1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22. Search out last Tuesday's podcasts of the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz for way too much of me including the new 'Back In My Day' (Shoes!). 2) The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Two questions steer Dolphins' path on Watson vs. Tua, Serena's legacy firm but unfinished, Marlins double-down on youth as spring training opens, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.
Dolphins, Serena, Marlins: Our three latest columns: These Two Questions Will Determine Dolphins' Path On Watson Vs. Tua / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / and Marlins Stick With Youth Blueprint As Rest Of NL East Spends Big. Our other most recent columns:Oh Say Can You See No Anthem At Games? We Weigh In /Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / and Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE DROPS MONDAY!: Our Miami Herald podcast debuted last March and our new Episode 8 of 2021 -- our 50th overall -- is out Monday! A new pod drops every Monday morning on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 49 we've done so far RIGHT HERE for free. In our latest Ep7 of '21, we bring in ESPN expert Tim Kurkjian to talk baseball and Marlins as MLB spring training unfurls. Also, Greg and Chris reveal the genuinely (and uncharacteristically) romantic thing they did to surprise and delight their wives on Valentine's Day. Plus the return of Greg's Mail Sack and a new Mount Gregmore. Hear all of that and more in our latest podcast. Thanks as always for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review!
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 21-22): 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. HEAT: Miami gets needed spark with upset of Lakers: Miami improved to 13-17 with Saturday night's 96-94 win at LeBron's L.A. Lakers, who were without injured Anthony Davis. Kendrick Nunn's 27 points sparked the Heat. Miami is 3-3 on this seven-game road trip ending Monday at Oklahoma City. The 72-game season still is young(ish), but Heat are on pace to miss the playoffs just one season after reaching the NBA Finals.
2. TENNIS: Osaka, Djokovic win Australian Open: Japan's Naomi Osaka, after ousting hero idol Serena Williams in the semis, beat American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's championship match for her fourth career major win. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic beat No. 4 Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's men's final for his nintg Aussie crown and 18th career major, third all-time in men's tennis.
3. PANTHERS: Fire on ice! Cats continue hot start to NHL season: Florida took two of three from rival Tampa Bay and was 11-2-2 and atop the Central Division after Friday's 7-2 win at Detroit, before falling 2-1 to the Red Wings Saturday. Panthers return for a five-game homestand starting Monday. Jonathan Huberdeau and a goaltending spark from Chris Driedger have the Panthers looking strong under second-year coach Joel Quenneville.
4. MARLINS: Spring has sprung, with first game one week away: Miami full-squad practices are under underway in Jupiter, with the first of 24 scheduled spring games next Sunday. pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Jupiter this week with the full squad soon following and the first spring game set for February 28. Expectations are low (a common wins over/under is 67 1/2) for a young, building team that unexpectedly ended a 17-year playoff drought last season.
5. NASCAR: Racing returns to Homestead next weekend: NASCAR invades Homestead-Miami Speedway for a doubleheader weekend of racing Dixie Vodka 400 next Sunday in the main NASCAR Cup Series, following Saturday's Contender Boats 250 in the undercard Xfinity Series.
6. NBA: All-Star Game reserves to be named Tuesday: March 7 in Atlanta is the NBA All-Star Game nobody seems to want, including top players in it and the mayor who has advised fans not to travel in for the game. LeBron James and Kevin Durant were named capatins of the West and East starting teams. Seven reserves in each conference will be announced Tuesday. Miami's Bam Adebayo is no certainty but has a good chance to make it, with Jimmy Butler a longshot.
7. CANES BASEBALL: UM takes season-opening series vs. Gators: Coach Gino DiMare and Canes baseball, ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, opened its season with a three-game series in Gainesville and took two of three vs. the nemesis and No. 1-ranked Florida Gators. UM lost the opener 7-5 on Friday but won 10-9 in 13 innings Saturday and won 8-6 Sunday.
8. INTER MIAMI: Season 2 in MLS kicks off as camp opens Monday: Miami's second season in Major League Soccer begins with the start of training camp Monday under new coach Phil Neville. The season begins April 17, though the schedule has not yet been announced. Inter Miami finished 7-13-3 in its inaugural season.
9. BOXING: Canelo Alvarez in title defense at Hard Rock: Hard Rock Stadium will host its first boxing match this coming Saturday February 27 as Canelo Álvarez defends his WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine World Super-Middleweight titles against Avni Yidirim. Bout will be available on pay-per-view in U.S., with limited fans at the stadium.
10. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Sport returns (sort of) with spring season: Alabama won the 2020 national championship just one month ago, but the 2021 college football season is underway. Sort of. It's the little guys of the FCS level (nee Division 1AA), playing a shortened spring schedule, Glomming much attention: The debut of "Coach Prime," Deion Sanders, whose Jackson State Tigers of Mississippi clobbered Jacksonville's Edward Waters College 53-0 in their season opener Sunday. Saners ranted that his belongings had been stolen from his coaches office during the game, later sayng, oops, they'd been placed elsewhere for safekeeping and weren't swiped after all.
Missing the HB10 cut: Sad seasons are winding down for Hurricanes men's and women's basketball. UM men are 7-13 (3-12 ACC) with Saturday's loss to Georgia Tech, and now with point guard Chris Lykes done for the year. Four games left starting Wednesday vs. No. 16 Florida State. Canes women are 9-10/6-10 with two games left: Thursday vs. Wake Forest and next Sunday at Clemson ..... Eagles trade Carson Wentz to Colts ..... Padres sign Fernando Tatis Jr. to mega long-term deal ..... There are two NHL Outdoor Games this weekend at Lake Tahoe, with Saturday's paused eight hours by bad ice. Better luck today? ..... UEFA Champions League soccer has resumed with first-leg matches in round of 16 ..... Miami Open tennis will allow limited fans later this spring ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's new 50th episode (No. 8 of 2021) is out Monday! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,954 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.
-- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * --
ARCHIVES:
Select other recent columns: Why Schilling Is To Blame For Falling Short Of Hall / Why A Brady-Mahomes Super Bowl Is Torture For Dolphins Fans / Chad Henne: Ex-Dolphin An Overnight Sensation, 13 Years Later / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Saban the New G.O.A.T. as Alabama Reigns in Miami / Promising Season For Dolphins, Tua Ends In Crushing Collapse/ 'A' For Effort, But King Hurt As Hurricanes' Bowl-Woes Continue / The King Is Dead! Dolphins Win Signals End of Era For Belichick, Pats / Heat Are Getting No Respect, But Didn't Earn Much In Opener / Le Batard Leaving ESPN, But Assures Fans They'll Hear From Him Again Soon / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Stop the Silly Noise And Speculation. Give Dolphins' Tua Time And a Fair Chance / Fans of ESPN's Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz Should Prepare For Another Change / Turner, With COVID, Joining Dodgers Celebration A Sadly Fitting End to Season / Heat, Marlins, Canes -- now Tua. Miserable 2020 Suddenly Great Time To Be Miami Fan / Boycott Of NBA Playoffs Shows Nation That Injustice Is Bigger Than Sports Right Now / As Panthers Move on From Tallon, Who's Next Miami Team Executive on Hot Seat? / 'Perfect Storm For Virus Transmission': Why Football Is Struggling to Lift Off / Marlins Delaying Home Opener For COVID Outbreak a Scary Lesson For All Sports / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. They Boy Was Me / 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.
Super Bowl With a Smirk series: Smirk V, Smirk IV, Smirk III, Smirk II, Smirk I. Heat NBA Finals last column: LeBron Reigns, But Credit Heat For Unexpected Run to Finals. Marlins postseason run last column: Marlins Season Was A Miracle But Way It Ended Is Lesson On Work Still Ahead.
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. Finding Greg: 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).
Comments