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

It's SATURDAY, JULY 2. Welcome July! And farewell June. You brought bad news, but we don't blame you personally. See you next year. 2) No Dan or Stu on the Le Batard Show on Tuesday but Amin Elhassan and I filled in. Check out that day's show podcasts. 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, Title IX empowered women but Supreme Court just did opposite, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW. FROM GUMMIES IN DENVER TO ROE V. WADE: Our 28th episode of 2022 and 119th 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 119 we've done so far HERE, free. In the newest episode: Laughs with Chris and Roy Bellamy and a  bag of gummies in a Denver hotel room. And a serious discussion of the Supreme Court undoing Roe v. Wade. Also on the menu: Greg on the Golf War and how the PGA Tour let it happen; Major Father-Son Olympics update as Greg signs executive order eliminating one event and replacing it with another; Charlie the puppy and a glass of wine; Most unnecessary hotel luxuries; Do you love a good variable?; Way too much discussion of ropes and knots; and The question for Ice Cube that Greg was not able to ask on the Le Batard Show. Hit up GCS2228 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! 

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment NEW!\

NEW! The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley NEW!

Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite

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

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

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

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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

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

Select other recent columns: 'Free' speech? Ignorance Cost Del Rio $100,000. But He's Lucky To Still Have A Job / Why Browns' Watson Faces, Deserves Lengthy Suspension From NFL / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

It's MONDAY, JUNE 27. Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat draft Jovik (not Jokic), Panthers' odd coaching change, 20 settled cases don't exonerate Deshaun Watson, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW. FROM DENVER TO ROE V. WADE: Our 28th episode of 2022 and 119th 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 119 we've done so far HERE, free. In the newest episode: Laughs with Chris and Roy Bellamy and a  bag of gummies in a Denver hotel room. And a serious discussion of the Supreme Court undoing Roe v. Wade. Also on the menu: Greg on the Golf War and how the PGA Tour let it happen; Major Father-Son Olympics update as Greg signs executive order eliminating one event and replacing it with another; Charlie the puppy and a glass of wine; Most unnecessary hotel luxuries; Do you love a good variable?; Way too much discussion of ropes and knots; and The question for Ice Cube that Greg was not able to ask on the Le Batard Show. Hit up GCS2228 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! 

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite NEW!

Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalists 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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Becuase It Feels Like Goodbye / 'Free' speech? Ignorance Cost Del Rio $100,000. But He's Lucky To Still Have A Job / Why Browns' Watson Faces, Deserves Lengthy Suspension From NFL

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 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. The latest HB10:

1. PANTHERS: Cats swap coach-of-year finalist for guy No. 1 in career losses: Florida followed its best-ever season and first playoff advance since 1996 by swapping out coach of the year finalist Andrew Brunette for Paul Maurice. Hmm. Why hmm? Not keeping Brunette is dubious enough. But they replace him with a guy No. 1 for most career coaching losses, a guy with zero Stanley Cups in 24 seasons. On bright side, Jonathan Huberdeau made second team All-NHL; Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov also had notable support. So'd Anton Lundell in all-rookie vote.

2. HEAT: Miami drafts Jovic; free agency, Kyrie rumors, summer league next: Heat's only pick in Thursday night's NBA Draft was 27th overall in first round and team selected 6-10 Serbian forward Nikola Jovic -- not to be confused with two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Capsule analysis: Can be dynamic on offensive end, needs wok on D. He'll wear uni No. 5. Free agency unfurls this coming Thursday, with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reporting Miami is among six teams Kyrie Irving would ask Brooklyn to consider in a possible sign-and-trade. Also just ahead: Summer league play. Heat youngsters will play two games July 2-3 in San Francisco and then five in main summer league in Vegas starting July 9.

3. NHL: Colorado unseats Tampa Bay for Stanley Cup: Colorado Avalanche beat Lightning 2-1 Sunday in Tampa to win their first Stanley Cup since 2001 and prevent the NHL's first three-peat since 1983. Avs defenseman Cale Makar, who also finished postseason third overall in scoring with eight goals and 29 points in 20 games, was named playoff MVP. 

4. NBA: A surprise atop the NBA: Auburn's 6-10 Jabari smith was expected to go No. 1 overall to Orlando in THursday's NBA Draft but slipped to third -- with Duke's Paolo Banchero ging first instead. Detroit acquired veteran guard Kemba Walker from New York in a three-team draft night trade.

5. NFL: 20 cases settle, but Watson far from exonerated: Twenty of 24 lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct by Browns QB Deshaun Watson during massage sessions settled, the women accepting hush money. But that proves nothing of his innocence, and the remaining suits seem unlikely to go away before trial. Serious NFL punishment also may be ahead, with disciplinary hearings beginning Tuesday amid speculation of at least a 1-year suspension. 

6. MARLINS: Fish avoid sweep by Mets on rookies home run: The Marlins are 33-38 after rookie Nick Fortes' solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning carried Marlins past New York Mets to avoid a three-game series sweep. Miami still languishes in fourth place in NL East. Fish now hit the road for seven in a row.

7. HURRICANES: UM Football 'Legends Camp' tradition continues under Cristobal: Miami's top-talent summer camp, 'Legends Camp,' used to be called Paradise Camp when Mark Richt created it in 2016. Different name under Mario Cristobal, but same idea: A football camp that doubles as a masterful recruiting tool, with only top-end talent invited. The seventh edition of the camp happened Saturday on campus.

8. TENNIS: Djokovic, Swiatek seen way out front as Wimbledon begins: The strawberries 'n cream of tennis majors, Wimbledon, gets going Monday in London. Novak Djokovic is a big men's favorite in part because world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev was erased when the event banned players from Russia (he is) and Belarus over the Ukraine invasion. Super-hot Iga Swiatek is an even bigger women's betting pick. Serena Williams, 40 and playing for first time in a year, is tied for fifth favorite but a longshot at +1600.

9. INTER MIAMI: Vassilev lifts Herons in MLS as Barca friendly nears: Two late goals by Indiana Vassilev meant a 2-1 Inter Miami home win over Minnesota Saturday night. Miami is now 6-3-7 overall and within two points of MLS playoff pace. Up nect, Miami visits Dallas July 4. Meantime the already sold-out July 19 home friendly vs. Barcelona draws near.

10. TITLE IX: Happy birthday, ground-breaking law empowering women in sports!: Fifty years ago Title IX was enacted as a U.S. federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in school and university athletic programs. Enjoy it before the Supreme Court rescinds this, too.

Missing the HB10 cut: The Dolphins' full preseason training camp convenes in three weeks when rookies report July 19. Full-team work begins when veterans report July 26 ..... NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told Congress he has no authority to remove cretin Daniel Snyder as Washington Commanders owner. That takes a 75 percent vote of owners. Nothing stopp Rog from suggesting it publicly, though ..... Ole Miss beat Oklahoma in Game 1 of the best-of-3 men's College World Series and can win it all today. After Sooners won women's CWS, Oklahoma is tryng to be first school to win both titles the same year ..... Give the USFL credit. The spring football league returned from the dead and survived its first year back, playing a full 10-game schedule. Saturday in Canton, Ohio the Philadelphia Stars and Birmingham Stallions won semifinal playoff games and will meet July 3 for the championship ..... Gronk retired again. And his time he means it. Probably. Goofy but great, tight end Rob Gronkowski has retired after a Tom Brady-fueled career that (likely) will see him in Canton. Gronk goes out 10th among TEs in career catches (621) but fifth in yards (9,286) and third in TDs (92). In the playoffs he's second in catches (98) and first in yards (1,389) and TDs (15) ..... While you weren't watching, crazy-good Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani had a 13-strikeout game right after an 8-RBI game, both career highs ..... Golf civil war update: PGA Tour defectors to LIV Golf will be allowed to play in the 150th Open Championship (a.k.a the British Open) at St. Andrews next month ..... Warriors and Dub Nation threw a championship parade to celebrate Golden State's NBA title ..... Unsurprisingly the NFL is asking in federal court to move Brian Flores' class-action lawsuit against the league and three teams including Miami to arbitration. That way whatever dirty laundry there is airs in private ..... Blueblood kid-QB Arch Manning, the No. 1 2023 recruit, picked the Texas Longhorns, where he could pocket more NIL income asa freshman than Grandpa Archie made as an NFL rookie ..... Ice Cube's Big3 basketball league is underway with its fifth season ..... R.I.P. Tony "The Goose" Siragusa, gone too soon at 55 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,46 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

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

Select other recent columns: Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

It's SATURDAY, JUNE 25. Was back in with Le Batard Show on Thursday this week. Check out that day's show podcasts. 2) Wow. Two of my musical heroes, Brian Wilson (pictured) and Paul McCartney, turned 80 this week, and Bob Dylan turned 81. Here's to many more, living legends! 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast out, Golf's civil  war, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: FATHER'S DAY STORIES AND GREG'S A NEW DAD! NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 27th episode of 2022 and 118th 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 118 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: A Father's Day special! Listeners stop by with their Dad stories, Greg talks about his own father and Yeti shares his last phone message from his Dad. Also on the menu: Whatever happened to the Father-Son Cote Olympics?, A new Yeti song to the tune of “Dancing In The Moonlight,” about catching your parents making love, Reflections on Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday including Greg’s favorite post-Beatles Macca song, A dive into the viral video of beloved Tom Hanks going ballistic, and Greg shares a sad sight from his recent holiday in St. Augustine. Hit up GCS2227 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! 

GET YOUR NIKOLAS STRAIGHT. HEAT DRAFT JOVIC, NOT JOKIC: Nikola Jokic is the Denver Nuggets center and two-time NBA MVP. Nikola Jovic (pictured) is the Miami Heat's newest player, a 6-10 forward drafted 27th overall Thursday. Both are Serebian. The Heat can only pray their guy's skills are close to Jokic's as the name. ESPN's condensed post-draft analyis of the state of the Heat and where Jovic fits: "Miami is coming off a positive season, finishing with No. 1 seed in East and falling one game short of NBA Finals in narrow Game 7 loss to Celtics. With most of their core intact next season, Heat will continue to navigate salary cap and luxury tax restraints while trying to add value along the margins -- something they've done more successfully than any team in NBA over past few years, thanks to outstanding scouting, player development and coaching. Tyler Herro's extension eligibility, Victor Oladipo's free agency, and Kyle Lowry's age and declining playoff performance are main issues front office will evaluate in offseason. Whether to explore trade for Duncan Robinson, one of team's highest-paid players who fell out of playoff rotation, is another important decision. Considering the relatively solid depth the team has developed throughout roster, Heat were in position to draft any type of player they want with their late first-round pick, giving them flexibility. Jovic has impressive dimensions for a player who spent much of season at the small forward position -- measuring 6-11 in shoes with a 9 1/2-foot standing reach that might allow him to see minutes at center as his frame fills out. He's a skilled, versatile offensive player who shows strong passing ability and flashes of dynamic shot-making and shot-creation, as well as unbridled confidence. Jovic grappled with poor scoring efficiency this season, has major question marks defensively, and struggled in private workouts -- something that caused his stock to drop somewhat on draft night."

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW!: Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalists For Guy NO. 1 In Career Losses NEW!

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

NEW! Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can NEW! 

'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Becuase It Feels Like Goodbye / 'Free' speech? Ignorance Cost Del Rio $100,000. But He's Lucky To Still Have A Job / Why Browns' Watson Faces, Deserves Lengthy Suspension From NFL / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami

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

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

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

Select other recent columns: 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 / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's SATURDAY, JUNE 18. I was back in with Le Batard Show Monday this week instead of Tuesday, and then again Thursday for a special occasion. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, Sports and real life in the age of mass shootings, new Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

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

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

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

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

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

Why Browns' Watson Faces, Deserves Lengthy Suspension From NFL

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

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

ARCHIVES

Thank you!: Was honored to have again been named by Associated Press Sports Editors as national Top 10 columnist for 2021 in '22 judging. The four nominated columns that won: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Dolphins sabotaging Tua with interest in Watson

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

Select other recent columns: ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / 'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, JUNE 6. Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Sports and real life in the age of mass shootings, The List (Butler's postseason in Heat history), Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 25th episode of 2022 and 116th 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 116 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: The Father-Son Cote Olympipcs brings you Event 7, Shopping, live from grocery store aisles as Greg and Chris race the clock to find 10 specific items. Also: Greg explains the Sioux vs. Sioux faux pas, a '90s song challenge, the triumphant return of Mount Gregmore and ... Hurricane Betsy? Hit up GCS2225 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking Shop. New items! 

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In The Age Of Mass Shootings NEW!

Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Home Loss

Legacy Building: Butler Rising Fast Among Heat All-Time Greats

Jimmy Butler Just Saved Heat Season, Gave Us Greatest Gift In Sports: A Game 7

No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 5-6): 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, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. NBA: Warriors roar back, rout Celtics to even Finals: Warriors needed an answer Sunday night. They got one. After Boston rallied to win Game 1 handily, Golden State answered with a convincing 117-88 Game 2 win to level the NBA Finals behind Steph Curry's 29 and despite an off night from Klay Thompson. Series swings to Boston for Game 3 Wednesday night.

2. TENNIS: Swiatek tops Gauff in French Open; Nadal routs Ruud: World No.1 Iga Swiatek handled Coco Gauff, 6-1, 6-3 to win the women's French Open title Saturday in Paris. Gauff, 18, is from Delray Beach and was in her first Grand Slam final. Sunday, Rafael Nadal routed Casper Ruud in straight sets to win the men's final. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo caught heat and apologized for saying men's matches had more "appeal."

3. NHL PLAYOFFS: Avalanche, Rangers out front in conference finals: In the Eastern Conference final the New York Rangers are up 2-1 on the same Tampa Bay Lightning that swept Florida, after Tampa's clucth win Sunday. Game 4 is Tuesday. Out West, Colorado on Saturday made it a colossal 3-0 lead over Edmonton, with brooms out for Game 4 Monday in Oilersville. A team from Canada has not won the Stanley Cup since Montreal in 1993.

4. MARLINS: Fish back to losing: The Marlins are 22-30 -- 10-22 since a 12-8 start -- after Sunday's 5-1 home loss to San Fran. Miami's seven-game homestand continues vs. Washington on Tuesday. Fourteen of Miami's losses have been by one run. Sandy Alcantara 's next start is scheduled Thursday. He has Cy Young-convo numbers at 6-2 with a 1.81 ERA and 71 strikouets, the wins, ERA and K's all top-three in the NL.

5. DOLPHINS: Tua defends arm strength as Fins wrap minicamp: You know Miami's two-day mandatory minicamp was uneventful when biggest news from it might have been quarterback Tua Tagovailoa defending his arm strength by pointing out a couple of deep completions to Tyreek Hill. Dolphins have four more OTA practice days this week -- Monday and Tuesday and Thursday and Friday -- before taking off until start of full preseason training camp in late July.

6. CANES BASEBALL: Ugh. UM season ends on brutal Sunday in Gables Regional: UM won its Gables Regional opener with an 11-6 rally past Canisius on Saturday in a game twice delayed by stormy weather and rain. Sunday wasn't so kind. The Canes lost 2-1 to Ole Miss and 3-2 to Arizona to see their season end in disappointment. Miami was the No. 6 national seed with dreans of the College World Series but fizzing badly in a home Regional.

7. SOCCER: Next U.S. men's matches in buildup to World Cup: The USMNT played an international friendly vs. Uruguay Sunday in Kansas City, Kansas, a 0-0 draw in preparation for the CONCACAF Nations League tournament. Those matches are this coming Friday June 10 vs. Granada in Austin, Texas and June 14 at El Salvador. The late-year 2022 World Cup in Qatar begins with group stage play starting November 21. The U.S. is in Group B with England, Iran and Wales, which won a playoff match Sunday over sentimental favorite Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in the midst of the invasion by Russia, thanked the national team for its win over Scotland in a playoff semifinal.

8. PANTHERS: Brunette misses out on coach honor. But will he keep job?: Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette was a finalist for NHL coach of the year but missed out as Calgary's Darryl Sutter won. Brunette coached the Cats in 75 games in the regular season after Joel Quenneville was forced out over revelations about a decade-old scandal in Chicago and led Florida to NHL's best record. But, curiously, club still has not announced whether or not he will lose the interim tag and be retained.

9. GOLF: Brady, Rodgers win 'The Match': It was one for the ages. The old ages. Old quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers beat young QBs Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen this week in Las Vegas in 'The Match,' a 12-hole golf exhibition for charity. Rodgers' putt on the final hole was the difference in the 1-up win. The event raised money equating to 10.3 million meals donated to Feeding America.

10. NFL: Gore, Fitzpatrick bid farewell with retirements: Two men who meant a lot to Miami, Frank Gore and Ryan Fitzpatrick, retired this week after long NFL careers. Gore, a former Miami Hurricane and a Dolphin in 2018, signed a 1-day contract to retire a 49er, third in all-time rushing yards and Canton-bound. Fitzpatrick, a Dolphin in 2019-20, has a place in the Hall of Quite Good, ending with 34,990 passing yards, 223 touchdowns and one fabulous beard.

Missing the HB10 cut: Minjee Lee won the U.S. Women's Open in golf in North Carolina ..... A Canes men's basketball program coming off its first NCAA Elite 8 appearance got a boost this week with the news UM guard Isaiah Wong will return for the 2022-23 season as a fourth-year junior. Wong, UM's second leading scorer at 15.3 points last season, had entered his name in the NBA Draft but withdrew when it became apparent he would go undrafted ..... NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league may change format of its All-NBA teams to make them positionless ..... Thirteen PGA Tour players including Dustin Johnson are entered in next week's first LIV Golf Invitational Series event in London, and face penalties from the tour including possible suspension if they compete in the Saudi-backed league ..... The Special Olympics reversed its COVID vaccine mandate for upcoming competitions in Orlando after awful Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened a $27.5 million fine ..... At some point while you were sleeping the past week, LeBron James became a billionaire, the first active NBA player to do so ..... Serena and Venus Williams are not on the entry list for Wimbledon, which starts June 27. Either could still seek a wild-card invitation ..... The NFL, Cowboys and Texans donated $800,000 to aid families of victims in the Uvalde school masscare  ..... Inter Miami, 5-3-6 and at the far edge of MLS playoff pace, is off until a June 19 visit to Atlanta ..... Ecuador will play a World Cup tuneup vs. Cape Verde next Saturday June 11 in Fort Lauderdale. Inter Miami's leading goal scorer, Leonardo Campana, is on Ecuador's WC roster ..... No MLB players slapped each other this week ..... Harini Logan, 14, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in an historic spell-off after several rounds left two spellers tied ..... A Twitter analysis by betonline.ag has named the most hated players in MLB. They are, in order, Manny Machado, José Altuve and Bryce Harper. Congrats, guys! ..... The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot will be released on Monday ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,485 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

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

Select other recent columns: Why Quiet Draft With No 1st-Round Pick Was Great News For Dolphins / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / 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 / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 2. Thank you for your service, April. See ya next year. Welcome back, May! 2) Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's album, which includes song by me. 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): Cote nails Dolphins' Tindall pick at 102nd, my Mock Draft results vs. Kiper, Inter Miami's sky-high aim for new stadium, new Greg Cote Show podcast, latest in Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! DID GREG REALLY KICK A 50-YARD FIELD GOAL? MEET THE EYE-WITNESS: Our 20th episode of 2022 and 111th overall is out now. A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 111 we've done HERE, free. The most recent episode includes an eye-witness to Greg's long-held claim of having made a 50-yard field goal, and Phil Taylor on whether Greg actually beat him in a footrace. Also: Father-Son Cote Olympics continues with free-throw shooting, Greg explains his lifelong love of Elton John, and Greg's Mock Draft vs. Mel Kiper's. Hit up GCS2220 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new, our podcast has an all-encompassing wesbite and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com!

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

Nailed it! Cote bull's-eyes Dolphin's Tindall pick at 102nd overall!: Hard enough to guess right on first round. To nail Miami's top pick at 102nd overall late in third round is, well, unheard of. But I did it. Proof is here: 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft. My overall first round Mock Draft results vs. ESPN mocklord Mel Kiper Jr.: Zagactos (aka exactos), right player to right team: Tied 6-6. Tiebreaker: Right player to right team in exact order: Cote 6, Kiper 5. Winner: By a nose at the wire ... Me! See ya next year, Junior.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Why Quiet Draft With No 1st-Round Pick Was Great News For Dolphins NEW!

‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver?

31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft

Oladipo Crowns His Long Road Back, Lifts Heat Into Second Round 

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

Hilltop: The most recent five after that: History Says Heat Still In Charge, But Blown Game 3 Lead Gives Atlanta Life / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 1-2): 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, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: 76ers' Embiid out a huge break for Miami entering Game 1 Monday: Game 1 of Heat-76ers second round series is Monday night in Miami, with No. 1 East seed Heat the favorite even before the news Philly MVP-candidate center Joel Embiid will be out "indefinitely" with a right orbital fracture and mild concussion sustained in first round vs. Toronto. Embiid already was playing with a sprained thumb. Are we ready for 30 shots per game from James Harden? 

2. PANTHERS: Cats open Stanley Cup hunt at home vs. Capitals Tuesday: Florida hosts Game 1 of its first round NHL playoff series vs. Washington and goal monster Alex Ovechkin on Tuesday night. Panthers finished with best record (58-18-6), most goals scored and best goals differential yet are second betting favorite to win it all, just behind Colorado. Why? Track record. Since reaching Stanley Cup Finals in 1996, Cats have made the playoffs only six times and never gone beyond the first round. Different now? Seems so. But we'll see.

3. INTER MIAMI: Freedom Park 'yes' vote is Team Beckham's biggest win yet: Inter Miami scored the biggest win in its three-year MLS history this week. It was 4-1. That was the Miami city commission vote (finally) green-lighting Miami Freedom Park, set for a March 2025 opening. On the pitch, Herons are 3-1-5 after Saturday's 2-0 loss at New England ended a three-game win streak. Lads are back at it next Saturday in Charlotte.

4. DOLPHINS: Georgia LB Tindall is Miami's top pick in quiet draft: Miami had an NFL-low four picks and none until the 102nd overall, making Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall their first selection. Then again, Fins spent their top picks to get star WR Tyreek Hill from Chiefs, so if you wanted to call Hill Miami's No. 1 pick in this NFL Draft, I wouldn't argue much. No first round pick usually is a good sign for Miami. The nine previous times, eight winning seasons, six playoff berths and the '72 Perfect Season followed.

5. MARLINS: Shh. Overshadowed, but Fish win streak finally ends: Heat and Panthers in playoffs and NFL Draft have hogged the recent spotlight, but Marlins quietly won seven straight before losing Sunday and are 12-9 and second in NL East. This was Miami's longest win streak since 2016. As expected, pitching (seventh of 30 in team ERA) has made up for an offense 22nd in run production. Miami hosts Arizona for three games starting tonight. 

6. NBA: Title odds for final eight teams as 2nd round begins: NBA playoffs' second round begins with a pair of games Sunday, and Golden State (+300) and Phoenix (+325) are betting favorites to win it all among the final eight, followed by Boston (+375), Miami (+500) and reigning champion Milwaukee (+700). Longshots are Memphis (+1300), Dallas (+2000) and, because of the Embiid injury, Philadelphia (+2500).

7. MOTORSPORTS: Countdown 6 days 'til inaugural Miami Grand Prix: The first Miami Grand Prix of Formula One racing will run one week from today/Sunday in and around Hard Rock Stadium. Max Verstappen is a narrow betting favorire over Charles Leclerc to win. (Yes, Lewis Hamilton is in the event, too, for those who can only name one F1 driver).

8. RUNNING: Miami Corporate Run disrupts, angers thousands of concert goers: The Miami Corporate Run on Thursday evening halted and disrupted downtown traffic in rush hour Thursday evening. The gridlock in favor of a footrace caused thousands of music fans to be late for an Elton John concert they'd paid hundreds to see at the Heat arena. As if it didn't go without saying: Motorists and event-goers should not be diverted as second-class citizens so runners can clog roadways meant for motorists. Insane.

9. CANES BASKETBALL: Wong pivots over NIL threat to leave: Hurricanes guard and second-leading scorer on an Elite Eight team, Isaiah Wong, said he would not enter the transfer portal, less than 24 hours after his agent said he would transfer if his name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation was not. Wong now says he will keep his name in the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility and leaving open the option to return to Miami. NIL figured to get ugly. It did.

10. MLB: Record domestic violence suspension for L.A.'s Bauer: Baseball announced a 324-game suspension for Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, the equivalent of two full seasons -- and easily the most severe punishment handed out under the sport's domestic violence policy. Bauer quickly announced he would be appealing. Ironically, it seems very little about Bauer is appealing.

Missing the HB10 cut: Hurricanes football kept alive (barely) its now-48-year streak of players taken in the NFL Draft when defensive lineman Jonathan Ford was selected in the seventh round by Green Bay on Saturday. UM has had at least one player picked in every NFL Draft since 1975 -- fourth-longest streak in the nation ..... Mark Emmert has stepped down as NCAA president. What a thankless job that has become! ..... Liverpool (up two) and Manchester City (plus one) take advantages into this week's second-leg semifinal matches in the UEFA Champions League ..... Canes baseball is No. 3-ranked but not for long at 31-12 after four straight losses .....  Tennis great Boris Becker was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for illegally transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt ..... Shame on Miami Lakes for "moving on" from the Shula name ..... xxxxx ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,520 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

ARCHIVES

Select other recent columns: Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / The Lawsuit, 2 Months Later: Why Flores Has Already Won, And Dolphins Are Still Nervous / NCAA Final Four: Why America Was Rooting Against The Perfect Ending / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him / Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror / Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Chris Cote To Save Sport Of Jai-Alai / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's SATURDAY, APRIL 30. Thank you for your service, April. See ya next year. You ready, May? 2) Joel Embiid out indefinitely a massive break for Heat as Philly series starts. Ready for 30 shots per, James Harden? 3) Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's album -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 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, Heat seize 3-1 series lead, new Greg Cote Show podcast, latest in Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: DEBUT OF FATHER-SON OLYMPICS!: Our 19th episode of 2022 and 110th overall is out now. A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 110 we've done HERE, free. The new episode includes the start of our Father-Son Olympics as get verdicts at the pool table and on the golf course. (Go Greg go!) Also some Heat talk after last  night's Game 4 win gave Miami is big 3-1 series lead. Hit up GCS2219 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET).

Thank you!: Was honored to have again been named by Associated Press Sports Editors as national Top 10 columnist for 2021 in '22 judging. The four nominated columns that earned APSE distinction: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Dolphins sabotaging Tua with interest in Watson

Nailed it! Cote bull's-eyes Dolphin's Tindall pick at 102nd overall!: Hard enough to guess right on first round. To nail Miami's top pick at 102nd overall late in third round is, well, unheard of. But I did it. Proof is here: 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft. My overall first round Mock Draft results vs. ESPN mocklord Mel Kiper Jr.: Zagactos (aka exactos), right player to right team: Tied 6-6. Tiebreaker: Right player to right team in exact order: Cote 6, Kiper 5 (not counting Tindall much later on). Winner: By a nose at the wire ... Me! See ya next year, Junior.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? NEW!

31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft

Oladipo Crowns His Long Road Back, Lifts Heat Into Second Round 

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

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

Hilltop: The most recent five after that:

Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix

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

ARCHIVES

Select other recent columns: Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / The Lawsuit, 2 Months Later: Why Flores Has Already Won, And Dolphins Are Still Nervous / NCAA Final Four: Why America Was Rooting Against The Perfect Ending / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him / Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror / Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Chris Cote To Save Sport Of Jai-Alai / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, APRIL 25. Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's album -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat blow Game 3 lead in Atlanta, David Samson (!) joins fight against soccer stadium, Greg Cote Show podcast, latest in Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW WITH START OF FATHER-SON OLYMPICS!: Our 19th episode of 2022 and 110th overall is out now. A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 110 we've done HERE, free. The new episode includes the start of our Father-Son Olympics as get verdicts at the pool table and on the golf course. (Go Greg go!) Also some Heat talk after last  night's Game 4 win gave Miami is big 3-1 series lead. Hit up GCS2219 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET).

Thank you!: Was honored to have again been named by Associated Press Sports Editors as national Top 10 columnist for 2021 in '22 judging. The four nominated columns that earned APSE distinction: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Dolphins sabotaging Tua with interest in Watson

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missing the HB10 cut: No team has yet advanced in the NBA playoffs' first round, but five teams (including Heat) are one win away ..... NFL said it will play three games on Christmas Day this season ..... Wimbledon has banned players from Russian and Belarus from competing this year over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine ..... No. 5-ranked Canes baseball is 31-9 after Sunday's home loss to Pitt ..... Fan Controlled Football season is underway, and nobody cares ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,527 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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Select other recent columns: NCAA Final Four: Why America Was Rooting Against The Perfect Ending? / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him / Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror / Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Chris Cote To Save Sport Of Jai-Alai / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / Revealing My 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot / UM Legend Frank Gore Talks NFL Future, Cristobal, Boxing As He Prepes For Ring Debut / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / 'I'm D'Eriq King For College Hunks Hauling Junk!' It's Strange New World in College Sports / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Pythons, Peppers, Pirate Flag Raised. Inside Le Batard's 24-Hour Triumph / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, APRIL 11. Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's album -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Inter Miami a rare failure for Beckham but there's a fix, Marlins Opening Day finds no excuses lieft, Tiger's miracle Masters, Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! Our 17th episode of 2022 and 108th overall is out now! 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. Find all 108 we've done HERE, free. In the new episode: It's Welcome Back, Baseball as welome in ESPN MLB expert Tim Kurkjiam and Hal Richman, legendary inventor of the Strat-O-Matic baseball board game. Kurkjian tells us team that will surprise, talks Marlins, and opines in changes in the game. Richman describes how he thought of Strat-O-Matic as an 11-year-old and launched a brand important in millions of lives -- including my own. Hit up GCS2217 for full story on the new ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. Our pod also simulcasts on Sirius XM every Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET).

Personal note and thanks: I'm 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 us APSE distinction: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Dolphins sabotaging Tua with interest in Watson

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix NEW!

Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win

Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won

The Lawsuit, 2 Months Later: Why Flores Has Already Won, And Dolphins Are Still Nervous

NCAA Final Four: Why (Was) America Rooting Against The Perfect Ending?

Hilltop: The most recent five after that: 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  /  Peacocks? Coach K? Hurricanes, The 'Football School' In Elite Eight, Deserve Love Too  /  Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins  /  Hurricanes Storming Sweet 16 Shades of George Mason '06 for Larranaga

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (APRIL 10-11): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami holds No. 1 seed as season ends, awaits playoff foe: Heat ended 53-29 and with No. 1 seed in East with Sunday's meaningless loss in Orlando in which starters sat and Victor Oladipo scored 40. Play-in games are Tuesday though Friday with the full NBA playoffs commencing next Saturday, and Miami now likeliest to draw Cleveland or Kevin Durant and Brooklyn in first round. Miami has two dogs in the awards hunt: Bam Adebayo (Defensive POY) and Tyler Herro (Sixth Man).

2. MARLINS: Fish dip to 1-2 as Opening Week on road continues: Marlins are 1-2 in newborn season after Sunday's 3-2 loss in San Fran. Fish now play two games at L.A. Angels before returning for Thursday night's home opener vs. NL East rival Philaldelphia to start a seven-game homestand.

3. GOLF: All eyes on Tiger but it's Scheffel in Masters green jacket: Tiger Woods playing his first competitive event since his awful car wreck 14 months ago assured extraordinary interest in the 86th Masters. Alas, he finished 13 over par and 23 off the lead, but still found encouragment and committed to play the U.S. Open. Scottie Scheffler won by 3 shots over Rory McIlroy.

4. PANTHERS: Huberdeau sets club record, sizzlin' Cats win 7th straight: Florida is 51-15-6 with seven straight wins and an eight-point lead in NHL Atlantic after Saturday's 4-1 banger in Nashville. It's Florida's longest W run since opening the season 8-0. And Jonathan Huberdeau became first player in franchise history to have a 100-point season and is in the running for both the Ross trophy (points leader) and the Hart (MVP). Aleksander Barkov is a finalist for the Selke (defensive forward) and Andrew Brunette for the Adams (coach). Cats are back on ice Tuesday vs. Anaheim with 10 games left in regular season.

5. INTER MIAMI: Herons finally win on big weekend for Beckhams: As rumors of Lionel Messi eventually coming here renew yet again, Inter Miami finally won its first matchof 2022 Saturday, a 3-2 home win over New E gland powered by Leonardo Campana's franchise-first hat trick. Miami had begun MLS Year 3 winless in five games with one draw. On the same day up in Palm Beach, David Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn got married. Meanwhile Miami City Commisison vote on new stadium is set April 28.

6. DOLPHINS: Flores lawsuit against NFL, Fins gaining steam?: Brian Flores' legal team revealed he wrote a letter to club officials in December 2019 putting in writing his allegations that owner stpehen Ross offered him bonus money to lose. And two more former NFL coaches, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton, joined Flores' class-action suit. Meantime former Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey said Titans ownership "told me I was going to be head coach" in 2016 before going through Rooney Rule interviews. On the field, Dolphins offseason workoust build toward a voluntary minicamp Aril 29-20.

7. NFL: League rocked by Haskins death, AGs' warning: Steelers quarterback and former Ohio State star Dwayne Haskins, 24, died Saturday when struck by a dump truck while walking alongside Interstste 595 in South Florida, where he'd been training with teammates. The NFL also reels as attorneys general from six states wrote a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell warning that the league will face a major investigation if alleged workplace harassment of women and minorities is not addressed and corrected.

8. HURRICANES: Spring football wraps, baseball rising fast: Big spring for Canes sports on heel of Miami men reaching NCAA Elite Eight for first time. Mario Cristobal's first spring practice as head coach wraps up next Saturday with the annual Spring Game at Inter Miami's stadium in Fort Lauderdale. And Canes baseball has risen from No. 8 to No. 2 in the polls and is 26-6 with 13 straight wins after a weekend home sweep of Virginia.

9. SOCCER: U.S. men's soccer sets pre-World Cup schedule: The USMNT, World Cup-qualified and drawn into Group B led by England, has scheduled six matches in the buildup to the November/December event in Qatar. The American men will play friendlies on June 1 and 5; compete in CONCACAF Nations Lesagues matches June 10 vs. Grenada and June 4 vs. El Salvador; and play two more friendlies between September 19-27. All locations are TBD, as are the opponents for the friendlies.

10. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Champion Kansas, coach Self facing cloud of allegations: Men's NCAA Tournament champion Kansas and coach Bill Self face allegations in an NCAA investigation into corruption in college basketball nearing its conclusion. Kansas is among a list of schools that were part of a 2017 FBI case alleging bribes were paid to lure top recruits to elite programs, and payments were made to coaches to steer young players toward financial and business advisers.

Missing the HB10 cut: Clemson's Dabo Swinney misses College Football Playoff for first time in seven years, calls for "complete blowup" of the sport. Hahahahahahahaha! ..... Real Madrid, Villarreal, Manchester City and Liverpool take the advantage into UEFA Champions League 2nd leg quarterfinal matches this Tuesday and Wednesday. The one surprise: Can upstart VIllarreal reach the semifinals past powehouse Bayern Munich? ..... Despite qualifying, runners from Russia and Belarus will be banned from competing in the 126th Boston Marathon on April 18 over the invasion of Ukraine. The ruling eliminates 63 runners from an expected field of some 30,000 ..... A new wealth list named embattled Dolphins' owner Stephen Ross the NFL's fifth-richest NFL owner at $8.2 bilion. He trails only the Panthers' David Tepper, Rams' Stan Kroenke, Cowboys' Jerry Jones and Pats' Robert Kraft ..... NBA playoffs with no LeBron. Is that even legal? ..... WNBA Draft is Monday. No Hurricanes expected to go in any of the three rounds ..... Terrell Owens, 48, is returning to pro football (sort of) in the Fan Controlled Football league, a 7-on-7 startup that allows fans to make key decisions and play calls, kicks off April 16 and figures to be permanently defunct by summer ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,541 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

Other recent columns: Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him / Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror / Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / The Resurgence Of Miami Hurricanes Basketball as March Madness Nears  / Chris Cote To Save Sport Of Jai-Alai / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / 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 / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude

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

1) It's MONDAY, APRIL 4. Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's album -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Brian Flores has already won, Why is America rooting against perfect ending in Final Four?, Marlins payroll still too low, Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH NICK WRIGHT OUT NOW! Our sweet 16th episode of 2022 and 107th 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. Find all 107 we've done HERE, free. In the new episode: Fox Sports rising star Nick Wright (pictured) sits in and talks stealing Greg's Back In My Day idea, Tyreek Hill, Miami Heat, professional poker and more in a wide-ranging, fun convo. Also in the new episode: Greg and Chris detail plans and events for their upcoming Father vs. Son Olympics, Can Greg reel Tony Kornheiser into the boat?, Punctuality vs. tardiness, the Final Fours and -- whoa! -- Chris reveals a job offer that would have him leaving Le Batard Show. Hit up GCS2216 for full story on that episode, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. Our pod also simulcasts on Sirius XM every Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET).

Personal note and thanks: I'm 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 us APSE distinction: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Dolphins sabotaging Tua with interest in Watson

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! The Lawsuit, 2 Months Later: Why Flores Has Already Won, And Dolphins Are Still Nervous NEW! 

NCAA Final Four: Why (Was) America Rooting Against The Perfect Ending?

Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough

Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone

Peacocks? Coach K? Hurricanes, The 'Football School' In Elite Eight, Deserve Love Too

Hilltop: The most recent five after that: Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins  /  Hurricanes Storming Sweet 16 Shades of George Mason '06 for Larranaga  /  Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him  /  Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror  /  Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is

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

1. NCAA TOURNAMENT (M): No Coach K, it's Kansas-UNC for men's national title: March (into April) Madness is ready for its crescendo! From 68 teams it's down to two survivors for both the men and women. Duke saw its season end and Coach K his career Saturday night in a semifinal loss to No. 8-seed rival North Carolina, which now will meet No. 1 Kansas for the men's national title Monday night in New Orleans. Jayhawks are 4 1/2-point favorites.

2. MARLINS: It's Opening Week for Miami's 30th season!: Yes, it's been 30 springs since Charlie Hough's knuckleball danced in 1993. The latest iteration of the Marlins opens the 162-game regular season with a five-game road trip starting this Friday at San Francsico. Thie Fish are 7-6 this spring, with final tuneup on Tuesday. Miami's home opener will be April 14 with a four-game set vs. NL East rival Phialdelphia.

3. GOLF: Time for The Masters. But will Tiger play?: The Masters, the year's first of four golf majors, runs this Thursday through next Sunday ar Augusta. Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth are betting favorites in a bunched field. It will be the first Masters since 1994 without Phil Mickelson. But the big question: Will Tiger Woods make the Masters his first full-field event since an auto wreck mangled his leg 13 1/2 months ago? He had not made his decision public as of early today/Monday.

4. HEAT: Heat get got, Hardaway makes Hall: Playoff-clinched Miami has won four straight (to flip a four-game skid) after Sunday's win in Toronto and lead the East by 2 games. Miami is down to three games left in regular season starting Tuesday vs. Charlotte, the first-round playoff opponent yet to be determined. Meantime old Heater Tim Hardaway finally earned 2022 induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame in his 15th year of eligibility.

5. DOLPHINS: Miami trades Parker, extends Howard, sets offseason schedule: After a big free agency period led by the blockbuster trade for Tyreek Hill and Friday's huge deal to extend cornerback Xavien Howard, the Fins weren't done yet and Saturday worked a rare in-division trade with New England. Pats get WR DeVante Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick. Miami gets a 2023 third-round pick, giving Fins two 1sts, one 2nd and two 3rds in '23. Meanwhile club announced that offseason work under new coach Mike McDaniel would begin today/Monday. Other key dates: Voluntary minicamp April 19-20, NFL Draft April 28-20, and OTA workdays May 16-17, 19, 23-24 and 26 and June 6-7 and 9-10. Full preseason training camp typically starts in late July.

6. NCAA TOURNAMENT (W): South Carolina tops UConn in blueblood womens final: South Carolina has been the No.1 -ranked team all season and goes wire to wire for the national championship with Sunday night's 64-49 win over 11-time champ UConn.

7. TENNIS: Swiatek, Alcaraz win Miami Open. But Osaska did, too: Naomi Osaka, former world No. 1, entered the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium unseeded and ranked 77th, recently beset by mental health issues. But Osaka reached Saturday's women's final before falling 6-4, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek, who will take over No. 1 in WTA rankings in replacing the now-retired Ashleigh Barty. In Sunday's wholly unexpected men's final, 14th-seed Carlos Alcaraz beat No. 6 Carlos Ruud to become the youngest Miami Open men's winner and third-youngest of any ATP Masters 1000 event. He turns 19 on May 5.

8. SOCCER: U.S. drawn into World Cup Group B with England: The U.S. men's national team was drawn into Group B for soccer's 2022 late-year World Cup in Qatar. The group also includes mighty England, Iran and the winner of the final available European spot. That last team in USMNT's group will be decided in June, with either Scotland or Ukraine facing Wales for the coveted ticket. Brazil, France and England are early betting favorites in the 32-nation field. The U.S. is an 80-1 longshot but given even-odds of joining England in advancing out of group play. 

9. PANTHERS: Cats top 100-point milestone, clinch playoffs: High-flying Panthers are 48-15-6, have won four straight and 13 of past 16, and are now nine points up in NHL Atlantic after Sunday's win in Buffalo. Florida was first in East to reach 100 standings points, done only once prior (2016) in franchise history. Cats are back on ice Tuesday vs. Toronto.

10. INTER MIAMI: Another loss, and stadium vote delayed again: Inter Miami still is winless in Year 3 in MLS, now with four losses and one tie after Saturday's 3-1 home loss Houston. Herons are back on the home pitch next Saturday vs. New England. Meanwhile the Miami City Commission vote on the club's Miami Freedom Park stadium proposal was delayed to April 28, the fourth postponement since February.

Missing the HB10 cut: UEFA Champions League quarterfinals this week are Liverpool vs. Benfica and Manchester City vs. Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, and Bayern Munich vs. Villarreal and Real Madrid vs. Chelsea on Wednesday. Liverpool and Man City are betting picks to win it all, followed closely by Bayern ..... Canes baseball climbed to No. 17 in polls and is 21-6 and on an eight-game win streak after Sunday's sweep at Duke ..... Bruce Arians stepped down as Bucs coach and the absurd old Tom Brady-to-Dolphins rumors began to regurgitate because the Internet evidently is bored ..... Canes spring football had its ninth of 15 practices Saturday. Spring Game is Apeil 16 in Fort Lauderdale ..... Orange Bowl Committee inducted Jim Courier into the OB Tennis Hall of Fame. He won back-to-back OB titles as a teen in 1986-87 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,548 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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