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

1) It's SATURDAY, JUNE 18. I was back in with Le Batard Show Monday this week instead of Tuesday, and then again Thursday for a special occasion. 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): Hot Button Top 10, Sports and real life in the age of mass shootings, new Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: ONE-OF-A-KIND NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 26th episode of 2022 and 117th overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 117 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Christopher and Yeti are joined by Jeremy Tache' of the Miami Mic'd Up podcast. It;'s the first GCS podcast without Greg, although he checks in from a haunted bed and breakfast in St. Augustine, Florida. On the menu: What are your pop culture blind spots?; What’s the most upset you’ve been at a restaurant over the service?; and, Is Chris a bad parent fort taking his 4-year-old daughter to see scary “Jurassic Park Dominion” in a theater? Hit up GCS2226 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! 

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Curry's th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Get To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk NEW!

Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie

Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Becuase It Feels Like Goodbye

'Free' speech? Ignorance Cost Del Rio $100,000. But He's Lucky To Still Have A Job

Why Browns' Watson Faces, Deserves Lengthy Suspension From NFL

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss

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ARCHIVES

Thank you!: Was honored to have again been named by Associated Press Sports Editors as 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

Other Heat/Panthers playoff run columns: Legacy Building: Butler Rising Fast Among Heat All-Time Greats / Jimmy Butler Just Saved Heat Season, Gave Us Greatest Gift In Sports: A Game 7 / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Panthers' Magical Season Looking Out of Answers, Almost Out Of Time / Bam! Heat Take Back Control OF Series. Can Panthers Do The Same? / As Heat, Panthers Title Hopes Slip, These 4 Players Must Step up Now / Panthers Suffering Crushing Loss, In 2-0 Hole Heading To Tampa / Panthers Drop Game 1 At Home To Tampa. Time For Huberdeau, Barkov To Step Up / Heat-Celtics, Panthers-Lightning: 3 Keys, Who'll Win & Why in Both Series / Wow! Panthers Close Out Caps in 6 for 1st playoff advance since '96 / Butler And Defense Rise Again As Heat Eliminate 76ers, Reach Eastern Finals / Verhaeghe Lifts Miracle Cats to Comeback Win, 3-2 Lead / Massive Defense, Return of 3's Lift Heat to Game 5 Win, 3-2 Lead / Panthers' Miracle Finish Sends Caps Series Back Home Tied 2-2 / Heat Falls Again, Series Now 2-2 Because Heat Has Forgotten How To Shoot 3's / No. 1 seed Panthers Risk Early Playoff Exit (Again) After 6-1 Loss, 2-1 Hole / Now The Playoffs Have Begun: Embiid Back As Heat Lead Cut To 2-1 / Panthers Remind Why They're Fun & No. 1, Tie Series In 5-1 Rout Of Caps / Bench Lifts Heat to 2-0 Series Lead. Now History Says It's Over / Uh oh. Panthers Collapse Late, Lose Game 1 at Home to Capitals / Herro, Bam lift Heat over 76ers in Game 1 To Launch Huge Week in SoFla Sports

Select other recent columns: ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / 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 / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / 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 / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / 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 / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / '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 / 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 / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / 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? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / 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

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

1) It's MONDAY, APRIL 25. Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's album -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 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): Heat blow Game 3 lead in Atlanta, David Samson (!) joins fight against soccer stadium, Greg Cote Show podcast, latest in Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW WITH START OF FATHER-SON OLYMPICS!: Our 19th episode of 2022 and 110th overall is out now. A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 110 we've done HERE, free. The new episode includes the start of our Father-Son Olympics as get verdicts at the pool table and on the golf course. (Go Greg go!) Also some Heat talk after last  night's Game 4 win gave Miami is big 3-1 series lead. Hit up GCS2219 for full story on the 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).

Thank you!: Was honored to have again been named by Associated Press Sports Editors as national Top 10 columnist for 2021 in '22 judging. The four nominated columns that earned APSE distinction: 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

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Butler, Heat Culture Arise as Miami Seizes 3-1 Series Lead NEW!

History Says Heat Still In Charge, But Blown Game 3 Lead Gives Atlanta Life

Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium

Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener

Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now

Hilltop: The most recent five after that: Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / The Lawsuit, 2 Months Later: Why Flores Has Already Won, And Dolphins Are Still Nervous

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (APRIL 24-25): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature -- back after a week's hiatus -- is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami reasserts itself with Butler-led Game 4 win: Jimmy Butler poured in 36 points as Heat smashed Hawks in Atlanta 110-86 Sunday  night for a commanding 3-1 series lead entering Game 5 back in the 3-0-5 Tuesday night. Kyle Lowry sat out with a hamstring injury but Butler and intensified defense were plenty.

2. PANTHERS: Cats see 13-game win streak finally end: Florida already had clinched the Eastern conference's No. 1 playoff seed and won a surreal 13 games in a row before Sunday's 8-4 home loss to Tamp Bay, tied for the most goals Florida had allowed in a game all season. Cats have three games left in regular season, all away, starting Tuesday in Boston. With NHL Stanley Cup playoffs beginning May 2, Florida is presently on line to face Washington in the first round. 

3. NFL: It's Draft Week, but low-watt -- especially for Dolphins: The three-day NFL Draft starting on Thursday attracts lower interest nationally than usual, including in Miami, where, because of trades such as acquiring Tyreek Hill, the Fins have no selection until late in the third round. It's the first draft since 2002 in which MIA has no first- or second-round pick. Also, no former Hurricanes are coveted, with S Bubba Bolden and WR Charleston Rambo both pegged for around the sixth round. Absence of franchise QBs also hurts this draft, with none pegged a certain first rounder.

4. MARLINS: Fish win Braves series, climb to second in division: Miami is 7-8 and now second in NL East after Sunday's 5-4 win in Atlanta made it two out of three vs. the rival Braves. Miami has had 25 hits in the past two wins. Marlins' six-game road trip continues with three at Washington starting Tuesday.

5. INTER MIAMI: Herons stay hot on pitch. But will they win crucial stadium vote?: Miami is 3-1-4 in MLS play but has won its past thtree straight matches with Sunday's 2-1 home matinee win over Atlanta. (Inter Miami also fit in a 1-nil win over lower-tier Miami FC in U.S. Open Cup play). Overriding it all, though: This Thursday's city of Miami commission vote whether to green-light Miami Freedom Park and the new-stadium initiative.  

6. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men score major transfer in K-State's Pack: Elite Eight bump? Former Kansas State point guard Nije Pack, seen as the No. 1 available player in the transfer portal, committed to Miami and Jim Larranaga. Said Pack: "The way Coach L allows players to play with freedom and get up and down the floor with an NBA-style offense, I feel like I can thrive in his program."

7. MIGUEL CABRERA: Star of worst trade in Marlins history gets 3,000th hit: Detroit's Miguel Cabrera cashed his 3,000th hit Saturday, becoming that club's 33rd member and only the seventh with both 3K hits and 500-plus homers. I n his first five seassons in Miami Miggy got 842 of those hits, or 28 percent. Trading Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis after the 2007 season was epic-awful, with none of the six players gotten in return remotely justifying the deal.

8. AUTO RACING: Upcoming Miami Grand Prix gets legal green flag: Miami's May 8 Formula 1 race is on. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Alan Fine this week ruled against a lawsuit to stop the race brought by Miami Gardens residents who feared hearing loss over the noise. Dear residents: The race lasts a few hours. Shut your windows. Try earplugs. Go to the beach.

9. BOXING: Fury dominates before throng in London: Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavyweight title with a sixth-round TKO of Dillian Whyte on Saturday before 94,000-plus boxinf fans at Wembley Stadium. Fury, 33, has lately been vowing to retire? Anybody believe him? Anybody at all?

10. SOCCER: UEFA Champions League semifinals on deck: It's two Spanish clubs and two English in the Champions League final four. Manchster City faces Real Madrid on Tuesday and Liverpool faces upstart Villarreal Wednesday in first-leg semifinals matches. Villarrea is the only stunner after ousting Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Missing the HB10 cut: No team has yet advanced in the NBA playoffs' first round, but five teams (including Heat) are one win away ..... NFL said it will play three games on Christmas Day this season ..... Wimbledon has banned players from Russian and Belarus from competing this year over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine ..... No. 5-ranked Canes baseball is 31-9 after Sunday's home loss to Pitt ..... Fan Controlled Football season is underway, and nobody cares ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,527 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: NCAA Final Four: Why America Was Rooting Against The Perfect Ending? / 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 / Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him / Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror / Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Chris Cote To Save Sport Of Jai-Alai / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / 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 / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / 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 / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / '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 / 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 / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / '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? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / 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 / 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

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

1) It's MONDAY, DECEMBER 20. Check out last Tuesday's Le Batard Show podcasts for my new Dolphins Christmas song. 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): NFL Week 15 picks, Greg Cote Show podcast, Week 14 results for picks/Lobos/QB ranking.

Note to readers: I'm burning a bunch of unused vacation days throughout December so am 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 NEW 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 every Monday 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 newest 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 informed his humor. Also in the new episode: My Dolphins Christmas song, the Fins' 6th win in a row, 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).

NFL Week 15 picks: For Dolphins-Jets and all the rest: NFL Week 15 Gems.

Dolphins-Jets column: Off Sunday's 31-24 Miami win: Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500.

Our other most recent columns: 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (DECEMBER 19-20): 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 was the week the resurgence of COVID greatly impacted sports, near and wide, to a degree not seen since 2020. Examples are below as leagues scramble to tighten precautions and protocols.

1. DOLPHINS: Fins, hit by COVID, stay hot with 6th win in row: Miami cimbed  to 7-7 and .500 Sunday with the 31-24 comeback win over the rival Jets at Hard Rock. Jaylen Waddle and Jevon Howard had to sit out, but Fins got a hge day from Duke Johnson and six sacks in keeping (slim) playoff hopes alive.

2. HURRICANES: Cristobal scores big on early National Signing Day: New coach Mario Cristobal kept six of eight Manny Diaz recruits and added eight ore on early NSD, including TE Jaleel Skinner (a big flip from Alabama) and DL Nyjalik Kelly from backyard Dillard. UM also scored DL Jacob Lichtenstein from USC via the transfer portal. 

3. PANTHERS: Cats, wracked by virus, have 3 games postponed: Florida is 18-7-4 after three straight losses and has dropped to third place in the East -- a virus-depleted roster largely to blame. Already missing Aleksander Barkov to injury, seven players in COVID protcol caused the NHL to include Florida among a spate of postponements. Three Panthers games scheduled for Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday have bee postponed until after Christmas.

4. NFL: Three Week 15 games delayed by COVID: Teams severely hit by COVID depletions caused three games to be rescheduled: Raiders-Browns from Saturday to Monday, and Washington-Eagfles and Seahawks-Rams from Sunday to Tuesday. It's first time this season the virus has directly impacted the schedule.

5. HEAT: Miami grinding with two top stars sidelined: Miami is 18-13 after Sunday's loss in Detroit, hurt by the continued injury absence of Bam Adebayo, sidelined until January, and Jimmy Butler, who has missed 14 games including six in a row and 10 of the past 11. Stepping up: The likes of Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.

6. NBA: Curry break's Allen's 3-point record: Golden State's Steph Curry is the NBA's new career leader in 3-point field goals made, surpassing Ray Allen's record of 2,973. Allen made 255 of his long buckets with the Maimi Heat in 2012-14, his final two seasons.

7. GOLF: Tiger makes return in event with son: Tiger Woods and 12-year-old son Charlie combined to foinish secod by two shotsto John Daly and son in the PNC Championship in Orlando, a fun event that pairs a major champion with a family member and ended Sunday. It was Tiger's first competition since his major car crash last February. What's next? Stay tuned.

8. BOXING: Paul wins, Gore loses debut on undercard: Jake Paul scored a sixth-round knockout over Tyron Woodley Saturday night in Tampa then began bleating for a UFC invite. Former football star Frank Gore lose his pro boxing debut on the undercard in a four-round split decision to Deron Williams. In round two Gore got shoved thorugh the ropes, an instant meme.

9. INTER MIAMI: Wheelin' and dealin' Beckham and team: Inter Miami announced the 34-match 2022 season, its third in MLS, would begin February 26 and in past week swung three trades, acquiring $1.2 million for M Lewis Morgan, F Ariel Lassiter for $100,000, and M Mo Adams for GK Dylan Castanheira. In the biggest deal of all, club prez Davd Beckham bought a 100-foot yacht for $6.5 million.

10. CANES BASKETBALL: COVID forces UM women to forfeit ACC opener: Hurricanes women are 7-4 after today's/Sunday's game vs. No. 15 Duke was ruled a forfeit because COVID protocols left Miami unable to field a team for its conference opener. UM's men are 8-3 and 1-0 in the ACC.

Missing the HB10 cut: On the bright side, Urban Meyer did last 13 whole games as an NFL coach ...., Welcome becak, Kyrie Irving. Wait. Oh ..... The annual men's basketball Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise Saturday was cut in half when COVID forced Florida State to bow out of its game with UCF. FSU is one of 17 Division 1 men's teams and the only in Florida to see its schedule impacted. The other OBC game went on, and Florida Gators beat South Florida, 66-55 ..... Jackson State coach Deion Sanders, who I refuse to call "Coach Prime," made the biggest splash of early National Signing Day by getting 5-star recruit Travis Hunter to flip from Florida State (Sanders' alma mater) his own school, a triumph for HBCU schools ..... Nine college football bowl games done, only 35 to go! ..... MLB lockout enters its third week and everybody is losing, especially the sport ..... NBA trade window is open. Can the Sixers just trade Ben Simmons already!? ..... Seven players went in NSWL expansion draft, available Megan Rapinoe not among them ..... Max Verstappen won his first Formula One world title ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,653 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11. John Lennon was killed 41 years ago this week. 2) This week also marked the 80th anniversay of Pearl Harbor. A diminishing few aging veterans still with us lived through the attack. Bless them. 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): Hot Button Top10, Dolphins surge to 5th straight win, new Greg Cote Show podcast.

Note to readers: I've burning a bunch of unused vacation days in December so will have fewer columns out over the next few weeks. But will still be producing regular staples such as the weekly NFL picks, the podcast and this blog.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW AND IT'S A QUIRK FEST!: Our 47th episode of 2021 and 89th overall is out now! New pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 89 we've done HERE, free. In our latest episode: Quirk Fest! Listeners called into our show hotline to admit their strangest quirks, and we play the best. And Greg, Chris and Yeti's wives reveal their husbands' weirdest habits. Also, Greg on the Canes/Mario Cristobal drama, surging Dolphins and damned Nick Saban. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Most podcasts were off this past week for the holiday. NOT US!!! Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

OUR NFL WEEK 14 PICKS: GOING FOR 6TH STRAIGHT (!) UPSET OF WEEK BULL'S -EYE: We're on a real heater lately to turn around what has been a tough season. The big upswing continued last week with an 11-3 mark overall and 10-4 against the spread -- our best overall week of the year. That included a fifth straight (!) Upset of the Week bull's-eye with Seattle beating San Fran. Nailed two other outright upsets with Washington over Vegas and New England over Buffalo, and also had two 'dogs-with-points in covers by Lions and Steelers. This week we call four big upsets. Unfortunately we missed on our first one Thursday night when Pittsburgh's rally fell short. For all of our latest picks, visit NFL Week 14 Gems.

Our most recent columns: Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So New Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must and UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut (video below). lso: Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

(*) OUR PICKS: BIG WEEK AS OUR SURGE CONTINUES!: Tough season so far but a big upswing lately, including last week's 11-3 mark overall and 10-4 against the spread -- probably our best overall week of the year. That included a fifth straight (!) Upset of the Week bull's-eye with Seattle beating San Fran. Nailed two other outright upsets with Washington over Vegas and New England over Buffalo, and also had two 'dogs-with-points in covers by Lions and Steelers. 

(*) GREG'S LOBOS: LATE SWOON BUT STILL IN GOOD SHAPE: Lost a second straight heartbreaker, 112-110 (to my brother), but we're still 9-4 and in second place. Need a win in our regular-season finale to clinch a first round playoff bye in PFPI Fantasy,our 10-team friends 'n family league.

(*) HERALD NFL QB RANKINGS: YEAR OF THE G.O.A.T?: Tampa Bay's Tom Brady wins Week 13 and grows his overall season lead in the Miami Herald's updated rankings. Details and the latest expanded Top 25: NFL Week 13 QB Rankings.

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

1) It's MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. Twenty years ago this past weekend, the world changed, and an attacked America stood strong. NEVER FORGET! 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): NFL Week 1 picks, Tua's heavy lifting starts now, 9/11 remembered, Our Orlando vacation, Greg Cote Show podcast & more.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: FINS-PATS, SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR GREG IN NEW EPISODE OUT MONDAY!: Our 35th episode of 2021 and 77th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 77 we've done HERE, for free. In our new episode: A cavalcade of stars from Le Batard Show, ESPN and elsewhere, including special surprises, drop by the podcast to wish Greg a happy birthday. Also, Greg and the guys discuss Dolphins win at Patriots, NFL Week 1 and the Canes two weeks in. 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 on Channel 145).

My Dolphins column from Foxborough: In my column on Miami's 17-16 win at New England, I discuss the problem with the Fins offense as a secondary topic. Mostly I focus on how fitting it ewsas that the player who spent the offsesaon seeking more monbey and respect proved in the opner why he deserved both. For the full column, visit Xavien Howard Deserved the Money and Respect He Wanted -- This Was Why.

NFL Week 1 picks: The Upset Bird and I are back for (hard to believe) our 31st season of NFL picks in the Miami Herald. It's debut week! Visit NFL Week 1 Gems for our pick for Dolphins-Patriots, our Game of the Week, Upset of the Week and all the rest. We peg three big upsets out the gate. Is a Fins win one of them? Got off to a mixed start Thursday night. Had Patriots beating Dallas and covering 8 points. They won but failed to cover.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 12-13): 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. This week's HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Year 2ua launches with big win at New England -- thanks to D: Hopes were high, coming off a 10-6 season, that Year 2 of the Tua Tagovailoa era and Year 3 for coach Brian Flores would see Miami a playoff team on the crest of sustained winning. Well, a good start: 17-16 over Pats, thanks to Xavien Howard's big play late, and first place in AFC East.   

2. HURRICANES: UM narrowly escapes App State: Losing the opener to No. 1 Alabama was excusable (although the 44-13 final was a bit much). But losing Saturday's night's home opener to Appalachian State would have had Canes fans marching with torches and pitchforks and after the head of coach Manny Diaz. Exhale. Calamity avoided. Or at least delayed. Barely. Down from 14th to 22nd in The AP poll, UM stemmed the bleeding (sort of) by surviving Appalachian State 25-23 at home. 

3. MARLINS: Jeter inducted in Cooperstown as season wanes: Marlins president Derek Jeter, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this week after being voted in on 396 of 397 ballots, thanked writers -- "All but one of you," he said, smiling, of the still-anonymous cretin who denied him 100 percent. Alas, Jeter's Marlins are a disappointing 60-83 in midst of a six-game homestand.

4. HEAT: Bosh inducted into Hall of Fame: Chris Bosh took his place Saturday in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. He's the eighth inductee with Miami Heat ties (Pat Riley and Alonzo Mourning at the forefront), and the first since Ray Allen 2018.

5. DON SHULA: Dolphins announce 'Celebration of Life': The Dolphins announced an event to celebrate the ife of legendary coach Don Shula would take place at  at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 2 at Hard Rock Stadium -- the first public ceremony honoring Shula since his passing on May 4, 2020. Registration is open at https://www.miamidolphins.com/don-shula/. The event will be the day before the Dolphins Alumni Weekend game vs. Indianapolis.

6. TENNIS: U.S. Open's unexpected championship weekend: Sunday's men's final? Unexpected: Top-seed Novak Djokovic falling to to second-seed Danii Medvedev. Saturday's women's final? Really unexpected: Emma Raducanu defeating Leylah Fernandez in a thoroughly and refreshingly unexpected duel of little-known, unseeded teenagers. Raducanu, an 18-year-old Brit, became the youngest Grand Slam champion in 17 years and the first player in the pro era to make a major final after playing her way in through qualifying rounds.

7. INTER MIAMI: Hot Herons win again, close in on MLS playoffs: Inter Miami is 8-9-5 but on a 6-1-3 hot streak and now only two points off playoff pace with 10 games left after Saturday night's 1-nil home win over Columbus Crew on a Higuain tally.

8. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Gators angling to crash top 10: The Week 2 Saturday slate (besides Appalachian State at Miami) found No. 13 Florida winning 42-20 at South Florida atop the state FBS marquee. The rest: Jacksonville State stunning FSU at Doak, FIU denied a 2-0 start in home loss to Texas State, FAU routing Georgia Southern, and UCF routing Bethune-Cookman.

9. COLLEGE FOOTBALL (NON-STATE): Early shakeup as No. 3 Ohio State loses: Only two Top 25 duels for Week 2 but both worth a watch as No. 3 Ohio State hosted and lost to No. 12 Oregon, 35-28 -- one week after No. 3 Clemson also lost. And one entire state took Saturday off as 10-Iowa visited and defeated 9-Iowa State.  

10. BOXING : Old boxers and Trump -- Oh God no!: Evander Holyfield, 58 (!), looked his age Saturday night at Hard Rock in a first round TKO loss to former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in what was to be eight two-minute rounds atop a four-fight card. Fight was moved to Miami after California wouldn't sanction it (with reason, apparently). Adding to the spectacle, former President Donald Trump was a ringside commentator. Can't make this s--- up, folks.

Missing the HB10 cut: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice Saturday in in his return to Manchester United in a 4-1 Premier League win over Newcastle United ..... College football's upheaval continues as BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Orlando's UCF accepted invitations to join the decimated but rallying Big 12 conference ..... Miami politicians announced plans to build an 820,000-square foot indoor multi-sports complex called Destination Sport Miami on a 20-acre site just west of the Turnpike and Dolphin Mall ..... U.S. men's national team sits solid with a win and two draws in Word Cup qualifying entering its next match October 7 vs. Jamaica ..... The 43rd Ryder Cup begins September 24 in Wisconsin, and captain Steve Stricker completed the 12-man U.S. team with a blend of experience and youth including six Ryder Cup rookies ..... Denny Hamlin won the first event in the 10-race NASCAR playoffs that continued Saturday at Richmond ..... The Heat announced the retirement of veteran broadcaster Mike Inglis, the team’s radio play-by-play voice for 23 seasons. He'll be replaced by Jason Jackson ..... Florida Panthers announced they have offered NIL (name-image-likeness) contracts to over 200 female athletes at FAU. Each athlete is invited to attend Panthers games and get a free t-shirt (!) ..... Less ridiculous, the Panthers' four-day developmental camp runs through Tuesday in Coral Springs ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,751 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

Other most recent columns: Canes Can Shock the World and Beat Alabama. Here's How [Update: Oops!] / Belichick Must Be Smiling As Dolphins Deal With Rumors And Tua With Doubt / and Fins' Faith In Tua Will Be A Lie If They Sell Soul, Spend Big For Watson. Also: There Is Only One Way an ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 Alliance Can Out-SEC the SEC / Time to Finally Start Believing in Tua, Flores and Miami Dolphins / 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 / Dolphins' 'Big Picture' Begins To Emerge With Unveiling Of Year 2ua / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / and What Lionel Messi's Sudden, Stunning Move Means For Inter Miami

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

1) It's MONDAY, AUGUST 23. Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. And follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Dolphins and Canes should require fan's proof of vaccination to attend home games, Ode to Udonis Haslem as he re-ups for 19th Heat season, Greg Cote Show podcast & more.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW 'FANTASY FOOTBALL PREPISODE' OUT NOW!: Our 33rd episode of 2021 and 75th 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. You can find all 75 we've done HERE, for free. In our new episode: Hear fantasy football expert Sia Nejad (CBS Sports, Sirius XM, Win Daily Sports show) share tips to help you dominate your draft and league. (Can he save Greg's Lobos?) Greg shares detailed update on his holdout from the Le Batard Show. Pet peeves at the roulette table. And two new songs! 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 on Channel 145).

WHY IT'S TIME TO GO ALL-IN, FINALLY START BELIEVING IN TUA, FLORES AND MIAMI DOLPHINS: Faith can be a tricky thing. Sometimes it takes a leap to get there. Whether it’s falling in love, going all-in on a bet or trusting that this is finally the year for your team, you have to believe in something. Your heart. Your gut. Just a wisp of a feeling. Something. It gets complicated when, for example, your football team has mostly let you down for the past 20 years or so. When your franchise’s best days are your father’s memories, not yours. That is when optimism gets calloused, replaced by cynicism. When the easiest thing to trust is that your team will let you down again. What I am about to say, in this context, comes from both the innately skeptical veteran journalist and from the young boy who attended that first ever home game with his Dad in the Orange Bowl in 1966 — because those two are the same. It is time to start believing in the Miami Dolphins again. Believing that last year’s 10-win season was not a mirage. Believing that Brian Flores is just the right coach. Believing that Tua Tagovailaoa’s doubters are falling away, one by one. Believing that a corner has (finally!) been turned. For our full latest column, visit Time to Finally Start Believing in Tua, Flores and Miami Dolphins.

Other most recent columns: Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated and An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season. Also: Dolphins' 'Big Picture' Begins To Emerge With Unveiling Of Year 2 Tua / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / and What Lionel Messi's Sudden, Stunning Move Means For Inter Miami.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (AUGUST 22-23): 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. This week's HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Tua, Fins sail in big fake-game home: Miami squared its preseason record at 1-1 with a 37-17 rout of Atlanta in its only home exhibition Saturday night. Tua Tagovailoa completed 16 of 23 passes for 183 yards and a TD and LB Sam Eguavoan had four sacks (one for a safety) to lead the domination of the Falcons' reserves. Fins wrap up preseason next Sunday at Cincinnati.

3. INTER MIAMI: Hot Herons win fourth straight at home: Rodolfo Pizarro scored twice and Robbie Robinson once as Inter Miami handled visiting Toronto 3-1 Saturday night. It was the fourth straight home win for Miami, now 6-9-4 overall but 4-1-2 in its past seven matches. Herons have climbed within five points of playoff pace with 14 games left.

3. MARLINS: Stinkin' Fish lose seventh straight game: Marlins are 51-74 (12-24 since the break), last in the NL East and have dropped seven straight after being swept in Cincy. Miami now returns for a six-game homestand vs. Nationals and Reds.

4. HEAT: Miami reveals season schedule as bookies set win totals: Heat announced its 2021-22 season schedule will begin with six preseason games starting October 4. Miami will make 22 national TV appearances, with five each on ESPN and TNT and 12 on NBA TV. Heat will tip-off its 34th regular season at home vs. reigning NBA champion Milwaukee on October 21. Caesars Sportsbook's win-total over/unders put Brooklyn on top at 54 1/2, with Heat tied for eighth of 30 teams at 47 1/2. Heat prospects finished 4-3 in Summer League play, 2-0 in Sacramento and 2-3 in Las Vegas.

5. SOCCER: Messi's PSG debut expected next Sunday: Seven more days. Can you wait? Lionel Messi's debut with new French club Paris Saint-Germain is now expected to be next Sunday August 29 in a league match on the road at Reims prior to the international break.

6. BRYAN PATA: Finally a charge in 2006 Pata murder: A former teammate was arrested this week in the 2006 murder of Miami Hurricanes football player Bryan Pata. A longtime suspect, Rashaun Travon Jones, now 35, was charged with first-degree murder. The modern-day, No. 14-ranked Canes, after a closed scrimmage Saturday, open the season in 13 days vs. No. 1 Alabama in Atlanta. "I'm super confident," QB D'Eriq King told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

7. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Three big leagues including ACC talking 'alliance': First it was Texas and Oklahoma announcing intentions to leave the Big 12 and move to the SEC. Now, the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 conferences have begun exploring options for an ill-defined  counter move of some sort. The three league have formed an "alliance committee" including athletic directors from each league and the three commissioners. 

8. PANTHERS: Cats set roster for developmental events: Panthers announced a 24-man roster for their September 10-14 development camp in Coral Springs and the September 18-21 Tampa Bay Lightning-hosted Prospect Showcase Tournament in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Roster includes three former first-round picks in Anton Lundell (12th overall in 2020), Spencer Knight (13th, 2019) and Grigori Denisenko (15th, 2018).

9. BOXING: End for Pacquiao after upset loss?: Manny Pacquiao lost decisively to Yordenis Ugas in Vegas Saturday night, leaving fans to wonder if the great Pacquiao, nearing 43, had fought his last fight.

10. TENNIS: Major hits to U.S. Open men's side: Rafael Nadal joined Roger Federer in withdrawing from the U.S. Open, the season's final Grand Slam event that starts August 30 in New York.  That means the men's side will be missing five players who have won the event in 12 of the past 17 years.

Missing the HB10 cut: Miguel Cabrera hits 500th home run! (Nice trade, Marlins) ..... The annual Little League World Series is on in Williamsport, Pa., with 16 teams in two divisions hoping to reach the championship game next Sunday. One Florida team, Palm City in Martin County just north of Palm Beach, is competing ..... Former Heat star Ray Allen is the new boys basketball coach at Miami's Gulliver Prep high school ..... Oregon and Oregon State became the first Power 5 schools to announce they will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for fans over age 12 to attend football games. The NFL's Saints and Raiders previously did the same ..... A 2-year-old filly named Bold And Bossy escaped before a race in Henderson, Ky. Saturday and ran onto a highway alongside cars before being apprehended ..... Electrifying MLB: Shohei Ohtani ..... Embarrassing MLB: Trevor Bauer ..... Getting close: Chris Bosh's Hall of Fame induction is September 11 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,772 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's MONDAY, JUNE 7. Le Batard Show 24-hour marathon broadcast was noon Friday through noon Saturday. Check it out on the Le Batard And Friends YouTube channel -- including the live Greg Cote Show podcast hour from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m! 2) Check out yesterday's Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz podcasts for way too much of me. 3) Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast on Twitter and Instagram. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Pirate Ship sails with 24-hour Le Batard Show broadcast, Osaka withdrawal shakes up French Open, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: BELLY BUTTON DOCTOR, PSYCHIC JOIN NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 22nd episode of 2021 and 64th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 64 we've done so far HERE for free. Our new episode features an extremely tired, sleep-deprived Greg broadcasting live at 4 am. A doctor is on to examine Greg's belly button abnormality. Also, a psychic drops by, and the Fancy Lad reveals a bizarre pre-sleep ritual. Plus: Welcome to Miami, Messi! Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

Behind the scenes inside Le Batard Show's 24-Hour marathon. New column: Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph. Other most recent columns: The Pirate Ship Sails! Details, Guests For Le Batard Show's 24-Hour Relaunch and The Curious, Complicated Drama Of Naomi Osaka's French Open Withdrawal.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 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. This week's HB10:

3. HEAT/NBA: Riley backs core; Clips top Mavs Game 7: Heat president Pat Riley in his season-ending presser reiterated his faith in Miami's Butler-Adebayo-Herro core despite being swept out of first round by Milwaukee. Meanwhile the NBA playoffs still going on got its first Game 7 Sunday as Kawhi Leonard's Cliippers topped Luka Doncic's Mavericks to complete the conference semifinal matchups. Dear Pat: When the Clips are out, get to work on Kawhi Leonard. Jimmy, Bam and Tyler are fine. But you need a whale.

4. TENNIS: With French Open path cleared, Serena loses in straight sets: At the French Open's midpoint the path seemed cleared for Serena Williams to perhaps bag her long-elusive, record-tying 24th major win, with Naomi Osaka's controversial withdrawal and Ash Barty's early exit. But Serena fell 6-3, 7-5 Sunday to Elena Rybakina. On the men's side Rafael Nadal is the favorite for the 64th straight year, more so with Roger Federer's Sunday injury withdrawal.

5. MARLINS: Finally! 8-game losing streak ends: Miami is 25-33 and out of the NL East cellar after Sunday's 3-1 win in Pittsburgh behind Sandy Alcantara's strong start ended an eight-game losing streak, the club's longest in six years. Miami had been 0-7 on this road trip (emphasis on trip) before Sunday. Fish are at Boston today before heading home.

6. DOLPHINS: Fins wrap OTAs, Marino's bold statement: fMiami ends OTA workdays with practices Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays prior to the mandatory minicamp June 15-17. Meanwhile Dan Marino said he doesn't want Bill Belichick to break Don Shula's career wins record. Hmm. If you hear something and your reaction is, "Well no DUH!" ... is it really news?

7. DAN LE BATARD: Show pulls off 24-hour Miami marathon: The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz aired 24 consecutive hours Friday and Saturday in a stunt to mark its new era with Meadowlark Media and DraftKings. I was a small part of it. Why aren't I asleep right now?

8. SOCCER: U.S. tops Mexico in renewal of rivalry: Bitter rivals United States and Mexico renewed their men's soccer feud Sunday night in the CONCACAF Nations League championship match in Denver. El Tri had been 3-0-1 vs. the U.S. since the Americans last prevailed in a competitive match in a World Cup qualifier in September 2013 -- but that changed with Sunday night's 3-2 U.S. win. Match was paused due to Mexican fan's boorish anti-gay chants.

9. CANES BASEBALL: UM disappoints (again) in NCAA Regional: Miami's season is done at 33-21. After bombing in the ACC Tournament with two straight losses the Canes went 1-2 and were eliminated Sunday from the NCAA Regional in Gainesville in a 7-2 loss to South Alabama. Canes were vying for an unlikely spot in the June 18-30 College World Series.

10. HORSE RACING: Essential Quality wins Belmont Stakes: Betting favorite Essential Quality comfortably won Saturday's Belmont Stakes, the third of the season's Triple Crown races. The horse may also be awarded the Kentucky Derby crown if Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit is disqualified. The disgraced Baffert is banned two years from Churchill Downs for cheating.

Missing the HB10 cut: Falcons trade WR Julio Jones to Titans for second- and fourth-round picks ..... Duke's Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski, is retiring after next basketball season. Sorry your retirement got overshadowed, Celtics prez Danny Ainge ..... Coral Springs' Lexi Thompson leads entering Sunday's final round in search of her first Women's U.S. Open championship in golf ..... Three men who helped the Hurricanes win their fifth national football championship -- QB Ken Dorsey, tackle Bryant McKinnie and and coach Larry Coker -- are among 85 FBS-level players and coaches on the 2022 College Hall of Fame ballot ..... Florida GM Bill Zito in his postseason media Zoom called the season a success and saw positives moving forward despite his team's first-round ouster by Tampa Bay. Lightning, up 3-1 on Carolina, is closest to advancing in Stanley Cup playoff's second round ..... The spring football USFL is re-launching in 2022, 37 years after folding. The new USFL will play with at least eight unnamed teams. Another spring league, the XFL, has been targeting a 2022 restart. Counting on both folding within two years ..... Good for MLB with its inaugural Lou Gehrig Day in the fight against ALS disease ..... In a blow to transgender rights, after months of contentious debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning transgender females from participating in women’s and girls’ scholastic sports ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode dropping Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,849 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 29. Thanks to the Paul Castronovo Show for having us on this morning to talk Dolphins and Schnellenberger. 2) The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat and Riley steal Oladipo at trade deadline, Beckham keeps name-dropping Messi and Ronaldo for Inter Miami, Deshaun Watson's escalating off-field mess, Greg Cote Show podcast with Pablo Torre & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 13th podcast of 2021 (55th overall) is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 55 we've done so far HERE for free. In our latest Ep13 we offer a tribute to the late great Howard Schnellenberger and welcome in two special guests. Meet Mike Jack (pictured), who just a Guinness World Record for eating the hottest pepper ever grown. And Jeremy Tache' of Bally (nee Fox) Sports Florida is on to discuss Heat, Marlins and Schitt's Creek. Greg and Chris also chew over Dolphins' big draft trades. And hear the return of Mount Gregmore! Thanks as always, pod family, for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! (And remember: Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER, 1934-2021: MY TRIBUTE COLUMN: Like grown children do with aging parents, sports fans know the day is coming for beloved old coaches who have faded from sidelines and headlines but never from our hearts. We have so long to prepare for the day, so many years, yet somehow we always feel unprepared when the news hits. Howard Schnellenberger -- father of the Miami Hurricanes football dynasty but with an impact so much greater -- passed away early Saturday. He had turned 87 two weeks earlier. We forgive hyperbole in eulogies, but sometimes what might seem like a statement too big is just right: “Without him there is no Miami football,” the Hurricanes program tweeted simply. For my full tribute column, visit In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time.

Riley's magic, Beckham's optimism, Watson's mess. Our three othre most recent columns: No Lowry, But Stealing Oladipo, Keeping Herro a Win-Win For Heat, Riley / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / and Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? Other most recent columns: No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / and Why Men's NCAA Tournament Has Needed Fresh Feel As We Welome Back March Madness.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 28-29): 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. This week's HB10:

1. HEAT: Slump deepens, but Miami, Riley win big at draft deadline: Bad news? Heat has lost a season-high six straight games and fallen below .500 (22-24) and tumbled from fourth place to eighth in the East after Friday's loss at Charlotte. Good news? Miami and Pat Riley killed it on NBA trade deadline day. Couldn't pry Kyle Lowry from Toronto, but acquired 20-point scorer Victor Oladipo and forward Nemanja Bjelica without having to part with valued pieces like Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson. No Lowry? No problem! Miami is back in play Monday at Knicks.

2. DOLPHINS: Miami trades down in first round, gets draft windfall in return: The Fins on Friday shook up the NFL draft's April 29 first round by trading down from the No. 3 overall pick. Miami in return got San Francisco's No. 12 overall pick, its third rounder this year and two future first-round picks -- one in 2022 and one in 23. Then, Miami got the No. 6 overall pick this year and a '21 fifth-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for the '21 12th overall pick, a '21 fourth-round pick and a '22 first-round pick. Got all that? Bottom line: By moving down third to sixth in this year's first round, Fins gained a 3rd-round pick in '21 and a first-rounder in '23. Smart.

3. MARLINS: It's Opening Week for Miami's 29th MLB season!: Marlins open the regular season with a six-game homestand vs. Tampa Bay and St. Louis starting this Thursday vs. the Rays, with Sandy Alcantara on the mound for Miami. Low expectations for Fish in tough NL East, based on betting numbers, though Miami snapped a 17-year playoff drought last year. Season comes after a successful spring that saw Fish finish atop the Grapefruit League standings at 14-5 (not counting five ties) after Sunday's closing win.

4. HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER: R.I.P. to Canes' first champion football coach: Howard Schnellenberger passed away Saturday at age 87. His leading the Miami Hurricanes' 1983 national championship touched off a dynasty that would lead to four titles more over the next 18 seasons. He later built FAU's program from scratch.  A true South Florida sports legend. R.I.P. 

5. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: March Madness' Sweet 16 turns to Elite Eight: The original 68 teams in the men's NCAA Tournament are down to the surviving Elite Eight after weekend results. Saturday, No. 1 Baylor advanced along with Houston, Arkansas and Oregon State. (Notably eliminated: Cinderella-designate Oral Roberts and Sister Jean's Loyola). Sunday, No. 1s Gonzaga and Michigan moved on along with USC and, in an upset, UCLA. Elite Eight games are tonight and Tuesday.

6. BOXING: Tyson-Holyfield III set for Miami in May ... or is it?: The third and last fight in the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson trilogy is set for May 29 at a socially distanced Hard Rock Stadium. But only if it ends up happening. It seemed set. Then Holyfield's camp announced Tyson had rejected the $25 million guarantee. Then, a day after Tyson proclaimed the fight was on, his reps told TMZ the boxer misspoke and wasn't aware how far apart the two sides are in negotiations. So stay tuned. Quick aside: Tyson is 54 and Holyfield 58. Tick tock, fellas!

7. HURRICANES: Spring football practice breaks for UM's NFL Pro Day: Midway through its 15 spring practices, UM pauses on Monday to welcome in scouts for its annual Pro Day in advance of the NFL Draft. Two ex-Cnes -- defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau -- are seen as certain first-rounders, though likely mid-round. Spring practice concludes April 17.

8. PANTHERS: Ekblad injured in Florida win: Florida is 22-9-4, third in NHL Central and only two points off the lead after a pair of wins in Dallas. Sunday's was was costly, though, as defenseman Aaron Ekblad left the ice on a stretcher with a serious left leg injury that will keep him out "an extensive time," said coach Joel Quenneville. Ekblad is a Norris Trophy finalist for NHL defenseman of the year award.

9. TENNIS: What's left of Miami Open reaches midpoint: Rocked by major late withdrawals including Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokvic and Rafael Nadal and with its prize fund gutted, the remains of the Miami Open -- back with limited crowds after being erased by the pandemic last spring -- reached its midway point this weekend outside Hard Rock Stadium.

10. HORSE RACING: Known Agenda wins Florida Derby: Todd Pletcher-trained Known Agenda won Saturday's Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, a major prep race for Triple Crown season. Win qualified the horse for the Kentucky Derby. Known Agenda's owner? Vinnie Viola, who also owns the Florida Panthers.

Missing the HB10 cut: U.S. men's soccer failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after Sunday's 2-1 loss to Honduras in Guadalajara, Mexico. It's the U.S. men's third straight missed Olympics ..... Year 2 for David Beckham's Inter Miami opened with a practice game vs. the USL Tampa Bay Rowdies Sunday, a 1-0 loss in St. Pete. After five friendlies will come the MLS regular season opener April 18. Meantime Beckham keeps name-dropping Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as among stars who could end their careers with Miami. We'll hold you to that, Becks! ..... Attrition clobbers Canes hoops. UM men's season ended at 10-17, worst in 27 years, and the hits keep coming. Guard Chris Lykes announced he's turning pro as expected, although at 5-7 it's unlikely he'll draw NBA Draft attention. Now leading scorer Isaiah Wong also is pondering an early departure, and shooting guard Kameron McGusty also is gauging NBA interest. Oh, and two others, Elijah Olaniyi and Earl Timberlake, have entered the transfer portal. Tough times for Jim Larranaga ..... Yeah, innocent until proven guilty. OK. But 16 civil suits against Deshaun Watson for sexual impropriety or assault? At what point might teams negotiating a trade with Houston have second thoughts? ..... Francis Ngannou KO'd Stip Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title Saturday ..... A Miami Heat arena name change is at hand. It's going from AmericanAirlines Arena to FTX Arena, after a cryptocurrency exchange. Will players now be paid in Bitcoin? ..... No. 19 Canes baseball is 11-8 entering Sunday's series rubber game at Virginia ..... Upcoming: UEFA Champions League first-leg quarterfinal matches are next week on April 6; The Masters at Augusta is April 8-11; Tampa hosts WrestleMania 37 on April 10-11; and the Kentucky Derby is in one month, on May 1 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's 13th episode of 2021 and 55th overall drops Monday morning. Now Mondays 5-6 p.m. on Sirius XM Channel 145, too! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,919 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 15. The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): On 1-year anniversary of sports' COVID shutdown, Heat's anti-Semitic mess, David Beckham's resolve tested by turmoil, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 3) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 11th podcast of 2021 (53rd overall) is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 53 we've done so far HERE for free. In our new  Ep11 we welcome in ESPN star Sarah Spain for a fun chat about her new part-ownership in the Chicago Red Stars women's pro soccer team, Chicagio's Secret Door, dinner with Charles Barkley, her future and more. Also on the menu: A-Rod and J-Lo, March Madness, Marlins Park drones, a Mount Gregmore cameo by Patrick Ewing and more. Thanks as always, pod family, for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! (Also, our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

Our three most recent columns: Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Heat Should Parts Ways With Meyers Leonard Over Anti-Semitic Slur / and Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season.

Other most recent columns: Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Quit Lecturing LeBron On Activism And His Own Conscience / Dolphins' Tua-or-Deshaun QB Choice Strewn with Complications and What-Ifs / Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 14-15): 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. This week's HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami stays hot despite recent Leonard off-court mess: Heat is on a 10-1 run, 21-18 overall and alone in fourth place in the East after Sunday's win in Orlando led by en fuego Jimmy Butler. That despite the Meyers Leonard mess. The injured center used an anti-Semitic slur in a video-game livestream last week, was put on indefinite leave by the Heat and fined $50,000 and suspended by the NBA. Miami is back in play Tuesday vs. Cleveland.

2. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Gonzaga (no duh) tops Selection Sunday for NCAA Tournament: March Madness is back! (Sort of). After last year's was canceled by COVID-19, the NCAA Tournament returns this week, albeit with limited crowds and all games played in and around Indianapolis. It was Selection Sunday for the men's tourney, with Gonzaga the overall No. 1 as expected and Baylor, Illinois and Michogan other top seeds. Women's field gets set today.

3. COVID-19: Sports reflects on sad anniversary: March 11 marked the official one-year anniversary of when the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic as sports shut down en masse on March 11-12. It was the least happy anniversary on record, although a torrent of vaccine availability lends hope for better days on road to normalcy.

4. DOLPHINS/NFL: Will Fins be players/spenders as NFL free agency begins?: Oh if I had  dime for every speculative media dart being thrown about what Miami will do as free agency begins this Wednesday. Best possibilities: Veteran QB to back up Tua, with Ryan Fitzatrick expected to sign elsewhere. An upgrade at running back. A quality receiver like Kenny Golladay or Juju Schuster-Smith. And an LB/pass rusher -- especially with productive Kyle Van Noy unwisely released. Lavonte David, perhaps? FA decisions will shape the coming draft as well.

5. PANTHERS: Yes, the Cats are Stanley Cup contenders: Florida is 18-5-4 after three straight wins including 4-2 Saturday vs. Chicago. Cats host Blackhawks again Monday. The Panthers are ranked No. 5 in the NHL in ESPN's latest power rankings. The bad news? Central Division rivals Carolina and Tampa Bay are ranked 1-2.

6. CHRIS BOSH: Popular ex-Heat star a Hall of Fame finalist: No surprise, but two-time Heat champion Chris Bosh is one of 14 new finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Notable other first-time finalists include Paul Pierce and (as a coach) Bill Russell. The five back for another try include former Heat star Tim Hardaway. Inductees for 2021 will be announced May 16.

7. HURRICANES: QB King recovering nicely as Canes open spring football: UM's first of 15 spring football practices is today/Monday. Quarterback D'Eriq King will miss spring work as he recovers from an ACL knee injury in the December bowl game, but coach Manny Diaz says King is "smashing every benchmark" in his rehab and should be ready for fall camp and the September 4 season opener vs. reigning national champion Alabama in Atlanta.

8. MARLINS: Winning and tying and drones at midpoint of spring: Miami is second in Grapefruit League standings at 5-2 (not counting five tie games including four straight at one point) at midpoint of spring training. Marlins resume play Monday at Astros. Meantime club announced it would use drones (!) to disinfect Marlins Park this season.

9. GOLF: It's Honda Classic Week in Palm Beach: South Florida's only PGA Tour event returns to Palm Beach Gardens this week with the Honda Classic this Thursday through next Sunday. Tiger Woods' recent serious car accident that badly injured his right leg remains the talk of golf. Woods had not entered to play the Honda prior to his accident.

10. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men show life in ACCs, but much too late: Miami's men had a nice 2-1 run in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., beating Pitt and impressively upsetting Clemson before losing narrowly to Georgia Tech. Still, UM's 10-17 final record marked its worst season in 27 years. Miami's women ended 11-11 after a one-and-done in the ACCs.

Missing the HB10 cut: R.I.P., "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler, gone unexpectedly at 66. Hagler was a great middleweight in a golden age of boxing in the'80s ..... UEFA Champions League will advance four more to the final eight Tuesday and Wednesday, with advantages in leg 2 held by Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Advancing previously: Liverpool, Paris-Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund and upstart FC Porto ..... Inter Miami's first preseason match ahead of the April start of MLS Year 2 is this coming Saturday March 20 vs. local USL club Miami FC ..... No. 8-ranked UM baseball is 7-4 off four straight wins after a two-game home sweep of Wake Forest ..... Miami and Hard Rock will be one of the 10 or 12 U.S. sites chosen to host 2026 World Cup matches. Let's please quit pretending there is any doubt whatsoever ..... Miami Open tennis outside Hard Rock Stadium begins a week from Monday, running March 22-April 4. Top-ranked players across the WTA and ATP tours will be here. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal top men's field and Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka the women. Eyes will also swivel to fan favorites Roger Federer and Serena Williams ..... New Zealand vs. Italy final continues in America's Cup sailing ..... Blake Griffin signing with Nets reminds us the NBA trade deadline is nearing at March 25 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's 11th episode of 2021 and 53rd overall drops Monday morning. Now on Sirius XM Channel 145, too! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,933 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 1. Welcome, March, month of spring, and St. Patrick's Day! ) The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Feels like fresh new era as NASCAR visits Homestead, Tiger Woods lucky to be alive, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

NASCAR/Homestead, Tiger Woods, other most recent columns: Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead This Week and Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive. Also: These Two Questions Will Determine Dolphins' Path On Watson Vs. Tua / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / Marlins Stick With Youth Blueprint As Rest Of NL East Spends Big / Oh Say Can You See No Anthem At Games? We Weigh In / Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / and Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW 1ST ANNIVERSARY EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our Miami Herald podcast debuted last March and our 1st Anniversary episode -- ninth of 2021 and 51st overall -- is out now! A new pod drops every Monday morning on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 51 we've done so far HERE for free. In our latest Ep9 of '21, we welcome in two special guests. Dr. Daniel B. Chan, an orthopedic trauma surgeon for Memorial Healthcare System, details Tiger Woods' injuries and what's ahead in his recovery -- and explains why what Woods suffered may be even worse than the injury to NFL quarterback Alex Smith. Also, ESPN NFL analyst Mike Tannenbaum joins us to predict how the whole Tua-or-Deshaun Watson drama will play out for the Dolphins. Also on the menu: Greg and Chris discuss the raging new Mr. Potato Head controversy; a smidgen of NASCAR talk (involving Michael Jordan and Pitbull); a debate over the move to make Kobe Bryant the new silhouette in the NBA logo; and a new Mount Gregmore marking the pod’s 1st anniversary with the greatest events or birthdays associated with March 2. Thanks as always for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review!

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 1): 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. This week's HB10:

1. GOLF: Tiger Woods suffers serious leg injuries in major car wreck: Thirteen months after a helicopter crash killed Kobe Bryant, sports nearly lost another all-time great tragically this week when Tiger Woods' SUV careened several hundred feet down a Los Angeles hillside, flipping multiple times. Woods, 45, suffered serious leg injures that will require many, many months of rehab and further delay if not imperil his career. But he survived. He's alive.

2. NASCAR: Byron wins main race at Homestead-Miami Speedway: Little-known William Byron won comfortably Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series' Dixie Vodka 400, only the second main-series victory of his career. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa served as grand marshal, with a pandemic-limited crowd of some 10,000 attending. Austin Cindric won Saturday's Xfinity Series undercard race. 

3. HEAT: No all-star picks, but hot Miami bouncing back big in standings: Neither Bam Adebayo (who should have made it) or Jimmy Butler (who was borderline) were picked as reserves for the March 7 NBA All-Star Game. But offsetting the snub, Heat have won six straight to climb to 17-17. They're back on playoff pace and only a half-game from fourth place in East with two games left before the ASG break.

4. PANTHERS: Pinch me. Are the Cats, like, really this good!?: Florida is 13-4-3 and tied atop the NHL Central even after Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss vs. Carolina. Cats face the Hurricanes in the Sunrise rink again Monday.

5. MARLINS: Doubts all around as Fish impress in spring opener: Miami ended its 17-year playoff drought last year but oddsmakers don't see a repeat in the tough NL East. ESPN projects Fish for 67 wins, last in division and 1 percent playoff shot after a low-key offseason it graded C-minus. Nevertheless, Miami impressed in its spring opener Sunday, beating Houston 6-1 behind home runs by Lewis Brinson, Jazz Chisholm and J.J. Bleday and five innings of shutout relief from the 'pen. Fish host rival Mets today in Jupiter. Regular season opens (no fooling) April 1 with six-game homestand vs. Rays and Cardinals.

6. BOXING: Canelo Alvarez wins easily in title defense at Hard Rock: Mexico's Canelo Alvarez, 30, dominated Avni Yidirim in a third-round TKO at Hard Rock Stadium Saturday night, the first boxing match ever held there. Álvarez, now 54-1-2, defended his WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine super-middleweight titles.

7. TENNIS: Miami Open reveals star-studded entry list: The March 22-April 4 Miami Open looks like a tennis fan's dream. Tournament announced the 77 top-ranked men all have committed, led by Australian Open champ and No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic and all-time greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Women's field shows 75 of the top 78 players led by No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Aussie Open champ Naomi Osaka and 8-time Miami winner and fan favorite Serena Williams. 

8. INTER MIAMI: Second-year club beefs up roster as preseason camp unfurls: Training camp is underway for Miami's second season in Major League Soccer and first for new coach Phil Neville. The club signed midfielder Gregore from Brazil's Esporte Clube Bahia and added veteran defender Ryan Shawcross from Stoke City of England's Premier League. MLS season begins April 17, with the announcement of the 2021 schedule expected shortly.

9. SOCCER: Champions League on to second leg in Round of 16: UEFA Champions League Round of 16 play resumes March 9 with second-leg matches. After the past week's conclusion of the first leg, four teams enjoy cushions of two-plus goals on aggregate: Paris-Saint Germain, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Up by one-goal margins are FC Porto, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Real Madrid. 

10. UM BASKETBALL: Do Canes women still have postseason prayer?: Katie Meier's Miami women's team rallied to finish the regular season 11-10, ending with three straight wins including Sunday's at Clemson. Might an impressive run in the March 3-7 ACC Tournament in Greensboro N.C. earn the team a postseason invite to, say, the WNIT? No such hope for Canes men, who are a miserable 7-15 after Saturday's loss at Clemson and close Monday at No. 15 Virginia and then Friday vs. Boston College. UM men are stumbling to their worst season since 1993-94.

Missing the HB10 cut: ESPN's Mel Kiper revealed his first-ever mock draft with trades. He has Miami standing pat at No. 3 and 18. Kiper's Dolphins picks are Alabama WR DaVonta Smith and Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah ..... Choosing the most dramatic way possible to admit his guilt, former USA Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert died by suicide Thursday, hours after being charged with two dozen crimes stemming from allegations he physically, emotionally and sexually abused gymnasts ..... Canes baseball, 3-2 and No. 8 in USA Today/Coaches poll, hosts Virginia Tech today in rubber game of three-game series ..... After 13 years in retirement, 10-time majors winner Annika Sorenstam has rejoined the LPGA Tour at age 50 ..... U.S. Women's National Team routed Argentina 6-0 to win soccer's SheBelieves Cup in Orlando. Megan Rapinoe scored twice in the finale; Rose Lavelle was named MVP ..... Seven-day countdown to next Sunday's NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta that nobody seems to want played ..... America's Cup sailing (remember that?) gets underway this coming Saturday in New Zealand ..... ESPN rankings for the July MLB Draft show one top-10 local player: Miami Hurricanes catcher Adrian Del Castillo at No. 9 ..... Tokyo Olympics announced its four-month Torch Relay would commence March 25 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's celebrates its 1-year anniversary since debuting last March 2, with its ninth episode of 2021 and 51st overall dropping Monday morning ..... Update: Countdown now 1,947 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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