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

1) It's SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5. Sorry the blog was not updated for several days. Typepad, our host, had been down. But we're back! And Hot Button Top 10 will return with a new edition on Sunday. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 8 picks, Blood-money LIV Golf ends season at Doral, NFL Week 7 results, Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH MINA KIMES (AND LENNY) OUT NOW!: Our 46th episode of 2022 and 137th overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 137 we've done so far HERE. In our latest episode: ESPN star Mina Kimes (and, unexpectedly, her dog Lenny, pictured) join us for a chat on the NFL and on fun stuff, too. Also: Trick-or-treating with Trevor Lawrence, Greg speaks about his social-media firestorm over Jerry Lee Lewis' death and more. Hit up GCS2246 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. Now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Greg's Lobos T-shirts and hats! Also check out our podcast's YouTube channel.

NFL WEEK 9 PICKS: DOLPHINS-BEARS, GAME OF WEEK, 3 UPSETS ALL THE REST: Had a third straight winning week against the point spread last week. Can we keep it going? Visit NFL Week 9 Gems for to find all of our latest picks for Dolphins-Bears, our (controversial) Game of the Week, three more big upsets and all the rest. Got off to a mixed start. Had Eagles (-14) both winning and covering at Houston. Birds won but narrowly missed the cover, 29-17. Find that separate predix capsule at NFL Week 9 Thursday Gem.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Has Dolphins' Trade For Chubb Sent Team's Super Bowl Shot 'To The Moon'? NEW! 

NEW! Miami-FSU Rivalry Week Leans On Nostalgia As 2 Programs Try To Get Back Up NEW!

Tua's Huge Day Leads Dolphins Over Lions in Detroit. But Warning Signs Are There

Not Pretty. OK, It Was Ugly. But Canes' OT Escape At Virginia Keep Bowl Hope Alive

Pawns Chasing Saudi Blood Money Come To Doral As LIV Golf Ends 1st Season

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Not Perfect, But Return Of Tua, Big Defense Lift Dolphins Past Steelers / Epic New Low For Cristobal: 8 Turnovers in 45-21 Home Loss To Duke / Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat Disappoint In Season-Opening Home Loss / Tua Can't Return Soon Enough As Dolphins Fall To Vikings For 3rd Straight Loss / Sorry, Canes, But 20-14 Win At Va-Tech Doesn't Impress Any More Than 3-3 Does.  Note: Mount Gregmore includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on newest podcast are not included.

NFL WEEK 8 RESULTS: HERALD PICKS X GREG'S LOBOS X QB RANKINGS:

Herald Picks: Streak against the spread lives! -- Been a tough season so far with our picks in the Herald and I'm not alone, but scratched out a 9-6 mark overall and went 8-7 against the spread. That was our third straight winning week ATS, with a 25-18 mark (.581) vs. the Evil Betting Line in that span. Bull's-eyed an outright upset with Broncos over Jaguars in London, and had another pair of dogs-plus-points on covers by Packers in Buffalo and Browns over Cincy. Let's keep it going on our recent uptick against the point spread!

Greg's Lobos: A 175-point rout for another win! -- The defending PFPI Fantasy champion Lobos are rolling at 5-3 after a big 175-115 win. Got 29 points from Tua Tagovailoa, 26 from both Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb, and 21 from both Lamar Jackson and Nick Folk. When you get a double-double from your kicker -- you know you're golden. We now stand tied for second in our 10-team family 'n friends fantasy league. Big game this week against another 5-3 team in Crown Me The Champ -- my son Chris.

NFL QB Rankings: Tua wins week, and there's another new No. 1 -- Miami's Tua Tagovailao wins his second weekly title of the season to take Week 8 honors and there's another change at No. 1 overall in the updated Miami Herald Quarterback Rankings. Full Top 25 and more at NFL Week 8 QB Rankings.

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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: Csonka, ‘Heart’ Of Dolphins Glory Days, On Life Of Adventure — And Perfection / QB Calamity! 3rd-String Thompson Has Rough Baptism As Dolphins Fall At Jets / Canes Lose ACC Opener, Fall To 2-3 As Misery Continues For Mario Cristobal / Five Years In, Miami Marlins Rebuild Isn't Working. Here Is The Solution / NFLPA Firing Doctor For Concussion Eval May Mean Fins, Tua Are Victims Here / 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 / Cristobal Honeymoon Ends With Thud As Canes Lose To Middle Tennessee / Zero To Perfect: How Glory Days Dolphins Put Miami on National Sports Map / Our 2022 NFL Team Ranking. Wait. Miami Dolphins Are WHERE!? / Why Hill & Waddle Are Dolphins' Best WR Duo Since Clayton/Duper / UM's Van Dyke Had Epic Year. Now His Encore Will Define Start Of Cristobal Era / Serena's Week At U.S. Open One For Ages As Tennis' Queen GOAT Defies Time / Tribute: Community Was One Place Dolphins Won Big -- Because of Jason Jenkins / Watson Punishment Will Go Way Beyond HIs Extended NFL Suspension / Butch Davis On Retiring, His 50-Year Career -- & Canes Twice Almost Bringing Him Back / Miami Raised Mario Cristobal. Payback? Come Home & Make Canes Football Matter Again / Ross NFL Cheating Scandal A New Low For Owner Who Embarrasses Dolphins / 11 NBA Titles Not Where Bill Russell's Legacy Starts. Tribute To An  Epic Life / Ranking South Florida's Top 20 Biggest Sports Stars (2022 Edition) / If Miami Marlins Trading For Juan Soto Sounds Laughable -- That's The Problem / Dolphins' Tua: The Disrespected Underdog QB About To Prove Everybody Wrong / How Matthew Tkachuk Brings Needed Swagger, Bravado To Panthers / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley / Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / 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 / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

Revisit this blog often because it updates regularly. The Associated Press Sports Editors 2021 writing awards again ranked the blog's author a Top 10 national sports columnist in '22 voting in the major-outlet category. Greg is also a regular on the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz.

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

1) It's SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29. Glad to be on the newest Marvel Cinematic University podcast to talk about my extensive comic book collection from childhood. Check it out HERE! 2) Also happy to be back on Le Batard Show this week. Check out the show's Tuesday podcasts and videos. 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, Tua and defense lead Dolphins over Steelers, New low for Cristobal in error-filled Canes loss, NFL Week 7 picks, new Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 45th episode of 2022 and 136th overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 136 we've done so far HERE. In our new episode: A new Le Batard Show “Mas Miami’ fan night is coming up December 10, and the GCS podcast reveals big plans for a major presence at the event; Greg shares the two new TV commercials out now that he loves; Greg is fascinated by a new forensic study on a Neanderthal family that lived 54,000 years ago and Chris and Yeti are palpably bored and dumbfounded by that fascination; and Chris and Greg report live from Sunday night’s Dolphins-Steelers game, and Greg shares an inside look at Saturday’s invitation-only gala honoring Miami’s 1972 Perfect Season team. Also in the new ep: Greg’s reveals a shocking and perhaps repulsive truth about himself; Greg rails against LIV Golf coming to Miami and a World Cup in Qatar; Calendar jumpers; Friends of Greg (FOG) update; A horrifying revelation about ants; and a new Dad joke of the week. Hit up GCS2245 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. Now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Greg's Lobos T-shirts and hats -- with free shipping this week through Thursday! Also check out our podcast's YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Pawns Chasing Saudi Blood Money Come To Doral As LIV Golf Ends 1st Season NEW!

Not Perfect, But Return Of Tua, Big Defense Lift Dolphins Past Steelers

Epic New Low For Cristobal: 8 Turnovers in 45-21 Home Loss To Duke

Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat Disappoint In Season-Opening Home Loss

Tua Can't Return Soon Enough As Dolphins Fall To Vikings For 3rd Straight Loss

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Sorry, Canes, But 20-14 Win At Va-Tech Doesn't Impress Any More Than 3-3 Does / Csonka, ‘Heart’ Of Dolphins Glory Days, On Life Of Adventure — And Perfection / QB Calamity! 3rd-String Thompson Has Rough Baptism As Dolphins Fall At Jets / Canes Lose ACC Opener, Fall To 2-3 As Misery Continues For Mario Cristobal / Five Years In, Miami Marlins Rebuild Isn't Working. Here Is The Solution. Note: Mount Gregmore Of Columns includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on newest podcast are not included.

NFL WEEK 8 PICKS: DOLPHINS-LIONS, PACKERS-BILLS AND ALL THE REST: Went 9-5 against the spread last week to make it 17-11 ATS over the the past two weeks in Herald picks. Visit NFL Week 8 Gems for to find all of our latest picks for Dolphins-Lions, Packers at Bills (a.k.a. Aaron Rodgers vs. Josh Allen), four big upsets (!) and all the rest. Got off to a bad start last night. Had Bucs (+1) beating Ravens in a slight upset. They did not, up early but not holding on. Find that separate predix capsule at NFL Week 8 Thursday Gem.

NFL WEEK 7 RESULTS: HERALD PICKS X GREG'S LOBOS X QB RANKINGS:

Herald Picks: Workin' 9-5 on a solid week -- Been a tough season so far with our picks in the Herald but had a solid Week 7, going 9-5 both straight-up and against the spread. I'll take that ATS any week. Nailed our Upset of the Week with Giants winning at Jacksonville, and also had another pair of dogs-with-points on covers by Washington over the Packers and by Seattle vs. the Chargers. Let's keep building on our recent upswing against the point spread!

Greg's Lobos: Back on winning track and on playoff pace at midseason -- The defending PFPI Fantasy champion Lobos are at 4-3 and solidly on playoff pace, standing third of 10 teams and second in overall points at midseason after a 120-108 win. We smartly started Raheem Mostert as a bye-replacement and got a team-leading 20 from him, as well as 18 from Nick Chubb and 15 from Pat Freiermuth.

NFL QB Rankings: Burrow takes week, and there's a new No. 1 -- Cincy's Joe Burrow wins Week 7 honors with a season-best game and vaults from seventh place to second in the overall standings, but it's a different QB who takes over the No. 1 spot in the updated Miami Herald Quarterback Rankings. Full Top 25 and more at NFL Week 7 QB Rankings.

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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: NFLPA Firing Doctor For Concussion Eval May Mean Fins, Tua Are Victims Here / 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 / Cristobal Honeymoon Ends With Thud As Canes Lose To Middle Tennessee / Zero To Perfect: How Glory Days Dolphins Put Miami on National Sports Map / Our 2022 NFL Team Ranking. Wait. Miami Dolphins Are WHERE!? / Why Hill & Waddle Are Dolphins' Best WR Duo Since Clayton/Duper / UM's Van Dyke Had Epic Year. Now His Encore Will Define Start Of Cristobal Era / Serena's Week At U.S. Open One For Ages As Tennis' Queen GOAT Defies Time / Tribute: Community Was One Place Dolphins Won Big -- Because of Jason Jenkins / Watson Punishment Will Go Way Beyond HIs Extended NFL Suspension / Butch Davis On Retiring, His 50-Year Career -- & Canes Twice Almost Bringing Him Back / Miami Raised Mario Cristobal. Payback? Come Home & Make Canes Football Matter Again / Ross NFL Cheating Scandal A New Low For Owner Who Embarrasses Dolphins / 11 NBA Titles Not Where Bill Russell's Legacy Starts. Tribute To An  Epic Life / Ranking South Florida's Top 20 Biggest Sports Stars (2022 Edition) / If Miami Marlins Trading For Juan Soto Sounds Laughable -- That's The Problem / Dolphins' Tua: The Disrespected Underdog QB About To Prove Everybody Wrong / How Matthew Tkachuk Brings Needed Swagger, Bravado To Panthers / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley / Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / 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 / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

Revisit this blog often because it updates regularly. The Associated Press Sports Editors 2021 writing awards again ranked the blog's author a Top 10 national sports columnist in '22 voting in the major-outlet category. Greg is also a regular on the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz.

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

1) It's MONDAY, AUGUST 8. Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Canes football needs Cristobal to be the homecoming king, Goodell keeping power why Watson may yet get harsher ban, Ross and Dolphins socked for tampering, R.I.P. Vin Scully, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW WITH PLAN TO RENAME MOUNT RUSHMORE: Our 34th episode of 2022 and 125th overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 125 we've done so far HERE, free. In our new episode: We introduce and discuss our new petition drive at change.org to change the name of Mount Rushmore to Mount Gregmore. Also: Bill Maher of HBO’s “Real Time” asking, “Have you ever seen a fat 90-year-old?”; Yeti explains how a music studio in Slovakia had a hand in producing “Pebble Drive,” his new song that debuted on our show last week; Chris takes us into the room as Season 2 of Battle Court Jai-Alai gets underway with a player draft; Golfing alone leads Greg to reveal a heretofore unknown insecurity; Greg considers filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service; Greg holds Chris solely to blame for the two of them not winning last week’s billion-dollar lottery; Gender reveal stunt gone awry; and Chris and friend Alex have a surprise night out planned with their fathers. (But does Chris let slip what the surprise is?). Hit up GCS2234 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! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Why Has Brady Skated On Tampering Role & Does He Still Have Future In Miami? NEW!

NEW! Miami Raised Mario Cristobal. Payback? Come Home & Make Canes Football Matter Again New!

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (AUGUST 7-8): 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: Owner Ross guilty of tampering, Fins lose first-round pick: The NFL found the Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross guilty of tampering in 2019 to '21 in trying to lure quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton when both were under contract to other teams. The Fins must forfeit a 2023 first-round draft pick and a '24 third-rounder. In additon Ross was fined $1.5 million and vice chairman Bruce Beal was fined $500,000. Addressing the Brian Flores lawsuit, the league found that Ross expressed a priority for high draft position over winning but did not directly bribe Flores to lose. Miami will stage joint practces with the Buccaneers ahead of the first of three preseason games this coming Saturday in Tampa.

2. NFL: Goodell, league appealing Watson's wrist-slap 6-game suspension: The NFL said it will appeal the six-game suspension for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson in favor of a harsher penalty for violating the league's personal conduct policy related to sexual misconduct in massage sessions. The Monday sentence by league disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson has been roundly criticized as too lenient. Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine who will hear the appeal, himself or a designee. The league wanted an indefinite suspension of at least one full season, a fine and treatment.

3. HURRICANES: UM opens fall camp, season less than month away: The Canes began their first fall camp under new coach Mario Cristobal with a first practice Friday. A CanesFest fan event inside the indoor practice facility followed Saturday's practice. Preseason Top 25s are not out yet, but ESPN's first Football Power Index for 2022 has Miami No. 9 overall and second in the ACC to Clemson with a plus-14.5 rating. Miami opens its season at home September 3 with a softie vs. Bethune-Cookman. 

4. INTER MIAMI: Herons now on pace for final MLS playoff spot: Inter Miami is 8-6-10 after Satutday's 2-2 draw at Monttreal and its 30 standings are now tied for the seventh and last MLS East playoff spot. The league takes its all-star break this Wednesday night with the MLS stars -- including defender DeAndre Yedlin as Miami's lone rep -- taking on Mexico's Liga MX stars. The Herons return to league play with 10 games left in the regular season starting next Saturday at home vs. New York City.

5. MLB: Soto to Padres the whale-deal at the trade deadline: The San Diego Padres acquired 23-year-old megastar slugger Juan Soto from Washington for a bevy of top prospects in the biggest trade by far at the MLB trade deadline. Next biggest deal was the one not made, with Shohei Ohtani staying with the Angels, at least for now. Soto joins Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado in the S.D. lineup as Friars make a run at the Dodgers' dominance in the NL West.  

6. MARLINS: Sandy or bust. Let's quit pretending Fish are still in wild-card race: The good news: Ace Sandy Alcantara is now 10-4 after complete-game shutout of the Reds. The bad news? Most everything else. That gem ended a 1-5 homestand that left Miami so far back in the wild-card hunt it's time to stop using "Marlins" and "playoffs" in the same sentence. Miami has sliumped to 49-59 in the midst of a six-game road swing. Marlins' only trade-deadline move was a small one, dealing relievers Anthony Bass (team' holds leader) and Zach Pop to Toronto for infielder Jordan Groshans, a top-five Blue Jays minor-league prospect.

7. WNBA: Griner sentenced in Russia, but prisoner swap hoped for: A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for bringing cannabis into the country. She'd been arrested February 17. Her guilty plea, verdict and sentence were considered necessary precursors to allow U.S.-Russia negotiations for a prisoner exchange to begin.

8. GOLF: PGA Tour defectors fire latest salvo in the Golf War: Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and nine other LIV Golf competitors (a.k.a. PGA Tour expatriates) filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour in federal court, claimng their suspensions are part of a “carefully orchestrated plan" to defeat the Saudi-backed breakaway tour. Meanwhile the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs, from which LIV guys are excluded, begin August 19.

9. DEATHS: R.I.P., Vin Scully, broadcasting legend, diamond poet: Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, the Dodgers icon and diamond poet to generations, passed away at 96. It was the sports world's second farewell to an epic life within days, after NBA legend Bill Russell passed on at 88.

10. HEAT: Shh. Quiet, please. We don't want to wake the Heat's offseason: The exciting speculation about Miami's interest in going after major trades for whale Kevin Durant or mini-whale Donovan Mitchell seems long time ago and miles away as the Heat snore through a quiet offseason whose biggest headline thus far has been the loss of P.J. Tucker in free agency. Is Miami up to something? Anything? Stay tuned.

Missing the HB10 cut: Aaron Rodgers, much better at passing than at not saying things he shouldn't, admitted in an interview has had "psychedelic experiences" with mushrooms and the mind-bending ayahuasca plant. Will be interesting to see if the Packers are NFL do anything beyond shaking their collective head ..... Hate to be harsh, but it was a B-list crowd entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour, Dick Vermeil and Bryant Young enter as evidence the Hall admits too many .... Las Vegas beat Jacksonville 27-11 to kick off the NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game, in what was believed to be the worst matchup and most boring result in the history of human activity ..... Arsenal shut out Crystal Palace 2-nil to kick off the 2022-23 English Premier League season. A cloud over it: Cristiano Ronaldo's apparent desire to extract himself from Manchester United ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,407 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: 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 1. Farewell, July. Welcome, Augie! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): SoFla's Top 20 Biggest Sports Stars, Marlins and Juan Soto, Tua out to prove world wrong, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 33rd episode of 2022 and 124th overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 124 we've done so far HERE, free. In our new episode: Father-Son Olympics resumes as Greg and Chris go at it in field-goal kicking; Yeti world-premieres a new song, "Pebble Drive," that brings Greg to tears; and we debut an occasional new segment in which Greg converses with his 4-year-old granddaughter. Hit up GCS2233 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! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! 11 NBA Titles Not Where Bill Russell's Legacy Starts. Tribute To An  Epic Life NEW!

NEW! Deshaun Watson's 6-game NFL Suspension A Slap-On-The-Wrist Affront NEW!

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: How Mattew 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 24-25): 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: Slap on the wrist! Deshaun Watson suspended only 6 games!: The NFL wanted an indefinite suspension of at least one year but the league disciplinary officer, Sue L. Robinson, a retired federal judge, on Monday sentenced Browns QB Deshaun Watson to only a six-game supension for his implication by 25 women of sexual impropriety during massage sessions. Sad day for justice. Let's see if NFL appeals for more. 

2. DOLPHINS: Full training camp underway; exhibition opener less than two weeks out: Eyes swung to new receiving star Tyreek Hill, on-the-spot QB Tua Tagovailoa and new coach Mike McDaniel as the Fins opened full training camp for the club's 57th season. The first of three preseason games is less than two weeks away, on Saturday August 13 at Tampa Bay.

3. MARLINS: Fish, treading water, suffer home sweep by Mets: Marlins are 47-55 after Sunday's third straight home loss and a sweep by the rival Mets. Miami is fadin fast and now 9 1/2 back in the wild-card chase as a six-game homestand continues. Fish are 4-7 since the All-Star break and treading water on the far periphery of playoff contention, seemingly caught between buyer and seller mode and unlikely to make any major deals before Tuesday's MLB trade deadline.

4. HURRICANES: Three Canes preseason All-ACC, but not Van Dyke, as UM opens camp: Miami's first fall training camp undernew coach Mario Cristbal gets underway with Media Day on Tuesday. Tight end Will Mallory, tackle Zion Nelson and punter Lou Hedley made the preseason All-ACC first team. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke made third-team and also was third in preseason ACC player of the year voting.

5. SOCCER: England tops Germany for nation's first women's Euros crown: England, on its home turf at Wembley Stadium, topped Germany 2-1 Sunday in the title match of the women's UEFA European Championships. Germany had won a record eight Euro titles, while the Lionnesses were after their first in their third final. Germany was No. 5 to England's No. 8 in the FIFA women's World Ranking, but the Brits, home and on better current form, were slight betting favorites and showed why.

6. NBA: Bill Russell, 1934-2022, R.I.P.: The NBA legend, Boston Celtics icon, 11-time league champion and lifelong activist for rights and justice passed away at age 88 on Sunday. R.I.P. to an epic life led by an ultimate champion but so much more than a sports figure. 

7. SOCCER: It's opening week for English Premier League: Manchester City is a heavy favorite and Liverpool a stout second pick as the English Premier League opens its 2022-23 regular  season this coming Friday. The three new (promoted) gteams are Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, replacing the relegated Burnley, Norwich City and Watford.

8. INTER MIAMI: Higuain hat trick sparks draw for playoff-chasing Herons: With the regular season around the two-thirds mark, Inter Miami is 7-5-10 and three points off pace in the MLS playoff chase after Saturday's 4-4 home draw against Cincinnati fueled by Gonzalo Higuain's hat trick and an extra-time loss-avoiding goal by Chris McVey. Inter Miami is back on the league pitch Wednesday night in San Jose.

9. GOLF: The Golf War escalates as FedEx Cup playoffs near: The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs are just over a week away, with defectors to Saudi-backed LIV Golf excluded, of course, as the sport's (un)civil war contines. LIV Golf, whose roster includes Dustin Johnson, Brooks Kopeka and Bryson DeChambeau, announced an expanded, even more lucrative 2023 schedule. However broadcast star Charles Barkley declined a LIV overture to remain with TNT. The PGA Tour countered with a record $428.6 million payout for next season's schedule. 

10. UFC: G.O.A.T Nunes regains title in rematch: Amanda Nunes, greatest female fighter in MMA history, beat Julianna Pena in a dominant unanimous decision Saturday night in UFC 277 in Dallas -- regaining the bantamweight title she had lost in an upset to Peña in December.

