Venus' Wimbledon run ends in defeat but still a marvel: My new column; plus Marlins score big 0 in major category, El Clasico Miami still hopeful on Ronaldo, Dolphins rocket up $$$ chart, your Heat-offseason verdict, Hot Button Daily (Sat) & more

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

1) It is SATURDAY, JULY 15. Rolling Stone, increasingly list-crazy, lists the 100 Greatest Movies of the 1990s. Click here for the countdown. 2) Almost Dolphins time. Know any die-hard Dolfans? Surprise them with our book on club's first half-century. Learn more or order at Fins At 50. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): AL wins Miami All-Star Game, your Home Run Derby vs. ASG verdict, Heat-offseason poll, ESPY Awards & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.

Venus' remarkable Wimbledon run falls just short: My new column: My Sunday column, newly online, is on the marvel of Venus Williams even in defeat Saturday in the Wimbledon women's final, at 37 the oldest woman in a major final since 1994. Click on An Ageless Wonder, Even In Defeat to read.

CUPBOARD BARE: MARLINS PLACE ZERO PLAYERS ON TOP-PROSPECTS LIST: Here is a challenge the next Marlins owner will inherit. Miami suffers a complete shutout in Baseball America's new 2017 midseason ranking of the Top 100 minor-league prospects, which includes guys recently drafted. To put that in perspective, the Fish's four NL East rivals combine to place 21 players on the list: Braves--9 players (ranked 10th, 23rd, 25th, 33rd, 41st, 42nd, 55th, 72nd and 76th); Phillies--7 players (46th, 47th, 52nd, 69th, 81st, 92nd, 98th); Nationals--3 players (8th, 70th, 95th); and Mets--2 players (4th, 50th). Miami's barren minor-league cupboard is why fans should expect to see more veterans traded for prospects. That began with the recent trade of shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to Tampa Bay. More infusion of young talent via trades -- though not another fire sale -- should be expected before the July 31 trade deadline. Click here for the complete Top 100.

REPORTS ASIDE, RONALDO EXPECTED FOR EL CLASICO MIAMI: Rosters for El Clasico Miami -- Barcelona vs.Real Madrid July 29 at Hard Rock Stadium -- were announced Tuesday, the day the Marlins hosted the All-Star Game. That overshadowed the news, but the soccer world has since been abuzz that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured) did not appear on Real Madrid's roster for the International Champions Cup tournament play including Miami. Barcelona's roster includes stars Lionel Messi, Luis Sanchez and Neymar, with no notable omissions. Some media outlets have since reported (erroneously) that Ronaldo not being on the roster means he definitely will not play in Miami, but that is not a certainty  -- at least not yet, or not officially. Ronaldo, 32, led his native Portugal to a third-place finish in the recent FIFA Confederations Cup tournament and perhaps could use a rest. Also, he has a July 31 court date scheduled in Spain related to tax-fraud charges against him. With those factors in mind his omission from Real Madrid's ICC roster was ominous, but I am told there still remains a strong chance he will travel to play in the Barca-Real game on the 29th. Soccer fans and Miami hope so, because Ronaldo vs. Messi is a big part of what makes El Clasico a classic. Stay tuned.

DOLPHINS CRACK FORBES' 2017 MOST-VALUABLE-TEAMS LIST: Forbes has issued its annual World's Most Valuable Teams list for 2017, a Top 50, and the Miami Dolphins are the only South Florida franchise on it, smack in the middle at No. 25 with a value of $2.38 billion. That marks a 28 percent increase from the previous year, 10th-biggest plus on the list. (The Dolphins ranked 33rd, at $1.85B, in 2016). The Marlins, about to be sold for $1.2 billion, would not make the list at that value; 50th place was at $1.75B. The Heat were just below that. Overall, the Dallas Cowboys rank No. 1 in the world with a value of $4.2 billion, followed by the New York Yankees at $3.7 billion. The most valuable NBA team, the New York Knicks, rank seventh at $3.3B. After the 'Boys and Yanks in the top five comes English soccer power at Manchester United at $3.69 billion, and then the two teams in this month's El Clasico Miami, Spanish soccer titans Barcelona and Real Madrid, $3.64 and $3.58 billion, respectively. Click here for the full Top 50.

POLL RESULT: HEAT OFFSEASON A SUCCESS, ALTHOUGH VERDICT MIXED: We asked, "Has this been a successful Miami Heat offseason?" And "yes" was a clear winner with 58.2 percent. But it was 25.3% "no" with the other 16.5% undecided, meaning better than 4 in 10 had doubts.

HOT BUTTON DAILY: SAT 7-15-17: Today's sports events of most interest in SoFla:

Wimbledon, 9 a.m.: Venus Williams goes for women's title in London.

L.A. Dodgers at Marlins, 7:10 p.m.: After meltdown-loss last night, Fish continue homestand.

Heat vs. Memphis, 6 p.m.: Heat kid squad ends summer-league season.

U.S. vs. Nicaragua, 7 p.m.: Gold Cup men's soccer match from Cleveland.

Yankees at Red Sox, 4 p.m.: Sports' best rivalry adds Aaron Judge mania.

