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

1) It's SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27. HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEKEND! Hope y'all had a glorious Bird Day! 2) I was back on the Le Batard Show with a soup recipe Tuesday. Check out that day's show podcasts. 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast, NFL Week 11 picks, columns off Dolphins and Canes wins & more.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: WORST THANKSGIVING FOODS, DOLPHINS' NO. 1 FAN! NEW EPISODE OUT NOW: Our 45th episode of 2021 and 87th overall is out now! New pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 87 we've done HERE, free. In our newest episode: Meet orange-bearded Marc Angelo, the Miam Dolphins' nominee for 2021 NFL Fan of the Year. And Greg, Chris and Yeti share their picks for worst Thanksgiving foods -- the ones that should be kicked off the table. Plus, Chris' empty bags vs. Greg's umbrella misuse; Chris rips Scottie Pippen, Dolphins keep rollin', Lobos update and Quirk Line for you to call in. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Most podcasts are off this week for the holiday. NOT US!!! Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

OUR NFL WEEK 12 PICKS!: Might not seem like it but this was the 16th year of Thanksgiving Day tripleheaders as Americans competed to see what they would be more full of come midnight: food, or football. The NFL has wrapped itself in the holiday since 1925, and the 1934 Bird Day game was the first to be broadcast nationally. Traditional host Detroit played in its 82nd game on the holiday, and Dallas hosted for the 44th straight year. Chicago made its 37th Thanksgiving appearance, Buffalo its 10th, the Raiders their eighth and New Orleans its fourth. Got all that? Quiz in the morning. We did lousy on our Bird Day picks, going 1-2 overall (got Buffalo's win) and 1-2 against the spread (got Detroit's cover). Hope we do better with the main schedule ahead. For all of this week's pick, visit NFL Week 12 Gems.

THIS THANKSGIVING MARKS 50 YEARS AT THE HERALD FOR US. AND A LIFETIME OF GRATITUDE: My mentor on these pages, the great Edwin Pope, left us almost five years ago at age 88. He used to write these heartfelt Thanksgiving columns every year that (full disclosure) made some of the younger writers roll our eyes a little bit. We loved and admired our leader so much, and yet we would smirk. We called these his annual “smell of new-mown grass” columns. The cynic would delight to note that the fresh-cut lawn scent we all know actually is produced by molecules released when plants including grass are damaged by insects, disease or other forces — like lawnmower blades. In effect, that pleasant smell is your lawn screaming it has just been cut in half. But I digress. The point is: Edwin had it exactly right. You appreciate the little things. You don’t overanalyze. You let your heart lead you to where your thankfulness and gratitude should go. You have faith it it will steer you right. I love Thanksgiving for the family and food and football, but mostly because it is the one holiday whose reason for being is to encourage that we stop, pause, reflect and appreciate. That can be tough at times. We have been surrounded by so much the past couple of years. The horrific COVID-19 pandemic we are still trying to get free of. The racial injustice and national discord that has turned civil to vile. Just Monday we awakened to the terrible headline involving a deranged SUV driver and a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The antidote is in the smile of my first grandchild, in her laughter and dance. She is not quite 4, and everything good and hopeful about the world and future radiate from her. She calls me “Pop.” I melt. For my full latest column -- a very personal one on a very special week: 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

Our other most recent columns: They're Alive! Dolphins, Tua Beat Jets For 3rd Straight As Revival Continues / and Diaz Smiles Through Rain & Pain As Canes Win,  Reach Bowl Game He May Not Be Around To Coach. Also: Hurricanes, Too Beholden to Past and UM Family, Need to Go Outside for new AD Hire / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / and How Miami Dolphins Are Poised to Transform Their 1-7 Start Into Playoff Contention.

NFL WEEK 11 RESULTS:

(*) OUR PICKS: A STRONG WEEK BOTH WAYS FOR US: A down season for us so far, but an uplifting Week 11 both ways as we went 10-5 straght-up and 9-6 against the spread. That included a third straight bull's-eye on our Upset of the Week with Washington winning at Panthers, along with three other 'dogs-with-points covers.

(*) GREG'S LOBOS: LEAGUE-LEADING AND A 5TH STRAIGHT WIN!: The close games keep going our way. Lobos won 99-97 last week over Christie (Chris's wife), led by 21 points from Keenan Allen and 20 from Mike Evans. We are now 9-2 after five straight wins and alone in first place in the PFPI Fantasy regular season, our 10-team friends 'n family league, with three weeks left in the regular season.

(*) HERALD NFL QB RANKINGS: McCOY, BRADY AND TUA ON THE MARQUEE: Cardinals backup Colt McCoy wins Week 11 honors, the Bucs' Tom Brady maintains the No.1 spot overall, and Do,lphin Tua Tagovailao leaps five big spots in the Herald's updated rankings. Details and the latest Top 20: NFL Week 11 QB Rankings.

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

1) It's MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1. Hope y'all had a happy and safe Halloween. Now welcome November! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Panthers' Quenneville resigns amid scandal, NFL Week 8 picks, Fins sabotaging Tua over Watson infatuation, 10 ways Tua is world's unluckiest man, Week 7 results for picks/Lobos/QB rankings, Greg Cote Show podcast & more.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH GARY "THE BAG" ROSENFELD OUT NOW!: Our 42nd episode of 2021 and 84th overall is out now! New pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 84 we've done HERE, free. In our latest episode: Greg has a live on-air pod reunion with childhood neighbor Gary "The Bag" Rosenfeld. Also: Toilet talk, PETA vs. the bullpen, Tomahawk Chop, sad demise of Joel Quenneville, Princess Belle, Lobos midseason 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).

NFL WEEK 8 PICKS: DOLPHINS-BILLS, GAME OF WEEK, UPSETS AND ALL THE REST: We pivot to NFL Week 8 and our picks for Dolphins-Bills, our Game of the Week and Upset of the Week along with an additional upset and all the rest. Got off to a mixed start Thursday night. Lost the pick outright with Arizona losing but nailed it against the spread because we had Green Bay covering. For all of our latest picks: NFL Week 8 Gems.

Our latest columns:

Dolphins: Buffalo's Late Classlessness Aside, Miami Out Of Answers In 7th Straight Loss

Hurricanes: U-Turn: UM Season, Diaz Future Looking Up With 2nd Straight Big Win

Panthers: Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal

Also: Dolphins Sabotaging Tua Season Over Misguided Infatuation With Watson / As Dolphins' Dysfunction Surrounds Him, 10 Ways Tua Is The Unluckiest Man On Earth / Tua Shuts Off Noise, Throws 4 TDs, But It Still Isn't Enough / Canes, Embattled Diaz Show The Fight Left In Them /State of the Art: Heat, Miami's Best-Run Franchise, Sails In Opener / and 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 1): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:

1. PANTHERS: Quenneville out as nightmare scandal interrupts dream season: Florida's NHL-best and franchise-best 7-0-0 start took a back seat this week as coach Joel Quenneville was engulfed by and resigned in shame because of what happened with the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks when Quennveille coached there. He was implicated in covering up the sexual assault of player Kyle Beach, then 20, who came forward this week. Cats are now 8-0-1 after Saturday's 3-2 OT loss in Boston, and are off until Thursday.

2. DOLPHINS: Promising start, typical finish in 7th straight loss: Miami tried to end its six-game losing streak as two-touchdown underdogs in Buffalo Sunday and came away as 26-11 losers. The defense show up, but the offense struggled including Tua Tagovailoa in his third start since returning from a rib injury. Still looming: A report out of Houston that the Texans and Fins contiunue in talks over a trade for embattled Deshaun Watson. However ESPN reports Houston will keep Watson beyond Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

3. HURRICANES: They're alive! Canes, Diaz  bag 2nd straight big win: UM was a 9-point underdog at No. 17 Pittsburgh Saturday but prevailed 38-34, led by a huge day from young QB Tyler Van Duke leading a second straight win over a rabked opponent. Resurgent Canes are now level at 4-4 on the season and 2-2 in the ACC after win put Coastal Division title back in play. UM next hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.

4. HEAT: Butler-led Miami stays hot early: Miami has begun the season 5-1 with signature early wins over East powers Milwaukee and Brooklyn after Saturday's rout-win in Memphis fueled by 21 3's, one shy of team record. As key addition Kye Lowry makes his presence felt, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and super-sub Tyler Herro are carrying the scoring load, and Heat also boasts NBA's No. 2-ranked defense out the gate. Miami is back at it Tuesday in Dallas.

5. MLB: Astros cut Braves' lead, force a Game 6 in World Series: Houston overcame a fast 4-0 hole and won 9-5 Sunday to force a World Series Game 6. The Atlanta Braves still lead the series 3-2, but Games 6 and (if neccessary) 7 both are in Houston starting Tuesday. Braves trying to hangon for their first Wirld Series title since 1995.

6. INTER MIAMI: Loss eliminates Herons from MLS playoff race: Inter Miami is 11-5-17 with Saturday's 3-1 loss to New York City in Miami's home finale -- the defeat eliminating David Beckhams' club from the MLS playoff chase. Miami ends the regular season next Sunday at New England.

7. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Gators pounded by No. 1 Georgia in Jax: No. 1 Georgia routed the Florida Gators 34-7 Saturday in the renewal of their neutral-site rivalry in the erstwhile 'World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party' in Jacksonville. Also on the Week 9 state FBS slate, non-UM division: FIU was shut out at Marshall, FAU edged UTEP, Florida State fell at Clemson, UCF routed Temple, and South Florida fell at East Carolina.

8. MARLINS: Fish keep popular Rojas with two year extension: Miami signed popular shortstop Miguel Rojas, 32, to a two-year contract extension through the 2023 season. He batted .265 with nine homers, 30 doubles and 48 RBIs this past season. Rojas is the longest-serving current Marlin, with the next two seasons his eighth and ninth in Miami.

9. NASCAR: The Championship Four field is set!: Kyle Larson was already in. Sunday, he got company as reigning champion Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. will join him in the Championship Four finale next Sunday in Phoenix -- winner-take-all for the NASCAR season crown. Alex Bowman's race win yesterady at Martinsville eliminated Champ Four contenders Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

10. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Another bloody Saturday in Top 25: Three Week 9 national Top 25 matchups, two with possible College Football Playoff bearing: No. 5 Ohio State handled 20-Penn State and 6-Michigan fell at 8-Michigan State. The other was 10-Ole Miss falling at 18-Auburn. There were nine losses by Top 25 teams: The three mentioned, plus No. 9 Iowa, 12-Kentucky, 17-Pitt, 19-SMU, 21-San Diego State and 22-Iowa State.

Missing the HB10 cut: Greg Norman is taking on the PGA Tour. He will be COO and commissioner of a new golf league set to begin in 2022, backed by Saudi money and hoping to lure top players with lucrative guaranteed deals and rich purses ..... Nine days 'til college basketball! Tuesday, November 9, begins the 2021-22 college basketball season in Miami and nationally. Hurricanes open that day at home vs. Jackson State (women) and Canisius (men) in a day/night doubleheader. Neither UM team is ranked in preseason polls ..... The NAACP is urging a boycott of Texas over the state's restrictive voting and women's rights laws. It sent an open letter to five players' unions urging that their athletes not to sign with teams in Texas ..... UEFA Champions League play resumes Tuesday with eight matches ...... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,702 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's MONDAY, JULY 5. Hope y'all had a Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans! And made it a safe one. 2) Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast on Twitter and Instagram. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): 'NIL' means new era in college sports, Greedy NBA gets the asterisk champ it deserves, Panthers to host 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend, Time for sports to tell Cole Beasley he's wrong, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our new 26th episode of 2021 and 68th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 68 we've done so far HERE, for free. In our new episode Greg and Chris go solo -- no guests. Well, OK, Dan Le Batard makes a brief but memorable appearance if that counts. The guys discuss this week's golfing trip to Lake Tahoe, where Greg and Chris will be in a fivesome with Stugotz, former pro tennis player Mardy Fish and Earth, Wind & Fire lead singer Philip Bailey. Also we discuss college sports' new Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) rule and the proposed expansion to a 12-team College Football Playoff. And there's a new Mount Gregmore! Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

Our most recent columns: 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Injury-Wrecked Playoffs, Asterisk Champion: Why Greedy NBA Is Getting What It Deserves / Better 2 Years Late Than Never, Panthers Get 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend / Time For Sports To Quit Hiding, Stand Up And Lead The Pro-Vaccine Fight / and Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History. Also: 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 / Rumors, Speculation and the Truth on Spoelstra, Lillard and Heat / and Wanted: A 'Next Big Thing' In Men's Tennis, Golf.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 4-5): 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:

Overriding everything, prayers and sympathy to the victims and families affected by the Surfside condominium collapse that has killed at least 24 and left more than 120 unaccounted for. 

1. HURRICANES: King, UM lead way as game-changing 'NIL Rule' kicks in: Name. Image. Likeness. (NIL). It joined the lexicon of college sports this past week as athletes became eligible to barter themselves for financial profit. Canes QB D'Eriq King quickly struck a deal with College Hunks Hauling Junk movers, a Tampa car dealership and The Wharf Miami restaurant/bar. Also, UM launched 'Ignite,’ an initiative to help athletes grow their brand and make money off their NIL.

2. NBA: It's a Bucks-Suns NBA Finals: An NBA postseason steered by injuries has left us a Milwaukee-Phoenix Finals that few outside of those fandoms can be all that thrilled about. Suns eliminated the Kawhi-less Clippers, then Bucks got past a Hawks squad with Trae Young hobbled. Milwaukee seeks its first title since 1971 and Phoenix its first ever starting with Game 1 Tuesday.

3. HEAT: Spoelstra to coach USA Select Team this week: Miami coach Erik Spoelstra was named head coach of the USA Select Team that will help prepare the main U.S. men's national team (which includes the Heat's Bam Adebayo) for the Tokyo Olympics beginning in three weeks. The training camp will be this Tuesday through Friday in Las Vegas. The 14 Select Team members, mostly young NBA players, include Miami's Tyler Herro.

4. MARLINS: Big homestand on deck closes first half: After completing a road swing with a loss in Atlanta Sunday, Marlins finish the first half of the schedule heading into the All-Star break with a seven-game homestand. It starts Monday with four against the red-hot Dodgers, then three vs. the rival Braves. Miami has disappointed so far at 35-47, good for the NL East cellar. Meanwhile the Fish swung a minor deal, acquiring INF Joe Panik and RHP Andrew McInvale from Toronto for OF Corey Dickerson and RHP Adam Cimber.

5. PANTHERS: Florida to host 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend: Cats were supposed to host in '21 but the pandemic canceled the event. The '22 weekend went to Vegas. Better two years late than never, the Panthers will host the league's '23 All-Star Game and surrounding hoopla. Meanwhile, Florida added Tuomo Ruutu to the coaching staff as an assistant. He'd been in player development with the Rangers.

6. SOCCER: Euro '20 reaches semifinals! Finally England's time?: Italy vs. Spain on Tuesday. England vs. Denmark on Wednesday. Winners for the UEFA championship of Europe next Sunday at Wembley Stadium. Spain has won two Euro title and Italy and Denmark one each, while England is still seeking it first. Finally time foe the nation of the throne to be crowned at home?

7. NHL: Lightning embarrassing Canadians in Final: Tampa Bay is up 3-0 on Montreal and by a combine 14-5 score in a lopsided Stanley Cup Final. Canadians try to save face and stay alive and avoid being swept in Game 4 Monday/tonight at home. Canada is trying to claim its first Stanley Cup since Montreal won it in 1993, but needs a miracle on ice.

8. INTER MIAMI: Miserable skid continues for Team Beckham: Inter Miami is 2-2-7 with five straight losses after Saturday's 1-0 fall at Montreal. The second-year squad is now next-to-last in the MLS standings as David Beckham and coach Phil Neville search for missing answers. Miami doesn't play again until July 17.

9. TENNIS: Wimbledon at midpoint finds top seeds still alive: No.1s Ash Barty and Novak Djokovic won Monday to lead a full slate of fourth-round matches to kick off the final week of Wimbledon in London. Results will bring us  to the quarterfinals starting Tuesday. Though depleted of some starpower by injuries and key withdrawals, at least the top seeds survive to front the 16 men and 16 women still contending for major hardware.

10. SOCCER: Copa America semifinals, title match this week: It'll be host Brazil vs. Peru on Monday and Lionel Messi's Argentina vs. Colombia Tuesday in a stout Copa America semifinal round, the winners advancing to next Saturday's championship match in Rio de Janeiro. Copa America is tantamount to the South American championship. It would be Messi's first trophy in a major senior tournament.

Missing the HB10 cut: Sha’Carri Richardson should be running in Tokyo ..... Joey Chestnut seeks his 14th mustard belt today in the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog-Eating Contest --- the most vile, stomach-turning event televised ..... Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers are betting picks over Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in The Match IV on Tuesday in Montana ..... The CONCACAF Gold Cup, the main soccer tournament for region of North and Central America and Caribbean -- dominated by Mexico and the U.S. -- begins next Saturday July 10 and runs through August 1. U.S. is not fielding its A-team; no Christian Pulisic, for example. Americans will be in Group B (and play in Kansas City) with Canada, Martinique and a team to be determined in a prelim round running in Fort Lauderdale through Tuesday among Barbados, Bermuda, Haiti and St. Vincent and the Grenadines ..... NFL fined Jaguars $200,000 and Sneaky Urban Meyer 100K for violating OTA practice restrictions. Cowboys and 49ers were fined lesser amounts ..... Vladimir Guerrero and Fernando Tatis were leading vote-getters in each league for the July 13 MLB All-Star Game in Denver ..... MLB Draft begins next Sunday July 11 ..... Tour de France update: The loony woman with the sign got arrested. Updates as needed ..... NFL has had a gay player (Carl Nassib) for more than a week now and league is still operating. Everything is OK! ..... Mark Richt revealed he has Parkinson's. Our best wishes are with him ..... Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt to win the men's College World Series ..... Latest Dolphins Challenge Cancer event raised a record $6.3 million, club announced, bringing 11-year total $45.5M ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode dropping Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,821 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

1) It's SATURDAY, JUNE 19. Today is the first Juneteenth as a national holiday, celebrating the end of slavery. 2) I was back in-studio on the Le Batard Show this week for my regular Tuesday appearance. Check out that day's show podcasts for much too much of me. 3) Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast on Twitter and Instagram. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH JESSICA SMETANA OUT NOW!: Our 23rd episode of 2021 and 65th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 64 we've done so far HERE for free. Our new episode features Jessica Smetana, newest member of the Le Batard Show Shipping Container. (Did the chat get too personal?) Also, hear DeArdo The Magnificent flex his encyclopedic knowledge of sports. Plus, what's in the Queen's handbag? Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

HERE'S WHAT ELSE HAS TO GO RIGHT (BESIDES TUA) TO KEEP DOLPHINS' MOMENTUM GOING: Been a long time coming, but the sense of a franchise and team trending upward is palpable. The Miami Dolphins are in the midst of a smartly calculated rebuild that will include eight first-round draft picks in the four year span of 2020-23. The Fins were 10-6 last season, the best team in the NFL to miss the playoffs. Brian Flores has been a prize catch as head coach. If the future isn’t quite now, it’s getting here at a gallop. Areas of concern remain, though, as the Dolphins completed their offseason work Thursday with the finish of a mandatory three-day minicamp. Fins won’t gather on a field again until the late-July start of full preseason training camp. There is a reason Miami is no better than middle of the pack, tied for 16th, in current betting odds to win the Super Bowl. Here are the five biggest concerns, the things that need to go right, if the Dolphins are to build upon the promise of last season. For our full latest column including of course those five concerns, visit Here's What Else Must Go Right (Besides Tua) For Dolphins To Continue Momentum.