Missing the HB10 cut: MLB trade deadline is Tuesday and the big questions: Will Nats make a blockbuster deal and trade Juan Soto? And will Shoehei Ohtani be leaving the Angels? Biggest deal tus far might have been Reds sending starting pitcher Luis Castillo to Mariners for prospects ..... Veteran Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten won the women's Tour de France on Sunday, but the real victory was for women's cycling. A women's Tour de France had last been run in 1989 but was revived this month for the first time in 33 years ..... Sacramento Republic FC, a second division team in the USL, defeated Sporting Kansas City of top-tier MLS to reach the final of the U.S. Open Cup, the longest-running soccer tournament in the U.S. and combining both pro and amateur teams. MLS has dominated the competition since becoming America's top division in 1996. Sacramento will be the first lower-division team in the final since 2008 when it faces Orlando City of MLS for the championship on September 7 ..... The Miami Heat's quiet free agency whispers on. Team seems no closer to a play for Kevin Durant, while the rival Celtics are rumored all in with Jaylen Brown on the table ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,414 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: 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 MONDAY, JULY 25. Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Why being a sports fan is harder than ever (but also more interesting), Super Mario and The Cheetah here to save football in Miami, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: THE 'FREEZING COLD TAKES' GUY!: Our 32nd episode of 2022 and 123rd overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 123 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Special guest Fred Segal, whose'Freezing Cold Takes' Twtter site has become a phenomenon, and who has a new book (pictured) out August 9. Included in the book: Greg's infamous "trade Marino" column. We discuss. Fun chat. Also iin the new ep: Joe Biden calls in; Making fun of Greg’s “Hey, everybody” voicemail message; Greg rails against a Ted Lasso ripoff show and those Diet Dr. Pepper ads with the fake Prince; Greg tells another Dad joke (just one, though, he promises); A debut ad from a brand new sponsor, Little Danny Urinal Cakes; Plus Dick Vitale’s ESPYs speech, Greg’s infatuation with soccer’s women’s Euros, and the heyday of U.S. airline hijackings. Also, details on how listeners can take advantage of free shipping in our merch store and win a spot in an upcoming Zoom Happy Hour! Hit up GCS2232 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! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Barkley, Djokovic, Lia Thomas: Being Sports Fan Never Harder -- Or More Interesting NEW!

NEW! How Super Mario And The Cheetah were Sent To Save Football in Miami NEW!

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 24-25): 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. PANTHERS: Cats get Tkachuk, lose Huberdeau in blockbuster trade!: It had been a quiet, even negative offseason -- one ESPN had graded a 'D.' But that changed fast late Friday night when Florida acquired big-time goal scorer Matthew Tkachuk and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick from Calgary Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Schwindt and a '25 first- round pick. It was a rare NHL swap of 100-point scorers as Tkachuk and Huberdeau both were coming off career years. Panthers paid steeply, but I like the deal. Tkachuk scored 42 goals last season, is better all-round (such as defensively) than Huberdeau, is five years younger and signed for eight years at $76 million, through 2030. "A generational talent," Cats GM Bill Zito called him. Huberdeau had a poor postseason, especially in the second round sweep by Tampa Bay. The one question: Will Tkachuk enjoy the same chemistry Hubderdeau had with Aleksander Barkov?

2. DOLPHINS: Football is back(ish)! Fish open preseason training camp: Rookies been at it all week, now veterans report this Tuesday with first full-squad practice on Wednesday as Fins open first training camp under new coach Mike McDaniel and new star Tyreek Hill. After two straight winning seasons and with an improved roster exectations are sky high, by which of course we mean, "It's your last shot, Tua. Don't blow it!"

3. HURRICANES: Cristobal leads ACC Football Kickoff, says bye-bye turnover chain: R.I.P., Turnover Chain, 2017-2021. It won't be back, first-year Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal revealed this week during the ACC Football Kickoff media days in Charlotte. "It is not a shot or a form of disrespect to anybody or anyone," Cristobal said, but added the gaudy prize for defensive turnover is "not a part of our culture." Good move. Swagger comes from performance and attitude, not jewelry.

4. MARLINS: Miami playoff hopes fading; Fish go arm-heavy in draft: Marlins are 45-50 -- the past four straight losses by shutout -- entering tonight's game in Cincy as a seven-game road trip continues. The fading Fish are now 8 games back in the NL wild-card race. Meanwhile in the MLB draft Miami grabbed 11 pitchers in a row after taking LSU RF Jacob Berry first (sixth overall). ESPN on Berry: "One of the least exciting [of] the top 10 picks because he's a corner-only prospect with limited defensive value and lacks a 70-grade tool. Alrighty then! But a 20-plus homer guy, at least, for a team way shy on bats.

5. INTER MIAMI: Herons shut out at NYC after Barca debacle: After a 6-0 home spanking by Barcelona in a friendly, Inter Miami returned to MLS play Saturday night with 2-0 loss at New York City FC. The Herons are now 7-4-10 and three points off pace in the playoff chase. Meantime the club reiterated that plans for Miami Freedom Park will stick with a 25,000-seat stadium, not the expanded 40,000-seat facility that might have enticed Miami Hurricanes football to move there. Inter Miami is back on the pitch next Saturday at home vs. Cincinnati.

6. TRACK & FIELD: McLaughlin leads U.S. as worlds wrap up in Oregon: The first-ever outdoor track and field world championships in the U.S. and the 18th edition overall finish Sunday and the Americans dominated the mecals count, easily leading in both total medals (33) and golds (13). The highlight among many: U.S. superwoman hurdler Sydney McLaughlin, 22, for the fourth time in 13 months, shattered her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles at 50.68 seconds.

7. SOCCER: It's England-Sweden, Germany-France in women's Euros semis: It'll be host England vs. Sweden on Tuesday and Germany vs. France on Wednesday in semifinal matches in the women's UEFA Eureopean championships. The two winners will meet next Sunday for the crown. This may be the sport's biggest trophy aside from the World Cup, and no Cinderella has survived. The four teams still standings all are in the top eight in the women's FIFA World Ranking.

8. HALLS OF FAME: Cooperstown gives Big Papi his day: Sleepy Cooperstown awakeneds for its annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction day Sunday and welcomed in Red Sox icon David (Big Papi) Ortiz, the only inductee minted by a BBWAA vote. In via committees: Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Kim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva and Buck O'Neil.

9. GOLF: Sport's war escaltes as LIV Golf chases British Open champ: Newly minted British Open champion Cameron Smith and broadcaster Charles Barkley are two of the latest stars being chased by LIV Golf as the breakaway tour continues to cherry-pick PGA Tour stars willing to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia's human righst abuses and its sportswashing with blood money. 

10. HEAT: No progress on Durant or Mitchell, but a big win for Spoelstra family: Miami's interest in trading for Kevin Durant (or Donovan Mitchell) has seen no progress with the reported unwillingness to part with Bam Adebayo. However coach Erik Spoelstra and his family scored a bigger-than-basketball victory with the uplifting news that 4-year-old son son Santiago had entered remission for the Burkitt lymphoma cancer he'd been battling for several months.

Missing the HB10 cut: Derek Jeter's 'The Captain', the 7-part docuseries about his life and career -- guessing his time as Marlins boss will get, what, 30 seconds? ..... It's been around four days now. Is Dick Vitale still talking? I think his ESPYs speech might finally be close to wrapping up ..... U.S. women's national team beat Canada 1-0 for soccer's regional CONCACAF title ..... MLB All-Star Game won by AL for eighth straight year. Bo-ring. So's this: Home Run Derby. Lots of excitement over big-leaguers going yard off 30 mph lobs ..... WWE boss Vince McMahon retires in shame amid investigation of alleged sexual misconduct ..... Tour de France ends today/Sunday. Is it too late for Lance Armstrong to cheat and win? ..... Are you ready for some cute lil' kids on TV? The 75th Little League World Series begins August 17 on ESPN ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,421 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: 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 SATURDAY, JULY 23. Happy to be back in-studio with the Le Batard Show this week. Check out Tuesday's show podcasts. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, How Messi-to-Miami became longest tease in sports, new Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! SHOENERAL!: Our 31st episode of 2022 and 122nd overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 122 we've done so far HERE, free. In the newest episode: There's a shoeneral as we lay to rest our beloved deck shoes, and you are invited. Also, world's best/worst Dad jokes, unhealthiest restaurant chains and sleepiest songs. Plus Tiger Woods' future, extortionist Google reviewers nd more. Hit up GCS2231 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! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Barkley, Djokovic, Lia Thomas: Being Sports Fan Never Harder -- Or More Interesting NEW!

NEW! How Super Mario And The Cheetah were Sent To Save Football in Miami NEW!

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: 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

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

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: 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 MONDAY, JULY 18. Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): LeBron's ironic entree into Brittney Griner detention, Heat's pursuit of Mitchell has dramatic twists, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! SHOENERAL!: Our 31st episode of 2022 and 122nd overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 122 we've done so far HERE, free. In the newest episode: There's a shoeneral as we lay to rest our beloved deck shoes, and you are invited. Also, world's best/worst Dad jokes, unhealthiest restaurant chains and sleepiest songs. Plus Tiger Woods' future, extortionist Google reviewers nd more. Hit up GCS2231 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! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports NEW!

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?0

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 17-18): 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. MLB: Baseball's up with Home Run Derby, All-Star Game!: Saturday's Futures Game and Celebrity Softball were the apps and Sunday's MLB Draft a side dish, now come the twin main courses: Monday's Home Run Derby and Tuesday's 92nd All-Star Game. The eight-man HRD sees Kyle Pete Alonso favored. The main ASG features 30 first-time all-stars among the 66 picks, and ceremonial honorees Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols at the opposite end. Marlins reps are pitcher Sandy Alcantara (second ASG) and 2B Jazz Chisholm and DH Garrett Cooper (both first timers).

2. GOLF: Cameron Smith rallies to win British Open: Tiger Woods badly missed the cut. Start there because The Open Championship (a.k.a. British Open) sagged with the news. Still plenty of drama left though as the 150th edition wrapped up Sunday at St. Andrews, birthplace of golf, with fan favorite Rory McIlroy blwoing a four-stroke lead and lesser known Cameron Smith hoisting the Claret Jug.

3. HEAT: Still a quiet offseason (so far) for Miami: heat. The Heat finished a nondescript 3-5 overall in Summer League play and lost P.J. Tucket to Philly in free agency. Nothing more notable yet. The club continues with an interest in trades for available whale Kevin Durant and mini-whale Donovan Mitchell, but will they be willing to make a costly winning offer in what could be at least a three-team deal? Doubts about that remain.

4. MARLINS: Cooper third Fish in ASG; Meyer routed in debut: Miami is 43-48 with three straight losses entrein the All-Star break after a 2-5. That included a 10-0 loss to Philly spoiling the MLB debut of touted Miami pitching prospect Max Meyer. Also: Sunday's MLB Draft found Miami selecting sixth overall and taking LSU rightfielder Jacob Berry. Sandy Alcantara, Jazz Chisholm and DH Garrett Cooper, added as an injury replacement, will rep Miami in the Midsummer Classic. Miami enters the break 7 1/2 games off pace to make playoffs as an NL wild card.

5. INTER MIAMI: Win closes in on playoff pace as Pozuelo debuts: Inter Miami is 7-4-9 and only one point off MLS playoff pace after Saturday's 3-2 home win over Charlotte on Emerson Rodriguez's 93rd-minute goal. Alejandro Pozuelo, 2020 league MVP acquired by cash trade, made his debut of the Herons. Inter Miami hosts Barcelona Wednesday night in a much anticipated home friendly -- Barca no loneger with Messi, of course, but still a top-tier international brand. Herons returns to MLS pitch next Saturday at New York City FC.

6. DOLPHINS: Football is here (sort of) as Fins rookies report Tuesday: NFL training camps are getting underway and, in Miami, it begins with rookies reporting this Tuesday led by top draft pick (third rounder) Channing Tindall, the Georgia linebacker. Veterans report a week later, the following Tuesday, when the full camp unfurls under rookie head coach Mike McDaniel, with all eyes on third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and new star receiver Tyreek Hill.

7. HURRICANES: Cristobal, Van Dyke lead UM to ACC Football Kickoff: The ACC, beacon of stability amid college football's tumult, holds its annual preseason Football Kickoff (a.k.a. Media Days) this Wednesday and Thursday in Charlotte. The 14 schools each send their head coach and three players. Miami's Mario Cristobal christens his first season leading his alma mater, alongside quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, tight end Will Mallory and defensive end Jahfari Harvey.

8. SOCCER: Women's Euros reaches quarterfinals: The end of group play on Monday will set the stage for the four quarterfinal matches in te 2022 UEFA women's Europeans championships. Two quarters already are set: Host England vs. Spain on Wednesday and Germany vs. Austria on Thursday. France also has advanced but awaits its opponent. Still alive: 

9. SOCCER: U.S. women reach CONCACAF finale: The USWNT eased past Costa Rica 3-0 to earn a place fothe Americans in the CONCACAF women's champio ship match on Monday vs. rival Canada. U.S. national team is reigning World Cup champ and naturally  a favorite in this regional tournament of North and Central America and Caribbean nations.

10. HALLS OF FAME: Big Papi fronts newest Cooperstown inductees: Baseball's Class of '22 Hall of Fame induction is next Sunday, July 24, led by Red Sox icon David "Big Papi" Ortiz, the only entrant via writers' votes. Older inductees tabbed by the Era Committee are Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Ji Kaat, Minnie Minoso Tony Oliva and Buck O'Neil.

Missing the HB10 cut: Ten selfishingly unvaccinated Kansas City Royals were unable to accompany the team to Toronto ..... The seven-part ESPN Derek Jeter docuseries The Captain preimeres Monday ..... The Hall of Fame shortstop and New York Yankees legend discussed his baseball future, among other topics, during an interview with ESPN's Hannah Storm ahead of the July 18 premiere of the seven-part ESPN docuseries "The Captain."..... LeBron James stepped in dogshit whle talking about Brittney Griner being detained in Russia ..... Florida Panthers wrapped up their five-day youth developmental camp involving 36 prospects from the past five NHL drafts ..... Jim Thorpe won an Olympic gold medal despite being dead 69 years. Thrope's 1912 medals had been syripped over amateurism violaton but were restored this week ..... Current and former Dolphins Jason McCourty and Richie "Bullygate" Incognito retired after long NFL careers ..... Juan Soto rejects $440 million offer from  Nationals. Dude. You're hitting .250 ..... Answer: Charles Barkley says he would with LIV Golf if asked about a role in the Saudi-back breakaway league. Question: Like, people who dislike Charles Barkley needed another reason!? ..... The NFL is pushing flag football as an Olympic sport. The IOC will rule in Decemer if the sport debuts in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles ..... Steph Curry will host The ESPYS on Wednesday night. Poor guy is finally getting some attention! ..... British soccer powers Arsenal and Chelsea meet this coming Saturday in Orlando to culminate a week of Florida Cup Series matches ..... The illustriously named but minor World Games end Sunday/today in Birmingham, Alabama ..... Tour de France ends July 24 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,428 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: 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 MONDAY, JULY 11. Last-minute switch: I'll be back in-studio with Le Batard Show tomorrow/Tuesday this week, not today. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Dear America (an open letter to all of us), AK-47 coffee at Cowboys games, Marlins' ace-on-fire Alcantara does it again, Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE DROPS NOW!: Our 30th episode of 2022 and 121st overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 121 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: It's our special Diggin’ Into Summer Edition: Chris, Stugotz and Mike Ryan (pictured) join us from Lake Tahoe to mock Greg for not being invited; ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez stops by with a review of our Fourth of July beach bash; and Greg reveals a testy email exchange with Dan Le Batard escalating Dan’s claim that Greg hasn’t been sufficiently hating on the late broadcaster Hank Goldberg. Also: 'Creature From The Black Lagoon,' a new TV recommendation, and cataracts. Hit up GCS2230 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! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 10-11): 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. MARLINS: Jazz, Sandy named All-Stars as break nears: Second baseman Jazz Chisholm was named the NL starter in becoming the first-ever Bahamas-born player to earn an All-Star selection. He is just the sixth Marlin to win a fan vote, after Hanley Ramirez (three times) and Dee Gordon, Marcell Ozuna, Gary Sheffield and Giancarlo Stanton. The 23 pitchers and reserves named Sunday included (of course) ace Sandy Alcantara. Marlins are 41-43 entering a seven-game homestand before All-Star break, with wild-card playoff hopes teetering ahead of August 2 trade deadline. 

2. HEAT: Durant talk cools as Miami seems ready to stand pat: The trade market for Kevin Durant does not seem as ready to give as Brooklyn would like, with Phoenix seen as the fronturnner for a deal. Heat seem to have decided to not go all-in and instead run it back with the squad that came close to reaching the NBA Finals last season. Club has re-signed Caleb Martin and Victor Oladipo among others. Heat is 1-0 in main Summer League play in Vegas after starting 1-2 in Oakland. Highlight thi=us far: A 25-point game from top rookie Nikola Jovic. Miami's youth squad is back at it Tuesday vs. Atlanta.

3. INTER MIAMI: Herons swing major trade for ex-MLS MVP Pozuelo: Inter Miami scored one of the biggest deals in its three-year history in acquiring 2020 MLS MVP Alejandro Pozuelo from Toronto in a cash trade. The Spanish attacking midfielder, 30, scored 26 goals with 31 assists in 88 starts for Toronto and "is a game-changer in this league," said Miami coach Phil Neville. xxxxx Herons are 6-4-8 and four points off playoff pace after Saturday night's 1-0 loss in Orlando City on an own-goal in extra time. Miami is back in action Wednesday when it hosts Philaldephia. Looming: The July 19 home friendly vs. Barcelona. Visa issues have not yet allowed Pozuelo's debut.

4. TENNIS: Djokovic, Rybakina reign as Wimbledon ends: Unlikeable men's final at Wimbleon today as notorious anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic was favored and indeed beat oft-fined and temperamental hothead Nick Kyrgios. Was Djoker's seventh W title and fourth straight. On Saturday, Elena Rybakina beat Ons Jabeur in the first women's Wimbledon title match since 1962 between two players making their debuts in a major final. Rybakina is the player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title, though controversially. She was born in Moscow but has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, so was allowed to play despite the All England Club barring players from Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine.

5. BASEBALL: Miami named main host of '23 World Baseball Classic: The World Baseball Classic returns in March 2023 with its fifth iteration. The last, won by the U.S., was in 2017. Japan, Taiwan, Phoenix and Miami will host pool play, with Marlins park hosting Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel and a fifth country to be named. Miami also will host the semifinals as well as the March 21, 2023 championship game.

6. PANTHERS: It's a low-watt NHL Draft as Cats stress youth: Florida had seven picks but none before the third round in the NHL Draft held in Montreal. Panthers sent their 2022 No. 1 pick to Buffalo last summer for Sam Reinhart and sent two second-round picks to Calgary for Sam Bennett. (Cats also will be without their 2023 and '24 No. 1 picks via trades for Ben Chiarot and Claude Giroux, respectively). This year's overall No. 1 NHL pick was Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky to Montreal. FLA's top pick in third round (93rd overall) was Portland (WHL) defenseman Marek Alscher. FLA also went D with its second pick, then targeted LW, LW, G, C and RW. The theme: Youth. All seven picks are 18.

7. GOLF: McIlroy the fave as British Open starts this Thursday: The year's final golf major tees off Thursday with the 150th Open Championship (i.e. British Open) at St. Andrews. Rory McIlroy is betting favorite followed by Jon Rahm, then Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas. Tiger Woods is listed in the field but is a 40-1 longshot. Also allowed in the field despite being barred from PGA Tour events: LIV Golf defectors such as Dustin Johnson.

8. POLITICS: Griner guilty plea believed to be strategic: As the WNBA plays its All-Star Game today without her, star Brittney Griner, detained in Russia more than four months, pleaded guilty to possessing a small amount of cannabis oil and faces up to 10 years in prison. However, experts believe the plea was a necessary step toward a hoped-or eventual prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S.

9. SOCCER: U.S. qualifies for Women's World Cup (well no duh!): The retooling, more youthful but still mighty U.S. women's national team earned a spot in the 2023 World Cup in a 5-0 rout of Jamaice. The U.S. has qualified for all eight previous WWCs, winning four including the past two in a row. Next summer's competition is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

10. DOLPHINS: Clayton, Kooch back in chase for Canton: As Dolphins prepare for training camp with rookies reporting July 19 and veterans July 26, a pair of ex-Fins are back in the mix for Pro Football Hall of Fame selection. Hall announced 54 semifinalists in the seniors/coaches/contributors category and among older players, former WR Mark Clayton and former OG Bob Kuechenberg both made it. Next hurdle: Making the cut from 54 to 24 on July 27.

Missing the HB10 cut: Will the last college football team to leave its conference please turn out the light? ..... Four-star edge rusher Jayden Wayne from Bradenton committed to Miami, lifting Canes 2023 class into top 10 at ninth, according to 247sports.com. Chose UM over Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan State and Oregon ..... The 2022 World Games, the 11th edition of an international competition for sports or events not in the Olympics, are underway through next Sunday in Birmingham, Ala. There are 108 nations involved, with 54 events across 30 sports. Big time for Birmingham, as the city's Stallions just won inaugural USFL championship game -- its victory parade delayed by the World Games ..... MLB Draft is next Sunday, with Marlins picking sixth overall. Expected first-rounders include CF Elijah Green, a Miami Hurricanes commit, and LHP Brandon Barriera from American Hertage High ..... Group play is underway in soccer's Women's European Championship being hosted by England ..... COVID is not done wth sports yet. Due to China's ongoing battle with the pandemic, PGA Tour cancelled an October tournament in Shanghei, and LPGA also canceled an upcoming event there ..... Longtime WWE boss Vince McMahon paid $12 million to four women to hush up coercive sexual relationships, says an expose' by the Wall Street Journal ..... Another ceiling shattered as Raiders made Las Vegas attorney Sandra Douglass Morgan as new team president, the first Black woman in that role in NFL history ..... Baker Mayfield is now a Carolina Panther via trade and will face Sam Darnold in an epic training camp QB battle of draft-bust flops ..... Aaron Rodgers got his first tattoo. Let us please never speak of this ever again ..... The American Century Championship, the annual celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, ends today ..... In a surprise, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France football legend Michel Platini both were acquitted of corruption charges by a Swiss court ..... A BetOnline.ag Twitter analysis determined which baseball fans complain the most about umpires, and St. Louis fans dubiously "won" wth an 6.89 percent complaint rate. Cleveland fans were last at 0.71%. Miami fans were in upper third at 5.26% ..... Upcoming: The 92nd MLB All-Star Game July 19 in L.A., with full rosters announced today/Sunday. The ESPYS on July 20, the sports awards show existing solely so ESPN can promote itself. British soccer powers Arsenal and Chelsea meeting July 23 in Orlando to culminate a week of Florida Cup Series matches. And Class of '22 Baseball Hall of Fame induction July 24. Also, Tour de France ends July 24 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,435 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: 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