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

1) It's SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25. Be the change! Visit Change.org/MountGregmore and sign our petition to change the name of Mount Rushmore. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Tua propels Dolphins to big comeback wins, new Hot Button Top 10, new Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE DROPS MONDAY!: Our 41st episode of 2022 and 132nd overall is out Monday morning! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 131 we've done so far HERE. In our most recent episode: Greg and Chris discuss the Dolphins miracle comeback win fueled by Tua Tagovailoa's six TD passes. Plus a touch of Canes, and a new "Hard Knocks: Greg's Lobos" featuring the world premiere of the new Lobos anthem. Also in the new ep: Greg and Chris discuss the father-son dynamic of the show; Bizarre facts about the Wizard Of Oz; The strangest way to accidentally cut yourself; David Beckham and the Queen; Chris and Yeti play sound to make fun of the funny ways Greg jumps in and contributes on the Le Batard Show when he has nothing to say; a new Dad joke of the week and more. Hit up GCS2240 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Lobos T-shirts and hats! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

NFL Week 3 picks: We're off and running in our 32nd season of NFL picks in the Miami Herald, and you'd visit NFL Week 3 Gems to find all of our latest picks for Dolphins-Bills, our Game of the Week, Upset of the Week and all the rest. We have five (!) big upsets this week ... is Miami one? Opened the week with a mixed result Thursday night. Had Cleveland winning but not covering 4 1/2; the Browns won and covered.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Cristobal Honeymoon Ends With Thud As Canes Lose To Middle Tennessee NEW!

NEW! Everyone Loves Tua & Dolphins Now. But Can Bandwagon Survive Buffalo? NEW! 

Tua's Career-Redefining Six TDs Lead Dolphins' Miracle Comeback

Hurricanes Let Another Chance For a Big-Stage, Signature Win Slip Away

Texas A&M The Win Canes Need To Give Cristobal Era Liftoff, Make America Notice

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Zero To Perfect: How Glory Days Dolphins Put Miami on National Sports Map / Fins' McDaniel, UM's Cristobal On Honeymoons, But Those Don't Last / Dolphins Handle Rival Patriots 20-17 In Impressive Season Opener / Our 2022 NFL Team Ranking. Wait. Miami Dolphins Are WHERE!? / Why Hill & Waddle Are Dolphins' Best WR Duo Since Clayton/Duper

Note: Mount Gregmore Of Columns includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on latest podcast episode are among stuff not included.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 25-26): 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: Fins host Bills today in biggest game in how long?: A couple of 2-0 AFC East rivals play for the division lead today at Hard Rock in the biggest game of NFL Week 3 -- Buffalo the Super Bowl betting favorite, Miami coming off that exhilarating miracle comeback at Baltimore fueled by Tua Tagovailoa's six TD passes. Bills are missing three injured starters in their secondary but still are favored. How good are the Dolphins? Let's find out.

2. HURRICANES: UM embarrassed, QB benched in home loss to Middle Tennessee: Miami plummeted in the polls from No. 13 to 25th after last week's loss at Texas A&M and will fall completely out of sight now with Saturday's embarrassing 44-34 home loss to Middle Tennessee. QB Tyler Van Dyke got benched for Jake Garcia, the pass defense gave up TDs of 71, 69 and 98 yards, and Mario Cristobal's honeymoon ended with a thud. Canes are off next week then host North Carolina October 8.

3 SOCCER: Messi does not disappoint in friendly in Miami: Argentina looks ready for the World Cup in Qatar later this fall. So does Lionel Messi. The 35-year-old captain played all 90 minutes and scored twice, delighting a sold-out Hard Rock crowd in a 3-0 tuneup friendly over Honduras. Messi's pass to Papu Gomez led to the opening goal by Lautaro Martinez. Messi himself later scored on a penalty and an artful chip over the Honduran goalkeeper. It was Argentina's 34th straight match win.

4. HEAT: Miami Media Day tips off preseason, Bahamas training camp: Heat's annual Media Day at the downtown arena on Monday precedes the Tuesday-through-Saturday training camp in the Bahamas. First of five preseason games is October 4 vs. Minnesota. Barring a last-minute move the Heat has a quiet, stand-pat offseason that has surprised and disappointed some fans.

5. NBA: Off-court scandals rock Celtics, Suns as camps open: As NBA season nears the Boston Celtics suspended coach Ime Udoka for the entire coming season over a rules-breaking affair with a club employee, throwing his future beyond this season in serious doubt. That's on the heel of the suspension of Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver over racist and misogynist remarks and workplace culture. Sarver now sells he will sell the club.

6. TENNIS: Federer says goodbye with doubles loss: First Serena Williams, now Roger Federer. The retiring Swiss great bid farewell to the  game with a doubles loss in the Laver Cup tournament in London, alongside chosen partner and longtime friendly rival Rafael Nadal. Both were emotional as fans chanted Federer's name. Said Nadal: "An important part of my life is leaving too."

7. MARLINS: Sandy wins again, bolsters Cy Young claim: Miami is 63-89 with a six-game homestand ending today vs. Washington. NL Cy Young frontrunner Sandy Alcantara struck out 11 in a dominant 4-1 win Saturday to improve to 14-8. Fish are on road for six starting Tuesday at Mets, then close the season with three at home.

8. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): Florida falls, FIU crushed 73-0: No. 20 Florida fell 38-33 at No. 11 Tennessee and FSU should enter polls at 4-0 after 44-14 rout of Boston College. Closer to home it got ugly as FIU lost 73-0 at Western Kentucky and FAU fell 28-26 at Purdue. In other state FBS games (non-UM), UCF handled Georgia Tech and South Florida lost big at Lousiville.

9. SOCCER: Loss leaves shaky USMNT one friendly before World Cup: U.S. men's national team did not threaten and fell 2-0 to Japan in a tuneup for the World Cup, without star Christian Pulisic, the Chelsea forward, who was nursing a minor injury. Team USA faces Saudi Arabia Tuesday in Spain in its final tuneup match. That will be coach Gregg Berhalter final chance to assess before he must submit his 26-man World Cup roster on November 13.

10. MLB: Historic home run show by Judge, Pujols light up sport: Get us rewrite on baseball's history book as Yankee Aaron Judge -- cashing a Triple Crown -- became only the sixth player to achieve a 60-home run season while retiring Cardinal Albert Pujols became only the fourth man to reach 700 career homers. The power show has made up for a dull playoff race with all of the postseason tickets all but claimed.

Missing the HB10 cut: Florida Panthers open six-game NHL preseason on Monday with a pair of games at Nashville. Cats have a new star, Matthew Tkachuk (acquired in the blockbuster Jonathan Huberdeau trade) and a new coach, Paul Maurice, since finishing an otherwise stellar 2021-22 season with a second-round sweep by Tampa Bay ..... Playoff-chasing Inter Miami returns to play this Friday at Toronto. Herons are tied for seventh and last MLS East playoff spot with three games left ..... No. 5 Clemson escaped Wake Forest with a 51-45 OT win but 6-Oklahoma and 10-Arkansas were top-10 losers in college football ..... Two-time Olympic champion Eluid Kipchoge of Kenya broke his own world record in the marathon at 2:01:09 ..... U.S. leads Presidents Cup golf in Charlotte comfortably over the International side entering Sunday's final round ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,358 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, SEPTEMBER 19. Be the change! Visit Change.org/MountGregmore and sign our petition to change the name of Mount Rushmore. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, NFL Week 1 picks, 2022 NFL Team Rankings, Why Hill/Waddle will be Fins' best WR duo since Clayton/Duper, Greg Cote Show podcast, The List (Heat-iest Heaters in the Hall), Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 40th episode of 2022 and 131st overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever you pod. Find all 131 we've done so far HERE. In our newest episode: Greg and Chris discuss the Dolphins miracle comeback win fueled by Tua Tagovailoa's six TD passes. Plus a touch of Canes, and a new "Hard Knocks: Greg's Lobos" featuring the world premiere of the new Lobos anthem. Also in the new ep: Greg and Chris discuss the father-son dynamic of the show; Bizarre facts about the Wizard Of Oz; The strangest way to accidentally cut yourself; David Beckham and the Queen; Chris and Yeti play sound to make fun of the funny ways Greg jumps in and contributes on the Le Batard Show when he has nothing to say; a new Dad joke of the week and more. Hit up GCS2240 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items including Lobos T-shirts and hats! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Tua's Career-Redefining Six TDs Lead Dolphins' Miracle Comeback NEW!

NEW! Hurricanes Let Another Chance For a Big-Stage, Signature Win Slip Away NEW! 

Texas A&M The Win Canes Need To Give Cristobal Era Liftoff, Make America Notice

Zero To Perfect: How Glory Days Dolphins Put Miami on National Sports Map

Fins' McDaniel, UM's Cristobal On Honeymoons, But Those Don't Last

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Dolphins Handle Rival Patriots 20-17 In Impressive Season Opener / Our 2022 NFL Team Ranking. Wait. Miami Dolphins Are WHERE!? / Why Hill & Waddle Are Dolphins' Best WR Duo Since Clayton/Dupe / Canes Rout Bethune 70-13 In Opener, But We Don't Know Real UM Yet / UM's Van Dyke Had Epic Year. Now His Encore Will Define Start Of Cristobal Era

Note: Mount Gregmore Of Columns includes opinion columns only. NFL picks, QB rankings and stories on latest podcast episode are among stuff not included.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 18-19): 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: Tua's six TDs (!) power miracle Fins comeback!: How ya like Tua now huh!? Think he might have a future as Miami's QB? Tagovailoa threw six scoring passes Sunday -- four to Tyreek Hill and jaylen waddle -- to power Miami's 42-28 rally-win at Baltimore for a 2-0 start to the Mike McDaniel era. Dolphins had lost four straight trips to BAL, the last two by a combined 78-6.

2. HURRICANES: UM lets chance for another big-stage, signature win slip away: The two wins over smaller opponents told us nothing. This did: Saturday night's 17-9 loss by the No. 13 Canes at No. 24 Texas A&M. Miami is now 5-9 in its past 14 games against  against ranked opponents. 

3. SOCCER: Messi in Miami for friendly this week. (Can we kidnap him?): Lionel Messi is part of the Argentina travel squad for a friendly World Cup tuneup match vs. Honduras this Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium. A sellout is expected. Speculation that Messi could end his career playing for Inter Miami in MLS have percolated for a good while.

4. INTER MIAMI: Herons' huge win marred by racist incident: Inter Miami bossman David Beckham reportedly waited in line 13 hours to pass by the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II and pay respects. On the pitch, his team is 12-6-13 and now tied for the seventh and last MLS East playoff spot with three regular-season matches after Sunday's 3-2 home win over D.C. United. The m atch was marred by a racist term said to a Miami player, MLS is investigating. Herons are off until October 5.

5. TENNIS: Roger Federer announces retirement: Roger Federer will retire from pro tennis at age 41 after an epic career in which he won 20 Grand Slam titles (third all-time) and ended five seasons ranked No. 1 in the world. A series of knee operations have beset his late career. Federer's 20 major titles are third only longtime rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Rafa's final event will be as part of ream Europe in Laver Cup September 23-25 in London.

6. STATE COLLEGES (NON-UM): No. 18 Florida, FSU both win: No. 18 Gators protected their poll standing but not impressively, edging South Florida, 31-28, while Florida State is now 3-0 and thinking polls after a 35-31 win over Louisville. Elsewhere in non-UM land, UCF whomped FAU, 40-14. FIU was off.

7. NBA: Suns owner, fined, suspended. But is it enough?: NBA fined Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver the maximum $10 million and suspended him for one year after a league investigation found he used the N-word amid instances of inappropriate and sexual comments toward employees. Many including Le Bron James are calling for harsher punishment including his selling the team.

8. HEAT: Miami sets preseason training camp in Bahamas: The Heat will hold their five-day 2022 preseason training camp at Baha Mar in the Bahamas from Tuesday through Saturday September 27-October 1. The team will depart following Media Day on Monday, September 26 at the arena. Preseason games commence October 4.

9. MARLINS: Sandy's gem-win  bolsters Cy chances as sad Fish play out string: Miami is 60-87 after Sunday's complete-game gem by Sandy Alcantara avoided a sweep at Washington. Fish open a homestand Monday vs. the Cubs. Alcantara bolstered his already strong chance to win NL Cy Young award. Before Sunday he'd lost twice since last winning August 27.

10. PANTHERS: Cats announce training camp details: After participating in the four day Prospects Showcase hosted by Carolina, Florida will open preseason training camp this Thursday leading into the first exhibition game on September 26. Cats enjoyed their best regular season last year but it ended in great disappointment with a second round playoff sweep vs. Tampa Bay.

Missing the HB10 cut: : Las Vegas Aces won WNBA Finals Sunday, a franchise first, by winning a Game 4 at Connecticut ..... No bloodbath in national college football this week, although the teams ranked 11-12-13 (Michigan State, BYU and Miami) all lost ..... With five of six division races runaways, MLB late-season drama focuses on two home run chases: Will Aaron Judge reach 60 homers for season (he has 59) and will Albert Pujols reach 700 for his career (he has 698)? ..... As golf's Presidents Cup starts Monday, Phil Mickelson said LIV Golf is "here to stay" and called upon the PGA Tour to work with the Saudi-backed series for good of the sport ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,365 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, AUGUST 15. Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Butch Davis on his retirement and career, new Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: LE BATARD SHOW, PING-PONG, NEW BOOK ON '72 DOLPHINS: Our 35th episode of 2022 and 126th overall is out now! New episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 126 we've done so far HERE. In our newest: Greg explains his frustration with his role on Le Batard Show, the Father-Son Olympics resumes with ping-pong, and Greg chats with special guests Marhsall Jon Fisher, author of "Seventeen and Oh," the new '72 Dolphins book pictured. Hit up GCS2235 for full story on latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now our podcast has a website and merch store! Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

Be the change!: Visit Change.org/MountGregmore today and sign our petition to change the name of Mount Rushmore. It's free!

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! No Doubt Now: Deshaun Watson Knows He'll Be Pariah In Stadiums Across NFL NEW!

NEW! Who Dolphins Are Was Hidden In Opening Win. 5 Questions That Still Need Answers NEW! 

Butch Davis On Retiring, His 50-Year Career -- & Canes Twice Almost Bringing Him Back

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

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

Hilltop: The five columns before that: Goodell Kept The Power, After All. It's Why Watson Still Faces Much Harsher Ban / Ross NFL Cheating Scandal A New Low For Owner Who Embarrasses Dolphins / 11 NBA Titles Not Where Bill Russell's Legacy Starts. Tribute To An  Epic Life / Deshaun Watson's 6-game NFL Suspension A Slap-On-The-Wrist Affront / Ranking South Florida's Top 20 Biggest Sports Stars (2022 Edition)

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (AUGUST 14-15): 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: Miami wins fake-game opener as most starters sit: Miami Dolphins opened their 57th preseason and first under coach Mike McDaniel Saturday night at Tampa Bay and won 26-24 because a last-second Bucs field goal try bonked off the right u[pright. Can't get any read, though, because Miami stars like Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill did not play and Tampa also sat its top players. Third-string rookie QB Skylar Thompson played the whole for the Fins, and well. Tom Brady, whom the Dolphins recently were penalized for tampering in trying to lure despite his being under contract with Tampa, is on leave for personal reasons and did not play. Too bad. A QB of his youth and inexperience sure could use the reps. Fins play fake-game two (of three) next Saturday vs. Las Vegas.

2. HURRICANES: UM ranked 16th, 17th as season nears: Miami continues to grind through its first fall camp under coach Mario Cristobal, and high hopes were validaed with a No. 17 national ranking in the first major preseason poll out, the AFCA coaches' poll. But that was only fourth among ACC teams, after Clemson (4), N.C. State (13) and Pitt (16). UM is 16th in the first AP poll, one spot ahead of Pitt. QB Tyler Van Dyke is tied for fourth-best Heisman Trophy odds, albeit as a 25-1 longshot. Canes open Sept. 3 with a soft-serve scoop vs. Bethune-Cookman,

3. TENNIS: Serena farewell builds drama for U.S. Open: Anticipation and emotion for the upcoming U.S. Open starting August 29 grew when all-time great Serena Williams announced she would be stepping away from tennis and turning attention to family and business interests after the New York major. She noted If she were man she could continue playing, but, at 40, with injury ossues and with her last major win 5 1/2 years ago, it is time.

4. NFL: Goodell wants hammer on Watson, who finally expresses remorse: NFL commish Roger Goodell has appealed the lenient six-game suspension of Browns QB Deshaun Watson and seeks 1-year-plus and a huge fine. An independdent arbiter will rule. Meantime Watson, for the first time, publicly apologized to the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions in an interview Friday, saying, "I want to say that I'm truly sorry to all of the women that I have impacted." He went 1-for-5 in the Browns' exhibtiion opener and was booed heavily in Jacksonville.

5. INTER MIAMI: Pozuelo leads win and Herons now on playoff pace: Inter Miami is 9-6-10 and tied for sixth in the hunt for one of seven MLS East playoff spots after Saturday night's 3-2 home win over New York City fueled by two goals from recently acquired Alejandro Pozuelo. There are nine games left in the regular season of Year 3 for the Herons, the next this coming Saturday vs. Toronto.

6. MARLINS: Fish fading fast in another lost season: The fading Fish are 50-65, have lost four straight and are on a 3-13 skid in midst of a seven-game homestand vs. Braves and Padres. On Tuesday, Jake Paul will throw out the first pitch and nobody is sure why. ESPN's new post-trade deadline farm system ranking has Miami No. 12. Highlights: RHP Eury Perez continues a great prospect, RF J.J. Bleday has played well, and SS Jordan Groshans, a top Blue Jays prospect, arrived by trade. Lowlights: RHP Max Meyer needs Tommy John surgery, RHP Sixto Sanchez has been (very) slow returning from shoulder problems, and SS Kahlil Watson has struggled.

7. HEAT: Durant ultimatum, Heat in 'Summer Forecast': Miami remains out of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes (for now) by refusing to include Bam Adebayo in a trade. Durant's ultimatum to Brooklyn -- he goes unless the coach and GM do -- was met with a "no" by Nets owner, all but assuring a trade will happen, with Boston and Philly emerging as possibilities. Meantime ESPN's Summer Forecast pegs Heat fourth in the East, with Bam second pick for DPOY and Erik Spoelstra third for top coach.

8. NBA: Russell gets permanent leaguewide honor: The NBA is honoring the legacy of Boston Celtics icon Bill Russell by retiring his No. 6 jersey for all 30 teams, a first in league history. Russell, who won 11 championships, passed away last week at 88. Seven Heat players have worn No. 6, the last LeBron James in 2011-14.

9. SOCCER: Messi snubbed as long streak ends: Futbol god Lionel Messi was left off the 30-man list of Ballon d'Or nominees for the first time since 2005 as contenders were announced. Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is considered a favorite; Cristiano Ronaldo also is on the list. Messi has won the world player of the year honor seven times but scored only 11 goals in his debut  season with Paris Saint-Germain. Three USWNT players made the 20-person list of women's finalists: Veteran Alex Morgan and newcomers Catarina Macario and Trinity Rodman.

10. PANTHERS: Cats complete coaching staff: Florida Panthers announced three new assistants, Myles Fee, Jamie Kompon and Sylvain Lefebvre, have joined the staff of new coach Paul Maurice, hired June 23. Two other assistants, Tuomo Ruutu and Robb Tallas were retained. Five Panthers prospects are competing in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) world junior championships that began this week and end next Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta.

Missing the HB10 cut: The PGA Tour won its court case to exclude LIV Golf defectors from its FedEx Cup playoffs. First of three playoff events was won Sunday by Will Zalatoris in Memphis ..... The Kobe Bryant crash-photos trial continues. Shame on the cops and investigators who distributed the gruesome pictures ..... La Liga, the premier Spanish league of Barcelona and Real Madrid and a bunch of other teams not them, kicked off this weekend ..... Cubs and Reds played in Field of Dreams II near the iconic Iowa cornfield from the 1989 movie, and that hologram of Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" will forever haunt my dreams ..... One week after the blockbuster trade for Juan Soto, the Padres lose Cheatin' Fernando Tatis Jr. to an 80-game suspension for PEDs ..... Romanian swimmer David Popovici, 17, became youngest to break world record in men's 100-meter freestyle with a time of 46.96 at the European championships in Rome ..... Boxer Tyson Fury has retired again after being unretired ror about four minutes ..... In the latest cleansing of the once dirty name of gambling, Disney may partner with a sportsbook to integrate betting with its broadcasts ..... ESPN and the Big Ten have split up. No word yet who gets custody of the kids ..... Joint bids to host a World Cup are all the rage. With the U.S., Canada and Mexico sharing the 2026 WC, plays to host in 2030 include joint bids by Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, and by Portugal and Spain ..... Regional play is underway building to the Little League World Series ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,400 days even (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

THE LIST: MARLINS' WINNINGEST LEFTHANDERS: Saturday was National Lefthanders Day. In its honor, the winningest LHPs (lefthanded pitchers) in Marlins history, with the top guy, the D-Train, pictured:

Rk   Pitcher                   Wins   Season

1     Dontrelle Willis         68    2004-07

2     Scott Olsen               31    2005-08

3     Al Leiter                   30    1996-97, '05

4     Chris Hammond         29    1993-98

5     Mike Dunn                 26    2011-16 

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

ARCHIVES

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

Select other recent columns: If Miami Marlins Trading For Juan Soto Sounds Laughable -- That's The Problem / Dolphins' Tua: The Disrespected Underdog QB About To Prove Everybody Wrong / How Matthew Tkachuk Brings Needed Swagger, Bravado To Panthers / Barkley, Djokovic, Lia Thomas: Being Sports Fan Never Harder -- Or More Interesting / How Super Mario And The Cheetah were Sent To Save Football in Miami / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Why LeBron (of All People) Chiming In On Griner's Russia Detention Is Ironic / Heat Luring Donovan Mitchell Involves Friend D-Wade, Arch-Enemy Ainge, Too / Why Miami Heat Should Re-Think, Go All-In For King-Whale Kevin Durant / Cup Of AK-47 Coffee At Cowboys Games? Nuthin' Wrong With That, Huh Jerry? / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment / The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley / Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite / Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses / 20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse / Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim Ng Hire As GM / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

It's SATURDAY, JULY 30. Happy to be back on with Le Batard Show this week -- and with a new Back In My Day! Check out Tuesday's show podcasts. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Hot Button Top 10, Why being a sports fan is harder than ever (but also more interesting), Super Mario and The Cheetah here to save football in Miami, new Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: THE 'FREEZING COLD TAKES' GUY!: Our 32nd episode of 2022 and 123rd overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 123 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Special guest Fred Segal, whose'Freezing Cold Takes' Twtter site has become a phenomenon, and who has a new book (pictured) out August 9. Included in the book: Greg's infamous "trade Marino" column. We discuss. Fun chat. Also iin the new ep: Joe Biden calls in; Making fun of Greg’s “Hey, everybody” voicemail message; Greg rails against a Ted Lasso ripoff show and those Diet Dr. Pepper ads with the fake Prince; Greg tells another Dad joke (just one, though, he promises); A debut ad from a brand new sponsor, Little Danny Urinal Cakes; Plus Dick Vitale’s ESPYs speech, Greg’s infatuation with soccer’s women’s Euros, and the heyday of U.S. airline hijackings. Also, details on how listeners can take advantage of free shipping in our merch store and win a spot in an upcoming Zoom Happy Hour! Hit up GCS2232 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Ranking South Florida's Top 20 Biggest Sports Stars (2022 Edition) NEW!

NEW! If Miami Marlins Trading For Juan Soto Sounds Laughable -- That's The Problem NEW! 

NEW! Dolphins' Tua: The Disrespected Underdog QB About To Prove Everybody Wrong NEW!

How Mattew Tkachuk Brings Needed Swagger, Bravado To Panthers

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: How Super Mario And The Cheetah were Sent To Save Football in Miami / How Messi-to-Miami Became the Biggest, Longest Tease In Sports / Why LeBron (of All People) Chiming In On Griner's Russia Detention Is Ironic / Heat Luring Donovan Mitchell Involves Friend D-Wade, Arch-Enemy Ainge, Too / Why Miami Heat Should Re-Think, Go All-In For King-Whale Kevin Durant

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

ARCHIVES

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

Select other recent columns: Cup Of AK-47 Coffee At Cowboys Games? Nuthin' Wrong With That, Huh Jerry? / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment / The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley / Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite / Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses / 20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse / Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim Ng Hire As GM / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

It's MONDAY, JULY 25. Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Why being a sports fan is harder than ever (but also more interesting), Super Mario and The Cheetah here to save football in Miami, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: THE 'FREEZING COLD TAKES' GUY!: Our 32nd episode of 2022 and 123rd overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 123 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Special guest Fred Segal, whose'Freezing Cold Takes' Twtter site has become a phenomenon, and who has a new book (pictured) out August 9. Included in the book: Greg's infamous "trade Marino" column. We discuss. Fun chat. Also iin the new ep: Joe Biden calls in; Making fun of Greg’s “Hey, everybody” voicemail message; Greg rails against a Ted Lasso ripoff show and those Diet Dr. Pepper ads with the fake Prince; Greg tells another Dad joke (just one, though, he promises); A debut ad from a brand new sponsor, Little Danny Urinal Cakes; Plus Dick Vitale’s ESPYs speech, Greg’s infatuation with soccer’s women’s Euros, and the heyday of U.S. airline hijackings. Also, details on how listeners can take advantage of free shipping in our merch store and win a spot in an upcoming Zoom Happy Hour! Hit up GCS2232 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

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

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

Why LeBron (of All People) Chiming In On Griner's Russia Detention Is Ironic

Heat Luring Donovan Mitchell Involves Friend D-Wade, Arch-Enemy Ainge, Too

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: Why Miami Heat Should Re-Think, Go All-In For King-Whale Kevin Durant / Cup Of AK-47 Coffee At Cowboys Games? Nuthin' Wrong With That, Huh Jerry? / Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again / Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment / The End Isn't Here, But It's Coming. Miami Sports Has Had Nobody Like Heat's Pat Riley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missing the HB10 cut: Derek Jeter's 'The Captain', the 7-part docuseries about his life and career -- guessing his time as Marlins boss will get, what, 30 seconds? ..... It's been around four days now. Is Dick Vitale still talking? I think his ESPYs speech might finally be close to wrapping up ..... U.S. women's national team beat Canada 1-0 for soccer's regional CONCACAF title ..... MLB All-Star Game won by AL for eighth straight year. Bo-ring. So's this: Home Run Derby. Lots of excitement over big-leaguers going yard off 30 mph lobs ..... WWE boss Vince McMahon retires in shame amid investigation of alleged sexual misconduct ..... Tour de France ends today/Sunday. Is it too late for Lance Armstrong to cheat and win? ..... Are you ready for some cute lil' kids on TV? The 75th Little League World Series begins August 17 on ESPN ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,421 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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

ARCHIVES

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

Select other recent columns: Title IX Empowered Women. The Supreme Court Has Done The Opposite / Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses / 20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse / Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk / Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim Ng Hire As GM / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

It's MONDAY, JULY 11. Last-minute switch: I'll be back in-studio with Le Batard Show tomorrow/Tuesday this week, not today. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Dear America (an open letter to all of us), AK-47 coffee at Cowboys games, Marlins' ace-on-fire Alcantara does it again, Greg Cote Show podcast, Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE DROPS NOW!: Our 30th episode of 2022 and 121st overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify -- wherever else you pod and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 121 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: It's our special Diggin’ Into Summer Edition: Chris, Stugotz and Mike Ryan (pictured) join us from Lake Tahoe to mock Greg for not being invited; ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez stops by with a review of our Fourth of July beach bash; and Greg reveals a testy email exchange with Dan Le Batard escalating Dan’s claim that Greg hasn’t been sufficiently hating on the late broadcaster Hank Goldberg. Also: 'Creature From The Black Lagoon,' a new TV recommendation, and cataracts. Hit up GCS2230 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review, follow, subscribe et cetera and so forth. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has a website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com and visit the merch store by clicking 'Shop'. New items! Also check out our podcast's new YouTube channel.

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

Cup Of AK-47 Coffee At Cowboys Games? Nuthin' Wrong With That, Huh Jerry?

Cy Young Alert: Marlins' Ace-On-Fire Sandy Alcantara Does It Again

Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment

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

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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: Florida Panthers Swap Coach Of Year Finalist For Guy No. 1 In Career Losses / 20 Cases Settled, But Deshaun Watson Won't Begin To Clear Name Without Remorse / Tua Will Handle Scrutiny & Pressure. Question Is If Rest of Miami Dolphins Can / 'Black Cloud' Over U.S. Open Amid Golf Civil War In Time Of Revolution In Sports / Curry's 4th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Michael/LeBron Best-Ever Talk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missing the HB10 cut: Will the last college football team to leave its conference please turn out the light? ..... Four-star edge rusher Jayden Wayne from Bradenton committed to Miami, lifting Canes 2023 class into top 10 at ninth, according to 247sports.com. Chose UM over Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan State and Oregon ..... The 2022 World Games, the 11th edition of an international competition for sports or events not in the Olympics, are underway through next Sunday in Birmingham, Ala. There are 108 nations involved, with 54 events across 30 sports. Big time for Birmingham, as the city's Stallions just won inaugural USFL championship game -- its victory parade delayed by the World Games ..... MLB Draft is next Sunday, with Marlins picking sixth overall. Expected first-rounders include CF Elijah Green, a Miami Hurricanes commit, and LHP Brandon Barriera from American Hertage High ..... Group play is underway in soccer's Women's European Championship being hosted by England ..... COVID is not done wth sports yet. Due to China's ongoing battle with the pandemic, PGA Tour cancelled an October tournament in Shanghei, and LPGA also canceled an upcoming event there ..... Longtime WWE boss Vince McMahon paid $12 million to four women to hush up coercive sexual relationships, says an expose' by the Wall Street Journal ..... Another ceiling shattered as Raiders made Las Vegas attorney Sandra Douglass Morgan as new team president, the first Black woman in that role in NFL history ..... Baker Mayfield is now a Carolina Panther via trade and will face Sam Darnold in an epic training camp QB battle of draft-bust flops ..... Aaron Rodgers got his first tattoo. Let us please never speak of this ever again ..... The American Century Championship, the annual celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, ends today ..... In a surprise, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France football legend Michel Platini both were acquitted of corruption charges by a Swiss court ..... A BetOnline.ag Twitter analysis determined which baseball fans complain the most about umpires, and St. Louis fans dubiously "won" wth an 6.89 percent complaint rate. Cleveland fans were last at 0.71%. Miami fans were in upper third at 5.26% ..... Upcoming: The 92nd MLB All-Star Game July 19 in L.A., with full rosters announced today/Sunday. The ESPYS on July 20, the sports awards show existing solely so ESPN can promote itself. British soccer powers Arsenal and Chelsea meeting July 23 in Orlando to culminate a week of Florida Cup Series matches. And Class of '22 Baseball Hall of Fame induction July 24. Also, Tour de France ends July 24 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,435 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

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

Select other recent columns: Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Loss / No Consolation, No Excuse: Panthers Swept From Playoffs In 2-0 Loss A Brutal End / Why'd World Cup pick Miami? Thank Dolphins Founder & Unlikely Soccer Visionary Joe Robbie / Serena Playing Wimbledon Still Matters, Maybe More Than Ever. Because It Feels Like Goodbye / Whatever Happened To Don King? Famed Boxing Promoter Back At 90 For Last Bow in Miami / Mickelson, Johnson et al Are Saudi Pawns Pocketing Blood Money / Dolphins Denied It, But Deshaun Watson Lawyer Reveals How Close Miami Was To A Deal / A Lesson In Sioux City: Sports And Real Life In Age Of Mass Shootings / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim Ng Hire As GM / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

It's SUNDAY/MONDAY, JULY 3-4. Happy Fourth of July weekend, my fellow Americans. Make it a safe one. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Nobody wins and everybody lsees as NFL weighs Deshaun Watson punishment, An appreciation of Heat's Pat Riley, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE, JULY 4 HOLIDAY SPECIAL, DROPS MONDAY!: Our 29th episode of 2022 and 120th overall is out Monday! 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 most recent 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; 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:

Nobody Wins, Everybody Loses, As NFL Weighs Deshaun Watson Punishment

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

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

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

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

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 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, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Durant, Mitchell talk swirls as free agency begins: NBA summer league play is underway for Heat's developmental team, but it isn't what's on the minds of Miami fans. That would be free agency -- especially after superstar Kevin Durant opted out of Brooklyn and named Heat and Suns as his two preferred trade destinations. He is thought to be leaning Phoenix, saying he'd want to join Miami only if Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry all were here. So would Nets accept a deal with Tyler Herro the biggest name? Hmm. There also is talk Utah all-star Donovan Mitchell could be a Heat trade target if Durant goes elsewhere. Almost forgot: P.J. Tucker left to sign with Philly.   

2. NBA: Durant, Gobert lead sizzling start to free agency: Kevin Durant opting out of Brooklyn and hitting the open trade market (see above) was the big headline as free agency begins, but Utah trading star center Rudy Gobert to Minnesota for a windfall also makes the marquee. Jazz get five players and three first-round picks. Most superstars are staying put, though, with mega re-signings by Zion Williamson, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic, Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns and Bradley Beal among others. Big questions left: Will Kyrie Irving also want out of Brookyn now that Durant has? Will James Harden re-sign with Philly? 

3. MARLINS: Fish are hot(ish), Jazz an all-star finalist, Denbo out: Marlins are 36-40 and have won three straight and seven of past 10 entering Sunday and Moday games at Washington. Fish return home for a pair Tuesday and Wednesday vs. the Angels. Meanwhile 2B Jazz Chisholm is only Marlins finalist to be an all-star starter, although Sandy Alcantara is a lock to be named an NL pitcher. Pitchers and reserves for both squads and complete All-Star rosters will be announced July 10. Meanwhile the Marlins unshockingly fired VP of scouting Gary Denbo, who'd been the first major hire of Derek Jeter, who left the club as president/part owner in February.

4. TENNIS: No. 1 Swiatek, Serena out as Wimbledon reaches midpoint: Serena Williams losing in the first round in London was no great shock. She's 40 and was playing her first match in a year. But this was a shock: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek losing in the third round to unseeded Alize Cornet after 37 straight match wins and six straight titles. Women's crown is now wide open while Novak Djokovic seemds trophy-bound on the men's side.

5. NFL: Watson punishment hearings reach no verdict yet: Three days of NFL deliberation over whether or how long to suspended Browns QB Deshaun Watsob over Massagegate reached no announced conclusion. Sue Robinson, a retired federal judge, is the league's chief disciplinary officer. Many believe the ruling due later this summer will be at least a one-year duspension, but ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi reported sources tell him Watson will see the field for at least part of this coming season.

6. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: USC, UCLA latest conference defectors: The upheaval across college football continues. Last year it was Oklahoma and Texas defecting to th SEC. Now it's Southern Cal and UCLA going to the Big Ten. Will the ACC be the next Power 5 conference to see jarring movement? Top-brand schools like Clemson, Miami, Florida State and North Carolina seem ripe to explore a way to leave if the ACC doesn't find a way to jack up revenue to member schools. 

7. PANTHERS: Cats take big injury hit with Duclair: Being swept out of second round by Tampa Bay hurt. So does this. Panthers winger Anthony Duclair had surgery to repair his left Achilles tendon and is expected to miss the first half of next season, the team announced. Duclair, who injured his Achilles in offseason training, is coming off his best NHL season with career highs for both goals (31) and assists (27).

8. INTER MIAMI: Playoff-chasing Herons at Dallas Monday: Hot(ish) Inter Miami is 6-3-7 and within three points of MLS playoff pace at the midseason point entering Monday night's holiday match at Dallas. Miami host an international friendly vs. Barcelona on July 19.

9. DOLPHINS: Football nears as Fins set training camp dates: NFL training camps are on the horizon and in Miami that's a July 19 reporting date for rookies and July 26 for veterans. Eight pracrices will be open to fans on July 30 and August 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 24 and 25. The last two are joint practices with the Eagles. The three preseason games are August 13 at Tampa and home on August 20 vs. Las Vegas and August 27 vs. Philly.

10. OLYMPICS: U.S men qualify for first time siince 2008: The U.S. qualified for its first Olympic men's soccer tournament since 2008 with a 3-0 win over Honduras Friday night that earned the Americans one of 16 spots in the 2024 Olympic tournament in France. Olympic men's soccer is limited to players under 23, with each nation allowed three over-age exceptions. U.S. had failed in the previous three straight Olympic qualifying cycles.

Missing the HB10 cut: USFL championship game is today between the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars, the ifrst time in almost 40 years a spring league has lasted a full season to crown a champ ..... The WNBA All-Star Game is July 10. A moment for Brittney Griner should begin it ..... In an escalation of the Golf War, the European Tour has levied $120,00 fines for its players competing in Saudi-backed LIV Golf events and banned them from next week's Scottish Open. However, LIV'ers will be allowed in the major British Open starting July 14 ..... David Highhill in the new NFL vice president/general manager of sports betting, the league's first position overseeing its business interest in the legal sports betting industry ..... Denver threw an Avalanche championship parade to celebrate the Stanley Cup win ..... Warriors Finals MVP Steph Curry will host the ESPYs July 20 ..... The Tour de France is underway, if anybody outside of France and not directly in the race still cares ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,442 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

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

It's MONDAY, JUNE 20. Hope y'all had a lovely Father's Day and Juneteenth! 2) Happy 80th birthday today to Beach Boys founding member, creative force and enigmatic genius, the great Brian Wilson (pictured). 3) Join me on Twitter, INstgram, Facebook and Tik-Tok. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Steph Curry grows his legacy, Miami named '26 World Cup host city, new Greg Cote Show podcast, 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! 

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

Curry's th NBA Title, 1st Finals MVP Opens Path To Get 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

The Hilltop: The five columns before that: 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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 19-20): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature, back after a one-week holiday, is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. SOCCER: Miami among host cities named for 2026 World Cup: The announcement was no surprise and the reward is four years away -- but it still was big news as FIFA announced Miami among host cities for the men's 2026 World Cup to be played across North America. Matches will be played in 11 U.S. cities, three in Mexico and two in Canada. Miami was not a host for the 199 U.S. World Cup, so this will be a first for South Florida.

2. GOLF: Fitzpatrick wins U.S. Open amid sport's civil war: Little known Matt Fitzpatrick of England won the U.S. Open on Sunday in Massachusetts. The event was the first battlefield in golf's new civil war. Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut, is among 17 players who have been indefinitely suspended by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan for playing in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series rival event in London last week. The Open, indepedent of the Tour, did not ban those players.

3. NBA: Curry carries Warriors past Boston for title: Golden State won three straight games including Thursday's clinching Game 6, 103-90, to best Boston in the NBA Finals. Steph Curry scored 34 in the clincher and unanimously won Finals MVP for the first time to lead the Warriors' fourth championship in eight seasons.

4. NHL PLAYOFFS: Colorado blasts Tamoa Bay. up 2-0 in Final: Colorado is up 2-0 after a 4-3 OT win and then Saturday night's 7-0 blowout back in Denver. Games 3 and 4 of Stanley Cup finals are Monday/tonight and Wednesday in Tampa Bay. The now desperate Lightning are after a third straight NHL championship while Avalanche seek their first since 2001.

5. HEAT: MIami preps for NBA Draft, free agency: Fresh off a successful season that ended in the Eastern finals, the Heat dives into the offseason with the NBA Draft this Thursday and free agency estimated to start June 30. Miami holds a late first round pick (27th overall) and ESPN's mock guess for the Heat is Arizona guard Dalen Terry. Team forfeited its second round pick when when the NBA ruled Miami began its pursuit of Kyle Lowry ahead of the allowed date.

6. MARLINS: Slump-buster Alcantara does it again!: The Marlins were 28-35 off three straight losses -- and 16-27 since a 12-8 start -- before Saturday's 6-2 win at the Mets led by ace Sandy Alcantara, who improved to 7-2 with a 1.72 ERA. Fish are at NYM again today to conclude a 10-game road trip. Miami is back Tuesday to open a six-game homestand vs. the Rockies and Mets.

7. PANTHERS: Cats reportedly after Brunette's replacement as free agency looms: Why hasn't Florida lifted the "interim" tag off coach Andrew Brunette afgter its deepest postseason run since 1996? Becuse it's searching for his replacemment, apparently. Hockey insider Frank Seravalli of @DailyFaceoff reports the Panthers are interviewing a number of possible hires, notably including two-time coch of the year Barry Trotz, Rick Tocchet and ex-Cats coach (2008-11) Pete DeBoer. Meanwhile the NHL has not yet decided whether to reinstate Joel Quenneville, whom Brunette replaced. Florida will want it coach flux settled before free agency starts July13. 

8. INTER MIAMI: Herons' hot(ish) runs ends in shutout loss: In its first MLS match since May 28, Inter Miami risked a four-game unbeaten streak (two wins, two draws) on Sunday at Atanta United but came away with a 2-nil loss. The Herons are now 5-3-7 overall and two points off playoff pace in the Eastern Conference as the regular season nears its midpoint.

9. TENNIS: Wimbledon on deck with Serena a wild-card entrant: Wimbledon starts a week from Monday June 27 in London with Serena Williams a surprise entrant on a wild-card invitation. It's a comeback as Serena, 40, has not played sinve leaving last year's Wimbledon injured. The All England Club is banning players from Russia and Belarus over the Ukraine invasion, meaning world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev will not compete.'

10. HURRICANES: NCAA at UM to interview Ruiz over NIL's: The NCAA visited the Miami campus for information on the Canes' use of the new Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) that allows athletes to be compensated. Miami attorney and mega-UM booster John Ruiz was interviewed for more than an hour but was cordial, not accusatory. No investigation of UM or accusation of wrongdoing has been announced.

Missing the HB10 cut: Oklahoma is first team to advance to final four in the College World Series ..... Oklahoma women won their College World Series. Or did that go without saying? ..... Russia extended the hostage-holding of WNBA star Brittney Griner masquerading as a legal detention as negotiations for her release continue ..... Five ex-Canes made the 2023 College Footbal Hall of Fame ballot -- strong candidates all. Ray Lewis should be an automatic. Others are Ken Dorsey, Bryant McKinnie and coaches Larry Coker and Mark Rcht ..... WWE wrestling CEO Vince McMahon stepped aside amid allegations he gareed to pay hush money to a former employee over an affair ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,471 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: ‘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