GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is SATURDAY, March 4. Enough please with the pointless debate on whether Dwyane Wade should/will rejoin the Heat this summer. It isn't a debate. Won't happen. Zero chance. But only because less than zero isn't possible. 2) You a Dolfan? Know any? Buy our new book on club's first half-century, Fins At 50. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): PopeFest a raging success with videos, The Luddite's Anti-Analytics Heat MVP Standings (60 games) & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.
"Heat's Erik Spoelstra named NBA Coach of the Month for February! So ridiculous. Why not have a Coach of the Week? Better yet, a Coach of the Day!" --Greg Cote
My latest columns: The sad quiet of Doral, and Amar'e Stoudemire: I visited a too-quiet Doral, where, for the first time since 1961 this week, a PGA Tour golf tournament is not happening. Click on A Tradition Ends In Silence to read that column. I also have a second, shorter, online-only column today on Amar'e Stoudemire's controversy over his anti-gay sentiments. Click on Amar'e Joins the Shame Club for that.
SUPER SATURDAY!: LEBRON VISIT, CANES X2, CATS AND HORSES OH MY!: It's rare I anoint a Super Saturday in South Florida sports, but today qualifies. It's one of those crowded-calendar sports days (see Hot Button Daily below) that makes you glad you live here. If you can't find something to watch today or tonight that engages you, check your pulse. LeBron James and the Cavaliers visit the Heat with Miami 1 1/2 back in the playoff chase -- so an upset of the ex we love to hate and hate to love would be doubly big. The Panthers have lost four of past five and need to shake their mini-funk as they host Dallas with the Cats two points behind that 8th seed and playoff pace. Hurricanes women's basketball faces rival Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The UM men visit Florida State to close their regular season, with ACC tourney seeding in play. The Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park is a major Kentucky Derby prep race in which Irish War Cry (5-2 odds), Practical Joke (3-1) and Gunnevera (7-2) are close to tri-favorites. Oh, and the Marlins play a spring game vs. the Braves in Lake Buena Vista. I mean, with all of that watch, there is absolutely no excuse today to be caught watching even a nano-second of the NFL Scouting Combine. Seriously.
DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE NFL SCOUTING COMBINE?: It is happening all week in Indianapolis, the NFL's annual pre-draft meat market in which draft prospects (nine former Hurricanes are there) are measured, tested, interviewed and analyzed. It is a good and convenient thing for teams like the Dolphins -- one-stop shopping. It is good for players, though mostly for those expected lower picks who get a chance to stand and and improve their stock. But should fans care? ESPN and NFL Network are televising it and covering it as if fans do care. Share your thoughts on the Combine in this poll. I find it boring and wouldn't if you paid me, but I may be in the minority. Let's see.
HOT BUTTON DAILY / SAT 3-4-17: What events on today's sports calendar should interest SoFla most:
1. Cleveland at Heat, 8 p.m.: Doesn't sizzle like before, but a visit by LeBron still stirs emotions.
2. Dallas at Panthers, 7 p.m.: A game Cats, 2 points off playoff pace, should win.
3. Hurricanes vs. Duke, 2:30 p.m.: 7th-seed UM women face 2-Duke in ACC Tournament semifinal.
4. Fountain of Youth, 5:30 p.m.: Stakes race at Gulfstream is major prep for Kentucky Derby.
5. Hurricanes at Florida State, 4 p.m.: 25th-ranked UM men vs. 15-Noles in regular season finale.
Select other recent columns: NFL's Arrested Development, on league's cluelessness on how to handle player arrests. The Wonder of Coach L, off Canes' win over Duke. It's What's Great About Sports, on Heat and Panthers' concurrent surge. The Miracle of Liberty City, on how youth football there is about more than scoring TDs. Also: Is Whiteside the Whale Heat Needs? French Embassy and Cuban Smuggling: Play Ball! Loria: The End Of An Error. Thank You, Edwin Pope.
Revisit our blog often because we update and add to our latest posts throughout the day.
Twitter @gregcote
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