GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's MONDAY, AUGUST 31. Farewell, Augie. Will you be better, September? 2) The Greg Cote Show podcast is now separately on Twitter and Instagram. Follow us on both! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Boycotts show injustice is bigger than sports right now, Allowing fans in Dolphins and Canes games a bad idea, Greg Cote Show podcast Episode 25 & more. 4) Join us on Twitter and Instagram.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE 26 OUT NOW!: Our Miami Herald podcast, "The Greg Cote Show With Greg Cote," debuted in March and we're back with new Episode 26! New episodes drop early every Monday on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart or wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 26 we've done so far RIGHT HERE for free! Please listen, subscribe, rate and review. In Ep26 we chat up new TV finds, rank the five South Florida pro teams in terms of brightest future, and welcome in guest Roy Bellamy from the Le Batard Show. (Or do we?) Mount Gregmore, too, of course. We also had a lengthy discussion of the Armando Salguero controversy within the Herald, but unfortunately you won't here it. It was censored from the podcast. Listen now.
Our two newest columns: Boycott Of NBA Playoffs Shows Nation That Injustice Is Bigger Than Sports Right Now and Having Fans at Dolphins, Canes Games A Bad Idea And Big Risk. Most recent other columns: Pat Riley's Grand Plan On Track As Heat Close In On Playoff Advance / For Marlins, A Home Opener -- And First Place -- In Mid-August / Fractured College Football Mirrors America's Divide On How to Handle a Pandemic / Fall Without Football: Big Ten, Pac-12 Set Moral Compass for NFL, Others to Follow / As Panthers Move on From Tallon, Who's Next Miami Team Executive on Hot Seat? / and ''Perfect Storm For Virus Transmission': Why Football Is Struggling to Lift Off.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (AUGUST 30-31): 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. RACIAL JUSTICE: Boycotts over Jacob Blake shooting halt sports: It started with the Bucks refusing to take the court for their playoff game vs. Orlando to protest the police shooting of (yet another) unarmed Black man -- this in Kenosha, Wisconsin, 45 minutes from Milwaukee. The to or three day boycott spread through the NBA, WNBA, MLB, MLS and NHL as athletes demonstrated that injustice is bigger than sports -- that systemic racism is no game.
2. COVID-19: Limited Fins, Canes fans ruled OK at Hard Rock this fall: Miami-Dade County decreed that Hard Rock Stadium may be filled to 20 percent capacity -- that's 13,000 fans -- for Dolphins and Hurricanes home games this fall. UM opens at home September 10 vs UAB; Fins' home opener is September 20 vs. Buffalo. Allowing thousands of fans at games seems like a really good idea, other than us being in the middle of a pandemic and Miami-Dade being among the top 10 counties nationally in most COVID-19 deaths.
3. HEAT: It's Milwaukee (as expected) in next playoff round for Miami: NBA playoffs resumed after three days of boycotts that inadvertently meant additional rest for Miami, which advanced with a sweep of Indiana. Milwaukee eliminated Orlando Saturday and will face Heat in next round starting Monday at 6:30 in the Orlando bubble. Lakers also advanced Saturday; Clippers did the same on Sunday.
4. DOLPHINS: QB Fitzpatrick takes leave from team after death in family: The mother of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick passed away Saturday morning just before the team's stadium scrimmage, and he has left the team indefinitely to be with family. There are no indications he wouldn't be back in time for the September 13 season opener at New England, although coach Brian Flores offered no guarantee. Ready or not for Tua time? We'll see.
5. MARLINS: Bats quiet as Fish drop fourth in a row: Miami fell to 14-15 and hangs onto a tie for second in NL East after a fourth straight loss Sunday and a sweep by Tampa Bay. Fish are clinging to the far edge of playoff contention nearing the midway point of the truncated 60-game season. Monday the Marlins face the Mets to make up Thursday's game postponed by racial-justice protest. Meanwhile rookie Sixto Sanchez's second straight impressive start featured 10 strikeouts and one walk in a no-decision loss Friday.
6. TENNIS: Depleted, fan-less U.S. Open begins Monday: Path to history has cleared for Serena Williams and it's even easier for Novak Djokovic as the U.S. Open fortnight starts Monday in New York. Six of top eight women including Simona Halep (opt out) aren't playing as Serena guns for record-tying 24th career major, and Djokovic should breeze in a field missing Roger Federer (knee) and Rafael Nadal (opt out). Djokovic is heavy favorite; Serena and Naomi Osaka are near-even. Event also marks return of Andy Murray and Kim Clijsters -- in her first major since 2012.
7. SOCCER: Where will Messi land if split with Barca happens?: Soccer god Lionel Messi reportedly wants out of Barcelona, his career-long club, and some of the biggest teams in the world are jockeying to acquire the 33-year-old forward. Manchester City, Inter Milan, Paris-Saint Germain and Juventus are among the power clubs rumored after Messi. (Join me in starting an Inter Miami rumor?) But wait! Barca is resolute to not let hi go. Stay tuned.
8. INTER MIAMI: New team back in play, loses again: Major League Soccer returned to play after six Wednesday matches Including Inter Miami-Atlanta were postponed by the racial injustice boycott. Inter Miami fell to 1-6 Sunday with a 1-0 loss at Nashville that followed the expansion team's maiden win last Saturday in its home debut. Inter Miami is back in action Wednesday at Atlanta United.
9. NHL: Playoffs down to final eight as postseason resumes: NHL postponed Thursday and Friday games as part of the sports-wide racial justice boycott, but Stanley Cup playoffs resumed Saturday. Hockey is down to its final eight: Tampa Bay-Boston and Philadelphia-N.Y. Islanders in the East, and Vegas-Vancouver and Colorado-Dallas out West. Meanwhile, as the Florida Panthers continue search for a new general manager, the NHL is investigating an anonymous allegation that deposed GM Dale Tallon used racist language.
10. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Weirdest of all seasons is (sort of) underway!: Week 1 in college football kicked off quietly Saturday night as Central Arkansas beat Austin Peay 24-17 in a second-tier FCS matchup before limited fans in Montgomery, Alabama. No Top 25 teams are in play this week as the sport gets underway in a pandemic -- minus a large percentage of conferences opting out including two (Big Ten, Pac-12) Power 5 leagues. Week 2 will see the proper start of the season, including Hurricanes vs. UAB on Thursday, September 10.
Missing the HB10 cut: R.I.P. John Thompson Jr. Legendary Georgetown hoops coach has died at 78 ..... Phil Mickelson said hello to old age and kicked its ass. The lefty, who turned 50 in June, made his PGA Champions (nee Senior Tour) debut and went wire-to-wire for a four-stroke win at Ozarks National in Missouri. He's preparing to challenge the younger guys again in the delayed-from-June U.S. Open on September 17-20 ..... The Dolphins traded Raekwon McMillan and a 2021 fifth-round pick to Las Vegas for a 2021 fourth-rounder. The linebacker was a second round pick in 2017. If not an outright bust, that makes him bust-ish ..... What are you seeing when you look in the mirror, Brian Urlacher? ..... OK, and the NFL needs how many more reasons to force out Daniel Snyder as Washington's owner? ..... The Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo was named NBA Defensive Player of the year after winning MVP last year. He's the fifth to win both, after Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin Garnett ..... A-Rod and J-Lo are out of the running to buy the Mets. That's 2-Bad ..... Truly Dumb Ideas, one in a series: The Big Ten, which said it would not play football in 2020, now reportedly is mulling a Thanksgiving start ..... The three-week Tour de France is underway. It was more fun when all the bike tires were being punctured because discarded steroid needles were everywhere ..... MLB trade deadline is Monday ..... Answer: Usain Bolt tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a massive, mask-less birthday party. Question: And you wonder why this pandemic will be around a lot longer? ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's Episode 26 is out Monday morning ..... Update: Countdown now 2,129 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup. Hopefully we'll all be out of our masks by then?
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THE COTE ARCHIVES:
Marlins Hell Week Trilogy: Are Marlins To Blame For Own Outbreak? If So It Would Mirror America's Struggle / Marlins Outbreak Worsens, Sports Should Rethink Playing Again in 2020 / and Marlins Delaying Home Opener For COVID Outbreak a Scary Lesson For All Sports.
Special Don Shula tribute: Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / and What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. They Boy Was Me.
George Floyd-related: Sports' Gradual Return Offers America Relief We Desperately Need / It Took George Floyd To Finally Wake Up White America / Goodell's NFL Response to Floyd Killing Is Hypocrisy At Its Most Ironic / and George Floyd Is Why Kaepernick & Sports Must Continue Fight For Social Justice
Other most recent columns: Here's Why Nobody Should Rule Out Heat Reaching NBA Finals / Marlins and Dolphins, In a Race For Relevance, Offer Hope At a Time We Need That / When Will Dolphins Unleash Tua? Exploring the Timetable as Rookies Report / Sports Resume, But Major Concerns Complicate Opening of Football Training Camps / He Made a Mistake, But Miami Knows Who Dwyane Wade Is And Knows It By Heart / Marlins Captain Miguel Rojas On Pandemic And Playoffs As Baseball Returns / Rest In Pieces, Redskins. Now Here Are Sports' Other Suspect Nicknames / 'Redskins Is Racist Nickname Based On a Lie. Time For It to Disappear / Money Or Health? NFL and Major College Football Face A Decision / Tough Times All Around, But Rise Of Miami Sports Offers Hope / The Face Of Miami Sports in 2020: Our Top 20 And Who's No.1 / Time to Abort Season Restarts and Call Off Sports For Rest Of 2020 / Uh-oh. Cam Newton means Belichick and Patriots Are Back / Saving the National Anthem From Sporting-Event Extinction / Baseball Joins In With Restart Plan. But Is Sports Walking Into a Giant Mess? / Noose Left For NASCAR's Bubba Wallace's Only Grows Resolve to End Racial Hatred / and Team That Signs Kaepernick Will Be Champions Of the Street
Select columns from earlier in 2020: Amid Pandemic And Protests, 'America's Pastime' Is Letting American Down / Return Of Sports Promises Historic TV Smorgasbord / Homestead Is Test Lab As NASCAR Gradually Welcomes Back Fans / R.I.P. Kurt Thomas, an American Gymnastics Pioneer / MLB Players Demanding More Millions, Right Now, Is A Bad Look / Amid a Pandemic, An Outrage in Alamance County / Welcome to Sports Without Fans, the New Normal / As NBA, MLB Plot Return, We Miss Them -- Yet Sports Have Never Seemed More Trivial / Anticipation of Relevance, Excitement Is Tua's Gift to Miami / Hall of Famer Andre Dawson On Baseball and Owning a Funeral Home Amid COVID-19 / Dolphins Aim High, Win Big With Tua Tagovailoa Pick / Greg Cote's 2020 NFL Mock Draft / Coronavirus, Tua Make This Dolphins' Weirdest, Most Interesting Draft Ever / NFL Draft Will Offer Blunt Verdict on Canes' Talent / Ultimate All-Time South Florida Major Sports Trivia Challenge / Sports Should Stop Pretending It Will Resume Anytime Soon As Coronovirus Rages / How a Longtime Herald Sport Writer Came to Own a Top Contender in Florida Derby / Time for NBA, NHL to Shut it Down, End Seasons / Le Batard Show Deals with Coronavirus-Related Upheaval / Brady Leaving Patriots for Tampa. Will Belichick Be Proved Right In Letting Him Go? / Miami Sports Now Utterly Engulfed By Coronavirus Threat -- But Precaution Is Justified / Inter Miami Is Market's Sleeping Giant As Home Opener Nears / Jeter Arrives At Camp, Calls Marlins 'Layered With Talent' / Dwyane Wade, His Transgender Daughter And A Lesson In Love / 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 / Kobe's Death Sends Sports World Reeling, But Immortality Is His / Jimmy Johnson's Biggest Triumph? Knowing When To Quit -- And Why / Announcing Miami Dolphins' 2010-19 All-Decade Team / and two-part series on how Dolphins' Glory Day happened: 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
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Revisit this blog often because it updates regularly. The Associated Press Sports Editors writing awards ranked the blog's author a Top 10 national sports columnist in the major-outlet category. Greg is also a regular on the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz on ESPN Radio. Finding Greg Cote: Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Columns. Podcast. Podcast on Twitter. Podcast on Instagram. LeBatard Show. Book: Fins At 50. Songs: Letting Go (audio) and The Ballad Of 1440 (video).
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