1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 2. Happy new month, aal! 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Troika of Marlins-arrive spring columns, Dwyane Wade Weekend, my planking video & more. 2) Join us on Twitter.com/gregcote. Also on Facebook and Instagram.
It's Podcast Monday!: Our new Miami Herald podcast, "The Greg Cote Show With Greg Cote," premiered today with Episode 1. Find it at MiamiHerald.com, on Apple Podcasts and wherever else you do your podding. Remember to subscribe. It's free, and worth every penny.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 1-2): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature (back after a one-week hiatus) 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. INTER MIAMI: Six years later, finally Opening Day for new MLS team!: David Beckham's dream since February 2014 turns to reality at last today/Sunday as Inter Miami visit Los Angeles FC in its Major League Soccer debut. Miami plays following weekend at D.C. United before making home debut March 14 vs. L.A. Galaxy in its temporary new stadium at the old Lockhart site. Welcome, Inter Miami Lauderdale!
2. HEAT: Miami still seeking answers as Bucks visit: Miami was riding high at 24-8 on Dec. 28 as one of the NBA's big surprises. The Heat since is 14-14 and now hanging onto fourth place in the East, although after two straight wins put 'em 38-22. Heat host NBA-leading Milwaukee and the Greek Freak on Monday.
3. HURRICANES: Spring football practice underway: Coach Manny Diaz and crew gather and gear up this weekend for their first spring practice on Monday. (Spring football is a royal waste of money and student-athletes' time, but that's another story). After a 6-7 season that ended awfully, Diaz has a new offensive coordinator (Rhett Lashlee), a new starting QB (D'Eriq King) and new "chief of staff" (Ed Reed). Not new, but grown: The pressure on Diaz to win. Big.
4. DOLPHINS: NFL Scouting Combine wraps up Monday: The NFL's nine-day pre-draft cattle call of a talent show ends Monday in Indianapolis, where 32 teams including the Dolphins have analyzed and interviewed top prospects in the April draft. Notably absent: Alabama QB Tua Tagovailao, who expects to gain medical clearance from his hip injury on March 9 and showcase himself in individual workouts.
5. PANTHERS: Slumping Cats seek to claw back into playoff race: Florida is 5-11 since Feb. 1 after Saturday's home loss to Chicago, and has fallen five points off NHL playoff pace as it hosts Calgary today. Cats' growing desperation showed in trade-deadline deals, but losing Vincent Trocheck without adding much defensive help didn't make a lot of sense.
6. WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: Marlins Park lands starring role in 2021 WBC: It was announced Marlins Park would host group play, the quarterfinals and the 2021 championship round next March 21-23 in the fifth iteration of the 20-team international World Baseball Classic. That's nice. Even better? The Marlins hosting games in another World Series.
7. MARLINS: Wow! Fish begin spring training a perfect 6-0: Miami, beginning Year 3 of the Derek Jeter era, was MLB's last unbeaten team this spring at 6-0 before finally losing two in a row. Quick thought: Save some of that winning for April and beyond, Fish!
8. GOLF: Honda Classic crowns champ in Palm Beach: The Honda Classic, South Florida's only PGA Tour event ever since the tour fled Doral, ends Sunday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens with Tommy Fleetwood narrowly out front. However, since Tiger Woods isn't in it, we don't much care.
9. CANES HOOPS: UM teams wrap up disappointing regular seasons: Canes women once were 9-3 and ranked but are 14-14 (6-11 ACC) entering Sunday's regular season finale vs. Pitt. Miami men also started 9-3 but also 14-14 (6-12 conference) after Saturday's loss at Georgia Tech, with two games left in regular season. Both will need big showing in ACC Tournament to bolster extremely shaky postseason hopes.
10. GREG COTE: Hey, that's me! I have a new podcast!: It's my Hot Button Top 10 so I get to include myself. Please check out my new Miami Herald podcast, which debuts this Monday. Podcasting will never be the same. It'll probably be just a little bit worse.
Missing the HB10 cut: Roger Federer ruled himself out of the upcoming French Open following knee surgery, while Maria Sharapova announced her retirement at 32. Maria's career epitaph: Yeah, But She Couldn't Beat Serena ..... Give Deontay Wilder the championship belt in excuse-making after blaming loss to Tyson Fury on weary legs from wearing that 45-pound costume into the ring ..... Sign of the times: Kobe Bryant's widow files wrongful death suit on the day of his L.A. memorial ..... Early season. Close games. Whatever. No excuses. You don't get swept at home by Florida, Canes baseball ..... Has the Dwyane Wade "L3Gacy Celebration" ended yet or are there yet more events? ..... Keep booing the Astros, please ..... Only three weeks until NASCAR's Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead. Hmm. Should a bunch of guys driving 180 mph in heavy traffic be sponsored by vodka? ..... Are XFL player paychecks bouncing yet? ..... NBCSN had a 40th anniversary special on the Miracle On Ice. The best tires ever made have not gotten as much mileage as Al Michaels has over that call ..... There was a Monster Jam thing for trucks with absurdly big tires at Marlins Park. Get your redneck on! ..... Great work by the Dolphins organization as always on its Dolphins Cancer Challenge fundraiser ..... Update: Countdown now 2,310 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.
NO BRADY, NO DARKHORSE, NO SURPRISE. THE DOLPHINS' NEXT QB WILL BE 1 OF 2 GUYS: The overanalysis of the quarterback position found its new benchmark this week with the news likely overall No. 1 draft pick Joe Burrow has a 9-inch hand, which evidently was cause for great alarm if not not outright ridicule. Burrow gave the span from the outstretched tips of his pinkie and thumb the gravity it deserved on Twitter, writing, "Considering retirement after I was informed the football will be slipping out of my tiny hands. Please keep me in your thoughts." (In the spirit of transparency my own hand span turns out to be 8 7/8 inches, which I find sufficient for primary tasks such as traversing a laptop keyboard and gripping a Whopper). At the predraft NFL Scouting Combine going on in Indianapolis all sorts of measurements are being taken including those gauging intelligence. That’s the Wonderlic test, which grades you from a low of 10 to a high of 50. This score is seen as especially important at quarterback, where a Wonderlic number that looks like a shoe size sends up even more alarms than a 9-inch hand. This most fascinating offseason for the quarterback spot must be divided into two divisions: Junior Division, for college players and the April 23-25 draft. And Senior Division, for current NFL stars entering free agency, which officially begins March 18. The myopic view from Miami is that all that matters is whether the Dolphins, QB-desperate and drafting fifth overall, will land Tua Tagovailoa or have to settle for Justin Herbert. (They are pictured). The bigger story nationally is that Tom Brady, a pending free agent for the first time in his historic career, reportedly might actually leave New England and play elsewhere — which also is of particularly keen interest in Miami, of course. We dive into both divisions of the QB offseason, sift through all the speculation and determine who'll end up with Miami. For that full latest column, please visit As NFL Free Agency & Draft Near, All You Need To Know About Dolphins' QB Situation.
AFTER DELAYS, DISPLACEMENT AND DISAPPOINTMENT, STILL A TRIUMPH OF PERSEVERANCE FOR BECKHAM, INTER MIAMI: Came the word Inter Miami’s main sponsor might be Qatar Airways and the gut reaction was, "Of course, it would be." Nothing has been smooth or simple in this six-year odyssey — emphasis on odd — to finally realize Major League Soccer in South Florida, so why on earth would we expect this finishing touch, the name on the front of the jersey, to be benign and controversy-free? That would make too much sense. So instead, though no final deal is announced, there have been reports (and leaked photos) indicating David Beckham’s Inter Miami has negotiated a $234 million arrangement to proudly wear the name Qatar. Although "proudly" might not quite be the proper word considering the airline is state owned, and Qatar is a place where the government has severed ties with Israel and is considered hostile to Jews, and where one can be jailed for the crime of being in a same-sex relationship. Strange how money can sometimes make the human rights violations a bit easier to ignore. Works for the NBA doing business in China. Worked for the Miami Heat owner sending his Carnival cruise ships to Cuba. Now it appears OK with Inter Miami and Qatar. It figured though. For six years this has been a persevering, uphill climb for Beckham and associates, one wrought with missteps and misfortune. The games arrive as a a respite, a break. Inter Miami’s historic inaugural game is Sunday at Los Angeles FC. Miami plays the following Saturday at D.C. United, then has its first home game on March 14 at the new stadium at the old Lockhart Stadium site, vs. the L.A. Galaxy — Beckham’s old team and a league power. (Pictured right to left: Beckham, majority owner Jorge Mas and goalkeeper Luis Robles). For our full recent column, on Inter Miami's long journey to Opening Week, please visit Beckham, Inter Miami Survive To Finally Reach Opening Week.
Other most recent columns: Jeter Arrives At Camp, Calls Marlins 'Layered With Talent' / Dwyane Wade, His Transgender Daughter And A Lesson In Love / Why Marlins Aren't Pursuing Puig All About Change In Ownership and Pressure On Marlins for Big Improvement Now -- and It's About Time.
Other select recent columns: It's Time For Anonymous Lone Voter Who Denied Jeter To Step Forward / Heat And Gloriously Impatient Riley Win In Trade For Iguodala / Return Of Ed Reed, Even If Mostly Symbolic, Leads Surge By Canes Football / Poor Dolphins Finally Getting Rid Of Brady Only to Have Mahomes Take His Place / And our two-part series: How One Man Long Forgotten Changed Everything For the Miami Dolphins and How Shula Made Dolphins Perfect and Made Miami Matter, And the Coach Today at 90. Also: Chiefs, Mahomes And A Former Dolphin Win Super Bowl 54 -- And So Does Miami / Kobe's Death Sends Sports World Reeling, But Immortality Is His / How The NFL, Even Amid Safety Concerns, Bounced Back And Is Healthier Than Ever / How Miami Went From Forgotten to Back On Top As 'Super Bowl City' / Jimmy Johnson's Biggest Triumph? Knowing When To Quit -- And Why / 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. Author of 'Fins At 50,' available on Amazon. Regular co-host on the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz on ESPN Radio and ESPNews. Follow on Twitter @gregcote.
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