GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1. Welcome, February. Be good to us. 2) The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, AFC and NFC title-game picks, Chad Henne's moment, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: MAGILL TALKS GOATS, PFPI GALA IN NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our Miami Herald podcast debuted last March and our new Episode 5 of 2021 (47th overall) is out now! 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 47 we've done so far RIGHT HERE for free; please listen, subscribe, rate and review. In the new Ep6 of '21, we christen Super Bowl Week as special guest Ron Magill discusses goats and how that foretells the Brady-Mahomes matchup, and we also bring you exclusive highlights from Sunday's legendary PFPI Gala, the Cote family tradition since 1969. Also, a new Mount Gregmore of TV insurance ads! Hear all of that and more in our fifth new episode of the new year! Thanks as always for the support. Please listen, rate, review and subscribe.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY1): 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: Butler back and Miami ends slump as Beal rumors swirl: Heat beat Sacramento Saturday to end a five-game losing streak with Jimmy Butler back from his COVID-protocol absence and scoring 30 points. Miami still is only 7-12 on the year. Meanwhile speculation swirls over the Heat's supposed interest in trading for Washington scoring star Bradley Beal, who may be on the trade block. Miami hosts the Wizards Wednesday and Friday this week.
2. NFL: Super Bowl Week underway in Tampa!: Aspiring G.O.A.T. Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs remain a 3-point betting favorite at most sportsbooks despite Old G.O.A.T. Tom Brady's Bucs playing in their home stadium, a Super Bowl first. Meantime the canceled Pro Bowl would have been today. The national group, People Who'll Miss It, will meet this afternoon at the Waffle House. Corner booth.
3. MLB: Zero make Baseball Hall in latest vote: Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens -- all denied, again, in the 2021 vote for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Bonds and Clemsn can blame steroids and Schilling his far-right politics, including recent support of the rioters in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Sore-loser Schilling then asked to be taken off the 2022 ballot (his final year of eligibility) but may not get his wish.
4. DOLPHINS: Fins staff returns from Senior Bowl amid Watson chatter: The Dolphins staff is back from Mobile, Ala., where it coached the winning National team to a 27-24 win in Saturday's Senior Bowl. Now it's on to a deep dive of preparation for the April NFL Draft -- but with one eye on Deshaun Watson as his demand of a trade from Houston has much of the NFL's attention including Miami's. Alabama WR Devonta Smith says he and Tua Tagovailoa have talked about him joining Tua in Miami. But will Tua still be here...?
5. PANTHERS: Cats stay hot out the gate in NHL: Fast-starting Florida is 5-0-1 in the young NHL season after winning in Detroit again Sunday. Two first-year Cats, young Carter Verhaeghe (arrived via free agency) and veteran Patric Hornqvist (by trade) lead the team with five goals apiece including one each Sunday.
6. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men host Duke Monday: Struggling Canes men's team is 6-10 (2-9 ACC) after Saturday's loss at Wake Forest made it four losses in a row. Team hosts an unusually average Duke on Monday. UM women -- who recently nearly upset No. 1 Louisville, losing 79-76 -- are 7-7 (4-7), with Sunday's game vs. Boston College postponed.
7. HURRICANES: UM benefits from ACC football announcement: The ACC announced it will return to its normal eight-conference-game, two-division format in 2021, with Notre Dame as a non-conference independent. Canes will benefit from being back in the easier (i.e. no Clemson) Coastal Division.
8. MARLINS: Fish place five on top-prospects list: MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects for 2021 has Miami RHP Sixto Sanchez 15th, OF J.J. Bleday 20th, RHP Max Meyer 28th, SSS/2B Jazz Chisholm 66th and RHP Edward Cabrera 68th. Sanchez impressed in seven starts last season while Chisholm struggled in 56 at-bats. Bleday and Cabrera figure to debut this coming season, with Meyer likely in '22.
9. TENNIS: Australian Open begins next week: The year's first tennis major begins February 8 with anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka the betting favorites. The big question: Can Serena Williams finally win her elusive 24th major title to tie Margaret Court's all-time record. Serena last won a Grand Slam singles event in 2017.
10. INTER MIAMI: Will MLS labor talks delay start of Year 2?: Season 2 for Inter Miami and new coach Phil Neville is nearing, with training camps set to open February 22 and the season on April 3. That's if MLS and its players union agree on a new CBA, with talks still ongoing.
Missing the HB10 cut: Matthew Stafford to Rams for Jared Goff and picks ..... Florida chief financial officer Jimmy Patronis has told the IOC of Miami's willingness to host the 2021 Summer Olympics if Tokyo is unable to because of the pandemic -- even though the IOC and Tokyo insist the Games will go on there. This would be high in our HB10 if Patronis' offer had more than a 0.000001 percent chance of fruition ..... The canceled Pro Bowl was supposed to be today. "I'll really miss it," said nobody at all ..... The big boys of college football will play in the fall, but spring football season begins this coming Saturday for more than 310 schools and 35 conferences at the FCS), Division II, Division III and NAIA levels ..... NBA All-Star voting is underway. With Jimmy Butler out, Bam Adebayo is Miami's best hope ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's new 47th episode (No. 5 of 2021) is out Monday! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,975 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.
CURT SCHILLING HAS HIMSELF TO BLAME FOR FALLING SHORT OF HALL OF FAME: I am one of the 401 voters who cast a 2021 ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I voted for Curt Schilling — yet am glad he fell short and didn’t get in when results were revealed Tuesday night. This may seem odd, but it is a conflict many voters feel in the time of virulent politics, steroids and the “character clause” that voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America are free to let steer their vote, or to ignore. It is a weird and winding road that can lead a player to the shrine in Cooperstown, New York, or block his path. It happens when you ask a consensus of hundreds of voters who bring different criteria to the ballot. The continuing denial of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens is a classic example of how voters can judge one player so differently. Now, so too is Schilling. For our full latest column, please visit Why Schilling Is To Blame For Falling Short Of Hall.
WHY A BRADY-MAHOMES SUPER BOWL IS ULTIMATE TORTURE FOR MIAMI AND DOLPHINS FANS: There is a word for this newly minted Super Bowl matchup, from a Miami perspective. Torture. The matchup is Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs, except, really, of course, it is Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes. So there it is, shoved right in the face of Dolphins fans for the next two weeks: The one player most responsible for Miami not reaching the Super Bowl any time this century — Brady, the Old G.O.A.T. And the one player most likely to prevent Miami getting there any time in the foreseeable future — Mahomes, the Aspiring G.O.A.T. For our full recent, please visit Why A Brady-Mahomes Super Bowl Is Torture For Dolphins Fans.
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THE ARCHIVES:
Select other most recent columns: 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 / Dolphins' Re-Commitment to Tua is Smart, And Well-Timed / Promising Season For Dolphins, Tua Ends In Crushing Collapse/ It Was the Overshadowed Bowl, but A&M and UNC Deliver An Exciting OB / 'A' For Effort, But King Hurt As Hurricanes' Bowl-Woes Continue yet Again / The King Is Dead! Dolphins Win Signals End of Era For Belichick, Pats / and Heat Are Getting No Respect, But Didn't Earn Much In Opener.For Dolphins' Tua, Now Is When We Begin to See If Greatness Is In His Reach / 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 / and Heat, Marlins, Canes -- now Tua. Miserable 2020 Suddenly Great Time To Be Miami Fan.
Heat NBA Finals last column: Game 6--LeBron Reigns, But Credit Heat For Unexpected Run to Finals.
Marlins postseason run last column: NLDS Game 3--Marlins Season Was A Miracle But Way It Ended Is Lesson On Work Still Ahead.
Select other 2020 columns: Boycott Of NBA Playoffs Shows Nation That Injustice Is Bigger Than Sports Right Now / Having Fans at Dolphins, Canes Games A Bad Idea And Big Risk / 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
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: 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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