Greg Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: Panthers flex power, Caitlin Week, Messi, orgasmic NBA playoffs & more

GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 12): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: Our Sunday Hot Button Top 10 had been blog-only but when our blog 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 big, weird, damnable, funny or otherwise worth needling as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. Welcome to the 59th edition of your Sunday sports-potpourri notes column, the new HB10:

1. PANTHERS: ‘Heavy and fast and mean and awesome’: Cats back up on Bruins: Florida coach Paul Maurice calls this Boston series, “Heavy and fast and mean and awesome.” He ain’t lying. None of the round-two playoff games in this series games has been close (5-1, 6-1, 6-2), but it’s a tight best-of-7 nonetheless as the Panthers lead 2-1 entering tonight’s Game 4 again in Boston. Cats skate with house money Sunday, as even a Boston win would leave it a best-of-3 with two including a Game 7 back in Sunrise.

2. WNBA: It’s Caitlin Clark Week in America and seismic moment for women’s hoops!: From NCAA scoring records at Iowa to No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, Caitlin Clark’s ride continues Tuesday with her regular season pro debut for the Indiana Fever at Connecticut. Latest evidence of her impact? Fever filled their arena with 13,028 for her home preseason debut ... after averaging barely over 4,000 during the 2023 regular season. I’ll be at Panthers-Bruins Game 5 Tuesday night without complaint. But cant say I wouldn’t just as soon be home watching Caitlin’s debut on TV. [See No. 9 below for related item.]

3. HEAT: Riley was right to scold Butler. Now go win an offseason, Pat: Jimmy Butler, being Jimmy Butler, says Heat would have beaten the Celtics and Knicks in the playoffs if he were healthy. (Which he was not.) Pat Riley scolds Butler publicly, saying, ““If you’re not on the court playing ... you should keep your mouth shut.” Bravo, Pat. I said this in a column: Eliminated, now what? Miami Heat must change. Jimmy Butler cannot be best player if another NBA title is the aim. Now it’s up to Riley to win an offseason and make it happen. (Hint: Donovan Mitchell.) Vote below as Greg Cote Poll Dance debuts with poll on Butler’s future with Heat.

4. INTER MIAMI: For Messi, MLS not the priority Miami fans might hope: Inter Miami sits atop MLS East standings at 8-2-3 (W-L-D) after Saturday’s 3-2 win in Montreal, and stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are among league goals leaders. But their priorities will soon change. Messi and maybe Suarez could miss up to seven MLS matches in June and July to play in the Copa America tournament being held across the U.S. including at Hard Rock Stadium through July 14. Messi captained Argentina’s 2022 World Cup champions and is on the reigning-champ Copa squad that begins play June 20. Suarez is on Uruguay’s provisional Copa roster. Means Inter Miami could be minus its top scorers as team positions for a run at the Cup.

5. MARLINS: Fans still behind this franchise deserve a medal and free beer: Since Miami lucked into the playoffs in a fluke last year the Marlins: A) Usurped GM Kim Ng’s power, causing her to leave and alienating manager Skip Schumaker; B) Had a do-nothing offseason that included not re-signing top power hitter Jorge Soler; and C) Now traded away batting champion Luis Arraez for prospects. The team is 10-31 (worst in the majors) and on a five-game losing streak entering today’s game vs. Philly. And home attendance would rank dead-last if not for an A’s team planning to leave Oakland. Marlins fans still paying to go to games at Dumpster Fire Park deserve either a medal for loyalty or a test for sanity.

6. DOLPHINS: Hey, let’s all overreact to NFL Schedule Release Day!: NFL writers overreact to everything, such as Miami’s post-draft three-day rookie mini-camp wrapping up today/Sunday. Six offseason workout days will follow between May 20-31, then a mandatory full-squad mini-camp June 4-6. (Note to Dolphins: You’re still missing a starting guard!) But first the NFL regular-season schedule reportedly will drop on Wednesday. Shouldn’t be a huge deal -- we already know the opponents,. just not the dates -- but it’s all a big deal in the NFL so soon we get to chew over number of prime-time games and who’ll play on Christmas Day, etc. King Sport!

7. NBA: Will the playoffs’ mystery orgasmic moaner please come forward?: Luka Doncic led Dallas to a playoff win in Oklahoma City Thursday night, and his postgame press conference was interrupted by about five unmistakable seconds of a woman loudly in the throes of apparent sexual pleasure. Primal screams might fit. Doncic could not keep a straight face as he paused, saying “I hope that’s not live.” When it was over a reporter said nonchalantly, “OK, moving on...” We need two names: The woman heard, and the OKC audio guy who just lost his job.

8. SOCCER: Miami-Dade expenditure to host World Cup dwarfs Super Bowl cost: Miami-Dade County government estimates it will spend about $46 million to host seven World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium in 2026. That includes about $25M for police, paramedic and other protection, and some $21M in “cash support,” which we presume to be the cost of having FIFA anoint Miami among U.S. host cities. The most recent Super Bowl in South Florida cost about $9 million to host. The World Cup cost is exorbitant, and hopefully Stephen Ross is chipping in his share since the games will be at his stadium. Too much pricey? Yeah. But it’s the cost of being a major-league city that fancies itself an international city.

9. MEDIA: Indy columnist Doyel should not be prevented from covering Caitlin: Indianapolis Star’s Gregg Doyel (whom I know very casually) was suspended two weeks for his cheeky-viral exchange with new Indiana Fever WNBA star Caitlin Clark at her introduction. Doyel made Clark’s signature heart gesture. “You like that?” she asked. He said, “I like that you’re here.” She: “I do that at my family after every game.” He: “OK, well, start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.” Doyel wrote a mea culpa, called his words “oafish.” I’d call it schoolboy-juvenile sexist. Suspension? OK. But banning Doyel from future columns about Clark? No. Unfairly harsh for a misdemeanor. Were I Doyel, I doubt I’d stand for it.

10. SOCCER: Fort Lauderdale has team in fledgling new women’s pro league: As the premier U.S. women’s pro league, the NWSL, is underway, a fledgling rival, the USL Super League, plans to launch this August with eight teams -- including Fort Lauderdale United FC. New league is operated by USL, a men’s Division 2 outfit in the deep shadow of MLS, but surprisingly its new women’s league had gained Division 1 status for now from the U.S. Soccer Federation. The Fort Lauderdale team plans to play at Nova Southeastern U. in Davie. The USL Super league had yet to align with a broadcast partner as of this writing, an ominous sign. Wishing the new venture well, but having big doubts.

Other most recent stuff from me: Panthers retake home-ice with force, power-play quadruple for 2-1 series lead on Boston // ‘End of world’ to new life: Florida Panthers crush Boston in statement win to even NHL series // Nothing easy for Panthers vs. Boston. Cats need rebound after Game 1 home loss // Previous HB10 // Eliminated, now what? Miami Heat must change. Jimmy Butler cannot be best player if another NBA title is the aim // NFL Draft: Greg Cote hits 9 big Exactos in hot mock draft; Dolphins get Chop Robinson // Celebrate Dawn Staley, Caitlin, women’s hoops. Men’s final could not live up // New season, same problem: Miami Marlins’ way-too-low spending unfair to players, insult to fans // And my latest podcast: