[1) It is WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6. The new Sports Illustrated (right) has NFL commish Roger Goodell atop its list of 50 most powerful figures in sports off-the field. List here. No So-Fla folks on it. 2) R.I.P. Alvin Lee, guitarist from Ten Years After, dead at 68. 3) Happier musical news: Jack White, Brendan Benson and The Raconteurs are reuniting to record another album. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Laura Silberman, Heat 15th straight, UM falls to 6, Dolphins franchise Starks, A-Rod's girl, golf's surprise, Bar Eaters. 5) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
Dolphins close to re-signing Hartline: Good news, Dolfans. Miami and pending free-agent wide receiver Brian Hartline are close to agreement on an extended contract averaging just over $6 million a year. Dolphins will continue to target outside help at the position, such as former Steeler Mike Wallace. Click on Greg Cote Talks Free-Agency to see and hear a video of, well, I guess that title about says it.
Heat win 16th in a row: LeBron James with a layup with three seconds left and Heat survive visiting Orlando 97-96 tonight. That was Miami's first field goal in final seven minutes. A fortunate win. Funny, though. Good teams seem to have a lot of those.
A WORD OR TWO FOR THE MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: During the Timberwolves' loss to Miami the other night the club released an official response video (click here) to the Heat's immensely popular (and well done) Harlem Shake video. Minnesota's version depicts a guy in a No. 6 Heat jersey (LeBron's number) being clubbed into submission bye the T-Wolves' mascot. Later, after the game, Minnesota's J.J. Barea blasted Ray Allen for "crying." I believe this merits a response. J.J., you're from Miami and I hate to pick on a homeboy, but you calling out Allen is like a flea calling out an elephant. It's comical. He's a hall of famer. You are a career backup. Shhh. As for that video, similar situation. Miami is reigning champion. You, Minnesota, have done nothing worth hanging from a rafter in 24 NBA seasons. Zero. This will be your ninth straight year out of the playoffs. Respect those who have earned it. Know your role.
FIRING ONLY FEATHERS SILEO'S CAREFULLY CULTIVATED PERSONA: WQAM-560 fired Dan Sileo, its 10 a.m.-to-1 p.m. radio host, and it's just about the best thing that could have happened to him and his career. Sileo being suspended or fired is sort of like a rapper being shot or arrested. What seems like
bad news really isn't. Street cred is only enhanced. Reputations are only magnified. I have known Sileo since he played for the Miami Hurricanes in the mid-'80s, and credit him with creating for himself a career in radio. But the niche he has tried to carve and own is pretty clear by the self-description on his Twitter account: AMERICA'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL SPORTS TALK RADIO HOST. (The capital letters are his). The listener is left to discern whether Sileo is actually good at what he does, or simply loud. The listener is left to decide if Sileo's controversy is organic and natural or a manicured contrivance. The next station that hires him -- preparatory to firing him, and then acting like it didn't know what it was getting -- should know precisely what it is getting: a guy who is going to bang into a market shouting and ranting and hoping to make headlines. It might take cartoonishly sexist Twitter comments about Erin Andrews. It might take suggesting the Canes pull a knife on the opposing quarterback and gouge his eyes. Or it might take what led to his firing this time: Saying "that's the half Hebrew in me" regarding saving money. But he will make his headlines. Sileo's Tweet upon his dismissal: FIRED FOR SPEAKING MY MIND, BABY!!!! Love it!! And he does, too, and should. For him, it's good for business.
D-WADE'S SPECIAL DAY: Dwyane Wade scored 32 points with 10 assists and seven
rebounds in a club-record 15th straight Heat win; his recent play has been vintage, pre-LeBron dominance. But what distinguished the trip to the Twin Cities was Wade making time for a Make-A-Wish fan, a 13-year-old girl, Tess Mountain, who suffers from a heart ailment that also affects her facial features. Click HERE for the story and video. Michael Jordan once told Wade to perform every night as if he were playing for the one fan in the arena who'd never seen him in person but always wished to. His making this girl's dream real was sort of the same thing. Only better.
CATS' WEISS OUT FOR SEASON: A bad hockey season got worse for the Florida Panthers with the news center and longest-tenured Cat Stephen Weiss would undergo wrist surgery and be done for the year. It lessens the team's already slim playoff hopes. And it eliminates Weiss, who is in the final year of his contract, as a trade option prior to the April NHL deadline.
DENNIS RODMAN: CLOWN DIPLOMAT: It's funny to me. Not quite a year ago Ozzie Guillen expressed admiration for Fidel Castro and Little Havana exploded in his face. But Dennis Rodman recently heaped effusive praise on North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un after a visit there and it's just sort of passed off as Dennis Being Dennis. I rip Rodman in my latest column. Click on Clown Diplomat to read.
WARNING: GOLFERS RAPPING: PGA Tour players Bubba Watson, Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan call themselves Golf Boys. Thankfully their schtick is a bit more inventive than
their name. Click HERE for their latest faux-rap video, "2.Oh." It is wonderfully awful. If you think golfers are dull, consider this a prescribed antidote. I'd love to make fun of this project and snarkily suggest less-rapping-more-golfing -- except this is a pretty accomplished quarter in the sport. They have 14 PGA Tour titles among them; each has won. Fowler is an up-and-coming star and Watson is the reigning 2012 Master champion. Hard to imagine this video playing well -- or at all -- at staid Augusta. Which makes it that much better!
THE CURIOUS MAGNETICISM OF 'DOWNTON ABBEY': My wife has fallen in love with this show and so I have developed a residual interest. Sort of an osmosis thing. It's about an aristocratic
British family, sub-royals but full of lords, ladies and servants. I love the time period, 1912-21, an era that fascinates me because it is out of personal reach but not prehistoric. (I love Boardwalk Empire for some of the same reasons). I love the costuming and sets of Downton Abbey as well; the series is stunningly luxurious visually, and, for me, wonderfully acted. There is also something about the British accent that is lilting and mesmerizing. Let's be honest. A Brit could say, "Pardon me but I must go take a giant crap" and it would sound like poetry.
Click back. As always, I'll be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...
[1) It is WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30. Pictured left and right are Kate Upton from her Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl ad, and Beyonce as she would look if playing referee and running back at the same time. Why? Just because. 2) Former UM quarterback Ken Dorsey named today as new QBs coach for the Carolina Panthers. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat at White House, Super Bowl matchup poll, Pro Bore, Smirk, Cats, runners. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
BIOGENESIS AND DEER ANTLERS: A-ROD, RAY LEWIS MAKING THE WRONG KIND OF NEWS: Is it me, or has the first month of 2013 been exceptionally bizarre in our little Sports World. In newspapers they
used to call us the "toy department." Now the toy aisles are filled with guns (real ones) and drugs. Now the toys come in such weird packaging like Lance Armstrong's shamed confession and Manti Te'o record-setting naivete. A week ago the NCAA accused its own investigators of wrongdoing in the Miami probe. Of course it did! And now: A double scoop of strange involving two superstars with strong Miami ties. Ex-Hurricane Ray Lewis of the Ravens makes unfortunate Super Bowl Week headines when Sports Illustrated accuses him of using a banned substance found in, of all things, deer-antler extract. And Yankees icon Alex Rodriguez is the most prominent name in a Miami New Times expose about a now-shuttered PED-peddling Miami "anti-aging" clinic called Biogenesis. For what it's worth, A-Rod denies any involvement with Biogenesis and Lewis denies what he is accused of. It's a bad climate for denials, though, isn't it. In sports, our benefit of doubt is spent. Call it the Lance Effect.
Smirk Wednesday: Super Bowl With a Smirk, here to tweak the self-important NFL and the gravitas of its big game -- think of us as a whoopee cushion in church -- is back today with a menu that includes deer-antler extract, Media Day, the NFL Experience, national anthem, media party, Psy's pistachios and, as always, much more. Click on Smirk Wednesday for the full column.
Poll result: Super Bowl matchup better than most: We asked in the previous blogpost how 49ers-Ravens rates as a SB matchup and 44.5 percent said better than most, 41.5% said about the same, and 14.0% said worse.
CATS ON ICE! SLIPPING, FALLING...: Since their exhilirating season-opening home win your Florida Panthers have now lost five games in a row by a combined score of 23-5. This truncated 48-game NHL season will seem shorter and shorter and then too short for teams that fall too far behind early. Anybody seen a panic button?
Click back. Will be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...
It's Radio Tuesday: If it's Tuesday, I'm back in-studio with Le Batard and Stugotz today beginning at 3 p.m. on 790 The Ticket and FM 104.3. Ears welcome.
[1) It is TUESDAY, JANUARY 29. Am thinking of launching a campaign to persuade Florida Power & Light to bring back its old icon, Reddy Kilowatt. Who's with me? 2) MLB is investigating several South Florida "wellness clinics" for the sale of human growth hormone and testosterone to players. I remember the good old days when baseball's only problem in Miami was Jeffrey Loria. 3) Click on Random Evidence for my Sunday notes column, leading with the sublime, somber, surreal week for Miami Hurricane sports. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Chris Bosh-for-Dwight Howard poll, LeBron's joy-tackle, Top 10 Super Bowl storylines. 5) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
OBAMA TO LEBRON: "IT'S YOUR WORLD, MAN!": President Barack Obama honored the Heat yesterday at the White House for their 2012 NBA championship. Click HERE for a brief video. At one point Obama invotes LeBron James to say a few words with, "It's your world, man!" Pretty cool. A delighted LeBron, overcome by the occasion, says, "Mama, I made it." Very sweet.
HOW DOES 49ERS-RAVENS RATE ON YOUR EXCITEMENT/INTEREST SCALE?: Are all Super Bowls created equal? I mean, unless your team is in it (sorry, Dolfans), isn't the interest level about the same every year? Teams change but the event is the same, right? You'll watch no matter who's playing, right? Or: Are some matchups more or less interesting than others? I'm curious, as Super Bowl Week kicks off, how you slot this 49ers-Ravens matchup vs. most SBs. More exciting? Less interesting? Have a vote and say why.
The return of Super Bowl With a Smirk!: Smirk, sent here to tweak the self-important NFL and the gravitas of its big game, returns today with a menu that includes Ray Lewis' divineness, Alicia Keys, Radio Row, crab cakes vs. wine, Beyonce, cow sacrifice, Miss Alabama and, as always, much more. Click on SMIRK TUESDAY to read.
NFL KICKS OFF SUPER BOWL WEEK WITH PRO BORE: NFC defeats AFC, 62-35. Asusual, defenders lei down in Hawaii. LEI DOWN, GET IT!? Original post: Let me make this clear. The NFL kicking off its Super Bowl Week with the Pro Bowl is like you kicking off your expensive gourmet meal with an
appetizer of dog s---. My Pro Bowl prediction: The final score will be something like 51-45, with offense once more masquerading as excitement but actually mirroring rampant disinterest by players. My other prediction: You won't remember or care in two days which conference won or who the game MVP was. The Pro Bowl has become such a lame event that the NFL is weighing whether to kill the whole thing because so many selected players drop out with lame excuses and so little effort is put forth by those who do participate. The event has gotten even worse since they moved it to the week before the Super Bowl, because now players from the two SB teams are excluded. You are beyond a diehard NFL fan if you plan to watch today's game from Honolulu. More likely, you are directly related to one of the players, or have been ordered to watch to help fulfill your court-ordered obligation to community service hours. Click on Top 10 Super Bowl Storylines for my column skewering the buildup to the SB. The Pro Bowl is enthusiastically omitted.
HEAT FALL AT BOSTON IN RAY ALLEN RETURN: Heat lose today, 100-98 in double-OT. LeBron 34 points, Ray Allen 21 off bench. Mixed reaction to Allen shading toward booing. Original post: Ray Allen makes his much-awaited
return to the Garden today. It isn't LeBron-back-in-Cleveland but it'll turn up the boo-decibels pretty good with Celtics fans who feel jilted -- their anger accentuated by the team's current mediocrity. It's another watch-me game on the schedule. Boston will be pumped to beat the champs and their former star, while Miami will rally up around Allen. Fun!
HEAT BIG 5 @ 40: The blog loves bells 'n whistles especially of the nerdy-stat variety and so we started
this new one we are running throughout Heat season at five-game intervals. It's a top-five cumulative ranking of the players having the biggest overall impact this season based on eight statistical categories. The numbers themselves might not mean much but the numbers relative to each other give an indication of the contribution players are making. The Big 5 @ 40 Games (28-12):
Rank (@35) Player Total
1 (1) LeBron James 1,508.5
2 (3) Dwyane Wade 993.5
3 (2) Chris Bosh 979.7
4 (4) Ray Allen 620.4
5 (5) Mario Chalmers 606.7
Bubble: Udonis Haslem, 407.6
Poll result: Love for Bosh: We asked in the previous blogpost if you would (or think the Heat should) trade Chris Bosh for Dwight Howard. "No" won with 60.4 percent. It was 33.8% for "yes" and 5.8% "undecided." That might not be mad love, Chris. But it's love.
PANIC IN CATLAND: The Panthers' truncated NHL season began so merrily -- with a 5-1 home triumph -- and has since spiraled dismally to four straight defeats by a combined 18-3 margin. Normally we'd invoke the "long season" call for patience, except the 48-game schedule means the season already is more than 1/10th through, the playoffs or lack of them will get here on a fast track and the Cats need to figure this out fast. That's you, coach Kevin Dineen.
THE 26.2 AND 13.1 CROWD: Some 25,000 serious runners marathoned and half-marathoned in downtown Miami Sunday. I have noticed that fitness aficionadoes in general and runners in particular are very proud of themselves and wish to brag unabashedly share what they do with others, so the public display of their running is nirvana. But here is something to consider: 72 percent of all drivers with a 26.2 or 13.1 decal on their cars bought the stickers just for show, have never run more than a fever and are eating Doritos while driving. I totally made up that percentage, but believe it to be close.
Click back. Will be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...
[1) It is SUNDAY, JANUARY 20. Click on Lance 'n Manti for my Sunday Random Evidence wiseass notes column, led by a skewering of this week's Liefest. 2) R.I.P., Earl Weaver (pictured), dead at 82. The colorful and cantankerous longtime former Orioles manager, who lived in Pembroke Pines, suffered a heart attack while on an O's fantasy cruise in Caribbean. Also, a farewell to the great Stan Musial. 3) WQAM rightly suspended Dan Sileo two days for cartoonishly sexist Tweets about Erin Andrews. C'mon, Sileo. Don't go so low with the shock-jock schtick. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
Canes losing offensive coordinator: ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported that Hurricanes OC Jedd Fisch is leaving for the same post with the Jacksonville Jaguars. That's a sizable loss. Be interesting to see what Al Golden does for a replacement, especially now that Mario Cristobal is on the staff.
NFL PREDIX: 49ERS, RAVENS MAKE IT A HAR-BOWL SUPER BOWL: OK, get ready , America, for the onslaught. More Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh than you can stomach. More Ray Lewis farewell than you can stand. Storyline overload! WHOOOOO! Original post: The possibility of a 49ers-
Ravens Super Bowl -- Jim Harbaugh vs. John Harbaugh in the Bro Bowl -- is pretty good, but won't happen. John's Niners get in. Jim's Crows do not, which means the end of the line for Ray Lewis. Click on Championship Game Gems for full version of this week's latest NFL picks. And on First Family for my Friday NFL column. I write how the Harbaughs have (temporarily) unseated the Mannings atop league's geneological marquee, and on other stuff that makes this year's Final Four a good one no matter who advances. A synopsis of my picks:
NFC FINAL: 49ers 28, Falcons 24 -- Atalnta just isn't there yet. Almost blew it a week ago vs. Seattle, and today sqaundered a 17-0 second-quarter lead. Niners clearly the better team and proved it, though SF pushed against the spread. Original post: Home dogs always are so tempting in playoffs (especially with ATL 8-1 at home), but Niners are a more physical and better all-round team, and Falcons defense has had trouble defending the kind of dual-threat QB embodied by Colin Kaepernick. SF has too many weapons. My pick was: 49ers (-4), 24-17.
AFC FINAL: Ravens 28, Patriots 13 -- Pats were 67-0 when leading at halftime under Tom Brady ... until tonight. Give Ravens credit. Big defense and three TD passes by Joe Flacco. Original post: I like Baltimore getting nine points but not outright in the first AFC title-game rematch since 1986-87. Ravens usually defend Tom Brady comparatively well, but you just don't bet against Brady at home in winter-time, even missing Rob Gronkowski again. My pick was: Patriots (-9), 34-27.
HOCKEY'S BACK, EH! ROOKIE HUBERDEAU LEADS CATS' BIG IN OPENER: Panthers routed Carolina 5-1 last night here to launch the NHL season, with a goal and two assists from rookie Jonathan Huberdeau,
the player of the game. Click on Earning the Ridiculous Red Hat for my column off the game. This season the Cats are having their guy voted player of the game wear a Three Musketeers-style hat in postgame interviews, and last night it looked more like a playful rookie hazing of the 19-year-old Huberdeau (pictured). Love it! Original post: Better late than never, Florida Panthers open their 19th NHL season tonight vs. Carolina in the Sunrise ice barn. I'll be there battling a deadline column. Cats won their first-ever division title last year to end a long playoff drought, and Carolina is one of the teams they'll have to beat to do that again so it's a big division test out the gate. Every game will seem a little bigger this season with the schedule truncated from 82 games to 48. Honestly I don't follow hockey intently but I do follow the Panthers closely. Love what GM Dale Tallon has done since arriving in 2010, second-year coach Kevin Dineen looks like the real deal, and I'm eager to see if young Jonathan Huberdeau will add needed scoring punch. Cats have a really good mix of veterans and rising talent. I had a nice long conversation with Dineen the other day and from that petri dish arose this preview column.
ALL IS WELL WITH HEAT AGAIN! (UNTIL NEXT LOSS...): Heat, off until Wednesday, ended a 3-3 western road swing on a high in L.A., 99-90 over the Lakers. Blearily I stayed up 'til 1:30 to watch LeBron James net 39 points, Dwyane Wade hit 27, and Kobe Bryant get hot too late. LeBron affirmed his BPE status (Best Player on Earth) for any doubters out there. Miami has struggled on the road and the Lakers are struggling, period, but this game still had an event/marquee feel and it was a nice win for the Heat. Lakers had the inside size to (theoretically) match up well with Miami, but tenacious D (pictured) and
LeBron at his best were plenty. So it's official, then. All is well and Heat-repeat chances look good again. Until the next loss, of course. With this team, premature panic never quite disappears, right? It just lays dormant ... waiting.
Poll result: Manti Lie'o: We asked in the previous blogpost if you thought Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o was a liar or the victim of a hoax in the bizarre dead-girlfriend-who-never existed story. More than two-thirds, 68.4 percent, said liar, and only 6.7% said victim. Another 24.9% voted "not sure."
Click back. Will be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...
[1) It is SUNDAY, JANUARY 6. I'm already tired of Rex Ryan's tattoo but this interests me. Sexy Sofia Vergara involved in Miami nightclub skirmish, falls to floor as breast pops out of dress. I couldn't say it if it werent true; this is a blog! Click here for more. 2) Heat waive guard Terrel Harris. 3) Am told Alabama as a team will see a private screening of 'Zero Dark Thirty' tonight to get pumped for Monday's game. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
NHL, players agree to end lockout: Happened early this morning. A 48-game (or perhaps 50) season is expected to begin no later than Jan. 18. Panthers fans, rejoice! The rest of you, go about your business as usual.
NFL PLAYOFFS: PREVIEW, PREDIX, POLL: Here I offer my predictions for this weekend's first round of the playoffs, which I dislike calling Wild-Card Weekend as the NFL does because half of the eight teams playing are not wild-card teams. Anyway, I like all four underdogs with the points and all four home teams, meaning one outright upset. Click on Playoff Round 1 Gems for the full version of our picks; here is a synopsis, chronologically:
FINAL: TEXANS d. BENGALS, 19-13 -- Arian Foster and big defense carry the day as Cincy held without offensive TD. Original post: Houston backing in, Cincy hotter, but Bengals last won a playoff in 1990, and Texans much more talented. Arian Foster runs big, J.J. Watt harrasses Andy Dalton. [My pick was: Texans (-4 1/2), 24-21. Playoff record: 1-0 outright; 0-1 vs. spread].
FINAL: PACKERS d. VIKINGS, 24-10 -- Aaron Rodgers was great as expected, and Joe Webb in for injured Christian Ponder doomed Vikes' upset shot. Original post: Tough to beat Gee Bees twice in a year, let alone twice in two weeks. Return of Charles Woodson big for Pack defense, and Aaron Rodgers comes up huge. [My pick was: Packers (-7 1/2), 31-24. Playoff record: 2-0 outright, 0-2 vs. spread].
FINAL: RAVENS d. COLTS, 24-9 -- Vintage Baltimore defense reminiscent of past years and a big day by Anquan Boldin carries the Crows. Original post: Lots of emotion here, with Ray Lewis facing his final game and the Chuck Pagano story. I see Lewis' return from 10 games out and the home field carrying the day. [My pick was: Ravens (-6 1/2), 27-23. Playoff record: 3-0 outright, 0-3 vs. spread].
FINAL: SEAHAWKS d. REDSKINS, 24-14 -- Thought I was looking foof at 14-0, Skins. RG3's injury didn't help. Original post: Upset! Seattle has not been a very good road team (3-5) and I'll take Robert Griffin III at home in a rookie-QB duel that should make this the game of the weekend. [My pick was: Redskins (+3), 24-23. Playoff record: 3-1 outright; 0-4 vs. spread].
Click Logic Vs. Sentiment for my Friday Page column. I rank the playoff teams 1 through 12 based on best chance to win the Super Bowl (Logic) and also based on my own Independent Rooting Interest scale (Sentiment). The column also includes my six end-of-season league awards plus my Dolphins MVP.
OK, your turn. Which team do you most hope wins the Super Bowl? I know 20 of 32 teams aren't in the playoffs, so about 63 percent of all fans including Dolfans aren't as passionately drawn. But don't fans develop a rooting interest in the playoffs even when their team isn't in it? I bet yes. Remember, this poll is not asking who you predict will win the Super Bowl. It's asking who you hope does. You can even still vote for teams that have been eliminated, if you wish. Vote and say why.
FIU RECYCLES, HIRES RON TURNER: Last month FIU and athletics boss Pete Garcia prematurely and
unwisely fired bright young football coach Mario Cristobal. Now the school introduces his replacement, Ron Turner, 59 (pictured), a college and pro journeyman coach who is seen as an offensive specialist and quarterbacks guru. My concern is that Turner hasn't coached collegiately in almost a decade, since Illinois fired him after the 2004 season. He was 35-57 in eight years with the Illini. In 2001 he was 10-2 and lost in the Sugar Bowl but apart from that didn't do much. I wonder how a 60ish guy out of the college game so long will be as a recruiter. Turner signed a five-year contract but I doubt Garcia's patience will last that long. The upside? Ron has a more normal first name than his brother, Norv.
HEAT BIG 5 @ 30: The blog loves bells 'n whistles especially of the nerdy-stat variety and so this season
we started this new one we are running throughout Heat season at five-game intervals (except we skipped @25; oops). It's a top-five cumulative ranking of the players having the biggest overall impact this season based on eight statistical categories. We continue with The Big 5 @ 30 Games (22-8, before Friday night's loss to Bulls):
Rank (@20) Player Total
1 (1) LeBron James 1,146.1
2 (2) Chris Bosh 746.5
3 (3) Dwyane Wade 703.5
4 (4) Ray Allen 475.0
5 (5) Mario Chalmers 447.7
Bubble: Shane Battier, 316.3
Poll result: Sorry, Nick. We still don't like you: I wrote this week that Dolfans should finally forgive Nick Saban, six years later, for the way he left Miami for Alabama, and asked in a poll if you agree. You didn't. Don't-forgive had 70.4 percent to only 21.5% who said forgive, with the other 8.1% undecided. So if you get booed Monday night, Nick, don't take it personally. Actually ... do take it personally.
Click back. Will be updating/adding to this latest blogpost...
[1) It is TUESDAY, JANUARY 1. Happy New Year, everybody! 2) Find results of season-final Dolfan Satisfaction Meter poll in blogpost directly below this. 3) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
HEAT CHAMPIONSHIP DOMINATES AS 2012 MIAMI SPORTS STORY OF YEAR: We asked you previously to name the year's top national sports story and you did (results at bottom of this blogpost). Now we asked you to select the 2012 Miamisports story of the year, and of 16 choices the Heat's LeBron James-led NBA title won clearly with 22.3 percent. I personally chose the Top 16 local stories of the year and invited you to pick your top five (5). The consensus of all of you would shape what the biggest or most significant story was and set the order. I had an order in mind but our list below and in the poll is chronological so you won't be unduly influenced by somebody else's ranking. The real race was for second place, with the opening of the Marlins' new ballpark (12.6%) edging the Dolphins drafting Ryan Tannehill and the Marlins' latest fire sale (both 12.5%). Here is a brief synopsis of the contenders, followed by the poll...
Orange Bowl Game Sets Records (January): Miramar's Geno Smith leads West Virginia past Clemson, 70-33, record for points in bowl game.
Dolphins Hire Joe Philbin (January): Miami hires Green Bay's offensive coordinator, never before a head coach, to lead its new era.
Dolphins Trade Brandon Marshall (March): Team trades talented but mercurial receiver to Bears for two third-round draft picks.
WGC Golf At Doral (March): England's Justin Rose wins annual World Golf Championship event on Doral's Blue Monster course.
Peyton Manning Turns Down Dolphins (March): Miami seeks Manning in free agency, is seen as early frontrunner, but loses him to Denver.
Sony Ericcson Tennis (March): Novak Djokovic and Agnieszka Radwanska win title in sport's "fifth major" on Key Biscayne.
Miami Hosts Wrestlemania (April): WWE's 28th Wrestlemania is hosted by South Florida for first time, held at Dolphins stadium.
Marlins New Stadium Debuts (April): Opening night had glitches, but team finally had new downtown ballpark after years of failed efforts.
Panthers Make NHL Playoffs (April): Hockey club ends league's longest drought, qualifies for Stanley Cup playoffs for first time since 2000.
Dolphins Draft Ryan Tannehill (April): Miami spends first-round draft pick (8th overall) on a quarterback for first time since Dan Marino in '83.
Heat Wins NBA Championship (June): MVP LeBron James leads Miami past Oklahoma City for his elusive first NBA title, city's second.
Guillen Fired After Nightmare Year (October): Marlins fire manager, hire Mike Redmond, after big payroll and high hopes end in last place.
Marlins' Latest Fire Sale (November): Stars Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and others shipped to Toronto in a blatant cost-cutting that angers fans.
Homestead Ends NASCAR Year (November): Star Jeff Gordon wins race but Brad Keselowski owns day, capturing first NASCAR season title.
Hurricanes Self-Impose Bowl Ban (November): UM removes self from second straight bowl, awaits NCAA sanctions in Nevin Shapiro probe.
Postscript: No, I didn't forget about Marlins on The Franchise or Dolphins on Hard Knocks; those made-for-TV dramas just didn't make the cut. (This was going to be a Top 15, but I decided to include Wrestlemania for a bit of serendipity!). Did I leave anything out? Should I have included FIU firing Mario Cristobal?
Vote-percentage explainer: We invite readers to vote for as many as five choices in the above poll. If all voters cast the maximum five votes, the highest overall percentage for any one story would be 20 percent. The Heat-championship count of more than 20 percent means that story is being included in a vast majority of top fives and also garnering votes of those who opt to choose fewer than five stories.
Poll result: Penn State scandal named 2012's top national story: In the previous blogpost I let you vote on The Associated Press list of the year's Top 10 national sports stories (you may still vote), and the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal was named the biggest with 31.3 percent, followed by the London Olympics with 16.8% and Lance Armstrong's fall from grace with 11.8%. Rounding out the top five were Peyton Manning's resurgence (9.2) and Saints' Bountygate (8.5).
Check back often to monitor evolving results in our year-end Miami poll...
IT'S RADIO TUESDAY: I'll be in-studio again today with Dan Le Batard and Stugotz on 790 The Ticket and FM 104.3 from 3 p.m. 'til 6 or so. Ears welcome.
[1) It is TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13. Jeremy Lin: Nuthin' but ... air! 2) See results of latest Dolfan Satisfaction Meter (ouch!) in blogpost directly below this newest one. 3) Visit our video channel at YouTube/TheGregCote (under construction; new vids coming soon) and join us on Twitter @gregcote]
IT'S NASCAR WEEK IN MIAMI! (HOW MUCH DO YOU CARE?): The 2012 NASCAR season ends Sunday down at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and even non-gearheads might have to acknowledge it is a huge
deal that we have the season-ending race that crowns the champ. This year Brad Keselowski enters with a 20-point lead over five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, meaning Keselowski needs only a 15th place finish or better to win the season title. That might make this race seem anti-climactic, except this is NASCAR, where the chances of Keselowski being wrecked out of a race -- of his own error or intentionally -- cannot be discounted. Just look at this past weekend, when four-time champion Jeff Gordon intentionally wrecked
Clint Bowyer, fully admitting it, and causing a melee between the two crews on pit road and in the garage. Gordon was fined $100,000 and docked 25 standings points. He should have been suspended. Now Bowyer is not ruling out retaliation Sunday at Homestead. Maybe auto racing is not your thing, but one thing NASCAR isn't is dull. Speeding, recklessness, road rage .. the perfect event for Miami! I follow NASCAR casually throughout the year but get amped for this annual Homestead crescendo. Do you? Vote in our latest poll and say why.
NFL PIX 'N FANTASY: A mediocre meh and more misery. NFL predix: Am neither clicking-heels nor
sullen over a 9-4-1 mark straight up and 6-8 against the spread. Nailed another Upset of the Week with Saints beating Falcons ("Aawwk!"), but got blindsided by that Dolphins loss. Greg's Lobos: My fantasy team continues to suck royally, now 2-8 after a 142-91 defeat. My mainstay Aaron Rodgers had a bye so I gambled. I signed and started Ryan Tannehill (silly me), figuring the Titans defense was historically bad. And how'd that work out!? Please don't answer.
'THE BIG THREE KILLED MY BABY': This is not an indictment of the Heat's LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who have -- to my knowledge -- never killed anyone's baby. (LeBron has no time for such shenanigans; too busy dropping 32 second-half points on Houston last night). But I was reminded the other day that the White Stripes once recorded a song called "The Big Three Killed My Baby." It was about the auto industry, not a darkly prescient ode to the Heat. Click here to listen.
On Heat's biggest challenge: In terms of likely NBA Finals foe, it isn't Memphis, despite the recent win over Miami. It isn't Oklahoma City, already vanquished and weakened by the James Harden trade. It could become the L.A. Lakers. But right now it's San Antonio. As for the Lakers, the problem isn't the coach, the problem is an old starting unit coalescing with little help from a roster lacking depth.
ROCKET MAN BURE ENTERS HOCKEY HALL: Congrats to the Russian Rocket, Pavel Bure, for his induction into the hockey hall of fame. His three-plus seasons with the panthers included NHL goal-scoring titles with 58 and 59 in 1999-00 and 2000-01. For those two seasons Bure was Marino-esque and LeBron-like in terms of sheer goal scoring.
SOPY RANKINGS (WEEK 11): NOLES' MANUEL BACK ON TOP: This college football season has marked the blog debut of our weekly State Offensive Player of the Year (SOPY) rankings, which I like to call the "Sunshine State Heisman." Our chart encompasses the most productive seasons of any quarterback, running back or receiver from the state's seven FBS teams: Miami, Florida and FSU, FIU and FAU, and South Florida and UCF. (Note: Rankings consider only passing, rushing and receiving, not returns). Our formula awards one point per offensive yard gained running or receiving and a half-point per yard passing, plus six bonus points for touchdowns thrown or scored. Because our rankings are cumulative, players on a bye week take a temporary hit that evens out over course of season. After Week 11 it's Florida State's E.J. Manuel back on top. The SOPY Top 10 entering Week 12:
Rank (LW) Player, Team-pos. SOPY Pts. Week=Year
1 (2) E.J. Manuel, FSU-qb 141 = 1,624.5
2 (1) B.J. Daniels, South Florida-qb BYE = 1,585.5
3 (3) Stephen Morris, Miami-qb 138.5 = 1,503.5
4 (5) Blake Bortles, UCF-qb 164 = 1,369.5
5 (4) Jake Medlock, FIU-qb BYE = 1,215.5
6 (6) Graham Wilbert, FAU-qb 161 = 1,204
7 (7) Jeff Driskel, Florida-qb 131 = 1,170
8 (10) Latavius Murray, UCF-rb 135 = 1,049
9 (8) Mike Gillislee, Florida-rb 53 = 1,006
10 (9) Chris Thompson, FSU-rb DNP = 965
Bubble: Duke Johnson, Miami-rb, 961.
State of the State rankings: 1. Florida (9-1); 2. FSU (9-1); 3. UCF (8-2); 4. Miami (5-5); 5. South Florida (3-6); 6. FAU (3-7); 7. FIU (2-8).
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[1) It is THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27. Mike Love, who unfortunately owns legal rights to the name "The Beach Boys," has followed a successful 50th anniversary tour by firing three founding members of the group including mastermind Brian Wilson. Mike Love is a lunatic. 2) Visit our video channel at YouTube/TheGregCote and join us on Twitter @gregcote]
AGREEMENT REACHED AFTER NFL REPLACEMENT OFFICIALS HIT ALL-TIME LOW ON MONDAY NIGHT FARCEBALL: The real striped shirts will be back on the field beginning with tonight's Browns-Ravens game after an eight-year agreement was reached late last night. Click on Our National Drug for today's latest column by me, on how America's obsession with sports overrides everything -- yes, even including replacement refs. Original post: I tried, folks. I really did. I hated that so many fans were obsessing on the NFL replacement officials. I was, like, "Hey,
they aren't perfect, so what?" But last night turned me around. Incompetent officiating literally stole a victory from the Green Bay Packers and handed it, unearned, to the Seattle Seahawks with an outrageously, preposterously blown call in the end zone on the game's final play. Seattle receiver Golden Tate snatched the ball off the chest of the intercepting Packers defender -- except really all he did was put an arm on the ball. The official at left is making the proper signal of GB possession, but the dunce on the right signalling touchdown prevailed. I think the official on the right, the cheater Tate, the referee and the replay official should all be tarred and feathered, paraded in shackles through every NFL stadium and pelted by bottles, then set loose in a meat-packing plant in Green Bay. There they should be beaten within an inch of their lives by enraged Packers fans swinging enormous legs of lambs, after which they should be shot from cannons into the middle of the ocean and stranded there until rescued or (preferably) devoured by lamb-blood-smelling sharks. In all seriousness, I would make two points. 1) The commissioner's office should void that final, mistaken call and award this victory to Green Bay in the best interests of the what's left of the integrity of the game. 2) The league should cave, give the real officials what they want and get back to the way it was, when we'd complain about the officiating but at least sort of trust it. (Do I sound bitter? The next item, Pix 'n Fantasy, may help explain why...)
Update: NFL statement on MNF mess: The league admitted that Seahawks receiver Golden Tate committed an offensive pass interference penalty that was not called -- and that shold have ended the game with Green bay winning. On the call itself, the league stands by the ruling of "simultaneous catch" favoring the offense, even though any sighted person not living in Seattle who watched the play live or on replay is aware it was not a simultaneous catch. What a calamity for the NFL. Embarrassing.
NFL PIX 'N FANTASY: WWE: WORST ... WEEK ... EVER!: Speaking of embarrassing, let us just say that Monday night's stupefying ending was a perfectly fitting cap to my weekend. NFL predix: I went 3-13 on my NFL picks this past week. There. I said it. THREE AND THIRTEEN! I believe that is my single worst week in 22 seasons of Friday predix. (I was 4-11-1 against the spread). Everything that could possibly go wrong, did. Dolphins blow a field goal. Detroit's OT botchery. Saints' blown lead. Steelers' blown lead. Monday night. Just unbelievable. Greg's Lobos: Would my fantasy team offer me a smidgen of solace? Of course not! Lobos got whipped, 139-93. I had nobody better than 19 points. I am very close to finally running out of patience and benching Chris Johnson. That of course will be the week he rushes for 226 yards and three TDs.
HEATH: SHUT THE BELL UP!: Marlins defrocked closer Heath Bell popped off about his manager Ozzie Guillen on my friend Dan Sileo's WQAM show, saying, "It's hard to respect a guy that doesn't
tell you the truth." And, "We need someone who leads us that everybody respects and looks up to." First thought: I know you're frustrated, Heath, but how classless to publicly rip your manager in-season. Second, Bell's own miserable April is what first tipped this season and sent it over the cliff. This human goat is the last man in that clubhouse who should be pointing fingers. (Bell is pictured, presumably marking down his latest blown save).
NHL MOURNS WITH 'LOCKOUT MAN': A hockey blog mourns the season-threatening NHL work stoppage with "Lockout Man," to the tune of Elton John's "Rocket Man." Click here to listen. Other than going on waaay too long, it isn't bad.
SOPY RANKINGS (WEEK 4): DANIELS STILL NO. 1, UM'S MORRIS CLIMBS TO FOURTH: This college football season marks the blog debut of our weekly State Offensive Player of the Year (SOPY) rankings,
which I call the "Sunshine State Heisman" until a Heisman lawyer tells me to stop. Our chart encompasses the most productive seasons of any quarterback, running back or receiver from the state's seven FBS teams: Miami, Florida and FSU, FIU and FAU, and South Florida and UCF. (Note: Rankings consider only passing, rushing and receiving, not returns). Our formula awards one point per offensive yard gained running or receiving and a half-point per yard passing, plus six bonus points for touchdowns thrown or scored. Because our rankings are cumulative, players on a bye week take a temporary hit that evens out over course of season. After Week 4 it's B.J. Daniels of South Florida (pictured) on top for a second straight week. The SOPY Top 10 entering Week 5:
Rank (LW) Player, Team-pos. SOPY Pts. Week=Year
1 (1) B.J. Daniels, South Florida-qb 249 = 830
2 (3) E.J. Manuel, FSU-qb 304 = 694.5
3 (2) Jake Medlock, FIU-qb 59 = 606.5
4 (10) Stephen Morris, Miami-qb 240 = 587.5
5 (4) Jeff Driskel, Florida-qb 148.5 = 527
6 (--) Chris Thompson, FSU-rb 194 = 508
7 (8) Duke Johnson, Miami-rb 110 = 473
8 (6t) Mike Gillislee, Florida-rb 73 = 446
9 (5) Blake Bortles, UCF-qb BYE = 376
10 (6t) Kedrick Rhodes, FIU-rb DNP = 373
Bubble: Graham Wilbert, FAU-qb, 364.5
State of the State rankings: 1. FSU (4-0); 2. Florida (4-0); 3. Miami (3-1); 4. UCF (2-1); 5. South Florida (2-2); 6. FIU (1-3); 7. FAU (1-3).
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[1) It is FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21. Thanks to the Dan Le Batard show on 790 The Ticket for having us on in-studio. Fun. More to come? Stay tuned. 2) Visit our video channel at YouTube/TheGregCote and join us on Twitter @gregcote. Promise to resume the videos soon.
STATE OF THE FRANCHISE: DOLPHINS, HEAT, MARLINS, PANTHERS: In this latest column by me, online now and shipping to today's/Wednesday's pulp editions, I offer a state-of-the-franchise report for our four major professional teams, grading and ranking them
top to bottom. We consider management, success, prognosis, everything. I thought about adding a complementary poll here but decided it would be pointless because, logically, the Heat would dominate as our best-run pro team. Instead I offer a poll on South Florida's biggest sports lightning rod, Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland, who was in the news again this week when a Dolfan confronted him, said he should "fire himself," and Ireland in turn called his critic an "asshole," later expressing regrets. There is a perception Ireland is extremely unpopular with fans. Leave it to me to find out. Vote in our poll and say why.
Poll result: Mixed, lukewarm support for Ozzie Guillen: In our previous blog poll we asked if you wanted Ozzie Guillen back as Marlins manager (you can still vote), and 49.1 percent said yes, 45.1% said no and 5.8% were unsure. Interesting. Results about as polarizing as the outspoken Guillen tends to be.
REPORT: LARRY BEINFEST TO BE REPLACED: USA Today is reporting the Marlins plan to replace president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest with assistant Dan Jennings. Beinfest has been GM or president since 2002. The move would not be a surprise. The same report indicated manager Ozzie Guillen likely would be back. No surprise there, either. Owner Jeffrey Loria tonight called the Beinfest report a "ridiculous" rumor. Which is not the same as simply denying it.
CHAD JOHNSON SPEAKS!: The former Dolphins receiver spoke last night on the 9 p.m. premiere of Showtime's Inside the NFL, and we brought you excerpts first. Highlights: 1) Johnson says, "The consequences to that altercation with my wife was me being released" -- even though coach Joe Philbin did not tell him that directly. "That was the reason. There is no need to blow smoke up my ass." 2) Johnson reveals he is taking anger-management classes, says, "Chad has to work on Chad." 3) He says he will work to win back the wife who divorced him.
DOLPHINS DRAFT PROSPECTS AT WR: Be surprised if wide receiver wasn't the Dolphins thinking right now for a No.1 draft pick in 2013. With that in mind, I note the three WRs listed on Mel Kiper's new top-25 "Big Board" are spaced apart enough that Miami, no matter how it finishes, likely would have a shot at one of them. The names to remember: Tennessee's Justin Hunter (pegged 7th overall), Cal's Keenan Allen (17th) and USC's Robert Woods (25th).
STANLEY C. PANTHER OUT OF WORK: I half expect to see Panthers mascot Stanley C. Panther on a
west Broward intersection holding a cardboard sign reading, 'Will Caper For Food.' Panthers have temporarily laid off their team mascot related to the NHL lockout threatening the season. Is there anything sadder than an out-of-work mascot? I'd imagine Stanley C. Panther must now be included as one of Mitt Romney's non-tax-paying 47 percent. I'm just saying.
ON STEVE SABOL: The NFL Films leader passed away today at age 69. NFL Films' dramatic, intimate packaging and presenting of the NFL was a big part of the league's emergence as America's favorite sport. It also was precursor to all-access shows such as HBO's Hard Knocks and Showtime's The Franchise. R.I.P. to an important figure in the history of sports and television.
ON YUNEL ESCOBAR: The Blue Jays shortstop is suspended three games for wearing an eye-black message written in Spanish (pictured) that used an anti-gay slur. He said it was meant as a
joke and "not meant to be offensive." Some suggest it's a cultural thing, that in the machismo of many Hispanics homophobic language is more accepted. I think that sounds like an insult to the majority of Hispanics who know bigotry is wrong in any language. What gets me about stuff like this is not just that Escobar might feel this way. It's that he (evidently) thought wearing an anti-gay slur on his face in a televised game would not, um, be noticed? Leaves us to wonder which is worse: Prejudice. Or outright obliviousness.
Ozzie weighs in on use of gay slur: Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen admits he is comfortable using the anti-gay slur "faggot," the word that got Escobar (see above) in trouble. Guillen once was disciplined for calling a Chicago columnist that. Yesterday he explained it as a cultural thing, saying, "In my house we call [each other] that word every 20 seconds. I've got three kids. For us it's like, 'What's up, bro?'" Ozzie lives his life unfiltered, which is fine. But Marlins ownership/management, in reviewing this season and deciding Guillen's future, must judge not just his managerial skills, but how he represents the team in the community. See Steve Rothaus' excellent Herald blog, Gay South Florida, for more on this.
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[1) It is Tuesday, June 26. The Marlins blew a big lead and lost last night, Or, did that go without saying? 2) Click on Random for my latest Sunday notes column, leading with Heat. 3) Panthers select defenseman Mike Matheson, 18, from Quebec, with 23rd pick in NHL draft. See you in a few years, kid. Maybe. Or not. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
I LOVE A PARADE: Took in the Heat victory parade and arena celebration today. Click on The Power of Sports for my new column on it, online now and shipping to Tuesday's paper. It was not a perfect day. Lots of fans disappointed the parade moved along too quickly, and other complaining there was no culminating appearance on the arena steps (as there was in 2006). Still, a great day for Miami, and a reminder of the power of sports to bring together a community.
PARTYING LIKE AN NBA CHAMPION: Heat players, family and friends partied all night at a jammed Club LIV in the Fontainebleau after winning the NBA championship, running up a tab of close to $250,000. (Then again, LeBron James is the world's fourth-highest-paid athlete at $54 million a year counting endorsements. A quarter-mil to him is, mathematically, around $235 to a guy making $50,000 a year). The public portion of the party had the stars up on stage, with LeBron and Dwyane Wade even briefly grabbing the mic to rap. LeBron wore a shirt showing his likeness with vampire teeth. Interesting. That was last year's image. Now I think he's the hero who slays the vampire and saves us all. Click HERE to see a few minutes of the Heat's pricey partying Heat in a video courtesy Seth Browarnik and Worldredeye.com.
POLL: WHICH TWO SOUTH FLORIDA PRO SPORTS TITLES ARE MOST SPECIAL TO YOU?: Greater Miami now has six major professional sports crowns: Dolphins in 1972 and '73, Marlins in 1997 and 2003, and Heat in 2006 and 2012. Here I invite you to vote for theTWO that are the most special to you. Use whatever criteria you wish: Historical importance, most fun, made you most proud, whatever. Vote for your top two and then say why...
Poll note: I understand the timing of this poll greatly favors the title the Heat just won. But the support being shown for the most distant of the six titles also shows fans are able to step back and vote how they feel.
SANDUSKY TO LEARN WHAT A REAL 'TICKLE MONSTER' IS: Defrocked Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, the demon pedophile convicted of 45 of 48 counts of abusing young boys, deserves every minute and more of whatever sentence he gets. It will be tantamount to a life sentence for a man 68, after which I'd convince myself there is a hell just to picture Sandusky in it. His lack of admission, contrition and remorse compounds the feeling about him. It is difficult to imagine his life from here won't be doubly awful if he is allowed in the general prison population. I am told pedophiles don't do well in there. One imagines the "Tickle Monster" will be getting what he's been giving; call it the heavy hand of karma. Except, in prison, I don't they they call it tickling.
WHY MESSI HERE WAS NOT SUCH A BIG DEAL: I'm a soccer fan. I appreciate Lionel Messi as the best futbol player on Earth (at least the best goal-scorer). And I respect that thousands who watched the other night at Dolphins stadium were excited. I don't get why this was seen as such a big event, though. It was not a bona fide game between national teams or premier club teams. It wasn't a bona fide game, period. It was an international all-star game that meant nothing. Remember the farce of those NBA touring all-star games during the lockout? This was the soccer version, complete with no semblance of defense .
MARLINS' ROCK BOTTOM KEEPS GETTIN ROCK BOTTOMER: Marlins blew a big lead and last night and lost in 10 innings, making it 16 lossses in the past 19 games. When you consider the Muhammad Ali/Opening Night fiasco, Ozzie's Fidel Castro mess, the team's complete overshadowing by the Heat title run, smaller than expected average attendance and now this June swoon, the long-awaited Year of the New Ballpark has pretty much been a mess so far for the Marlins.
CLEVELAND JUST CAN'T LET IT GO: Cleveland's WTAM-1100 radio has a "You Still Suck, LeBron!" promo (click here) on its website inviting liseners to agree with that sentiment. When last I checked, almost 3,000 people had. Stay classy, Cleveland!
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