GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 12): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: Dolphins host Chargers, MLB Final Four set, Panthers win again, Messi scores twice, Vegas wins WNBA, two Top 10 teams lose and more. Welcome to the 122nd 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. DOLPHINS: It’s Tua vs. Herbert! (Oh yeah, and Chargers-Fins, too): Sunday at Hard Rock marks Tua Tagovailoa vs. Justin Herbert IV in a rivalry inevitable ever since the 2020 draft when Miami selected Tua fifth and L.A. chose Herbert sixth. Should Dolphins have picked the other guy? Answer remains debatable, but swings with Miami’s 1-4 start. In three past meetings Tua is 2-1, and he dearly needs IV to be another W. Both teams are coming off terrible blown-lead losses, Fins to bad Carolina, Bolts to Washington. A Miami loss here would raise decibels on talk of tanking and/or firing everybody. Otherwise, no pressure, Tua!
2. MLB: Final Four is set, and it the Dodgers vs. the Dreamers: The NL and AL Championship Series are set, and it’s the reigning and eight-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers along with three teams and fan bases starving to win it all. One Goliath, three Davids. ALCS Game 1 is tonight with Seattle Mariners after a first World Series win at Toronto Blue Jay seeking gheirfrst since 1993. NLCS starts Monday with pedigreed Dodgers facing a Milwaukee Brewers franchise also after its first WS crown. Cheer for the Cindereall Series — Brewers-Mariners– but betting odds have it the least likely.
3. PANTHERS: Champ Cats crush Ottawa to mint 3-0 start: Brad Marchand scored first and five different goal-scorers followed as Florida won a third straight home game to start the season, 6-2 over Ottawa Saturday. Earliest signs are of a Cats squad able to challenge for a third straight Stanley Cup despite missing Aleksander Barkov for the season and Matthew Tkachuk until December. Florida plays enxt five on road starting Monday in Philly.
4. INTER MIAMI: Messi scores twice in big home finale: Lionel Messi opted not to play for Argentina Friday night in its 1-0 friendly over Venezuala at Hard Rock Stadium. Instead, he played Saturday for Inter Miami and scored twice in a 4-0 MLS regular-season home final over Atlanta. Jordi Alba also scored after announcing he’d retire after this season. Messi’s two scores gave him 26 for the year, two up on LAFC’s Denis Bouanga in race for the MLS Golden Boot. The playoffs and home-field secured, Miami closes the regular season Oct. 18 at Nashville.
5. WNBA: Champions! Las Vegas, Wilson declare dynasty: The Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 97-86 Friday for their third WNBA title in four years behind MVP A’Ja Wilson’s 31 points. The 4-0 sweep in league’s first-ever best-of-7 Finals was the first championship-series sweep since 2020. With off-court labor issues clouding the Finals, fans booed commissioner Cathy Engelbert as she presented the winmners their trophy.
6 HURRICANES: No. 2 Miami readies for prime-time Friday vs. Louisville: Canes had a week off after the win over Florida State that saw 5-0 Miami lift one spot to No. 2 in the AP poll. Now UM readies for 4-1 Louisville Friday night in an ACC bout at Hard Rock. Cardinals won last trip to Miami in 2023 and also are off a bye after a three-point loss to No. 24 Virginia. Miami is roughly a two-touchdown favorite but beware a tough test from a motivated L’Ville.
7. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Eight ranked teams fall including Oregon, Oklahoma: Eight Top 25 teams fell this weekend including No. 3 Oregon at home to Indiana and 6-Oklahoma to Red River rival Texas. No. 25-Florida State also lost, at home to Pitt. In other in-state games (with Canes idle), Florida fell to 5-Texas A&M, UCF lost at Cincy, South Florida beat Texas, and FAU won big at home over UAB.
8. HEAT: Spoelstra, 2 players cited in annual NBA GM survey: Miami is 0-3 halfway through its preseason with modest-to-low expectatons for NBA regular play tipping off Oct. 22. But Erik Spoelstra was a star in 24th annual NBA general managers’ survey, voted as best head coach, best manager/motivator of people and also placing in a few other sub-categories. Rookie Kasparas Jakunicionis won as biggest steal in draft and Chris Quinn tied-fourth as best assistant coach. Only other Heat mention in any of the 49 categories was Norman Powell ‘also receiving votes’ as most underrated acquisition.
9. NFL/POLITICS: On Bad Bunny/Super Bowl nonsense: Wait. Bad Bunny will do his Super Bowl halftime performance entirely in Spanish!? In the Land of the Free-ish? Where more than 40 million Americans speak Spanish as a first language? The outrage! So super-conservative Turning Point USA plans a competing show all in English that night. Dear Turning Point USA: Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory when residents can vote. Dare say what Turning Point USA is doing feels a bit anti-American?
10. BOXING: Jake Paul, Tank Davis pimp November Miami fight: Professional self-promoter Jake Paul and WBA lightweight champion Gervonta (Tank) Davis are fighting Nov. 14 at the Heat arena in Miami. Says Paul: “I’m gonna create the most violent knockout ever.” The combatants supposedly have a $2 million side bet. Davis is an early betting favorite despite being eight inches shorter (5-5) and 66 pounds lighter. Fight was moved from Atlanta after Georgia State Athletic Commission would not sanction because of the weight disparity. Luckily Florida has no such scruples.
THE LIST: MLB’S FINAL FOUR: What fan base is hungriest to win it all? Comparing the teams in the AL (Toronto and xxx) and and NL (Los Angeles and xxx) Championship Series:
Team World Series wins Most recent Last time in WS
Blue Jays 2 1993 1993
Brewers 0 None 1982
Dodgers 8 2024 2024
Mariners 0 None None
Note: Dodgers’ franchise championships includes years in Brooklyn.
Other select most recent stuff from me :NFL Week 6 picks // Wounded, doubted but nobody’s underdog, champ Panthers win opener // Eagles-Giants Thursday pick // Poll Dance: Miami Heat expectations // NFL Week 5 QB rankings // Previous HB10 // 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! // Dolphins will surprise doubters — if Tua finally proves he’s the star they need him to be // 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: