GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It's MONDAY, MAY 6. Hope y'all had a happy Cinco de Mayo and properly celebrated the Mexican Army's 1862 upset victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla. 2) Football is never done, so it's always the perfect time to buy our 'Fins At 50' book for the Dolfans in your life. Learn more or buy on Amazon. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Signs of Jeter plan emerging amid Marlins losing, Brady is as Brady as ever, Fins get Tagovailoa in early '20 mock draft, Killian and Aquinas in elite category & more. 4) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook and Instagram.
Our four most recent columns: Brady Is As Brady As Ever / Marlins Losing Big Now, But A Future Is Emerging / Welcome to the New America, Lexi Thompson and / Rosen Has Chance To Turn A Good Dolphins Draft Great.
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, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:
1. HORSE RACING: Reversal robs Maximum Security at Kentucky Derby: Maximum Security was robbed of Saturday's Kentucky Derby win on a reversal for impeding other horses, handing the win to undeserving 65-1 longshot Country House. It was a decision that will live in horse racing infamy -- only the second time in 145 Derbys the winning horse has been DQ'd, and the first time on account of action on the track. Max, once a $16,000 claiming horse, had won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream. My column from five weeks ago: Maximum Security Wins Florida Derby.
2. NBA: Conference semifinals tight and getting tighter: Toronto and Denver won on the road Sunday to tie their conference semifinal series at 2-2. Tonight Boston and Houston host Game 4s trying to tie their series 2-2. Competitiveness welcome after the previous rounds' mostly yawning lopsidedness.
3. MARLINS: Losing continues for struggling, swept Fish: Marlins are an MLB-worst 9-24 and after being swept at home by Atlanta Sunday and now set out on a seven-game road trip. Meantime the club demoted former No. 1 prospect Lewis Brinson to minors and fired president of business ops Chip Bowers. Signs of progress, too, but a rough Year 2 for Derek Jeter.
4. DOLPHINS: Rookie mini-camp next on offseason agenda: Dolphins' post-draft offseason work begins this coming weekend with a May 10-12 rookie mini-camp for top pick Christian Wilkins and the other newbies. Nine full-squad OTA workdays will follow in May, when we'll see new QB Josh Rosen in a Fins uni for the first time. Then it's a mandatory mini-camp June 4-6. You cannot escape football, folks. You can try. You'll fail.
5. NHL: Carolina sweeps, but other three playoff series tight: Carolina bounced the Islanders in a four-game sweep but the other three conference semis are as competitive as you'd like. St. Louis beat Dallas on Sunday to force a game 7, while Boston and San Jose have 3-2 leads over Columbus and Colorado.
6. SOCCER: Champions League second-leg semis on deck: Barcelona face Liverpool Tuesday and Tottenham play Ajax Wednesday in leg-two of their UEFA Champions League semifinals, with Barca up three goals and Ajax one. And if you still haven't seen Messi's bending upper-left corner goal in the opener, Google it. Magic.
7. HEAT: Miami awaits big decision by Dragic, Whiteside: Opt-in or out? Stay or test free agency? Hassan Whiteside ($27 million) and Goran Dragic ($19.2M) have pricey decisions to make that will hugely affect the Heat's roster and salary cap flexibility. Whiteside, benched for Bam Adebayo late in season, may be the likelier to leave.
8. HURRICANES: UM Sports Hall inducts eight more: The UM Sports Hall of Fame inducted an eight-person 2019 class this week led by former football star Vince Wilfork, the behemoth defensive tackle who went on to star as a New England Patriot. For me the Hall lets in too many, but that's true of Halls everywhere. Exclusivity, people!
9. PANTHERS: Cats have six reps in hockey worlds: Florida Panthers have four players and two others participating in the 2019 IIHF men's ice hockey world championships May 10-26 in Slovakia. Players will be Evgenii Dadonov (for Team Russia), Frank Vatrano (USA), Juho Lammikko (Finland) and Vincent Praplan (Switzerland). Also, Cats FM Dale Tallon is serving on advisory group for U.S. men's team, and goaltending coach Rob Tallas is working with Team Italy. "Go USA!" said a thoroughly biased Hot Button.
10. CANES BASEBALL: Canes winning, climbing polls: Gino DiMare's rookie season as coach is picking up steam. UM is now 34-14, has won six straight, just completed a home sweep of Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, and is up to 21st in the national polls. Omaha, please! (Too soon?)
Missing the HB10 cut: It has escaped our attention until now, but James Jones (Miami American High, UM, Heat) is now general manager of the Phoenix Suns. Good luck, James. You'll need it ..... Update: Countdown now 2,604 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in the 2026 World Cup.
Other recent columns: Dolphins Big Winners With Draft-Day Trade For QB Rosen / Dolphins Land Big Prize in Wilkins / Dolphins at 13: Twice Lucky, One Horrific Tragedy / Everything Aligning for Dolphins to Land Tagovailoa in '20 / Oh To Be Hated Again! Lean Times For Miami Sports / Le Batard Takes Miami To Manhattan / Why Tiger's Masters Triumph Is About So Much More Than Golf / In Joel Quenneville, Panthers Get Their Riley, Their Shula / And our Dwyane Wade Final-Week trilogy: The Last Star: Post-Wade, Miami Sports Is Bereft / Wade Fittingly Goes Out A Winner And A 30-point Star / And Thank You, Dwyane Wade, Miami's G.O.A.T.
Select other columns: Bosh Honored On A Wistful Night Of 'What If' / Beckham's Miami Soccer Odyssey Takes Latest Detour / Will Diaz's Canes Justify 'The New Miami' Hype? / Why Tannehill's Legacy Probably Isn't What You Think / Case For Kaepernick's Comeback As A Dolphin / 'Coach Crutch' Has Nova Southeastern Soaring / Trip to Miami Inspired a National Bobblehead Shrine / The Intrigue Left: Will LeBron Go Out On Top? / Transgender-Athlete Firestorm A Necessary Debate / Across the Rio Grande to the PGA Tour / From Dark and Empty to Top Of the World: Dan Le Batard at 50.
APSE-HONORED WORK: The Associated Press Sports Editors 2018 writing awards ranked us a Top 10 national sports columnist in the major-outlet category. Thanks, APSE. Here are the five nominated columns that earned the honor: At Doral, an annual tradition since 1962 is replaced by silence, and by what's missing / Marlins' Jose Fernandez statue is divisive yet has a chance to serve a greater purpose / NFL has moral obligation to help Buonicontis and Kiicks while it limits future suffering / What led to El Clasico Miami began with Joe Robbie's unlikely, accidental love of soccer / With 59 home runs, Stanton still had a magic season. Just hope this wasn't goodbye.
Revisit our blog often because we update and add to our latest posts throughout the day.
Twitter @gregcote
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