GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22. Happy Thanksgiving Week! I'll be in with the Le Batard Show on Tuesday ... with a special surprise. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 11 picks, Greg Cote Show podcast, latest columns, NFL Week 10 results for picks/Lobos/QB rank & more.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 45th episode of 2021 and 87th overall is out now! New pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 87 we've done HERE, free. In our newest episode: Meet orange-bearded Marc Angelo, the Miam Dolphins' nominee for 2021 NFL Fan of the Year. And Greg, Chris and Yeti share their picks for worst Thanksgiving foods -- the ones that should be kicked off the table. Plus, Chris' empty bags vs. Greg's umbrella misuse; Chris rips Scottie Pippen, Dolphins keep rollin', Lobos update and Quirk Line for you to call in. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Most podcasts are off this week for the holiday. NOT US!!! Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).
NFL WEEK 11 PICKS: DOLPHINS-JETS, GAME OF THE WEEK, 3 BIG UPSETS AND ALL THE REST: NFL Week 11 is upon us and we started off with a double win Thursday night (NFL Week 11 Thursday Gem) because we had Patriots winning and covering a 7-point spread and they did both, beating Falcons, 25-0. Hope that's a harbinger for a big week! The rest of our picks include Dolphins at Jets, our Game of the Week, three big upsets and all the rest. Find all of our latest picks here: NFL Week 11 Gems.
Column from Sunday's Dolphins win: They're Alive! Dolphins, Tua Beat Jets For 3rd Straight As Revival Continues.
Column from Saturday night's Hurricanes win: Diaz Smiles Through Rain & Pain As Canes Win, Reach Bowl Game He May Not Be Around To Coach.
Our most recent other columns: Hurricanes, Too Beholden to Past and UM Family, Need to Go Outside for new AD Hire / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / and How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention and Miracles Happen: Huge Defense, Tua Off Bench Help Fins Stun Baltimore
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (NOVEMBER 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. The latest HB10:
1. DOLPHINS: Tua excels as hot Fins win at Jets for 3rd straight: Tua Tagovailoa is past his finger injury, started Sunday and was great, including two TD passes, in 24-17 Miami win at rval Jets. Dolphins are now 4-7 with three straight wins, and three straight winnable home games ahead. (Playoffs? Playoffs!?)
2. HURRICANES: UM wins, earns bowl trip on bittersweet night for Diaz: Miami led throughout in a 38-26 win over Virginia Tech last night in a rain-soaked home finale at Hard Rock (see my column link below). Canes at 6-5 are now bowl-eligible entering next week's finale at Duke. But will Manny Diaz be around to coach in the bowl game? Questionable to doubtful as UM ssearches for the new athletic director who'll likely choose his replacement.
3. HEAT: Four-game win streak ends but Butler is making MVP case: Miami is 11-6 after last night's narrow loss at Washington but Jimmy Butler continues making his case for league MVP, already leading the team in scoring eight times. Past week's highlights included Dwyae Wade's first return to home arean this season. Heat is back in play Tuesday in Detroit.
4. PANTHERS: Cats are hot again, maintain East lead: Florida is 13-2-3 and still atop the NHL East after last night's home win over Minnesota. That's three wins in a row after a four-game skid that found plenty of Cats fans pouncing way to soon on interim coach Andrew Brunette. Panthers are back at it Wednesday vs. Philly.
5. MARLINS: Fish extend Alcantara with $55 million deal: Miami Marlins locked up ace pitcher Sandy Alcantara with a $55 mllion extension announced Monday. Also, club made four additions to club’s 2022 Major League coaching staff, notably Marcus Thames as hitting coach and Al Pedrique as third base and infield coach. Marlins also had a piece of MLB awards week, as pitcher Trevor Rogers finished second in NL rookie of year voting.
6. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Gators lose again, Butch falls in FIU home finale: Florida Gators are a bowl-shy 5-6 after Saturday's 24-23 loss to Missouir that furthers imperils coach Dan Mullen. And FIU is 1-10 after a 49-7 home loss to North Texas in Butch Davis' final home game; he won;t return next season. Elsewhere in state FBS play (non-UM division): FSU beat Boston College 26-23, FAU got clobbered by Western Kentucky, UCF routed UConn and South Florida fell hard to Tulane.
7. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Loss by No. 3 Oregon shakes up CFP final four: No. 3 Oregon's crushing 38-7 loss at No. 23 Utah Saturday will shake up the College Football Playoff and likely see Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State welcoming in interloper Cincinnati to the select four in the next CFP rankings. Does it also make Mario Cristobal likelier to leave the Ducks for, say ... Miami? Other Top 25 losses were by No. 7 Michigan State, 10-Wake Forest and 21-Arkansas.
8. UM BASKETBALL: Good starts but big tests await for Canes men, women: UM men are 3-1 after Sunday's win over Florida A&M, and play three more before their ACC opener. Canes women are 4-0 and next play Thanskgiving Day vs. Washington State. First major tests for UM women are next Saturday vs. No. 4-Indiana and December 2 at 3-Maryland.
9. MLB: Ohtani the talk of baseball's Awards Week: MLB handed out hardware for ML and AL MVP, Cy Young, manager and rookie of the year this past week, and at the top was the unanimous AL MVP vote for the Angels' Shohei Ohtani. He is legitimately the sports' greatest two-way hitter/pitcher since one Babe Ruth circa 1915-18.
10. OLYMPICS: U.S. mulling diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games: President Joe Biden thi week said the United States is considering a diplomatic boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing over China's human rights abuses. That would keep American dignitaries -- but not athletes -- from attending the Games.
Missing the HB10 cut: The USMNT's 1-1 draw with Jamaica leaves the American men in good shape in World Cup qualifying. There's a pause now, with the next U.S. qualifier, vs. El Salvador, not until January 27 ..... MLS playoffs (Inter Miami is on the couch watching) are almost down to the final eight and the conference semifinals, with New England Revolution the clear title pick based on season form ..... Antonio Brown is accused of obtaining a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. Or did that go without saying? ..... The new biopic King Richard is out, about Richard Williams and tennis daughters Serena and Venus, starring Will Smith in the title role ..... The new Tom Brady docuseries is called Man In The Arena, because all of the good titles were already taken. (Quick note: Brady plays in stadiums, not arenas) ..... Garbiñe Muguruza won the WTA Finals in tennis. Alexander Zverez and Daniil Medvedev go for the ATP Finals crown Sunday ..... The Washington Spirit won the NWSL title with a 2-1 extra time victory over the Chicago Red Stars ..... The Cleveland Indians' name-change to Cleveland Guardians is now official. Insulting nickname to a just plain bad one. Upgrade? ..... The rapper Ludacris is narrating MLB's offcial Braves World Series film out December 14 ..... Homestead-Miami Speedway is hosting a "Magic Of Lights" drive-through holiday display through January 1. Good idea. But it'd be even more magical if they weren't charging $20 and up per car ..... NFL Pro Bowl tickets are now on sale and Pro Bowl voting is underway, and nobody cares ..... R.I.P., Sam Huff ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,681 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.
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ARCHIVES
Select other recent columns: Oh Brother! Heat-Nuggets' Family Feud Spices Season / Fins End 7-Game Skid -- But Only Because Texans Were Even Worse / Is Manny Diaz Saving Himself? Coach, Comeback Canes Win 3rd Straight. Also: Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Buffalo's Late Classlessness Aside, Miami Out Of Answers In 7th Straight Loss / U-Turn: UM Season, Diaz Future Looking Up With 2nd Straight Big Win / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / Dolphins Sabotaging Tua Season Over Misguided Infatuation With Watson / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Loss In Tampa Has Dolphins Season In Free Fall As Embarrassments Pile Up / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / With Ghosts Of Glory Days Watching, Dolphins Showed Inept Effort in Third Straight Loss / Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / 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 / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / 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 / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.
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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