GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is TUESDAY, JANUARY 12. In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Dolphins hire Gase with reaction poll, Hot Button Top 10, NFL wild-card picks, Cooperstown verdict & more. 2) Follow us on Twitter @gregcote. Also on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Periscope.
It's Radio Tuesday!: I'm back in-studio today for my regular Tuesday gig with the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. locally on 790 The Ticket, 10-1 nationally on ESPN Radio, and also airing on TV on ESPNU and Fusion.
INSOMNIAC'S DREAM: 'BAMA, HEAT AND CATS IN THE TUESDAY WEE HOURS: I spent the first hour of this morning watching Nick Saban almost smile, watching the end of the Panthers' 12-game hockey winning streak, and watching Heat lose gamely in Golden State -- all the while facing a 6:30 alarm to get to South Beach for today's radio show. So if I sound even more delirious than usual on-air today you'll know why... 12:22 a.m.: Alabama finishes 45-40 national-championship win over Clemson. Glad I bet the way-over. I'm not sure if Clemson collapsed or if Alabama's 24-9 fourth quarter was the stuff of greatness. I do know it was a wholly enteraining, nearly epic game. Afterward a typically stoic, naturally angry loooking Saban was coaxed into a smile by a sideline reporter. There was a rusty creaking sound, an emission of hell's gasses and then the release of screeching bats as Saban's lips parted... 12: 41 a.m.: Panthers end 12-game win streak with 3-2 overtime loss in Vancouver. Seconds after game ended the winning goal-scorer skated past the Panthers bench, said something, and a melee ensued. A chaotic scene that even involved coaches. Then it was repoted Cats coach Gerard Gallant waas flying immediately to attend his mother's funeral. It may have ended in ugliness and death, but what a marvelous run the Panthers have been on... 12:53 a.m.: Heat fall 111-103 in Golden State: Miami played very well, had 31 assists as a team, showed an ability to lift its collective game. Dwyane Wade played young. And yet Steph Curry is unstoppable and the champion Warriors are a cut above. No shame in a loss like this. 6:53 a.m.: I better put a bow on this blog item and hit the road or I'll never get to SoBe in time.
ALABAMA VS. CLEMSON: YOUR MONEY VS. YOUR HEART: (Note, These polls were posted early yesterday, before the game) No. 2-ranked but favored Alabama faces unbeaten No.1 Clemson tonight for the second College Football Playoff national championship in Glendale, Ariz. I offer to quick polls because I suspect the results may be different. The first poll asks who you think will win. This is your money talking. If you're betting the game, straight-up, and need to choose either the Crimson Tide or Tigers, who would you predict to win? The second poll asks who you want to win. This is your heart talking. Which team would you more like to see celebrating around midnight tonight? We invite your thoughts on both questions.
R.I.P., DAVID BOWIE, 1947-2016: One of the most fascinating cultural figures of our time passed away on Sunday after an unpublicized 18-month fight
with cancer. David Bowie had turned 69 three days earlier. He leaves us with a soon-to-be-released new album, Blackstar, that was recorded as he knew he was dying and is darkly reflective of that. Bowie's career, music but also acting, defied convention and definition. Others of his time in pop music, such as Elton John, enjoyed more mainstream, commercial success. But Bowie won critics' hearts with his lack of convention, his experimentation, his theatrics. He was The Thin White Duke, and Ziggy Stardust. He was glam, he was androgynous, he was relentlessly fascinating. How many times, and how loudly, did I blast "Rebel, Rebel." Bowie was a big part of my personal soundtrack through the years. I have much of his music, spanning decades, in my collection. I regret I never saw him perform live. I'll miss him. I think I already do.
NFL PIX WILD-CARD PLAYOFF RESULTS: We caught a break or two to finish 3-1 overall on our first-round NFL playoff picks. (Thank you, Blair Walsh). But we went only 1-3 against the spread. We gambled big and lost big thinking Texans, at home, would surprise Chiefs. Instead it was the weekend's biggest rout going in the opposite (for me the wrong) direction. My preseason Super Bowl pick -- Packers over Patriots -- remains alive with both of my dogs still in the hunt as playoffs move forward down from 12 teams to eight.
Poll result: Dolphins' Gase hiring met with mostly dislike, but with warming trend: We asked what you thought of the Dolphins hiring Adam Gase as head coach (you may still vote), and it was "love" 9.7 percent, "like" 32.6%, "don't like" 40.5% and "hate" 17.2%. That's negative beating positive 57.7% to 42.3%. However, it is notable that the negative percentage was running around 64-36 initially, when the hiring first was reported as imminent and then just happened. Voting was closer to 50-50 in the second wave, after Gase was introduced and fans had a chance to hear from him and from others about him.
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