GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's FRIDAY, MARCH 26. Happy Birthday, Elton John! Hard to believe you turned 74 Thursday. You have been a soundtrack of my life and a continuing inspiration. Thank you. 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, Greg Cote Show podcast with Pablo Torre & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH PABLO TORRE OUT NOW!: Our 12th podcast of 2021 (54th overall) is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 54 we've done so far HERE for free. In our new Ep12 ESPN's Pablo Torre joins us to discuss the impact and pain of Asian-American hate crimes such as the recent mass killing in Atlanta. We pivot to light and fun stuff, too, of course, including his 'Con of Mammals' theory and his never-before-told revelation about his real name -- what his Mom calls him. Also on the menu: We record before a live studio audience, discuss pigs learning to play video games and more. Thanks as always, pod family, for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! (Also, our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).
Dolphins, Phil 'n Tiger, March Madness. Other latest columns: No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / and Why Men's NCAA Tournament Has Needed Fresh Feel As We Welome Back March Madness.
NO LOWRY? NO PROBLEM. MIAMI HEAT STEALING OLADIPO, KEEPING HERRO A BIG WIN FOR RILEY: Patience, as a virtue, can be profoundly overrated. Pat Riley has known that well in the 25-plus years he has been one of the best things ever to happen to sports in Miami. And Heat fans have almost always benefited from that lack of patience. The Heat team president quietly turned 76 a few days ago. Sometimes a man gets to feeling he doesn’t have all the time in the world to sit around crossing fingers on the status quo when there are dominoes to tip, deals to be made. Chances to take. And so Riley’s Heat was in the mix again Thursday, NBA draft-deadline day, working phones in the midst of a four-game losing streak that saw Miami fall to 22-22 and a tie for fifth place in the East. Getting through the conference and back to the NBA Finals this season has seemed a steep climb — hence, the interest Thursday in a deadline-day roster infusion. This happened: Miami acquired guard Victor Oladipo, a two-time all-star averaging 20.8 points this season, from Houston for Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk. The Heat also obtained power forward Nemanja Bjelica from Sacramento in exchange for Moe Harkless and Chris Silva. (Miami had earlier acquired forward Trevor Ariza from Oklahoma City for Meyers Leonard and a 2027 second-round pick). That’s a beefed-up rotation, added depth at forward and a 20-point scorer without giving up anybody they would truly miss, such as a Duncan Robinson. (And LaMarcus Aldridge might yet be added). Not bad. Now here is what did not happen Thursday: Kyle Lowry-to-Miami didn’t happen. Not for a lack of effort or desire, but because Riley, uncharacteristically, showed patience. For our full latest column, visit No Lowry, But Stealing Oladipo, Keeping Herro a Win-Win For Heat, Riley.
BECKHAM KEEPS NAME-DROPPING MESSI, RONALDO FOR INTER MIAMI. CAN HE DELIVER?: David Beckham is dreaming out loud again. Putting his grandest, most high-reaching vision for his Inter Miami CF soccer club out there for all to see. It’s almost as if he is challenging himself — daring himself — to reach the bar he is setting. As they await the club’s second season in Major League Soccer (first match is April 18), South Florida fans are again being tempted and teased by Beckham to expect the best, to consider no player out of reach. Now all he has to do is deliver. When you whet the appetite for lobster, steak and caviar, what you actually serve will be under fair scrutiny, after all. So Beckham this week tells ESPN’s Taylor Twellman: “When we announced [a team in] Miami, there was always going to be talk about players we were going to bring in, whether it was Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar. There was always going to be those discussions. I actually don’t think it’s a tough one for players to decide, to be honest, because it’s a great place. Miami is a city that has that pull on players who have been playing in Europe that are big stars.” There are big stars, and then there are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar, who are of a galaxy far beyond. “It’s not a difficult [sales] pitch,” added Beckham. “You say Miami and they’re, like, OK. There were reasons I chose Miami.” There has always been the assumption that the glamour and sizzle of Miami and the sexy international cache’ of the Beckham brand would be an intoxicating perfume to lure star power. For our full recent column, visit Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver?
WOMEN KEEP ACCUSING DESHAUN WATSON OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. BUT WILL IT MATTER TO NFL TEAMS?: The narrowing of possibilities for Deshaun Watson’s football future plays out in lockstep with the gradual disintegration of his reputation. The NFL has never seen anything quite like it. We watch in fascination, as we would a train wreck unfolding in slow motion. As free agency plods on and players change uniforms, the league‘s most coveted perhaps-available superstar quarterback continues the subject of pursuit by both teams and women alleging sexual misconduct. The women now outnumber the teams, which may or may not be related. It’s a mess from every angle. Watson signed a four-year, $156 million contract extension with the Houston Texans just months ago, but now is adamantly estranged from the club to the degree he is demanding a trade. The Texans are flummoxed on how to play this unexpected hand, continuing to say “Deshaun’s our guy” as if calling the bluff of a man who isn’t bluffing. They could have declared the trade window open and reaped the riches of a multi-team bidding war. Instead they have watched potential suitors sign other quarterbacks and come to realize Watson holds all the cards on where he might agree to be traded. The Athletic’s Michael Lombardi reported Watson has narrowed his choices to the Denver Broncos or San Francisco 49ers. Meaning he has eliminated reported, rumored or potential suitors notably including the Miami Dolphins, along with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and several others. Now, though, fans who might once have been devastated to see their team out of the Watson sweepstakes might now consider themselves lucky. For our full recent column, please visit Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams?
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ARCHIVES:
Other most recent columns: Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Heat Should Parts Ways With Meyers Leonard Over Anti-Semitic Slur / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Quit Lecturing LeBron On Activism And His Own Conscience / Dolphins' Tua-or-Deshaun QB Choice Strewn with Complications and What-Ifs / Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead / and Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive.
Select other columns: These Two Questions Will Determine Dolphins' Path On Watson Vs. Tua / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / Marlins Stick With Youth As Rest Of NL East Spends Big / Oh Say Can You See No Anthem At Games? / Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company / Why Schilling Is To Blame For Falling Short Of Hall / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Saban the New G.O.A.T. as Alabama Reigns in Miami / '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 / 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 only) and The Ballad Of 1440 (with video).
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