Esteem for Dan Marino slipping? (with poll); plus LeBron 9th on 'most hated' list, Odrick/Miller injuries, Jerry Stackhouse, NFL Week 7 picks & more
[Join us at Twitter.com/gregcote. Personal note: We were among guests at the 18th annual Hollywood Welcomes the Stars fundraiser last night at the Westin Diplomat for the Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood. Thanks for having us! Unfortunately my silent-auction bid -- for a purple crushed velvet Crown Royal throne -- fell just short, much to my wife's relief].
NFL 'GREATEST PLAYERS' LIST DISSES MARINO. OR DOES IT?: Dan Marino checked in a surprisingly low 25th Thursday night in NFL Network's latest continuing countdown of the 100 greatest players. The top 20 will be revealed in installments Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. Other ex-Dolphins or Canes ranked after Marino are Jim Otto 63rd, Paul Warfield 71st, Ted Hendricks 82nd, Ed Reed 88th and Michael Irvin 92nd. Marino finished seventh in the fan vote but was apparently severely downgraded by the experts panel for the lack of a Super Bowl ring. No. 25 strikes me as significantly low for Marino. But that's just me. What do you think? Realistically, Dolfanism aside as best you can, about where should Marino rank and why?
DOLPHINS O-FOR-ODRICK: Dolphins losing No. 1 draft pick (28th overall) Jared Odrick (pictured) for the season to an injury is a blow, but one lessened by the development of fellow rookie Koa Misi and mostly by the rise-to-impact of Cameron Wake. Trivia: Who is the only Penn State drafted higher by Miami than Odrick? Answer: O.J. McDuffie (25th overall) in 1993. That reminds me: McDuffie's recent $11 million verdict in a medical malpractice suit was quietly voided by the judge. Other reasons were cited officially, but we hear the judge felt the jurors were unduly influenced by the starpower of celebrity witnesses such as Don Shula and Marino.
LEBRON 9TH ON 'MOST HATED' LIST: LeBron James checks in 9th on Bleacherreport.com's list (click here) of the 100 most hated athletes of all-time. The top 10: O.J. Simpson, Barry Bonds, Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tonya Harding, James and Kobe Bryant. The notion of hating LeBron reared its fetid head again this week when he re-Tweeted some racist messages he has received. Too bad Tweets don't have postmarks; think we could tarce most of them to bitter, can't-get-over-it Cleveland. Other notables in the hated-100 include Ben Roethlisberger 11th, Terrell Owens 14th, Alex Rodriguez 20th, Chad Ochocinco 29th, Brett Favre 31st, Isiah Thomas 47th, Irvin 49th and Shaquille O'Neal 91st. (Pictured left: A sneak peek at ESPN The Magazine's upcoming NBA preview-issue artwork for the Heat. Each team is represented by a Marvel Comics-style design).
HEAT WOES CONTINUE WITH MILLER INJURY: If only vitriol against LeBron were the Heat's biggest problem, right? Mike Miller's thumb injury (Miller is pictured) that will sideline him several weeks erases the team's primary three-point threat and the biggest free-agent addition after James and Chris Bosh. Add the fact Dwyane Wade missed all but three minutes of the preseason with a hamstring injury and the Dream Team has had a nightmare preseason with one fake game to play. [Saturday update: Heat signs veteran Jerry Stackhouse, 36 next month, as a Band-Aid off the bench for Miller's absence. Pat Riley loves those veterans!]
NFL WEEK 7 PICKS: Steelers beat Miami, 24-16. Pittsburgh is just too solid all over the field, all but weakness-free now that Roethlisberger is back. Also, Steeler Nation will flood the stadium and offset the home-field edge. Sorry, Dolfans. Wait. Or should I say congratulations? I'm 1-4 straight-up picking Dolphin games so far, so my favoring Pittsburgh could be a strong indicator of success for the locals. Anyway, click on Week 7 Gems for all this week's NFL picks, and on The Sadness of Favre for today's Friday-page column. Oh, and click on Animated Favre for an animated Taiwanese synopsis of the Favre scandal. Good stuff.
JETS NOW SUPER BOWL FAVORITE: Updated Bodog.com SB odds entering Week 7 have Jets the pick now at 6-1, followed by Steelers 7-1, Ravens 8-1, Colts and Patriots 9-1 and Saints 11-1. MVP frontrunners are Peyton Manning 3-1 and Drew Brees and Chris Johnson 7-1.
MARIA SHARAPOVA UPDATE: Our favorite tennis player is marrying Lakers scrub Sasha Vujacic. I personally don't give a crap. I just look for any excuse to post a photo of Maria. Because she fine.
GREG COTE: READ columns and blog in The Miami Herald and MiamiHerald.com, including general sports columns, Friday NFL predictions page and Sunday "Random Evidence" notes. FOLLOW on Twitter. WATCH for occasional appearances on ESPN's Outside the Lines and elsewhere. LISTEN on 790 The Ticket's weekly Dolphins pregame show and Tuesdays around 4:20 p.m. JOIN in live chat every Wednesday noon to 1 p.m. CONTACT at gcote@miamiherald.com.
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