1) It's MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23. Check out our 'Fins At 50' book at Amazon. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 3 picks, Kaepernick blackballing enters Year 3 & more. 3) Join us on Twitter.com/gregcote. Also on Facebook and Instagram.
Our NFL Week 3 picks: This is our 29th year of NFL picks in the Miami Herald, and here are our Week 3 selections. Will the Dolphins cover that gargantuan 21 1/2-point line at Dallas Sunday or get blown out yet again? Find out that, our Game of the Week, our upset picks and all the rest by visiting Week 3 Gems now. Got the week off to a big start by nailing the Jaguars' upset win last night; see Week 3 Thursday Gem.
Kaepernick, other most recent columns: The NFL's continuing shame is more relevant than ever as quarterbacks fall left and right, and the NFL should not be let off the hook. For my full latest column, visit Turning Its Back on Kaepernick Enters Year 3 As NFL's Ongoing Shame. Also: Worst Miami Team Ever? Epic Losing Already Making Dolphins A National Joke / Quit Whining! Yes Dolphins Are Tanking, And Yes They Should / and It's Up to Today's Dolphins to Defend Shula's Legacy.
G4: CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT HURRICANES: TOUGHER THAN LAST WEEK ... BUT NOT MUCH: Canes shook off a season-wilting 0-2 start vs. Florida and North Carolina by taking out their frustrations on poor Bethune-Cookman 63-0 last week. Now Miami should cruise to a level 2-2 record Saturday at 4 p.m. here vs. another undersized foe in the MAC's Central Michigan, whom the Canes have never before played. The Chippewas are 2-0 this season vs. teams their own size but got crushed 61-0 by No. 17 Wisconsin. UM is no Wisconsin but this still should be (better be) another walk in the park for Miami, a 29-point betting favorite. More importantly this is a final tuneup of sorts, because, after this game and a bye week, Miami's full ACC schedule kicks in Oct. 5 vs. Virginia Tech. Pictured: An ad for Chippewa Boots, because, why not? Cote's pick: Hurricanes, 41-10.
CANESFAN SATISFACTION METER: G4: 8.5%: Results are certified in the latest of the Miami Herald’s Canesfan Satisfaction Meter postgame polls, and they show 8.5 percent overall approval -- the combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes -- in the wake of Saturday’s 17-12 UM home victory over Central Michigan putting the Hurricanes' season record at 2-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play. That's a season-low rating. The CSM is your invitation after every Hurricanes game to vote on your overall satisfaction with the team and season in a continuing weekly gauge of how UM football fans are feeling. Criteria for voting is your own, but I suggest you consider the most recent game’s performance and caliber of opponent, the season as a whole, the program’s direction and your overall degree of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations. Online voting determines the weekly verdict, which is final the morning after one full day of voting. In this case that was around 2 p.m. Monday.
2019 Canesfan Satisfaction Meter
G1: 64.1% following 24-20 loss vs. Florida in Orlando.
G2: 15.7% following 28-25 loss at North Carolina.
G3: 83.0% following 63-0 victory vs. Bethune-Cookman.
G4: 8.5% following 17-12 victory vs. Central Michigan.
Next poll: Oct. 5 following game vs. Virginia Tech.
G3: DOLPHINS AT DALLAS: IT CAN'T GET ANY WORSE ... CAN IT!?: When your team has opened its NFL schedule with 59-10 (Ravens) and 43-0 (Patriots) home losses -- the worst two-game start in NFL history -- there might literally be nowhere to go but up. Unless, perhaps, your first road game is Sunday at 1 at Dallas, whose very good Cowboys are favored over Miami by even more than New England was last week. You’ve heard of "once bitten, twice shy"? Well, I’m twice bitten by the Dolphins so what does that make me? I pick Miami to win its opener in a big upset and it loses by 49 points. I pick Miami to cover an 18 1/2-point spread last week and the Fins lose by 43. The lesson? I’m done with this team. MIA to me means missing in action from now on. Now the Fins are getting an outrageous 21 1/2 points at Dallas. Along with Patriots-Jets, this marks the first time in 32 years the NFL has seen multiple 20-point spreads in one week. And that was the 1987 strike season, with replacement players. The 2019 Dolphins could use some of those. A bunch, actually. Josh Rosen will start at QB for Miami. Will it matter? Update: Dolphins sign DE Taco Charlton, the Cowboys' semi-draft bust, off waivers, so all is well. The 0-16 talk is silly. I still see the Dolphins having a chance to win four or five games. But oh lord this is not one of them. You have a better chance of winning the lottery while simultaneously being struck by lightning than Miami has of winning Sunday. Cote's pick: Cowboys, 38-7. (Click Week 3 Gems for all our latest NFL picks).
DOLFAN SATISFACTION METER: G3: 27.5%: Results are certified in the latest of the Miami Herald’s Dolfan Satisfaction Meter postgame polls, and they show 27.5 percent overall approval -- the combination of "very" and "somewhat" satisfied votes -- in the wake of Sunday afternoon’s 31-6 Dolphins loss at Dallas putting Miami’s season record at 0-3. Oddly, that is a season high, presumably reflecting the sizable Tanking for Tua wing of the fandom. In its 12th season, the DSM is a continuous weekly gauge of how Dolfans are feeling about the team and its direction. Right after each game I invite you to share your overall degree of satisfaction. Criteria for voting is your own, but I suggest fans consider the most recent game’s performance and caliber of opponent, season as a whole, direction the club is heading and your overall degree of optimism -- all in the context of reasonable expectations. Online voting determines the final result, which is final the morning after one full day of voting. In this case that was around 6:30 a.m. today/Tuesday.
2019 DSM game-by-game results
G1: 18.3% following 59-10 loss vs. Baltimore.
G2: 24.6% following 43-0 loss vs. New England.
G3: 27.5% following 31-6 loss at Dallas.
Next poll: Sept. 29 following game vs. L.A. Chargers.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (UPDATED): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive every-Sunday feature 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. DOLPHINS: Fins have solid half in Dallas ... but lose big: When you have lost your first two home games by an historic combined score of 102 to 10, there is a real chance you head out for your first road trip with absolutely no intention of ever coming back. Especially when that trip finds you a ridiculous 21 1/2-point underdog in Dallas on Sunday. Well, Miami lost 31-6. Bright spot: Fins almost looked like a real team in a 10-6 first half!
2. HURRICANES: UM unimpressive in barely beating Central Michigan: Let's be clear, Manny Diaz. When you start 0-2 with meaningful losses to Florida and North Carolina and then get to .500 with a walkover win vs. Bethune-Cookman and now an unimpressive 17-12 Saturday home win over Central Michigan, nobody is satisfied. Run the table, get into the ACC title game at 10-2, and then we'll talk.
3. MARLINS: Fish wrap up season's home schedule with win: Miami ended its home schedule on Sunday with a 5-3 win over Washington, and now set out on a seven-game road trip to end the long year. Season highlight: At 101 losses, Marlins would have to lose all seven on this road trip to tie the franchise record of 108 losses set in 1998. Woo hoo!
4. INTER MIAMI: Manchester City star Silva taking his talents here?: Manchester City star midfielder David Silva reportedly is set to become Inter Miami's first marquee signing. The English newspaper The Independent reports Silva will leave the reigning Premier League champions at the end of the season and is "likely to join" David Beckham's MLS expansion team. The Spanish star is 33 but still a top midfielder globally. Close the deal, Beckham!
5. BASEBALL: MLB season down to its final week: MLB regular season ends one week from Sunday, with not a lot of playoff-chase drama beyond the fight for both leagues' second wild-card spot. When last I checked the Marlins were 29 games back in the wild-card hunt, and had been mathematically eliminated back in 2014.
6. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Can Willie Taggert save himself?: FIU a disappointing 1-3 after loss to Louisiana Tech Friday, then it was No. 9 Florida routing Tennessee Saturday, then No. 15 UCF losing at Pitt. Ah, but the big heat is on Florida State hosting Louisville. Noles coach Willie Taggert was 6-9 at FSU, a fast track to former coach, before winning Saturday.
7. PANTHERS: Altogether, now. Breathe deep and relaaaaax: Florida and new superstar coach Joel Quenneville began their eight-game preseason schedule 0-3. Repeat after me. It doesn't matter. Star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky hadn't played. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter...
8. HEAT: Adebayo embarrassed in burger fest as training camp nears: The new post-Wade, Jimmy Butler-led Heat announced they'd hold media day September 30, then preseason training camp October 1-5 in West Palm Beach, then open the preseason October 8 vs. San Antonio. Meantime center Bam Adebayo got crushed in a charity burger-eating contest by Japanese legend Takeru Kobayashi, who wolfed 20 burgers while Adabeyo ate only one. One!? C'mon, dude.
9. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Notre Dame-Georgia tops national schedule: No. 7 Notre Dame visited No. 3 Georgia on Saturday and lost. That means Georgia gets to pretend for a little while that it has any prayer of maybe beating Clemson or Alabama this season.
10. WNBA: Playoffs underway, and Delle Donne owns 'em: WNBA playoffs are down to the semifinals, and if Elena Delle Donne doesn't cap her MVP season with a Washington Mystics championship I'm going to boycott the league by watching even fewer games than I do now.
Missing the HB10 cut: In the Chess World Cup in Russia, 43 spectators just fell asleep waiting for the next move ..... If you didn't love Mike Yastrzemski hitting a home run at Fenway Park while grandpa Carl (Yaz) looked on, then to hell with you! ..... The IndyCar racing season ends Sunday. Further details as warranted ..... Team USA kept its No. 1 overall ranking despite bombing in the FIBA World Cup. Has being No. 1 ever felt less like celebrating? ..... Update: Countdown now 2,464 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in the 2026 World Cup.
Other select recent columns: The Dolphins aren't awful. They're worse than that / Trading Tunsil Hurts, But Dolphins Won This Deal / Who's Super Bowl-Bound And Where Dolphins Land (NFL Team Rankings) / Luck Deserves Praise For Putting Health, Life Above Football / Hurricanes Have Only Themselves To Blame For Opening Loss / Dolphins' Ross Cannot Be Surprised By Major Fallout Over Trump Fundraiser / Le Batard on Miami Radio Turmoil: 'We Were Evicted' / Buoniconti: Hall of Famer, But Even Greater Off the Field / The 4 Ways Miami Heat Had A Winning Offseason / Wimbledon, Tiger, U.S. Women For Starters. Why 2019 Is Greatest Sports Year Ever / Queens of the World. U.S. Soccer Wins Again / 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 / An Era Ends As Panthers' Luongo Retires / 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 / Ranking Dolphins, Heat, Marlins & Panthers' Best Young Players / Inter Miami Aiming High With Barca's Suarez / End The Illogical Shame and Honor Schnellenberger / Oh To Be Hated Again! Lean Times For Miami Sports / Why Tiger's Masters Triumph Is About More Than Golf / 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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