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

1) It's SATURDAY, APRIL 2. Welcome, April. Did you get Fool'd yesterday? 2) Sean Taylor would have turned 39 yesterday. Not forgotten. R.I.P. 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! 4) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 5) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast, Marlins payroll tops latest Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: LATEST EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 15th episode of 2022 and 106th overall is out now! A new pod drops each Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 106 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Golf with Le Batard Show (left), Platonic lip kissing, Does Chris only call his mother when he needs something?, Bowling beef, Early planning stage of Cote Olympics, Another try at Gerdle word game, Mayor of a city in Georgia sings song he wrote about Greg, and Funeral songs. Hit up GCS2215 for full story on the new episode, and watch our weekly YouTube preview of latest episode. 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 Is 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

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ARCHIVES

Other recent columns: 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 / Who Dolphins, With Windfall To Spend, Should Target In Offseason To Fix Offense Fast / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / 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, MARCH 28. Belated happy 75th birthday to one of my heroes, Elton John. Still standing! 2) Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's latest venture -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 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): Dolphins' mega-trade for Tyreek Hill tops latest Mount Gregmore of columns, new Greg Cote Show podcast including emergency bonus episode on Tyreek.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 15th episode of 2022 and 106th overall is out now! A new pod drops each Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 106 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Golf with Le Batard Show (left), Platonic lip kissing, Does Chris only call his mother when he needs something?, Bowling beef, Early planning stage of Cote Olympics, Another try at Gerdle word game, Mayor of a city in Georgia sings song he wrote about Greg, and Funeral songs. Hit up GCS2215 for full story on the new episode, and watch our weekly YouTube preview of latest episode. 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! Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone NEW!

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

Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him

Hilltop: The most recent five after that: 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 

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 27-28): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature --back after a one-week hiatus -- 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. UM BASKETBALL: Canes' exhilarating NCAA run ends in crushing Elite Eight loss: UM men's basketball crashed the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for first time and led No. 1 Kansas by six points at halftime on Sunday before eventually falling hard, 76-50 [column link above]. It was a second-half collapse. Still, 20 minutes from the Final Four after going 10-17 a year ago is a hell of a milestone for Coach Jim Larranaga's program.

2. DOLPHINS: Miami makes power-play leap into relevance with Hill, Armstead: The Dolphins quaked the NFL offseason with a blockbuster trade for Chiefs elite WR Tyreek Hill, just hours after signing the No. 1-rated free agent in Saints OT Terron Armstead. Hill has made Pro Bowl all six NFL seasons. Armstead is such an upgrade the Fins quickly released Jesse Davis, who had started 72 games over the past five seasons.

3. NCAA TOURNAMENT: It's Duke-UNC, Kansas-'Nova in Final Four: North Carolina ousted Cinderella St. Peters Sunday and will meet ACC rival Duke and retiring Coach K in the Final Four, while Kansas advanced past Miami and will meet Villanova in the other FF semifinal in New Orleans. And after all the madness ... four pedigreed basketball programs are the only left standing.

4. HEAT: Spo/Butler fireworks in midst of slump jar Heat season: Jimmy Butler gives lousy effort on D on a 3 by Golden State. Timeout. Erik Spoelstra yells at Butler; Butler yells back. It escalates. Udonis Haslem steps in. A clipboard flies. National news! All of this as Miami has now lost four straight and six of nine, along with its lead the East. Heat did clinch division title, but there are bigger problems at the moment. Miami is back at it Monday/tonight vs. Sac-Town as the playoffs draw ever nearer.

5. PANTHERS: Hot Cats land Giroux to fortify Stanley Cup hopes as playoffs near: Florida made a major deadline trade with Philly, obtaining veteran forward Claude Giroux essentially for Owen Tippett and a future No. 1 draft pick. Giroux, with 291 career goals, joins Sasha Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe on the top line. The Cats are 44-15-6 after Sunday's loss in Toronto ended a four-game win streak and still lead by six points in the NHL Atlantic.

6. SOCCER: U.S. all but in Qatar World Cup after Sunday win: Coming off a 0-0 qualifying draw at Mexico, the USMNT on Sunday routed Panama 5-1 behind Christian Pulisic's hat trick to all but clinch a spot in this year's World Cup in Qatar. The U.S., in Wednesday's CONCACAF qualifying finale vs. Costa Rica, will clinch a ticket to Qatar with a win, or a tie, or a loss by five goals or fewer.

7. NFL: Browns introduce Watson, who denies allegations: A second grand jury in Texas declined to pursue criminal charges against Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson. Browns acquired Watson from the Houston for three first-round picks and other draft picks, and a five-year contract worth $230 million guaranteed -- by far the most guaranteed money in one deal in NFL history. When introduced, Watson denied all charges by the 22 women alleging sexual misconduct during massages.

8. TENNIS: Withdrawals, upsets mar Miami Open at its midpoint: Call it a depleted Miami Open, with men's Big 3 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer not playing, and the women's side missing suddenly retired Ashley Barty, Serena Williams and No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka and U.S  Open champ Emma Raducanu, both to early exits. Women's side seems wide open, entering round of 16 with Naomi Osaka still alive. Daniil Medvedev appears in control among the men.

9. MARLINS: Is Miami a sneaky-smart playoff darkhorse?: Marlins top an MLB.com list in a story headlined, 'Don't sleep on these 6 teams as playoff contenders,' projecting a 15-win Marlins improvement from last year's 67-95 record to 82-80. Fish are off to a solid spring start at 5-3 on the Grapefruit League diamond.

10. INTER MIAMI: A nightmare start to MLS Year 3 for Team Beckham: Miami has tied one and lost three of its first four MLS matches, been outscored 10-2 and sits dead-last in the East as coach Phil Neville struggles to right the listing ship. Herons are back on the pitch next Saturday April 2 vs Houston, five days before the city of Miami's delayed vote on whether to green-light the club's Miami Freedom Park stadium plans.

Missing the HB10 cut: Penn swimmer Lia Thomas won the NCAA title in the 500 freestyle at the women's national swimming championships, hailed as a trailblazer by some and as a fraudulent winner by others -- because she is transgender ..... Canes baseball is 17-6 and poll-bound after a three-game home sweep of No. 13 North Carolina ..... Quarterfinal matchups are set in the UEFA Champions League, and it will be Liverpool vs. Benfica and Manchester City vs. Atletico Madrid on April 5 and Bayern Munich-Villarreal and Real Madrid-Chelsea April 6. Premier League powers Liverpool and Man City are betting picks to win it all, followed by Bayern ..... Miami UFC star Jorge Masvidal was taken into custody in Miami Beach for aggravated battery for allegedly punching rival Colby Covington outside the Papi Steak restaurant in Miami Beach. Masvidal tagged Covington in a tweet and said, "You talk that s---, you got to back it up. That's how my city rolls, man" ..... Hurricanes spring football neared its midpoint Saturday with the sixth of 15 offseason workdays ..... R.I.P. Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters drummer ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,555 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

Other recent columns: 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 / Who Dolphins, With Windfall To Spend, Should Target In Offseason To Fix Offense Fast / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / 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 and 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude.

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

1) It's FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MARCH 18-20. 2) Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's latest venture -- which includes a song by me and reached No.1 on iTunes chart! 3) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast.

Two notes: I was in with Le Batard Show on Thursday this week; check out today's show podcasts. Hot Button Top 10 has the Sunday off. HB10'll be back next week! 

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

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

DOLPHINS' MOVES GET HELP FOR TUA, BUT IT ISN'T ABOUT SURROUNDING CAST ANYORE. IT'S ON HIM: The kind folks on social media are snipers taking dead aim, as always. They are having fun making fun of the Miami Dolphins’ offseason. The theme in the Twitterverse seems to be that, while the rest of the NFL percolates with exciting major trades and big free agent signings, Fins general manager Chris Grier has picked a hell of a time for a long nap and forgot to set the alarm. It isn’t true. Well, not entirely, anyway. Miami entered the weekend having made 16 offseason transactions. Only Houston (17) had made more, followed by Detroit with 14 and the Jets with 12. (Ah, the company we keep!). The problem is the Dolphins, trying to make the leap from consecutive winning seasons to playoff-good, have made mostly gentle ripples amid the cannonball splashes all around them. Russell Wilson is in the AFC now, immediately vaulting Denver ahead of Miami in the sportsbooks. So is the best receiver in football, Devante Adams, doing the same for Las Vegas. Von Miller is now in the same division, further tipping the East Buffalo’s favor. ESPN’s latest free agent rankings have the top six most-improved teams all from the AFC, none of them Miami. Tsunami stuff is happening relative to the Dolphins’ strategic (and cost-effective) fine tuning. What I do like is that most of the notable moves have been aimed at building around and/or protecting third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. For our full latest column, visit Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But It Isn't About Surrounding Cast Anymore. It's On him.

WHY DO WE LOVE MARCH MADNESS THIS MUCH? LOOK TO PSYCHOLOGY. BUT FIRST, LOOK IN THE MIRROR: This is the closest we get in sports to sheer rhapsody, right? The next few weeks. Especially the next few days. We see a pristine, untouched NCAA Tournament bracket as we would a breathtaking sunrise, or a first born in a nursery. It is a document almost holy, the very proof of possibility. The words leave our lips like prayer. March Madness. Done with the pointless perfunctory of the play-in games, the final 64-team field tips off Thursday for the men and Friday for the women, and this year it feels especially big because we are welcoming back an old friend: Normalcy. Two years ago March Madness was swallowed up whole, canceled altogether by the mushrooming COVID pandemic. It felt almost blasphemous to erase our annual communal worship, maybe the only religion we can all agree on, but for many of us it was the first hard reality. ‘Whoa. This coronavirus [bleep] ain’t playin’.’ Last year the Madness returned, but only sort of, confined to in and around Indianapolis and played before very limited crowds. Now? (Cue Dick Vitale). WE’RE BACK, BAYBEEEE! For our full recent column, visit Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror.

TOM BRADY'S COMEBACK ISN'T ABUT ONE MORE RING. IT'S ABOUT HOLDING ON TO WHO HE IS: The two words he used to explain his comeback surely were not intended to be funny, but were nonetheless as Tom Brady announced his return to the NFL from his Twitter and Instagram on Sunday night. “Unfinished business.” Seriously? One could argue no athlete in the history of competition has retired with his business so completely and emphatically taken care of. I mean, seven Super Bowl rings, most ever. Career records for passing yards and touchdowns. Across all sports this is the grand marshal of the G.O.A.T. parade. Not since God created heaven and earth in six days has anyone earned a rest more than Brady. So, are we getting a bit greedy here, Tom? What is the unfinished business, exactly? A perfect season with nary an incomplete pass? Brady coming back to play (at least) another season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a whole 40 days’ ‘retirement’ invites poking a little fun. What about that yearning to finally have more time with the wife and three growing children? Kids getting on your nerves that fast? Giselle hectoring you to get off your butt and mow the lawn? In announcing his retirement on February 1, Brady said his “100 percent competitive commitment” was no longer there. Some time during the past six weeks he must have found it, along with loose change, under the sofa cushions. Kidding aside, Brady pivoting on retirement is good not only for the Bucs but for the NFL and sports at large. This is a transcendent person of historic heft. Michelangelo. Sinatra. Hepburn. Jordan. Gretzky. Brady. He will turn 45 as training camp opens. Preposterous to say, and another element of his greatness: His game may be closer to prime-quality than anything creaking with age. For our full recent column, visit Tom Brady's Comeback Isn't About One More Ring. It's About Holding On To Who He Is.

Other most recent columns: The Moment Spoelstra Joined Miami Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia Because Of Low WNBA Pay -- And NBA Failing To Help / and Larranaga, Meier Enjoy Resurgence Of Miami Hurricanes Basketball as March Madness Nears. Also: Le Batard Show Anoints Chris Cote To Save Jai-Alai / Tom Brady. Miami Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen and Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart, Ended In Divorce.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 13-14): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 7. Visit BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's latest venture. Includes our original 'Back In My Day' song. I'm back in with Le Batard Show on Tuesday. 2) 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): Tom Brady a Dolphins part owner, Why Jeter-Marlins marriage fell apart, Personal note and thanks, Le Batard Show musical drops, NFL's mosy disliked people, new Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 11th episode of 2022 and 102nd overall is out noe! 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 102 we've done so far HERE, free. In our newest pod, we are joined by Gary Pomerantz, author of "Wilt, 1962: The Night Of 100 Points & The Dawn Of A New Era.'' He shares rich details of that epic game, shares the truth about that infamous 20,000 women claim and more. Also in the new ep: Greg’s wife has been out of town for a week, and he shares something that might or might not make him a bad husband; the bizarre reason Greg never walks around his house naked even he’s when the only person there; Yeti Blanc, our resident musician, leads an impassioned analysis of the Le Batard Show’s newly released musical; debut of new podcast sponsor Lobos Mints; and Greg messes up while making fun of dumb people on “Wheel Of Fortune.” Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET). And watch for the debut of our weekly YouTube previews of the new episode HERE.

A PERSONAL NOTE, AND THANKS: I am very honored to once again be named by Associated Press Sports Editors as a national Top 10 columnist in the major-outlet category for 2021 in '22 judging. The Miami Herald also was named a Top 10 daily section, and Top 10 in special projects for ours on the 5-year annniversary of the Jose Fernandez tragedy, a project that also included myself. Some of you asked, so: These are the four nominated columns (earliest to most recent) that won us the APSE distinction: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy, too? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Miami Dolphins sabotaging Tua, season with misguided interest in Watson

MARCH GLADNESS: HURRICANES BASKETBALL, COACHES LARRANAGA AND MEIER ENJOYING RESURGENCE: It is a season of resurgence and redemption for Miami Hurricanes basketball, women and men. Not everyone is paying attention. Associated Press Top 25 voters, for instance. The UM women reached the ACC Championship Game for the first time ever Sunday. The team is 20-12 despite almost half of their games (14) being against nationally ranked opponents. The Canes men, preparing for its ACC tournament opener Thursday in Brooklyn, is 22-9 and has the best road record (10-2) of any Power 5 conference team. Here is where the two teams are ranked in the latest Top 25s: Nowhere. That includes zero mention even in the “others receiving votes” category. This is the 60th season for UM men’s hoops and the 50th for the women’s program, and only the fifth time both have had a 20-win season and made the NCAA Tournament the same year. (The official invite to March Madness won’t come until Selection Sunday, but both are seen as certain to get in, each pegged a No. 10 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology projection). It can be a long climb to respect. For our full latest column, visit Larranaga, Meier Enjoying Resurgence Of Miami Hurricanes Basketball as March Madness Nears.

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

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 6-7): 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. CANES BASKETBALL: UM women fall in ACC title game: Jim Larranaga's UM men and Katie Meier's Canes women both figure to hear good news next week on Selection Sunday in comeback seasons leading to the NCAA Tournement. The UM women are now 20-12 and 11-9 in the conference after Sunday's championship game loss in the ACC Tournament in Greensboro followed a 3-0 run. UM men ended regular season 22-9 (14-6 ACC) with Saturday's 75-72 win at Syracuse, and now prepare for this week's ACC tourney in Brooklyn, their first game Thursday. 

2. MLB: Don't Play Ball! Jeter-less Marlins wait as lockout cancels games, delays season: The Marlins and CEO Derek Jeter parted ways last Monday, and one day later MLB commissioner Rob Manfred canceled the first two weeks of the regular season when a deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement passed without resolution. And the stalemate continues. Miami is now scheduled to begin spring training March 18 and the now 156-game season April 8 -- but a further delay and more canceled games looms large.

3. INTER MIAMI: Team loses big, now new-stadium vote looms: Herons began MLS Year 3 with a 0-0 draw at home in Fort Lauderdale and on Sunday got clobbered 5-1 at Austin in Game 2. More important, this Wednesday will be the city of Miami's delayed vote on whether to finally green-light the proposed Miami Freedom Park stadium near the airport. Inter Miami wanted to win Sunday but is vitally desperate to win Wednesday.

4. HEAT: Heat stay hot, grow lead as long home stretch begins: Miami is 43-22, on an 11-2 run and now atop the East by 3 games after Saturday's 99-82 home win over second place Philly fueled by 21 each from Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler. Miami will be home for 10 of the next 11 games starting tonight/Monday vs. Houston, which could mark the return of Victor Oladipo from a long injury absence.

5. PANTHERS: Florida now 1 point back in Atlantic race: Florida is 37-13-5 but now one point back in the tight NHL Atantic even after Saturday' nights 6-2 home domination of Detroit after a rough February that saw the Panthers a mortal 3-4. Cats are back on ice Monday in Buffalo.

6. HURRICANES: Bittersweet day for Cristobal as spring football kicks off: UM launched the first of 15 spring practice workdays on Monday as the Mario Cristobal era got its tangible start with former Dolphins great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor joining the staff in an off-field capacity. Cristobal left right after practce to attend his mother's funeral.

7. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: 94-81 loss Coach K's home farewell, Champ Week top sport: The men's regular season is over and conference championships will be decided this week prior to Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament. But first: The emotional pull Saturday as Mike Krzyzewski of No. 4-ranked Duke -- retiring this season after 42 years and five national titles -- worked his final home game at Cameron Indoor, a thunderous farewell despite a 94-81 loss. Tickets were going for at least $3,450 for the historic event.

8. NFL: Scouting combine, trade rumors talk of league: The four-day NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up Sunday in Indianapolis -- the last major talent parade before the NFL Draft April 28-30 in Las Vegas. Meantime the offseason percolates with rumors about the destination of Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, Ruussell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, Amari Cooper, DK Metcalf and others.

9. WNBA: Phoenix star Griner detained in Russia: Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was detained by Russian authorities for allegedly trying to leave the country with the drug hashish hidden in vape pens. In somewhat related news, the Haas Formula One team has terminated Russian driver Nikita Mazepin's contract over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Formula One had previously  canceled the Russiam Grand Prix.

10. TENNIS: Miami Open rallies with strong field as tourney nears: After a down entry list last year due mostly to COVID, Miami Open tennis will boast 73 of the top 75 ranked players on both the ATP and WTA tours when play begins March 21 at Hard Rock Stadium. Notable exceptions: Fan favorite Serena Williams continues out with a mending hamstring, and Novak Djokovic likely will not be allowed to enter the U.S. due to his non-vax status. There also is speculation Rafael Nadal may withdraw due to a foot injury.

Missing the HB10 cut: Colby Covington dominated Jorge Masvidal in a unanimous decision in the UFC 272 main event Saturday night in Vegas ..... The NFL suspended Calvin Ridley for the entire 2022 season after determing the Falcons WR bet on NFL games in '21 ..... No. 22 Canes baseball is 8-3 after dropping two of three at home to nemesis Florida ..... UEFA Champions League round-of-16 play resumes this Tuesday ..... Jackson Mahomes says, "The media is destroying my life." Dear Patrick's Lil' Bro: You invite attention on Tik-Tok, by dancing on Sean Taylor's field logo and by your entitled behavior. Your 'celebrity' is weird and unearned but somehow you crave it. Quit being so dramatic ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,576 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

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

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

1) It's SATURDAY, MARCH 5. Visit THE BIG GAME: THE MUSICAL for Le Batard Show's latest venture. Includes our original 'Back In My Day' song. 2) 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, Personal note and thanks, new Greg Cote Show podcast, column links.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH RYAN LOMBERG OUT NOW!: Our 10th episode of 2022 and 101st overall is out Monday. 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 100 we've done so far HERE, free. In our newest pod, we welcome in the Florida Panthers' 5-9 dynamo hitman, Ryan Lomberg (pictured, on a dog sled). Fun chat with an interesting dude. Guaranteed, you don't need to be a Panthers fan or a puckhead to enjoy the conversation. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

A PERSONAL NOTE, AND THANKS: I was very honored this week to once again be named by Associated Press Sports Editors as a national Top 10 columnist in the major-outlet category. The Miami Herald also was honored as a Top 10 daily section, and earned a Top 10 in special projects for ours on the 5-year annniversary of the Jose Fernandez tragedy, a project in which I also was involved. (I have included a recent photo of myself that seems somber and somewhat unflattering; it is my 'serious journalist' look). Some of you have asked, so: These are the four nominated columns from 2021 (earliest to most recent) that won us the APSE distinction for column writing: Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy / Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family / Scorned, but does he deserve empathy, too? Behind who Aubrey Huff became and Miami Dolphins sabotaging Tua, season with misguided interest in Watson

TOM BRADY, MIAMI DOLPHINS PART OWNER? WHY SIGNS STRONGLY SUGGEST IT COULD HAPPEN: He retired as the greatest quarterback of all time, but have zero doubt Tom Brady remains a major player. Only this time it is a behind-the-scenes yet potentially starring role in all of the off-field drama surrounding the Miami Dolphins, embattled owner Stephen Ross and the franchise’s designated ownership-successor, Bruce Beal. There seems little question that Brady may be entwined in all of this, but how? Could be with a future ownership stake in the Dolphins. Or might it be as a witness in former coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL that levied serious allegations against Ross? New head coach Mike McDaniel signed on to lead a football team and revive the potential of Tua Tagovailoa, but walked into the mire of a soap opera full of intrigue. One that could be long-running. As Brady moves to Miami's exclusive Indian Creek, his close relationship with Ross and friendship with chosen successor Beal is worth exploring for what it might portend. For our full latest column, visit Tom Brady. Miami Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen. 

WHY CEO DEREK JETER AND THE MIAMI MARLINS' MARRIAGE FELL APART, ENDED IN DIVORCE: The announcement was abrupt and unexpected in a way that partings of this type seldom are in sports. There was mystery to it as well — Derek Jeter suddenly quitting Monday as CEO of the Miami Marlins. He had a lot to say on his way out, much of it trying to spin his four seasons with the baseball club as a success. But only one sentence, 18 words, cut to the truth and came close to revealing the why. “The vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead.” Boom. Subtle as a 100 mph fastball under the chin, that verified there is little harmonious about this parting, which a Marlins source of ours described as mutually agreed upon. Jeter’s five-year contract as baseball’s only Black CEO was to expire later this year. He also is relinquishing his 4 percent ownership stake. For our full recent column, including what we hear on why Jeter resigned, visit Why The Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart And Ended In Divorce.

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

NFL's TOP 10 MOST DISLIKED INDIVIDUALS: NFL's most despised person has been identified. A semi-scientific Twitter study by gaming website BetOnline.ag has answered the question. The conclusion was derived from than 1 million tweets analyzed by keyword association in December, including negative phrases such as "I hate so-and-so," "so-and-so sucks" and "bleep so-and-so." Here are Top 20 most-hated NFL figures (players and others), with number of negative tweets:

1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers QB, 266,850; 2. Antonio Brown, free-agent WR, 107,379; 3. Bill Belichick, Patriots head coach, 88,482; 4. Odell Beckham Jr., Rams WR, 84,399; 5. Deshaun Watson, Texans QB, 75,210; 6. Jackson Mahomes, Patrick's brother, 71,349; 7. Tyreek Hill, Chiefs WR, 62,379; 8. Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, 59,731; 9. Baker Mayfield, Browns QB, 51,285; 10. Dan Snyder, Commanders owner, 48,529.

The rest: 11. Cam Newton, Panthers QB; 12. Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner; 13. Kirk Cousins, Vikings QB; 14. Josh McDaniels, Raiders head coach; 15. DeSean Jackson, Raiders WR; 16. Jalen Ramsey, Rams CB; 17. Brittany Matthews, Patrick Mahomes' girlfriend; 18. Richard Sherman, Bucs CB; 19. Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys RB; 20. Robert Kraft, Patriots owner.

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ARCHIVES

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

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

1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28. Farewell, February, "Shorty" to the other months. See you next year. 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): MLB has bigger problem that labor impasse, Mickelson tempest mirrors sports' blind eye on human rights, Top 15 non-athletes in Miami sports history, new Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE WITH RYAN LOMBERG OUT NOW!: Our 10th episode of 2022 and 101st overall is out Monday. 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 100 we've done so far HERE, free. In our newest pod, we welcome in the Florida Panthers' 5-9 dynamo hitman, Ryan Lomberg. Fun chat with an interesting dude. Guaranteed, you don't need to be a Panthers fan or a puckhead to enjoy the conversation. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

A PERSONAL NOTE, AND THANKS: I was very honored this week to once again be named by Associated Press Sports Editors as a national Top 10 columnist in the major-outlet category. The Miami Herald also was honored as a Top 10 daily section, and earned a Top 10 in special projects for ours on the 5-year annniversary of the Jose Fernandez tragedy, a project in which I also was involved. (I have included a recent photo of myself that seems somber and somewhat unflattering; it is my 'serious journalist' look). Some of you have asked, so: These are the four nominated columns from 2021 (earliest to most recent) that won us the APSE distinction for column writing:

Inter Miami’s David Beckham and Qatar a budding, avoidable controversy

Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson knows biggest victory happened in own family

Scorned, but does he deserve empathy, too? Behind who Aubrey Huff became

Miami Dolphins sabotaging Tua, season with misguided interest in Watson

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 27-28): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. MARLINS: Jeter steps down as CEO: Derek Jeter abruptly resigned Monday after four seasons as Miami Marlins CEO in what was called a mutual parting. Said Jeter: "The vision for the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead." [NEW COLUMN ON JETER LEAVING].

2. MLB: Marlins, sport on edge, season on hold as CBA deadline hits: Monday is MLB's deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement with the players union or, says Commissioner Rob Manfred, the season will not start on time or be the full 162 games. MLB says games would not be made up and players would not be paid full-season salaries. Spring training already is delayed; Opening Day (as of now) is still March 31. The two sides will meet in Jupiter today/Sunday for a seventh straight day of talks.

3. INTER MIAMI: Herons open MLS Year3 with home draw: David Beckham's squad opened season tres Saturday night with a 0-0 tie vs. Chicago Fire before 16,080 fans in Fort Lauderdale. Miami retooled its roster after disappointing last year at 12-17 with five draws and tied for second-fewest goals in league, and it may be playoffs-or-bust for coach Phil Neville to stay employed. Gonzalo Higuain tops returning players, with newcomers led by midfielder Jean Mota from Santos (Brazil) and U.S. national team defender DeAndre Yedlin. Meantime the city of Miami' vote on team's  propsoed new stadium was delayed (again) to March 9.

4. HEAT: Bam! Miami regains lead in East: Miami is 40-21 and back in front in the NBA East after Saturday's 133-129 home win over San Antonio fueled by Bam Adebayo's 36 points. Heat host second place Chicago Monday. Meantime Jimmy Butler got fined $25,000 by NBA for not meeting postgame media obligations after the All-Star Game. (Clearly, playing only nine minutes and scoring two points did not have Jimmy in a good mood).

5. PANTHERS: Florida loses third straight in rare slump: Florida is 35-13-5 and now only one point out front in the NHL Atlantic Division after Saturday night's 4-3 home loss to Edmonton. The third straight loss is the Cats' longest skid since mid-December. Panthers are now off until hosting Ottawa on Thursday. 

6. UM BASKETBALL: Canes men, women chasing NCAA bids: Canes men are 20-9 (12-6 ACC) and seeming safe for an NCAA Tournament bid even afgter Saturday's 71-70 loss to Virginia Tech in UM's regular season home finale. They now close at Boston College Wednesday and Syracuse Saturday. UM women are 17-11 (10-8 ACC) after Sunday's regular season finale vs. Clemson, a 76-40 UM win. ESPN's Bracketology has the Canes women in its "last four in" category for an NCAA invite.

7. POLITICS: Sports world reacts to Russian invasion of Ukraine: UEFA moved its May 28 Champions League final from Saint Petersburgb to Paris, and Formula One canceled its Russian Grand Prix set for September: Other response has included Ukrainian former heavywight champion Wladimir Klitschko saying he will join the fight; condemnation of Russian by the IOC; and Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic saying their March World Cup qualiftyng matches should be moved from Russia.

8. NFL: Dolphins prep for this week's pre-draft Scouting Combine: The NFL Scouting Combine, league's biggest event between the Super Bowl and Draft, takes the field in Indianapolis this coming Thursday through next Sunday, with 324 invited draft prospects seen by scouts from all 32 teams. Miami hopefuls invited are three former Hurricanes -- QB D'Eriq King, DB Bubba Bolden and DL Jonathan King -- along with former FIU RB D'vonte Price. Dolphins scouts should be especially keen on Friday, when running back and offensive line prospects take the field.

9. GOLF: Mickelson's Saudi backing draws backlash: Four longtime sponsors including Callaway And Amstel Light have now dumped Phil Mickelson in the wake of the six-time major champion's comments backing the Saudi Arabia-backed attempted breakaway league. Mickelson said he supports the league as leverage to force changes in the PGA Tour, despite also saying, "We know they killed [Washington Post reporter Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay."

10. HURRICANES: Countdown 7 days 'til spring football: UM's first on-field work under new coach Mario Cristobal will be a week from Monday, March 7, with the first of 15 spring practice work days. Season opens September 3 vs. Bethune-Cookman.

Missing the HB10 cut: Little-known Austrian Sepp Straka won the PGA Tour's Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens ..... The eight-team USFL spring football league, back and launching April 6, held its draft and SoFla guys selected included former Canes WR Jeff Thomas (by Pittsburgh) and ex-FIU QB Alex McGough (Birmingham). Also taken: FIU WR Maurice Alexander and CB Ike Brown, and FAU OT Calvin Ashley, RB B.J. Emmons and S Andrew Soroh ..... The USWNT win the SheBelieves Cup, its youthful roster beating Iceland 5-nil in the final ..... No. 24-ranked Canes baseballis is 6-1 and hosts Harvard today in rubber game of three-game series ..... UEFA Champions League plays resumes March 8 with Bayern Munich vs. Salzburg and Liverpool vs. Internazionale. The eight teams left after the round of 16 will be in a quarterfinal draw on March 18 ..... And speaking of hell: Art Briles! Way to embarrass yourself, Grambling State ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,583 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

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

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

1) It's SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19. Was back on Le Batard Show this week. Check out Tuesday's show podcasts -- especially the one with my new Back In My Day (Super Bowl commercials!), which met with rave reviews.  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): Super Bowl Sunday with pick, Hot Button Top 10, Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 8th episode of 2022 and 99th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 99 we've done so far HERE, free. In our new episode, Chris reports live from Radio Row in L.A. as the guys discuss the Super Bowl and halftime show. And in a nod to Valentine's Day we bring you a special Mount Gregmore of favorite love songs! Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

WHO DOLPHINS, WITH WINDFALL TO SPEND, SHOULD TARGET IN OFFSEASON TO FIX OFFENSE FAST: Can the wheezing old franchise keep up, catch up, get back in the game? The Miami Dolphins are the South Florida flagship team that’s been leaking and listing and hardly moving for 20 years. Stuck. Now comes the latest reboot with the latest new hope-seller in Mike McDaniel, never before a head coach at any level, as the Dolphins try to get back to relevance in the NFL but first in their own market. All of this under the powder keg cloud of an owner, Stephen Ross, being investigated by the league for allegations he offered former coach Brian Flores bribes to lose intentionally in 2019, a seismic scandal if true, a major, distracting embarrassment if not. All of it makes the coming NFL offseason the most critical in Dolphins’ history as the team prepares for a make-or-break season for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in an evolving, empowered AFC so deep even the once lowly Bengals just made the Super Bowl. And the heat is on, broiler-high. It is on Ross, fighting for his reputation and his right to be owner. It is on McDaniel,. to justify Miami’s gamble on him. It is on general manager Chris Grier, who many thought deserved to get the sack instead of Flores. The Dolphins have $63.8 million in cap space to spend this offseason — most in the NFL. For our full latest column: Who Dolphins, With Windfall Top Spend, Should target In Offseason To Fix Offense Fast.

‘DAN THE MUSICAL'? NEXT STOP, BOADWAY? AN INSIDE PEEK AT LE BATARD SHOW'S BIG NEW PROJECT ABOUT NFL: In the South Beach studios of the Miami-based Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz — the same room where ESPN’s “Highly Questionable” TV show once was produced, Atlantic ocean the backdrop — there is a hand-drawn sign that jokingly reads “professional recording studio,” with an arrow on it. It points to a far corner of the room, where, behind makeshift cardboard walls, is an area slightly smaller than a cruise ship bathroom. There is a mic stand. This is where the magic happens. Or the ridiculousness, as the case may be. The Le Batard Show is producing a musical. You read that right. “It’s a super ambitious attempt to make a tried and true musical,” says the show’s executive producer, Mike Ryan Ruiz. “It’s a Herculean lift.” For the full story: An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical.

GRADING SUPER BOWL ADS AND HALFTIME -- AND 5 LESSONS RAMS-BENGALS CAN TEACH TEAMS LIKE DOLPHINS: There are lessons other NFL teams -- like the Miami Dolphins, for instance -- may glean from the Super Bowl won by the Los Angeles Rams over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. (And, yes, it hasn’t sunk in yet, and might never, but the Bengals really were in the Super Bowl). To the football game and its lessons momentarily, but, first, the important stuff: The commercials and the halftime show. For our review of both and the 5 Lessons: The Lesson For Dolphins in Rams-Bengals Super Bowl Result.  

Other most recent columns: Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / and McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win.

REMEMBER FORT LAUDERDALE STRIKERS? THEN THIS IS FOR YOU: 'Big-Time Soccer: The Remarkable Rise & Fall of the NASL,' is a new documentary just out and streaming now on Amazon Prime. The original Fort Lauderdale Strikers, big from 1977-83 after moving from Miami, are a significant part of the doc. I covered the Strikers way back when and was honored to be interviewed for the project -- and to have somehow dodged the cutting room floor and actually made into the documentary! Thanks to Rachel Viollet, director, for giving me a small part in a valuable doc on the too-forgotten league that was the seed for soccer in America and for the rise of MLS.

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

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

1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14. Happy Valentine's Day, sweethearts! 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): Zach Thomas on missing Hall again, Dolphins introduce Mike McDaniel, Super Bowl predictions, Smirk Week, Greg Cote Show podcast.

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

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

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

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 13-14): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) It's MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7. 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): Flores/Dolphins scandal: Top 10 all-time Dolphins scandals and where this ranks, plus Ross should be done as owner if allegations prove true; also, new Greg Cote Show podcast.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 7th episode of 2022 and 98th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday morning at 7 ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 98 we've done so far HERE, free. In our most recent episode, we continue The Greg Cote Show Non-Sport Olympics, but with a live audience, and talk Super Bowl, Brian Flores suit, and new Dolphins coach Mke McDaniel. Also in the the new episode: Drake (!): makes brief appearance on our podcast; Greg’s business lunch with LeBron James over Lobos Tequila; Greg brags about leaving a big tip; Would you rather lick a toad or a toe?; Chris can’t believe Brian Flores turned down lunch with Tom Brady; and Farding (not farting; farding. Get your mind out of the gutter). And, on a serious note, Greg's tribute to a dear friend who recently died unexpectedly. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow. (Our pod simulcasts on Sirius XM every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET).

BOMBSHELL WEEK FOR DOLPHINS: FLORES' NFL SUIT TARGETS ROSS, MIAMI HIRES McDANIEL AS NEW COACH:

NEW: Dolphins New Coach McDaniel Must Win, Heal Broken Franchise

Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals

Ross Should Be Done As Dolphins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 6-7): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. DOLPHINS: Flores lawsuit implicates Ross, Fins hire McDaniel as new coach: Miami on Sunday evening hired 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, the frontrunner, as new head coach. But it's the man he's replacing making the biggest headlines. Fired coach Brian Flores is taking on the NFL over racist hiring practices in an explosive lawsuit that also accuses Dolphins owner of Stephen Ross of attempting to bribe Flores to intentionally lose games in 2019. [My three related columns are feature-linked above].

2. NFL: Super Bowl Week opens shadowed by lawsuit and Brady: The Bengals-Rams Super Bowl in Los Angeles is next Sunday, but is forced to share the NFL marquee with the recent retirement of icon Tom Brady and now with Brian Flores' lawsuit over racist hiring practices in the league. The NFL initially called the suit "without merit," but in a Saturday memo to teams commissoner Roger Goodell pivoted and called results of the NFL's coaching diversity efforts "unacceptable."

3. HEAT: Butler named All-Star reserve as Miami jockeys for East lead: Jimmy Butler was named an East reserve for the February 20 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, the only Miami player selected (though some thought Tyler Herrro had a shot). Miami is 34-20 and tied for first in the East entering tonight's/Monday's game at Washington.  

4. HURRICANES: Cristobal lands big OC in Gattis from Michigan: The Canes recruiting class was ranked 19th nationally by ESPN -- third in the ACC after North Carolina and Clemson -- after this week's second (and lesser) of two national signing days. Bigger news: UM and Mario Cristobal on Sunday hired offensive coordinator Josh Gattis away from Michigan, where he won 2021 Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. He joins new defensive chief Kevin Steele to give the Canes a formidable coordinator duo.

5. OLYMPICS: U.S. women's hockey team early darling of Beijing Games:  Snowboarder Julia Marino won silver -- the first U.S. medal of the Winter Olympics -- but the dominating 3-0 start for U.S. women's hockey suggest a shot at gold as the Games continue despite calls for boycotts over China's human righst record. Team USA entered Monday 10th in the medals table with three silvers. 

6. PANTHERS: NHL confirms Cats will host 2023 All-Star Weekend: What was first reported my own scoop in the Herald last summer was confirmed this week by NHL: Panthers will host the '23 All-Star Game next February 4 and Skills Challenge the day before. Florida last hosted event in 2003. Cats were supposed to host in 2021 but COVID canceled game. Florida again was supposed to host this year's ASG held on Saturday (and including FLA's Jonathan Huberdeau) but it went to Vegas instead. East-leading Cats do not teturn to action until February 16.

7. SOCCER: U.S. men's soccer wins in World Cup qualifier: U.S. is in 2-1 in qualifying games fot the 2022 Qatar World Cup after this week's 3-0 rout of Honduras, played in sub-zero conditions in St. Paul, Minnesota. Team's next qualifier is March 24 vs. rival Mexico.

8. SOCCER: Rapinoe, Morgan left off USWNT roster: U.S. women's national soccer team coach Vlatko Andonovski named a squad that mixes youth and experience for this month's SheBelieves Cup, leaving out big names like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan in favor of up-and-comers. The 23-player squad will compete in the USWNT's first games of 2022 in facing Czech Republic, New Zealand and Iceland in the SheBelieves Cup February February 17-23 in California and Texas.

9. UM BASKETBALL: Men slump, women face big stretch: As March Madness looms nearer, Hurricanes men are 16-7 and 8-4 in ACC but have lost two straigt entering a Wednesday game vs. Georgia Tech. Miami's women are 12-9/5-6 and in a big three-game stretch that began Sunday with a crushing 85-38 loss at No. 24 North Carolina. Continues Thursday at 20-Notre Dame, then next Sunday vs. rival Florida State.

10. INTER MIAMI: Stadium vote, season opener near: February 23 is the date set for Miami-Dade to vote whether to go ahead with or scrap plans for MLS team Inter Miam's proposed 73-acre commercial and professional sports complex featuring a new soccer stadium. The club's third season opens February 26.

Missing the HB10 cut: James Harden for Ben Simmons? It's been the big NBA trade rumor ahead of league's Thursday's deal deadline ..... The 2022 Miami Marathon and Half Marathon was back this weekend for its 20th edition on the streets of downtown Miami, Miami Beach and Coconut Grove. COVID canceled the event last year, to the delight of motorists inconvenienced by the annual event causing myrad road closings for hours ..... NFL Pro Bowl is today in Las Vegas, and, if you're like most of America, you can't wait to not watch! ..... The MLB lockout impasse worsened as talks stalled, and the MLBPA rejected owners' proposal to involve a federal mediator. For the first time a delay to the start of spring training seems very likely, also suggesting a delay to the regular season. The Marlins spring opener is scheduled February 26 ..... Canes baseball is ranked No. 25 in preseason poll as it prepares to open season February 18 vs. Towson State ..... NASCAR opens its 2022 season Sunday with Joey Logano winning the Clash at the Coliseum in L.A., a warmup of sorts before the main schedule opens with the February 20 Daytona 500 ..... Trade rumors involve Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker as NFL Tuesday trade deadline looms ..... The NFL team formerly known as the Redskins are now the Washington Commanders, explaining, "All of the good nicknames were already taken" ..... Frank Gonzalez, a partner at the accounting firm BDO USA, LLP, was named the 84th president of the Orange Bowl Committee ..... Life Is Good dominated likely 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go to win the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park ..... The spate of college football postseason showcase games continued with Saturday's Senior Bowl. Still to come: the HBCU Legacy Bowl February 19 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,604 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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