GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7. Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Flores/Dolphins scandal: Top 10 all-time Dolphins scandals and where this ranks, plus Ross should be done as owner if allegations prove true; also, new Greg Cote Show podcast.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 7th episode of 2022 and 98th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 98 we've done so far HERE, free. In our most recent episode, we continue The Greg Cote Show Non-Sport Olympics, but with a live audience, and talk Super Bowl, Brian Flores suit, and new Dolphins coach Mke McDaniel. Also in the the new episode: Drake (!): makes brief appearance on our podcast; Greg’s business lunch with LeBron James over Lobos Tequila; Greg brags about leaving a big tip; Would you rather lick a toad or a toe?; Chris can’t believe Brian Flores turned down lunch with Tom Brady; and Farding (not farting; farding. Get your mind out of the gutter). And, on a serious note, Greg's tribute to a dear friend who recently died unexpectedly. 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).
BOMBSHELL WEEK FOR DOLPHINS: FLORES' NFL SUIT TARGETS ROSS, MIAMI HIRES McDANIEL AS NEW COACH:
NEW: Dolphins New Coach McDaniel Must Win, Heal Broken Franchise
Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals
Ross Should Be Done As Dolphins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True
Select other most recent columns: The G.O.A.T. We Never Saw Coming: From 199th Drafted To History, A Salute To Tom Brady / Like Him Or Don't, Antonio Brown Not Always To Blame -- And Wasn't In Bucs Divorce / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Mahomes-Allen Air Show A Reminder How Much Better Dolphins And Tua Need To Be / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom /Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 6-7): 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: Flores lawsuit implicates Ross, Fins hire McDaniel as new coach: Miami on Sunday evening hired 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, the frontrunner, as new head coach. But it's the man he's replacing making the biggest headlines. Fired coach Brian Flores is taking on the NFL over racist hiring practices in an explosive lawsuit that also accuses Dolphins owner of Stephen Ross of attempting to bribe Flores to intentionally lose games in 2019. [My three related columns are feature-linked above].
2. NFL: Super Bowl Week opens shadowed by lawsuit and Brady: The Bengals-Rams Super Bowl in Los Angeles is next Sunday, but is forced to share the NFL marquee with the recent retirement of icon Tom Brady and now with Brian Flores' lawsuit over racist hiring practices in the league. The NFL initially called the suit "without merit," but in a Saturday memo to teams commissoner Roger Goodell pivoted and called results of the NFL's coaching diversity efforts "unacceptable."
3. HEAT: Butler named All-Star reserve as Miami jockeys for East lead: Jimmy Butler was named an East reserve for the February 20 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, the only Miami player selected (though some thought Tyler Herrro had a shot). Miami is 34-20 and tied for first in the East entering tonight's/Monday's game at Washington.
4. HURRICANES: Cristobal lands big OC in Gattis from Michigan: The Canes recruiting class was ranked 19th nationally by ESPN -- third in the ACC after North Carolina and Clemson -- after this week's second (and lesser) of two national signing days. Bigger news: UM and Mario Cristobal on Sunday hired offensive coordinator Josh Gattis away from Michigan, where he won 2021 Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. He joins new defensive chief Kevin Steele to give the Canes a formidable coordinator duo.
5. OLYMPICS: U.S. women's hockey team early darling of Beijing Games: Snowboarder Julia Marino won silver -- the first U.S. medal of the Winter Olympics -- but the dominating 3-0 start for U.S. women's hockey suggest a shot at gold as the Games continue despite calls for boycotts over China's human righst record. Team USA entered Monday 10th in the medals table with three silvers.
6. PANTHERS: NHL confirms Cats will host 2023 All-Star Weekend: What was first reported my own scoop in the Herald last summer was confirmed this week by NHL: Panthers will host the '23 All-Star Game next February 4 and Skills Challenge the day before. Florida last hosted event in 2003. Cats were supposed to host in 2021 but COVID canceled game. Florida again was supposed to host this year's ASG held on Saturday (and including FLA's Jonathan Huberdeau) but it went to Vegas instead. East-leading Cats do not teturn to action until February 16.
7. SOCCER: U.S. men's soccer wins in World Cup qualifier: U.S. is in 2-1 in qualifying games fot the 2022 Qatar World Cup after this week's 3-0 rout of Honduras, played in sub-zero conditions in St. Paul, Minnesota. Team's next qualifier is March 24 vs. rival Mexico.
8. SOCCER: Rapinoe, Morgan left off USWNT roster: U.S. women's national soccer team coach Vlatko Andonovski named a squad that mixes youth and experience for this month's SheBelieves Cup, leaving out big names like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan in favor of up-and-comers. The 23-player squad will compete in the USWNT's first games of 2022 in facing Czech Republic, New Zealand and Iceland in the SheBelieves Cup February February 17-23 in California and Texas.
9. UM BASKETBALL: Men slump, women face big stretch: As March Madness looms nearer, Hurricanes men are 16-7 and 8-4 in ACC but have lost two straigt entering a Wednesday game vs. Georgia Tech. Miami's women are 12-9/5-6 and in a big three-game stretch that began Sunday with a crushing 85-38 loss at No. 24 North Carolina. Continues Thursday at 20-Notre Dame, then next Sunday vs. rival Florida State.
10. INTER MIAMI: Stadium vote, season opener near: February 23 is the date set for Miami-Dade to vote whether to go ahead with or scrap plans for MLS team Inter Miam's proposed 73-acre commercial and professional sports complex featuring a new soccer stadium. The club's third season opens February 26.
Missing the HB10 cut: James Harden for Ben Simmons? It's been the big NBA trade rumor ahead of league's Thursday's deal deadline ..... The 2022 Miami Marathon and Half Marathon was back this weekend for its 20th edition on the streets of downtown Miami, Miami Beach and Coconut Grove. COVID canceled the event last year, to the delight of motorists inconvenienced by the annual event causing myrad road closings for hours ..... NFL Pro Bowl is today in Las Vegas, and, if you're like most of America, you can't wait to not watch! ..... The MLB lockout impasse worsened as talks stalled, and the MLBPA rejected owners' proposal to involve a federal mediator. For the first time a delay to the start of spring training seems very likely, also suggesting a delay to the regular season. The Marlins spring opener is scheduled February 26 ..... Canes baseball is ranked No. 25 in preseason poll as it prepares to open season February 18 vs. Towson State ..... NASCAR opens its 2022 season Sunday with Joey Logano winning the Clash at the Coliseum in L.A., a warmup of sorts before the main schedule opens with the February 20 Daytona 500 ..... Trade rumors involve Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker as NFL Tuesday trade deadline looms ..... The NFL team formerly known as the Redskins are now the Washington Commanders, explaining, "All of the good nicknames were already taken" ..... Frank Gonzalez, a partner at the accounting firm BDO USA, LLP, was named the 84th president of the Orange Bowl Committee ..... Life Is Good dominated likely 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go to win the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park ..... The spate of college football postseason showcase games continued with Saturday's Senior Bowl. Still to come: the HBCU Legacy Bowl February 19 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,604 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.
-- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * --
ARCHIVES
Select other recent columns: Dolphins Win, Finish 9-8, Now Must Commit To Build Around Tua / Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later / No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Georgia Crushes Michigan in OB. The Bad News? 'Bama Next / Party, Meet Hangover: Tua, Dolphins Out Of Playoff Chase With Loss at Titans / Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 / / 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 / 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).
Comments