Greg Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: NFL lifts off, Mario exhales, Go Coco Go & Messi back in World Cup?
GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 10): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US LATELY: Our Sunday Hot Button Top 10 feature had been blog-only, but since 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 major, offbeat, damnable, funny or worth needling as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. Welcome to the 30th edition of the new HB10:
1. HURRICANES: Cristobal finally get his signature win -- and he needed it: Miami’s 48-33 home win over No. 23 Texas A&M (find my column link below) was more impressive than the score shows. Two special-team errors gifted A&M short TD drives, or the Canes win this around 48-17. QB Tyler Van Dyke (five TD passes) was brilliant. And coach Mario Cristobal, after a 5-7 debut season, needed this -- his biggest win by a lot as Miami coach. But doubts don’t vanish with any one win. Now let’s see if it carries over to upcoming major tests vs. North Carolina, Clemson and Florida State.
2. DOLPHINS: 1-0 start really matters ... more so for Miami?: Fins are all in, and think they are a playoff team that can make a run at a Super Bowl. Chargers and Justin Herbert are counting on a big season, too. LAC won last year’s meeting, 17-9, befuddling Miami’s offense. All of this lends (silly as it sounds) a must-win feel to this opener at least in terms justifying unusually high expectations. I think Tua Tagovailoa is better than Herbert (not a majority view); now, can he show the doubters? NFL teams that start 1-0 make the playoffs at a 52.7 percent rate vs. 24.7% for teams 0-1. Biiig game.
3. TENNIS: So Fla’s Coco Gauff wins first major at age 19: No. 6 seed Coco Gauff from Delray Beach beat No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Saturday to win the U.S Open women’s championship at age 19, collecting her first career major as the youngest Open champ since Serena Williams won at 17 in 1999. Gauff reached the French Open final last year but lost. Next great American hope in tennis? We need one, so Go Coco Go! Heavyweight men’s final Sunday matches No. 2 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 3 Daniil Medvedev.
4. NFL: Chiefs’ loss, Bills at Rodgers’ Jets tops Week 1 slate: If you weren’t quite ready for the onset of King Sport, the Super Bowl champion Chiefs’ hone loss to Detroit Thursday night was a slap-your-face wakeup. (Aside to Kadarius Toney: You owe me and a million others money for lost bets on account of your drops.) Aaron Rodgers’ Jets debut vs. Bills Monday night wraps Week 1 and reminds us why NFL football remains the league, the sport, and we will entertain no debate.
5. INTER MIAMI: No Messi, no problem. But will Leo play in 2026 World Cup?: Said he wouldn’t, but looking more and more to us like he will as he is away from Inter Miami to play in WC qualifying matches for Argentina. Messi, 36, hit the free kick that beat Ecuador 1-nil in the first qualifier; next game is Tuesday. The 2026 World Cup will be tri-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Meantime Messi-less Miami hosted and beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 Saturday night to make it a 12-0 match unbeaten streak (11 wins, one draw) since Messi signed. Miami is now six points off MLS playoff pace with eight league matches left.
6. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Prime-time players again for Colorado; ‘Bama falls: “Coach Prime “ demanded you pay attention with last week’s upset of No. 17 TCU. Saturday he proved it was no fluke with a 36-14 rout of Nebraska that has new coach Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes 2-0 after last year going 1-11. No. 3 fell at home to No.11 Texas in the Game of the Week, 34-24.
7. BASKETBALL: Team USA flops at World Cup: Team USA lost to Germany in semifinals of the FIBA World Cup in Manila, Philippines, then fell in the consolation game to Canada -- failing to medal for the second straight WC despite entering as the betting fave. The Americans under coach Steve Kerr chanced a smaller roster and it failed t hem. Germany and Serb ia (with the Heat’s Nikola Jovic) were playing Sunday for the title.
8. MARLINS: Miami hanging on in race but faces tough schedule: Marlins were on a 7-1 tear and only a half-game out of the NL wild-card playoff chase before a costly loss Saturday at the Phillies, whom the Fish play again today. Miami next faces Milwaukee and Atlanta in a tough stretch and is without pitcher Sandy Alcantara and top slugger Jorge Soler due to injuries. Can the Fish hang on in the playoff chase? Just being able to ask the question in September is a pleasant change in Miami.
9. SOCCER: Shame on sport for going on with match in Morocco: Sunday’s soccer match is on for Congo and Gambia in the African Cup of Nations qualifier in Marrakech despite a massive earthquake that struck the city Friday night and has killed more than 1,000 and and injured hundreds more. (Saturday’s Morocco-Liberia game was postponed.) The Congo and Gambia teams spent the night sleeping beside their hotel pools after the 7.2 quake hit. Coaches of both teams said players were traumatized but were told they must play a scheduled. Shame on the tournament’s organizers.
10. NFL: Delta is ready when Tom Brady is: Retired football G.O.A.T. Tom Brady, 47, has joined Delta Airlines. Pilot? Mechanic? Steward advising you to please put your tray table in the upright and locked position? Nope. Delta announces “an innovative new partnership connecting Brady’s expertise in teamwork, performance, and perseverance directly to Delta as a long-term strategic adviser” to the airline’s more than 90,000 employees. Sounds like Delta will be paying Tom loony-money to give pep talks to Delta workers.
Other most recent stuff from me: Hurricanes’ home rout of Texas A&M Cristobal’s biggest win as Miami coach -- and he needed it / Time for Dolphins QB Tua to demand the respect he’s due & take what is his / NFL Week 1 picks: Dolphins-Chargers, Rodgers’ Jets debut, 3 big upsets / UM routs Miami of Ohio in opener, but for Canes the real proving starts this week / Previous HB10 / And my latest podcast:
