GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It is MONDAY, AUGUST 7. Talked Jay Cutler and Jason Taylor on Paul Castronovo Show this morning. Always happy to be on with Paul. 2) Dolphins time! Know any die-hard Dolfans? Surprise and delight them with our new book on club's first half-century. Learn more or order here: Fins At 50. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Tannehill injury with what-next poll, who'll-be-Canes-starting-QB poll, anniversary of me singing 'Letting Go' & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.
Latest Sunday column: What Miami stars are next for Hall of Fame?: With Jason Taylor the latest member of the club, who's on deck among former or current South Florida pro-team sports stars? We explore the possibilities and odds. Click on Immortality Calling to read.
Latest Dolphins column: The case for Kaepernick: In wake of Thursday's Ryan Tannehill injury, Dolphins should consider Colin Kaepernick the best of available option. Click on Right Time, Right Quarterback for my column.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (UPDATED): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive every-Sunday feature, updated Mondays, is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:
1. DOLPHINS: Tannehill knee injury casts pall, Fins sign Cutler: With Saturday's scrimmage in the books and the first exhibition game only three days away, this season will start just like the last one ended: With QB Ryan Tannehill out injured indefinitely, victim of that same left knee. The question was what to do next. The answer came Sunday with the 1-year, $10 million signing of ex-Bears QB Jay Cutler. Isn't it weird: How Tannehill looks better and better to fans vs. alternatives when he isn't there?
2. JASON TAYLOR: Miami's great No. 99 enters Canton: The Dolphins' great defensive end and career sacks leader Taylor stepped into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and into immortality as one of seven Class of '17 inductees Saturday night in Canton, Ohio. Reference to his having played at AKron, I loved his "20 years to go 20 miles" theme. Well done. Just wish his longtime running mate Zach Thomas could have gone in with him.
3. MARLINS: Fish back on road, chasing consolation of .500: Marlins are in midst of a seven-game road trip following a 5-2 homestand that drew the Fish within four games of a .500 record. Hey, with a playoff spot looking pretty hopeless, you reach for the nearest consolation prize available, right?
4. HURRICANES: UM crashes Top 20 in early preseason polls: The Canes entered at No. 18 in the preseason coaches' poll, and were 16th in the initial ESPN Power Rankings. Imagine how high they might rank if they had a proven starting quarterback or knew who that person would be!?
5. DAVID BECKHAM: Miami group wins league approval: Major League Soccer owners this week authorized moving forward on David Beckham's bid, with the league expected by September to officially announce a Miami expansion team for 2020. Golden shovels, please. Better get to breakin' ground on that stadium, Becks.
6. HEAT: Projected standings have Miami seventh in East: Spoiler alert! ESPN has projected the Heat will finish seventh in the Eastern Conference this season with 42.3 wins. That's mediocre. But it will be interesting to see how Miami manages to get that one-third of a win.
7. SOCCER: Neymar switches clubs in record deal: Rising soccer superstar Neymar moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain on a record transfer fee worth $263 million U.S. For that kind of money, he better have scored a hat track on the flight to France.
8. BASEBALL: Amazing Dodgers on historic run: Los Angeles is on a .709 clip this season and on a 43-7 run, the best 50-game stretch by any MLB team since 1912. And the Dodgers just acquired an ace-level starter in Yu Darvish. Which is like Bill Gates finding money.
9. MIAMI FC: NASL club eliminated from U.S. Open Cup: Miami FC was eliminated at home 1-0 by Cincinnati of the USL in a disappointing finish to a sterling run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. Might we suggest an NASL championship as a decent consolation prize?
10. GOLF: Season's final men's major on deck: The PGA Championship, season's final major, begins this Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., with Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson the betting favorites. FORE! No, it's just those three, really.
Missing the HB10 cut: Justin Gatlin beat Usain Bolt in the 100 meters at the IAAF track & field world championships in London. In between doping bans, Gatlin is really good ..... Steph Curry shot 74 and missed the cut at a Web.com golf event. Maybe it was habit, but the king of the 3's was sinking too many 3-putt greens ..... Watched the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions last night. I think Kenny Easley is still talking. ..... Team World beat Team Africa in the annual NBA Africa Game. Geez, let the host continent win, already! ..... LaVar Ball has gone a few days without doing anything idiotic. Is he OK? ..... Heat dancer auditions on Sunday will send 40 young women on to a four-day boot camp. That seems really uncomfortable, dancing in boots ..... A softball team of 12-14 year-old girls from Mechanicsville, Va. was disqualified from a championship game for a Snapchat photo in which six girls were giving middle fingers to the team they'd just beaten. Ah, sportsmanship!
POLL RESULTS: KAEPERNICK, PERRY WIN YOUR SUPPORT FOR DOLPHINS, HURRICANES: We called it "Quarterback Quandary X2," invited your opinion, and got it in a massive response. Dolphins: We asked, "If Ryan Tannehill is out injured, who would you prefer to be the Dolphins' starting quarterback to begin the 2017 season?" And you voted Colin Kaepernick 46.5 percent, Matt Moore 32.2%, Jay Cutler 17.8% and Robert Griffin III 3.5%. Kaepernick was up to about 58% before the race narrowed, but he still won comfortably. Hurricanes: We asked, "Which quarterback do you predict will emerge as the Miami Hurricanes' starter this season?" And you voted N'Kosi Perry 54.8 percent, Malik Rosier 31.6%, Evan Shirreffs 7.1% and "s
HOT BUTTON DAILY: MON 8-7-17: Today's sports events of most interest in SoFla:
1. Marlins at Washington, 7:05 p.m.: Fish 7-game road trip visits NL East-leading Nats.
2. Dolphins practice, 8:45 a.m.: Turning page at QB as preseason opener nears.
3. Track world championships, 2 p.m.: IAAF track & field worlds continue in London.
4. Big3 basketball, 8 p.m.: Old-guy hoops tour moves to Lexington, Ky.
Select other recent columns -- The Uncommon Pressure On the Miami Dolphins. He Missed a Heck Of a Game. Blockbuster Would Be Slumpbuster for Riley. Paroled But Not Free. Don't Hold Your Breath. An Ageless Wonder, Even In Defeat. All-Star Week Proves Miami's Baseball Potential as Loria Era Ebbs. The Gentleman-Athlete Earned Our Thanks. Heat Lose Twice On Hayward. Bam Is Due Benefit Of Doubt. Make Fun of the Farce, But You'll Watch. No Parade In Sight. A Fall From Greatness And From Grace. NFL's Moral Obligation. The Dolphins' Eight Ifs. Home Run For Miami. The Jose Statue's Positive Purpose. An American Tragedy. 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
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