July 25, 2022

New Greg Cote Show podcast out now: Fred Segal of 'Freezing Cold Takes' on Greg's infamous 'trade Marino' column; plus Latest Hot Button Top 10 (updated), The challenge of being a sports fan in 2022 (column) & more

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.

CoteshowSegalbookGREG 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:

BarkleyMarioNEW! 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:

HButton1. 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.

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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: 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

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

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

July 18, 2022

New column: How Messi-to-Miami became biggest, longest tease in sports; plus Latest Hot Button Top 10 (updated), new Greg Cote Show podcast out now (!), Mount Gregmore of columns & more

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, CoteshowSpotify Meshoes-- 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:

Messi BgrinerNEW! 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:

HButton1. 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 RemorseTua 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

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

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

March 14, 2022

Latest Hot button Top 10 (updated): Brady back, Brackets set, Baseball back, NFL free agency. Who's No. 1 and what else falls where?; plus our Riley/Spo column, new Greg Cote Show podcast out now! & more

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

1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 14. Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's latest venture -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): The moment Riley anointed Spoelstra to lead Heat, Brittney Griner stuck in Russia started with low WNBA pay, The resurgence of Canes basketball, Le Batard musical reaches No. 1, latest Greg Cote Show podcast.

Coteshow Joey JtdalyGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 12th episode of 2022 and 103rd overall is out now! A new pod drops each Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 103 we've done so far HERE, free. In our newest pod, we welcome two special guests: JT Daly, production mastermind of the new Le Batard Show musical, and Joey -- the Babe Ruth of American jai-alai. (They are pictured). Hit up GCS2212 for the full story on the new ep. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET). And watch for our weekly YouTube previews of latest episode HERE.

A PERSONAL NOTE, AND THANKS: I am honored to once again be named by Associated Press Sports Editors as a national Top 10 columnist in the major-outlet category for 2021 in '22 judging. The four nominated columns that won us the APSE distinction: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy, too? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Miami Dolphins sabotaging Tua, season with misguided interest in Watson

Heat, Brittney Griner, Canes: Our newest, basketball intensive columns from past week:

The Moment Spoelstra Joined Miami Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach

Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia Because Of Low WNBA Pay -- And NBA Failing To Help

Larranaga, Meier Enjoy Resurgence Of Miami Hurricanes Basketball as March Madness Nears

Other most recent columns:  Le Batard Show Anoints Chris Cote To Save Jai-Alai /Tom Brady. Miami Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen and Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart, Ended In Divorce

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 13-14): 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:

HButton

1. NFL: He's baaack! Brady coming back after six week's 'retirement': G.O.A.T. QB Tom Brady, 44, now says he will play another season with the Tampa bay Buccaneers.

2. COLLEGE BASKETBALL/CANES: Selection Sunday sets bracket for Canes, Madness: Brackets ready? Selection Sunday set the fields for the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments -- a.k.a., March Madness. Miami's 80-76 loss to Duke Friday night in men's ACC semifinals would not hurt its NCAA standing, and the UM women's 3-0 run before an ACC final loss certainly would not. Miami men are a No. 10 seed and open vs. No. 7 USC in the Midwest region. On women's side, Canes are a No. 8 seed and open vs. No. 9 Souht Florida in the Greensboro region. Madness tips off Tuesday and runs through April 4.

3. MLB/MARLINS: Play ball! Lockout settled, spring games on deck: Baseball's 99-day lockout (finally) ended with a new CBA agreement, and a full 162-game season preserved. Teams report this weekend for a few days' practice before spring play starts. Marlins' first spring game is this coming Friday, with regular season Opening Day on April 8 at the Giants. Meantime free agency has begun again. Tim to open up the wallet for big bats, Marlins. Kris Bryant? Nick Castellanos? Yes, please!

4. PANTHERS: Cats' 5=game streak ends in L.A.: Florida is 40-13-6 after a loss in L.A. Sunday night ended a five-game win streak, but Florida still is up four points over Tampa Bay in the NHL Atlantic, with the league's highest scoring team (by a lot) and Sergei Bobrovsky in a groove at the net. Florida's five-game streak was its best since opening the season 8-0.

5. HEAT: Miami loses but still out front in East: Miami is 45-24 but still 2 1/2 games up in the East after Saturday night's 113-104 home loss to Minnesota despite Tyler Herro's 30 points. Jimmy Butler sat out with a sore toe. Markieff Morris (six points, 17 minutes) played his first game in four months since suffering a whiplash injury in a November 8 one-rounder with Denver's Nikola Jokic. Heat continues its seven-game homestand Tuesday vs. Detroit. 

6. NFL/DOLPHINS: Major QB news as free agency frenzy underway: Aaron Rodgers re-ups with Green Bay. Seattle trades Russell Wilson to Denver. Interest in Deshaun Watson revives as grand jury declines to criminally charge him. (Oh, and Indy trades Carson Wentz to Washington). NFL free agency has begun! Watson still faces 22 civil suits over alleged impropiety during massage sessions, but the lifting of the criminal cloud is huge. Maximbet.com has Tampa Bay (3-1) and Pittsburgh (4-1) most likely to sign Watson. (Don't sleep on Carolina). Dolphins, with money to spend, should be active in FA. Guard Laken Tomlinson is someone to keep an eye on.  

7. INTER MIAMI: Still winless through 3 games; stadium vote delayed: Inter Miami is now 0-2-1 (two losses, one tie) to open Year 3 in MLS after Saturday's 2-nil home loss to LAFC, with only one goal scored in three games. Herons return to the pitch next Saturday at Cincinnati. Meantime city of Miami delayed yet again a final vote whether to green-light the new Miami Freedom Park initative. Vote was to be this past week but is now set for April 7.

8. TENNIS: Miami Open one week away; Djokovic withdraws: The Miami Open at Hard Rock begins next week, March 21, with a strong field -- but one weakened by the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic. He cannot travel to the U.S. because he remains steadfastly unvaccinated against COVID. Djokovic is a 20-time Grand Slam winner and No. 2 in the wpr;d but continues his quixotic stance against the vaccine for no apparent reason.  #smh  Good riddance.

9. WNBA: Griner remains detained in Russia amid invasion of Ukraine: Phoenix Mercury WNBA star Brittney Griner remains detained in Russia after her arrest on likely concocted drug charges -- now seen as a retaliation pawn as the U.S. and much of the rest of the world levies economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, English Premier League disqualified Roman Abramovich as a director at Chelsea when the club's assets were frozen after the UK imposed sanctions on Abramovich, one of seven Russian oligarchs targeted in the eake of the invasion.

10. GOLF: Tiger inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame: In a foregone conclusion, Tiger Woods officially was inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame this week, introduced by daughter Sam, 14. Woods was elected March 2020 for induction in '21, but the ceremony was delayed by COVID. Woods, 46, conrinues his recovery from serious leg injuries suffered in a car wreck 13 months ago.

Missing the HB10 cut: Did I mention the Le Batard Show musical was No. 1 on the national iTunes chart? Yeah that was a thing ..... Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid have claimed the first four spots in the UEFA Champions League final eight, with the other four teams to be decided by matches this Tuesday and Wedneday. (Real ousted Messi and Paris-Saint Germain). The quarterfinal draw will be held Friday. Championship match is set May 28 in Paris, moved from Russia becase of its invasion of Ukraine ..... The Spurs' Gregg Popovich won his 1,336th game to surpass Don Nelson for all-time NBA coaching wins ..... Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and longtime GF Brittany Matthews got hitched in a lavish Hawaii wedding ..... Broadcaster Joe Buck is leaving Fox Sports for ESPN to become the voice of Monday Night Football ..... Four-time major tennis champion Naomi Osaka was heckled by a spectator during a second-round loss at Indian Wells ..... Weather has ravaged The Players Championship, which likely won't finish until Monday (or even Tuesday) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida ..... LeBron (Ain't Done Yet) James dropped 50 on the Wizards. But can the Lakers scramble to even make the playoffs? ..... Canes baseball, out of the Top 25, is 10-4 entering today's rubber game of a three-game home series vs. Boston College ..... Hurricanes spring football practice, three workdays in, is off until resuming March 22 ..... Canes rewarded men's basketball coach Jim Larranaga with a two-year contract extension ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,569 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

Other most recent columns:Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Who Dolphins, With Windfall To Spend, Should Target In Offseason To Fix Offense Fast / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / and McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win.

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

Select other columnsDolphins Win, Finish 9-8, Now Must Commit To Build Around Tua / Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later / No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot /  Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention /  Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer /  Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / 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 / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

February 13, 2022

Happy Super Bowl: Rams beat Cincy in last minute; plus latest Hot Button Top 10 (jam-packed); also, new Greg Cote Show podcast out now!, Zach Thomas and other latest columns & more

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

Valday1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14. Happy Valentine's Day, sweethearts! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Zach Thomas on missing Hall again, Dolphins introduce Mike McDaniel, Super Bowl predictions, Smirk Week, Greg Cote Show podcast.

Coteshow MevalentineGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 8th episode of 2022 and 99th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 99 we've done so far HERE, free. In our new episode, we continue The Greg Cote Show Non-Sport Olympics, but with a live audience, and talk Super Bowl, Brian Flores suit, and new Dolphins coach Mke McDaniel. Also in the the latest ep: Drake (!) makes brief appearance; Greg’s business lunch with LeBron James; Greg brags about leaving big tip; Would you rather lick toad or toe?; Chris can’t believe Flores turned down lunch with Tom Brady; and Farding (not farting; farding). And, on a serious note, Greg's tribute to a dear friend who recently died unexpectedly. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

PicksOUR BENGALS-RAMS SUPER BOWL PICK: We nailed it! (Sort of). We called the Rams' win. But had them covering 3 1/2 points, so missed that by a point. For our full predix capsule, who'll win and why: Super Bowl Gem.

ZachFlurry of recent Dolphins-related columns: Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / and McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win. Also: Dolphins New Coach McDaniel Must Win, Heal Broken Franchise / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / and Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True.

Super Bowl With a Smirk quintet: SMIRK V ($1 million party ticket). SMIRK IV (Hip-hop halftime). SMIRK III (Last members of been-to-every-game club). SMIRK II (Joe Nickname, SB commercials). SMIRK I (City wars: L.A. glitz vs. Dull Cincy).

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 13-14): 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:

1HButton. NFL: Rams reign on Super Bowl Sunday!: L.A. Rams are champs after beating Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the last minute. A so-so game was redeemed by the exciting finish. Halftime show tried valiantly but could not leave up ot the enormous expectations. Commercials disappointed except for a few. And I have the Super Bowl flu. God Bless America! 

2. DOLPHINS: Miami officially introduces new coach Mike McDaniel: The guy replacing fired Brian Flores met the media for first time. Owner Stpehen Ross and GM Chris Grier took no questions (unfortunately but predictably), but first question to McDaniel was about the Flores-lawuit allegations againast Ross. McDaniel said it raised "no red flags" for him. Points to the new guy for blinders-on against the controversy and making it football-only. His new staff in progress notably added Wes Welker as receivers coach.

3. OLYMPICS: Chen, Kim leading Team USA gold rush: Team USA has climbed to third place in the medal count at the Winter Olympics in Bejing, with 16 total including seven golds into Monday's action. Nathan Chen in figure skating singles, Chloe Kim in snowboarding halfpipe and most recently Erin Jackson in 500m speedskating lead the gold rush. Elsewhere, Kamila Valieva's controversy, Mikaela Shiffrin's disappointment and Shaun White's farewell have made headlines.

4. HEAT: Miami quiet at deadline, but not on court with 5th W: Heat did nothing big before NBA trade deadline, but why should they? Miami is 37-20 and in first place in the East on the court after a fifth straight win Saturday, tyig a season-long streak. Miami is back on the floor Tuesday as Dallas visits.  

