Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: Heis-Mendoza, Fins, Canes, 70-foot Messi statue, more
GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (DECEMBER 14): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: Dolphins at Steelers Monday, Playoff week for Canes and college football, Miami’s Mendoza wins Heisman, Messi wins MVP and gets 70-foot (!) statue, NASCAR settles, Panthers, Heat, Marlins and more. Welcome to the 130th 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. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Indiana QB Mendoza is most-Miami Heisman winner!: Quarterback Fernando Mendoza of top-ranked Indiana won the Heisman Trophy in an unsurprising Saturday night reveal. His 33 TD passes led all of FBS. The announcement resonates in Miami, as Mendoza was Miami-raised, starred at Columbus High and is of Cuban heritage -- the first Cuabn-American Heisman winner. Miami Hurricanes of course have won two Heismans (Vinny Testaverde and Gino Torretta), but Mendoza is the most-Miami Heisman winner of them all at root level. “¡Nos hiciste sentir orgullosos, Fernando!”
2. DOLPHINS: Miami’s 4-game win streak vs. Steelers, weather: Monday night in Pittsburgh will be brutal ... at least for a South Florida team not renowned for winning in way-cold weather. Kickoff temp is expected to be around 15-20 degrees with a chance of snow. Fins’ 5-1 run and resulting 6-7 record has Miami on periphery of wild-card playoff contention but still two games out with four games left and hopes on life support. Miami may need a 4-0 finish to have a realistic chance at the postseason; 3-1 from here would require lots of outside help.
3. HURRICANES: CFP Week as UM begins chase to national title: Six days hence, next Saturday, high Noon, College Station, Tex. The 10-2/No. 10-seeded Miami Hurricanes visit 11-1/No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies in first round of College Football playoff as Canes begin hunt for their first national championship since 2001. It’d take four more wins to get it. A&M is a 3 1/2-point favorite to reach the quarterfinals vs. (likely) Ohio State. UM and A&M have played only five times previous, last in 2023 when a 48-33 Miami win was Mario Cristobal’s first over a ranked foe as Canes coach. Omen? [Oh, and R.I.P., George Mira Sr. Win it for ‘The Matador’!]
4. INTER MIAMI: Messi follows title with MVP trophy, 70-foot (!) statue: Miami’s first MLS Cup championship left little doubt on the league MVP: It would be Lionel Messi for second straight year -- first back-to-back MVP in MLS history after league-best 29 goals. Messi was given trophy at opening of his first Messi Cup youth tournament, the announcement put off to include the kids. (Messi also was named team MVP -- no duh! -- and departing Jordi Alba the DPOY.) Messi is now on a ‘GOAT Tour’ of India, which began with crowd unrest in Kolkata with fans upset by a limited view of their hero. Unveiled there was a 70-foot Messi statue. That’s right: 70 feet ... or 12 1/2 times larger than the 5-7 icon.
5. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Controversies aside, let the Playoff begin!: First came Notre Dame whining over missing out on a College Football Playoff invite. Then came the bombshell out of Ann Arbor as Michigan fired coach Sherrone Moore, who was busted for home invasion and stalking an ex-girlfriend. Time for fresh air: Let the games begin! With top seeds Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech enjoying byes, CFP’s first-round begins this coming Friday with 9-seed Alabama at 8-Oklahoma. Then it’s a Saturday tripleheader: 10-Miami at 7-Texas A&M, 11-Tulane at 6-Ole Miss, and 12-James Madison at 5-Oregon.
6. PANTHERS: Double-champs heat up, inch back over .500: Florida is 16-15 after Saturday’s big 4-0 win in Dallas over a good Stars with two goals from Brad March and Bob’s shutout the drivers. Champs have now won three of four as they play in Tampa Monday. Meanwhile Cats are planning for Jan. 2 NHL Winter Classic vs. Rangers at Marlins Park, then league’s Winter Olympics break Feb. 5-25. Seven Panthers are expected to be Olympians: Matthew Tkachuk for U.S. (assuming health); Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand for Canada; Gustav Forsling for Sweden; and Finland’s Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola.
7. NASCAR: Slam dunk! Suit settlement a win for Jordan, drivers: The antitrust lawsuit settled. Michael Jordan, et al won. NASCAR and the old system lost. Plaintiffs were led by 23XI Racing, with co-owner Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 champ Denny Hamlin out front. Main issue: Revenue sharing and NASCAR’s charter system, its equivalent of the franchise model in other sports. Charters were revokable under NASCAR’s old rule. No more. Drivers won charter assurances and increases in rev-sharing. Won’t be noticeable on the track on Sundays, but NASCAR just significantly changed for the better.
8. HEAT: Miami out of NBA Cup and reeling as it resumes play Monday: Sports is nothing if not unpredictable. Right Heat fans? One minute Miami is 13-6 off six straight wins and a bit of an NBA surprise it-team. Now the Heat is 14-11 after a fourth straight loss knocked ‘em out of the NBA Cup in-season tourney in a quarterfinal vs. Orlando. Miami is back on the wood Monday at home vs. Toronto. Anybody who happens to find the Heat’s misplaced mojo, please contact Erik Spoelstra.
9. MARLINS: If Fish deal SP Cabrera, better be for bats: Florida has been quiet (no surprise) in offseason and winter meetings, but possible trade of starting pitcher Edward Cabrera is making headlines, with Orioles high among prospective suitors. A Dominican righty, Cabrera, 27, has spent all his MLB career with Marlins and is coming off his best season: a 3.53 ERA and 150 strikeouts in a career-high 137 2/3 innings. Fish rotation is deep, a strength, but if they deal Cabrera it had better help solve the offensive issues with a proven bat or two in return.
10. FIU: Panthers after first bowl win since 2018: Miami’s OCFT (Other College Football Team) finished 7-5 in coach Willie Simmons’ first season, though again in the deep shadow of the crosstown Hurricanes. The FIU Panthers will play Dec. 26 vs. the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners in the First Responders Bowl in Dallas. It is the Cats’ first bowl appearance since 2019 in search of a first bowl win since ’18. UTSA is an early 8 1/2-point favorite.
THE LIST: CANES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: As Miami plays at Texas A&M next Saturday to open the College Football Playoff, here are the UM title-teams list these ‘25 Hurricanes will be trying to join:
Year Championship game (UM QB/coach)
1983 d. Nebraska 31-30 in Orange Bowl (Howard Schnellenberger/Bernie Kosar)
1987 d. Oklahoma 20-14 in Orange Bowl (Jimmy Johnson/Vinny Testaverde)
1989 d. Alabama 33-25 in Sugar Bowl (Dennis Erickson/Gino Torretta)
1991 d. Nebraska 22-0 in Orange Bowl (Erickson/Torretta)
2001 d. Nebraska 37-14 in Rose Bowl (Larry Coker/Ken Dorsey)
2025 Road begins this week for Mario Cristobal and Carson Beck
Other select most recent stuff from me: NFL Week 15 picks // Poll Dance: Greatest Canes QB // R.I.P. George Mira, ‘The Matador,’ Hurricane football’s first true star // Bucs-Falcons Thursday pick // Latest Herald NFL QB Rankings // Dolphins rout Jets for 4th straight win. It’s OK to talk playoffs now // Irish eyes are crying, but CFP got t right with Canes over Notre Dame // Previous HB10 // Messi, Inter Miami win MLS Cup, crown 50 years of SoFla soccer // How Browns fan’s tragedy gave Bernie Kosar new life // Tortoise to hare, reinvention of Miami Heat an NBA marvel // NFL, Canes QB great Bernie Kosar in a fight for his life // How Miami project -- and forgiveness -- helped Marc Buoniconti turn tragedy to triumph // Beloved cast member leaving Dan Le Batard Show // Wounded, doubted but nobody’s underdog, champ Panthers win opener // Barkov lost for season a mortal blow to Panthers’ 3-peat bid // Super Bowl to Dolphins to dregs: My annual NFL Team Rankings! // Cristobal has ‘insatiable’ drive for new Hurricanes glory days, and he’s getting close // Heat getting 3-point ace Powell a pickpocket-win for Riley // 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:
