GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's MONDAY, DECEMBER 27. Hoping my fellow Christmas celebrants had a wonderful and prudently safe long holiday weekend! 2) Not on Le Batard Show this past week; was feeling a bit under the weather. Check out last Tuesday's (December 14) show podcasts for my new Dolphins Christmas song. 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 16 picks, Greg Cote Show podcast, Week 15 results for picks/Lobos/QB ranking.
Note to readers: I'm burning a bunch of unused vacation days throughout December so have been having fewer columns out lately. But am still producing occasional columns and regular staples such as the weekly NFL picks, the podcast and this blog.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: SPECIAL EPISODE WITH BELOVED HUMORIST DAVE BARRY OUT NOW!: Our 49th episode of 2021 and 91st overall is out now -- and it's a must-hear special one. A new pod drops Mondays at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 91 we've done so far HERE, free. In our latest episode: Pulitzer Prize-winning author and humorist Dave Barry joins us for a lengthy conversation ranging from the inanity of his 2021 Holiday Gift Guide to a serious talk about some of the personal tragedy he's lived thorugh and how that has influenced his humor. Also in the new episode: My Dolphins Christmas song, the Fins' 6th win in a row,The new ho-ho-Hot Button Top Greg's Lobos gird for fantasy playoffs and much more. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET). We're taking the holiday week off -- no new episode out today/Monday -- so it's the perfect time to catch up on our latest episode or back catalog.
Our most recent columns: Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude
NFL WEEK 16 PICKS: DOLPHINS-SAINTS AND ALL THE REST -- AND A 3-0 START SO FAR!: Our hot streak cooled a bit last week at 10-6 overall and 7-9 against the spread, including an end to our remarkable six-game wining streak on outright Upset of the Week bull's-eyes. This week we call three more outright upsets, and nailed the first Thursday night to get our week off to a big start. We had @Titans (+3 1/2) beating 49ers, 23-20. And Titans won, 20-17. We're 3-0 overall though Saturdays games. For all of our latest picks including Dolphins-Jets, visit NFL Week 16 Gems.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (DECEMBER 26-27): 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:
This is a "half-off-for-the holidays" special edition of the Hot Buttom Top 10:
1. DOLPHINS: Surging Fins seek 7th straight win Monday night: Monday night stage finds Miami showing off a six-game winning streak in New Orleans, where two resilient 7-7 teams are fighting to stay in NFL playoff chase. Dolphins are slight road favorites because Saints may be down to third-string QB Ian Book in his pro debut because of Covid issues.
2. HURRICANES: Covid outbreak forces Sun Bowl withdrawal: Miami's Sun Bowl game vs. Washington State in El Paso this coming Friday was turned upside Sunday when the Canes withdrew due to a recent Covid outbreak, which previously had postponed the team's arrival until the day before the game. The Sun Bowl is now looking for a new playing partner for Washington State.
3. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 4 days 'til Orange Bowl CFP semifinal!: Bowl season math: 16 games in (including Gators' loss to UCF on Wednesday), four games canceled (Hawaii Bowl) and 24 still to come -- including the ones that actually matter. College Football Playoff semifinals are this coming Friday with No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 Alabama in Cotton Bowl and then No. 3 Georgia vs. No.2 Michigan in Orange Bowl at Hard Rock. Crimson Tide (big) and Bulldogs are betting picks.
4. HEAT: Butler back as depleted Miami finding ways to win; Spoelstra honored: Miami is 21-13 after three wins in a row with Sunday's vs. Orlando despite the injury absences. Bam Adebayo is sidelined into January. Jimmy Butler returned Sunday, rusty, after missing 16 games including eight in a row and 12 of the previous 13. Now Kyle Lowry is in Covid protocols and out. Off the court, coach Erik Spoelstra was named an assistant coach for the 2022-24 USA men's national team.
5. PANTHERS: Cats, on pause, set to resume Wednesday; NHL out of Olympics: NHL has delayed 64games through Christmas break and is set to resume play Tuesday, with Florida (18-7-4 after three straight losses) and four games postponed set to return Wednesday night at vs. the N.Y. Rangers. Meantime, the NHL said it will not break for or participate in 2022 Winter Olympics hockey in Beijing, citing "the profound disruption to the NHL's regular-season schedule caused by Covid."
Missing the HB10 cut: Canes men's basketball is 9-3/1-0 ACC and close to garnering AP Top 25 interest. Guys are back in play Wednesday vs. N.C. State ..... UM women hoops is 7-3/0-0 ACCand off until January 2. Miami's ACC loss loss to Duke for Covid reasons, first ruled a forfeit, was later deemed a postponed game ..... Canada's men's national soccer team, in preparation for the final stage of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has scheduled a friendly vs. Guatemala on January 22 at Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Canada sits atop the CONCACAF table in looking to make its World Cup since 1987. They'll will face Honduras, the U.S. and El Salvador in the final round of qualifying ..... Love Bengals QB Joe Burrow explaining his team staying clear of Covid issues by crediting Cincinnati being dull and bereft of tempting nightlife ..... Unvaccinated Bills WR Cole Beasley blames "the rules" for being back on the Covid list and unavailable to his team, his selfishness and delusion a truly staggering thing to behold ..... Ex-Heaters Tim Hardaway and Shawn Marion are back another try at the Basketball Hall of Fame ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is off this coming week (no new episode Monday), a perfect time to catch up on your listening! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,646 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: UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention / Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 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 / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / 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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