Greg Cote: Canes’ dubious first, ‘Bama’s shame, no love for Inter Miami tops latest Hot Button Top 10
GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (FEBRUARY 26): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US LATELY: Our every-Sunday Hot Button Top 10 feature had been blog-only but with our blog recently retired it moved, re-imagined, to online-only. HB10 means what’s on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective and accentuating stuff that’s major, offbeat, damnable, funny or worth needling as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. Or think of it as 10 tiny lil’ mini columns! Welcome to the sixth edition of the new HB10:
1. HURRICANES: Miami women’s hoops’ foreseeable mess: A rich, attention-loving UM booster named John Ruiz plus the Cavinder twins, basketball-playing social-media “influencers” with 4.3 million TikTok followers and another 1.3M on Instagram. What could possibly go wrong!? Answer: Canes get socked with first-ever NCAA infraction related to Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) rules. The NCAA and Miami reached a negotiated resolution on a violation by women’s coach Katie Meier that caused her to be suspended the first three games of this season. UM will serve one year of probation, women’s hoops will have recruiting restrictions and school must pay financial penalties -- all because Meier arranged a meeting between Ruiz and the Cavinders, one of whom leads the team in scoring. (Together the twins average 16.6 points per game and at least that many sexy selfies per month on social media.) NIL has changed everything, and UM just got the bill for benefiting from it. Meier has shown only integrity in her long career and this does not diminish my regard for her. But if you’re gonna jump in the NIL dirty waters where sharks (boosters) and money-hungry athletes swim, you better know the rules.
2. COLLEGE HOOPS: ‘Bama’s gross mishandling of Miller charges: Alabama freshman Brandon Miller was allowed to play this week (he hit the winning basket) despite Tuscaloosa police testifying a day earlier that the star forward brought a now-former teammate the handgun used to kill a woman in January. Cops have incriminating evidence against Miller including text exchanges that should have led Alabama to suspend Miller at the very least. Yet coach Nate Oats called it “Wrong spot at the wrong time” -- as if Miller were the unlucky victim. Shame on the coach and university. The victim’s parents call Miller still playing “unimaginable.” They’re right. The university president must step in and right this wrong.
3 SOCCER: No love for Inter Miami as MLS begins: Last season marked an improvement and a playoff appearance (albeit one-and-done) for Inter Miami, but Year 4 now underway is showing no love. David Beckham’s troupe is No 25 (of 29) in MLS’ own power rankings entering the season, which began with Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Montreal. The rankings wondered where the scoring would come with Gonzalo Higuaín and Alejandro Pozuelo now both gone. Discouragingly, two even younger franchises, Austin and Cincinnati, are ranked top-five. As Vladimir and Estragon were waiting for Godot, Miami continues waiting for Messi. Meantime, Saturday’s opener suggests a side up to last year’s promise.
4. HEAT: Miami looking for some long-distance Love: Kevin Love was scoreless in 22 minutes in his Heat debut this week, including 0-for-4 on 3’s. He is 3-for-13 from Outerville in two games. That’s only notable because Miami is counting on Love’s career-proven range from deep to help fix Heat’s biggest problem. Team is top-10 in 3’s attempted but dead last at 33.2 percent from downtown, turning what used to be a Heat strength into a big weakness. It’s why Miami with four straight L’s is scrambling to get into the East’s top six and avoid the dreaded play-in tournament.
5. SOCCER: Evolving USWNT still rules the world: U.S. Women’s National Team beat Brazil 2-1 in the SheBelieves Cup final, a major prelude to the World Cup that begins July 20. That’s notable because the team is in transition under coach Vlatko Andonovski, integrating newer stars like Mallory (Pugh) Swanson in with old guard’ers like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. A common storyline is that the rest of the world is catching up, but untll then, unwise is the bet against the USWNT.
6. TOP 100S: It’s Fins over Fish, 6-3: Pro Football Focus just came out with its Top 101 (!) performers of the 2022 NFL season and MLB Network with its Top 100 players entering the ‘23 season. Dolphins placed a robust six players: WR Tyreek Hill 7th, QB Tua Tagovailoa 45th, DE Christian Wilkins 58th, OLB Jaelan Phillips 59th, WR Jaylen Waddle 66th and C Connor Williams 98th. The Marlins have three: SP Sandy Alcantara 13th, IF Luis Arreaz 63rd and 2B-turned-CF Jazz Chisholm 93rd.
7. GOLF: Stigma against LIV tour is (unfortunately) fading: LIV Golf’s second season began this weekend, and the initial controversy around the Saudi-backed breakaway tour seems to be fading. The me-first defectors who left the PGA Tour chasing blood money will always be stigmatized. But now all four golf majors are accepting LIV golfers -- a major step. LIV also now has a TV partner (albeit a small, lousy one in The CW) and its first global sponsorship partner in shipping company EasyPost. Hopes that LIV Golf might quickly crumble in shame are fading.
8. NFL: Former players rally ‘round Bieniemy: Ex-Chiefs players are rising up to defend Eric Bieniemy against criticism from LeSean McCoy, who said the former K.C. offensive coordinator would fail in that role with Washingotn. Tyrann Mathieu, Jamaal Charles and others defended Bieniemy, with Dolphin Tyreek Hill suggesting a personal vendetta because McCoy, a Chief in 2019 was privately scolding for ball security. Hill tweeted: “Shady [McCoy] mad EB [Bieniemy] told him tuck that ball” -- with a crying emjoi as perfect punctuation.
9. TENNIS: Sorry, Novak. Request denied! ... by me: Novak Djokovic has asked U.S. authorities for special permission to enter the country to compete in tournaments in California (Indian Wells March 6-19) and Florida (Miami Open March 20-April 2) even though he remains unvaccinated against COVID. He has nerve, give him that. Why does he deserve a special exemption? Because he’s a famous athlete? Sorry, dude. You’ve spent three years putting your personal freedom ahead of the greater public good in a global pandemic. They should vote no on his request now to be made an exception to the rule.
10. NBA: Drafting of LeBron’s kid Bronny now on horizon: The 2024 NBA draft is 16 months away, but ESPN has a comically early mock draft that projects Bronny James going 10th overall. The idea of LeBron and the kid playing against each other -- or as teammates-- looms into plausibility. Also notable in the ‘24 mock: The players projected to go 11th and 12th are named Kobe and Ja’Kobe.
Other stuff from me this past week: NL East is brutal but Marlins poised for big improvement / Bieniemy the face of NFL’s continuing shame of too few Black head coaches / Heat looking for Love in buyout bargain bin / And my latest podcast:
