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

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

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

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

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

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

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

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

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 5-6): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missing the HB10 cut: Minjee Lee won the U.S. Women's Open in golf in North Carolina ..... A Canes men's basketball program coming off its first NCAA Elite 8 appearance got a boost this week with the news UM guard Isaiah Wong will return for the 2022-23 season as a fourth-year junior. Wong, UM's second leading scorer at 15.3 points last season, had entered his name in the NBA Draft but withdrew when it became apparent he would go undrafted ..... NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league may change format of its All-NBA teams to make them positionless ..... Thirteen PGA Tour players including Dustin Johnson are entered in next week's first LIV Golf Invitational Series event in London, and face penalties from the tour including possible suspension if they compete in the Saudi-backed league ..... The Special Olympics reversed its COVID vaccine mandate for upcoming competitions in Orlando after awful Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened a $27.5 million fine ..... At some point while you were sleeping the past week, LeBron James became a billionaire, the first active NBA player to do so ..... Serena and Venus Williams are not on the entry list for Wimbledon, which starts June 27. Either could still seek a wild-card invitation ..... The NFL, Cowboys and Texans donated $800,000 to aid families of victims in the Uvalde school masscare  ..... Inter Miami, 5-3-6 and at the far edge of MLS playoff pace, is off until a June 19 visit to Atlanta ..... Ecuador will play a World Cup tuneup vs. Cape Verde next Saturday June 11 in Fort Lauderdale. Inter Miami's leading goal scorer, Leonardo Campana, is on Ecuador's WC roster ..... No MLB players slapped each other this week ..... Harini Logan, 14, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in an historic spell-off after several rounds left two spellers tied ..... A Twitter analysis by betonline.ag has named the most hated players in MLB. They are, in order, Manny Machado, José Altuve and Bryce Harper. Congrats, guys! ..... The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame ballot will be released on Monday ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,485 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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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

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

Select other recent columns: Why Quiet Draft With No 1st-Round Pick Was Great News For Dolphins / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener / Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 30. A Memorial Day Weekend salute and gratitude to all of those in our Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice. On a day off full of food, laughter and perhaps a beverage or three, take a moment to remember what this holiday is about. 2) Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too. 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Butler and Heat force Game 7, Panthers swept out of playoffs, new Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 24th episode of 2022 and 115th 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 115 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Greg and Chris are with you live from the Heat arena with reaction to last  night's season-ending Game 7 loss. Also: Greg shares a health update including a recent scare that involved paramedics; Uncle Dick drops by for a disasterous pop-culture quiz; the Father-Son Cote Olympics continues with a tennis match; and Greg shares his thoughts on the Texas school shooting tragedy. Hit up GCS2224 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! Heat Season Ends One Win (One Shot?) Short Of NBA Finals In Game 7 Home Loss NEW!

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

Previous Heat/Panthers playoff columns: 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

Hilltop: The most recent five non-playoff columns: Why Quiet Draft With No 1st-Round Pick Was Great News For Dolphins / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 29-30): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami season ends on home floor in Game 7 loss; it's Boston on to Golden State: Jimmy Butler's 35 points (after 47 in Game 6) were not enough as Miami fell at home in Game 7 to Boston 100-96 Sunday night. So Heat fall one win and maybe one shot -- Butler's miss on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds left -- of the NBA Finals. That'll be Boston vs. Golden State, with Game 1 Thursday night in San Fran.

2. PANTHERS: Cats' magical season ends too soon in brutal sweep: The season was magical. Record-setting. The way it ended was a brutal disappointment. Florida lost four straight to rival Tampa Bay and were swept from the NHL playoffs in the second round, the Panthers' league-leading offense solved by the Lightning and made to disappear. Cats fans were dreaming Stanley Cup, not out in May. Next big watch: Will interim coach Andrew Brunette be  back?

3. NHL PLAYOFFS (Non-Panthers): Three advance, await Rangers-Canes Game 7: New York Rangers beat Carolina Hurricanes Saturday to force a Game 7 Monday in North Carolina, the winner facing well-rested Tampa Bay in the East finals. Out West, Colorado Avalache will meet Edmongton Oilers, with Game 1 commencing the next round Tuesday in Colorado.

4. TENNIS: Djokovic, Nadal meet in French Open quarterfinals: The sport's clay-court Grand Slam, second major of the year, is underway through June 5 at Roland Garros in Paris. No. 1 seeds Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek remain in it. Early casualties included Naomi Osaka and reigning champ Barbora Krejcikova, but Coco Gauff, 18, of Delray Beach advanced on Sunday to the quarterfinals. Old rovals Djokovic and Rafael Nadal meet for the 59th time in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.

5. DOLPHINS: Fins' full-squad minicamp finally on deck: All eyes will be on Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill as usual when the Dolphins' full squad assembles under the aegis of new coach Mike McDaniel for a mandatory two-day minicamp this Wednesday and Thursday. It will be the last major offseason event prior to the start of full preseasom training camp in late July.

6. MARLINS: Alcantara to the rescue. Then it's back to losing: Sandy Alcantara whiffed 14 in a Saturday gem to beat Atlanta and end a three-game skid for Fish were back to losing Sunday and are now 19-26. Miami's eight-game road trip moves now from Atlanta to Colorado. Fourteeen of 26 Fish losses have been by one run, underscoring what a difference it would have made had the team spent more in the offseason to bolster the offense.

7. INTER MIAMI: Herons out in U.S. Open Cup, but climbing in MLS: Inter Miami is out in the U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 with its loss at MLS rival Orlando City Wednedsday night, 4-2 on penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation and a 1-1 standoff in extra time. Quarterfinal matches are June 21-29. In league play, the Herons are now 5-3-6 and (barely) on playoff pace after Saturday's 2-1 home win over Portland. Up next, Inter Miami is off unitl a June 19 match in Atlanta.

8. CANES BASEBALL: UM bombs in ACCs, but host NCAA regional: No. 9 Miami, after a 39-16 regular season, got embarrassed in the ACC Tournament, going 0-2 by a combined 25-9 score in losses to North Carolina State and Wake Forest. (North Carolina beat N.C. State in Sunday's ACC title game in Charlotte). Still UM was awarded a No 6 national seed and regional-host status on Monday as the NCAA Tournament's 64-team field and regional pairings were announced. UM beginning Friday will host a regional with Arizona, Ole Miss and Canisus. College World Series betting odds have Tennessee and Oregon State out front. Miami is tied for ninth.

9. SOCCER: Real Madrid upsets Liverpool, wins Champs League: Betting favorite Liverpool fell 1-0 to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League finale Saturday in Paris, where the game was moved after the invasion of Ukraine cost Russia host honors. Vinicius Jr. netted the only goal as Madrid claimed its record 14th Champions League title.

10. HURRICANES: UM football welcomes back Highsmith: Miami Hurricanes hired former UM star Alonzo Highsmith as general manager of football operations. Highsmith, a 1980s Canes champion, was a longtime NFL excutive, most recently a scouting exec for Seahawks. He'd been passed over by the Manny Diaz regime when UM named Ed Reed "chief of staff" in 2020.

Missing the HB10 cut: Indianapolis 500 roared Sunday, with Sweden's Marcus Ericsson taking the checkered flag and the milk bottle ..... Expect plenty of hokey banter, bad golf and the pretense of camaraderie when NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen tee it up in the latest "The Match" event on TNT this Wednedsday ..... Hallelujah: The Las Vegas Raiders have Colin Kaepernick a tryout ..... Ecuador will play a World Cup tuneup match vs. Cape Verde June 11 at Inter Miami Stadium in Fort Lauderdale ..... Doggone it: Michael Vick, 41, now says he will not unretire to join the startup Fan Controlled Football league ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,492 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: Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 23. Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Game 2 losses have Heat and Panthers in playoff peril, latest Messi-to-Miami speculation, Greg Cote Show podcast, updated Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 23rd episode of 2022 and 114th overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 114 we've done so far HERE, free. In the new episode: Back after nine months, the return of the popular segment, 'Greg Doesn't Know Movies,' in which Chris and younger son Michael try to stump Greg on the simplest of movie questions. Also: the show crew take the Hanger Reflex challenge; Greg reveals a dark secret about Opie from the Andy Griffith Show; Yeti performan an original song for Chris in honor of his birthday; the history of Greg's three fan-boy Twitter accounts; and a heartwarming story about the neighbor who listned to porn loudly. Hit up GCS 2223 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has an all-encompassing website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com! There's new new merch in the merch store (click Shop) and free shipping this week only! 

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

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Panthers' Magical Season Looking Out of Answers, Almost Out Of Time NEW!

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

Previous Heat/Panthers playoff columns: 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

Hilltop: The most recent five non-playoff columns: Why Quiet Draft With No 1st-Round Pick Was Great News For Dolphins / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 22-23): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Bam to the rescue as Miami wins, takes 2-1 lead: Bam Adebayo poured in 31 points Saturday noght to lead Miami to a 109-103 win in Boston and a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Eastern Conference finals. That followed a split in Miami, the Heat winning Game 1 big then losing Game 2 bigger. Jimmy Butler sat out the second half with knee inflammataion, an injury now shadowing the series entering Game 4 back in Boston Monday/tonight.

2. PANTHERS: Big trouble! Cats down 3-0 face elimination in Tampa: Florida's first time advancing in the playffs since 1996 has hit a serious roadblock. Andrew Brunette was named an NHL coach of the year finalist. He'd trade it for a win. The home losses were 4-1 and, far worse, 2-1 when Cats gave up a goal with 3.8 seconds to go in regulation. Then came Sunday's 5-1 loss in Tampa for a 3-0 hole. Now it's on to Tampa for Games 4 tonight. A sweep is in the offing. Let's see if a massive, redeeming comeback might be, too.

3. NBA PLAYOFFS (Non-Heat): Golden State in command in West: Steph Curry dropped 32 Friday night and 31 Sunday as Golden State rolled to a 3-0 series lead over Dallas in the Western Conference finals. Mavs getting 40s from Luka Doncic but it isn't enough. Series back in desperate Dallas for Game 4 Tuesday night with Warriors thinking sweep.

4. GOLF: Thomas wins PGA Championship in playoffs after rookie blows it: PGA Tour rookie Mito Pereira held a 3-shot lead entering the final round of the 104th PGA Championship on Sunday and needing only to par the 18th for a major win. He didn't, freeing Justin Thomas to beat Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff -- the first in a major since 2017. Tiger Woods withdrew after a 79 Saturday, feeling pain in his surgically repaired leg, the first time Woods has withdrawn from a major championship as a professional. Reigning champion Phil Mickelson did not compete.

5. NHL PLAYOFFS (Non-Panthers): Carolina, Colorado, Edmonton hold 2-1 leads: Carlina leads the Rangers 2-1 as series satsy in New York for Games 4 Tuesday, the winner to face the Panthers-Lightning survivor in the Eastern finals. Out West, Colorado is up 2-1 on St. Louis with Game 4 Monday. And Edmonton leads Calgary 2-1 with Game 4 Tuesday. The winner will give Canada, inventor of hockey, a chance for its first Stanley Cup since Montreal won in 1993.  

6. INTER MIAMI: Herons get needed win, prep for U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 as Messi rumors resurface: Inter Miami plays at MLS rival Orlando FC Wednesday night in a round-of-16 match in the U.S. Open Cup. Unsurprisingly 13 of 16 remaining clubs in the all-comers tournament are from MLS, country's top-tier league. In MLS play the Herons are 3-3-7 after Sunday's needed 2-0 win over New York Red Bulls. Herons host Portland this coming Saturday. Meanwhile, on the Lionel Messi watch, a report said he'll join Inter Miami in 2023 in a deal that gives him 35 percent of club's shares in MLS -- a deal both Inter Miami and Messi's reps call "premature speculation." (Which isn't exactly a flat denial).

7. SOCCER: Barcelona set 2 U.S. friendlies including Inter Miami in Ju1y: Barcelona will face Inter Miami in a July 19 friendly in Fort Lauderdale, then visit the MLS New York Red Bulls for another on July 30. The five-time UEFA Champions League winner and 26-time LaLiga champ last played in South Florida in 2019. Negotiations are ongoing for Barca, Real Madrid and Juventus to play U.S. dates in a breakaway European Super League later this summer.

8. MARLINS: Alcantara lifts Fish to needed win: The up and down Marlins lost a third straight game Saturday but bounced back  Sunday to beat Atlanta behind Sandy Alcantara and are now 18-22 and just one game out of second in the NL East. Miami now heads out on an eight-game road trip starting Tuesday in Tampa.

9. TENNIS: Lopsided men's draw as French Open begins: The sport's clay-court Grand Slam, second major of the year, is underway through June 5 at Roland Garros in Paris. Men's co-betting favorites Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz along with Rafael Nadal all were placed in the same half of the men's bracket. Djokovic, defending champion, could meet 13-time French champion Nadal in the quarterfinals. Iga Swiatek is a huge favorite on the women's side, with early casualties there including Naomi Osaka and reigning champ Barbora Krejcikova.

10. CANES BASEBALL: UM ends season, heads to ACCs: No. 9 Miami won two of three at home over No. 14 Notre Dame this weekend to end the regular season 39-16 overall and 20-10 in the conference. The ACC Tournament is this week in Charlotte, with the third-seeded Canes' first game Wednesday night vs. 10th-seeded North Carolina State. The NCAA Tournament's 64-team field and regional pairings will be announced May 30.

Missing the HB10 cut: Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher at war! Alabama coach Saban accused Texas A&M coach Fisher of "buying" its top-ranked signing class via NIL (name, image, ikeness) deals. Fisher shot back in a fiery rebuttal and denial, calling Saban's comments "despicable." The overarching story: NIL money has become an under-regulated mess in a tumultous time for college football ..... Early Voting held off betting favorite Epicenter to win The Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico, second leg of the Triple Crown. Kentucky Derby upset winner Rich Strike didn't run, a major bummer and so bad for thoroughbred racing ..... FIFA on June 16 will announce 2026 World Cup host stadiums for the event being held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Book it: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will be one. I  guarantee it! ..... European soccer shocker: Kylian Mbappe snubs Real Madrid, says he will remain at Paris Saint-Germain ..... Dolphins offseason work continues with OTA practice days woriking toward a mandatory full-squad minicamp set for June 1-2 ..... Orlando Magic won the NBA Lottery for the June 23 draft, the club's first overall No. 1 since taking Dwight Howard in 2004 ..... ESPN researched the investments of 40 principal NBA team owners and found that together they have more than $10 billion tied up in China. On the eve of the current NBA playoffs, quietly, league games returned to state-run TV in China after a near-three-year ban ..... Betting favorite Liverpool faces Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League finale next Saturday May 28 in Paris ..... Michael Vick, fleeting NFL QB phenom turned notorious dogfighter, is coming out of retirement to join startup league Fan Controlled Football. Gawd! ..... NFL spring meetings in Atlanata Monday and Tuesday will feature the league's ongoing effort to promote increased coach and executive diversity with its inaugural 'Coach and Front Office Accelerator' initiative ..... Alex Rodriguez is a new investor and board member in mixed martial arts' Professional Fighters League ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,499 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

Select other recent columns: Blowing Up Dolphins' Brady-Payton Plan Parting Shot Of Flores Lawsuit. For Now / Heat 'Wildly Disrespected' No. 1 Seed, But that's Fine By Miami As Playoffs Begin / Inter Miami Has Been Major Failure For David Beckham. Here's The BIg Fix / Rotation Set, Lineup Improved, Excuses Gone. Time For Marlins To Win / Could Have Died. Nearly Lost a Leg. Tiger Playing Masters Means He's Already Won / Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough / Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone / Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude / UM And Blake James Parted Ways With Class -- Which Butch Davis Didn't Get From FIU / Quenneville Rightly Sacked as Panthers Coach Over 2010 Chicago Scandal / 'Time to Hunt': Cats' Hyped Season Off to Wild, Winning Start / Dolphins Fans, Ex-Players Gather For Emotional Farewell to Don Shula, Father of the Glory Days / If Sports Had A Spine, Kyrie Irving & Other Anti-Vaxxers Wouldn't Be Playing / Kyle Lowry Must Channel 'Doctor Of Greatness' If Heat Is To Chase NBA Title / Fairy Tale With Wrong Ending: Remembering Jose Fernandez 5 Years Later / An Appreciation of Udonis Haslem As He Re-Ups For 19th Heat Season / College Football and FSU Lose a Treasure In Passing Of Bobby Bowden /  Biles' Withdrawal For Mental-Health Reasons Merits Empathy, Not Scorn / Where Dolphins Rank Among Teams With Longest Championship Droughts / Hot Seat Scale: Ranking Miami's Biggest Coaches By Most to Least Job Security / Nassib Coming Out As Gay NFL Player A Milestone In Sports History / Fate Snatched Basketball From Chris Bosh. His new Book Is Part of His Journey Of Healing / Where's Tua? Ranking Our Top 15 South Florida Pro Athletes 25 And Younger / Le Batard Bet On Himself And His Audience -- And Won Big / Justice For George Floyd Helps Heal Our Shaken Faith, But Fight For Equality Goes On / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL? / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 16. Join me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast separately on Twitter, Instagram and now TikTok, too. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat and Panthers playoff runs, Greg Cote Show podcast, latest in Mount Gregmore of columns.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 22nd episode of 2022 and 113th overall is out now! A new episode drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify and wherever else you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 113 we've done HERE, free. In the latest episode: Chris delves into Le Batard Show’s beef with Associated Press Miami sports writer Tim Reynolds, and Greg takes sides; Greg and Chris discuss and celebrate the Miami Heat and Florida Panthers’ simultaneous playoff runs; Round 5 of the Father-Son Cote Olympics (bowling!); Chris' parenting milestones and more. Hit up GCS2222 for full story on the latest ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. We simulcast on Sirius XM, too, Mondays from 5-6 p.m. ET. And now, brand new: Our podcast has an all-encompassing website and merch store: Check it out at TheGregCoteShow.com!

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

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

NEW! Wow! Panthers Close Out Caps in 6 for 1st playoff advance since '96 NEW!

NEW! Butler And Defense Rise Again As Heat Eliminate 76ers, Reach Eastern Finals NEW! 

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

Previous Heat/Panthers playoff columns: 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

Hilltop: The most recent five non-playoff columns: Why Quiet Draft With No 1st-Round Pick Was Great News For Dolphins / ‘Centerpiece of futbol in world’: Dream is green-lit. Now can Inter Miami deliver? / 31st Annual Official Miami Herald NFL Mock Draft / Only In Miami: Ex-Marlins Prez Samson Joins Fight vs. 'Boondoggle' Soccer Stadium / Marlins Declare 'Impatience," Delight Near-Sellout In Exciting Home Opener

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 15-16): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. The latest HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami wins Game 6, gets rival Celtics in Eastern finals: Jimmy Butler's 32 points lifted Miami Thursday to a 99-90 Game 6 win in Philly and an advance to the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years with Butler at the helm. Heat now will fce rival Boston (a Game 7 winner over Milwaukee) in ECF Game 1 Tuesday night in the 3-0-5. 

2. PANTHERS: Cats to face rival Lightning in 1st playoff advance since '96!: Carter Verhaeghe made it three straight game-winning goals in three straight wins for the Comebacks Cats Friday night in the 4-3 Game 6 win in Washington that eliminated the Capitals for the Panthers' first playoff advance past the first round since 1996. Florida will face rival Tampa Bay next after the Lightning's 2-1 Game 7 win in Toronto. Game 1 is Tuesday night in Sunrise.

3. DOLPHINS: Fins still adding talent; season schedule opens tough: Offseason? What offseason? Dolphins wrapped up three-day rookie minicamp Sunday after adding veteran free agent running back Sony Michel and then vegteran pass rsher Melvin Ingram. Team's mandatory full-squad minicamp is set for June 1-2. Meanwhile NFL schedule release Thursday night finds Miami with a tough first four games: Home opener September 11 vs. Patriots, then at Ravens, vs. Bills and at Bengals. Cincy game and Steelers here October 23 are the two prime time games.

4. NBA: Two Sunday Game 7s set conference finals: In the West, it's Dallas (not Phoenix) facing Golden State in a finals Game 1 Wednesday night. In the East, Miami drew Boston when Celtics won a G7 over reigning champ Milwaukee. That Game 1 is Tuesday night in Miami.

5. NHL: Two Sunday Game 7s set final eight: Florida vs. Tampa Bay and Colorado vs. St. Louis were set in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs' final eight. Joining them: New York's Game 7 win sent the Rangers advancing to face Carolina, and Calgary's G7 win sets an all-Canada Matchup with Edmonton. Second-round Game 1s begin Tuesday and Wednesday.

6. MARLINS: Up-and-down Fish seek consistency as homestand continues: Marlins on Sunday wrapped up a three-day celebration of the 25th anniversary of the club's 1997 World Series champs in midst of a nine-game homestand. Back to reality: Current Marlins lost Sunday and are 3-11 since a seven-game win streak and 15-19 overall, down to fourth in the NL East. Fish host Nationals starting tonight then Braves.

7. INTER MIAMI: Herons settle for draw with D.C. United: Inter Miami is 3-0 in U.S Open Cup play entering round of 16 play May 24-25, but in the MLS the Herons are only 2-2-6 after Saturday night's 2-2 home tie with D.C United after Miami blew a 2-0 lead. Next up in league play: Wednesday at Philadelphia Union.

8. GOLF: PGA Championship this week with Tiger in field: The year's second major is this Thursday through next Sunday at Southern Hills in Oklahoma, with Tiger Woods among the final field of entrants. Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are out front of the betting favorites going in.

9. GOLF: PGA Tour escalates war with Saudi-backed breakout tour: London next month starting June 9 will host the inaugural tournament of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, a new startup circuit backed by Saudi Arabian riches and with Greg Norman as its face. The eight-event series is boasting $255 million in total payouts, with five events in the U.S. and three abroad. The PGA tour has drawn a hard line, threatening suspensions or even lifetime bans of players who compete in the new circuit if its events conflict with Tour events.

10. CANES BASEBALL: Miami loses series at rival FSU as ACC tourney nears: No. 6-ranked Canes baseball is 37-14 after dropping two of three at rival Florida State. Miami now has only four games left in regular season prior to the ACC Tournament and then NCAA regionals.

Missing the HB10 cut: The WNBA star Brittney Griner is being detained an additional month in Russia as the U.S. negotiates her release ..... The U.S. will host the Rugby World Cup in 2031 (men) and in 2033 (women). World Rugby, the governing body, hopes the sport will become as big here as it is elsewhere ..... Liverpool wins FA Cup Saturday in a 6-5 penalty shootout over Chelsea. Liverpool faces Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League finale May 28 in Paris ..... And the shot at another Triple Crown horse is done as Derby winner Rich Strike won't run in The Preakness ..... Anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic wins 1,000th career match to reach final of Italian Open in tuneup for French Open ..... A Cleveland Guardians COVID outbreak caused postponement of a game vs. the White Sox. It was first game ppd'd by COVID this season. The virus postponed nine games last year and 45 in schedule-shortened 2020 ..... Oklahoma landed a quarterback transfer with the greatest name in sports history: General Booty ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is back with a new episode out Monday at 7 a.m. ..... Update: Countdown now 1,506 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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ARCHIVES

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

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

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

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW! Our 17th episode of 2022 and 108th overall is out now! New pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. Find all 108 we've done HERE, free. In the new episode: It's Welcome Back, Baseball as welome in ESPN MLB expert Tim Kurkjiam and Hal Richman, legendary inventor of the Strat-O-Matic baseball board game. Kurkjian tells us team that will surprise, talks Marlins, and opines in changes in the game. Richman describes how he thought of Strat-O-Matic as an 11-year-old and launched a brand important in millions of lives -- including my own. Hit up GCS2217 for full story on the new ep, and watch our weekly YouTube preview. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, review and follow. Our pod also simulcasts on Sirius XM every Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET).

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

MOUNT GREGMORE OF COLUMNS: OUR LATEST FIVE:

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

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

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

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

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

Hilltop: The most recent five after that: Marlins Owner Sherman Said He'd Spend. Payroll Says It Hasn't Been Enough  /  Crushing End Short Of Final Four, But Miami Hurricanes' NCAA Run Was Exhilarating Milestone  /  Peacocks? Coach K? Hurricanes, The 'Football School' In Elite Eight, Deserve Love Too  /  Tyreek Hill Trade, Terron Armstead Signing A Win-Now Power Play By Dolphins  /  Hurricanes Storming Sweet 16 Shades of George Mason '06 for Larranaga

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ARCHIVES

Other recent columns: Dolphins' Moves Help Tua, But Isn't About Surrounding Cast. It's On him / Why Do We Love March Madness This Much? First, Look In The Mirror / Brady's Comeback Not About Another Ring. It's About Holding Onto Who He Is / When Spoelstra Joined Heat's 'Inner Circle' And Became Riley's Next Coach / Why Brittney Griner Is Lost In Russia / The Resurgence Of Miami Hurricanes Basketball as March Madness Nears  / Chris Cote To Save Sport Of Jai-Alai / Brady A Dolphins Part Owner? Why It Could Happen / Why Derek Jeter-Marlins Marriage Fell Apart / Players Are On Right Side In Labor Dispute, But MLB Has Far Bigger Problem To Fix / Mickelson's Support Of Saudi Tour Mirrors Sports' Blind Eye to Human Rights / Top 15 Figures (Non-Athletes) In Miami Sports History / Hall of Fame Keeps Saying No, But Zach Thomas Keeps Feeling Gratitude / McDaniel Overcame Much In Own Life, Now Must Overcome Dolphins' Turmoil And Win / An Inside Preview Of Le Batard Show's Upcoming Musical. Yes, Musical / The Lesson For Dolphins in Rams-Bengals Super Bowl Result / Ranking Flores/Ross Bombshell Among Biggest Dolphins Scandals / Ross Should Be Done As Fins Owner if Flores Allegations Are True  / The G.O.A.T. We Never Saw Coming: From 199th Drafted To History, A Salute To Tom Brady / Like Him Or Don't, Antonio Brown Not Always To Blame -- And Wasn't In Bucs Divorce / Ortiz Makes Hall, But Final Denial Of Bonds, Clemens A Shame on Voters, Baseball / Mahomes-Allen Air Show A Reminder How Much Better Dolphins And Tua Need To Be / Time Is Right (But Running Out) For MLB to Reinstate Pete Rose /'There Was A Pall On Us': The Panthers Season That Would Not Be Derailed / No-Vaccine Is Your Right. But There Are Consequences as Djokovic Was Reminded / State Of Miami Sports: Every Major Team, Graded Top To Bottom / Dolphins Firing of Flores The Unjustified Travesty Of A Clown-Show Owner / Canes Land Grand Prize In Cristobal, So No Excuses Left. New Glory Days A Must / 50 Years At the Herald For Me -- And a Lifetime Of Gratitude

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) It's MONDAY, JUNE 7. Le Batard Show 24-hour marathon broadcast was noon Friday through noon Saturday. Check it out on the Le Batard And Friends YouTube channel -- including the live Greg Cote Show podcast hour from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m! 2) Check out yesterday's Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz podcasts for way too much of me. 3) Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast on Twitter and Instagram. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Pirate Ship sails with 24-hour Le Batard Show broadcast, Osaka withdrawal shakes up French Open, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: BELLY BUTTON DOCTOR, PSYCHIC JOIN NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 22nd episode of 2021 and 64th overall is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 64 we've done so far HERE for free. Our new episode features an extremely tired, sleep-deprived Greg broadcasting live at 4 am. A doctor is on to examine Greg's belly button abnormality. Also, a psychic drops by, and the Fancy Lad reveals a bizarre pre-sleep ritual. Plus: Welcome to Miami, Messi! Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

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

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

3. HEAT/NBA: Riley backs core; Clips top Mavs Game 7: Heat president Pat Riley in his season-ending presser reiterated his faith in Miami's Butler-Adebayo-Herro core despite being swept out of first round by Milwaukee. Meanwhile the NBA playoffs still going on got its first Game 7 Sunday as Kawhi Leonard's Cliippers topped Luka Doncic's Mavericks to complete the conference semifinal matchups. Dear Pat: When the Clips are out, get to work on Kawhi Leonard. Jimmy, Bam and Tyler are fine. But you need a whale.

4. TENNIS: With French Open path cleared, Serena loses in straight sets: At the French Open's midpoint the path seemed cleared for Serena Williams to perhaps bag her long-elusive, record-tying 24th major win, with Naomi Osaka's controversial withdrawal and Ash Barty's early exit. But Serena fell 6-3, 7-5 Sunday to Elena Rybakina. On the men's side Rafael Nadal is the favorite for the 64th straight year, more so with Roger Federer's Sunday injury withdrawal.

5. MARLINS: Finally! 8-game losing streak ends: Miami is 25-33 and out of the NL East cellar after Sunday's 3-1 win in Pittsburgh behind Sandy Alcantara's strong start ended an eight-game losing streak, the club's longest in six years. Miami had been 0-7 on this road trip (emphasis on trip) before Sunday. Fish are at Boston today before heading home.

6. DOLPHINS: Fins wrap OTAs, Marino's bold statement: fMiami ends OTA workdays with practices Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays prior to the mandatory minicamp June 15-17. Meanwhile Dan Marino said he doesn't want Bill Belichick to break Don Shula's career wins record. Hmm. If you hear something and your reaction is, "Well no DUH!" ... is it really news?

7. DAN LE BATARD: Show pulls off 24-hour Miami marathon: The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz aired 24 consecutive hours Friday and Saturday in a stunt to mark its new era with Meadowlark Media and DraftKings. I was a small part of it. Why aren't I asleep right now?

8. SOCCER: U.S. tops Mexico in renewal of rivalry: Bitter rivals United States and Mexico renewed their men's soccer feud Sunday night in the CONCACAF Nations League championship match in Denver. El Tri had been 3-0-1 vs. the U.S. since the Americans last prevailed in a competitive match in a World Cup qualifier in September 2013 -- but that changed with Sunday night's 3-2 U.S. win. Match was paused due to Mexican fan's boorish anti-gay chants.

9. CANES BASEBALL: UM disappoints (again) in NCAA Regional: Miami's season is done at 33-21. After bombing in the ACC Tournament with two straight losses the Canes went 1-2 and were eliminated Sunday from the NCAA Regional in Gainesville in a 7-2 loss to South Alabama. Canes were vying for an unlikely spot in the June 18-30 College World Series.

10. HORSE RACING: Essential Quality wins Belmont Stakes: Betting favorite Essential Quality comfortably won Saturday's Belmont Stakes, the third of the season's Triple Crown races. The horse may also be awarded the Kentucky Derby crown if Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit is disqualified. The disgraced Baffert is banned two years from Churchill Downs for cheating.

Missing the HB10 cut: Falcons trade WR Julio Jones to Titans for second- and fourth-round picks ..... Duke's Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski, is retiring after next basketball season. Sorry your retirement got overshadowed, Celtics prez Danny Ainge ..... Coral Springs' Lexi Thompson leads entering Sunday's final round in search of her first Women's U.S. Open championship in golf ..... Three men who helped the Hurricanes win their fifth national football championship -- QB Ken Dorsey, tackle Bryant McKinnie and and coach Larry Coker -- are among 85 FBS-level players and coaches on the 2022 College Hall of Fame ballot ..... Florida GM Bill Zito in his postseason media Zoom called the season a success and saw positives moving forward despite his team's first-round ouster by Tampa Bay. Lightning, up 3-1 on Carolina, is closest to advancing in Stanley Cup playoff's second round ..... The spring football USFL is re-launching in 2022, 37 years after folding. The new USFL will play with at least eight unnamed teams. Another spring league, the XFL, has been targeting a 2022 restart. Counting on both folding within two years ..... Good for MLB with its inaugural Lou Gehrig Day in the fight against ALS disease ..... In a blow to transgender rights, after months of contentious debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning transgender females from participating in women’s and girls’ scholastic sports ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode dropping Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,849 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, MAY 31. Farewell, May! And have a safe and thankful Memorial Day Weekend, all! Take a moment to appreciate the men and women of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice. 2) Check out this past Tuesday's Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz podcasts for way too much of me, including (improbably) my belly button. I'll be back on tomorrow. 3) Follow the Greg Cote Show podcast on Twitter and Instagram. 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Panthers eliminated by Tampa Bay, Heat seek home lift vs. Milwaukee, Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Select other recent columns: Talk Of U.S. Olympic Boycott A Reminder Sports, Politics Are Entwined -- And That's Good / How And Why the Miami Heat Landing Kawhi Leonard This Summer Could Happen / The Miami Dolphins' Six Can't-Lose Options For a Great No. 6 Pick in NFL Draft / Even After Playoffs In '20, Marlins Still 'Bottom Feeders' Fighting For Respect / Special Opening Day as Marlins Welcome Back Fans, Feeling Of Hope / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Heat Should Parts Ways With Meyers Leonard Over Anti-Semitic Slur / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Quit Lecturing LeBron On Activism And His Own Conscience / Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / Marlins Stick With Youth As Rest Of NL East Spends Big / Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

1) It's MONDAY, MAY 24. Happy birthday today to a musical and cultural hero of mine, Bob Dylan, turning 80. Thanks, Bob, and here's to many more! Gonna go spin "Thunder On the Mountain," loud as it'll go. 2) I was back in-studio on the Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz this past week. Check out Tuesday's show podcasts for a full dose of me. 3) The Greg Cote Show podcast is now separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 4) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Panthers in trouble with 2-0 series hole, latest Greg Cote Show podcast & more. 5) Join me on Twitter and Instagram. 

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 20th episode of 2021 and 62nd overall is out now. A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 62 HERE for free. Our latest episode features a fun, interactive Greg's Mail Sack in which listeners ask questions on the air. Also, Greg says don't count out Panthers, even down 3-1, explains why Heat are in good shape even after losing Game 1. Some Phil and Tebow talk, too. Thanks as always for the support, pod family. Please listen, rate, review and follow! (Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, too, every Monday 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

Heat lose (barely), Panthers lose (big) on rare day for South Florida sports: It was only the third time in the franchises' combined history that both the Heat and panthers played a playoff game on the same day. For our combined column, visit Heat Fall, Panthers Need Miracle On Ice As Both Lose On Big Day for Miami Sports. The rarity happens again tonight as both play again.

Our other most recent columns: Panthers, Hopes Of Fans In Peril After Game 2 Loss, 2-0 Series Hole / Chasing Respect, Florida Panthers' 5-4 Home Loss A Crushing Start to Playoffs / Hall of Fame Snubbed Chris Bosh Last year. Time To Make it Right / This Looks Like Best Florida Panthers Team Ever. But The Proving Starts Now / Aging Ex-Dolphins Reflect On Own Mortality One Year After Shula's Death /  Aaron Rodgers' Packers Drama Involves Miami (Of Course). But Here's Why It Won't Happen / and Grade-A Draft Feeds Momentum For Team-On-the-Rise Dolphins.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 23-24): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:

1. HEAT: Miami drops Game 1. But is it Bucks who should be worried?: Heat lost Game 1 in Milwaukee Saturday, 109-107, with the Bucks also at home for Game 2 tonight/Monday. But is it Milwaukee that should be concerned in this NBA first-round series? Bucks barely won opener despite Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro shooting a combined 10-for-57. A club-playoff-record 20 3's (seven by Duncan Robinson) almost saved Miami despite the abysmal offense from key players.

2. PANTHERS: Cats in trouble after 6-2 loss, 3-1 series hole: It got ugly in Tampa Saturday in a 6-2 Panthers loss fora 3-1 hole in their NHL first round playoff series. Only 9.4 percent of teams in league history have rallied from 3-1 down to win a best-of-7. Game 5 is back in Sunrise tonight/Monday and Florida needs three straight wins to stave off early elimination. Sergei Bobrovsky got pulled Saturday as Panthers' inconsistent goaltending continued. Time for Spencer Knight? (Just asking for a friend...).

3. GOLF: Mickelson makes history at PGA Championship!: The PGA Championship, golf's second of four majors, ended Sunday at Kiawah Island in South Carolina with Phil Mickelson a two-stroke winner. Mickelson at 50 became the oldest champion in the 161 years of the golf majors.

4. MARLINS: Fish on a little roll as Poteet stars: Marlins are 22-24 after Sunday's 5-1 defeat of Mets made it two straight wins and four out of five. Cody Poteet served up seven shutout innings for Miami, after Pablo Lopez did the same the day before. Fish went a credible 5-5 on their 10-game road trip and now are 2-1 into a seven-game homestand, and four against the Phillies up now.

5. DOLPHINS: Fins back on field to begin OTA workdays: Today through Wednesday this week will mark the first three of 10 "organized team activity" or OTA offseason workdays. They are voluntary (wink, wink) but you are expected to attend. No live contact is permitted but 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are allowed.

6. INTER MIAMI: Loss at Chicago denies Miami winning record -- again: Inter Miami's 1-0 road loss Saturday to a bad Chicago Fire squad left Team Beckham 2-2-3 for the season. A win would have given Inter Miami a winning record for the first time in its two year history. Up next: Locals host D.C. United next Saturday night.

7. CANES BASEBALL: UM learns its ACC Tournament path: Miami ended its regular season 32-17 with a sweep of Louisville Saturday and now prepares for the May 25-30 ACC Tournament in Charlotte. Canes face Duke on Thursday and Florida State Friday. Miami led the ACC in wins this season but is not ranked nationally -- unlike conference rivals Notre Dame (8th), FSU (15th) and North Carolina State (23rd).

8. SOCCER: It's title week for UEFA Champions League: Manchester City and underdog Chelsea vie this coming Saturday in Portugal in the 66th championship match in the UEFA Champions League. It's only the third all-England final, after Man U-Chelsea in 2008 and Liverpool-Tottenham Hotspur in 2019.

9. AUTO RACING: IndyCar, NASCAR vrooming toward big day: The 105th Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte both run next Sunday May 30. It may be the only day on the race calendar that the IndyCar Series owns the national spotlight when both leagues are running.

10. TENNIS: French Open is on deck at Roland Garros: The French Open, second of four tennis majors, begins next Sunday May 30 on the clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. Rafael Nadal is the favorite to collect his record 14th French title and fifth in a row, ahead of Novak Djokovic. On the women's side, Poland's Iga Swiatek is the betting pick to repeat, especially after Simona Halep's withdrawal due to a calf injury.

Missing the HB10 cut: U.S. star gymnast Simone Biles did a Yurchenko double pike vault in competition Saturday -- a first for a woman ..... Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, with a roster that includes some players who were at the school on Feb. 14, 2018, when a shooter took the lives of 17 students, teachers and staff, won a state baseball championship Saturday ..... Denver's Nikola Jokic is expected to become the NBA's first center to be named league MVP since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000. Phily's Joel Embiid and Golden State's Steph Curry are other finalists ..... Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2) will end a two-year layoff and fight Errol Spence Jr. (27-0) on August 21 in Las Vegas ..... In yet another major blow to college basketball, two highly ranked 6-9 Florida twins, juniors Matt and Ryan Bewley, have become the first players to sign with Overtime Elite, the startup developmental American professional basketball league. They and more to follow are forsaking high school and college eligibility for (they hope) a quicker path to the NBA ..... Anybody interested in a slightly used Julio Jones? ..... Tim Tebow's new Jacksonville Jags jersey is the the No. 1 seller at the NFL's online shop. Lemmings!! ..... Sam Houston State scored late to beat South Dakota State 23-21 and win the FCS championship game of second-tier college football, which played its delayed 2020 season this spring ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast is out with a new episode dropping Monday at 7 a.m. ET ..... Update: Countdown now 1,863 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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Select other recent columns: Talk Of U.S. Olympic Boycott A Reminder Sports, Politics Are Entwined -- And That's Good / How And Why the Miami Heat Landing Kawhi Leonard This Summer Could Happen / The Miami Dolphins' Six Can't-Lose Options For a Great No. 6 Pick in NFL Draft / Even After Playoffs In '20, Marlins Still 'Bottom Feeders' Fighting For Respect / Special Opening Day as Marlins Welcome Back Fans, Feeling Of Hope / In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time / No Lowry, But Stealing Oladipo, Keeping Herro a Win-Win For Heat, Riley / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? / No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / Why Men's NCAA Tournament Has A Needed Fresh Feel As We Welcome Back March Madness / Reality, Loss, Comeback: How Sports Has Been Guiding Light In America's Awful Past Year / Heat Should Parts Ways With Meyers Leonard Over Anti-Semitic Slur / Beckham's Resolve Tested By Tumult As Inter Miami Nears 2nd MLS Season / Time-Travelling To 1960s And Childhood, When The Baseball Card Was King / Quit Lecturing LeBron On Activism And His Own Conscience / Michael Jordan, Pitbull Signal Needed New Era as NASCAR Returns to Homestead / Doesn't Matter If Tiger Woods Never Wins Again. We Are Lucky He's Alive / Loss at Aussie Open Leaves Serena's Legacy Firm Yet Still Unfinished / Marlins Stick With Youth As Rest Of NL East Spends Big / Inter Miami's Beckham Risks Stepping Into Massive, Avoidable Mess / Put Brady In Sports' All-Time Pantheon. But He Has Company / Final Herald NFL 2020 QB Rankings / Marlins Hit History-Making Home Run With Kim NG Hire As GM / In a Pandemic-Battered Season For FIU, Butch Davis' Love Of Coaching Survives / Don Shula, 1930-2020, R.I.P. / What Shula Meant to a Father & Son. The Boy Was Me.

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

1) It's MONDAY, MARCH 29. Thanks to the Paul Castronovo Show for having us on this morning to talk Dolphins and Schnellenberger. 2) The Greg Cote Show podcast is separately on Twitter and Instagram. Join us on both! 3) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Heat and Riley steal Oladipo at trade deadline, Beckham keeps name-dropping Messi and Ronaldo for Inter Miami, Deshaun Watson's escalating off-field mess, Greg Cote Show podcast with Pablo Torre & more. 4) Join me on Twitter and Instagram.

GREG COTE SHOW PODCAST: NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!: Our 13th podcast of 2021 (55th overall) is out now! A new pod drops every Monday at 7 a.m. ET on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, Megaphone, iHeart -- wherever you pod, and of course at MiamiHerald.com. You can find all 55 we've done so far HERE for free. In our latest Ep13 we offer a tribute to the late great Howard Schnellenberger and welcome in two special guests. Meet Mike Jack (pictured), who just a Guinness World Record for eating the hottest pepper ever grown. And Jeremy Tache' of Bally (nee Fox) Sports Florida is on to discuss Heat, Marlins and Schitt's Creek. Greg and Chris also chew over Dolphins' big draft trades. And hear the return of Mount Gregmore! Thanks as always, pod family, for the support. Please listen, subscribe, rate and review! (And remember: Our pod now simulcasts on Sirius XM, Mondays 5-6 p.m. ET on Channel 145).

HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER, 1934-2021: MY TRIBUTE COLUMN: Like grown children do with aging parents, sports fans know the day is coming for beloved old coaches who have faded from sidelines and headlines but never from our hearts. We have so long to prepare for the day, so many years, yet somehow we always feel unprepared when the news hits. Howard Schnellenberger -- father of the Miami Hurricanes football dynasty but with an impact so much greater -- passed away early Saturday. He had turned 87 two weeks earlier. We forgive hyperbole in eulogies, but sometimes what might seem like a statement too big is just right: “Without him there is no Miami football,” the Hurricanes program tweeted simply. For my full tribute column, visit In History And In Hearts, Howard Schnellenberger Will Matter For All Time.

Riley's magic, Beckham's optimism, Watson's mess. Our three othre most recent columns: No Lowry, But Stealing Oladipo, Keeping Herro a Win-Win For Heat, Riley / Beckham Keeps Name-Dropping Messi, Ronaldo For Inter Miami. Can He Deliver? / and Women Keep Accusing Deshaun Watson of Sexual Misconduct. But Will It Matter to NFL Teams? Other most recent columns: No-Splash Free Agency Indicates Dolphins Going All In On Upcoming Draft -- And Tua / Phil Reflects on 25-Year Rivalry/Friendship With Tiger As Honda Classic Tees Off / and Why Men's NCAA Tournament Has Needed Fresh Feel As We Welome Back March Madness.

HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MARCH 28-29): WHAT SOUTH FLORIDA SPORTS FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT: Our blog-exclusive Sunday-into-Monday feature is part week-in-review, part look-ahead. Hot Button means what's on our minds, locally and nationally, from a Miami perspective, as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. This week's HB10:

1. HEAT: Slump deepens, but Miami, Riley win big at draft deadline: Bad news? Heat has lost a season-high six straight games and fallen below .500 (22-24) and tumbled from fourth place to eighth in the East after Friday's loss at Charlotte. Good news? Miami and Pat Riley killed it on NBA trade deadline day. Couldn't pry Kyle Lowry from Toronto, but acquired 20-point scorer Victor Oladipo and forward Nemanja Bjelica without having to part with valued pieces like Tyler Herro or Duncan Robinson. No Lowry? No problem! Miami is back in play Monday at Knicks.

2. DOLPHINS: Miami trades down in first round, gets draft windfall in return: The Fins on Friday shook up the NFL draft's April 29 first round by trading down from the No. 3 overall pick. Miami in return got San Francisco's No. 12 overall pick, its third rounder this year and two future first-round picks -- one in 2022 and one in 23. Then, Miami got the No. 6 overall pick this year and a '21 fifth-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for the '21 12th overall pick, a '21 fourth-round pick and a '22 first-round pick. Got all that? Bottom line: By moving down third to sixth in this year's first round, Fins gained a 3rd-round pick in '21 and a first-rounder in '23. Smart.

3. MARLINS: It's Opening Week for Miami's 29th MLB season!: Marlins open the regular season with a six-game homestand vs. Tampa Bay and St. Louis starting this Thursday vs. the Rays, with Sandy Alcantara on the mound for Miami. Low expectations for Fish in tough NL East, based on betting numbers, though Miami snapped a 17-year playoff drought last year. Season comes after a successful spring that saw Fish finish atop the Grapefruit League standings at 14-5 (not counting five ties) after Sunday's closing win.

4. HOWARD SCHNELLENBERGER: R.I.P. to Canes' first champion football coach: Howard Schnellenberger passed away Saturday at age 87. His leading the Miami Hurricanes' 1983 national championship touched off a dynasty that would lead to four titles more over the next 18 seasons. He later built FAU's program from scratch.  A true South Florida sports legend. R.I.P. 

5. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: March Madness' Sweet 16 turns to Elite Eight: The original 68 teams in the men's NCAA Tournament are down to the surviving Elite Eight after weekend results. Saturday, No. 1 Baylor advanced along with Houston, Arkansas and Oregon State. (Notably eliminated: Cinderella-designate Oral Roberts and Sister Jean's Loyola). Sunday, No. 1s Gonzaga and Michigan moved on along with USC and, in an upset, UCLA. Elite Eight games are tonight and Tuesday.

6. BOXING: Tyson-Holyfield III set for Miami in May ... or is it?: The third and last fight in the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson trilogy is set for May 29 at a socially distanced Hard Rock Stadium. But only if it ends up happening. It seemed set. Then Holyfield's camp announced Tyson had rejected the $25 million guarantee. Then, a day after Tyson proclaimed the fight was on, his reps told TMZ the boxer misspoke and wasn't aware how far apart the two sides are in negotiations. So stay tuned. Quick aside: Tyson is 54 and Holyfield 58. Tick tock, fellas!

7. HURRICANES: Spring football practice breaks for UM's NFL Pro Day: Midway through its 15 spring practices, UM pauses on Monday to welcome in scouts for its annual Pro Day in advance of the NFL Draft. Two ex-Cnes -- defensive ends Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau -- are seen as certain first-rounders, though likely mid-round. Spring practice concludes April 17.

8. PANTHERS: Ekblad injured in Florida win: Florida is 22-9-4, third in NHL Central and only two points off the lead after a pair of wins in Dallas. Sunday's was was costly, though, as defenseman Aaron Ekblad left the ice on a stretcher with a serious left leg injury that will keep him out "an extensive time," said coach Joel Quenneville. Ekblad is a Norris Trophy finalist for NHL defenseman of the year award.

9. TENNIS: What's left of Miami Open reaches midpoint: Rocked by major late withdrawals including Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokvic and Rafael Nadal and with its prize fund gutted, the remains of the Miami Open -- back with limited crowds after being erased by the pandemic last spring -- reached its midway point this weekend outside Hard Rock Stadium.

10. HORSE RACING: Known Agenda wins Florida Derby: Todd Pletcher-trained Known Agenda won Saturday's Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, a major prep race for Triple Crown season. Win qualified the horse for the Kentucky Derby. Known Agenda's owner? Vinnie Viola, who also owns the Florida Panthers.

Missing the HB10 cut: U.S. men's soccer failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after Sunday's 2-1 loss to Honduras in Guadalajara, Mexico. It's the U.S. men's third straight missed Olympics ..... Year 2 for David Beckham's Inter Miami opened with a practice game vs. the USL Tampa Bay Rowdies Sunday, a 1-0 loss in St. Pete. After five friendlies will come the MLS regular season opener April 18. Meantime Beckham keeps name-dropping Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as among stars who could end their careers with Miami. We'll hold you to that, Becks! ..... Attrition clobbers Canes hoops. UM men's season ended at 10-17, worst in 27 years, and the hits keep coming. Guard Chris Lykes announced he's turning pro as expected, although at 5-7 it's unlikely he'll draw NBA Draft attention. Now leading scorer Isaiah Wong also is pondering an early departure, and shooting guard Kameron McGusty also is gauging NBA interest. Oh, and two others, Elijah Olaniyi and Earl Timberlake, have entered the transfer portal. Tough times for Jim Larranaga ..... Yeah, innocent until proven guilty. OK. But 16 civil suits against Deshaun Watson for sexual impropriety or assault? At what point might teams negotiating a trade with Houston have second thoughts? ..... Francis Ngannou KO'd Stip Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title Saturday ..... A Miami Heat arena name change is at hand. It's going from AmericanAirlines Arena to FTX Arena, after a cryptocurrency exchange. Will players now be paid in Bitcoin? ..... No. 19 Canes baseball is 11-8 entering Sunday's series rubber game at Virginia ..... Upcoming: UEFA Champions League first-leg quarterfinal matches are next week on April 6; The Masters at Augusta is April 8-11; Tampa hosts WrestleMania 37 on April 10-11; and the Kentucky Derby is in one month, on May 1 ..... The Greg Cote Show podcast's 13th episode of 2021 and 55th overall drops Monday morning. Now Mondays 5-6 p.m. on Sirius XM Channel 145, too! ..... Update: Countdown now 1,919 days (give or take) until Miami hosts its first match in soccer's 2026 World Cup.

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