[1) It is Wednesday, May 30. Stunningly Serena Williams is out in first round of French Open, her earliest exit in 47 career Grand Slam events. 2) Rihanna's new signature perfume is called Nude. Or, did that go without saying? 3) Find main Heat-Celtics Game 1 blogpost directly below this newest one. 4) Stan Van Gundy claims he'll take a year off from coaching. Which means he'll listen only to lucrative offers from big teams. 5) Thanks again to ESPN's Outside The Lines for having us on yesterday to talk LeBron James. Join us on Twitter @gregcote]
RESTORING THE BRAND: DOLPHINS AGREE TO BE FEATURED ON 'HARD KNOCKS': The Dolphins are trying to reestablish themselves as a prominent, national franchise -- and also reinvigorate their once-dominant status in South Florida -- and that planned brand-rebuilding is the major reason why the club has agreed to be featured this year on HBO's Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Miami Dolphins. The reality series will consist of five one-hour episodes debuting August 7 and running weekly through Sept. 4. Training camp begins July 26. (The Marlins are being similarly featured this year, on Showtime's baseball reality series, The Franchise). A 24-person crew from HBO and NFL Films will be in South Florida to produce the (nearly) all-access documentary. "We are looking forward to connecting with our fans across the country," said Joe Philbin, who'll be the first rookie head coach featured. After today's practice Philbin added, "It’s a chance for us to show the new direction and identity of this football team." The show has been critically acclaimed but not always welcomed by NFL teams because of the intrusiveness and potential distraction. Several teams turned down HBO before the Dolphins said yes. The series began with the Ravens in 2001 and Cowboys in 2002, and returned with the Chiefs in 2007, Cowboys in 2008, Bengals in 2009 and Jets in 2010 before skipping last year. The Dolphins are not as prominent, recently successful or star-driven as HBO would like, although best bets for lots of face time figure to include Philbin, running back Reggie Bush and the quarterback battle featuring top draftee Ryan Tannehill. (I suspect Ryan's blond, telegenic, aspiring-model wife Lauren might sneak in there a bit, too). A club source told me Monday another reason for the Dolphins agreeing to Hard Knocks is an attempt to steer the focus and conversation back onto the football field and away from front-office notoriety. Small example: The club's representative in an HBO/NFL Films/Dolphins joint news conference tomorrow will be Philbin -- conspicuously not owner Stephen Ross or general manager Jeff Ireland. The club sees Hard Knocks as a platform to showcase Philbin leading a storied franchise out of its dark days, and presenting this coach and city as enticing for future free agents and also for wayward fans.
On Reggie Bush and the team's response: Running back Reggie Bush -- arguably the Dolphins' biggest star from a national standpoint -- missed yesterday's offseason practice day, to which coach Joe Philbin said, "I don't want to comment." Huh? Really? The terse no-comment leaves the impression Bush was AWOL, his absence unexcused. Fans are owed the simple truth. Not every detail, but the essence. Philbin's reaction runs jarringly counter to the franchise's supposed new era of openness.
HERE'S DWYANE WADE'S GIRLFRIEND IN A WHITE BIKINI AND A COWBOY HAT: Guess that headline about says it all. Click here for a video of actress Gabrielle Union enjoying the surf off Miami Beach on Monday. It's worth abiding the 15-second ad. (Somebody told me the friend with her is LeBron James' lady, Savannah Brinson). Life is good for D-Wade on and off the court, judging by this photo.
MARLINS AND ROCK CLIMBING: So an 11-year-old girl falls 18 feet onto concrete (she's OK) while on the rock-climbing wall at the new Marlins ballpark. My first thought: Why the hell is there a rock-climbing wall at the new Marlins ballpark!? When did sports franchises become so desperate to attract and amuse fans that the team and game were seen as insufficient? Rule of thumb: The only wall that should be climbed at a ballpark is the outfield wall, by outfielders.
HEADLINES YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D SEE: Click here. Spoiler alert: Skip this if you find unappealing the thought of eating testicles in a fancy restaurant. If your first thought was, "Depends on how they're prepared," then go ahead and click on the link.
THE PHILADELPHIA 69ERS: This is a few days old but too delicious to ignore: WPLG anchor Sasha Andrade (pictured in screen-grab), saying on air the Heat were waiting to see if they'd next play the Boston Celtics or "the Philadelphia 69ers" instead of 76ers. Oops, sorry, Dr. Freud! Click here for the inevitable YouTube vid. Hey she was only off by seven!
WHAT AM I BID FOR ELVIS PRESLEY'S CRYPT?: This is a weird and macabre story. It is not as weird or macabre as a story about a deranged naked man eating the flesh off another man's face. But it is weird and macabre nevertheless. I suppose the crypt would be pricier if Elvis were still entombed.
Click back. Will be updating and adding to this latest blogpost. Hey! How'd that floating Vin Scully Bobblehead get in this blogpost over there. Get out of here, floating Vin Scully Bobblehead!...
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