GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 19): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: No. 2 Hurricanes lose, Dolphins at Cleveland, Heat Opening Week, Inter Miami gets playoff foe, Panthers losing streak at four, Dodgers await World Series opponent and more. Welcome to the 123rd edition of HB10, bringing you what’s on our minds from a Miami lens and accentuating stuff that’s big, weird, damnable, funny or worth needling as the sports week past pivots to the week ahead:
1. HURRICANES: Crash! No. 2 UM falls at home to Louisville in first loss: The 24-21 score flattered Miami’s disappointing performance. It felt lopsided despite the closeness of the final. UM trailed 14-0 early and played uphill all night Friday at home. Canes’ defense was dominated, Miami couldn’t get its ground game going and Carson Beck threw flour interceptions. Now we see how far UM falls in the rankings. Next up: A visit by Stanford, 3-4 but fresh off beating FSU.
2. DOLPHINS: Desperate Fins takes on Browns … and weather: Temp in Cleveland Sunday will be high 60s. That’s the good news. Also expected: Steady, perhaps heavy rain — and gusty winds up to 30 mph. The elements are one more foe for a 1-5 Fins team not lately renowned for faring well in bad conditions … or any other conditions as they take on equally 1-5 Cleveland. Fins wallow in calamity, beyond the W-L. Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier are fighting to not be fired in while QB Tua Tagovailoa spent the week apologizing for recent post-loss comments perceived as throwing some teammates under the bus. (Maybe some teammates deserved that, but I digress.) Does Miami have fight left or is it ready to cave? Let’s find out amid the wind and rain.
3. HEAT: It’s Opening Week! (But a buildup inauspicious): Miami’s 38th NBA season opens this week with road games at Orlando and Memphis on Wednesday and Friday and then the home opener next Sunday vs. the New York Knicks. But the tip-off follows 0-6 preseason, with All-Star Tyler Herro out for the first several weeks, and with betting-odds suggesting another play-in type fight just to make the playoffs. Only other time Heat had a winless preseason: 2007-08, and a 15-67 season followed. On a brighter note, congrats to coach Erik Spoelstra, now also the main guy leading Team USA men’s basketball
4. INTER MIAMI: Messi wins Golden Boot, IM open playoffs vs. Nashville: Lionel Messi scored a hat trick Saturday (one on a penalty) in a 5-2 win at Nashville that closed the MLS regular season on Decision Day. Miami finished as third seed in the East at 19-7 with 8 ties and now faces the same Nashville (16-12-6) in the best-of-three first round playoffs — exact schedule yet to be announced. Messi ended the season with 29 goals for the Golden Boot and likely will and should win league MVP … again..
5. PANTHERS: Whoa. What? Champ Cats losing skid at four: Stanley Cup champion Panthers began the NHL season 3-0. Business as usual stuff. But now the Cats are 3-4 off four straight road losses with Saturday’s 3-0 spank at Buffalo in which Brad Marchand was sent to the penalty box and destroyed an opponent’s helmet in it. Florida is back on ice Tuesday in Boston before returning home. Cats had only two losing streaks of four games, and none longer, all last season.
6. MLB: Dodgers in World Series, await Seattle or Toronto: The reigning champion and seemingly unstoppable L.A. Dodgers are World Series-bound after a 4-0 sweep of Milwaukee in the NLCS. Shohei Ohtani has five home runs and is 2-0 on the mound this postseason. Team Ohtani waits for either the Mariners or Blue Jays to survive the ALCS. Seattle is up 3-2 and can clinch with a win in Game 6 Sunday/tonight in Toronto, with Game 7 if needed back in Canada on Monday.
7. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 3 in Top 10 lose; Gators, FIU win: Nine Top 25 teams lost this weekend with three of them in the top 10: No. 2 Miami 5-Ole Miss and 7-Texas Tech. In-state, besides UM’s loss, Florida saved Billy Napier’s job another week with a 23-21 win over Mississippi State, and FIU scored a big road upset at Western Kentucky, 25-6. also, USF beat FAU, UCF beat West Virginia and Florida State fell to Stanford, Miami next opponent.
8. WNBA: Vegas celebrates third crown in four years: Thousands of fans on Friday celebrated the Las Vegas Aces’ third WNBA title in four years led by superstar MVP A’ja Wilson. The parade route began at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, moved north along the Strip and ended Toshiba Plaza, where the celebrated included viral dance moves by coach Becky Hammon. Vegas’ three-out-of-four run is best league has seen since the Houston Comets won the first four titles in 1997-2000.
9. SOCCER: La Liga sees mass protest of game set for Miami: La Liga, Spain’s top league, last week made it official a regular season match between Barcelona and Villareal would be played Dec. 20 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. As a result 20 clubs protested this weekend, most with players across the field pausing for 15 seconds after kickoff. Notably, TV did not show the protests. The union and players are upset they were not involved in the league’s decision to play a meaningful game in the U.S.
10. BULL RIDING: No bull! South Florida team going for league title: We told you in HB10 #68 in August ‘24 that So Fla had a new team in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) league that played at the Panthers’ arena in Sunrise. Well, an update is earned: That Florida Freedom team dominated the league this season and will be favored next weekend in the PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas, with $250,000 to the winning team. Ride ‘em, cowboys!
THE LIST: DOLPHINS QBS IN FIRST 5 YEARS: Tua Tagovailoa, now in his sixth season, is the eighth quarterback in Dolphins history to play at least five years with the team. Here they are listed by most passing yards in first five regular seasons:
Yards 1st 5 seasons Player (Total years)
19,422 Dan Marino (17/1983-99)
18,455 Ryan Tannehill (6/2012-18)
15,506 Tua Tagovailoa (5/2020-??)
11,040 Jay Fiedler (4/2000-04)
10,281 Bob Griese (14/1967-80)
2,716 Matt Moore (7/2011-17)
2,335 Earl Morrall (5/1972-76)
1,426 Don Strock (14/1974-87)
Other select most recent stuff from me :No. 2 Hurricanes crash at home vs. Louisville, lose first game // NFL Week 7 picks // Steelers-Bengals Thursday pick // Beloved cast member leaving Dan Le Batard Show // Dolphins find way to fail again in home loss to Chargers // Poll Dance: Heat expectations // NFL Week 6 QB rankings // Previous HB10 // Wounded, doubted but nobody’s underdog, champ Panthers win opener // Blown leads, season lost in Dolphins’ embarrassment at Carolina // Everything’s possible for No. 3 Hurricanes after 28-22 road win over Florida State // Barkov lost for season a mortal blow to Panthers’ 3-peat bid // Dolphins owner Ross’ prior in-season firings hints McDaniel at risk // Super Bowl to Dolphins to dregs: My annual NFL Team Rankings! // Cristobal has ‘insatiable’ drive for new Hurricanes glory days, and he’s getting close // Cowboys owner Jerry Jones still chasing glory — and attention // This one goal for Dolphins and another for Hurricanes will definesuccess or failure in 2025 // Heat getting 3-point ace Powell apickpocket-win for Riley // Champion Panthers keep revving this summer while Heat stays quiet // Inter Miami falls to PSG but won big to reach Club World Cup final 16 // Major news on future of Dan Le Batard Show, Meadowlark Media, DraftKings // A tribute to Miami sports legend Jimmy Johnson as he retires from Fox TV // 15 years later, Dolphins Cancer Challenge is life-saving legacy of Jim Mandich // And my latest podcast: