Greg Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: You weren’t dreaming. Lionel Messi era in Miami achieves liftoff

GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JULY 16): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US LATELY: Our Sunday Hot Button Top 10 feature had been blog-only, but with our blog now 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 23rd edition of the new HB10:

1. SOCCER: Messimania in Miami gets ceremonial liftoff Sunday night: Lionel Messi at last officially signed his Inter Miami contract on Saturday and it is through 2025 -- meaning MLS and Miami get two full seasons of him after the end of this one. The club stages “The Unveil” for Messi tonight, a fan event at the stadium with videos, politician speeches and other bombast. Five nights later will come Messi’s first game in uniform as Inter Miami hosts Mexico’s Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match. Inter Miami unabashedly is gouging ticket prices with Messi on board as a willing public eagerly pays the cost. P.s., a photo of Messi shopping at a local Publix went viral. He shops and eats food just like the rest of us!

2. TENNIS: Wimbledon gets the perfect championship weekend: No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic seeks the record for most Grand Slam titles of the Open era this morning vs. rising star and No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final fans had been dreaming of. Saturday’s women’s final by contrast was a delightful surprise as unseeded Marketa Vondrousova upset No. 6 Ons Jabeur. The perfect blend: A stunning upset as an appetizer for a marquee matchup.

3. MEDIA: ESPN weakens further with latest layoffs, questions on future: Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC he’s up for finding a strategic partner for ESPN, already decimated by him with mandated budget cuts and mass layoffs most recently including Suzy Kolber, Jeff Van Gundy, Todd McShay, Max Kellerman and Jalen Rose among others. And how does ESPN justify such layoffs while still spending millions on its self-aggrandizing ESPY Awards and airing crap like the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating promotion? Dear Iger: Leave ESPN alone and turn attention to alarmingly dwindling crowds at your theme parks.

4. SOCCER: Can U.S. send Rapinoe out as a champion?: Reigning champ U.S. is a plus-225 betting favorite via Caesars ahead of England plus-450 in the FIFA Women’s World Cup playing July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand, and American star Megan Rapinoe, 38, has said she’ll retire after it. Leading the fight for equal pay, for LGBTQ rights and more, Rapinoe has led her sports generation is using her stage and voice for stuff bigger than games. She was great. And she did good. Be nice for her to go out on top.

5. DOLPHINS: Cheetah promises to set receiving milestone: Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill said on his It Needed to Be Said podcast that he will surpass 2,000 receiving yards this season -- which has yet to be accomplished in NFL history. He said, “I will break 2,000 yards next year, bro. We getting that. Believe that.” Calvin Johnson holds the record with 1,964 yards set in 2012. Hill was on pace last season but quarterback injuries got in the way and he finished with 1,710.

6. NFL: “I’m surprised Hard Knocks picked the Jets,” said no one at all: NYJ picked to star in HBO’s 19th iteration of the NFL training-camp docuseries was all but foregone when they signed Aaron Rodgers -- even thought coach Robert Saleh lobbied against being chose by the league. Honestly, any AFC East team would have been a good choice, with Fins’ Tua Tagovailoa/concussion drama, Bills’ Damar Hamlin coming back from nearly dying on the field, and Pats’ aging Bill Belichick still trying to find the mojo that seemed to leave him when Tom Brady did.

7. CRIME: Reaction to Larry Nasser prison stabbing was human nature: The vile, shamed former doctor sentenced for sexually abusing female gymnasts including gold-medal winners was stabbed many times in prison, though he is recovering. Safe to say most cheered the news or at least didn’t mind it? Human nature. If you told me the same fate befell the Parkland school mass murderer in prison, I’d lose not a wink of sleep fretting it.

8. GOLF: Koepka give us another reason to hate him: Love-him-or-hate-him Brooks Koepka’s vicious public criticism of LIV Golf teammate Matthew Wolff, calling him a quitter he’d given up on, was harsh on the face of it but beyond that considering Wolff has been open about his struggles with his mental health. Koepka is a big star and the captain of his team. Athletes who mean to earn the captain’s title, and respect, work behind the scenes to be constructive, not throw a teammate under the bus by making a public ass of themselves.

9. GOLF: Is the LPGA finally inching toward the big-time?: The 78th U.S. Women’s Open, won last week by maiden tour winner Allisen Corpuz, had a record $11 million purse at Pebble Beach and began a run of LPGA championship events set for courses that previously were the exclusive domain of the men’s tour. NBC covered the final round. The LPGA needs the lift as broad national interest still is lacking. Test: Can you name five current LPGA stars? Can you name the highest-ranked American player? (It’s Nelly Korda, one of only three U.S. golfers in the top 20, a continuing problem).

10. NFL: Two ex-Dolphins on early ‘24 Hall of Fame radar: Pro Football HOF in Canton issued its list of 60 early possibilities for ‘24 induction in the seniors, coaches and contributors categories, and former Dolphins Mark Clayton and Bob Kuechenberg are on it, along with ex-Miami Hurricane Ottis Anderson. Quick thought: If Clayton makes it, so should Mark Duper. The 2023 Class including Fins great Zach Thomas goes in August 5.

Other most recent stuff from me: 100-plus deaths later, why can’t we finally abolish hazing from colleges and sports? / Star-power, winning make this best time ever to be Miami sports fan / Finally No. 1: Zach Thomas will speak first at Hall induction / Previous HB10 / And my latest podcast: