GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is MONDAY, JUNE 13. Thoughts with the 50-plus victims of the awful, senseless, hateful and cowardly mass murder at the Orlando nightclub. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Ryan Tannehill poll, Maria Sharapova, NBA Finals, Marlins, Stanley Cup Finals, MLB Draft, Forbes rich-folks list, your verdict on century's greatest athlete & more. 3) Good to see others catching up to the Dwyane Wade-and-Gabby-in bed item we had first at MiamiHerald.com several days earlier. Wink, wink. :) 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Periscope and Snapchat.
CANES ADVANCE TO COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Omaha! Miami is headed back to the College World Series. Edgar Michelangeli's two homers and seven RBIs carried Miami to a 9-4 NCAA Super Regional Game 3 win over Boston College on Sunday and onto UM's 25th CWS appearance. The Canes will open this coming weekend vs. University of Arizona. Click on The Weight of Tradition for my column from Sunday's game. Also on UM's side of bracket, Oklahoma State faces UC-Santa Barbara. In the other bracket, Texas Tech faces Texas Christian, and Coastal Carolina faces the winner of tonight's Florida-Florida State game in Gainesville. CWS appearances by school, based on most trips to Omaha:
Team: CWS apps. -- Titles (last)
Miami Hurricanes: 25th -- 4 (2001)
*-Florida State Seminoles: 21 -- 0
Oklahoma State Cowboys: 20th -- 1 (1959)
Arizona Wildcats: 17th -- 4 (2012)
*-Florida Gators: 9 -- 0
Texas Christian Horned Frogs: 4th -- 0
Texas Tech Red Raiders: 2nd -- 0
UC-Santa Barbara Gauchos: 1st -- 0
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: 1st -- 0
*-Gators and Noles play tonight in Gainesville for ticket to Omaha. FSU has the most appearances by any team that has not won a championship.
The Last 5: Five selected recent columns, ICYMI or thought them so wonderful they deserved another look: The Weight of Tradition, the new one, off yesterday's Omaha-clinching Canes baseball win. LeBron Wants More Than Title From Finals, on LeBron James angling to take back best-player crown from Steph Curry. Ali Legacy Should Include Other Athletes' Thanks, on how Muhammad Ali set template for individuality in sports. A Baseball Odyssey Finds Its Mountaintop, on local kid Richard Bleier's long climb to Yankees. Nobody Wins When a 55-Year Marriage Ends In Divorce, on PGA Tour leaving Doral.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (UPDATED): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive every-Sunday feature, updated Mondays, is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:
1. NBA: Golden State in commanding control over Cleveland, LeBron: Warriors lead the NBA Finals 3-1 and can clinch their second straight championship in Game 5 at home tonight/Monday as LeBron James and Stephen Curry compete for the mythical title of league's best player. Golden State will be without suspended Draymond Green. Still, Curry is poised to once again win the crown LeBron wants most. His career epitaph as he fails to win a championship for Cleveland: But he couldn't beat Steph Curry.
2. SOCCER: Euro '16 underway in France, Copa America in U.S.: Outside of the World Cup, there is no bigger month for international soccer than this. As Copa America continued here (with host U.S. now 2-1 and onto the quarterfinals after beating Paraguay), Euro '16 began its month-long run in France. The host nation, Spain and Germany are among favorites, and Lionel Messi scored three goals off the bench in Argentina's opener. But the most impressive team at Euro '16 might be the massive security force girding across France against the threat of terrorism.
3. MARLINS: Eyes on Ichiro (and wincing at Stanton): As Fish continued in playoff chase in midst of road trip, star Giancarlo Stanton enters Monday's play batting .192 and on pace for all-time record 228 strikeouts. On the much brighter side, Ichiro has drawn within 24 hits of 3,000 in MLB, and within two of Pete Rose's record of 4,256 if you include Ichiro's Japanese hits. At 42, an ageless wonder!
4. HURRICANES: Work of art! Michelangeli's two homers, seven RBis carry UM to CWS: It came down to a winner-take-all, deciding Game 3 on Sunday, and Edgar Michelangeli's two homers and seven RBIs personified Mark Light Magic as the Canes beat Boston College 9-4 to win their NCAA Super Regional and make it back to Omaha and the College World Series for the 25th time. (Click on The Weight of Tradition for my column from the game).
5. MUHAMMAD ALI: Nation, world say goodbye to a true legend: Friday's funeral for Ali in his hometown of Louisville capped a week's mourning over the death of an American original. Farewell, Champ. Respect.
6. DOLPHINS: Fins prepare for mandatory mini-camp: No more OTAs, no more "voluntary" stuff. Miami stages a three-day mandatory mini-camp this Tuesday through Thursday, and attendance is required. Talking to you, safety Reshad Jones. You're holding out for more money, but you'll have less of it fines if you don't show.
7. NHL: Pittsburgh raises Stanley Cup for fourth time: Penguins beat San Jose 3-1 last night for a 4-2 victory in the Stanley Cup Finals and a fourth NHL championship. Sharks are still are seeking their first, so, to answer the rhetorical question asked in the song, no, Lord Stanley does not know the way to San Jose.
8. DEATHS: R.I.P., Gordie Howe, Kimbo Slice: "Mr. Hockey," Gordie Howe, died on Friday, the day they buried Ali, and it was a death comparably seismic in in the smaller realm of his sport. The passing of fighter Kimbo Slice, and also of longtime former Dolphins executive Bryan Wiedmeier, were personal for Miami. Farewell to them all.
9. BASEBALL: MLB Draft spotlights Marlins, Canes: The Marlins made Alabama left prep pitcher Braxton Garrett the seventh overall pick of the draft. Miami Hurricanes catcher Zack Collins went 10th to the White Sox. They haven't made the majors. But they've made the ladder that gives them a shot.
10. HORSE RACING: Creator wins Belmont to end splintered Triple Crown series: Creator won Saturday to make it three different Triple Crown-race winners for the first time since 2013. And it has now been one year since a horse last won a Triple Crown.
Missing the cut: Florida Gators are renaming their football field as "Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium." Not word enough. Throw in a "Ball Coach" reference, too ..... NFL's Twitter site got hacked and it was reported commissioner Roger Goodell had died. Hmm. Does Tom Brady have an alibi? ..... Golf's U.S. Open starts Thursday, but without Tiger Woods, who continues to battle back ailments. Tiger hasn't played since August. At this point, shouldn't we just consider him retired unless he indicates otherwise? ..... Maria Sharapova is appealing her two-year tennis ban for PEDs. I've always thought of her as appealing ..... Florida Panthers made a minor trade. Cats lead the offseason NHL in wheelin' and are second in dealin' ..... NASCAR suspends four crew chiefs for rules violations. What do they think this is,college football? ..... Jake Arrieta win streak ends at 20. Finally, something goes wrong for the Cubs! ..... Twelve Canes made the NCAA outdoor track and field nationals in Oregon ..... Congrats to Jesse Holt on his 41st annual Northwest Express Track and Field Meet for local youth ..... ESPN's new 30 for 30 documentary series on O.J. Simpson is underway. Yeah, because we just don't know nearly enough about that story! ..... Will Power won last week's IndyCar race. Who was second? Dee Termination? ..... Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon with a left wrist injury. I trace his career decline to his abandonment of Capri pants ..... Steph Curry withdraws from Olympic team for supposed health reasons. Lame. If you can play in NBA Finals, you can play for your country ..... Cam Newton says he is retiring the Dab. Updates as warranted.
Poll result: Critical ranking of Tannehill was harsh, but also with some validity: We asked you about a recent CBS Sports ranking that had the Dolphins' Ryan Tannehill no better than 25th of 32 NFL starting quarterbacks, and a plurality of 45.79 percent thought it "way too harsh, unfairly so." But another 34.20% voted "a bit harsh, but not unreasonably," and 20.01% said "that seems fair and about right."
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