GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND
1) It's SATURDAY, JANUARY 14. Hope all of you paraskavedekatriaphobes and/or friggatriskaidekaphobes survived Friday the 13th. 2) If you're still saying, "Happy new year" ... that's a $20 fine. " 3) Glad to be back on the Le Batard Show this week in my regular Tuesday seat. 4) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 5) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast (The Verdict), Dolphins end playoff drought at Buffalo, Mount Gregmore of columns.
NFL WILD-CARD WEEKEND PLAYOFF PICKS: DOLPHINS-BILLS, 5 OTHER GAMES -- AND 3 (!) UPSETS: As No. 1 seeds Kansas City and Philadelphia watch, six games across three days starting Saturday will pare the Super Bowl Tournament from 14 teams to eight. Miami is in it for the first time since 2016, but will it last. Dolphins are the first round's biggest underdog. Here are our picks for Dolphins at Bills on Sunday and the other five games -- with three (!) big upsets. (Will Miami author one of them?) Visit NFL Wild-Card Playoff Gems for all of our latest picks as the NFL postseason begins!
GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: LATEST EPISODE -- MAGILL, SPAIN AND KURKJIAN STAR IN 'THE VERDICT' -- OUT NOW!: Our 1st episode of 2023 and 147th overall is out now! New episodes drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 147 we've done so far HERE. Our new episode settles -- once and for all -- the show's Tony Kornheiser/toenail bet with a verdict from an all-star three-person jury consisting for Sarah Spain, Ron Magill and Tim Kurkjian. Did Greg or Chris win? Hint: It was not unanimous. Also in the new ep, the guys discuss the Dolphins making the playoffs (!), whether Greg went cheap with Seinfeld tickets, Chris in the King Mango Strut parade and more. Hit up GCS2301 for the full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. Now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Greg's Lobos T-shirts and hats -- and there's a free-shipping promotion through this Thursday! Also check out our podcast's YouTube channel.
MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:
NEW! NFL Playoffs & Rooting Interest: Results May Shock As Misery Index Ranks All 14 Teams NEW!
Hamlin, Tua Put Focus On Health, Danger Of NFL As Dolphins-Bills Open Playoffs
Barely Won. Needed Help. But Dolphins In Playoffs First Time Since 2016
Hilltop: The five columns before that: Out Of Control: Dolphins Lose Playoff Grip With 5th Straight Loss / Tennessee Routs Clemson in Orange Bowl As Canes Rebuild From 5-7 / Pele', King Of The Beautiful Game, Touched The World ... & South Florida / Tua Has Big Future With Dolphins, But Will Concussions Allow It? / Bah Humbug For Christmas Gift Not There As Dolphins Lose 4th Straight. Note: Mount Gregmore includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on podcast are not included.
NFL WEEK 18 RESULTS: HERALD PICKS X FINAL QB RANKINGS X GREG'S LOBOS:
Herald Picks: An OK finish to rough regular season -- We went a decent 10-6 overall in Week 18 and 7-9 against the spread. There is no sugarcoating what was a rough 2022 regular season for us. Last week we nailed the Dolphins’ 5-point winning margin over the Jets and had a trio of dogs-with-points in covers by the Titans, Giants and Rams. Still, our final .459 season winning percentage against the spread was embarrassing as our track record is the right side of .500 across 32 seasons of NFL picks in the Herald. The late climb to .602 overall at least was a small silver lining. Time to end strong with a big playoff run!
NFL QB Rankings: King Patrick reigns for the second time -- The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes comfortably wins his second season championship in the 25th year of the Miami Herald NFL Quarterback Rankings, following his other in 2018. Mahomes’ 641.50-point season total enjoyed a 56-point margin over runner-up Justin Herbert of the Chargers. Third-place Joe Burrow of the Bengals lost out on one game because of the Damar Hamlin/canceled game situation. That likely cost him second place, but there is almost zero chance that extra game would have allowed him to surpass Mahomes. The Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa finished 13th. For our expanded final Top 40, visit Herald Final 2022 NFL QB Rankings.
Greg's Lobos: In championship game but denied 2nd straight title -- The defending PFPI Fantasy champion Lobos had a chance to become the first back-to-back champ in the league's 14-year history. Alas, the 'Bos fell hard to Chris' Crown Me The Champ team, 126-75, with only CeeDee Lamb (22 points) coming through. Bad end to a good season. "We. Are. The. Lobos!"
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ARCHIVES
Thank you!: Was honored to again be named by Associated Press Sports Editors as a national Top 10 columnist for 2021 in '22 judging. The four nominated columns that won: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Dolphins sabotaging Tua with interest in Watson
Select other recent columns: Messi's World Cup Makes America Last Frontier To Conquer. And Inter Miami Waits / Griner Freed, But Others Still Held, And WNBA Responsibility Remains / Le Batard On New Mas Miami, First DocuSeries -- And Next Big Move / Dolphins Rout Texans, but How Good Are Fins, Really? We're About To See / Miami Hurricanes End No-Bowl Season 5-7 With Home Rout-Loss To Pitt / Thanksgiving 2022: In Sports As In Life, Little Feeds Spirit Like Gratitude / Jimmy Johnson Had To Give Up Football To Get His Life Back / R.I.P. Chuck Carr: Remembering Marlins' Speedy First Star / Shula To Miami And 17-0 Should Not Have Happened. It Was Luck ... Or Fate / Kyrie Irving's Anti-Semitism Mess Bigger Than Him. It's Symptom Of What Ails America / Canes Are No-Shows in 45-3 Home Loss To FSU In Latest New Low For Cristobal / Pawns Chasing Saudi Blood Money Come To Doral As LIV Golf Ends 1st Season / Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat Disappoint In Season-Opening Home Loss / Csonka, ‘Heart’ Of Dolphins Glory Days, On Life Of Adventure — And Perfection / No. 1 Dolphins, Fans Bask in National Attention, Ditch 20 Years' Irrelevance / Gamble Of Inaction: 5 Answers Will Judge Heat's Quiet Offseason / Cristobal Honeymoon Ends With Thud As Canes Lose To Middle Tennessee / Zero To Perfect: How Glory Days Dolphins Put Miami on National Sports Map / Our 2022 NFL Team Ranking. Wait. Miami Dolphins Are WHERE!? / Why Hill & Waddle Are Dolphins' Best WR Duo Since Clayton/Duper / Serena's Week At U.S. Open One For Ages As Tennis' Queen GOAT Defies Time / Tribute: Community Was One Place Dolphins Won Big -- Because of Jason Jenkins / Watson Punishment Will Go Way Beyond HIs Extended NFL Suspension / Butch Davis On Retiring, His 50-Year Career -- & Canes Twice Almost Bringing Him Back / Miami Raised Mario Cristobal. Payback? Come Home & Make Canes Football Matter Again / Ross NFL Cheating Scandal A New Low For Owner Who Embarrasses Dolphins / 11 NBA Titles Not Where Bill Russell's Legacy Starts. Tribute To An Epic Life / Ranking South Florida's Top 20 Biggest Sports Stars (2022 Edition) / If Miami Marlins Trading For Juan Soto Sounds Laughable -- That's The Problem / Dolphins' Tua: The Disrespected Underdog QB About To Prove Everybody Wrong / How Matthew Tkachuk Brings Needed Swagger, Bravado To Panthers / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley / Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True / 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 / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / 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 2021 writing awards again ranked the blog's author a Top 10 national sports columnist in '22 voting 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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