Select other recent columns -- Our Miami All-Star Week columns: All-Star Week Proves Miami's Baseball Potential as Loria Era Ebbs: From Tuesday's ASG. Verdict to Judge, But Marlins Come Up Big: From Home Run Derby. Home Run Derby Is King: Why power show has become bigger than ASG. Miami Loves Hosting, Just Has A Funny Way Of Showing It: We're not typical All-Star host. There Should Be A Place For Ichiro: Honoring such greats should be what All-Star Game is about. Others: Venus, Rising: On Williams' Wimbledon run to finals. to read the column. The Gentleman-Athlete Earned Our Thanks: A farewell to Bosh. Heat Lose Twice On Hayward: Top free agent picks Boston. Bam Is Due Benefit Of Doubt: Heat drafting Bam Adebayo No. 1. Make Fun of the Farce, But You'll Watch: Mayweather vs. McGregor. No Parade In Sight: None of our Big 5 teams seems close to championship. A Fall From Greatness And From Grace: Latest in Tiger Woods saga. What's Next, Marlins?: Easy to say blow up the Fish, but harder (and not smart) to do. NFL's Moral Obligation: League must do more for brain-injury sufferers like Buoniconti and Kiick. The Dolphins' Eight Ifs: Explaining dichotomy of opinion on Fins. Home Run For Miami: Loria selling Marlins. The Jose Statue's Positive Purpose: Controversy over Marlins' planned Fernandez memorial. An American Tragedy: Suicide of Aaron Hernandez. Also: History Breathes at UM Sports Hall, Is There A Team Brave Enough for Kaepernick?, Thank You, Mae Riback, A Ghost Tour of Miami's Sports Past, The Miracle of Liberty City, Thank You, Edwin Pope.

Revisit our blog often because we update and add to our latest posts throughout the day.

Twitter @gregcote

1) It is SATURDAY, JULY 15. Rolling Stone, increasingly list-crazy, lists the 100 Greatest Movies of the 1990s. Click here for the countdown. 2) Almost Dolphins time. Know any die-hard Dolfans? Surprise them with our book on club's first half-century. Learn more or order at Fins At 50. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): AL wins Miami All-Star Game, your Home Run Derby vs. ASG verdict, Heat-offseason poll, ESPY Awards & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.

Venus' remarkable Wimbledon run falls just short: My new column: My Sunday column, newly online, is on the marvel of Venus Williams even in defeat Saturday in the Wimbledon women's final, at 37 the oldest woman in a major final since 1994. Click on An Ageless Wonder, Even In Defeat to read.

CUPBOARD BARE: MARLINS PLACE ZERO PLAYERS ON TOP-PROSPECTS LIST: Here is a challenge the next Marlins owner will inherit. Miami suffers a complete shutout in Baseball America's new 2017 midseason ranking of the Top 100 minor-league prospects, which includes guys recently drafted. To put that in perspective, the Fish's four NL East rivals combine to place 21 players on the list: Braves--9 players (ranked 10th, 23rd, 25th, 33rd, 41st, 42nd, 55th, 72nd and 76th); Phillies--7 players (46th, 47th, 52nd, 69th, 81st, 92nd, 98th); Nationals--3 players (8th, 70th, 95th); and Mets--2 players (4th, 50th). Miami's barren minor-league cupboard is why fans should expect to see more veterans traded for prospects. That began with the recent trade of shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to Tampa Bay. More infusion of young talent via trades -- though not another fire sale -- should be expected before the July 31 trade deadline. Click here for the complete Top 100.

REPORTS ASIDE, RONALDO EXPECTED FOR EL CLASICO MIAMI: Rosters for El Clasico Miami -- Barcelona vs.Real Madrid July 29 at Hard Rock Stadium -- were announced Tuesday, the day the Marlins hosted the All-Star Game. That overshadowed the news, but the soccer world has since been abuzz that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured) did not appear on Real Madrid's roster for the International Champions Cup tournament play including Miami. Barcelona's roster includes stars Lionel Messi, Luis Sanchez and Neymar, with no notable omissions. Some media outlets have since reported (erroneously) that Ronaldo not being on the roster means he definitely will not play in Miami, but that is not a certainty  -- at least not yet, or not officially. Ronaldo, 32, led his native Portugal to a third-place finish in the recent FIFA Confederations Cup tournament and perhaps could use a rest. Also, he has a July 31 court date scheduled in Spain related to tax-fraud charges against him. With those factors in mind his omission from Real Madrid's ICC roster was ominous, but I am told there still remains a strong chance he will travel to play in the Barca-Real game on the 29th. Soccer fans and Miami hope so, because Ronaldo vs. Messi is a big part of what makes El Clasico a classic. Stay tuned.

DOLPHINS CRACK FORBES' 2017 MOST-VALUABLE-TEAMS LIST: Forbes has issued its annual World's Most Valuable Teams list for 2017, a Top 50, and the Miami Dolphins are the only South Florida franchise on it, smack in the middle at No. 25 with a value of $2.38 billion. That marks a 28 percent increase from the previous year, 10th-biggest plus on the list. (The Dolphins ranked 33rd, at $1.85B, in 2016). The Marlins, about to be sold for $1.2 billion, would not make the list at that value; 50th place was at $1.75B. The Heat were just below that. Overall, the Dallas Cowboys rank No. 1 in the world with a value of $4.2 billion, followed by the New York Yankees at $3.7 billion. The most valuable NBA team, the New York Knicks, rank seventh at $3.3B. After the 'Boys and Yanks in the top five comes English soccer power at Manchester United at $3.69 billion, and then the two teams in this month's El Clasico Miami, Spanish soccer titans Barcelona and Real Madrid, $3.64 and $3.58 billion, respectively. Click here for the full Top 50.

POLL RESULT: HEAT OFFSEASON A SUCCESS, ALTHOUGH VERDICT MIXED: We asked, "Has this been a successful Miami Heat offseason?" And "yes" was a clear winner with 58.2 percent. But it was 25.3% "no" with the other 16.5% undecided, meaning better than 4 in 10 had doubts.

Twitter @gregcote

Twitter @gregcote

Twitter @gregcote

Twitter @gregcote

Twitter @gregcote

Twitter @gregcote

Twitter @gregcote