5. NBA: Harden-Simmons tops deadline deals: The Brooklyn-Philly trade-deadline blockbuster essentially sends James Harden to 76ers and Ben Simmons and two first-round picks to Nets as boht try to improve their disappointing standing in the East. Other deadlines moves of note: Kristaps Porzingis to Wizards, Serge Ibaka to Bucks and old Heat favorite Goran Dragic to Spurs.

6. HALLS OF FAME: Canton shuts out Zach Thomas, Canes trio: Pro Football Hall of Fame let in a slew in its 2022 class -- Tony Boselli, LeRoy Butler, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour, Bryant Young, Cliff Branch, Art McNally and Dick Vermeil -- but Canton forgot all about Miami. No (again) to Dolphins great Zach Thomas. And no to the hopeful ex-Canes trio of Devin Hester, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne.

7. HURRICANES: 5-Star QB, Ruiz's dream keep momentum going: Canes football momentum since the Mario Cristobal hire is palpbale. The latest: The hiring of Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator now has UM a serious contender for 2023 five-star quarterback Dante Moore. Meanwhile John Ruiz, the Miami billionaire lawyer and mega-donor, now includes Tropical Park as the latest possibility for a new Canes football stadium.  

8. PANTHERS: Cats finally return to ice this week: Florida is atop the East at 32-10-5 but will there be rust when Panthers to to the ice this Wednesday at Carolina? Between the NHL All-Star break and a mandatory one-week midseason bye, this will be the Cats' first game since February 1, a 15-day break.

9. AWARDS: MVP Aaron Rodgers top NFL Honors show: Three thoughts from the NFL Honors show: 1) What exactly is that hairstyle of MVP Aaron Rodgers' called?; 2) What's with the NFL's concerted but failed effort to covince us the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for community service is its biggest prize?; and 3) Christian Wilkins' 310-pound worm celebration made the night. But, when did we start calling a celebration a "celly"?

10. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men making case for NCAA invite: As March Madness nears, Canes men are 17-7 (10-4 ACC) and considered on inside edge of an NCAA Tournament invite after Saturday's 76=72 comeback win at Wake Forest. Jim Larranaga's guys are back at it Wednesday at Louisville with seven games left in regular season. UM women are 13-10/6-7 after Sunday's home win over nemesis Florida State, kindling hope for a late rally into contention for the NCAAs.

Missing the HB10 cut: No. 25-ranked Canes baseball opens its season with a home series vs. Towson State starting this coming Friday ..... The MLB lockout continues, now more than 70 days in and with the late-February start of spring training games in peril. Commissioner Rob Manfred said a delay of Opening Day would be a "disastrous outcome" ..... The SheBelieves Cup in women's soccer kicks off this Thursday in California. The USWNT faces Iceland on February 23 in Texas ..... NASCAR's first major event of the new season, the Daytona 500, is next Sunday ..... A Pele' rookie card from 1958 sold for $1.33 million, the first soccer card to top $1M ..... Twin countdown for Inter Miami: Stadium vote on February 23, opening of team's MLS Year 3 on February 26 ..... The HBCU Legacy Bowl next Saturday concludes the run of college all-star showcase games ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,597 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

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ARCHIVES

Select other columnsDolphins Win, Finish 9-8, Now Must Commit To Build Around Tua / Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later / No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Georgia Crushes Michigan in OB. The Bad News? 'Bama Next / Party, Meet Hangover: Tua, Dolphins Out Of Playoff Chase With Loss at Titans / Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention / Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

January 24, 2022

New Greg Cote Show podcast out now! NFL's greatest weekend ever, chat with Robot Umpire; plus latest Hot Button Top 10 (updated), time to parole Pete Rose, my 0-for-4 shame & more

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

1) It's MONDAY, JANUARY 24. Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Time is right for MLB to resinstate Pete Rose, NFL Divisional Round picks, New Greg Cote Show podcast.

Coteshow Robotump GreenmmGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NFL! ROBOT UMPIRE! NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 5th episode of 2022 and 96th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 96 we've done so far HERE, free. In our brand new episode, Chris and Greg exalt over the NFL's most exciting playoff weekend ever, and have an exclusive 1-on-1 chat with a Robot Umpire. Also in the new ep: Bomb dog retires;  M&Ms scandal; Greg apologizes to Newlywed Mark for referring to a part of his wedding as a 'nightmare' on Le Batard Show; Yeti reports live from a hospital bed. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

PicksNFL Divisional Round playoff picks: OOF!: They were four great games. Except for me. We went 0-4 overall and 0-4 against the spread in the Divisional Round -- a near impossibility and an unfortunate first for us. The sad truth: NFL Divisional Playoff Gems. Previous: NFL Wild-Card Playoff Gems.

ProseTime for MLB, in bed with gambling, to end hypocrisy and reinstate Pete Rose. New column: Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose.

FlapOther select recent columns: 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consquences, as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / and Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner. Also: Dolphins Win, Finish 9-8, Now Must Commit To Build Around Tua / Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later / No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

HButtonHOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JANUARY 23-24): 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: It's Chiefs-Bengals, Rams-49ers in final four: It hadn't happened since 2010 but it happened Saturday: Both No. 1 seeds losing in the NFL Divisional Round playoff. Green Bay fell to visiting San Francisco Saturday night after Tennessee was beaten by upstart Cincinnati. Sunday, reigning champion Tampa Bay fell at home to the L.A. Rams Kansas City held off Buffalo. That's four great games three upsets and a final four few expected.

2. HEAT: LeBron shines in return, but Miami wins: Miami is 30-17 and back atop the East, with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler finally both healthy at once, after Sunday's 113-107 home win over the L.A. Lakers. Old friend LeBron James dropped 33 in his return as Miami opened a four-game homestand. 

3. PANTHERS: Cats fall in Seattle but still in East lead: Florida is 28-9-5 at the midpoint of the NHL regular season -- and 10-2-1 since a four-game COVID postponement in December -- even after Sunday's surpring 5-2 loss in Seattle to the expansion Kraken. Cats and Tampa Bay are fighting for East lead in a rivalry that seems destined for a renewal in the playoffs.

4. CANES BASKETBALL: Miami men fall to nemesis FSU again: The Miami men -- after an upset win over No. 2 Duke and a 28-point win over North Carolina -- were 14-4, an ACC-leading 6-1 in conference and just outside the Top 25 entering Saturday's home game vs. nemesis Florida State, only to fall to its nemesis rival, 61-60, and cede the ACC lead. Canes women, off first road win at FSU in eight years, are 10-7/3-4 after Sunday's loss at Boston College.

5. DOLPHINS: Fins casting wide net in ongoing coach search: Who isn't Miami interviewing to replace the unexpectedly fired Brian Flores? Seven men already have been grilled, with more ahead. The lean seems to be toward an offensive coach with a track record. Keep an eye on four OC's: Brian Daboll (Bills), Mike McDaniel (49ers), Nathaniel Hackett (Packers) and Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs) -- all among the final eight teams playing this weekend.

6. MLB: 'Big Papi' to head 2022 Hall of Fame class: With the big reveal set for live TV Tuesday night, David (Big Papi) Ortiz is the only certain '22 inductee to Cooperstown based on early voting results made public. Steroids-tainted Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens both seem likely to finally make it but are not sure things. Tainted A-Rod is being punished in his first year of eligibility and didn't come close.  

7. TENNIS: Depleted Australian Open reaches midpoint: Defending women's champion Naomi Osaka was ousted in the third round, reigning men's champ Novak Djokovic was banned over his no-vax stance, and fan favorites Roger Federer and Serena Williams aren't in Melbourne for health reasons. Marquee wattage is dimmed, but the year's frst tennis major goes on, with Ash Barty and Rafael Nadal leading the march into the quarterfinals. 

8. OLYMPICS: Countdown 11 days 'til Beijing Winter Games: Host China is infamous for its human rights violations and COVID remains a health cloud, but let the Games begin! Winter Games are February 4-20. The U.S. announced a diplomatic boycott, but American athletes will compete, led by champion slalom skiier Mikaela Shiffrin.

9. HURRICANES: Cristobal absorbs first loss as UM coach: Canes fans have been in parade-mode euphoric since Mario Cristobal got hired as football coach 17 days ago and it's been all smooth sailing ... until this week's hiccup. Miami targeted Arkansas' Kendal Briles as its next offensive coordinator, but he turned 'em down to remain with Razorbacks.

10. NASCAR: 'Junior' makes the Hall of Fame: Dale Earnhardt Jr., never a main-series season champion but 15 times voted most popular driver, has joined his father in the Hall of Fame. Junior topped the marquee among three inductees into NASCAR's 12th Hall of Fame class. "When I stumbled, you guys were right there ready to lift me back up,'' Earnhardt said to his fans.

Missing the HB10 cut: Inter Miami opened training camp for MLS Year 3. Season begins February 26 ..... NCAA voted to streamline itself and reduce the responsibility of the association at the national level. Layman's terms: The NCAA is weakening, with power ceded to confereces and schools in a turbulently changing landsacpe for ollege sports ..... The Tampa Bay Rays' controversial plan to split their home schedule with Montreal was rejected by MLB, ending team's 2 1/2-year plan for a "sister city" schedule. Meantime, how must half-wanted Tampa fans feel? ..... The NFL's Pro Bowl is February 6, so mark it on your calendars to not watch ..... And the MLB lockout drones and drags on ..... R.I.P. to entertainers Sidney Poitier, Meat Loaf and Louie Anderson ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,618 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

Select other recent columnsGeorgia Crushes Michigan in OB. The Bad News? 'Bama Next / Party, Meet Hangover: Tua, Dolphins Out Of Playoff Chase With Loss at Titans / Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention / Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

January 22, 2022

NFL Divisional Round playoff picks. 8 teams, 4 games, 1 big upset; plus Time Is Now For MLB To Reinstate Pete Rose. New column; also, Greg Cote Show podcast: Greatest TV sitcom characters in new episode & more

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

1) It's SATURDAY, JANUARY 22. I was on with Le Batard Show on Wednesday this week. Check out that day's show podcasts, especially the Local Hour. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): New Greg Cote Show podcast, Panthers at midseason a lesson in resilience, Good riddance to no Djokovic in Aussie Open, NFL Wild-Card picks results.

CoteshowSitcomsGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: GREATEST TV SITCOM CHARACTERS IN LATEST EPISODE!: Our 4th episode of 2022 and landmark 95th overall is out now. A new pod drops every Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all we've done so far HERE, free. In our latest episode, Greg, Chris, younger son Michael and guest Alex Benson from the Shut The Funk Up podcast argue, debate and give their verdicts on the greatest all-time TV sitcome characters. Spoiler alert: Greg wins. Hear why. Also in the new episode: Ranking best friends; Panthers are best hockey team on Earth; Bills' perfect game; and Greg's live report from a wedding on Amelia Island. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

PicksNFL DIVISIONAL ROUND PLAYOFF PICKS: 8 TEAMS LEFT. 4 GAMES THIS WEEKEND. 1 BIG UPSET: Went 4-2 overall and 3-3 against the spread in the Wild-Card Round. Highlight: Two near-Exactos (perfect score bull's-eyes). Lowlight: Picking Cardinals to win in an upset. Gawd! Onward and upward! Aiming to go 4-for-4 in the Divisional Round. Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers are all still standing. Here's who: NFL Divisional Playoff Gems. Previous: NFL Wild-Card Playoff Gems.

Pete RoseTIME FOR MLB, IN BED WITH GAMBLING, TO END HYPOCRISY AND REINSTATE PETE ROSE: He quietly turned 80 last spring, his endless purgatory ongoing. The life sentence he serves is one without bars, but also without parole. Every day that passes finds him more likely to die bitterly estranged from the sport he loved — and helped define. Pete Rose dove headfirst into baseball and left it as the Hit King, his MLB-record 4,256 career hits atop an unreachable mountain, threatened by no active player. The very point of baseball is to get a hit, and nobody did it better than “Charlie Hustle,” who still has no place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York — solely because the perfect hitter was not the perfect man in a game with no forgiveness in its heart. If it had one of those. For our full latest column, visit Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose.

Our most recent other columns: 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consquences, as Djokovic Was RemindedState Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / and Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner. Also: Dolphins Win, Finish 9-8, Now Must Commit To Build Around Tua / Why Saban 'What-If' Still Haunts Miami 15 Years later/No Playoffs And No Idea Yet On Tua Worst Possible Way For Dolphins To End Season / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

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ARCHIVES

Select other recent columnsGeorgia Crushes Michigan in OB. The Bad News? 'Bama Next / Party, Meet Hangover: Tua, Dolphins Out Of Playoff Chase With Loss at Titans / Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? / Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention / Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

January 03, 2022

Latest Hot Button Top 10 (Happy New Year edition, updated): Fins-Titans (with column), 'Dawgs-Tide, Heat, Cats; plus NFL Week 17 picks, special new Greg Cote Show podcast out now! & more

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

1) It's MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 2022. Happy New Year! Hope you made it a safe one. 2) R.I.P., John Madden. A football legend in so many ways. Had a chance to interview him once many years ago and he could not have been more generous or giving of his time. Also, R.I.P. Betty White, at 99. 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 17 picks, Georgia wins OB to setup title game vs. 'Bama, My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot revealed, Greg Cote Show podcast.

Coteshow BestofGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: SPECIAL NEW YEAR-END BEST-OF EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 1st episode of 2022 and 92nd overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 92 we've done so far HERE, free. In our new episode: It's GregFest: Our Best-Of Year-End Extravaganza (with new stuff, too). We relives out greatest hits from the past year: Interviews, Songs, Greg Doesn't Know Movies, Hard Knocks/Lobos -- the fun don't stop! Inlcuding a new Mount Gregmore of OUR favrite epsiodes. You won't want to miss it! Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

PicksNFL WEEK 17 PICKS: DOLPHINS-TITANS, 2 BIG UPSETS, ALL THE REST: Our second-half heater resumed in Week 16 as went a big 12-4 overall and a solid 10-6 against the spread. Nailed Titans’ upset of Niners and Colts’ miniupset of Cards, and also had Lions-with-points covering at Atlanta. Had some bad luck related to the fact our picks are locked in on Thursdays. That has hurt us some related to Covid protocols and also injuries, such as Lamar Jackson still with a shot to play when we picked last week. Anyhow, no excuses. With two weeks to go our overall season total has risen and our number against the Evil Betting Line is now above what it was a year ago. Time to finish strong! This week we call two more outright upsets. For those, our Game of the Week, our pick for Dolphins-Titans and all the rest, visit NFL Week 17 Gems.

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

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

Most recent other columns: Revealing And Discussing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / Also: Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet?Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

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

HButton1. DOLPHINS: Fins' 7-game win streak, playoff hopes end with a thud: Dolphins were small road underdogs but big losers Sunday afternoon at Tennessee in a 34-3 defeat that (coupled with Chargers' win) ended Miami's playoff hopes. To make matters worse, longtime former quarterback Ryan Tannehill outperformed Tua Tagovailoa.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ARCHIVES

Select other recent columnsUM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention / Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

January 01, 2022

Happy New Year! NFL Week 17 picks for Dolphins-Titans, all the rest; plus Georgia wins Orange Bowl in rout, My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot; also, Do Dolphins finally have America's attention?, latest Greg Cote Show podcast with Dave Barry & more

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

20221) It's SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 2022. HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2) R.I.P. Betty White, gone on New Year's Eve. She missed 100 by 18 days. 3) R.I.P., John Madden. A football legend in so many ways. Had a chance to interview him once many years ago and he could not have been more generous or giving of his time. 4) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 5) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, NFL Week 16 picks, Greg Cote Show podcast.

Coteshow DbGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: SPECIAL EPISODE WITH BELOVED HUMORIST DAVE BARRY OUT NOW!: Our 49th episode of 2021 and 91st overall is out now -- and it's must-hear special. A new pod drops Mondays at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 91 we've done so far HERE, free. In our latest episode: Pulitzer Prize-winning author and humorist Dave Barry (pictured) joins us for a lengthy conversation ranging from the inanity of his 2021 Holiday Gift Guide to a serious talk about some of the personal tragedy he's lived through and how that has influenced his humor. Also in the new episode: My Dolphins Christmas song, Fins' winning streak, Greg's Lobos update and more. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET). We're taking the holiday week off -- no new episode out this week -- so it's the perfect time to catch up on our latest episode or back catalog!

PicksNFL WEEK 17 PICKS: DOLPHINS-TITANS, 2 BIG UPSETS, ALL THE REST: Our second-half heater resumed in Week 16 as went a big 12-4 overall and a solid 10-6 against the spread. Nailed Titans’ upset of Niners and Colts’ miniupset of Cards, and also had Lions-with-points covering at Atlanta. Had some bad luck related to the fact our picks are locked in on Thursdays. That has hurt us some related to Covid protocols and also injuries, such as Lamar Jackson still with a shot to play when we picked last week. Anyhow, no excuses. With two weeks to go our overall season total has risen and our number against the Evil Betting Line is now above what it was a year ago. Time to finish strong! This week we call two more outright upsets. For those, our Game of the Week, our pick for Dolphins-Titans and all the rest, visit NFL Week 17 Gems.

ArodA BASEBALL HALL OF FAME VOTER (ME) EXPLAINS HIS 2022 BALLOT: The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is a quaint place lost in time. It’s a village with an estimated 1,750 people actually living there. It is a Norman Rockwell painting. You aren’t sure what decade you’re in. The Hall’s address is Main Street, although that might have gone without saying. Getting into the Hall of Fame is rather a quaint process, too. As if the Internet did not yet exist. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America mails the latest ballot every December to the 440 voting members — I am honored to be one — and they are due back by December 31. You fill out the paper ballot by hand. Old school, a self-addressed, stamped return envelope is included. For 53 cents (pre-paid), my ballot is mailed to an address in Bayside, New York, an upscale neighborhood in Queens, where a BBWAA official will count them by hand. Results will be announced January 25 and the 2022 induction held July 24. But who gets into sports’ most famous Hall of Fame and why — that is not simple, or quaint. Used to be, before steroids, when a voter had the luxury of just crunching stats, but all that changed with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and their great influence over said stats. I reveal and discuss my 2022 ballot in my latest column. This is the final year for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens' eligibility and the first for Alex Rodriguez (pictured), so the vote will be under particular scrutiny. For my full column, visit: Revealing And Discussing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot.

