1) It's WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11. The season-opening Dolfan Satisfaction Meter result is in, with a low (but interesting) total. Scroll down to the blogpost immediately below for details. 2) It's the perfect time to check out my 'Fins At 50' book at Amazon. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Dolphins crushed by Baltimore in opener with DSM poll, final CSM results, Hot Button Top 10 & more. 4) Join us on Twitter.com/gregcote. Also on Facebook and Instagram.
IT WAS 18 YEARS AGO TODAY. #NEVERFORGET
Our Bucs-Panthers Week 2 Thursday pick: Jameis Winston at Cam Newton. And the winner is... visit Week 2 Thursday Gem to find out who, and why.
My column from Dolphins' 59-10 opening loss: It was not as brutal as the score suggests. It was more so. Welcome to the weirdest season, where being really, really bad can be really, really good. For my column from the stadium, visit The Dolphins aren't awful. They're worse than that.
MIAMI HERALD WEEK 1 NFL QB RANKINGS: Out now! Who's No. 1? Is Ryan Fitzpatrick so far down we need a pickaxe and a flashlight to find him? Visit Herald Week 1 QB Rankings.
QUIT WHINING! DOLPHINS TANKING IS BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THIS FRANCHISE IN 20 YEARS. NEW COLUMN: The hysteria surrounding the Miami Dolphins as they climb out from under the avalanche of the season opener and await the tsunami of Game 2 is quite unlike anything we have seen down here. I’m not sure whether to laugh out loud or simply shake my head in incredulity. The Dolphins are really bad, OK? A natural disaster. Deal with it. Except nobody seems to be dealing with it very well. Too many fans are acting like they didn;t see this coming. Too many Dolphins players (based on reports) are crying to their agents about wanting out. Fans and players alike need to understand that Miami's overt tanking -- whether they want to admit it publicly or not -- is the best, boldest, most foresightful thing this franchise has done in 20 years. It is pain now for better days ahead. I explore all of this in my latest column. Please visit Quit Whining! Yes Dolphins Are Tanking, And Yes They Should.
DEFENDING SHULA'S LEGACY AGAINST THE BELICHICK ONSLAUGHT: This is the historical subtext as the Dolphins and Patriots prepare this week to meet again Sunday in Miami. From a micro view the matchup is about Fins coach Brian Flores facing his former team, about how bad the rebuilding Dolphins are after losing their opener to Baltimore 59-10 and about this season’s impact on the 2020 draft. But the emotional heft of Dolphins-Patriots is in the broader view. The only way for Miami to protect Don Shula’s all-time NFL career wins record and legacy will be to see this arduous rebuild flourish and finally end the Patriots’ reign. Not Sunday. But someday. And soon. The Dolphins must find their long-elusive quarterback and start to win again, at the Patriots' expense. That is all that can stop Belichick, who at this pace could surpass Shula's hallowed mark as soon as 2023. I explore all of this in my recent column. To read it, please visit It's Up to Today's Dolphins to Defend Shula's Legacy. (Shula and Belichick are pictured circa 1992-93, as Shula zeroed in on the all-time wins record and a few years before Belichick would take over the Patriots and begin his methodical march toward The Don's record).
NFL PIX 'N FANTASY RESULTS: WEEK 1: NFL picks--Rough start. After a record-setting season last year, we opened Week 1 at 8-7-1 overall and 6-10 against the spread. Early days. LeBatard Show fantasy--Ouch. Greg's Lobos led entering Monday night behind Patrick Mahomes' 33 points but fell to Stugotz, 114-88. Friends n' family fantasy--Better. Lobos coasted to 128-83 rout led by Deshaun Watson's 30.
OH MY! THE RARITY OF CANES, FINS' EARLY STRUGGLES: The Hurricanes have begun the football season 0-2 and the Dolphins 0-1. So what, you say? It's actually a pretty big deal historically. Or a pretty rare deal, at least. The last time it happened was 1978, which was the last time the Canes started 0-2 and the Dolphins also lost their opener that season. And it happened only one other time, in 1975. So that's two instances of 0-2 UM/0-1 Dolphins in the 54 seasons since the Dolphins were born. An anomaly, but one I found notable. (Pictured: Canes coach Lou Saban, in 1978. Click on image to see larger version).
Our most recent other columns: Trading Tunsil Hurts, But Dolphins Won This Deal / Who's Super Bowl-Bound And Where Dolphins Land (NFL Team Rankings) / Diaz's Choice For Hurricanes QB Not Seen In More Than 50 Years / 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.
Select other recent columns: Zero Doubt: Rosen, Not Fitzpatrick, Must Start For Dolphins / Here's Why Canes Took Bold Gamble on Jarren Williams at QB / In Tyreek Hill, Goodell And NFL Turn Blind Eye To Domestic Violence / Le Batard Defies Trump, ESPN's No-Politics Policy / The 4 Ways Miami Heat Had A Winning Offseason / Wimbledon, Tiger, U.S. Women For Starters. Why 2019 Is Greatest Sports Year Ever / Heat And Riley Lose On Westbrook, But Loss Might Still Be A Win / 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 / 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 / Ranking Dolphins, Heat, Marlins & Panthers' Best Young Players / Inter Miami Aiming High With Barca's Suarez / For Marlins, An Encouraging Two Weeks Is Progress / End The Illogical Shame and Honor Schnellenberger / 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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