Football! Set the bar on expectations: How many games will Dolphins and Hurricanes win this season? 2 new polls. Last day to vote!

GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.

1) It is SATURDAY, AUGUST 6. Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Periscope and Snapchat. 2) Pictured right, the new Marlins' 2017 All-Star Game logo.

Column six-pack: Six select recent columns, ICYMI or want a second look: A Chance for Football to Retake Miami, on Wade's departure from Heat creating a chance for Dolphins and Canes. Original Strikers Set Template for Beckham, an ode to the 1977 Strikers and Lockhart Stadium. Ichiro!, on wonder of ageless Marlin as he chases 3,000 hits. Dolphins On Own to Escape Rut, Reshape Image, state of team as camp nears. Mission Accomplished, Legacy Secure, our farewell-Wade column. These Marlins Deserve Support Despite the Owner, and that tagline says it all.

"Dear Bernie Sanders supporters: Welcome to adult politics. Grow up, please. Get over yourselves. Could you try to accept defeat with a modicum of grace? Thanks!" --Greg Cote

I'm back!: Back this morning on a redeye flight from a week's-plus vacation along California's Central Coast. We'll be back in action here with a new blogpost Sunday -- the new Hot Button Top 10 after a week's absence for the HB10. Also will be back writing columns starting Monday and back on the LeBatard Show as a cohost on Tuesday.

SETTING THE BAR ON DOLPHINS AND HURRICANES EXPECTATIONS...: On the upcoming calendar for our major local teams and beyond: Dolphins are upon us. Team opened training camp on July 29. First exhibition game is Aug. 12. Season starts Sept. 11 at Seattle. Canes football is here. ACC Football Kickoff is in the books. UM's first practice was Aug. 4. Season opens Sept. 3 vs. Florida A&M. Marlins continue chasing NL playoff spot as Ichiro (still!) chases 3,000 hits, still at 2,998. Olympics' Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro are now underway, ready or not. (And it sure seems not). Tennis' U.S. Open draws near. It starts Aug. 29. Panthers are quiet. Cats open preseason Sept. 26 and regular hockey schedule Oct. 13. Heat are quiet. Dead of offseason. Training camp will begin in late September. It is the gradual onset of football that tops the local plate as I set out on holiday, with the Dolphins and then the Canes hitting the practice field under promising new coaches in Adam Gase and Mark Richt. So it is time to set the bar on expectations for each team with separate polls. This is not asking what you wish or hope, but what your honest/realistic expectations are. In other words, pick the projected victory total for each team that you'd bet on if given $100 to place on any one number. For the Dolphins pick a number based on a 16-game regular season. For UM pick the final total based on a 12-game season with the additional possibility of an ACC Championship Game and a bowl game (or two bowls games if you make the College Football Playoff). Ten seems to be the magic number for each team. For the Dolphins that would all but assure an elusive playoff spot. For the Canes that would be a standard the program last achieved in 2003. So how realistically optimistic are you for each team? We'll leave these polls up the entire time we're away. Vote and check back often to monitor evolving results.

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