It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3. Welcome, new month. Stay awhile. 2) Check out our Miami Dolphins book, 'Fins At 50,' on Amazon. It's the perfect anytime gift for every Dolfan in your life. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Kobe Bryant tragedy overshadows start of Super Bowl Week & more. 4) Join us on Twitter.com/gregcote. Also on Facebook and Instagram.
MY COLUMN FROM SUPER BOWL: MAGIC CITY, INDEED: The Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes and Miami as host all rose to meet expectations in a spectacular Super Bowl show Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium. For my column from the SB, visit Chiefs, Mahomes And A Former Dolphin Win Super Bowl 54 -- And So Does Miami.
KOBE BRYANT, 1978-2020, R.I.P.: Our column from last Sunday's tragedy: Kobe's Death Sends Sports World Reeling, But Immortality Is His.
YOUR VERDICT ON SUPER BOWL: We asked, in two Twitter polls that drew some 2,500 votes, who you WANTED to win Sunday's game and who you predicted WILL win. Your verdicts: Want Chiefs by 73.0%, and predict Chiefs by 65.8%. So y'all happy today!
HOW SHULA MADE DOLPHINS PERFECT AND MADE MIAMI MATTER, AND THE COACH TODAY AT 90: He came to Miami 50 years ago, almost to the day, and everything changed. The way the rest of the country thought of us and the way we thought of ourselves — it all changed. He put a star on the map at the bottom of a far-flung peninsula, in sports and beyond. He made us champions. He made us matter. Today his name is almost mythic; there is a historical quality to it. When you get to be 90, people can begin to forget what you used to be. After all, he last roamed a Dolphins sideline, jaw jutting, in 1995. He worked 26 seasons here but has now been out of coaching nearly as long. Increasing numbers of South Floridians know him mostly as a memory shared by elders, who hold him close like a family heirloom, a sign of their own mortality as glory days long past are recalled. Now, the Super Bowl is in Miami on Sunday to crown the NFL’s 100th season, and fans arriving at Hard Rock Stadium will walk past a bronze statue of the man — larger than life, of course. Now, in the middle of the tropics, Donald Francis Shula is the King in his Winter. OK, that is the entree to Part 2 of out two-part series on how the Dolphins so quickly went from dysfunctional expansion losers to the the Perfect Season -- that 1972 voted the greatest of the NFL's first 100 years. It tells the story of how and why Shula's arrival changed everything, from the players themselves, and it takes you into Shula's life today at age 90. For that full column, visit How Shula Made Dolphins Perfect and Made Miami Matter, And the Coach Today at 90. Part 1 told the how a long-lost Dolphins executive pre-dating Shula assembled a treasure trove of talent amid the dysfunction of the George Wilson-led expansion years. For that tale, visit How One Man Long Forgotten Changed Everything For the Miami Dolphins.
SUPER BOWL 54: THE PICK IS IN! AND WE NAILED IT!: Update: Nailed it! We called Chiefs win by 31-23. Chiefs won 31-20. Close enough, I say! ..... Original post: The torrent of hype is ebbing, Sunday's game is at hand, and I dare any bettor or neutral fan to claim a strong, overriding feeling about any game with a one-point spread, on a neutral site, with two teams so good a winning argument for either would be simple and sound solid. This Super Bowl is that kind of either/or proposition, a pick so tough you could flip a coin and then exhale and thank the coin for mercifully ending your vacillation. And yet I actually do have a fairly strong overriding feeling about this matchup. To read our full Chiefs-49ers preview and predix capsule -- who will win and why -- please visit Super Bowl 54: Pick for Chiefs-49ers in Miami.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 2-3): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday 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. SUPER BOWL: Chiefs rally topples 49ers in Miami Super Bowl: There had been rampant speculation a "major" sporting event, reportedly a football game, was taking place Sunday evening at Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Herald was working to confirm this rumor, so stay tuned for updates.
2. KOBE BRYANT: A week later, tragedy still reverberates: One week ago former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others perished in a helicopter crash amid thick fog in California, stunning the sports world, and tributes continue across the NBA.
3. ZACH THOMAS: No! Former Dolphins great Thomas is denied by Hall of Fame: Zach was a finalist for the first time but did not make the list of five who got in, revealed at Saturday's NFL Honors show in Miami. But three of five have local ties: RB Edgerrin James (ex-Hurricane), WR Isaac Bruce (Dillard High) and OG Steve Hutchinson (Coral Springs High). The others Canton-bound: Safeties Troy Polamalu and Steve Atwater.
4. HURRICANES: Star alum Ed Reed joins UM football staff: Former UM great Ed Reed, College and Pro Football Hall of Fame safety, rejoins the Canes as Manny Diaz's "chief of staff" (a job for which Alonzo Highsmith also interviewed). Will the "We want Ed!" chants start after the first loss?
5. HEAT: Miami in lull but Butler, Bam named as ASG reserves: Miami, only 9-7 since Dec. 30, had slipped from second in the East to fourth despite Saturday's win in Orlando, with a big test Monday in Philly on deck. Better news: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo named as reserves for the Feb. 16 All-Star Game in Chicago.
6. PANTHERS: Cats hot lately, but playoff chase still precarious: Florida is 28-22 off and had a season-high six straight wins before Saturday's loss in Montreal, with a Monday date in Toronto next. Cats are a scorching 13-5 since Dec. 16, and yet still on the edge of playoff pace in the jammed NHL East.
7. TENNIS: Year's first major ends in Australia: Novak Djokovic rallied past Dominic Thiem for his eighth Australian Open crown in Sunday's men's final. Sofia Kenin, a 21-year-old American, won her first career major on Saturday, defeating Garbina Muguruza in a duel of two women I wouldn't know if they walked right past me.
8. NFL: Lamar Jackson wins league MVP award: Baltimore Ravens quarterback (and Pompano Beach-born) Lamar Jackson was named 2019 season MVP as expected at the NFL Honors awards show Saturday in Miami, despite a poor game in the team's playoff ouster. Also notable: Titans QB (and ex-Dolphin) Ryan Tannehill as Comeback Player of the Year and St. Thomas Aquinas alum Nick Bosa of 49ers as Defensive Rookie of Year.
9. MARLINS: Baseball is back; Marlins FanFest on deck: Are you ready for some baseball? Me neither. But Marlins FanFest is next Saturday February 8 at Marlins Park. Pitchers and catchers have their first spring workout February 14 and the full squad begins February 19, with the first spring game four days later.
10. CANES HOOPS: Tough going in new year so for UM teams: Hurricanes men are now 11-10 on the season but only 2-7 in the new year after Sunday loss at Pitt. Canes women are 12-10, but 3-7 since January 1 after Sunday loss at Virginia Tech. Also still waiting for a signature win from either; they're a combined 0-11 vs Top 25 teams.
Missing the HB10 cut: No. 3-ranked Canes baseball unfurls next Saturday with a fanfest and alumni game. Season opens February 14 with home series vs. Rutgers ..... Now less than a month away from Inter Miami's March 1 season opener in its first season in Major League Soccer. Team this week acquired winger Lewis Morgan, 23, from top Scottish club Celtic ..... Antonio Brown said, "I owe the whole NFL an apology." It's a start, at least ..... Pending free agent Tom Brady posted on social media a mysterious, brooding what-does-it-mean photo of himself in a dark tunnel because he needed some attention as Super Bowl Week dared to go on without him ..... Good for Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe to protest the naming of Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open. Court once was a great player. She currently is an outspoken bigot and homophobe ..... Update: Countdown now 2,331 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.
IT'S A PARADOX, BUT HERE'S WHY NFL HAS BOUNCED BACK AND IS HEALTHIER THAN EVER: It's a paradox because concussions and safety issues continue to hover over the sport. And yet all the while, in measurable terms of popularity and revenue, the NFL has bounced back from its malaise and is healthier than ever as it crowns its 100th season Sunday with 49ers-Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium in the 54th Super Bowl and 11th in Miami. For why and how this is, check out our latest column: How The NFL, Even Amid Safety Concerns, Bounced Back And Is Healthier Than Ever.
THE SMIRK QUINTET: The lineup: Smirk V: It's Party Time, So Do the Hula With Gronk For Only $1 Million. Smirk IV: J.Lo, Shakira Hit All The Right Notes. From Thursday's Halftime Show press conference, Smirk wanted to make fun of it all, but then something unexpected happened. Also: Smirk III: NFL's Deft, Dull Goodell Slips Up, Makes News / Smirk II: Why Sunday's Most Talked-About Ad Won't Air? (Hint: Nutmobile) and Smirk I: Have Fun This Week, Fans, But Feel A Bit Guilty And Sad Doing it.
Also from Torrent of Super Bowl Headquarters: What A Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl Should Tell the Dolphins / Super Bowl Primer: Chiefs, 49ers Storylines You'll Soon Be Sick Of / and How Miami Went From Forgotten to Back On Top As 'Super Bowl City'.
Select recent other stuff: Jimmy Johnson's Biggest Triumph? Knowing When To Quit -- And Why / America and Super Bowl Host Miami Have a Rooting Interest Now. Tannehill, Please! / Here's Winner Of the Dan Enos Cup For Biggest Disappointment in Miami Sports / Dream Ticket: Brady, Tagovailoa Both Dolphins in 2020? / Announcing Miami Dolphins' 2010-19 All-Decade Team / On Miami's Home Field, Gators Remind Canes How to Win Major Bowl Game and We Are The Champions: How South Florida Came to Own the State in High School Football.
Visit Greg Cote Column Headquarters, and revisit this blog often because it is updated regularly. The Associated Press Sports Editors 2018 writing awards ranked the blog's author a Top 10 national sports columnist in the major-outlet category. Follow on Twitter @gregcote.
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