Hurricanes’ soft opening, Dolphins on deck, Stanton’s racy video lead Hot Button Top 5

1. HURRICANES: UM hammers Bethune in football opener: Saturday's season opener at The Rock began as easily as you imagined it would against an overmatched foe as Year 2 of the Mark Richt era kicked off. With Florida State waiting in Tallahassee in two weeks, UM getting ready for that with this was like training for a prize fight with a game of patty cake.

2. DOLPHINS: It's NFL Kickoff Week as Fins host Tampa Bay: NFL seasons kicks off Thursday night and Miami debuts in seven days with visit by Jameis Winston's Bucs. A 2-2 preseason didn't tell much, but Dolfans seem really excited by what they've seen of new quarterback Jay Cutler. I know, I know. I can hardly believe I wrote that last sentence, either.

3. MARLINS: Fish cool but Stanton stays hot (in video): Marlins had lost five in a row entering Saturday but Giancarlo Stanton's 51 homers still put him on pace for 62. Stanton was even hotter in a steamy video released this week that depicted him in bed with a barely clothed internet chanteuse named Lexy Panterra. There's a "longball" joke here somewhere.

4. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: FIU, FAU lose big; FSU-Bama tops Week 1: Ouch. Butch Davis with FIU and Lane Kiffin with FAU suffered humbling debuts, losing their openers by combined score of 103-36. Then Saturday night came No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Florida State, presenting Miami fans the awful choice of rooting for the Noles or for Nick Saban.

5. TENNIS: U.S. Open reached midpoint in New York: Maria Sharapova, given a wild-card entry into her first Grand Slam event since 15-month doping ban, won her first three matches -- all on the main court, drawing complaints from some rivals. In other news Serena Williams had a baby girl, launching a million "G.O.A.T. has kid" references on social media.

This story was originally published September 2, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Hurricanes’ soft opening, Dolphins on deck, Stanton’s racy video lead Hot Button Top 5."