Column off Georgia's Orange Bowl rout of Michigan: Georgia Wins 88th Orange Bowl. The Bad News? 'Bama Is Next.

Column off Dolphins' Monday night win: Hey, America, After 7th Straight Win, Do Miami Dolphins Have Your Attention Yet? 

Most recent other columns: Duuuuuke Lifts Fins to 6th Straight Win, .500 Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / Tua Keeps Showing Dolphins How Silly They Were To Doubt Him So Soon / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude

NFL WEEK 16 RESULTS:

(*) OUR PICKS: BIG WEEK AS STRONG FINISH CONTINUES: Our recent hot streak resumed in Week 16 as went a big 12-4 overall and a solid 10-6 against the spread. Nailed Titans' upset of Niners  and Colts' miniupset of Cards, and also had Lions-with-points covering at Atlanta. Had some bad luck with timing of Covid stuff (our picks are in on Thursdays), but still did well overall.

(*) GREG'S LOBOS: A WIN SENDS US ONTO THE CHAMPIOSNHIP GAME!: After a first-round playoff bye the Lobos won big in the semifinal game last week, 139-121, over my nephew Joe, led by 40 points from Joe Burrow, a last-minute sub for injured Lamar Jackson. We are now in the championship game of PFPI Fantasy, our 10-team friends 'n family league. My opponent? Eldest son Christopher. He's going for his third league title and me my first. Go Dad!

(*) HERALD NFL QB RANKINGS: BURROW SOARS TO SEASON-BEST WEEK: Cincinnati's Joe Burrow wins Week 16 with a season-best 71.25-point game and Tampa's Tom Brady grows his overall lead in the Miami Herald's updated rankings. Details and the latest Top 25: NFL Week 16 QB Rankings.

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ARCHIVES

Select other recent columnsUM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention / Dolphins' Watson Lust Ruined Season, Damaged Tua. And That Starts With Owner Ross / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Why It's Too Soon, And Dumb, To Quit On Tua As Dolphins Answer / Year Of Reckoning, And Impatience, For Slow-Starting Dolphins & Canes / Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden / Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

September 27, 2021

Latest Hot Button Top 10 (updated): Tua-less Fins fall in Vegas, Canes crush glorified high-school team, R.I.P. Jose, Ryder Cup, Heat 'n Cats. See who's No. 1 and what else falls where; plus NFL Week 3 picks, new Greg Cote Show podcast out Monday & more

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

1) It's MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27. Was back in with Le Batard Show last week. Check out last Tuesday's show podcasts for way too much of me. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 3 picks, Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 years later, Tua's latest woe fitting of rocky start to career, Time for Panthers it finally live up to hype, Greg Cote Show podcast & more.


CoteshowGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: PET PEEVES, HARD KNOCKS INSIDE GREG'S LOBOS IN NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!:
Our 37th episode of 2021 and 79th overall is out Monday! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 79 we've done HERE, for free. In our new Greg and Chris discuss and rank their pet peeves, and we bring your episode 2 of Hard Knocks' inside look at the Grrg's Lobos fantasy team. Also, Dolphins, Canes and the football weekend. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

PicksNFL Week 3 picks: Enjoyed big 12-4 mark straight-up in NFL Week 2, with second straight solid 9-7 vs. the spread including second straight bull's-eye on Upset of the Week call. Now we turn to Week 3 and our picks for Dolphins-Raiders, Bucs-Rams and all the rest. Check out NFL Week 3 Gems.

Jose Fernandez, Tua injury, Panthers' hype: Our week's column troika: Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / Tua's Rib Injury In Keeping With Weird, Rocky Start to QB's Dolphins Career / and Hope And Hype Are Sky-High. Time For Florida Panthers To Finally Deliver. Also: Dolphins' Shutout Loss in Home Opener a New Low For Flores Era / Miami Hurricanes Aren't Very Good -- And Keep Proving It / and The Big Question About Canes, Fins After Ugly Home Losses.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 26-27): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:

HButton1. DOLPHINS: Tua out at least 3 games as Miami falls at Vegas: Tua Tagovailoa was put on IR and will miss at least the next three games as the Dolphins on Sunday tried to wash away stench of last week's 35-0 home loss to Buffalo with rebound effort in Las Vegas vs. 2-0 Raiders, with Jacoby Brissett starting. Miami lost 31-28 in overtime. Tua (ribs) also will miss the Indianapolis and Tampa Bay games and is eligible to return vs. Jacksonville in London In week 6. Meantime Fins prepare to honor life of Don Shula in stadium event next Saturday.

2. HURRICANES: UM rolls past tiny foe. But will QB King miss ACC opener?: The hurting Canes got to 2-2 by routing tiny Central Connecticut State 69-0 as they better have Saturday, with QB D'Eriq King out injured and young 'uns Tyler Van Dyke and Jake Garcia filling in. But will King's shoulder be OK for this Thursday night's ACC opener vs. visiting Virginia? Concern and doubts about that.

3. JOSE FERNANDEZ: Remembering Marlins ace, 5 years after tragedy: It was five years ago Sunday, September 26, 2016, that South Florida awoke to the horrific news that Miami Marlins ace pitcher Jose Fernandez, only 24, had died hours earlier in a tragic boating accident off Miami Beach that also killed two friends. We remember. R.I.P.

4. INTER MIAMI: Playoff-chasing Herons pick bad time to go cold: Inter Miami had been on a run in which they lost only one of 10 matches. That was before consecutive ill-timed 4-0 and 5-1 home defeats slammed the brakes on momentum. Inter Miami, now 9-5-11, is back in play Wednesday at Atlanta United, with seven matches left to make up a three-point deficit in the MLS playoff chase.

5. MARLINS: Fish contunue season-long slump: Five straight losses have Miami 64-91 and trying to stay out of the NL East cellar in midst of a seven-game road trip (the year's last) vs. the Rays and Mets, to be followed by a season-ending three-game home series with Phillies October 1-3. Meanwhile the BBWAA Miami chapter named it Marlins award winners: Co-MVPs--Sandy Alcantara and Jesus Aguilar; Rookie of the Year--Trevor Rogers; Charlie Hough Good Guy Award--Jazz Chisholm; and Conine Award for Heart & Professionalism--Miguel Rojas.

6. GOLF: U.S. dominates in winning Ryder Cup: The Ryder Cup, the biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and United States, wraps up its 44th edition on Sunday in Wisconsin -- the U.S. team in command. Europe was defending champion and had won nine of the past 12 events since 1995, but the Americans won big, 19-9, with home-course advantage, putting it away with Sunday's 12 singles matches at Whistling Straits.

7. HEAT: Miami training camp gets underway this week: The Heat with new addition Kyle Lowry open training camp on Tuesday, after media day today/Monday. Miami finished third as East favorite in an ESPN experts poll, after Brooklyn and Milwaukee. Heat open preseason October 4 vs. Atlanta.

8. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Gators roll over Vols at Swamp: No. 11 Florida whipped visiting Tennessee 38-14 atop Saturday's FBS state schedule, non-UM division. Other games: FIU lost at Central Michigan, Florida State fell to 0-4 vs. Louisville, FAU got strafed by Air Force and South Florida fell at No. 15 BYU. (UCF was off).

9. PANTHERS: Training camp, preseason underway for Cats: Training camp begins this week with a 47-man roster opening an NHL season of high expectations for Florida. Three practice days segued to a split-squad doubleheader scrimmage and two wins over Nashville here Sunday. Five-game preseason schedule begins Wednesday on road and Friday back home, both vs. Dallas.

10. HALLS OF FAME: Plenty of locals among '22 football nominees: The newly announced 122 modern-era nominees for 2022 induction into Pro Football Hall of Fame will narrow to 15 finalists. For now, 11 former Dolphins or Hurricanes are among nominees, listed in our estimation of Hall-likelihood. Ex-Fins are Zach Thomas, Wes Welker, Richmond Webb, Troy Vincent, Reggie Roby and Matt Turk. Ex-Canes are Reggie Wayne, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Vince Wilfork and Jeff Feagles.   

Missing the HB10 cut: ACC announced recipients of its inaugural UNITE Awards, created to honor those who've impacted racial and social justice. Miami Hurricanes honorees are Ray Bellamy (1967 football) and Will Allen ('67 basketball), and Kim Sands (1974 basketball and tennis) -- each the first UM black athlete in their sport ..... It's Phoenix-Seattle and Chicago-Minnesota in second round of WNBA playoffs Sunday, with winners advancing to to semfinals vs. Connecticut and Las Vegas, respectively ..... Red Sox and Yankees out front in tight AL wild card chase as MLB season winds down ..... The Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix announced its inaugural event would be held May 6-8, 2022 ..... Bill Foran, the Heat's strength and conditioning coach, has retired after 33 years with the club ..... A meager two Top 25 matchups in FBS college football Saturday: No. 12-Notre Dame won 41-13 at 10-Wisconsin, and 16-Arkansas surprised 7-Texas A&M. Six Top 25 tems lost including both Clemson and North Carolina in the ACC ..... Fourth of 10 NASCAR playoff races happens Sunday in Las Vegas ..... NFL announced that beginning this season its Wild-Card Weekend would conclude with a Monday night playoff game, in league's continuing effort to own the entire calendar ..... The Panthers' home rink in Sunrise, formerly BB&T Center, is now FLA Live Arena (ugh) until permanent naming rights are sold ..... Bronny James, 16, son of LeBron, is coming to Miami. Not to play for UM, alas, but to participate in an October 9-10 showcase event at Florida Memorial University ..... Miami has most NFL players (19), based on where they went to high-school, edging Houston by one ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,737 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup. (Hard Rock Stadium and FIFA staged a media tour this week, further indication Miami expects to be among host venues).

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ARCHIVES

Other most recent columns: Xavien Howard Deserved the Money and Respect He Wanted -- This Was Why / Canes' Offense Dangling Like a Cat And Needing Help / Tua's Burden as Dolphins Open at Pats? Lift a Team, a Franchise and a City. Now / Chasing Giants & Ghosts: Miami Hurricanes' 20-year search for return to glory / Miami Herald's 2021 NFL Team Rankings: You Won't Believe Where Dolphins are / Canes Can Shock the World and Beat Alabama. Here's How [Update: Oops!] / Belichick Must Be Smiling As Dolphins Deal With Rumors And Tua With Doubt / Fins' Faith In Tua Will Be A Lie If They Sell Soul, Spend Big For Watson / There Is Only One Way an ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 Alliance Can Out-SEC the SEC / Time to Finally Start Believing in Tua, Flores and Miami Dolphins / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Dolphins' 'Big Picture' Begins To Emerge With Unveiling Of Year 2ua / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / and What Lionel Messi's Sudden, Stunning Move Means For Inter Miami

Bobby Bowden tribute column: College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby BowdenHall of Fame quartet: Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Hurricanes' Edgerrin James / Dillard High's Isaac Bruce / and Coral Springs High's Steve Hutchinson.

Select other columns: Xavien Howard Right To Feel Disrespected, And Dolphins Need To Fix This Mess / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Top 10 NFL Storylines Entering Training Camp (Where's Tua?) / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / It's Selfish, Me-First Athletes Who Are Refusing the COVID Vaccine / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Tokyo Olympics Should Be Delayed Again But It's Too Late. Why? Money / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Time For Sports To Quit Hiding, Stand Up And Lead The Pro-Vaccine Fight / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Exhibition Losses Give Team USA Wakeup Call It Needs Headed to Olympics / Better 2 Years Late Than Never, Panthers Get 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Here's What Else Must Go Right (Besides Tua) For Dolphins To Continue Momentum / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / As Teams Like Miami Pray For Right QB, Packers' Disrespect Of Rodgers Is Galling / Messi-to-Miami Is Shot of Hope David Beckham's Troubled Soccer Club Needs / Miami Heat, With No Answers, Put Out of Misery In Game 4 Loss To Milwaukee / Another Early Panthers Playoff Exit Ends An Encouraging Season Too Soon / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / The Curious, Complicated Drama Of Naomi Osaka's French Open Withdrawal / Hall of Fame Snubbed Chris Bosh Last year. Time To Make it Right / Aging Ex-Dolphins Reflect On Own Mortality One Year After Shula's Death / Aaron Rodgers' Packers Drama Involves Miami (Of Course). But Here's Why It Won't Happen / Grade-A Draft Feeds Momentum For Team-On-the-Rise Dolphins / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / What Would Jackie Robinson Think About Race In America Today? / It Won't Fix the World, But Matsuyama's Masters Win Lifts Japan In Time Of Anti-Asian Hate / Even After Playoffs In '20, Marlins Still 'Bottom Feeders' Fighting For Respect / Special Opening Day as Marlins Welcome Back Fans, Feeling Of Hope / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Heat Should Parts Ways With Meyers Leonard Over Anti-Semitic Slur / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Quit Lecturing LeBron On Activism And His Own Conscience / Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / and What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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

September 13, 2021

Hot Button Top 10 (updated): Fins win opener at Pats (with my column), Canes barely escape App State, Hall time for Jeter, Bosh; plus the burden on Tua (new column), new Greg Cote Show podcast out Monday & more

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

1) It's MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. Twenty years ago this past weekend, the world changed, and an attacked America stood strong. NEVER FORGET! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on TwitterInstagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): NFL Week 1 picks, Tua's heavy lifting starts now, 9/11 remembered, Our Orlando vacation, Greg Cote Show podcast & more.

CoteshowGREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: FINS-PATS, SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR GREG IN NEW EPISODE OUT MONDAY!: Our 35th episode of 2021 and 77th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 77 we've done HERE, for free. In our new episode: A cavalcade of stars from Le Batard Show, ESPN and elsewhere, including special surprises, drop by the podcast to wish Greg a happy birthday. Also, Greg and the guys discuss Dolphins win at Patriots, NFL Week 1 and the Canes two weeks in. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

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

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 12-13): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:

HButton1. DOLPHINS: Year 2ua launches with big win at New England -- thanks to D: Hopes were high, coming off a 10-6 season, that Year 2 of the Tua Tagovailoa era and Year 3 for coach Brian Flores would see Miami a playoff team on the crest of sustained winning. Well, a good start: 17-16 over Pats, thanks to Xavien Howard's big play late, and first place in AFC East.   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other most recent columns: Canes Can Shock the World and Beat Alabama. Here's How [Update: Oops!] / Belichick Must Be Smiling As Dolphins Deal With Rumors And Tua With Doubt / and Fins' Faith In Tua Will Be A Lie If They Sell Soul, Spend Big For Watson. Also: There Is Only One Way an ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 Alliance Can Out-SEC the SEC / Time to Finally Start Believing in Tua, Flores and Miami Dolphins / Why Dolphins, Canes Should Be Taking Lead In Requiring Fans To Be COVID-Vaccinated / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / Dolphins' 'Big Picture' Begins To Emerge With Unveiling Of Year 2ua / Unraveled: The Story Behind Who Aubrey Huff Became / and What Lionel Messi's Sudden, Stunning Move Means For Inter Miami

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ARCHIVES

Bobby  Bowden tribute column: College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden

Hall of Fame quartet: Biggest Victory Of Hall Of Famer Jimmy Johnson's Life Was Getting His Son Back / Hurricanes' Edgerrin James / Dillard High's Isaac Bruce / and Coral Springs High's Steve Hutchinson.

Select other columns: Xavien Howard Right To Feel Disrespected, And Dolphins Need To Fix This Mess / Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Top 10 NFL Storylines Entering Training Camp (Where's Tua?) / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Dolphins Owner Ross Unveils New $135 Million Training Site As Another Reason Team Must Win Now / It's Selfish, Me-First Athletes Who Are Refusing the COVID Vaccine / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Tokyo Olympics Should Be Delayed Again But It's Too Late. Why? Money / May Sha'Carri Richardson Be Last Victim Of Olympics' Archaic Marijuana Rules / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Time For Sports To Quit Hiding, Stand Up And Lead The Pro-Vaccine Fight / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Exhibition Losses Give Team USA Wakeup Call It Needs Headed to Olympics / Better 2 Years Late Than Never, Panthers Get 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Here's What Else Must Go Right (Besides Tua) For Dolphins To Continue Momentum / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / As Teams Like Miami Pray For Right QB, Packers' Disrespect Of Rodgers Is Galling / Messi-to-Miami Is Shot of Hope David Beckham's Troubled Soccer Club Needs / Miami Heat, With No Answers, Put Out of Misery In Game 4 Loss To Milwaukee / Another Early Panthers Playoff Exit Ends An Encouraging Season Too Soon / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / The Curious, Complicated Drama Of Naomi Osaka's French Open Withdrawal / Hall of Fame Snubbed Chris Bosh Last year. Time To Make it Right / Aging Ex-Dolphins Reflect On Own Mortality One Year After Shula's Death / Aaron Rodgers' Packers Drama Involves Miami (Of Course). But Here's Why It Won't Happen / Grade-A Draft Feeds Momentum For Team-On-the-Rise Dolphins / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / What Would Jackie Robinson Think About Race In America Today? / It Won't Fix the World, But Matsuyama's Masters Win Lifts Japan In Time Of Anti-Asian Hate / Even After Playoffs In '20, Marlins Still 'Bottom Feeders' Fighting For Respect / Special Opening Day as Marlins Welcome Back Fans, Feeling Of Hope / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Heat Should Parts Ways With Meyers Leonard Over Anti-Semitic Slur / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Quit Lecturing LeBron On Activism And His Own Conscience / Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / and What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

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