by Kevin Durant's 30 points, but with LeBron James' 19 including a big dunk and a huge three-pointer in final two minutes. "U-S-A! U-S-A!" 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

Click on The Future Is Now for my column on Ryan Tannehill off the Dolphins game.

PS1: TAMPA BAY 20, DOLPHINS 7 (FINAL): ROOKIE TANNEHILL SHINES IN EXHIBITION OPENER: Well, Miami's performance mostly was underwhelming last night but Ryan Tannehill was a definite highlight, completing 14 of 21 passes for 167 yards including an 11-yard TD pass to Charles Clay. Just before the game it was revealed No. 1 QB David Garrard had knee issues, would undergo arthroscopic surgery on Saturday/today and be out two to four weeks. That opened the door for Matt Moore and Tannehill, and the latter made the most of his chance. Miami's choice should be clear now: The future is now. It's Tannehill time. Original post: OK, yes, preseason openers are famously irrelevant in terms of the result mattering or being any reliable gauge. And Buccaneers-at-Dolphins is nobody's likely Super Bowl preview; sadly, both teams are perceived closer to NFL bottom feeders at the moment. From a national vantage this matchup is an afterthought. Nevertheless! For Miami and Dolfans this fake-game debut has some sizzle and pop for a couple of reasons. It is the dress-rehearsal bow for new coach Joe Philbin and his high-energy, (mostly) no-huddle offense. And it is the first real shakeout in the three-headed quarterback competition among No. 1-for-now David Garrard, incumbent Matt Moore and first-round rookie Ryan Tannehill. Moore, Garrard and Tannehill are pictured left to right, and the final score of tonight's game won't matter as much as the comparative performances of those three QBs. (I'd include fourth-string Pat Devlin as if he had a shot in all this, but I'm not that polite, sorry). I'll be columnizing off tonight's game. Your thoughts before, during and after it are invited here.

Dolfan Satisfaction Meter: Our blog staple the Dolfan Satisfaction Meter -- the weekly poll in which you tell the Dolphins how satisfied you are -- will return for a fifth season this year but not now during exhibition play. The first DSM will follow the regular-season opener on Sept. 9.

JT, Zach, Arns added to Dolphin Honor Roll: The club yesterday revealed that defensive stalwarts Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas and Super-era defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger will be the latest inductees onto the team's stadium Honor Roll. I'd predicted JT and Zach; both are exceptionally deserving. Arnsparger is sort of out of the blue but it's hard to argue.

THE RETURN OF HANLEY RAMIREZ: CHEER OR BOO?: Longtime Marlin Hanley Ramirez, traded to the Dodgers last month, returns with L.A. for a three-game series here beginning last night. I think Hanley's introduction and first at-bat will inspire a major crowd reaction, a lot of cheering but (I'd predict) predominant booing. It's hard to say what the reaction should be. Ramirez did some good things here, including an NL batting title, but was never the team leader he should have been and ultimately disappointed. He is pictured here, either acknowleding your cheers or motioning for you to stop booing please. You're at the park and Hanley's name is announced. What are you doing? Vote and say why. [Update: Heard from several people at the game that Ramirez was loudly booed last night].

Poll result: Mixed feelings on Bonds and Clemens in Hall of Fame: We asked in the previous blogpost if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens belonged in Cooperstown (you can still vote) and opinions were extreme. A plurality of 42.4 percent said no, but a majority were agreeable to some degree, with 35.4% saying yes, 18.1% maybe and 4.1% undecided.

DOES DWIGHT HOWARD MEAN THE LAKERS HAVE OUT-BIG 3'D (OR BIG 4'D) THE HEAT?: The Lakers are adding Dwight Howard, via a four-team trade, to Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash. Oklahoma City immediately has a co-favorite in the NBA West. And the champion Heat and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen immediately have a tough (and tall) new hurdle in their efforts to grow one title into a dynasty. I'll be interested to see post-trade NBA championship odds. Bearing in mind that betting lines reflect public perception, I predict the Lakers will now be favorites over Miami. [Update: Bovada doesn't wait long. Heat at 5-2 and Lakers at 3-1 are now virtual co-faves to win NBA title, followed by Thunder at 11-2 and Chicago at 9-1]. 

OLYMPIC UPDATE: Huge upset today in Olympic track cycling (see right). Below, pertient medals leaders entering Saturday action:

United States 41G - 26S - 28B -- 95

China 37 - 25 - 20 -- 82

Russia 17 - 21 - 28 -- 66

Great Britain 26 - 15 - 18 -- 59

Cote d'Ivoire 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0

Time for Cote, the Official National Team of This Blog, to rally. Let's charge, d'Ivoires!

DANCING WITH THE POLITICIANS: As the presidential election season heats up, Dancing With the Stars announces its two newest participants (pictured). If only.

Click back. Will be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...

Dolphins/Hard Knocks review: HBO tries, but...; plus "U-S-A!", Bonds/Clemens in Hall? (poll), my new video on Dolphins, Heat, Marlins & more

MY NEWEST VIDEO: ENOUGH WITH THE PAST! ON DOLPHINS' OBSESSION WITH WHAT WAS: Click on YouTube/TheGregCote for my video channel featuring my newest mini-commentary related to the Dolphins' past and present. 

[1) It is FRIDAY, AUGUST 10. New blogpost coming later this morning! 2) Congrats U.S. women's soccer with 2-1 triumph over Japan to win Olympic gold. "U-S-A!" 3) Heat announce 8-game preseason schedule starting Oct. 7 at Atlanta, followed by two games vs. Clippers in China, then the first home exhibition Oct. 18 vs. Detroit. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

On the Dolphins' Perfect Season anniversary celebration: It's the 40th anniversary year of 1972's Perfect Season, the Dolphins yesterday announced celebration plans, and I write about it in this column today. Don't get me wrong; 17-0 is worth appreciating all over again. But the franchise walks a fine line. Worshipping its distant past only underlines and magnifies how little there has been to cheer in recent years. My latest video (see above) also is on this topic.

THE PROOF: DOLPHINS A HARD CHALLENGE FOR HBO'S HARD KNOCKS: How do you make a mediocre and comparatively dull NFL team seem interesting? Well, you don't, apparently, as we were reminded watching the one-hour debut of HBO's training-camp reality series Hard Knocks, this year featuring the Dolphins. HBO did its best to manufacture excitement. My favorite attempt was the segue straight from the sexy sizzle of South Beach to the team's training-camp hotel, done in a way that implied the Dolphins train in South Beach, not 30 miles north in a horsey Broward burg called Davie, where the center of town is (seriously) a rodeo. Another noble attempt was the gratuitous several-seconds snippet of Dolphins cheerleaders practicing, apropos of nothing. We saw David Garrard water-skiing, Ryan Tannehill's odd-looking dachsund, Mike Pouncey getting a haircut and Kevin Burnett at home with his kids. We heard owner Stephen Ross say, "I think we have a great team here" -- great evidently being open to wide interpretation. There were a couple of interesting behind-the-scenes nuggets. One was tight ends coach Dan Campbell, in a coaches meeting, calling Les Brown's blocking "a complete liability." Another was receiver Chad Johnson's boastful, profane press conference followed by coach Joe Philbin pulling Johnson aside to tell him to self-edit the language, please. The overriding problem for HBO is the lack of starpower on a team whose best player is the left tackle. Johnson and Reggie Bush wiggle the national Q-Rating needle a little, but not a lot. It doesn't help HBO that Tannehill is No. 3 on the depth chart, making it a tough-sell to package him right now as the savior. Also doesn't help that the new head coach is the visual and personality opposite of, say, Rex Ryan, in terms of scene-stealing, show-carrying command. As HBO gets more and more desperate in subsequent episodes, I'd imagine we should expect to see more scenes of South Beach, cheerleaders and Tannehill's hot blond wife, and perhaps file film of Bush on the arm of his ex-, Kim Kardashian. It would make for better TV than the stuff on the football field, alas.

Dolphins 75-1 Super Bowl longshots: New SB odds out from Bovada show Packers (6-1) and Patriots (13-2) as virtual co-favorites followed by 49ers 10-1 and Texans and Eagles both 12-1. Miami is 75-1, tied for 26th. In AFC East: Pats a prohibitive 3-10, Jets 11-2, Bills 6-1 and Dolphins 15-1.

Dolphins facility nobody refers to gets name nobody will use: A hospital has bought corporate naming rights to the Dolphins' Davie training facility and practice site that includes the indoor field nicknamed "the Bubble." In keeping with a personal policy I'll not use the corporate name, aloud or in print. Well, maybe if the Bubble was sponsored by Bubblicious, but otherwise, no. Personally I find it odd that a football team obsessed with avoiding injuries would now be sponsored by a hospital. Seems jinx-y.

VOTE: SHOULD BONDS, CLEMENS BE IN COOPERSTOWN?: I am bestowing to you, right now, a baseball Hall of Fame vote. Players eligible beginning in 2013 will include Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both unquestionably with first-ballot career statistics, but both strongly tainted by steroids scandal putting their election in serious doubt. Bonds this week told MLB.com he should be in Cooperstown "without a doubt." Now you tell him if he's right.

ON THE OLYMPICS COLUMN BY ME: I wrote in this column the reasons why, for me, the U.S. women's soccer team is closer to the Olympic ideal and the ideal Olympics than LeBron James' Team USA in basketball. Unexpectedly, the column inspired this needling text-message exchange between friend and colleague Dan Le Batard and myself late last night after Dan read the column online: Le Batard to me, 11:32 p.m.: Herald headline -- Cote loves white women playing sports. Hates black men. My response to Dan, 12:30 a.m.: Herald headline -- Le Batard looks at rainbow, sees black and white. (For the record, black/white and male/female never occured to me while writing what I wrote. Maybe it should have? But it didn't).

London Olympics medals update: Pertinent medals standings as of late afternoon today/Thursday:

United States 39 gold - 25 silver - 25 bronze -- 89 total

China 37 - 23 - 19 -- 79

Russia 12 - 21- 23 -- 56

Great Britain 24 - 13 - 14 -- 51

Cote d'Ivoire 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0

Time running out for Cote, the Official National Team of This Blog. Let's go d'Ivoires! Dammit!  

THREE REASONS TO STILL WATCH THE SAD MARLINS: 1. Jose Reyes' hitting streak. It was 26 games until ending today, as he looks more and more like the player Miami thought it was getting. 2. Giancarlo Stanton is back in the lineup, his at-bats the most exciting minutes in the game, as two homers last night attested. 3. To see if the Marlins can still reach .500, at least. They'd need to finish 30-20 from here. (We can dream, can we not?)  

Click back. Will be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...

Dolphins' gloomy outlook: Win odds for each game; plus my latest video (U-S-A!), Canes football over/under, Garrard, Uncle Luke, naked sushi & more

NEW VIDEO! WHY YOU SHOULD BE ROOTING FOR U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER MORE THAN FOR LEBRON'S TEAM USA: Click on YouTube/TheGregCote for my latest video, the eighth we've done so far.

[1) It is WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8. Marlins activate Giancarlo Stanton. 2) Happy to be back from a week's vacation (more on that below) and in the Blog Saddle again. 3) Join us at Twitter.com/gregcote. 4) U.S. places land rover on Mars. Obama links his administration with NASA triumph. Not to be outdone, Romney says he invented Mars]

"U-S-A!" WOMEN'S SOCCER WINS OLYMPIC THRILLER: America's women's soccer team played itself into the gold-medal match vs. Japan with a 4-3 overtime thriller over Canada yesterday. Extra time in the second overtime, seconds from a penalty-kicks tiebreaker, when Alex Morgan's goal decided it. USA rallied from three deficits to win. One of the best moments of these London Games. (In more of a ho-hum result, LeBron James and Team USA routed Argentina 126-97 in men's basketball).

DOLPHINS ONLY FAVORED TO WIN FIVE GAMES, SAYS MEAN-SPIRITED COMPUTER: The good folks at predictionmachine.com have run the coming NFL season 50,000 times (so you don't have to) and what spits out is not good news for Miami. Dolphins are given more than a 50 percent chance of winning in only 5 games and, factoring upsets, are given an overall victory over/under of 6.5. Best bets to win the Super Bowl are the Eagles (18% likelihood), Patriots (14.2), Packers (9.2), Texans (9.2) and Steelers (7.2), with Miami's title shot put at 0.2%. Game-by-game, here is how the computer sees the Dolphins chances of winning, from most to least likely: 65.8% vs Titans (Game 9); 61.6 vs Jaguars (G14); 60.2 @ Colts (G8); 54.6 vs Rams (G6); 52.3 vs Raiders (G2); 48.5 vs Jets (G3); 44.5 vs Seahawks (G11); 41.1 vs Bills (G15); 37.8 @ Cardinals (G4); 33.7 @ Jets (G7); 32.5 @ Bills (G10); 31.1 @ Bengals (G5); 27.5 vs Patriots (G12); 27.0 @ Texans (G1); 20.7 @ 49ers (G13); and 15.6 @ Patriots (G16).

Garrard out the gate as starting QB: Dolphins' first official in-season depth chart is out and has David Garrard at No. 1 quarterback ahead of Matt Moore and rookie Ryan Tannehill. But, as coach Joe Philbin said in a late-morning news conference, "It's a fluid situation." Offensive chief Mike Sherman today, on his QB situation: "That will not be a weakness of our football team. We'll have a good starter when we get done." Dolphins open their preseason schedule this Frday night at home vs. Tampa Bay.

Poll result: Dolfans not a real optimistic bunch: In the previous blogpost we invited you all to set expectations for the coming Dolphins season (you can still vote) and a plurality of 37.3 peercent voted "short again: 7 or 8 wins." Next came "wild-card contention: 9 wins" with 32.6%, followed by "not pretty: 6 or fewer wins" with 20.9%. Only 9.2% voted for "playoffs: 10-plus wins."

CANES FOOTBALL PEGGED FOR 7 WINS: The latest Bovada over/unders on regular-season college football wins peg UM for 7, trailing fellow in-staters FSU (10), Central Florida (8.5), Florida (8) and South Florida. Nothing for FIU or FAU, although I'd guess Panthers for around 9 and Owls for about 4. Nationally, joining Noles in double-digits are Alabama, Oregon and Southern Cal at 10.5 and LSU and Oklahoma at 10.

UNCLE LUKE PREVAILS: Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell (pictured), former notorious 2 Live Crew frontman turned Miami high-school football coach, has won a court fight to regain his full coaching certificate to continue as Northwestern's defensive coordinator. It was a victory over the Florida Department of Education, which was letting its view of Luke's past obscure the good he does now. Congrats to Luke and to his terrific attorney, our friend Mike Carney of Kubicki Draper.

OLYMPICS UPDATE: PHELPS PARTIES WITH GOLD MEDALS, PINOCCHIO IN JAVELIN: TMZ.com reports that swimmer Michael Phelps has been partying in London with his gold medals (pictured left), which is considerably more acceptable than partying in London with his bong. Note to regular guys in London bars: You have no pickup line that will compete with Michael Phelps whipping out his gold. Pictured right: Google's latest Olympics-related icon appears to picture Pinoccio throwing a javelin. Serious Olympic comment: Serena Williams' gold-medal obliteration of Maria Sharapova was about as dominant a major championship performance as I can recall. Click here to hear a Jacksonville sportscaster rant against Bob Costas signing off past midnight. Updated pertinent Summer Olympics medal leaders are below, entering today's/Tuesday's action:

China 31 gold - 19 silver - 14 bronze -- 64 total

United States 29 - 15 - 19 -- 63

Great Britain 19 - 12 - 12 -- 43

Cote d'Ivoire 0 - 0 - 0 -- 0

Let's go Cote, Official National Team of This Blog!

Spoiler Alert! LeBron, Team USA win basketball gold!: I am tired of media outlets giving Olympic Spoiler Alerts. This is the instant-information age. If you honestly desire a self-imposed info blackout so that you can be surprised by a result eight hours after it happened, well, you're on your own, pal.

EATING SUSHI OFF A NAKED WOMAN: Well who hasn't, right? A Miami Beach restaurant, Kung Fu Kitchen & Sushi, offers -- for $500 -- a platter of sushi served atop a nude woman (pictured). I see at least one health-code violation (no hair net). Personally, I'll stick with a standard dinner plate, thanks. Although I wouldn't mind being at the table next to the person ordering the Nudie Roll.

LATEST WORLD SERIES ODDS: Bovada's post-trade-deadline, stretch-run odds to win the World Series have it Yankees at 19-4, Rangers 5-1, Angels 15-2, Nationals 9-1 and Reds/Tigers both 10-1. Bleepin' Nats! Your disappointing Marlins are slotted 21st and can't imagine many takers even at 90-1.

MY SUMMER VACATION: Just returned from an eight-day New England holiday around Massachusetts and Maine. We started and ended in Boston, around the Wharf/North End area, and in between we hit Bar Harbor, Boothsbay Harbor and Ogunquit in Maine, and then Salem and Provincetown in Mass. The latter is proudly self-proclaimed as the gayest city in America and was, for its everybody-gets-along diversity, as impressive and memorable in its way as the vista of rocky coastline. Special thanks to that Minke whale for the impressive breaching. (Who knew there were Minke whales?) The scale says I gained only three pounds while away, which is stunning because I think I ate approximately 415 pounds of lobster and also may have consumed a beer or two, as indicated here.

DEAR GREG...: "...your blog's OK but would be better if occasionally you would show a photo of an unbearably cute dog with plaintive eyes wearing a nautical life-vest. Thank you." Dear reader: Doubt I can find such a photo, sorry.

Click back. Will be updating/adding much more to this Back From Vacation Jubilee Blogpost...

The Dolphins are back, dammit! Dolfans, vote your expectations (with poll); plus Tannehill/Dolphin QBs (with video), Olympics, Marlins & more

NEWEST VIDEO: ON RYAN TANNEHILL, DOLPHINS QB SITUATION: Click on YouTube/TheGregCote for my latest video, on why the Dolphins need to give Ryan Tannehill the football. Click on Fast-Track The Future for the full column, from Saturday's paper. The video was recorded and the column written before Tannehill signed on Sunday and reported to camp.

[Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Dear Loyal Readers and Blogger Nation: I'm back from vacation as of this (Sunday) afternoon after being out of the paper and the blog all last week. Watch for a brand new blogpost on Monday morning!]

Poll result: We won't miss you, Hanley: We asked in the previous blogpost how you felt about the Marlins trading Hanley Ramirez (you can still vote), and 47.7 percent said they like he's gone but wish Miami had gotten more in return, 35.8% said good riddance and only 16.5% called it a bad trade. That's more than 83.5% who are glad he's gone.

THE DOLPHINS ARE BACK! THE DOLPHINS ARE BACK!: Forget all this Heat championship stuff. Enough with these Marlins trades. THE MIAMI FREAKIN' DOLPHINS ARE BACK, DAMMIT! South Florida's dethroned big dogs have reentered the picture, as presason training camp opens, to try to win back your hearts. You up for it? You excited? Big season ahead? Ryan Tannehill the elusive Next Marino? Chad Johnson better than Chad Ochocinco? Joe Philbin poster on your bedroom wall? C'MON LET'S GET EXCITED ALREADY! FOR THE LOVE OF SHULA IT'S THE MOTHER-LOVIN' DOLPHINS!! OK enough with the all-caps italics. In all seriousness, I'm interested in how y'all feel about this Dolphins team and this season. Let's get an early pulse-read. The key word in the poll question is realistic. I'm not asking what you hope, I'm asking what you honestly feel, what you'd bet if your money were talking. Mind, not heart. Vote and say why.

OLYMPIC ROOTING INTEREST: UNITED STATES, COTE D'IVOIRE: You may have heard. The Summer Olympics are starting. London, I think. Opening Ceremony was Friday night, which assuredly meant the standard overblown extravagance, something artsy-surreal, as if the production is a child of Salvadore Dali and Tim Burton meet Cirque de Soleil. My Olympic preview: No. 1, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" I'm an unabashed jingoist and patriotic guy. I hope LeBron wins gold. I hope Justin Gatlin stuns Usain Bolt. I hope Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte have a duel for the ages. I hope Lolo Jones stays a virgin until she inevitably hooks up with Tim Tebow. No. 2, the other country I'll be following is Africa's Cote d'Ivoire (crest at left), because they were kind enough to name themselves after me. The U.S. has 530 athletes competing. Team Cote has 10. I'll have updates.

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The big sell-out: Heat, NBA to place ads on uniforms; plus Al Golden's new mess, The View From Miami (new video!), comics, Gators, ABA Floridians & more

GREG COTE (THAT'S ME) ANNOUNCES NEW VIDEO CHANNEL: This week I launched a new YouTube video channel for (almost) daily one-minute commentaries called 'The View From Miami.' My third and latest, on NBA uniform ads, is now posted. View all three so far at YouTube/TheGregCote.

[1) It is SUNDAY, JULY 22. No Random Evidence in print today; I've been on vacation from the paper this past week. Back to work Monday. 2) Penn State removed the Joe Paterno statue this morning. It was the right thing to do. 3) Has anyone yet satisfactorily explained why the London Olympics chose frightening amorphous Cyclops monsters (right) as their official mascots? I'm just asking. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

UGH! NBA APPROVES ADVERTISING ON UNIFORMS: The incremental death of civilization has its latest milepost: NBA uniforms will include "small advertising patches" beginning with the 2013-14 season, the league announced late last night. Well, that's pending a September vote by the Board of Governors, but all indications are the shoulder-area ads will be approved unless maybe there is a public outcry in the meantime. It will be an estimated $100 million reveue stream for the league and its teams. The ads also will appear on replica jerseys that fans buy. Gawd. Seriously? It's bad enough that sports franchises sell their stadium and arena names to corporations and inundate spectators with a constant advertising barrage during games, but ads on uniforms is a significant step across a major, previously uncrossed line. The NBA will be the first of the Big 4 American pro sports to do this. But now that the seal is broken what do you bet the NFL, baseball and NHL follow in the money grab? Oh, and here's guessing those "small" advertising patches will get bigger over time, or not be limited to just one. We'll come to a point of sports prostitution when sponsors buy into team names themselves. "And tonight your Tsingtao Miami Heat take on the Prudential Boston Celtics..." Where does it end, people? I feel strongly about this. It's why I take a personal stand in my writing and refuse to use corporate names of facilities. Then again I also understand many others might think that sports' big sellout is no big deal, or even that it's smart business. Your vote and opinion are welcome.

Team USA stays perfect: Team USA men's basketball improved to 3-0 in Olympic tuneups with a 118-78 rout of host Great Britain. Heat's LeBron james had 16 points.

AL GOLDEN DEALING WITH MORE [BLEEP]: Poor Al Golden. His second Miami Hurricanes football season is dawning and, like his first, it is dawning under a cloud. The ACC media days are early next week in North Carolina, and NCAA-related questions will far outnumber football questions. New allegations are again courtesy Yahoo!, the same folks who broke last year's Nevin Shapiro pinata. This time the charge is that former assistant equipment manager Sean Allen (a Shapiro henchman) helped UM in recruiting, an allegation Golden (pictured) calls "simply false." Players named as having dealt with Allen are defenders Anthony Chickillo and Thomas Finnie and incoming freshman Duke Johnson and Herb Waters. (Finnie's father and Johnson's former coach deny wrongdoing). We'll see how this plays out. For now, it's just another headache Golden -- and UM football -- don't need. [See below for another perspective on Canes football).

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON 'CANES FOOTBALL: Senior safety Ray-Ray Armstrong booted off the Hurricanes this week reminds us he was one of the guys with his hand out obliged by Nevin Shapiro, the now-jailed devil-booster whose actions still threaten Miami with future NCAA sanctions. A little perspective, though. Just look to Gainesville, where the off-field mess continues. Thirty-one player arrests under coach Urban Meyer (who drained The Swamp in a lot of ways) and now the number is up to 12 under Will Muschamp, who still is trying to clean up the culture fomented by Meyer before he bolted for Ohio State. Yes, some Canes wrongly accepted gifts, but it is the Gators' continuing, growing Urban-sprawl rap sheet that is this state's college football shame.

COMEDY WEEK WITH MEYERS, CALIENDO: Saw Saturday Night Live's wonderfully smug Seth Meyers at the Seminole Casino/Coconut Creek and then last night caught Frank Caliendo at the Hard Rock/Fort Lauderdale. That's a personal record for Most Comedy Shows Seen, Consecutive. Meyers is so typecast to me as SNL's "Weekend Update" guy that I wasn't sure how'd he be out from behind the desk but he does a classic, funny stand-up heavy on his stock-in-trade: sarcasm. Caliendo, whom I've seen before, is a great impressionist, of course. The audience could listen to his Bill Clinton all night. Got a chance to hang with Frank a few minutes afterward in the green room, which isn't green. (I happened to be a guest with Paul & Young Ron on Big 105.9 at the same time as Caliendo Thursday and told him I mourned for him that John Madden and Brett Favre both retired, which of course set up a riff by him as Madden. You're welcome.).

RETROSPECTIVE: THE MIAMI FLORIDIANS: The death of ex-player Warren Jabali is all the excuse I need for a quick, oddly fond retrospective on the ABA's Miami Floridians (1968-70), later simply The Floridians (1970-72). Given the franchise's brevity and lousy attendance it would unduly flatter to suggest this team paved the way for the Heat; nevertheless, it owns distinct niche in South Florida sports. Best player in club history was either Mack Calvin (All-ABA first team 1970-71) or Donnie Freeman (second-team twice), and you are a certifiable fan/historian if you know without Googling that the three head coaches were Jim Pollard, Hal Blitman and Bob Bass. (Might not have been a good idea that the cartoon guy in the original logo appeared to be dribbling blind).

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Yes. Yes, Ozzie DID say that; plus Marlins trade rumors, The View From Miami (new video!), Olympic pole dancing, Heat, Dolphins, Gaga & more

NEW VIDEO! Greg Cote's The View From Miami #2 * 7-19-12 * U.S. Olympic Uniforms -- This week I launched a series of one-minute videos about various stuff called The View From Miami (TVFM). Might be daily, maybe a few a week, maybe occasional, we'll see how it goes. Click on TVFM#2 for my YouTube channel to access the latest vid or to see both.

[1) It is FRIDAY, JULY 20. 2) UM dismisses senior safety Ray-Ray Armstrong. Good for Al Golden. Armstrong's bad decisions painted his own departure. 2) Ex-Dolpins LB Joey Porter is retiring as a Steeler. 3) Dez Bryant arrested for attacking his mother. Ma hasn't had this much attention since Jeff Ireland saw to it. 4) Knicks did the right thing letting Jeremy Lin go to Houston. Does Linsanity even exist anymore? 5) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

OZZIE: TIME FOR MARLINS TO STICK THEIR "D--K IN THE DIRT": Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen displayed inventive variation in his vulgarity Wednesday night in Episode 2 of Showtime's The Franchise. Anyone who thought Oz was a one-trick pony with the F-bombs has undersold the man severely. About 25 minutes into the 30-minute segment, Guillen is in the clubhouse addressing his underperforming team as it returns from the All-Star Break, tells his players he hopes they had a nice rest and adds: "Now it's time to stick your d--k in the dirt." I re-watched the show on-demand today and re-wound that part several times to make sure that is what he said. It is. I'm as vulgar as the next guy (well, unless the next guy is Guillen) but had not heard that phrase. Is sticking one's d--k in the dirt a good thing? I consulted urbandictionary.com and discovered the phrase can be a negative condition of having been knocked to the ground, but also a reference to knocking someone out, so we'll assume Guillen meant the latter to inspire his team. It's like a Gipper speech, but R-rated. Never a dull moment with Guillen, or a moment free of !@#$%s and [bleep]s, apparently.   

Marlins willing to trade Hanley, others?: Reports yesterday had the Marlins exploring trades involving third baseman Hanley Ramirez and others prior to the July 31 deadline. USA Today had the Marlins pondering a deal with Boston to send left fielder Carl Crawford (pictured) and a prospect here for Ramirez and closer Heath Bell. FoxSports had Boston approaching Miami about dealing Crawford for either Ramirez or shortstop Jose Reyes. USA Today also floated a suggestion the club has discussed trades involving Josh Johnson, Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. However, ESPN's Buster Olney then Tweeted that the Crawford/Ramirez deal was "brought up briefly as concept, immediately died." A Marlins source of mine said the club is torn whether to be a buyer or seller. I wouldn't deal Reyes or Ramirez for Crawford, who turns 31 in August and has dealt with wrist and elbow issues. Interesting, though, the speculation. The Marlins distance themselves from any truth to the rumors. But where there's smoke...

DENIED LONDON, POLE DANCERS SET SIGHTS ON 2016 OLYMPICS: This is one of those stories that is at once serious and silly: A petition, fueled by the Pole Fitness Association and other advocacy groups, to get pole dancing into the Olympics. Or, as they prefer to call it: "Vertical dance." Pictured: KT Coates, a pole dance advocate from the United Kingdom who failed in efforts to get her sport into the 2012 London Games. Advocates are now taking aim at the '16 Summer Games in (a perfect city for pole dancing!) partying Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Pole dancing, though suburbanized as a fitness outlet for moms and other non-strippers, unfortunately maintains its seedier connotation associated with gentlemen's clubs, lap dances and athletes making it rain. I am picturing the first Olympic pole-dance medal ceremony. The gold medalist bends forward to receive her medal as a leering IOC official discreetly slips a $100 bill into her cleavage. Well, as discreetly one one can in an internationally televised event!

Poll result: Basketball, track, swimming win your Olympic medals: We asked in the previous blogpost what Summer Olympics sports you are most looking forward to, inviting you to select your top two from eight options (you may still vote), and the winners were basketball (gold, 28.3 percent); track and field (silver, 27.1%); and swimming (bronze, 18.8%).

DOLPHINS' YOUNG-PLAYERS RANKING: ESPN.com presents NFL "Organizational Rankings" in the category of players 25 and younger. Patriots are No. 1 overall and Dolphins are 25th -- but ahead of the Bills (29th) and Jets (30th). AFC East'ers among the Top 25 prospects are Jets WR Jeremy Kerley (13th), Patriots QB Ryan Mallett (16th) and Pats OL Marcus Cannon (19th). I might have ranked Miami higher in the U25s. To mind come the names Vontae Davis, Reshad Jones, Jared Odrick, Mike Pouncey, Sean Smith and Ryan Tannehill.

WHITE HOUSE HONORS 'GREEN' HEAT: The Heat will be among teams honored at the White House today in an event focusing on sports franchises and facilities that lead the way in recycling, energy efficiency and other green initiatives. Jackie Ventura, operations coordinator for the Heat's arena, will represent the club. [On the court, Heat developmental team fell to 2-1 in the Las Vegas Summer League in a 65-62 loss to Golden State last night. Norris Cole had 15 points].

MAKING FUN OF DUMBASS ATHLETES: Someone in Denver paid for the billboard pictured to poke fun (albeit gently) at Broncos defender Elvis Dumervil for his recent arrest in Miami in a road-rage incident involving a gun. It reads, "Dumervil: Sticks with the Guns that made you a Star." I see this as a promising trend. More athletes might be dissuaded from appearing on police reports if the shame included mocking billboards in the cities in which they play. Fans, make it a grass-roots movement!

LADY GAGA'S NEW PERFUME AD: What is it about celebrity that celebrities think lends itself to a signature cologne or perfume? It seems everybody in entertainment has one now. Am waiting for a Larry the Cable Guy Body Spray. I think fandom might be traversing a dark, creepy road when we not only want to be like our favorite star but also smell like them. I digress. Here is the new ad for the inevitable new Lady Gaga scent. The good news? Ladies, this perfume will have men crawling all over you. The bad news? They'll all be tiny little men with tiny little ... let's move on.

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Go, Molli, go! (A special plea); plus vote for 2 best Olympic sports (poll), radio's Heavy 100, UM/FIU football both in 40s, Heat, Marlins, Paternos & more

GO, MOLLI, GO!: If you haven't heard of Molli Serrano's story, it will be worth your time. She was featured on the Today show last week. I knew her story before that because she is my neighbor in Plantation, same street, four houses down, a 38-year-old married mother of twins. I make a living in the company of great athletes, but Molli might be the most extraordinary athlete I know. Isn't courage how we respond when life deals us an awful hand? A year ago Molli underwent major surgery for pancreatic cancer, and six months of radiation and chemotherapy treatments -- all the while continuing with her serious passion for biking, running and swimming. Now she has a chance to compete in October in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii if she receives enough votes in a "Kona Inspired" contest. Voting ends today/Wednesday, July 18. Click on Team Molli to hear her story in her words, then please vote to help her dream happen, and forward this to others who also may wish to vote. I thank you.

[1) It is WEDNESDAY, JULY 18. Scroll down for Olympics poll immediately below. 2) UM dismisses senior safety Ray-Ray Armstrong. His own bad decisions caused it. What a shame. 3) Watch this kid try to steal a PGA Tour player's golf ball during yesterday's tournament. 4) Cigar smokers: Just finished a nice CAO La Traviata, a good bargain stick at $5. 5) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

WHAT SPORTS ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE SUMMER OLYMPICS?: Athletes have begun to arrive in London. The Summer Games begin in only seven days (yes, there is competition in soccer and archery prior to the July 27 Opening Ceremony), which means excitement begins to build in those who give a crap. I have always viewed the Olympics as a lot of stuff to fast-forward past -- sorry badminton, canoe and trampoline et al -- interspersed with sports of actual (and rather intense) interest. It has been said gymnastics, swimming and track are the Big 3 Summer Olympics sports. I'll be drawn to soccer and especially U.S. men's basketball as well. (Loved watching LeBron score 30 in that 80-69 U.S. exhibition win over Brazil Monday night). What competition in London are you most anticipating? Vote for your top TWO. If you vote for a sport not listed, pray tell which one. (It's canoe, right?) And remember, to not vote at all would be un-American, or un- whatever you are. That's why this poll doesn't have snarky, anti-Olympics options such as "Wake me when it's over!" or "Bring on the NFL!" After all what is the Olympics all about if not patriotism and national pride? If you don't vote in this poll you might as well just go ahead and burn the flag right now. (And I know you're better than that!)

LE BATARD RATED NO. 13 YAKKETY-YAK MAN IN U.S.: Talkers magazine, a talk-radio industry pub, is out with its 2012 Heavy Hundred, which it calls the 100 "most important" sports-talk hosts in America, and 790 The Ticket's Dan Le Batard (pictured) is rated 13th -- tops in the Greater Miami market. Top three overall are Mike Francesa (WFAN/New York), Jim Rome and Dan Patrick. Other national notables are Mike & Mike 6th, Tony Kornheiser 8th and Colin Cowherd 22nd. Other So-Fla yakkers inhaling Le Batard's dust are WQAM's Dan Sileo 32nd, 'QAM's Joe Rose 49th and 790's Stugotz & Marc Hochman 51st.

Irvin leaves WQAM: Michael Irvin bid his listeners goodbye Monday, and WQAM is right to make the move. Michael is a good guy and had a pretty good show but it insults the local market to have a man living in Dallas doing Miami radio.

MARLINS AND TRADE DEADLINE: Earlier I wrote, "Baseball trade deadline is the end of this month. Is it too late to trade the Marlins -- I mean the owner, manager, entire roster, everybody -- and just start over?" But the frustrating-to-watch Fish are showing signs of life again, 3-2 sinec the all-star break after last night's win at the Cubs fueled by Carlos Lee's grand slam. (Meanwhile, Ozzie Guillen lashed out during Sunday's game at Nats phenom Bryce Harper for using too much pine tar. A mastery of lip-reading is not reqired to discern Giullen calling Harper "a piece of s---." Click here for the YouTube vid).

CANES FOOTBALL: "WE'RE NO. 43! WE'RE...!": Bleacher Report, a website I seldom visit because its has that annoying, time-consuming slideshow theme, has come out with a preseason ranking of all 124 FBS football teams and Miami's Hurricanes are ranked an uninspiring 43rd -- barely ahead of FIU's 49th. Other state-school rankings: FSU 4th, Florida 25th, South Florida 29th, UCF 44th and FAU 114th. The predictable top-three: Alabama-LSU-Southern Cal. Dead last: UMass. Almost dead last at 121st: Texas-San Antonio led by ex-Canes coach Larry Coker (pictured).

MORE PROOF LEBRON IS NOW THE GREATEST PERSON ON EARTH: The man America used to hate continues his inexorable move toward sainthood with this: Granting the wish of a cancer-stricken boy. As part of ESPN's currently running "My Wish" series, Georgia teen Thiago D'Elia (pictured with his hero) gets the star treatment from the Heat and LeBron James. Click here for the video.

Heat in China: Club announced it will play a pair of preseason exhibitions in China against the L.A. Clippers, on Oct. 11 in Beijing and Oct. 14 in Shangai.

Heat Summer Leaguers are kicking a--!: Heat younguns swamped the Lakers' children, 106-56, yesterday in Summer league play in Las Vegas, a SL record for win margin. Norris Cole led with 13 points, nine assists. Miami had beaten Toronto, 71-59, in its first of five Summer League games, topped by Terrel Harris' 14 points. 

FAMILY OF JOE PATERNO TO LAUNCH OWN INVESTIGATION: I could not type the preceding headline without laughing out loud and being angry and sad all at once. But it's true. The Paterno family thinks the damning Freeh Report -- a credible, detailed, independent, months-long investigation -- was incomplete and so will appoint its own investigators. Wild guess: The family report will suggest the late Joe Pa did what he could to stop the monster Jerry Sandusky and that Paterno's superiors are most to blame. Dear Paterno family: This is pathetic. Your patriarch's name is forever damaged beyond repair (see below). At least deal with it with a little grace. Jesus. [Tuesday update: A plane pulling the banner pictured flew over Penn State today].

Poll result: Landslide! Paterno statue should come down: We asked in the previous blogpost (you can still vote) if Penn State should take down the statue honoring Paterno, and man did you answer. It was 80.5 percent yes, 14.6% no and 4.9% undecided. (Votes cast in Florida were 81.7 - 13.7 - 4.6. Votes from Pennsylvania were 79.0 - 15.7 - 5.3).    

DAMN YANKEES EVEN BEAT RED SOX IN STAMPS: U.S. Postal Service issues four new commemorative baseball stamps late this week, and based on preorders the Joe DiMaggio stamp edged the Ted Williams stamp in popularity, 421,266 to 417,066, with the Willie Stargell and Larry Doby stamps well behind. The DiMaggio stamp pictures Joe canoodling Marilyn Monroe. Just kidding. The stamp is shown. Quick thought: Maybe the USPS wouldn't be as close to bankruptcy as it is if it put out fewer commemorative stamps.

AND IN TODAY'S DUMBASS-ATHLETE FACEOFF...: We present Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil, arrested in a road rage incident in Miami Beach, vs. Knicks guard Jason Kidd, busted for DUI in New York.

TIME TO BOYCOTT CHICK-FIL-A?: It has come to my attention (belatedly, I feel), that the restaurant chain Chick-fil-A has been making an awful lot of political donations to groups that would fall under the broad umbrella "anti-gay." Click here for a backgrounder, and please pass it along. The corporation running Chick-fil-A has a right to its political leanings. So do consumers have a right to not patronize restaurants that are serving up a heapin' side of intolerance.

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Joe Paterno's Penn State statue should come down: Agree or disagree? Vote now (with poll); plus Heat, Marlins, being a billionaire, Octomom & more

[1) It is MONDAY, JULY 16. Click on Random Evidence for my latest Sunday notes column. Who else but me could combine the Joe Paterno scandal and Olympic berets into a lead item? 2) Drew Brees' new $100 million contract including a record $60 million guaranteed is good news. The Saints' bounty fund was getting a little low. 3) Click here to watch our friend Cory Chisel's recent performance on David Letterman. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

JOE PATERNO'S WATERGATE: HIS PENN STATE STATUE SHOULD COME DOWN: I say that after reading this week's damning Freeh Report that leaves little doubt former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno had ample information to do something but did nothing -- for 14 years! -- while Jerry Sandusky rampaged as a pedophile sexually abusing boys. Paterno might well be facing criminal charges today related to his coverup, in fact, had he not died in January. How many more boys became victims because of an ignorance by Paterno that amounted to tacit approval? Even old colleague Bobby Bowden said the statue (pictured) honoring Paterno outside the stadium should not remain. I do not think this poll question is a no-brainer, though. Plenty might say that a lifetime devoted well to Nittany Lions football should not be overshadowed by what Paterno's family would have you believe is one regrettable chapter of that life. To others this might involve some of the same moral wrangling we go through in debating, for example, whether Barry Bonds deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. (Which is NOT to liken the two crimes, but only to note both involve assigning a weight to a man's wrongdoing in the larger context of his life and career). I admired Paterno from afar for a long time. He was "Joe Pa." But his damnable role in the Sandusky scandal made ever more irrefutable by the Freeh Report is too shaming, too much, to dismiss. Watergate rightly became what forever stained Richard Nixon and began any discussion of his legacy, and this is Paterno's Watergate. OK that's my say. Your turn. Vote and say why.

IT'S GOOD TO BE A BILLIONAIRE: Heat owner Micky Arison, vacation in Europe, Tweeted this photo captioned, "We are enjoying lunch Poulet de Bresse with France's best chef." From what I could determine here, this is a specially bred, very expensive type of poultry, the kind of royal bird that probably looks down its beak at mere ordinary chickens.

Heat kiddies debut in Summer League: Heat's Summer League team debuts today vs. Toronto in Las Vegas. Never quite understood the fascination (assuming any) for the Summer League. It's five developmental games for B-list players like Norris Cole, Dexter Pittman and recent draftee Justin Hamilton. 

MARLINS BOUNCE BACK: First game back after the break. Eager home crowd. First-place division opponent. Josh Johnson on the bump. and ... pffft! The Marlins somehow come out flat, lose 5-1. The perfect snapshot: The Nats' Bryce Harper steals third while Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes are lost in conversation. But last night they bounced back with strong pitching to even the series. Long way to go, but this inaugural season in the new ballpark still looks like an awfully steep climb to the playoffs.

Poll result: Sorry, Kobe, it's still the Dream Team: Kobe Bryant said his 2012 U.S. Olympic team could beat the 1992 Dream Team. I tend to agree. But Michael Jordan scoffed and so did you in our previous poll. We asked could the '12 team beat the Dreamers (you can still vote) and it was "no" with 60.6 percent. And that's despite the LeBron James factor, with about half of our polls' votes generally coming from Florida.

THE ETERNAL SADNESS OF OCTOMOM: Nadya Suleman, 37, mother of 14 and the world's worst advertisement for collagen lips, performed Friday night at The Playhouse, a Hallandale strip club, on the heel of releasing her first adult film Octomom Uncovered. Should her life get even sadder, we'll have updates.   

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Vote: Could 2012 U.S. Olympians beat '92 Dream Team? (w/ poll); plus Freeh Report buries Joe Pa, America loves LeBron, TV ratings, Marlins & more

[1) It is FRIDAY, JULY 13. Convince a paraskevidekatriaphobe to leave the house and join you for lunch today, then pay the waiter to slip a fake eyeball into your friend's soup. 2) Click on The Closer for yesterday's column, on Pat Riley's influence in the Heat landing free agents Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. (If only the Marlins had a closer as effective as Riley...). 3) It was 50 years ago last night that the Rolling Stones played their first gig at London's Marquee Jazz Club. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]

Team USA off to good start: Team USA routed the Dominican Republic, 113-59, in its first pre-Olympics exhibition last night in Las Vegas, led by Kevin Durant's 24 points. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant had 11 combined in very limited action. Click on Dream Debate for today's latest column by me, on the debate over whether the 2012 U.S. Olympic basketball team could beat the '92 Dream Team. I say yes and explain. We invite your vote in the poll immediately below.

POLL: 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM VS. 1992 DREAM TEAM. VOTE NOW!: The answer isn't knowable, so like any cross-eras debate this poll is just for fun. The question of which team would win is in the news because Kobe Bryant said his 2012 team would beat the '92 squad, and Michael Jordan scoffed at the idea. The Big 3's for each team: Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird vs. Kobe, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. If that sounds lopsided (not to prejudice the jury), I would note that Magic and Bird clearly were past their primes in '92, which to me levels the argument and makes the answer honestly debatable. Dream Team might still be the quick/easy answer but I'm not so sure, as I explain in my latest column, now online (see link above) and in today's/Friday's paper. What do you think? Vote and say why.

U.S Olympians will lead world in funny hats -- Update!: In prior blogpost I poked fun at U.S. Olympic Committee choosing dorky French berets as headwear for American athletes in London. Now Congress is irate because the Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms were made in China!

FOOTBALL STILL RULES NATION: There might be some doubt in Greater Miami, where the Heat are as (or more) popular than the Dolphins, but nationally the NFL remains king. Latest proof is from Sports Market Watch's top 50-rated sports broadcasts of the first half of 2012. The Giants-Patriots Super Bowl is No. 1 overall with 111.3 million viewers; in fact the top 12 are all NFL. Clinching Game 5 of the Heat-Thunder NBA Finals ranks 17th with 18.4 million.

AMERICA: "WE FORGIVE YOU LEBRON. IN FACT YOU'RE OUR FAVORITE NOW!": Call Wednesday night's 20th annual ESPY Awards the symbolic completion of the reimaging of LeBron James. Fickle, front-running America's opinion of the Heat megastar has gone from Mad to Mad Love. Quick disclaimer: NBA and its stars enjoy a unfair distinct advantage in the ESPYS, because fan voting takes place just after the season has ended, when highlights and the NBA Finals are fresh in minds. Even so, it was a stunning sweep for James as he won Male Athlete of the Year, NBA Player of the Year, Championship Performer of the Year, and led the Heat to winning the big final award, Team of the Year. The Big 3 were not there in Los Angeles, although LeBron -- off training with the U.S. Olympic team -- appeared in a live thank-you video. Hilariously, the team award was accepted by Juwan Howard and Mike Miller (pictured). "We have the Big 3 and then there's the Little 12, and you see two of 'em right now," joked Howard. Those two accepting Team of the Year for the Heat would be like me accepting the Pulitzer Prize for The Miami Herald, but it was cute. Three other quick ESPY thoughts: 1) No other entity on Earth pimps itself as unabashedly as ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Self-Promotion; 2) Eric LeGrand simply would not stop talking but who has the nerve to shush a man in a wheelchair accepting a never-give-up award?; and 3) If you walked in on Baylor's Brittney Griner speaking and didn't know who she was, you'd assume from seeing and hearing her that she was a "he." I'm just sayin'.

Poll result: Sorry, Rashard. Ray's the man: We invited you in our previous blogpost to say whether Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis excited you more as a Heat free-agent signing (you can still vote), and a landslide of 87.2 percent chose Allen. (By the way, if you combine Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, do you get Ray Lewis?)

MARLINS' 'THE FRANCHISE' PREMIERE: A REVIEW: [Marlins return to post-All-Star Break action tonight at home vs. Nationals] Much of the one-hour premiere of Showtime's baseball reality series starring the Marlins felt like a replowing of plowed ground, such as Ozzie Guillen's profanity-laced spring training talk to his team and the Fidel Castro stuff. (The series will seem fresher elsewhere than in So-Fla, where so much of what is aired has been previously reported). Other elements seemed extraneous, such as way too much time spent on club president David Samson's charity run. What makes the concept work are the details, such as Guillen telling Marlins wives before a charity softball game: "Play better than your husbands!" Or GM Mike Hill in a staff meeting saying, "The veterans are crapping all over themselves." Focal point was Heath Bell's struggles, and his give and take with Guillen was illuminating. Guillen, Bell, Jose Reyes, Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Zambrano got the most face time. Very little Hanley Ramirez. Zero Josh Johnson. Sometimes you almost wished the cameras weren't there, as when Gaby Sanchez was told he was being demoted again to Triple-A. One other quick thought: Guillen spewing F-bombs in a clubhouse has its profane charm, seeming natural to his persona and somehow softened by his thick accent. Samson in a suit using F-words in a president's office sounds, well, unprofessional.

FREEH REPORT ON PENN STATE/SANDUSKY DAMNING TO PATERNO: The investigation into the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky child rape scandal by former FBI director Louis Freeh is out; click HERE to download it. "Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State," Freeh concludes. "The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized." Joe Paterno (pictured) is named as one of four leaders who "never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well being of Sandusky's victims until after [his] arrest." The world now knows Sandusky, convicted of 45 counts of serial child abuse, is a creep of the worst order. But this new report leaves little doubt about the gravity and extent of Paterno's looking the other way -- a tacit approval that allowed for more victims over many years. The legacy and name of the late Joe Pa won't ever be the same.

THE BEST NEWSPAPER HEADLINES...: ...are the ones that have a double entendre, and leave you to wonder if the headline writer meant that or not. Like these two headlines.

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