GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is TUESDAY, JULY 12. Condolences, again, to the family of Jim Mandich, the longtime former Dolphin and team broadcaster who passed away five years ago. The family is grieving anew this week over the death of Jim's widow, Bonnie. 2) Congratulations and farewell, Tim Duncan. What a big, successful, classy NBA career. Unsung because his personality never shouted -- a nice way to say he was boring! -- but an all-time great. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, your verdicts on Wade statue and new face of Miami sports & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Periscope and Snapchat.
Today's new 'Back In My Day': Click on Retail Desperation for today's latest Back In My Day segment from the Dan LeBatard Show With Stugotz. Link gets you to the ESPN Radio podcast, and the new BIMD kicks in around the 1 hour 15 minute mark.
Six-pack: Six select recent columns, ICYMI or thought 'em so great they deserved another look: Mission Accomplished, Legacy Secure, the latest, our Sunday farewell-Dwyane Wade column. The Ending Was Ugly But the Run Was Sublime, on stunning departure of Wade. These Marlins Deserve Support Despite the Owner, and that tagline says it all. Ali Legacy Should Include Other Athletes' Thanks, on Ali setting template for 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.
Burned Bridges, Hurt Feelings and Medical Drama: The Strange Fate of the Heat's Big 3: Click on The Strange Dissolution of Heat's Big 3 to read my latest column, in today's/Tuesday's inky pulp editions and also available online.
MIKO GRIMES INSERTS FOOT IN MOUTH. AGAIN: She cannot and will not shut up. She continues to embarrass herself and husband Brent Grimes on social media. The wife of the former Dolphins and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback took another shot at the Dolphins on Monday, using anti-Semitic language this time. On Twitter, she referred to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum in writing, verbatim, "Gotta respect ross for keeping his jew buddies employed but did he not see how tannenbaum put the jets in the dumpster w/that sanchez deal?" It might be noted here that the late Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer and his family are descendants of Jewish immigrants who lost family members in the Holocaust. Miko later attempted to clarify -- badly -- that she didn't mean to offend Jewish people. "Think I'm gonna tweet racist remarks in an attempt to offend TWO PEOPLE? Lmao!! Why would I? Why would I want to offend 'Jewish' ppl?" she later Tweeted. Later still, in a statement to ESPN, she said, "When I wrote 'jew buddies' I was speaking about how a lot of communities (Jewish, Christian, gay, sometimes fraternities and sororities) will hire their 'own people' for jobs before others. That's a fact! Why people find facts offensive is strange to me. And now im a racist? Lmao! How?" She continued: "If what I said is racist or anti-Semitic, why isn't it also racist to only hire their own? America is just an easily offended, fake reacting, bunch of cry baby [expletive]s! Anyone that thinks I'm a racist needs to build a [expletive] bridge and get over it. I'm not a racist, I'm a realist." Dear Miko: You might be an idiot, too. And the hedge on might is becoming less and less likely.
SPORTS WORLD GONE MAD: UFC SELLS FOR $4 BILLION: The mega-talent agency WME-IMG is buying mixed martial arts mega-league UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for $4 billion in a deal announced Monday. vestment firm of Michael Dell, to take over the mixed martial arts company. Said WME-IMG co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell in a statement: "It's been exciting to watch the organization's incredible growth over the last decade. We're now committed to pursuing new opportunities for UFC and its talented athletes to ensure the sport's continued growth and success on a global scale." Four billion makes this the most expensive sports transaction for an organization or team in history. And what the new owners say suggests they expect a growth that make UFC an entity that competes with the NFL, NBA and MLB as a mainstream entity. Said outgoing UFC leader Dana White: "Sport is going to the next level." It'll be interesting to see how the growth plan plays out and how successful it will be. I'll admit I totally mis-read mixed martial arts and UFC when it rose to prominence. I thought it was too violent -- repugnantly so. And I thought the general decline of boxing mirrored a loss of appetite for hand-combat sports like this. I was way wrong. I still don't like UFC. I think it's cartoon violence somewhere between boxing and pro wrestling. But I'm not the desired demographic. UFC has proved enormously popular with young men, especially, and the growing appeal of women fighting has further grown the UFC brand. Four billion still sounds like crazy overspending, but let's see where this change of hands leads.
THE LIST: MARLINS IN HOME RUN DERBY: Last night marked the sixth time the Marlins have had a player in the Home Run Derby, and Giancarlo Stanton was the franchise's first two-time participant and maiden champion with a record 61 homers in three rounds. What a show! Miami was one of 13 clubs that had not had a Derby winner, but that changed fast -- and decisively, as Stanton hit 20 of the night's 21 longest homers. The history of Marlins in the HRD:
Player Year Finish Winner
Gary Sheffield 1996 T9th of 10 Barry Bonds, Giants
Miguel Cabrera 2006 3rd of 8 Ryan Howard, Phillies
Dan Uggla 2008 T3rd of 8 Justin Morneau, Twins
Hanley Ramirez 2010 2nd of 8 David Ortiz, Red Sox
Giancarlo Stanton 2014 T5th of 10 Yoenis Cespedes, A's
Giancarlo Stanton 2016 1st of 10 Stanton with record 61 homers
RICKY WILLIAMS STILL CHAMPIONING MARIJUANA AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: ESPN's 30 For 30 documentary series has done Ricky Williams ("Run Ricky Run"). Now Sports Illustrated Films weighs in with, "Ricky Williams Takes the High Road," premiering this Wednesday on SI.com. Williams, former Dolphins great continues one of the most enigmatic and interesting characters in South Florida sports history. I'll watch this. Trailer here:
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