Greg Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: Coach Prime meets the hype, Messi in L.A., Hurricanes’ big test & more

GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (SEPTEMBER 3): 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: Real Miami routs Other Miami, but Canes’ real test awaits: UM winning a 38-3 home opener vs. Miami of Ohio tells us zero. Nice start to the Mario Cristobal Year 2 Vindication Tour, but it indicates as much about this team and season as last year’s opening 70-13 win over Bethune-Cookman foretold the 5-7 season that followed. Canes host No. 24 Texas A&M next Saturday. Win that one, “Real” Miami, and U will have our attention.

2. DOLPHINS: Tua vs. Justin III spices Miami season opener: Fins’ 58th season opens next Sunday at the L.A. Chargers, and a third meeting for Tua Tagovailoa vs. Justin Herbert spices the matchup as they were minted as career-long rivals the minute Miami opted to draft Tua fifth overall in 2020 and Herbert went sixth. Tua won and played better in their 2020 meeting; Herbert won and played better last year. The early overall edge is usually given to Herbert but should be inconclusive; Tua is 21-13 with a 95.0 QB rating to Herbert’s 25-24 and 96.2.

3. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Hype, justified. Colorado a Prime-time player in Sanders’ debut: Deion Sanders spent the past nine month looking like the world’s biggest self-promoter and reveling at the hype “Coach Prime” brought with him to Colorado. But give the devil his due. His team, a three-touchdown underdog, won 45-42 at No. 17 TCU in Week’s 1 only Top 25 upset, led by 510 yards passing by his QB son, Shedeur. “Do you believe now?” he crowed afterward. Answer: For now.. (Tonight’s deliciousness: No. 5 LSU at No. 8 FSU in the GOTW.)

4. INTER MIAMI: Messi proves human, but conspiracy theories still out there: Inter Miami was a bad team that had gone 9-0 since Lionel Messi joined, led by his 11 goals. A first sign of Messi mortality came in a 0-0 draw vs. Nashville in his home opener in MLS league play. Conspiracy theorists were back out, though, when an apparent hand-ball was not called after a review in the closing minutes, denying Nashville a penalty kick. As Miami visits LAFC today, Messi’s huge success in America undoubtedly benefits all of MLS not just Miami. But do you really think the referees would be in on “helping” make it so? (Not saying yes . Asking for a friend...)

5. TENNIS: Coco channeling Jimmy Butler at U.S. Open: American Coco Gauff, 19, from Delray Beach is into the fourth round at the U.S. Open with a little inspirational help from Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler -- two months after losing in the first round at Wimbledon. Now she is the best U.S. hope for an Open title , men or women. She says it’s all in the mind. The NBA star Butler watched Gauff from a courtside seat this week and she said, “It’s really just the mental thing. I think that’s what I learned from watching Jimmy compete over the years.”

6. MARLINS: Hopes alive? Fish back in wild-card hunt:: Miami was 53-39 at the All-Star break, one of MLB’s pleasant surprises. Then July 14 through August they were 14-28, bats gone quiet and closer David Robertson stinking to turn a team fighting for an NL wild-card spot to a team scrambling to finish above .500, at least. But three straight wins have the Fish 69-67 and only three games off playoff pace entering today, with three straight at home deck on vs. mighty Dodgers.

7. NFL: Montana anoints Marino ‘best’ QB ever: Joe Montana calls Dan Marino the best quarterback ever, noting that “greatest” to him means most accomplished (i.e. Tom Brady) while “best” means most talented or skilled. “He had a quick release,” Joe says of Dan in Men’s Health magazine. “I had to step into a lot of things to get enough [force] on the ball. He had the perfect torque of his upper body and strength to deliver the ball quickly at a fast release with accuracy.” Most surprising thing about this? That we’re still publishing magazines.

8. VOLLEYBALL: Nebraska fans may or may not be bonkers: University of Nebraska says it set a world attendance record for a women’s sporting event when a volleyball match vs. Omaha drew more than 92,000 spectators to Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium. Cornhuskers have won five national titles and sold out every home match since 2001 (though most are in an 8,000-seat arena). Doesn’t hurt that Nebraskans need a winner to cheer with football on hard times -- 16-47 since 2017.

9. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Oklahoma QB puts the ‘name’ in NIL: The Oklahoma Sooners have a third-string quarterback who’d be anonymous outside of Norman except his name is General Booty because, in the hospital, Mom and Dad evidently thought, “We have a funny surname. Let’s double-down!” Or maybe the folks foresaw that the boy might someday benefit from new Name, Image and Likeness rules that allow college athletes to cash in. And so: He now has his own line of boxer- briefs underwear with BOOTY across the backside. God bless America.

10. NBA: Ref was own biggest fan, worst enemy: Longtime NBA referee Eric Lewis quietly “retired” in shame rather than face an NBA inquiry into an activity for which he obviously was guilty. Lewis used a burner account under the name “Blair Cuttliff” to defend himself against criticism of his officiating. The NBA became suspicious because nobody, not in the history of mankind, has ever gone on social media to defend or otherwise praise a referee.

Special note: R.I.P., Jimmy Buffett, music icon, South Florida legend and one of our lifelong favorites:

Other most recent stuff from me: UM routs Miami of Ohio in opener, but for Canes the real proving starts this week / Messi is running MLS but human after all as Inter Miami settles for 0-0 draw / ‘23 NFL Team Rankings: Super Bowl to dregs, & a stunning rank for Miami Dolphins / Can Dolphins end near 40-year Super Bowl drought? Why fans should believe this could be the year / Previous HB10 / And my latest podcast: