GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21. Programming note: Will be back on with Le Batard on Wednesday this week, not Tuesday. 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): Le Batard The Musical?, 5 lessons Dolphins can take from Super Bowl, Greg Cote Show podcast, new NASL doc with Greg among those interviewed.
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW 100TH EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 9th episode of 2022 and 1andmark 100th overall is out now! A new pod hits every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 100 we've done so far HERE, free. In our most recent episode, we throw a party for our 100th ep, recap the annual PFPI Gala, discuss recent big Le Batard Show news and 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).
Newest column: Who Dolphins, With Windfall Top Spend, Should target In Offseason To Fix Offense Fast. Other most recent columns: An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / The Lesson For Dolphins in Rams-Bengals Super Bowl Result / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / and McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win.
HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 20-21): 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. OLYMPICS: U.S. fifth in medals at Winter Games: The Winter Olympics in Beijing wrap up today with the Closing Ceremines. Team USA finished fifth in totals medals with 25, including eight golds. Many disappointments, including neither hockey team winning gold and Maekala Shiffrin fizzle on the slopes, but highs, too, including Elana Meyers Taylor becoming the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history, with five medals.
2. HEAT: Miami tied atop East at break for Sunday's absurd All-Star Game: Miami is 38-21 and tied with Chicago atop the Eastern Conference at the break. All-Star Game on Sunday in Cleveland saw a 163-160 defesve struggle, with Team LeBron topping Team Durant. Lone Heat rep Jimmy Butler hda a quiet two points in nine minutes. Miami returns to action this Friday at the New York Knicks.
3. PANTHERS: Cats stay hot, raise their road game: Florida remains atop the NHL East at 35-10-5 after Sunday's 5-2 win at Chicago. Florida has been nearly unbeaten at home and fallible away but has picked up its road game lately, winning seven of past nine away. Cats open five-game homestand Tuesday vs. Nashville.
4. INTER MIAMI: Big week as team opens MLS Year 3: David Beckham's team has disappointed its first two seasons but hopes are high for Year 3 opening at home in Fort Lauderdale this coming Saturday vs. Chicago Fire. But first: A key commission vote Wednesday on the team's propsoed new Miami stadium complex near the airprort.
5. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men, women chasing NCAAs: March Madness nears and the Canes men sit 19-8 (11-5 ACC) after Saturday's home stumble against Virginia. Team should qualify for NCAAs but Saturday hurt. Surging UM women are at 16-10 (9-7), with NCAA hopes enchanced by Sunday's upset win at No. 16 Georgia Tech.
6. DOLPHINS: McDaniel completes (mostly) new coaching staff: New Fins coach Mike McDaniel completed a 27-man coaching staff with 19 new faces and eight holdovers, including defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. Notable additions include offensive coordinator Frank Smith, former Dolphins star cornerbacks Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, and Wes Welker. Elsewhere, fired Dolphins coach Brian Flores got hired by the Steelers as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.
7. HURRICANES: Schedule set for Cristobal's first spring practice: University of Miami set its 15-day spring football schedule, which will begin March 7 and end with the spring game on April 16. The first spring game under new coach Mario Cristobal will be held at Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale because of construction at the Hard Rock Stadium site.
8. NASCAR: Vroom! Daytons 500 launches season with surprise: The Daytona 500, first major race of the new NASCAR seasons, ran on Sunday with Kyle Larson beginning defense of his 2021 season championship but little-known Austin Cindric, 23, taking the checkered flag. It was second straight D500 surprise, after last year's race was won by 66-1 longshot Michael McDowell.
9. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Playoff stays as is at least through '25: Months of debate about expansion amounted to zero as College Football Playoff said it will remain at four teams through end of its 12-year contract expiring after 2025 season. Staying at four teams for four more years will cost the 10 FBS conferences (and Notre Dame) an estimated $450 million in potential revenue.
10. MLB: Labor dispute now officially delays spring training: The MLB lockout, nearing three months old and a continuing stalemate, will delay the start of spring traoning games at least until March 5. Most teams including the Miami Marlins had been set to open February 26.
Missing the HB10 cut: Canes baseball swept Towson State in its four-game season-opening home series ..... So, apparently, the folks running Hard Rock Stadium and the Dolphins built the garage and pit area at the new Formula One racetrack on top of a sewer main, meaning it would block access to pipes for any needed repairs and raise the possibility of noxious gases seeping through manholes into the building. Oh, and they did it despite being warned of the hazards ..... USWNT opened the SheBelieves Cup tournament with a 0-0 draw vs. Czech Republic and plays New Zealand on Sunday in L.A. U.S. is using a young roster including rising star Trinity Rodman (Dennis' kid) ..... Los Angeles held a Super Bowl victory parade for the Rams. Highlight: Brief diversion from nightmare that is the Lakers season ..... The reborn eight-team USFL holds its first draft this Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of its spring startup. First pick belongs to coach Jeff Fisher and the Michigan Mustaches. Over/under on the USFL announcing it will fold is summer '23 ..... Manu Ginobili and former Heat star Tim Hardaway are among 11 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ..... Awful week for PR guys. Former Angels communications director Eric Kay was found him guilty of distributing fentanyl and causing the death of former pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019. And it was reported the Cowboys in 2015 paid $2.4 million to settle a cheerleaders' claim that former club executive Rich Dalrymple filmed them changing ..... The NFL, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and likely future owner Bruce Beal all have lawyered up to fight the allegations in the Brian Flores lawsuit ..... Marlins place seven players (four of them pitchers) in ESPN's 2022 ranking of MLB's top 100 prospects, though none higher than righty pitcher Max Meyer at No. 33 ..... Marlins Park on Tuesday night hosts Ye: Donda 2 Experience Performance, a Kanye West concert. Be interesting to see what Marlins Park looks like with a big crowd ..... A Maine woman recognized as the Patriots' oldest fan, Myrtle Milledge, died at 106. She rooted for the Pats since 1960, Tom Brady's rookie season ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,590 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: Dolphins New Coach McDaniel Must Win, Heal Broken Franchise / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True / 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.
Super Bowl With a Smirk quintet: SMIRK V ($1 million party ticket). SMIRK IV (Hip-hop halftime). SMIRK III (Last members of been-to-every-game club). SMIRK II (Joe Nickname, SB commercials). SMIRK I (City wars: L.A. glitz vs. Dull Cincy).
Select other 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).
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