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

1) It's MONDAY, OCTOBER 10. The North Carolina Tar Heels have a football player named Storm Duck. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Five years in Marlins rebuild is failing and here's the solution, NFL Week 4 result for Picks, Lobos and QB Rank, new Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE! AARON EKBLAD, GREG DOESN'T KNOW MOVIES, LOBOS: HARD KNOCKS!: Our 43rd episode of 2022 and 134th overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 134 we've done so far HERE. In our newest .episode: A fun edition of 'Greg Doesn't Know Movies, special guest Aaron Ekblad (left) of the Florida Panthers, and a new Greg's Lobos/Hard Knocks. Also, Cheating scandals in chess, billiard and fishing; Dolphins-Jets talk; Dad joke of the week and more. Hit up GCS2243 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Greg's Lobos T-shirts and hats! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

Our NFL Week 5 picks: We're coming off our second straight double-digit wins week overall and a season best 9-6-1 mark against the spread. Visit NFL Week 5 Gems to find all of our latest picks for Dolphins-Jets, our Game of the Week Upset of the Week and all the rest. Got off an unlucky start in Thursday night's stinker. Denver led most of the game before falling in OT, 12-9. We had the Broncos winning and covering a 3 1/2-point line. Find that separate capsule at NFL Week 4 Thursday Gem. Oh well. Tally ho!

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! QB Calamity! 3rd-String Thompson Has Rough Baptism As Dolphins Fall At Jets NEW!

NEW! Canes Lose ACC Opener, Fall To 2-3 As Misery Continues For Mario Cristobal NEW!

Five Years In, Miami Marlins Rebuild Isn't Working. Here Is The Solution

NFLPA Firing Doctor For Concussion Eval May Mean Dolphins, Tua Are Victims Here

Dolphins Fall In Cincy, But Tua Hospitalized Puts Result In Perspective

Hilltop: The five columns before that: No. 1 Dolphins, Fans Bask in National Attention, Ditch 20 Years' Irrelevance / Gamble Of Inaction: 5 Answers Will Judge Heat's Quiet Offseason / What's Going On Here!? Dolphins Beat Rival Bills, Improved to 3-0 / Cristobal Honeymoon Ends With Thud As Canes Lose To Middle Tennessee / Everyone Loves Tua & Dolphins Now. But Can Bandwagon Survive Buffalo? Note: Mount Gregmore Of Columns includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on latest podcast episode are among stuff not included.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 9-10): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Oy! Tua out + Teddy hurt = 40-17 loss at Jets: Miami at 3-1 was a small road favorite at the rival Jets Sunday despite Tua Tagovailoa out concussed and backup QB Teddy Bridgewater starting. Then Teddy got hurt and left after one play. Then 3rd-string Skylar Thompson made his NFL debut. Then: A 40-17 Miami loss. Fins will try to shake off consecutive losses next Sunday vs. Vikings.

2. HURRICANES: Ouch. TVD shines but UM falls to UNC in ACC opener: The Canes had all the pressure on them Saturday at home in their ACC opener as small home favorites over 4-1 North Carolina -- after consecutive losses to Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee (!). They didn't handle it, falling 27-24 to North Carolina for a 3rd straight loss and 2-3 record as Mario Cristobal's woes continue. How does Tyler Van Dyke pass for a Canes-record 496 yards and you still lose!? Miami tries again next Saturday at Virginia Tech.

3. PANTHERS: It's Opening Week for new(ish)-look Cats: Florida wrapped up a 2-4 preseason last night and now it's Opening Week for the Panthers' 29th NHL regular season. Cats open at N.Y. Islanders and start with three on the road before their home debut October 19. A great season ended badly in the second playoff round last year, now it's a fresh start with new coach Paul Maurice and new star Matthew Tkachuk.

4. INTER MIAMI: Higuain retiring with bang, lifts Herons into playoffs!: Miami finished the MLS regular season at 14-6-14 after Sunday's 3-1 loss to Montreal snapped a four-game win streak during which retiring Gonzalo Higuain had scored six goals. Herons finished sixth in MLS East to earn a playoff spot but not a home match. Miami opens a week from today/next Monday at New York City FC. 

5. MLB: Playoffs! CLE, SEA, PHI, SD advance from wild-card: OK Aaron Judge got his AL-record 62nd homer, fell short of the Triple Crown and now forget that because -- postseason! Eight clubs (four AL, four NL) were in the best-of-3 wild-card round and Cleveland, Seattle and Philadelphia were first to advance with 2-0 sweeps. San Diego stayed alive in three games after winning at the Mets Sunday night. In Division Series starting Tuesday it'll be Yankees vs. Guardians and Astros vs. Mariners in the AL, and Braves vs. Phillies and Dodgers vs. Padres in the NL.

6. HEAT: Miami completes NBA preseason this week: Heat is 2-1 in exibitions with fake games left at home Monday and Wednesday vs. Houston and New Orleans. Erik Spoelstra has been all over the map with his lineups/rotations. Notable: Bam Adebayo flexing his offensive side, and at times on the floor with 6-11 Omer Yurtseven. Miami opens the regular season with a four-game homestand vs. the East starting October 19 vs. Chicago.

7. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Gators win, but Seminoles, FIU both fall: Florida topped Missouri in the Swamp, 24-17, to go to 4-2 but Florida State also now is 4-2 after a 19-17 loss at No. 14- N.C. State. FIU is 2-3 after getting spanked by UConn. UCF won big on Wednesday, while South Florida lost a close one at No. 24-Cincinnati. FSU was off.

8. MARLINS: Lousy season ends; new manager, Sandy's trophy on deck: Miami finished 69-93 and fourth in the NL East, a two-game uptick over last season but out of the playoffs for the 27th time in 30 franchise years. Atop the to-do list: A managerial hunt is underway as Don Mattingly and the club agreed to part ways after seven seasons. And Sandy Alcantara is the NL Cy Young favorite, which would be a club first. Real priority should be the owner spending big in free agency for offense, but don't hold your breath.   

9. SOCCER: USWNT loss caps dispiriting week in women's soccer: USWNT fell 2-1 to England in a friendly at Wembley pitting the No. 1-ranked World Cup champion Americans and the No. 4-ranked Brits who just won the Women's Euros crown. U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said he was proud of his players for "even being on the field" after just days after the release of a bombshell report detailing systemic abuse in women's soccer in the U.S. The independent investigation especially detailed abuse within the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and charged that the that the league and governing body U.S. Soccer failed to adequately protect players.

10. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 'Dawgs leapfrog 'Bama for No. 1 in AP poll: No. 1 Alabama edged Texas A&M 24-20 Saturday while No. 2 Georgia more impressively thumped Auburn 42-10. Bulldogs moved to NO. 1 in new AP poll, with Ohio State second and 'Bama falling to third. Five more Top 25 teams lost, though the highest-ranked to lose were No. 11 Utah and No. 13 Kentucky.  

Missing the HB10 cut: Max Verstappen won Formula One season title at Japanese Grand Prix to clinch his second straight championship with four races left ..... Indonesian police are bringing criminal charges against three officers and three civilians for their roles in the deaths of 131 people at a soccer match when police fired tear gas inside a stadium, setting off pandemonium ..... Cheating scandal engulfs chess world! Hans Nieman, 19, is accused of skullduggery at U.S. Chess Championships in St. Louis in wake of his upset of world champion Magnus Carlson. Nieman is alleged to have received advice on moves from his coach via wireless vibrating anal beads. Hey, this is a blog! I couldn't say it if it weren't true! ..... NFLPA agreed to toughen concussion protocols in wake of situation with Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa. The NFL response: Changes are "likely" but no timeline has been set ..... Sixth of 10 NASCAR playoff races is Sunday in Charlotte. Homestead is up on October 23. Season champion will be crowd November 6 in Phoenix ..... Golden State Warriors are probing how video of Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole during practice was made public. Green apologized ..... Tom Brady's ugly divorce over his changing his mind and unretiring has gone all public as he and Giselle Bundchen have both lawyered up ..... No surprise, but Lionel Messi confirmed the upcoming 2022 World Cup would be his last ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,344 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, OCTOBER 3. Farewell September, month of my birth and football. Hello October! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, Canes fall to Middle Tennessee, Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW. ZONK!: Our 42nd episode of 2022 and 133rd overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 133 we've done so far HERE. In our newest episode: We are joined by Miami Dolphins legend Larry Csonka for an in-depth chat about the Perfect Season, his life after football and more. Also in the new ep: The Tua Tagovailoa concussion controversy, Hurricane Ian, Jumpin' Charlie surgery update, Barney the purple dinosaur, What constitutes a friend?, Pop 'n G, Dad joke of the week and more. Hit up GCS2242 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Greg's Lobos T-shirts and hats! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

Our NFL Week 4 picks: We're coming off our best week of the early season -- including nailing four outright upset picks last week. We have three more big upsets this week. Visit NFL Week 4 Gems to find all of our latest picks for Chiefs-Bucs, Bills-Ravens, our Game of the Week, Upset of the Week and all the rest. Got off to a strong start Thursday night. Had Bengals winning and covering the 4-point line, 27-20, and Cincy won 27-15. Find that separate capsule at NFL Week 4 Thursday Gem.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! NFLPA Firing Doctor For Concussion Eval May Mean Dolphins, Tua Are Victims Here NEW!

Dolphins Fall In Cincy, But Tua Hospitalized Puts Result In Perspective

No. 1 Dolphins, Fans Bask in National Attention, Ditch 20 Years' Irrelevance

Gamble Of Inaction: 5 Answers Will Judge Heat's Quiet Offseason

What's Going On Here!? Dolphins Beat Rival Bills, Improved to 3-0

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Cristobal Honeymoon Ends With Thud As Canes Lose To Middle Tennessee / Everyone Loves Tua & Dolphins Now. But Can Bandwagon Survive Buffalo? / Tua's Career-Redefining Six TDs Lead Dolphins' Miracle Comeback / Hurricanes Let Another Chance For a Big-Stage, Signature Win Slip Away / Texas A&M The Win Canes Need To Give Cristobal Era Liftoff, Make America Notice

Note: Mount Gregmore Of Columns includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on latest podcast episode are among stuff not included.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 2-3): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Fins fall in Cincy, lose Tagovailoa to concussion amid controversy: Miami lost 27-15 in Cincinnati Thursday to fall to 3-1 but that was secondary to Tua Tagovailoa going out with a concussion -- sparkling a Twitterstorm of hindsight debate over whether he should have played after being examined for and cleared of a concussion the Sunday before. Lots of armchair experts questioning the independent neurologist and team doctors who actually examined Tua. But wait. That independent neurologist has now been fired by the NFLPA. The review of how Miami handled this on Sunday continues. Stay tuned. Fins play next Sunday at the Jets, all but certainly with backup Teddy Bridgewater.

2. HURRICANES: Idle Canes feeling pressure as they prep for ACC opener: UM at 2-2 is off this weekend as it prepares to host 4-1 North Carolina next Saturday in its ACC opener. UM is 2-2 after two straight L's including a shocking home loss to Middle Tennessee, a fast honeymoon-ender for new coach Mario Cristobal. QB Tyler Van Dyke was benched for Jake Garcia. Let's see who gets the call for a conference opener suddenly with must-win pressure.

3. INTER MIAMI: Hot Higuain, Herons solidify MLS playoff push: Miami is 13-6-13 with three straight wins after Friday's big 1-0 victory at Toronto on Gonzalo Higuain's team-leading 14th goal -- and 12th in the past 14 matches. Herons are now tied for sixth in the hunt for seven MLS East playoff spots. Two regular season matches are left, both at home: vs. Orlando on Wednesday and Montreal next Sunday.

4. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Big win for FIU, FSU falls, Gators win: FIU ended a 20-game FBS losing streak Saturday with a 21-7 upset at New Mexico State while No. 23 Florida State fell at home to No. 22 Wake Forest, 31-21. Now-unranked Florida hosted and beat East Washington 52-17 Sunday in a game delayed by Hurricane Ian, and UCF hosts SMU in a game delayed to Wednesday. In other Saturday state-FBS results, FAU fell to North Texas and South Florida lost to East Carolina.

5. MLB: Mariners, Judge top big finish as postseason looms: The Seattle Mariners ending a 20-year drought to make the playoffs and Yankee Aaron Judge's pursuit of the Triple Crown highlight the last days of the MLB regular season. Judge hits his 61st home run to tie Roger Maris' AL mark. Ten of 12 postseason tickets are clinched, with San Diego and Philly all but clinched and for the final two spots and Milwaukee needing a miracle. Postseason begins with wild-card playoff games this coming Friday.

6. MARLINS: Alcantara shut down as Fish head to final three games: Still getting past the excitement and drama of Richard Bleier's record three balks in one at-bat, but time to move on. It's the end-game now for manager Don Mattingly, who'll part ways by mutual agreement after the season. Fish are 67-92 entering a final three-game homestand vs. Atlanta starting Monday to close season. Sandy Alcantara will not pitch again but remains the betting favorite for the NL Cy Young award despite Friday's loss dropping his record to 14-9.

7. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgia escapes, but 10 Top 25 teams fall: No. 1-ranked Georgia rallied to beat Missouri 26-22 and avoid what would have been a seismic upset. Ten Top 25 teams lost in Week 5 though none that changed the landscape of the College Football Playoff race. Highest-ranked teams to lose were No. 7-Kentucky and No. 10 N.C. State.

8. SOCCER: U.S. ends disappointing runup to World Cup: U.S. men's national team was held to a 0-0 draw by Saudi Arabia this week in its final tuneup for the 2022 World Cup that commences November 20 in Qatar. r injury. Team USA faces Saudi Arabia Tuesday in Spain in its final tuneup match. Team USA in its past seven prep matches against WC-bound teams has one win, three losses and three draws -- and was shut out six times. Coach Gregg Berhalter must submit his final 26-man World Cup roster on November 13.

9. HEAT: Miami tip offs preseason schedule this Tuesday: A five-day training camp in the Bahamas wrapped up Saturday, now the Heat is back to prepare for its first of five preseason games this Tuesday night at home vs Minnesota. Two starting spots alongside Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry could be fluid: Max Strus or Tyler Herro at shooting guard, and Caleb Martin or Duncan Robinson at power forward.

10. PANTHERS: Just the preseason, but Cats drop third straight: Florida is 1-3 in the preseason with three straight losses entering the final two exhibitions Thursday vs. Tampa Bay and Saturday at Tampa. NHL regular season -- dawn of a fresh start under new coach Paul Maurice and new star Matthew Tkachuck -- opens October 13 at the New York Islanders.

Missing the HB10 cut: The Pro Bowl is dead! Yay! The NFL finally killed off its lame all-star game, replacing it with a 'Pro Bowl Games" extravaganza featuring a flag-football game ..... A new-look ..... A new-look Team USA in women's basketball  won a fourth straight FIBA World Cup gold and 11th overall in Sydney, beating China ..... Lewis Hamilton violated a no-jewelry rule by wearing a nose stud in F1 qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. No action was taken against Lewis Hamilton, but his Mercedes team was fined ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,351 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, SEPTEMBER 19. Be the change! Visit Change.org/MountGregmore and sign our petition to change the name of Mount Rushmore. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, NFL Week 1 picks, 2022 NFL Team Rankings, Why Hill/Waddle will be Fins' best WR duo since Clayton/Duper, Greg Cote Show podcast, The List (Heat-iest Heaters in the Hall), Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 40th episode of 2022 and 131st overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 131 we've done so far HERE. In our newest episode: Greg and Chris discuss the Dolphins miracle comeback win fueled by Tua Tagovailoa's six TD passes. Plus a touch of Canes, and a new "Hard Knocks: Greg's Lobos" featuring the world premiere of the new Lobos anthem. Also in the new ep: Greg and Chris discuss the father-son dynamic of the show; Bizarre facts about the Wizard Of Oz; The strangest way to accidentally cut yourself; David Beckham and the Queen; Chris and Yeti play sound to make fun of the funny ways Greg jumps in and contributes on the Le Batard Show when he has nothing to say; a new Dad joke of the week and more. Hit up GCS2240 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Lobos T-shirts and hats! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Tua's Career-Redefining Six TDs Lead Dolphins' Miracle Comeback NEW!

NEW! Hurricanes Let Another Chance For a Big-Stage, Signature Win Slip Away NEW! 

Texas A&M The Win Canes Need To Give Cristobal Era Liftoff, Make America Notice

Zero To Perfect: How Glory Days Dolphins Put Miami on National Sports Map

Fins' McDaniel, UM's Cristobal On Honeymoons, But Those Don't Last

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Dolphins Handle Rival Patriots 20-17 In Impressive Season Opener / Our 2022 NFL Team Ranking. Wait. Miami Dolphins Are WHERE!? / Why Hill & Waddle Are Dolphins' Best WR Duo Since Clayton/Dupe / Canes Rout Bethune 70-13 In Opener, But We Don't Know Real UM Yet / UM's Van Dyke Had Epic Year. Now His Encore Will Define Start Of Cristobal Era

Note: Mount Gregmore Of Columns includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on latest podcast episode are among stuff not included.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 18-19): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Tua's six TDs (!) power miracle Fins comeback!: How ya like Tua now huh!? Think he might have a future as Miami's QB? Tagovailoa threw six scoring passes Sunday -- four to Tyreek Hill and jaylen waddle -- to power Miami's 42-28 rally-win at Baltimore for a 2-0 start to the Mike McDaniel era. Dolphins had lost four straight trips to BAL, the last two by a combined 78-6.

2. HURRICANES: UM lets chance for another big-stage, signature win slip away: The two wins over smaller opponents told us nothing. This did: Saturday night's 17-9 loss by the No. 13 Canes at No. 24 Texas A&M. Miami is now 5-9 in its past 14 games against  against ranked opponents. 

3. SOCCER: Messi in Miami for friendly this week. (Can we kidnap him?): Lionel Messi is part of the Argentina travel squad for a friendly World Cup tuneup match vs. Honduras this Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium. A sellout is expected. Speculation that Messi could end his career playing for Inter Miami in MLS have percolated for a good while.

4. INTER MIAMI: Herons' huge win marred by racist incident: Inter Miami bossman David Beckham reportedly waited in line 13 hours to pass by the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II and pay respects. On the pitch, his team is 12-6-13 and now tied for the seventh and last MLS East playoff spot with three regular-season matches after Sunday's 3-2 home win over D.C. United. The m atch was marred by a racist term said to a Miami player, MLS is investigating. Herons are off until October 5.

5. TENNIS: Roger Federer announces retirement: Roger Federer will retire from pro tennis at age 41 after an epic career in which he won 20 Grand Slam titles (third all-time) and ended five seasons ranked No. 1 in the world. A series of knee operations have beset his late career. Federer's 20 major titles are third only longtime rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Rafa's final event will be as part of ream Europe in Laver Cup September 23-25 in London.

6. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): No. 18 Florida, FSU both win: No. 18 Gators protected their poll standing but not impressively, edging South Florida, 31-28, while Florida State is now 3-0 and thinking polls after a 35-31 win over Louisville. Elsewhere in non-UM land, UCF whomped FAU, 40-14. FIU was off.

7. NBA: Suns owner, fined, suspended. But is it enough?: NBA fined Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver the maximum $10 million and suspended him for one year after a league investigation found he used the N-word amid instances of inappropriate and sexual comments toward employees. Many including Le Bron James are calling for harsher punishment including his selling the team.

8. HEAT: Miami sets preseason training camp in Bahamas: The Heat will hold their five-day 2022 preseason training camp at Baha Mar in the Bahamas from Tuesday through Saturday September 27-October 1. The team will depart following Media Day on Monday, September 26 at the arena. Preseason games commence October 4.

9. MARLINS: Sandy's gem-win  bolsters Cy chances as sad Fish play out string: Miami is 60-87 after Sunday's complete-game gem by Sandy Alcantara avoided a sweep at Washington. Fish open a homestand Monday vs. the Cubs. Alcantara bolstered his already strong chance to win NL Cy Young award. Before Sunday he'd lost twice since last winning August 27.

10. PANTHERS: Cats announce training camp details: After participating in the four day Prospects Showcase hosted by Carolina, Florida will open preseason training camp this Thursday leading into the first exhibition game on September 26. Cats enjoyed their best regular season last year but it ended in great disappointment with a second round playoff sweep vs. Tampa Bay.

Missing the HB10 cut: : Las Vegas Aces won WNBA Finals Sunday, a franchise first, by winning a Game 4 at Connecticut ..... No bloodbath in national college football this week, although the teams ranked 11-12-13 (Michigan State, BYU and Miami) all lost ..... With five of six division races runaways, MLB late-season drama focuses on two home run chases: Will Aaron Judge reach 60 homers for season (he has 59) and will Albert Pujols reach 700 for his career (he has 698)? ..... As golf's Presidents Cup starts Monday, Phil Mickelson said LIV Golf is "here to stay" and called upon the PGA Tour to work with the Saudi-backed series for good of the sport ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,365 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, SEPTEMBER 5. Happy Labor Day Weekend, all! 2) Be the change! Visit Change.org/MountGregmore today and sign our petition to change the name of Mount Rushmore. 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): An appreciation of Serena as she exits U.S. Open, Optimism in Fins and Canes has Miami flexing as Football Town, R.I.P. Jason Jenkins, Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 38th episode of 2022 and 129th overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 129 we've done so far HERE. In our latest episode: Anthony (10-Day Tony) from the Le Batard Show joins us for a fun chew on fantay football, and Greg reveals an invention for a whole different kind of fantasy league. Also in the new ep: Season 2 premiere of HARD KNOCKS: GREG'S LOBOS, Farewell to Serena Williams, Are the Fins for real? and more. Hit up GCS2238 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Canes Rout Bethune 70-13 In Opener, But We Don't Know Real UM Yet NEW!

NEW! UM's Van Dyke Had Epic Year. Now His Encore Will Define Start Of Cristobal Era NEW!

Serena's Week At U.S. Open One For Ages As Tennis' Queen GOAT Keeps Defying Time

As Optimism In Dolphins & Canes Spikes, Miami Flexes As A Football Town

Tribute: Community Was One Place Dolphins Won Big -- Because of Jason Jenkins

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Tua's Preseason Debut Was Most Impressive 4 1/2 Hours Before It Began / Watson Punishment Will Go Way Beyond HIs Extended NFL Suspension / No Doubt Now: Deshaun Watson Knows He'll Be Pariah In Stadiums Across NFL / Who Dolphins Are Was Hidden In Opening Win. 5 Questions That Still Need Answers / Butch Davis On Retiring, His 50-Year Career -- & Canes Twice Almost Bringing Him Back

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 4-5): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature --back after a one-week holiday -- is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HURRICANES: UM routs Bethune 70-13 in opener, but first test looming: The No. 16-ranked Miami Hurricanes and the Mario Cristobal era launched with a soft opening at home Saturday -- a 70-13 waltz-win  victory over FCS-level Bethune-Cookman at Hard Rock. A run-strong emphasis on balanced offense and some sloppiness on defense were the takeaways. Canes feast on another home softie next week vs. Southern Miss before season starts for real on September 17 at No. 6 Texas A&M.

2. TENNIS: G.O.A.T. Serena bids farewell in third-round loss:  After two stirring wins including a defeat of the world No. 2, Serena Williams, about to turn 41, bowed out of the U.S. open in the third round with Friday's 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic. Serena and sister Venus had been eliminated in doubles the night before. Barring a change of mind, this ended Serena's singles career. Meanwhile, still alive for the U.S. Open crowns: No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek and American Coco Gauff are in the quarterfinals, but men's No. 1 Daniil Medvedev lost.

3. DOLPHINS: Tua named captain, Fins celebrate VP Jenkins: Third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was voted a team captain by players for the first time following a 2-1 preseason. The Dolphins are mourning a loss off the field and Monday in a stadium event will celebrate the life of senior vice president Jason Jenkins, who passed away last week from a blood clot. Miami opens the NFL season at home next Sunday vs New England.

4. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: CFP approves playoff expansion to 12 teams: College Football Playoff's Board of Managers voted to expand the CFP from four teams to 12 in 2026 -- but is encouraging the sport's commissioners to implement it as soon as 2024. The 11 presidents/chancellors who comprise the CFP board approved the original 12-team model, which is the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams.

5. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgia, Ohio State big wins launch season: Conference upheavel. Transfer portals. NIL money. Oh yeah, almost forgot. There's still games, too! Week 1 of the college season kicked off with Alabama the title favorite and featuring three Top 25 matches -- two of them immediately shaking up the top 10 and the season-long College Football Playoff race. In those games, No. 2 Ohio State handled No. 5 Notre Dame, 21-10, and more impressively, No. 3 Georgia clobbered No. 11 Oregon, 49-3.

6. HEAT: Donovan-to-Cavs continues disappointing Miami offseason: Heat entered the offseason reportedly interested in exploring trades for available whale Kevin Durant or rising whale Donovan Mitchell. Well, Durant (reluctantly) re-upped with Brooklyn and now, Thursday, Cleveland acquired Mitchell from Utah for three players and three future first-round  draft picks. Cavs and the NBA East get stronger, and Miami's biggest offseason news remains losing P.J. Tucker to Philly. Ouch.  

7. MARLINS: Reeling, stinking Fish lose seventh in a row: Marlins are 55-78 and have lost seven straight after Sunday's latest L. Not even ace Sandy Alcantara could rescue Miami in a rare bad outing in Friday's 8-1 loss. Alcantara is an NL Cy Young favorite but his hopes took a hit Friday. Miami, on a 1-9 skid, continues its road trip Tuesday in Philly as Fish play out the string on yet another disappointing season.

8. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): FIU escapes on night honoring Knox; Gators win a big one: Transfer-depleted FIU trailed 16-0 early to Rhode Island FCS school Bryant in its opener Thursday but rallied for a 38-37 overtime win led by Grayson James' four TD passes and winning two-point throw in OT. Night was a tribute to FIU linebacker Luke Knox, who died unexpectedly three weeks ago. Elsewhere: UCF routed South Carolina State, FAU easily beat Ohio, unranked Florida survived No. 7 Utah in the Swamp 29-26, and South Florida fell big to No. 25 BYU. State college Week 1 wrapped up Sunday as now 2-0 Florida State held on to beat LSU and, at Hard Rock, Jackson State routed Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic.

9. INTER MIAMI: Herons fall to edge of playoff pace with two straight losses: Inter Miami is 10-6-12 with two straight losses and the lull has dipped the Herons to seventh place in the hunt for seven Major League Soccer East Conference playoff spots. Miami has six games left in the MLS regular season starting September 10 at Chicago Fire.

10. GOLF: World No. 2 Cameron Smith is latest PGA Tour loss to LIV Golf: The PGA Tour has lost another handful of blood-money-sucking defectors to Saudi-backed LIV Golf -- notably world No. 2 Cameron Smith, the British Open champion. Smith now complains it is unfair that those who joined the Saudi tour are not receiving world ranking points, whch threatens future eligibility to play in the majors. Dear Cam: Nobody sympathizes with you.

Missing the HB10 cut: In the WNBA playoff semifinals today it's Las Vegas at Seattle and Chicago at Connecticut in Game 3s of 1-1 best-of-5s. Chicago is reigning champion while Seattle is a four-time winner. Vegas and Connecticut seek their first crowns ..... QB Russell Wilson agreed on a five-year, $245 million deal with the Denver Broncos. (Dear Baltimore: What are you waiting for with Lamar Jackson?) ..... Argentina suspended soccer matches on Friday after an assassination attempt on the country's vice president ..... Florida Panthers will open preseason September 26 in Nashville to launch the era of new coach Paul Mauirce and new star Matthew Tkachuk ..... Angels star Shoehei Ohtani became first player ever with 30 home runs and 10 pitching wins in same season ..... U.S. women's hockey kept alive its streak of reaching the final at every ice hockey world championship after beating the Czech Republic in the semifinals Saturday ..... Hawaii's Little League World Series championshp over Curacao will be celebrated Thursday with a parde in Honolulu ..... Vanessa Bryant and second plaintiff were awarded $15 million each in a verdict against L.A. County over improper distribution of gruesome photos of the January 2020 helicopter crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant and eight others ..... Last month's Women’s Euro '22 soccer tournament in England set records for interest. Event had a global cumulative live viewership of 365 million — more than double the 2017 total of 178 million. And the aggregate attendance of 574,875 fans more than doubled the record of 240,055 set in '17 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,379 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 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

Select other recent columns: Why Has Brady Skated On Tampering Role & Does He Still Have Future In Miami? / Miami Raised Mario Cristobal. Payback? Come Home & Make Canes Football Matter Again / Goodell Kept The Power, After All. It's Why Watson Still Faces Much Harsher Ban / 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 / Deshaun Watson's 6-game NFL Suspension A Slap-On-The-Wrist Affront / 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 / Barkley, Djokovic, Lia Thomas: Being Sports Fan Never Harder -- Or More Interesting / How Super Mario And The Cheetah were Sent To Save Football in Miami / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Why LeBron (of All People) Chiming In On Griner's Russia Detention Is Ironic / Heat Luring Donovan Mitchell Involves Friend D-Wade, Arch-Enemy Ainge, Too / Why Miami Heat Should Re-Think, Go All-In For King-Whale Kevin Durant / Cup Of AK-47 Coffee At Cowboys Games? Nuthin' Wrong With That, Huh Jerry? / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment / 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 / Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses / 20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse / Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye / 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 / ‘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 / 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 / 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  / 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 / 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 / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / 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 / 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, AUGUST 22. Happy birthday shoutout to the greatest person I know ... my wife! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Greg Cote Show podcast, Why Watson punishment will go well beyond his extended NFL suspension, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH JESSICA SMETANA OUT NOW!: Our 36th episode of 2022 and 127th overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 127 we've done so far HERE. In our newest ep: Jessica Smetana from the Le Batard Show joins us to sing and dance (OK, no dancing) and provide us her all-time top five musicals -- which takes a shockingly unexpected dark turn. Also in the new ep: Greg pulls off surprise birthday party for his wife; Greg revisits the recent Charles Bricker stunt on the Le Batard Show, when Greg was duped into thinking he was speaking with an old journalism rival from the early ‘90s; the guys discuss Deshaun Watson’s increased NFL suspension; Dippity-Do talk; the USA Mullet Championships and much more. Hit up GCS2236 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

Be the change!: Visit Change.org/MountGregmore today and sign our petition to change the name of Mount Rushmore. It's free!

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Tua's Preseason Debut Was Most Impressive 4 1/2 Hours Before It Began NEW!

Watson Punishment Will Go Way Beyond HIs Extended NFL Suspension

No Doubt Now: Deshaun Watson Knows He'll Be Pariah In Stadiums Across NFL

Who Dolphins Are Was Hidden In Opening Win. 5 Questions That Still Need Answers

Butch Davis On Retiring, His 50-Year Career -- & Canes Twice Almost Bringing Him Back

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Why Has Brady Skated On Tampering Role & Does He Still Have Future In Miami? / Miami Raised Mario Cristobal. Payback? Come Home & Make Canes Football Matter Again / Goodell Kept The Power, After All. It's Why Watson Still Faces Much Harsher Ban / 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (AUGUST 21-22): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. NFL: Deshaun Watson suspension increased in settlement: Serial creep Deshaun Watson's punishment over his sexual assaults during massage sessions was increased from a six-game suspension and no fine to 11 games and a record %5 million fine in a settlement between the NFL and its players union. The shamed Cleveland Browsn quality will be eligible to make his season debut on December 4 at Houston, his former team.

2. DOLPHINS: Tua debuts in Miami's home preseason loss: Miami is 1-1 in the preseason after Saturday night's 15-13 home exhibition loss to Las Vegas. Tua Tagovailoa was sharp (6-for-8) in brief action in his preseason debut, although top wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle again sat out. Fins' fake-game finale is at home next Saturday vs. Philly. Real season opens Sept. 11 here vs. New England.

3. FIU: Linebacker Knox passes away suddenly. R.I.P.: The FIU football family is dealing with a tragedy as it prepares for its season. Linebacker Luke Knox, younger brother of Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox, died at 22 late Wednesday night after being hospitalized. Cause of death still is unannounced but foul play is not suspected. Knox played four years at Mississippi before tranferring. The Panthers and first-year coach Mike MacIntyre open the season September 1 vs. Bryant.

4. INTER MIAMI: Surging Herons win, solidify playoff chances: Herons are level at 10-6-10 and now in fifth place in the fight for one of seven MLS East playoff spots after Saturday's 2-1 home win over Toronto. Inter Miami, in its third season, is back on the pitch next Saturday at New York Red Bulls with eight games left in the regular season.

5. HURRICANES: Countdown 13 days 'til UM season opener: The No. 16-ranked Canes (AP poll) are less than two weeks from their opener at home vs. Bethune-Cookman to launch the Mario Cristobal era. Red-circled games are September 17 at No. 6 Texas A&M and November 19 at No. 4 Clemson. Also notable: November 26 vs. No. 17 Pitt and November 5 vs. traditional rival Florida State.

6. MARLINS: Sandy (The Bright Spot) Alcantara back on hill today: The fading Fish are 52-68 after three straightt losses entering today's game at the Dodgers. Ace Sandy Alcantara, chasing the NL Cy Young award despite the stinky team around him, is back on the mound today/Sunday. Miami's six-game western roadie moves on to Oakland beginning Monday.

7. HEAT: Schedule out; should Miami feel insulted? And U.D. re-ups!: Heat’s 82-game regular season schedule for 2022-23 begins with four-game homsetand, a franchise first, starting October 19 vs. Chicago. Miami finished one win shy of reaching the NBA Finals last season, but was excluded from both the season-opening marquee doubleheader on October 18 and prestigious Christmas Day slate. Meantime (no big shock) Udonis Haslem announced he'd be back for 20th (!) Heat season.

8. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: CFP mulls taking over sport's governance: The 11 college presidents and chancellors who comprise the College Football Playoff's Board of Managers met and began to discuss the possibility of restructuring how college football is governed -- perhaps outside the NCAA under the auspices of the CFP itself. Stay tuned.

9. GOLF: Tiger rallies the troops on behalf of PGA Tour: Tiger Woods, still the soul of golf, met with top players last week to rally support for the PGA Tour and stem the tide of defections to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series. The meeting took place at the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, site of the second of three FedEx Cup playoff events, won by Patrick Cantlay.

10. WNBA: Fowles bows out as playoffs begin: In a season overshadowed by the continuing Russian detention of star Brittney Griner, the eight-team WNBA playoffs led by the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces got underway. The start of the postseason also marked the retirement of Miami-born-and-raised Sylvia Fowles, the greatest center in league history.

Missing the HB10 cut: Leon Edwards' stunning knockout of Kamaru Usman in Salt Lake City won the welterweight title in UFC 278 on Saturday night ..... Confirming what the Miami Herald first reported in January, the College Football Playoff announced Miami would host the 2025-season national championship game on January 5, 2026 at Hard Rock Stadium ..... Serena Williams' U.S. Open farewell begins a week from Monday ..... Lakers star LeBron James signed a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension with a player option for a third year in 2024-25. Sounds the like the plan is he'll take the third year if Lakers also sign Bronny for a father-son finale season for Dad ..... FIFA says the Qatar World Cup starting in Noevmeber has sold 2.45 of 3 million available tickets ..... Florida Panthers announced a six-game preseason schedule opening September 26 at Nashville. Training camp figures tp open two weeks earlier ..... Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko and Ken Riley as the three senior finalists for the Class of 2023. Those failing to make the cut included the late former Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg ..... The 75th Little League World Series of baseball is underway w\in Williamsport, Pa., with the U.S. and International finals on August 27 and the overall champion decided a day later ..... Widow Vanessa Bryant's lawsuit against Los Angeles County and county sheriff Alex Villanueva over graphic crash-site photos of her late husband Kobe and daughter being shared is nearing an end. The January 2020 helicopter crash killed nine people ..... Fernando Tati Sr. called his Padres-star son's 80-game PEDs suspension based for baseball, blaming everybody except his son. C'mon, papi, get real ..... Upcoming: Florida A&M and Jackson State in college football's Orange Blossom Classic Spetember 4 at Hard Rock ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,393 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

***** ----- ***** ----- ***** ----- ***** ----- *****

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

Select other recent columns: Deshaun Watson's 6-game NFL Suspension A Slap-On-The-Wrist Affront / 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 / Barkley, Djokovic, Lia Thomas: Being Sports Fan Never Harder -- Or More Interesting / How Super Mario And The Cheetah were Sent To Save Football in Miami / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Why LeBron (of All People) Chiming In On Griner's Russia Detention Is Ironic / Heat Luring Donovan Mitchell Involves Friend D-Wade, Arch-Enemy Ainge, Too / Why Miami Heat Should Re-Think, Go All-In For King-Whale Kevin Durant / Cup Of AK-47 Coffee At Cowboys Games? Nuthin' Wrong With That, Huh Jerry? / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment / 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 / Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses / 20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse / Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye / 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 / ‘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 / 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 / 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  / 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 / 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 / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / 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 / 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

It's SUNDAY/MONDAY, JULY 3-4. Happy Fourth of July weekend, my fellow Americans. Make it a safe one. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Nobody wins and everybody lsees as NFL weighs Deshaun Watson punishment, An appreciation of Heat's Pat Riley, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE, JULY 4 HOLIDAY SPECIAL, DROPS MONDAY!: Our 29th episode of 2022 and 120th overall is out Monday! 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 119 we've done so far HERE, free. In the most recent episode: Laughs with Chris and Roy Bellamy and a  bag of gummies in a Denver hotel room. And a serious discussion of the Supreme Court undoing Roe v. Wade. Also on the menu: Greg on the Golf War and how the PGA Tour let it happen; Major Father-Son Olympics update; Charlie the puppy and a glass of wine; Most unnecessary hotel luxuries; Do you love a good variable?; Way too much discussion of ropes and knots; and the question for Ice Cube that Greg was not able to ask on the Le Batard Show. Hit up GCS2228 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:

Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment

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

Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses

20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse 

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 3-4): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Durant, Mitchell talk swirls as free agency begins: NBA summer league play is underway for Heat's developmental team, but it isn't what's on the minds of Miami fans. That would be free agency -- especially after superstar Kevin Durant opted out of Brooklyn and named Heat and Suns as his two preferred trade destinations. He is thought to be leaning Phoenix, saying he'd want to join Miami only if Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry all were here. So would Nets accept a deal with Tyler Herro the biggest name? Hmm. There also is talk Utah all-star Donovan Mitchell could be a Heat trade target if Durant goes elsewhere. Almost forgot: P.J. Tucker left to sign with Philly.   

2. NBA: Durant, Gobert lead sizzling start to free agency: Kevin Durant opting out of Brooklyn and hitting the open trade market (see above) was the big headline as free agency begins, but Utah trading star center Rudy Gobert to Minnesota for a windfall also makes the marquee. Jazz get five players and three first-round picks. Most superstars are staying put, though, with mega re-signings by Zion Williamson, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic, Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns and Bradley Beal among others. Big questions left: Will Kyrie Irving also want out of Brookyn now that Durant has? Will James Harden re-sign with Philly? 

3. MARLINS: Fish are hot(ish), Jazz an all-star finalist, Denbo out: Marlins are 36-40 and have won three straight and seven of past 10 entering Sunday and Moday games at Washington. Fish return home for a pair Tuesday and Wednesday vs. the Angels. Meanwhile 2B Jazz Chisholm is only Marlins finalist to be an all-star starter, although Sandy Alcantara is a lock to be named an NL pitcher. Pitchers and reserves for both squads and complete All-Star rosters will be announced July 10. Meanwhile the Marlins unshockingly fired VP of scouting Gary Denbo, who'd been the first major hire of Derek Jeter, who left the club as president/part owner in February.

4. TENNIS: No. 1 Swiatek, Serena out as Wimbledon reaches midpoint: Serena Williams losing in the first round in London was no great shock. She's 40 and was playing her first match in a year. But this was a shock: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek losing in the third round to unseeded Alize Cornet after 37 straight match wins and six straight titles. Women's crown is now wide open while Novak Djokovic seemds trophy-bound on the men's side.

5. NFL: Watson punishment hearings reach no verdict yet: Three days of NFL deliberation over whether or how long to suspended Browns QB Deshaun Watsob over Massagegate reached no announced conclusion. Sue Robinson, a retired federal judge, is the league's chief disciplinary officer. Many believe the ruling due later this summer will be at least a one-year duspension, but ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi reported sources tell him Watson will see the field for at least part of this coming season.

6. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: USC, UCLA latest conference defectors: The upheaval across college football continues. Last year it was Oklahoma and Texas defecting to th SEC. Now it's Southern Cal and UCLA going to the Big Ten. Will the ACC be the next Power 5 conference to see jarring movement? Top-brand schools like Clemson, Miami, Florida State and North Carolina seem ripe to explore a way to leave if the ACC doesn't find a way to jack up revenue to member schools. 

7. PANTHERS: Cats take big injury hit with Duclair: Being swept out of second round by Tampa Bay hurt. So does this. Panthers winger Anthony Duclair had surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the first half of next season, the team announced. Duclair, who injured his Achilles in offseason training, is coming off his best NHL season with career highs for both goals (31) and assists (27).

8. INTER MIAMI: Playoff-chasing Herons at Dallas Monday: Hot(ish) Inter Miami is 6-3-7 and within three points of MLS playoff pace at the midseason point entering Monday night's holiday match at Dallas. Miami host an international friendly vs. Barcelona on July 19.

9. DOLPHINS: Football nears as Fins set training camp dates: NFL training camps are on the horizon and in Miami that's a July 19 reporting date for rookies and July 26 for veterans. Eight pracrices will be open to fans on July 30 and August 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 24 and 25. The last two are joint practices with the Eagles. The three preseason games are August 13 at Tampa and home on August 20 vs. Las Vegas and August 27 vs. Philly.

10. OLYMPICS: U.S men qualify for first time siince 2008: The U.S. qualified for its first Olympic men's soccer tournament since 2008 with a 3-0 win over Honduras Friday night that earned the Americans one of 16 spots in the 2024 Olympic tournament in France. Olympic men's soccer is limited to players under 23, with each nation allowed three over-age exceptions. U.S. had failed in the previous three straight Olympic qualifying cycles.

Missing the HB10 cut: USFL championship game is today between the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars, the ifrst time in almost 40 years a spring league has lasted a full season to crown a champ ..... The WNBA All-Star Game is July 10. A moment for Brittney Griner should begin it ..... In an escalation of the Golf War, the European Tour has levied $120,00 fines for its players competing in Saudi-backed LIV Golf events and banned them from next week's Scottish Open. However, LIV'ers will be allowed in the major British Open starting July 14 ..... David Highhill in the new NFL vice president/general manager of sports betting, the league's first position overseeing its business interest in the legal sports betting industry ..... Denver threw an Avalanche championship parade to celebrate the Stanley Cup win ..... Warriors Finals MVP Steph Curry will host the ESPYs July 20 ..... The Tour de France is underway, if anybody outside of France and not directly in the race still cares ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,442 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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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

Heat/Panthers playoff run columns: Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / 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: '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 / 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 / ‘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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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 / 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, FEBRUARY 21. Programming note: Will be back on with Le Batard on Wednesday this week, not Tuesday. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Le Batard The Musical?, 5 lessons Dolphins can take from Super Bowl, Greg Cote Show podcast, new NASL doc with Greg among those interviewed.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW 100TH EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 9th episode of 2022 and 1andmark 100th overall is out now! A new pod hits every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 100 we've done so far HERE, free. In our most recent episode, we throw a party for our 100th ep, recap the annual PFPI Gala, discuss recent big Le Batard Show news and more. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

Newest column: Who Dolphins, With Windfall Top Spend, Should target In Offseason To Fix Offense Fast. Other most recent columns: An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / The Lesson For Dolphins in Rams-Bengals Super Bowl Result / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / and McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 20-21): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. OLYMPICS: U.S. fifth in medals at Winter Games: The Winter Olympics in Beijing wrap up today with the Closing Ceremines. Team USA finished fifth in totals medals with 25, including eight golds. Many disappointments, including neither hockey team winning gold and Maekala Shiffrin fizzle on the slopes, but highs, too, including Elana Meyers Taylor becoming the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history, with five medals.

2. HEAT: Miami tied atop East at break for Sunday's absurd All-Star Game: Miami is 38-21 and tied with Chicago atop the Eastern Conference at the break. All-Star Game on Sunday in Cleveland saw a 163-160 defesve struggle, with Team LeBron topping Team Durant. Lone Heat rep Jimmy Butler hda a quiet two points in nine minutes. Miami returns to action this Friday at the New York Knicks.

3. PANTHERS: Cats stay hot, raise their road game: Florida remains atop the NHL East at 35-10-5 after Sunday's 5-2 win at Chicago. Florida has been nearly unbeaten at home and fallible away but has picked up its road game lately, winning seven of past nine away. Cats open five-game homestand Tuesday vs. Nashville.

4. INTER MIAMI: Big week as team opens MLS Year 3: David Beckham's team has disappointed its first two seasons but hopes are high for Year 3 opening at home in Fort Lauderdale this coming Saturday vs. Chicago Fire. But first: A key commission vote Wednesday on the team's propsoed new Miami stadium complex near the airprort.

5. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men, women chasing NCAAs: March Madness nears and the Canes men sit 19-8 (11-5 ACC) after Saturday's home stumble against Virginia. Team should qualify for NCAAs but Saturday hurt. Surging UM women are at 16-10 (9-7), with NCAA hopes enchanced by Sunday's upset win at No. 16 Georgia Tech.

6. DOLPHINS: McDaniel completes (mostly) new coaching staff: New Fins coach Mike McDaniel completed a 27-man coaching staff with 19 new faces and eight holdovers, including defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. Notable additions include offensive coordinator Frank Smith, former Dolphins star cornerbacks Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, and Wes Welker. Elsewhere, fired Dolphins coach Brian Flores got hired by the Steelers as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. 

7. HURRICANES: Schedule set for Cristobal's first spring practice: University of Miami set its 15-day spring football schedule, which will begin March 7 and end with the spring game on April 16. The first spring game under new coach Mario Cristobal will be held at Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale because of construction at the Hard Rock Stadium site.

8. NASCAR: Vroom! Daytons 500 launches season with surprise: The Daytona 500, first major race of the new NASCAR seasons, ran on Sunday with Kyle Larson beginning defense of his 2021 season championship but little-known Austin Cindric, 23, taking the checkered flag. It was second straight D500 surprise, after last year's race was won by 66-1 longshot Michael McDowell.

9. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Playoff stays as is at least through '25: Months of debate about expansion amounted to zero as College Football Playoff said it will remain at four teams through end of its 12-year contract expiring after 2025 season. Staying at four teams for four more years will cost the 10 FBS conferences (and Notre Dame) an estimated $450 million in potential revenue.

10. MLB: Labor dispute now officially delays spring training: The MLB lockout, nearing three months old and a continuing stalemate, will delay the start of spring traoning games at least until March 5. Most teams including the Miami Marlins had been set to open February 26.

Missing the HB10 cut: Canes baseball swept Towson State in its four-game season-opening home series ..... So, apparently, the folks running Hard Rock Stadium and the Dolphins built the garage and pit area at the new Formula One racetrack on top of a sewer main, meaning it would block access to pipes for any needed repairs and raise the possibility of noxious gases seeping through manholes into the building. Oh, and they did it despite being warned of the hazards ..... USWNT opened the SheBelieves Cup tournament with a 0-0 draw vs. Czech Republic and plays New Zealand on Sunday in L.A. U.S. is using a young roster including rising star Trinity Rodman (Dennis' kid) ..... Los Angeles held a Super Bowl victory parade for the Rams. Highlight: Brief diversion from nightmare that is the Lakers season ..... The reborn eight-team USFL holds its first draft this Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of its spring startup. First pick belongs to coach Jeff Fisher and the Michigan Mustaches. Over/under on the USFL announcing it will fold is summer '23 ..... Manu Ginobili and former Heat star Tim Hardaway are among 11 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ..... Awful week for PR guys. Former Angels communications director Eric Kay was found him guilty of distributing fentanyl and causing the death of former pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019. And it was reported the Cowboys in 2015 paid $2.4 million to settle a cheerleaders' claim that former club executive Rich Dalrymple filmed them changing ..... The NFL, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and likely future owner Bruce Beal all have lawyered up to fight the allegations in the Brian Flores lawsuit ..... Marlins place seven players (four of them pitchers) in ESPN's 2022 ranking of MLB's top 100 prospects, though none higher than righty pitcher Max Meyer at No. 33 ..... Marlins Park on Tuesday night hosts Ye: Donda 2 Experience Performance, a Kanye West concert. Be interesting to see what Marlins Park looks like with a big crowd ..... A Maine woman recognized as the Patriots' oldest fan, Myrtle Milledge, died at 106. She rooted for the Pats since 1960, Tom Brady's rookie season ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,590 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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Select other recent columns: Dolphins New Coach McDaniel Must Win, Heal Broken Franchise / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / The G.O.A.T. We Never Saw Coming: From 199th Drafted To History, A Salute To Tom Brady / Like Him Or Don't, Antonio Brown Not Always To Blame -- And Wasn't In Bucs Divorce / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Mahomes-Allen Air Show A Reminder How Much Better Dolphins And Tua Need To Be / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom /Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

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

1) It's SATURDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 15-17. I'm off to a wedding for a couple of days. Be back around sometime Monday. 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): State of Miami Sports as we grade all the teams, Dolphins firing Flores an unjustifiable travesty, NFL Wild-Card playoff picks, Greg Cote Show drops 2 (!) new podcasts, NFL Week 18 results for picks/final QB rankings.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT MONDAY MORNING!: Our 4th episode of 2022 and landmark 95th overall is out Monday. A new pod drops every Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all we've done so far HERE, free. We dropped two episodes this past week. Our main, regularly scheduled epsiode features a fun conversation with friend Ron Magill of Zoo Miami, and a season-finale Hard Knocks celebrating Greg's Lobos' PFPI Fantasy championship. A shorter bonus episode -- the first we've ever done -- is on the Dolphins' sudden, illogical firing of coach Brian Flores. Dan Le Batard joins us. 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).

Our NFL first-round postseason picks: NFL Wild-Card Playoff Gems.

STATE OF MIAMI SPORTS: GRADES FOR FINS, HEAT, PANTHERS, MARLINS, INTER MIAMI AND CANES FOOTBALL & MEN'S HOOPS: One team is in sudden flux with an unforeseen coaching change. One is chasing a championship and another might be. One has new life after major changes. One is the comeback story nobody’s talking about. Two others are still searching for the elusive map to victory. This is our sort-of annual New Year’s State Of Miami Sports, in which we grade each of our Big Seven teams based on where they are right now and the short-term, but also put in the context of the broader, bigger picture. We identify the Big Seven as the Miami Dolphins, Heat and Marlins, Florida Panthers, Inter Miami soccer and Miami Hurricanes football and men’s basketball. Sorry if we left your favorite team out. (But not that sorry). Here are our grade rankings, high to low, best to worst. For our full latest column including the team-by-team grades, visit The State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom.

Most recent other columns: Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Also: Dolphins Win, Finish 9-8, Now Must Commit To Build Around Tua / Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later/No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JANUARY 16-17): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Off-course Fins searcing for new coach, respectability: Most agree Brian Flores did not deserev to be fired after three seasons -- the last two with winning records totaling 19-14. As Stephen Ross tries to save face we await the replacement, likely someone now in the playoffs, with offensive coordinators Brian Daboll of Bills and Mike McDaniel of 49ers among those being mentioned.

2. NFL: Six Wild-Card games begin road to Super Bowl: Will Tom Brady and Tampa be NFL's frst repeat champ in 17 years? As top-seed Packers and Titans wait with byes, the other 12 playoff teams play must-win games this weekend. It's Raiders-Bengals and Patriots-Bills Saturday; Eagles-Bucs, 49ers-Cowboys and Steelers-Chiefs Sunday and Cardinals-Rams Monday night.

3. HEAT: Imagine Miami with a healthy roster?: Miami was at 26-15 at the midpoint in the schedule, on a 3-game win streak and tied for second in the East entering the weekend. And much of that has been wthtout stars Bam Adebayo or Jimmy Butler healthy. Erik Spoelstra better be on your coach of the year short list.

4. TENNIS: Djokovic vaccine drama, no Serena cloud Aussie Open: The year's first tennis major, the two-week Australian Open, begins Monday, but likely without reigning men's champ Novak Djokovic, whose visa was revoked over his failure to meet the country's COVID vaccination mandates. And Serena Williams won't play on medical advice.

5. PANTHERS: Huberdeau named all-star as high-flying Cats near midseason: Jonathan Huberdeau will represent Florida on NHL All-Star Weekend February 4-5 in Las Vegas, and Aleksander Barkov still might if he wins a last-man-in vote. Panthers entering the weekend had won six-of-seven and were fighting for best record in East, perhaps inspired by Twerkin Kodak Black?

6. HURRICANES: Cristobal mania grows, but no poll love just yet: Excitement is growing around new Canes football coach Mario Cristobal as he fills out his staff, but it hasn't translated to high expectations for the 2022 season -- not yet, at least. UM is nowhere to be found in ESPN's way-too-early first Top 25, which did include ACC teams N.C. State, Clemson and Wake Forest.

7. INTER MIAMI: Year 3 open with start of training camp Monday: With a roster shakeup following two losing seasons, David Beckham's guys begin Year 3 in Major League Soccer with start of training camp Monday. The regular season opens at home, back in Fort Lauderdale again, on February 26.

8. CANES BASKETBALL: UM men poll-bound, but can they solve Florida State?: Canes men at 13-4 and 5-1 in ACC are poll-bound after beating No. 2 Duke, even though they then lost to FSU for eighth straight time. UM faces North Carolina Tuesday then has a rematch with Noles. The 8-5 Canes women host ranked GeorgiaTech and Duke Sunday and Tuesday.

9. MLB: Dear Baseball: Get your ass in gear!: First paragraph of a story I read: "On Thursday, MLB's owners and players had their first CBA negotiations since the lockout began on December 2. Owners made a proposal, but it doesn’t seem any common ground was found. The session lasted about an hour." Delayed season, here we come!

10. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Anybody else worried sport has created a transfer monster?: Will the last college football player to not enter the transfer portal please turn out the light?

Missing the HB10 cut: The champion Georgia Bulldogs planned to celebrate their first national football crown since 1980 with a parade leading to a stadium party on Saturday. Nick Saban will not attend ..... Colombia and Honduras play a soccer friendly Sunday at Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Laudderdale ..... With the Baseball Hall of Fame reveal January 25, latest voting trends made public suggest David Ortiz is the only man a strong bet to get in. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are tracking to get in on their last year of eligibility, but both have lost support as more votes are known. Stay tuned ..... In soccer, FA Cup competition resumes February 4 ..... The Hurricanes were shut out on the 2002 College Football Hall of Fame induction reveal. Ken Dorsey, Bryant McKinnie and coach Larry Coker were finalists but none made it ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday, January 17 at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,625 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 SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022. When do we start looking at somebody funny for still saying "Happy New Year"? Not yet, or yes now? 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 18 picks, new Greg Cote Show year-end best-of podcast, Why Saban 'what-if' still haunts Miami, No playoffs and no firm idea on Tua worst way for Dolphins to end season, NFL Week 17 results for picks/Lobos/QB rankings.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: SPECIAL NEW YEAR-END BEST-OF EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 2nd episode of 2022 and 93rd overall drops Monday morning! A new pod is out every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 92 we've done so far HERE, free. In our latest episode: It's GregFest: Our Best-Of Year-End Extravaganza (with new stuff, too). We relive our greatest hits 'n bits from the past year: Interviews, Songs, Greg Doesn't Know Movies, Hard Knocks/Lobos -- the fun don't stop! Inlcuding a new Mount Gregmore of OUR favorite epsiodes from '21. You won't want to miss it! 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 18 PICKS: DOLPHINS-PATRIOTS, BIG UPSET, FINAL PLAYOFF TICKETS, ALL THE REST: Our second-half heater resumed in Week 17 as went a big 12-4 overall (again) and 8-8 against the spread. Nailed another Upset of the Week in Steelers beating Browns  Monday night. With one week to go our overall season total has risen and our number against the Evil Betting Line is above what it was a year ago. Time to finish strong! In Saturday's doubleheader we were 2-0 straight-up, 1-1 against the spread. For our Game of the Week, Upset of the Week, Dolphins-Patriots call and who's getting the final three unclaimed playoff tickets, visit NFL Week 18 Gems.

Our most recent columns: Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later / No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Georgia Crushes Michigan in OB. The Bad News? 'Bama Next /and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude. Also: Party, Meet Hangover: Tua, Dolphins Out Of Playoff Chase With Loss at Titans / Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 / 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 / and Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JANUARY 9-10): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Fins end roller-coaster season hoping for winning record: The season began with high hopes after an upset win at New England. Seven straight losses followed. Then seven wins in a row. Then a crushing loss at Tennessee. Now, at 8-8, it ends back home like it started: Against the rival Patriots. No playoffs, but a winning record the consolation prize. Meanwhile Jaylen Waddle was named team MVP -- Tua Tagovailoa not winning it in his second season another indication of disappointment in him.

2. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgia favored but 'Bama feels like favorite in Monday's CFP final: Betting odds say Bulldogs are 2 1/2-point picks over Crimson Tide in Monday night's College Football Playoff national championship game in Indy. Hmm. 'Bama has beaten Georgia seven straight under Nick Saban, including 41-24 for the SEC title December 4. Now Tide are after their seventh national crown under Saban while 'Dawgs aim for first and only since 1980. Has a favorite ever seemed more like the underdog?

3. HEAT: Miami keeps winning without two biggest stars: Miami is 25-15 and up to third in the East after Saturday's 123-100 win at Phoenix. In initial fan voting for All-Star team Jimmy Butler is running 5th and Bam Adebayo 8th among Eastern frontcourt guys, despite Bam missing 22 games injured and Butler missing 17. Tyler Herro is 8th among East guards. Miami is back in play Wednesday in Atlanta.

4. CANES BASKETBALL: UM men poll-bound after upset win at No. 2 Duke!: Canes men's basketball is 13-3, 5-0 in the ACC and on a ninet-game win streak after Saturday's 76-74 upset win at No. 2 ranked Duke, led by leading scorer Kameron McGusty's late winning layup. UM, back in action Tuesday at FSU, has not been ranked all season but that's about to change. The COVID-hit Miami women are 7-4 (0-1 ACC) entering Sunday's game vs. No. 5 N.C. State.

5. NFL: Week 18 to complete playoff picture with final three teams: Eleven teams are in the postseason and three tickers remain entering Week 18. The Colts and 49ers are win-and-in, as is the Chargers-Raiders winner Sunday night. Saints are in with a win if the Niners lose. Steelers and Ravens are alive but need a win plus much other help.

6. PANTHERS: Cats are back on top in NHL East: Florida is 23-7-5 and now atop the East after Saturday's 4-3 OT win at Carolina, and leading the NHL in goals at 3.92 per game led by Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair with 14 each. Cats are back on ice Tuesday at home vs. Vancouver.

7. INTER MIAMI: Roster undergoing shakeuo entering Year 3: Inter Miami will open training camp January 17 for its third Major League Soccer season missing some familiar faces as part of a massive roster shakeup following two disappointing seasons. Two of three Designated Players -- midfielders Rodolfo Pizarro of Mexico and Blaise Matuidi of France -- are not expected back. The third, Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain, reportedly will return.

8. HURRICANES: Cristobal continues to raid Oregon to fill out his staff: New Canes football Mario Cristobal keeps populating his UM staff with guys lured from his former staff at Oregon. The latest: Alex Mirabal as assistant head coach and offensive line coach, and Joe Salave’a as to the position of Miami Hurricanes’ defensive line coach, associate head coach/defense and defensive run-game coordinator.

9. TENNIS: Djokovic vaccine drama clouds runup to Aussie Open: The year's first tennis major, the January 17-30 Australian Open, is embroiled in a vaccination drama with reigning men's champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The noted anti-vaxxer had claimed a medical exemption from the tournament's COVID-19 vaccination requirements, but the Aussie government ultimately denied his visa and tuned him away. Stay tunedc.

10. SOCCER: Colombia, Honduras set for friendly in Fort Lauderdale: The match next Sunday January 16 at Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale will be a World Cup tuneup for Colombia, which is bringing a quality roster for what is being called a preparation for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Argentina in the runup to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Missing the HB10 cut: From 217 names on the ballot, 18 players and three coaches will be announced Monday as 2022 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame. Nominees included three former Miami Hurricanes: QB Ken Dorsey, OT Bryant McKinnie and coach Larry Coker ..... Warriors star Klay Thompson will play today for first time since June 13, 2019, when he tore his left ACL in Game 6 of the '19 NBA Finals ..... Marlins spring-training tickets are now on sale. The bad news: The MLB lockout has the start of spring training anybody's guess ..... The FA Cup, in which England's lower-league Davids take on the Premier League's Goliaths, continues with 32 matches taking place Friday through this Monday ..... The back-for-another-try USFL announced its first four head-coach hires. They include former NFL head coaches Todd Haley and Mike Riley. The spring league opens  in April. I'd set the over/under on its surviival at 1 1/2 seasons ..... Former NFL and Canes star Clinton Portis was sentenced to six months in prison for his role in a medical fraud scheme ..... Wait. Antonio Brown in the midst of a controversy!? No way! ..... The 2022 Baseball Hall  of Fame inductees will be revealed January 25 live from Cooperstown on MLB Network. David Ortiz, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens (the latter two in their final year of eligibility) are expcetd to be inducted based on early voting trends made public. First-tme eligible Alex Rodriguez, thank to steroids, will not make it on his first try ..... NFL announced a public memorial for John Madden would be held February 15 in Oakland ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday, January 10 at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,632 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, JANUARY 3, 2022. Happy New Year! Hope you made it a safe one. 2) R.I.P., John Madden. A football legend in so many ways. Had a chance to interview him once many years ago and he could not have been more generous or giving of his time. Also, R.I.P. Betty White, at 99. 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): NFL Week 17 picks, Georgia wins OB to setup title game vs. 'Bama, My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot revealed, Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: SPECIAL NEW YEAR-END BEST-OF EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 1st episode of 2022 and 92nd 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. Find all 92 we've done so far HERE, free. In our new episode: It's GregFest: Our Best-Of Year-End Extravaganza (with new stuff, too). We relives out greatest hits from the past year: Interviews, Songs, Greg Doesn't Know Movies, Hard Knocks/Lobos -- the fun don't stop! Inlcuding a new Mount Gregmore of OUR favrite epsiodes. You won't want to miss it! 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 17 PICKS: DOLPHINS-TITANS, 2 BIG UPSETS, ALL THE REST: Our second-half heater resumed in Week 16 as went a big 12-4 overall and a solid 10-6 against the spread. Nailed Titans’ upset of Niners and Colts’ miniupset of Cards, and also had Lions-with-points covering at Atlanta. Had some bad luck related to the fact our picks are locked in on Thursdays. That has hurt us some related to Covid protocols and also injuries, such as Lamar Jackson still with a shot to play when we picked last week. Anyhow, no excuses. With two weeks to go our overall season total has risen and our number against the Evil Betting Line is now above what it was a year ago. Time to finish strong! This week we call two more outright upsets. For those, our Game of the Week, our pick for Dolphins-Titans and all the rest, visit NFL Week 17 Gems.

Our Dolphins column: Party, Meet Hangover: Tua, Dolphins OUt Of Playoffs Chase With Loss at Titans.

Our Orange Bowl column: Georgia Crushes Michigan in OB. The Bad News? 'Bama Next.

Most recent other columns: Revealing And Discussing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Also: Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 / 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 / and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JANUARY 2-3): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Fins' 7-game win streak, playoff hopes end with a thud: Dolphins were small road underdogs but big losers Sunday afternoon at Tennessee in a 34-3 defeat that (coupled with Chargers' win) ended Miami's playoff hopes. To make matters worse, longtime former quarterback Ryan Tannehill outperformed Tua Tagovailoa.

2. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgia wins OB in rout, to meet Alabama for title: Georgia crushed Michigan 34-11 in the 88th Orange Bowl game in Miami, hours after Alabama routed upstart Cincinnati 27-6 in the Cotton 6, the two College Football Playoff semifinals producing a January 10 Bulldogs-Crimson Tide championship game in Indianapolis. Nick Saban vs. America? 

3. HEAT: Depleted Miami loses to end 5-game win streak; Chalmers back: Miami is 23-14 with Sunday's loss ending a five-game win streak. Heat, depleted by COVID and injuries, continue on seven-goal road trip. Team brought back old fan fave Mario Chalmers, 35, on a 10-day contract but he has yet to play.

4. PANTHERS: Hot Cats folloe COVID pause with third straight win: Florida is 21-7-4 and second in the NHL East with Saturday's 5-2 win over Montreal a third straight W following three straight losses and then a four-gmae COVID-related postponement. Florida is back on ice Tuesday vs. Calgary.

5. DEATHS: NFL icon John Madden, gone at 85: Madden died just days before the premiere of the documentary bearing his name. Similarly ill-timed, beloeved TV icon Betty White passed away at 99, missing her 100th birthday by just 17 days.  

6. HALLS OF FAME: Zach Thomas, 3 ex-Canes among 15 football HOF finalists: Perennial near-miss Zach Thomas, the popular former Dolphin, gives Canton another try as one of 15 2022 finalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame. Joining him: Ex-Hurricanes Devin Hester, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne.

7. HURRICANES: Did UM narrowly avoid bowl forfeit?: Miami, after bowing out just days ahead of the Sun Bowl due to a COVID outbeak, might have been saddled with a forfeit loss had the Sun not found a last-minute replacement to play Washington State, Hot Button hears. UM, with new coach Mario Cristobal in place, has lost 10 of past 11 bowl games.

8. CANES BASKETBALL: UM men surging, women on pause: Canes men's basketball is 11-3 and an ACC-leading 3-0 in conference with seven straight wins. When will AP Top 25 voters start to notice? Men host Syracuse Wednesday then play at No. 2 Duke next Saturday. UM women are 7-3, with four straight games postponed by COVID including Sunday's at Virginia.

9. MLB: Lockout stalemate now msessing with start of spring training: MLB and its players union have not met for nearly a month now, since the lockout began. with no talks scheduled. Experts now say there's a strong chance the February spring training will be interrupted.

10. BOXING/UCF: Jake Paul vs. Dana White: Self-created boxer Jake Paul Paul tweeted to UFC chief Dana White he'd retire from boxing to fight Jorge Masvidal if White agreed. Three words for Jake Paul retiring from boxing: Happy New Year!

Missing the HB10 cut: Dolphins DB Jason McCourty is one of eight finalists for the NFL's 2021 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast returns from a holiday week off with a special "GregFest: Year-End Best-Of Extravaganza" out Monday, January 3 ..... Update: Countdown now 1,639 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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