WHEN RUMORS FLY, AND LAND WITH THUD: THE TRUTH ON SPOELSTRA, LILLARD AND HEAT: Portland Trail Blazers interested in Erik Spoelstra! Wait. Really? Damian Lillard interested in Miami Heat! Wait. Hold on. Heat fans have been fed reasons this week to turn their attention to northwest Oregon. The question worth exploring: Why? I try to not be a self-loathing journalist — the anti-media crowd is loud enough without my help — but occasionally the business of reporting, of what a “report” even is, makes me cringe a bit. So Tuesday there were reports the Trail Blazers, looking for a new coach, had the Heat’s Spoelstra on their radar. Except the reports were just other media outlets regurgitating the original report that wasn’t actually a report at all. It was Ethan Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports Network tweeting this: “We have multiple sources saying Erik Spoelstra’s name has been discussed internally regarding their coach opening. We are NOT reporting contact has been made, or that Spoelstra has any intention of leaving Miami.” It might well have been accurate. Portland supposedly is cobbling a list of potential candidates that might be three dozen long. That’s a lot of internal discussing. Front-runners seem to include Chauncey Billups and Mike D’Antoni. Becky Hammon and Dawn Staley are also in the reported mix, in case Portland works up the nerve be be actual Trail Blazers. But it made sense in terms of speculation that the wide net might include Spo, who grew up in Portland and played for the local university, and whose father Jon is a former Trail Blazers executive. I know Ethan. He’s a former Herald colleague. He’s legit. Knows the NBA. He isn’t some uninformed fan writing in a blog from Ma’s basement. He also has since-deleted the tweet that started this, that other outlets passed along as some variant of news. In the social media age, deleting a tweet is akin to renting a billboard on I-95 that reads, OOPS. It happened to be Skolnick this time but it could have been any of us in the mad rush to be first. For our full recent column, visit Rumors, Speculation and the Truth on Spoelstra, Lillard and Heat.

MEN'S TENNIS, GOLF BOTH AT A CROSSROADS, IN SEARCH OF THEIR NEXT BIG THING: With the French Open in tennis just past and the U.S. Open in golf this week, the majors show us two men’s sports at a crossroads and searching. If there is a Next Big Thing in either worthy of the capital letters and able to stir the imagination, we’ll take a show of hands, please. Please? Novak Djokovic rallied from two sets down Sunday to win on the red clay of Roland Garros in Paris. It was a remarkable comeback. It also was the latest reminder how men’s tennis is drowning in its own predictability in the Big 3 era (pictured left) of Djokovic, 34; Rafael Nadal, 35; and Roger Federer, who’ll turn 40 in August. Since 2004 those three have combined to win 58 of the sport’s 68 major men’s titles, or 85 percent. There hasn’t been a run like that in any individual sport, ever. That it goes on, though, speaks less of those three’s continued excellence than it does the absence of sustained challengers. Or even one. The slow death of American men’s tennis has played a big role. No American man has won a tennis major since Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick both did in 2003, just as the Federer/Nadal/Djokovic steamroller was beginning its roll. On the women’s side Serena Williams fades by degrees, but there is a young heir in Naomi Osaka, Japan-born but living in the U.S. since age 3. In men’s tennis, very good players such as Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem have failed to become household names outside of the sport’s hardcore fandom, or hasten the past tense on the Big 3 era. And no American man ranks higher today on the ATP than No. 32. That’s a person named Reilly Opelka. He is notable for being 6-11. He is not notable for winning anything of note. In men’s golf the search for the Next Big Thing, the next big era, (Brooks Kopeka and Bryson DeChambeau are pictured right) is similar as the U.S. Open begins Thursday at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, near San Diego. For our full recent column, visit Wanted: A 'Next Big Thing' In Men's Tennis, Golf.

Other columns from the past week: 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  /  and Messi-to-Miami Is Shot of Hope David Beckham's Troubled Soccer Club Needs.

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

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 31. Farewell, May! And have a safe and thankful Memorial Day Weekend, all! Take a moment to appreciate the men and women of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice. 2) Check out this past Tuesday's Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz podcasts for way too much of me, including (improbably) my belly button. I'll be back on tomorrow. 3) Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast on Twitter and Instagram. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Panthers eliminated by Tampa Bay, Heat seek home lift vs. Milwaukee, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram. 

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH MIKE RYAN OUT NOW!: Our 21st episode of 2021 and 63rd overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 63 we've done so far HERE for free. Our latest episode features Le Batard Show producer Mike Ryan on the upcoming 24-hour marathon broadcast, the joy of Chelsea and agony of Inter Miami. Also, Greg and Chris on Heat and Panthers' early playoff exits, Greg mourns a death in the family and much more. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

Our column on Heat's season-ending loss: Miami Heat, With No Answers, Put Out of Misery In Game 4 Loss To Milwaukee.

Previous Heat/Panthers playoff columns: Heat Fans Showed Up For Game 3. Their Team Did Not / Another Early Panthers Playoff Exit Ends An Encouraging Season Too Soon / Time For Heat Fans To Help Lift Their Team Back Into This Series / Heat Fall, Panthers Need Miracle On Ice As Both Lose On Big Day for Miami Sports / Panthers, Hopes Of Fans In Peril After Game 2 Loss, 2-0 Series Hole / Chasing Respect, Florida Panthers' 5-4 Home Loss A Crushing Start to Playoffs / This Looks Like Best Florida Panthers Team Ever. But The Proving Starts Now.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 30-31): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami suffers only second best-of-7 sweep in its history: After a tight opening-game defeat and then 34- and 29-point losses, Miami got blown out in second half for a 120-103 Game 4 home loss Saturday and a sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in their NBA first round playoff series. Heat's only other time being swept in a best-of-7 was in 2007. 

2. PANTHERS: Tampa in first round spells latest early playoff exit for Cats: The deployment of 20-year-old rookie goaltender Spencer Knight shot electricity into Game 5 but it still wound up a 4-2 Panthers series loss to Tampa Bay in the opening round of the NHL playoffs -- the disappointment chasing the best regular season in Florida's history. A 4-0 loss Wednesday ended it, leaving the Cats to figure out how to now get from really good to great.

3. INTER MIAMI: Record fine, loss = nightmare week for Miami: Inter Miami fell to 2-2-4 (four losses) in a 3-0 home loss to D.C. United Saturday night. It was the best part of the week for the beleaguered second-year club. Earlier, MLS fined Miami a league-record $2 million for violations of salary budget and roster regulations. MLS also levied a reduction in allocation money over the 2022 and 2023 seasons amounting to a 12 percent hit, and principal owner Jorge Mas also was hit with a personal $250,000 fine. The team is off until June 19. Good. Embarrassing!

4. MARLINS: Reeling Fish drop third straight: Marlins are 24-28 after a third straight loss despite solid pitching. Sunday's game in Boston was postponed by rain. Miami has fallen to fourth in the winnable (read: bad) NL East as Marlins' nine-game road trip continues Tuesday in Toronto.

5. DOLPHINS: Tua feeling "10 times better" as offseason work continues: Fins completed three days of voluntary organized team activity days this past week. More OTAs are set for this Tuesday through Thursday and then again June 7-8 and June 10, leading to a mandatory full-team minicamp June 15-17. Meanwhile second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reports he is feeling "10 times better" physically and otherwise than last year. Who else wishes he's said 100 times better?

6. CANES BASEBALL: UM disappoints at ACCs, heads to regional : Miami ended its season 32-17, the most wins in its conference, but failed to make a run in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte this week, losing 3-2 to Duke and 6-3 to Florida State. Canes are headed to the double-elimination NCAA Regional in Gainesville looking to qualify for the College World Series. No. 2 seed UM's first regional game is Friday vs. No. 3 South Alabama (33-20).

7. AUTO RACING: Helio Castroneves unexpectedly wins Indianapolis 500: The 105th Indianapolis 500 was Sunday at the Brickyard, and 46-year-old Helio Castroneves of Fort Lauderdale -- thought too old to win again -- collected his fourth trophy to tie A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears for the most ever. A crowd of 135,000 watch, most at any event since the pandemic.

8. TENNIS: Osaka withdraws as French Open begins at Roland Garros: The French Open, second of four tennis majors, began Sunday on the clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. Rafael Nadal is the favorite to collect his record 14th French title and fifth in a row. On the women's side Simona Halep's withdrawal (calf injury) left Poland's Iga Swiatek the betting pick to repeat. Meantime world No. 2 Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 and threatened with default from the tournament for refusing to take part in media obligations. So she withdrew.

9. OLYMPICS: Call to cancel Tokyo Summer Games increases: Japan's prominent Asahi Shimbun newspaper this week called for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled with the Games set to open in less than two months, on July 23. It is the first of Japan's major newspapers to do so. The growing opposition is rooted in the country's continued struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

10. SOCCER: Underdog Chelsea reigns in Champions League final: Manchester City and underdog Chelsea met Saturday in Portugal in the 66th championship match of the UEFA Champions League, and Chelsea won 1-0 on a Kai Havertz goal in only the third all-England final, after Man U-Chelsea in 2008 and Liverpool-Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, in Champs League history.

Missing the HB10 cut: Here comes another meaningless golf match everyone will watch. The ink hadn't dried on his new PGA Championship check when it was announced Phil Mickelson would join Tom Brady in a golfer/QB celebrity round -- The Match IV -- vs. Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers on July 6 in Montana ..... A 24-hour Dan Le Batard Show airing noon Friday to noon Saturday will help kick off the new partnership with DraftKings ..... Falcons receiver Julio Jones reportedly has drawn the offer of a first round pick from at least one team ..... The family of a former White Sox stadium worker is crying foul after a lounge named after her was renamed in honor of Tony La Russa and is now called La Russa's Lounge ..... NBA announced a new business investment entity called NBA Africa with investors including former stars Dikembe Mutombo and Grant Hill ..... Eight prep basketball powerhouses including Montverde and IMG Academy in Florida have formed the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference set to begin later this year ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode dropping Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,856 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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Select other recent columns: Talk Of U.S. Olympic Boycott A Reminder Sports, Politics Are Entwined -- And That's Good / How And Why the Miami Heat Landing Kawhi Leonard This Summer Could Happen / The Miami Dolphins' Six Can't-Lose Options For a Great No. 6 Pick in NFL Draft / 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? / No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / 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 / Marlins Stick With Youth As Rest Of NL East Spends Big / 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. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 10. Hope y'all had a Happy Mother's Day! It's a time time to appreciate the Mom you have but also, for me and many others, to remember with love the one no longer with us. Pictured is the last photo of my Mom ever taken before she passed at age 96 in 2015. 2) I was on Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz this past Thursday this week, and back in-studio for first time in more than a year with a new Back In My Day. Check out that day's podcasts for way too much of me. 3) The Greg Cote Show podcast is now separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Aging ex-Fins reflect on 1-year anniversary of Shula's death, Aaron Rodgers involves Miami (of course), Grade-A draft fuels Dolphins' momentum, Greg Cote Show podcast with draft talk and Tony Calatayud & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!:  Our new 18th episode of 2021 and 60th overall is out now! A new pod drops Mondays at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 60 we've done HERE for free. Our latest episode features special guest Israel (Izzy) Gutierrez of ESPN (pictured) in a fun conversation about boats, sneakers, golf and Chris Cote's social skills. Oh, and hoops talk, too, including Chris Bosh's Hall of Fame chances and how the Heat are looking as the playoffs near. Also, an historic new Mount Gregmore. Bonus: Greg sings the song that was playing on the radio when he first kissed a girl. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

Our most recent columns:

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

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

1. PANTHERS: Cats close season, open playoffs vs. bitter-rival Lightning: Florida at 36-14-5 has won five straight and leaped to second in points in the Central ahead of Tampa Bay with Saturday night's penalty-strewn 5-1 home rout of the Lightning, fueled by Alex Wennberg's hat trick. Rivals meet again Monday night in Sunrise to close the 56-game regular, with Cats needing a win or overtime loss to earn home-ice advantage in first round of playoffs. If Saturday was an indication, fists will be flyin' in a Florida-Tampa playoff. 

2. HEAT: Miami jockeying for playoff position and down to stretch run: Miami solidified its lead over the Celtics for sixth place in the East with Sunday's big Jimmy Butler-led win at Boston. Now at 37-31 it's four games left in the shortened 72-game regular-season starting with another game at Boston on Tuesday. Heat are near-certain to make postseason but must finish in the top six to avoid play-in round. (Aside to Jimmy Butler: Could you lay off Karl Anthony-Towns a bit? Dude's had a tough year).

3. DOLPHINS: Fins set offseason schedule, trade for veteran CB: NFL offseason is underway and, for Miami, it starts with rookie minicamp for the Jaylen Waddle and Jaelan Phillips-led incoming draft class this Friday through next Sunday. Then: Voluntary-but-not really OTA workdays May 24-26, June 1-3, June 7-8 and June 10, and a mandatory full-team minicamp June 15-17. Also, Fins signed veteran ex-Pats corner Jason McCourty, 33, to 1-year deal, obviously as insurance (and leverage) in case Xavien Howard brays about holding out for more money.

4. MARLINS: Fish lose two of three after 4-game win streak: Miami was 15-16 and out of the NL East cellar after a three-game home sweep of Arizona and then a fourth straight win Friday vs. Milwaukee, before losing two straight to the Brewers. Miami begins 10-game road trip Monday at Arizona. Starters Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Trevor Rogers have been terrific, and the 'pen has been lights-out.

5. SOCCER: FA Cup, Champions League finals set: What a time for English football! The 140th FA Cup final will match Chelsea and underdog Leicester City this coming Saturday May 15 at Wembley Stadium. On May 29 the UEFA Champions League final in Turkey will see Chelsea the betting underdog this time vs. Manchester City. It will be only the third all-England final in the Champ League's 66 years. 

6. INTER MIAMI: Franchise-first winning record still elusive after 1-1- draw: Team Beckham is 1-2-1 after a loss-win-draw-draw this young season with Sunday's 1-1- home tie vs. Atlanta United. Miami is still chasing its first-ever winning record into its second season in Major League Soccer. Inter Miami is back home for a Wednesday mid-weeker vs. Montreal.

7. NFL: Aaron Rodgers drama heats up, with Miami a peripheral player: MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly wanting out of Green Bay has seen ripples around the NFL, including an ESPN piece this week speculating Washington, Denver and Miami as the three likeliest teams to pursue. Dolphins are still publicly in "Tua's our guy" mode. Time will tell.

8. UPCOMING: Preakness Stakes leads parade of big events remaining in May: The Preakness at Pimlico next Saturday will be horse racing's second Triple Crown race, with Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit a 7-2 betting fave to win again. Also upcoming in May: The PGA Championship is May 20-23, the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 and the French Open starting May 30.

9. GOLF: Can new 'Premier Golf League' wins its war with PGA Tour?: A proposed European Super League in soccer failed fast. Now golf? The proposed Premier Golf League,' heavily funded by Saudi money, is promising multi-million-dollar guarantees to top-ranked golfers to break away from the PGA and European Tours. Phil Mickelson calls the notion "interesting." The breakaway tour is set to start in September 2022 ... if it can attract top players. Your move, PGA Tour.

10. MLB: Angels abruptly release future Hall of Famer Pujols: Has certain first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols taken his last-MLB at-bat at age 41? Pujols, in sharp decline the past two years, was abruptly cut by the L.A. Angels this week. His first team, St. Louis, seems likeliest to sign him, but perhaps to a 1-day contract so he might retire as a Cardinal. 

Missing the HB10 cut: Former Miami Heat star Chris Bosh will be among likely honorees next Sunday when the College Basketball Hall of Fame announces its 2021 class ..... Mexican star Canelo Alvarez, no doubt inspired by an appearance on the Le Batard Show (!), stopped Billy Joe Saunders before 65,000-plus fans in Texas Saturday in a super middleweight unification fight ..... House Speaker  Nancy Pelosi honored baseball legend Willie Mays for his 90th birthday by tweeting out a photo of herself with Wille McCovey. OY! ..... Russell Westbrook tied Oscar Robertson's NBA record for most career triple-doubles ..... Portland Thorns won the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament over Gotham FC in a penalty shootout ..... Canes baseball at should re-enter the rankings if it completes a home sweep of Appalachian State today ..... Saturday semifinal wins launched Sam Houston State and South Dakota State to next week's FCS championship game in second-level college football ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode dropping Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,877 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

Our most recent other columns: Iffy Trades That Cost Them Pitts Mean Dolphins Better Hit Big With Waddle / 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?  /  The Case For Dolphins Trading Up, Going All-In For Kyle Pitts  /  and It Won't Fix the World, But Matsuyama's Masters Win Lifts Japan In Time Of Anti-Asian Hate.

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Select other recent columns: Talk Of U.S. Olympic Boycott A Reminder Sports, Politics Are Entwined -- And That's Good / How And Why the Miami Heat Landing Kawhi Leonard This Summer Could Happen / The Miami Dolphins' Six Can't-Lose Options For a Great No. 6 Pick in NFL Draft / 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 / No Lowry, But Stealing Oladipo, Keeping Herro a Win-Win For Heat, Riley / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / Why Men's NCAA Tournament Has A Needed Fresh Feel As We Welcome Back March Madness / 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 / Marlins Stick With Youth As Rest Of NL East Spends Big / 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. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

1) It's MONDAY, APRIL 5. Hope ya'll had a Happy Easter Sunday and, to our Jewish friends, a celebratory 'chag Pasach sameach' to end Passover! 2) I was back in my regular Tuesday spot last week on the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz. Check out that day's podcasts, including my latest Back In My Day. 3) The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Marlins Opening Week with columns off opener and season preview, Greg Cote Show podcast with Guinness Record-setting hot pepper eater & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

Our most recent columns: Even After Playoffs In '20, Marlins Still 'Bottom Feeders' Fighting For Respect (off Opening Day loss) / Special Opening Day as Marlins Welcome Back Fans, Feeling Of Hope (season preview) / and In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time (tribute column).

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: TV LEGEND DICK STOCKTON IN NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 14th podcast of 2021 (56th overall) is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 56 we've done right HERE for free. In our most recent Ep14 we welcome in special guest Dick Stockton (pictured), the newly retired sports broadcasting legend. In a fun chat, he talks about his career and most famous call and does play-by-play on Chris eating a bowl of cereal. Also, he sings! Also on the new pod, a new 'Greg Doesn't Know Movies,' the Mount Gregmore of all-time best sitcom casts, plus loanDepot park and MLB moving its All-Star Game. Almost forgot: Will Greg's toenail soon be for sale? Thanks as always, pod family, for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

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

1. MARLINS: Play ball! Fans (partly) back as Fish open season: Marlins' season-opening six-game homestand continues with games Monday through Wednesday vs. St. Louis after Easter Sunday off. Fish opened 1-2 vs. Tampa Bay, with bats coming alive in Saturday's 12-7 win. Miami is allowing crowds up to 27 percent capacity this season (about 9,700 per game), although the first three games have averaged only about 6,500 or 18 percent capacity. Almost forgot: The ballpark's gruesome new corporate name is "loanDepot park." (It's still Marlins Park  to me).

2. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Men's title game set as Gonzaga, Baylor advance: Unbeaten Gonzaga goes for a wire-to-wire perfect season and Baylor stands in the way in its first title game since 1948 in the men's NCAA Tournament championship game Monday night in Indianapolis. Baylor routed Houston 78-59 in Saturday's semifinal while the Zags survived UCLA 93-90 on a buzzer-beating 3 by Jalen Suggs in OT.

3. HEAT: Topsy-turvy team is hot again as Oladipo joins the flow: Heat has won four in a row and risen to a tie for fourth place in the East after Saturday's win over Cleveland -- after previously losing six straight. Newly acquired shooting guard Victor Oladipo, the trade-deadline prize, made his Heat debut Thursday. In other news, Jimmy Butler appeared shirtless at a postgame news conference, drawing playful derision from Bam Adebayo. Team's back in play Tuesday vs. Memphis.

4. PANTHERS: Fire-on-ice Cats win sixth in a row!: Florida is 26-9-4, alone in first place in the NHL Central and on a season-best six-game win streak after the weekend's 5-2 and 3-0 home dominations of Columbus. Florida now sets out on a six-game road trip starting Tuesday at Carolina. Also last week, Florida signed goalkeeper Spencer Knight, the team's 2019 top draft pick, to a three-year contract.

5. GOLF: It's the week of The Masters at Augusta: With Tiger Woods watching on TV as he recovers from severe leg injuries suffered in his recent car accident, The Masters goes on without him this week at Augusta starting Thursday. Betting favorites are led by Dustin Johnson, Bryson Dechambeau and Justin Thomas. As for Woods? L.A. detectives have determined the cause of his wreck, but thus far are refusing to reveal their finings. Hmm. 

6. NFL: Fans cheer, players gripe as league OKs 17-game season: After 43 seasons with a 16-game regular season, the NFL is increasing it to 17 games beginning this year. Fans love it. More football. TV loves it. More revenue and ratings. Players don't love it and can't believe their union let it happen.   

7. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Stanford tops Arizona in women's championship game: Women's NCAA Tournament got an all-Pac 12 title game in which Stanford edged Arizona 54-53 on Sunday for the Cardinal's first national title since 1992. No. 1 seed Stanford had advanced by beating South Carolina 66-65 while No. 3 Arizona had stunned No. 1 UConn, 69-65. Results deprived America of a championship-stage look at UConn freshman sensation and AP Player of the Year Paige Bueckers, who was held to 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting Friday.

8. TENNIS: Ash Barty leads championship weekend at Miami Open: Defending Miami Open champ Ash Barty won again on Saturday, with ease when underdog opponent Bianca Andreescu retired injured in the second set outside of Hard Rock Stadium. A no-name, who's-that men's final four advanced 19-year-old Italian Jannik Skinner and Hubert Hurkacz of Poland to Sunday's men's championship match, won by Hurkacz. This year's Miami Open was back after taking 2020 off but was decimated by star withdrawals and gutted prize money.

9. MLB: Baseball moves All-Star Game to punish Georgia voting laws: Baseball announced it's 2021 All-Star Game and MLB Draft would be moved from Atlanta in response to Georgia's recently passed voter suppression law. Bravo baseball!

10. INTER MIAMI: Teams cancels preseason scrimmages over COVID concerns: Inter Miami canceled three scheduled exhibition games in Bradenton ahead of its second MLS season on account of COVID-19 concerns. David Beckham's outfit and new coach Phil Neville are prioritizing full health as team preps for its April 18 season opener.

Missing the HB10 cut: Countdown: 24 days 'til Dolphins draft ..... Houston police have now begun an investigation of Deshaun Watson as 21 women have now alleged inappropriate sexual behavior during massages ..... North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams is retiring after 18 years with the Tar Heels and 33 years in the sport overall ..... Also retiring: Veteran TV sports broadcaster Dick Stockton ..... No. 19 Canes baseball is 15-8 off four straight wins and goes for home sweep of Duke today ..... North Macedonia stunned Germany in a World Cup qualifying match ..... UEFA Champions League first-leg quarterfinal matches commence Tuesday with Manchester City-Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid-Liverpool ..... Oh, and Miami FC, the second-tier USL team, prepares to open its new season May 2 ..... Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey, you embarrassed everyone on Earth by saying COVID testing should be done away with so as not to disrupt the Final Four ..... If anybody cares, Tampa hosts WrestleMania 37 next weekend ..... Hurricanes spring football practuce continues through April 17 ..... xxxxx ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's 14th episode of 2021 and 56th overall drops Monday morning on all major podcast platforms. Now Mondays 5-6 p.m. on Sirius XM Channel 145, too! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,912 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

Say cheese! Packers' Rodgers wins elusive first Herald NFL QB season title: The details including the final season Top 35, here: Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings.

Alabama, king Saban reign in Miami with CFP title: For our full column off the 52-24 rout of Ohio State at Hard Rock Stadium: Saban the New G.O.A.T. as Alabama Reigns in Miami.

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

1. NFL: It's Bills-Chiefs, Pack-Bucs in final four set today: The weekend's NFL Divisional Round results have sent Green Bay and Tampa Bay to the NFC final and Buffalo and Kansas City in the AFC. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes. Gee, you get the feeling quarterbacks matter a lot in this sport or what?

2. NBA: Blockbuster Harden trade shakes up basketball: James Harden traded from Houston to  the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster deal, joining Kevin Durant and (when he's agreeable to be an adult and play) Kyrie Irving. The Beard dropped a 30-point triple-double in his debut vs. Magic Saturday night. Yay, a new Super Team to hate!

3. PANTHERS: Yandle sparks Cats' win in delayed season opener: Puck drops on Florida's 27th NHL season Sunday night with a 5-2 win over Chicago in the Sunrise home rink, a season opener delayed when Thursday and Friday games vs. Dallas were postponed due to the Stars' COVID outbreak. Florida defenseman Keith Yandle scored his 100th career goal and kept his consecutive games streak alive at 867, fourth longest in NHL history, when earlier in week it seemed he might be a healthy scratch.

4. INTER MIAMI: Beckham hiring former teammate as new coach: David Beckham and Inter Miami have agreed to terms to hire as new coach Beckham's former Manchester United teammate, Phil Neville, to replace departed Diego Alonso for Miami's upcoming second MLS season. Neville most recently coached England's national women's team.

5. DOLPHINS: Speculation around QB enlivens offseason: Coach Brian Flores has re-confirmed his re-commitment to Tua Tagovailoa amid swirling rumors that disgruntled Deshaun Watson may want out of Houston and into Miami. Then there's that Herald story in which three unnamed Dolphins questioned how good Tua is. Those three players' names? Lame, Weak and Cowardly.

6. HEAT: Reeling Miami loses third straight: Heat, reigning NBA Finals runnerup, fell to 4-7 with Saturday's 20-point home loss to Detroit a third straight L. Miami hosts Pistons again Monday, needing to get healthy and prove last season's postseason run introduced a team on the rise ... and wasn't an aberration or fluke.

7. NFL: Former star college coach headed to Jaguars, NFL: Urban Meyer, former Florida and Ohio State championship coach, has entered the NFL fray with Jacksonville. Less splashy but arguably a better hire: the New York Stinkin' Jets landed prized 49ers defensive chief Robert Saleh.

8. UM BASKETBALL: Things go right when Canes men go Wong!: Victory of the year Saturday night for Miami's men's team: a 78-72 home upset of No. 16 Louisville, led by Isaiah Wong. Jim Larranaga's guys are now 6-6, with some tailwind. UM women are 6-5 after Sunday's loss at No. 24 Syracuse.

9. HURRICANES: Diaz finalizes '21 football coaching staff: The Miami Hurricanes hired Jess Simpson as defensive line coach and promoted DeMarcus Van Dyke to cornerbacks coach as Manny Diaz finalized his 2021 staff. Three other new additions led by new defensive coordinator Blake Baker previously had been announced. Also notable: Diaz said he'll call defensive plays from now on, after horrible D in the last two games ended 2020's 8-3 season sourly.

10. TENNIS: COVID already shadowing Australian Open: Three coronavirus cases were detected among charter flights carrying tennis players, coaches and officials to Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, the year's first major set to begin February 8. A total of 47 players from the two affected flights are now in a tightly enforced 14-day quarantine.

Missing the HB10 cut: Josh Gordon has been suspended again. Or did that go without saying? ..... After 17 years with Coca-Cola, LeBron James is signing with rival Pepsi. Hey, a man's tastes can change! ..... As MLB free agency continues, like a lifeguard surveying a crowded pool, I am looking for a big splash from the Marlins. Bring back J.T. Realmuto? Just sayin' ..... Former Hurricane LB Dan Morgan made the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame -- which lets in way too many people, but, somehow, shamefully, not Howard Schnellenberger ..... Still can't wrap my head around it: Nick Saban crowned college football's all-time G.O.A.T. coach in Miami, of all cities ..... Dolphins coaches will be on one sideline for the January 30 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. What'd they do, lose a bet? ..... A Mickey Mantle baseball card sold at auction for $5.2 million. Sounds like a good deal, if the card was attached to a check for $5.1 million made out to cash ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's new Episode 45 (No. 3 of 2021) is out Monday! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,989 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup. 

xxx

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

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

1) It's SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28. Remembering former Canes and NFL football star Sean Taylor, killed 13 years ago yesterday, November 27, 2007, at age 24. 2) Hope y'all are enjoying the long holiday weekend with safety in mind. Note to readers: Not been writing as much lately because I'm burning a bunch of unused vacation time before end of year. But the blog still chugs on! 3) The Greg Cote Show podcast is now separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Our Thanksgiving Day message to readers and listeners, NFL Bird Day picks, NFL Week 11 Pix 'n Fantasy results, Greg Cote Show podcast Episode 38 & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

NFL WEEK 12 PICKS: DOLPHINS ATJETS, G.O.A.T. BOWL GAME OF THE WEEK, 2 BIG UPSETS AND ALL THE REST: The Week 11 picks were a rough 8-6 straight-up for us but a better 9-5 against the spread. Last week we failed miserably on our Lions-Panthers Upset of the Week, “Aawwk!” turning to “Aawwful.” But plenty else went right. Called Houston’s mini-upset of New England, and also had a pair of ‘dogs-with-points in covers by the Jets and Cowboys. Highlighting our new Week 12 picks: Can Tua and the Dolphins rebound at the winless but nemesis Jets? Who'll prevail in the Game Of the Week G.O.A.T. Bowl between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes? And our big Upset of the Week involves the AFC East ... but which team? This is our 30th season of NFL picks in the Miami Herald, and we thank you for joining us on the journey. For our latest picks for the entire slate of games, visit NFL Week 12 Gems. Our week got off to a rousing start on Thanksgiving Day as we went 2-0 both straight-up and against the spread, calling both Houston's big win in Detroit and Washington's upset at Dallas. We're on an ATS roll the past two-plus weeks, on a 22-8 run vs. the betting line. Can we keep it up? Let's see. Our picks appear Thursday afternoons every week online, and Fridays in print, after the Thursday night pick(s) appear separately Wednesdays online and Thursdays in print.

Some of our other most recent stuff: Herald NFL Week 11 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / Top-10 But Underdogs, Disrespected Hurricanes Rally Past VT in Blacksburg / and In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: REVEALING NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our Miami Herald podcast debuted in March and the new Episode 38 is out now! A new pod drops every Monday morning on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 38 we've done so far RIGHT HERE for free. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review. In Ep38 we welcome in special guest Christie Cote to share family secrets and embarrassing stories about her husband Chris and father-in-law Greg. She also talks about being a fan of the winless Jets -- the Dolphins' next opponent. Greg and Chris also chat up Sunday's Fins loss in Denver. And of course there's a new Mount Gregmore (U's) and more. Appreciate you listening each week and check out the new ep!

CFB WEEK 13: HURRICANES REMAIN IDLED BY COVID, FIU GAME CANCELED: The 10th-ranked 7-1 Miami Hurricanes -- like much of college football and increasingly the NFL -- have seen their seasons directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. with all three remaining regular season games re-scheduled. And 0-5 FIU's scheduled Saturday game vs. Louisiana Tech has been canceled. UM's readjusted remaining schedule: December 5 at Wake Forest, December 12 vs. North Carolina and December 19 vs. Georgia Tech -- although the Ga-Tech game will be played only if Miami is not in the ACC Championship Game, which is also that day. To reach the conference title game, the Canes must win out and hope No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson loses. Irish visit No. 19 North Carolina today. Can the Tar Heels do UM a huge favor? FIU's remaining schedule is December 5 at Charlotte and December 11 vs. Marshall. 

State FBS games this week (in order; all Saturday unless noted):

UCF (5-3) at South Florida (1-7), 3:30 p.m. Friday: Annual midstate rivalry figures lopsided as visiting Knights are favored today by 25.

Kentucky (3-5) at No. 6 Florida (6-1), noon: Gators, favored by 25 in the Swamp, try to keep College Football Playoff hopes alive.

FAU (5-1) at Middle Tennessee (3-6), 1:30 p.m.: Owls a 6 1/2-point road pick.

Virginia (4-4) at Florida State (2-6), 8 p.m.: UVA favored by 9 1/2. But are we feeling a home-'dog upset by beleaguered 'Noles?

Off this week: Miami. Canceled by COVID: Louisiana tech (4-3) at FIU (0-5).