Greg Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: Canes’ redemption fail, Messi’s 8th Ballon d’Or, Tyreek’s Olympic dream

GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 15): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US LATELY: Our Sunday Hot Button Top 10 had been blog-only, but when 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 big, offbeat, damnable, funny or otherwise worth needling as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. Welcome to the 34th edition of your Sunday sports-potpourri notes column, the new HB10:

1. HURRICANES: No chance for victory-formation knee in loss at UNC: Miami sought a win at unbeaten, No. 12 North Carolina Saturday night to help get past the sour embarrassment of last week’s blown win loss vs. Georgia Tech. A 41-31 loss did not cooperate.. UM is now 4-2, 0-2 in the ACC and with nemesis Clemson next, and Cristobal, the hired savior, is now 9-9 overall and 3-6 in the conference through 1 1/2 seasons. My latest column: Hurricanes, Cristobal fail to find redemption in 41-31 loss at North Carolina.

2. DOLPHINS: Zach Thomas’ day as Fins host winless Carolina: Recent Hall of Fame inductee Zach Thomas gets his HOF ring in a halftime ceremony today as Miami hosts the hapless, no-win Carolina Panthers. Should be a second straight comfy win for the Dolphins atop last week’s over the Giants. Then comes a visit to the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles. In the Big Test category the 4-1 Fins failed their first one, at Buffalo. Philly,in prime time, is the second.

3. INTER MIAMI: Messi to win 8th Ballon d’Or trophy ahead of China trip?: Inter Miami ends its MLS regular season out of the playoffs this week with two matches that Lionel Messi is not expected to play in. But Messi will be with the team for two exhibition matches in China Nov. 5 and 8 vs. Chinese Super League. Meanwhile a report by Chinese journalist Bin Yan said Messi will win his record eighth Ballon d’Or trophy as international player of the year on October 30, over Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

4. MLB: Weak final four magnifies flaw in postseason format: Baseball should not expect huge TV numbers for its Texas-Houston ALCS or the Philadelphia-Arizona NLCS. Unless you are fan one of those four, you’re probably bored already. The surviving quartet include three wild-card teams and a combined 354 regular-season wins — lowest total ever for an MLB final four. Not much likability factor, either, led by the World Series reigning champion and betting-favorite Cheatin’ Astros. The Orioles, Braves and Dodgers, the only three clubs to win 100-plus games, all had byes into the divisional round and seemed to suffer from the five-day layoff in the 12-team, four-round playoff format introduced last year.

5. PANTHERS: Bad start. Are the low expectations with reason?: Florida reached the Stanley Cup Final last season but entered this one with championship betting odds ranked between ninth and 13. Hmm. Did the gamblers know something we did not? Panthers are 0-2 after 2-0 and 6-4 road losses to open. Cats visit New Jersey before heading to Sunrise for a first homestand starting Thursday. Can’t come home 0-3 ... can they?

6. OLYMPICS: Flag football one of five new sports ... and Tyreek Hill wants in: The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will welcome five new sports -- flag football and squash for the first time, plus the return of baseball/softball (played in 1992-2008) , lacrosse (1904-08) and cricket (1900). Flag football caught the eye of Dolphin Tyreek Hill, who said, “Sign the Cheetah up!” and was thinking gold medal in tweeting, “Calling all @NFL guys let’s bring one home.”

7. GOLF: LPGA’s Lexi Thompson toys with history on men’s tour: Competing in the PGA Tour’s Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, Lexi Thompson, 28, from Coral Springs in South Florida, became only the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event and narrowly missing being the first to make the cut since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945. Thompson has won 15 times on the LPGA Tour including one major, but has not won since 2019 and has played less frequently to address mental health concerns. May her near-historic week in Vegas signal what would be a welcome comeback in the sport.

8. GOLF: Tiger Woods is reinventing miniature golf: The Tiger-backed chain of PopStroke miniature golf courses (motto: Eat. Putt. Drink) is adding 13 new locations in 2023 including five in Florida. The “upscale” concept typically includes two 18-hole courses that feature Jumbotron screens, music and mobile app delivery of drinks as well as a full-service restaurant, multiple bars and in some cases a pool in the middle of the course.

9. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: October Madness? The rise of the ‘basketball schools’: As noted by frontofficesports.com, the latest Associated Press college football rankings took on a basketball feel with traditional hoops powers North Carolina, Louisville, Duke, UCLA, Kansas, and Kentucky all in the Top 25 -- the first time these top six teams in all-time basketball poll appearances also are simultaneously tanked in football as well.

10. NBA: Why does Kyrie continue to not care what anyone thinks of him?: Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving is the new “chief creative officer” for the sneaker brand ANTA, the latest middle finger from the independent (and controversial) thinker. ANTA, a Chinese company, has been accused by human rights groups of “systematic use of forced labor” and also was criticized after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for refusing to follow NATO sanctions and withdraw from the Russian market.

Other most recent stuff from me: Hurricanes, Cristobal fail to find redemption in 41-31 loss at North Carolina / Doubts & disrespect: Heat, Panthers big dogs again despite making Finals / NFL Week 6 picks / Messi’s first year with Inter Miami, MLS a massive success -- but not perfect / Herald NFL Week 5 quarterback rankings / Dolphins’ big plays, defense rout Giants, 31-16 / Mario Cristobal late gaffe costs Hurricanes in stunning home loss to Georgia Tech / Previous HB10 / And my latest podcast: