GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It's MONDAY, JULY 15. Football season almost here, so it's the perfect time to check out our 'Fins At 50' book for the Dolfans in your life, at Amazon. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Serena denied again, Heat lose out on Westbrook, USWNT is polarizing but that's good, U.S tennis finds next star in Coco Gauff & more. 3) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also on Facebook and Instagram.
Our columns from past week: Tennis (2), Heat (2) and Soccer: On Brink Of History At Wimbledon, Serena Is Denied Again / Heat And Riley Lose On Westbrook, But Loss Might Still Be A Win / If You Don't Like Rapinoe, USWNT -- That's On You, Not Them / Heat's Run At Westbrook Is Riley's All-Out Gamble To Win Now and Coco's Wimbledon Runs Ends, But U.S. Tennis Just Found Its Next Big Thing.
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. HEAT: Miami loses out on Westbrook, but is the loss really a win?: Heat once seemed the frontrunner to trade with Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook, the last available big prize of summer, to pair him with Jimmy Butler. Then Houston swooped and got Russ instead. Why? Miami wouldn't part with both Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Smart. Sometimes the best trade is the one not made. Meantime, Heat narrowly missed Summer League playoffs with Saturday's 101-100 OT loss to Pelicans after resting a bunch of guys including Herro. Which tells you how inconsequential Summer league really is.
2. TENNIS: Epic Wimbledon men's final after Serena fails to tie majors record: Wimbledon's championship weekend began Saturday with Serena Williams gunning for her 24th career major to tie the all-time record -- and failing miserably in a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Simona Halep. Sunday it was Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in a heavyweight men's finale -- Djokovic winning in a tiebreak after a 12-12 fifth set to end the longest men's final in tournament history. Epic!
3. SOCCER: Celebration (mostly!) of U.S. women's team continues: Winning the World Cup, a ticker-tape parade in New York City, honored at the ESPY Awards, and now a five-city Victory Tour starting Aug. 3 in Los Angeles with a friendly vs. Ireland. Heady days for Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and crew. Hasn't been all cheers though as conservatives try to come to grips (or not) with a team of strong women who rep LBGTQ rights, equal pay and other progressive activism. If you aren't proud of this team, hey, that's on you.
4. MARLINS: Second half of season underway for Fish: Marlins are 1-2 since the All-Star Break in midst of a six-game homestand. At 34-57 (.374), Fish are on pace to finish 61-101. And you are officially having a bad season when the big drama is whether you'll loss under 100 games. MLB trade deadline is end of this month. Bats, please.
5. GOLF: British Open closes majors season this week: Golf's 148th British Open -- snobbily called "The Open," officially -- begins this coming Thursday in Northern Ireland. Rory McIlroy from the host nation and Brooks Koepka are co-favorites at 8-1, followed by Dustin Johnson at 12-1. Tiger Woods slid to 16-1, perhaps because he hasn't played for five weeks and because, despite winning The Masters, public trust that he's truly back is fragile as balsa-wood stilts.
6. MLB: Baseball back to work after All-Star break: Baseball is back to work following its All-Star break. The AL won the All-Star Game for the seventh straight year and nobody cared, not even the AL. In the Home Run Derby the Mets' Pete Alonso outslugged the Blue Jays' Vlad Guerrero Jr., although I use "outslugged" generously. I mean, are we supposed to be impressed these guys can go yard against 40 mph "fastballs" tossed by their Dad?
7. INTER MIAMI: Fort Lauderdale complex gets green light: The city of Fort Lauderdale voted to officially green-light Inter Miami's development of the former Lockhart Stadium site as their training facility and temporary stadium. Allows construction to start on the 18,000-seat stadium to serve as their home for MLS matches the first two seasons starting next spring, until their permanent ground at Miami Freedom Park is built if it ever is. Now all they have to do is build the New Lockhart in well under a year. Good luck, fellas!
8. ESPN: Big winners and the one big loser at The ESPYs: ESPN's annual awards show to celebrate ESPN the sports year crowned NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and U.S. soccer's Alex Morgan as best athletes, and Morgan's USWNT as best team. (They needed a best hair category for Megan Rapinoe). The night's big loser? Tracy Morgan as host. He will never emcee another awards show. Ever. I mean, not even at a local Rotary club.
9. DOLPHINS: Assistant coach taking the year off for his health: Fins assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell, 64, announced he is taking a leave of absence for the 2019 NFL season to address an undisclosed health issue, but will serve as a consultant. "I will be stepping back due to some medical complications that require my full attention," he said. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Kendrick Norton, who suffered a career-ending amputation of his left arm in a truck accident, was reportedly at fault in the crash and cited by police, which seems a bit cruel to us. Best wishes for both men.
10. CRICKET: England wins its first Cricket World Cup crown: It was England vs. New Zealand Sunday in London for the ICC Cricket World Cup crown, with both countries seeking their first title. England was generally seen as a (very) narrow betting favorite to do what its women's soccer team failed to do last week -- and the Brits did so dramatically, winning in a Super-Over, the sport's equivalent of a penalty-kick shootout. Yes, we're talkin' cricket!
Missing the HB10 cut: The World Series of Poker main event's final table is down to five as play resumes Monday night in Vegas with Hossein Ensan still holding the chip lead. I don't know why, but "Hossein Ensan" sounds like a rank in the Navy ..... Angels toss no-hitter on night they honor pitcher Tyler Skaggs who'd died suddenly. Magical ..... The NBA is now the NBL.A., because it's all about Clippers' Kawhi Leonard and Paul George vs. Lakers' LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That should be the Finals. Start it tomorrow. Two-on-two, of course ..... Manny Pacquiao, 40, and unbeaten Keith Thurman fight this coming Saturday. I'm probably rooting for Pac Man, if only to derail any unfortunate momentum for another Pacquiao-Mayweather fight ..... In UFC, Jorge Masvidal wants to fight Conor McGregor. Based on what I know of each, can they both lose, please? ..... Ice Cube's Big3 basketball league is underway. That's where old former players try to show a disinterested NBA they've still got it. It's called the Big3 because "Has-Beens On Parade" sounded a bit harsh ..... The Tour de France continues. Current leader is a kid on an old Schwinn with baseball cards in the spokes ..... The FINA World Aquatics Championships are underway in South Korea. Sorry, but my contract says I only have to feign interest in swimming for two weeks once every four years ..... The WNBA All-Star Game is in two weeks. I'll watch, but only if one team includes Megan Rapinoe dribbling with her feet and lobbing a pass that Alex Morgan heads into the basket ..... Update: Countdown now 2,534 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in the 2026 World Cup.
Select other recent columns: Queens of the World. U.S. Soccer Wins Again / U.S. Women Reach World Cup Final -- Not With Arrogance, But Excellence / Bold Moves To Get Jimmy Butler Make Heat -- And Pat Riley -- Relevant Again / New-look Panthers: Lots Of Hope, Zero Excuses Left / It Is Megan Rapinoe's World Cup -- On And Off The Field / Kawhi to Lakers Would Mean More Rings, Last Laugh For LeBron / An Era Ends As Panthers' Luongo Retires / Heat's Haslem Doesn't Need Us Telling Him Whether To Retire / Drip Or Swag, Herro Brings It, And Heat Need It / O.J. Can Tweet What He Wants, But How He's Seen Is Not Up To Him / U.S. Women's Soccer Should Be Celebrated -- No Apologies / Miami Dolphins Will Be Better Than You Think In 2019 / Ranking Dolphins, Heat, Marlins & Panthers' Best Young Players / Heat Must Dump Bad Contracts Starting With Whiteside, Dragic /Inter Miami Aiming High With Barca's Suarez / Reasons To Like Flores & 5 Keys To Dolphins Season / For Marlins, An Encouraging Two Weeks Is Progress / End The Illogical Shame and Honor Schnellenberger / Smart Decision A No-Brainer: Dolphins Should Start Rosen / Dolphins Land Big Prize in Wilkins / Oh To Be Hated Again! Lean Times For Miami Sports / Why Tiger's Masters Triumph Is About More Than Golf / Case For Kaepernick's Comeback As A Dolphin / 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 / And, our Dwyane Wade Farewell Trilogy: The Last Star: Post-Wade, Miami Sports Is Bereft; Wade Fittingly Goes Out A Winner And 30-point Star; and Thank You, Dwyane Wade, Miami's G.O.A.T.
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.
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Twitter @gregcote
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