Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: Epic World Cup semis, Bam-Herro beef, McGregor fizzles
Note to readers: We’re back to the full HB10 after a couple of weeks of special abbreviated editions.
GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 12): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: Welcome to 157th edition of HB10, bringing you what’s on our minds through 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. SOCCER: Argentina-England, France-Spain a kingly World Cup final four: No obvious underdogs in this World Cup’s four survivors. No Cinderella. Only kings. For only the third time in World Cup’s 96-year history, all four finalists are former champions. It only happened before in 1970 and 1990. The U.S. went out ugly; now only beauty is left with France and Kylian Mbappe vs. Spain and Lamine Yamal on Tuesday in Dallas, then Argentina and Lionel Messi vs. England with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on Wednesday in Atlanta. FIFA, and football fans, have struck gold with this quartet to decide the biggest sport’s biggest crown.
▪ The Greg Cote Show podcast has a live World Cup contest among myself, Chris and Yeti with results based upon teams each of us drafted. Go here to track continuous live updates: cotecup.thegregcoteshow.com
2. HEAT: Waiting on LeBron, and Bam-Herro beef in Vegas: LeBron James Sweepstakes drags on with Cleveland, Miami and Philly said to be frontrunners -- but with Steph Curry lobbying for Golden State. In other news recent signee Tim Hardaway Jr. successfully lobbied Dad to get the Heat legend’s retired No. 10. And NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League for new/young players is underway -- with Heat’s Bam Adebayo and ex-mate Tyler Herro (gone in Giannis deal) beefing. Adebayo punched Herro Friday morning in a gym at Resorts World Casino in front of an AAU team run by Herro. After the Giannis trade, a fan had leaked direct messages from an account tied to Herro in which the player spoke unfavorably about Adebayo’s play and how Heat fans favored him. Bam’s response to the perceived disrespect was physical -- and spice added to first Heat-Bucks meeting next season.
3. MARLINS: Miami aims for pre-break wins record, drafts local kid: The Marlins lost a second straight game Saturday but still are 52-43 entering Sunday’s matinee vs. Cleveland to close the first-half schedule. Miami must win to tie the club record of 53 wins before the All-Star break set in 2023. Fish are 26-10 since June 1 and on wild-card playoff pace. Fish have shortstop Otto Lopez and pitcher Max Meyer in Tuesday’s ASG in Philly. In Saturday’s MLB Draft Miami stayed local with the 14th pick, selecting SS Jacob Lombard from Miami Gulliver Prep. (Another local, lefty pitcher Gio Rojas from Parkland Stoneman Douglas, went 16th to Texas.)
4. MLB: Sport celebrates All-Star Game, HR Derby, Draft: Busy few days for the National Pastime. The MLB Draft wraps up today/Sunday; it began Saturday with Chicago White Sox picking first and selecting UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky No. 1. The 96th MLB All-Star Game is Tuesday in Philadelphia, although biggest star Shohei Ohtani out injured (knee) is a major bummer. The Home Run Derby is Monday, although even those final eight are a less than scintillating bunch.
5. TENNIS: Sinner-Zverev ends Wimbledon after who’s-that women’s final: No. 1-seed Jannik Sinner faces No. 2 Alexander Zverev for the men’s Wimbledon title today. Zverev seeks his second career major and second straight after winning the recent French Open. Sinner has won four majors including Wimbledon last year. Saturday, No. 9 seed Linda Noskova defeated 10-seed Karolina Muchova in three sets for a first major win in a who’s-that women’s final between two players from Czechia. (Must-a done boffo ratings in Prague.) Muchova ousted American Coco Gauff in the semis. Serena Williams launched her comeback at Wimbledon after four years away and lost in the first round, but has plans to play the U.S. Open in August.
6. UFC: Conor McGregor’s ballyhooed return a pathetic anticlimax: Remember the recent hyped-up Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano match that Rousey won by submission in 17 seconds? In Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the octagon after five years Saturday night in Las Vegas we saw -- again -- when former stars chase old glory. McGregor injured his right leg in the opening seconds of his fight with Max Holloway and had to retire in the opening round of the main event of UFC 329. Holloway was handed a throughly disappointing TKO win after 1 minute, 9 seconds. Refunds, anyone?
7. DOLPHINS: Rebuilding Fins set training camp dates: Football (the World Cup) is about to hand-off to football (the NFL). Two days after the July 19 soccer World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J., Dolphins rookies report July 21 for preseason training camp, with the first full-squad work commencing July 29. First practice open to fans is Aug. 2. New coach Jeff Hafley and rebooting Miami open the three-game preseason Aug. 14 and christen the 61st franchise regular season Sept. 23 at Las Vegas and top-pick rookie QB Fernando Mendoza from Miami Columbus High.
8. WNBA: Congress steps in to protect Caitlin Clark: Whether Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is being officiated fairly -- and the racial overtones of it -- have become an issue shadowing women’s hoops. Should the WNBA protect Clark from overly physical defending? Congress wants answers by July 24. “Millions of casual fans now tune in to watch her play,” 11 members of the House Republican Study Committee wrote in a letter to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Unfortunately, what they too often witness is not simply aggressive competition, but repeated acts of physical hostility and violence.” Stay tuned.
9. NBA: Kawhi trade on hold amid probe over Pablo Torre report: The Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto awaits the outcome of an NBA probe into the L.A. Clippers’ alleged circumvention of salary cap rules. “The league informed us that as a result of the investigation [of] the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” said the Raptors. “In light of this, we will wait until the investigation is complete.” The NBA in September began investigating whether a $28 million endorsement deal involving Leonard broke league rules, revealed in a report by the Pablo [Torre] Finds Out podcast.
10. NHL: Carolina engravings shame tradition of Stanley Cup: Shame on the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and owner Tom Dundon. He had the names of his wife and five children -- one as young as 7 -- engraved on the hallowed Stanley Cup, which based on limits meant longtime equipment manager Bobby Gorman and Joel Nystrom, who played 38 games for the team, do not appear on the Cup. All to suit the vanity of the owner! Embarrassing. Inexcusable. The Cup is tarnished. Change the rules on whose names are eligible for engraving.
THE LIST: FIFA World Cup history of 2026 men’s final four: With France vs. Spain and Argentina vs. England set as heavyweight semifinals in the men’s FIFA World Cup, here are the best all-time finishes of the final four:
Country Wins (Years) 2nd-3rd-4th
Argentina 3 (1978, 1986, 2022) 3-0-0
France 2 (1998, 2018) 2-2-1
Spain 1 (2010) 0-0-1
England 1 (1966) 0-0-2
Other select most recent stuff from me: Hey, Jude! Bellingham lifts England into World Cup semifinals with Miami win // Latest Poll Dance: World Cup a success for U.S. team? // Miserable end makes it disappointing World Cup for American team // Podcast: Superfan ranks best, worst episodes in GCS history // Previous HB10 // Seismic trade for Giannis a massive win for Miami Heat, Pat Riley // It’s the end of era as Le Batard Show drops Stugotz from name // Despite noise on Boston, Miami Heat will win Giannis sweepstakes // Historic night for Miami, World Cup as Saudis and Uruguay tie 1-1 // HB10 // Ugly buildup to World Cup, but now the beautiful game and the magic take over // Trump intrudes on NBA Finals, New York’s epic night // World Cup is upon us and here are top 6 storylines // As we lose ‘72 Perfect Season Dolphins 1 by 1, time to cherish Miami’s family heirloom // Dolphins will be better than you think in ‘26. Here’s why // Perfect? No. But Messi is godsend who has exceeded all hopes // Florida’s escalated fight with NFL mirrors larger war on DEI // One month out, tickets are pricey. No duh. Savor World Cup anyway // Stephen Ross takes last big swing to rescue legacy as Dolphins owner // Heat’s Pat Riley still fighting for career finish Shula never got // State of Miami Sports; Grading Fins, Heat, Cats, Fish, Inter Miami & more // Sandy shines, Marlins win to launch latest season of budget-ball // Baseball, politics, emotion lift Venezuela past U.S. to WBC championship // Dolphins’ major rebuild is on -- and it’s about damned time // Dolphins’ new coach, GM take on 25 years of franchise torpor and a QB mess // Canes title-game loss does not erase success of watershed season // And my latest podcast:
