ESPN's 'Body' issue: Great or ridiculous? Poll. Final day to vote!; plus Kelly Olynyk, an homage to Bosh and Ichiro, your Barca-Real vs. All-Star Game verdict, Paul McCartney concert review, Hot Button Daily (Sat) & more
GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is SATURDAY, JULY 8. Interesting, in-depth piece in Rolling Stone here on the fatal auto accident for which tennis star Venus Williams has been implicated and sued -- but won't be criminally charged. 2) Know any Dolfans? Delight them with our book on club's first half-century. Learn more or order at Fins At 50. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat lose Hayward, All-Star Game vs. Barcelona-Real Madrid with poll, 'Body' issue narcissism parade & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.
AN HOMAGE TO BOSH, ICHIRO: Our two newest columns both are about farewells, in a way. Chris Bosh: The Heat officially parted ways with Bosh on Tuesday -- on the Fourth of July, in the midst of Gordon Hayward's free-agent decision. Bosh's was a gradual goodbye to begin with, and the timing of it becoming actual was overshadowing. As the third of the Big 3 Bosh was never fully appreciated even before the blood clot issues truncated his career. Off the court he was in many ways the most interesting of the Big 3, erudite, with interests beyond the bouncing ball. Click on The Gentleman-Athlete Earned Our Thanks to read that column, from today's paper, in full. Ichiro: After 14 years of determining home-field advantage in the World Series, a ridiculous idea, the All-Star Game (Tuesday at Marlins Park) is back to what it should be: Ceremonial, a showcase, a celebration of history and heritage. Who wins doesn't matter, but moments and memories do. In that context I write that MLB should include the Marlins' Ichiro in Tuesday's game. In what likely is the final months of a Hall of Fame career, give him a curtain call in his adopted hometown. Stuff like that is what All-Star Games should be about. Click on There Should Be A Place For Ichiro to read that column, from today's All-Star Game special section, in full.
ESPN'S 'BODY' ISSUE: GREAT ... OR RIDICULOUS?: ESPN The Magazine's ninth annual 'Body' issue hit newsstands this week. (Are there still newsstands?) It celebrates the athletic form with artfully nude (non-explicit) photography. There is argument on either side whether this concept is wonderful or awful. It's wonderful because it is empowering; not only perfect bodies are shown. And athletes should be proud of their bodies. It is awful because it is exploitative (much like Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue) and it is the ultimate in athlete ego-stroking -- narcissism on parade. I tend to think the latter, that it's a pretty ridiculous thing. I mean, look at the photo we've shown from the current issue, of the U.S. national women's hockey team. Is that empowering? Is it sexy? Or does it just make you laugh and think, "Seriously!?" I mean, it's so dumb it's hilarious, really. But that's me. Now, your turn. Take a dip in our poll and check back often to monitor evolving results:
ADDING OLYNYK A BIG PLUS FOR HEAT: It doesn't make up for the free agency sting of losing top prize Gordon Hayward to the Celtics, no. But Miami has recovered admirably, first re-signing its own top FA Dion Waiters, and now signing ex-Celtic Kelly Olynyk, 26, the floor-spacing 7-foot center who will complement the Heat frontcourt nicely. Miami also has managed to its own two top free agents, James Johnson and Dion Waiters, along with Wayne Ellington. Bonus: Josh McRoberts finally gone to free cap space. Miami fans hated Olynyk in Boston green, but he'll prove popular here. Also is reportedly a strong lockerroom guy who should fit that much-ballyhooed "Heat culture" that the team loves to talk about and that fans dutifully have adopted to recite as if it were some tangible god. Pat Riley took a big hit with Hayward, but the Godfather wasn't on the canvas long.
POLL RESULT: UPSET? YOU SAY BARCELONA-REAL MADRID IS BIGGER THAN ALL-STAR GAME: We asked which major July event you consider to be the bigger, more prestigious for Miami to host, and you said El Clasico Miami: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid soccer with 46.1 percent over Major League Baseball All-Star Game with 40.4%. The other 13.5% voted even/too close to call. Maybe that isn't an upset. We asked same question on Twitter, with no "undecided" option, and Barca-Real defeated the ASG by 57-43%.
REVIEWS: THE ENDURING MAGIC OF PAUL McCARTNEY; ROD 'N CYNDI AN ODD MIX THAT WORKS: A pair of concert reviews from this week... Paul McCartney: Saw the great Sir Paul at the Heat's arena last night and he did not disappoint with a career-spanning flexing of one of the great canons in music history: the Beatles, Wings and his solo stuff. He was very chatty with banter and song backgrounds. The video augmentation was terrific. Metallica also played Miami last night, at Dolphins stadium, and they are metal legends. But if you have the chance to see McCartney, still rocking and relevant at 75, do not pass it up. Rod Stewart/Cyndi Lauper: We saw the twinbill Thursday night at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, and with some trepidation. Stewart/Lauper was an impulse buy to attend and seemed an odd pairing, but they clicked in the opening of their joint tour. Lauper opened and rocked harder than anticipated in her set, even delivering an edge to her saccharine "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," performed to a political video backdrop exhorting women's rights and funding for Planned Parenthood. She's a strong live performer, quirky in her Brooklyn banter. The sold-out house wanted Rod, though, of course. He delivered. His signature rasp of a voice, live, is not his strongsuit, but Stewart makes up for its with a sexy charm still percolating at age 72. The largely female audience ate it up. Thankfully Stewart stayed away from his latter-career standards remakes and rocked with mostly older stuff, his stage setting and large backing band conveying a Motown flavor. His audience-pleasing 90-minute set hit all the right notes.
HOT BUTTON DAILY: SAT 7-8-17: Today's sports events of most interest in SoFla:
1. Marlins at San Francisco, 10:05: Next-to-last roadie before All-Star break.
2. Heat vs. San Antonio, 8 p.m.: Vegas summer debut for Miami after 0-5 in Orlando.
3. Wimbledon, 8 a.m.: Third-round matches continue in London.
4. U.S. vs. Panama, 3:30: In Gold Cup soccer tournament.
5. San Francisco at Miami FC, 7:30 a.m.: NASL matchup at FIU Stadium.
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