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The new Hot Button Top 10: Can Dolphins shock the world at Buffalo, NFL playoffs, Heat hot, Cats not, Fish trade Rojas; plus 2-0/2-0 start on our NFL Wild-Card picks, new Greg Cote Show podcast drops Monday & more

GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND

1) It's SUNDAY, JANUARY 15. 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 past week in my regular Tuesday seat. 4) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 5) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Wild-Card Weekend playoff picks, Greg Cote Show podcast (The Verdict), Misery Index ranks all 14 NFL playoff teams on rooting interest, Herald final NFL QB rankings, Mount Gregmore of columns.

PicksNFL WILD-CARD WEEKEND PLAYOFF PICKS: DOLPHINS-BILLS, OTHER GAMES -- AND WE'RE OFF TO 2-0/2-0 START: 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?) Had a perfect 2-0 / 2-0 start on Saturday, calling both San Fran's cover vs. Seattle and the Jaguars' upset of the Chargers. Visit NFL Wild-Card Playoff Gems for all of our latest picks as the NFL postseason begins!

CoteshowGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE DROPS MONDAY!: Our 2nd episode of 2023 and 148th overall is out Monday! 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 latest 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

Nothing Stops The NFL? Damar Hamlin's Near Death Did

Curse Of The Miami Dolphins Is Real & Rearing Its Ugly Head

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.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JANUARY 15-16): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature -- a top-seven mini this week -- 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:

Hb1. DOLPHINS: Wanted: Miami's first playoff win in 22 years. (Please!?): Will the Dolphins' first playoff appearance since 2016 also be the club's first postseason victory since the 2000 season? Nobody thinks it'll happen. Fins at Buffalo today are the biggest underdog of the NFL's Wild-Card Playoffs, injury-wracked and down to rookie third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson again. "Do you believe in miracles?" Maybe? Not really? OK, then we're screwed.

2. NFL: 49ers, Jags first to advance in Wild-Card Playoffs: Started with 14 playoffs teams. Six will be one-and-done in the first round and the six winners will advance to join waiting No. 1 seeds Kansas City and Philadelphia. San Francisco (easily) and Jacksonville (epically) advanced in Saturday's doubleheader -- the Jags erasing a 27-0 deficit and beating the Chargers 31-30. Three more games Sunday (including Dolphins at Bills) and one Monday night set the field for the Divisional Round.

3. HEAT: Miami heating up despite injury plague: Injury-wrought Miami is four games over .500 for the first time all season at 24-20 with Saturday's win making it back-to-back over Giannis-less Milwaukee. Miami was again missing Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry as Heat have lost second-most man-games to injuries in NBA this season. Miami begins three-game roadie Monday in Atlanta. Meantime coach Erik Spoelstra, hearing the Spurs and Warriors were to play to an NBA-record crowd of about 68,000 Friday night, suggested the Heat lay an outdoor game before 100,000. Let's go!

4. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men lose, women on a roll: The No. 12 Canes men are 14-3 (5-2 ACC) after Saturday's overtime league loss at N.C. State. Jim Larranaga's guys host Syracuse Monday. The Miami women are 11-6 (4-2) and receiving poll votes after consecutive wins over No. 22 North Carolina and No. 9 Virginia Tech amid a four-game win streak. Katie Meier's team hosts Wake Forest today/Sunday.

5. PANTHERS: Can Cats get even before the break?: The Matthew Tkachuk trade has worked out well (he's an all-star), and yet Florida is only 20-24 (20-20-4) even with Saturday's 4-3 win over Vancouver as Florida has yet to cobble together even a three-game win streak. Panthers now hit the road again and have eight games left before hosting NHL All-Star Weekend on February 3-4. Result of a fan vote for remaining all-stars will be revealed on Tuesday.

6. MARLINS: Miami deals MIguel Rojas, still adding B-listers in low-watt offseason: Miami added infielder Jean Segura and righthander Johnny Cueto this offseason, and now has traded longtime Marlin and team leader Miguel Rojas to L.A. for Dodgers infield prospect Jacob Amaya. Each is a minor move relative to the huge spending by the Marlins' NL East rivals.

7. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgians celebrate Dawgs with parade: Thousands attended a Georgia Bulldogs championship parade ending at the stadium Saturday to celebrate the 65-7 CFP title-game rout of TCU's Horned Frogs for UG's second straight national championship. Meanwhile Shaquille O'Neal lost a bet to Ernie Johnson over the result had to eat frog's legs -- as if that's an awful thing, and not a delicacy in high-end French cuisine

HB10 cut: Arizona Cardinals request head-coach interview with ex-Dolphins boss Brian Flores ..... Departing Raiders QB Derek Carr wrote a nice thank-you on social media to fans, the vast majority of whom won't miss him much ..... Old rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid meet Sunday in the final match of the Spanish Super Cup ..... California prep phenom Alyssa Thompson went No. 1 overall to Angel City (L.A.) in women's soccer's NWSL Draft ..... In an instance of comically sad, bizarre celebrity, LSU's women's gymnastics team had had to increase security around meets because one of its athletes, Olivia Dunne, is a "Tik-Tok influencer" with 6.7 million followers, some of whom are rabid enough fans to stalk her at events ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast drops a new episode at 7 a.m. ET Monday ..... Update: Countdown now 1,240 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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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: TwitterInstagramFacebookColumnsPodcastPodcast on TwitterPodcast on InstagramLeBatard Show. Book: Fins At 50. Songs: Letting Go (audio only) and The Ballad Of 1440 (with video).

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