GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (JUNE 18): 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 21st edition of the new HB10:
1. HEAT: Does whomever OK’d that Conor McGregor stunt still have a job?: The well-run Miami Heat don’t make many public missteps as an organization, so the recent Conor McGregor embarrassment stood out. They let the fading MMA star shill his new pain-relief spray product in an on-court stunt during an NBA Finals game in Miami. The crowd was booing McGregor even before he fake-punched Burnie the mascot, (supposedly) sending Burnie to the hospital. The whole thing was off-key, out of place and stupid. The it got worse. Now police are investigating a rape allegation against McGregor over an alleged incident in an arena bathroom later that night. McGregor denies the allegations, but TMZ reports video appears to show McGregor escorting his accuser to the bathroom at Kaseya Center as his bodyguards prevent others from following. The Heat and NBA are defendants in a lawsuit by the accuser.
2 NBA: Denver just won. Now next season is already here: Denver got a championship parade that drew 500,000. Miami got a pat on the back for second place. Now the 2023-24 season begins Thursday night with the NBA Draft and trade season, followed by free agency. The following players, by trade or free agency, have been linked by betting odds to interest by the Miami Heat: Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, Dillon Brooks, Dejounte Murray, Zach LaVine, Fred Van Fleet, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Al Horford, DeAngelo Russell, Chris Paul and Karl Anthony-Towns. In other words, nobody knows anything.,
3. GOLF: U.S. Open an antidote for an ailing, fractured sport: The PGA Tour/LIV Golf war was bad. Somehow a merger of the two is even worse. So an interesting major, in this case the U.S. Open in Los Angeles, comes along at just the right time to forget the business of golf and appreciate the game again. Rickie Fowler, who last won in 2019, carried a one-shot lead into the weekend, and stars Rory McIroy and Xander Schauffele were two shots back.
4. NFL/CANES: A tragedy in the Ray Lewis family: Ray Lewis III, son of Miami Hurricanes legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, died at 28 of what police called an accidental drug overdose, TMZ reported. “I pray (you’re) at peace now because (I know) how much you was hurtin’,” younger brother Rahsaan Lewis posted on Instagram. Police say they administered Narcan, a drug used in overdose cases, but with no response. Lewis III committed in 2012 to play cornerback at Miami but never played in two seasons before transferring to Coastal Carolina. Condolences to the Lewis family,
5. NBA: Selfish Ja Morant got off easy with 25-game ban: The NBA has suspended Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies’ young and immature star, 25 games to start next season over conduct detrimental to the league — his second time clowning on social media with a gun. He’d been suspended eight games for a similar incident in March. This ban comes with conditions that could include a full-season suspension if there is a third such offense.
6. SOCCER: FIFA must take harder line against Mexican fans’ bigotry: The U.S. men’s national team’s 3-0 win over Mexico in a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Las Vegas was ended prematurely by the referee over anti-gay chanting by Mexican fans — a recurring problem. The match featured four red cards but most of the ugliness came from the stands. The Mexican national team must bear increasing responsibility for the offensive, boorish behavior of its fans, including, if necessary, banning Mexico from international competitions.
7: NBA: Michael Jordan closes sad ownership chapter in Charlotte: He was the G.O.A.T. as a player but closer to the W.O.A.T. (Worst of All-Time) as an NBA owner. Now Jordan has agreed to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for about $3 billion. Thus ends a 13-year run that featured two winning seasons and playoff appearances, both first-round exits. Jordan has a chance to do more damage as a parting shot because he’ll still be running things through Thursday’s NBA draft and the start of free agency July 1.
8. POLITICS: Biden praises Stanley Cup champs … and gets in trouble: President Joe Biden congratulated the Vegas Golden Knights on their Stanley Cup championship by calling it the city’s first by a “major professional franchise.” Oops. The Las Vegas Aces won the WNBA title in 2022, and Aces star A’ja Wilson got all offended. Reality: To many if not most, “major” still means the Big Four of NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. MLS is getting there, and Lionel Messi accelerates that. The WNBA is climbing, but not there yet by any robust consensus. P.s., Wilson chided Biden for no White House visit. Fact: The Aces have been invited, with details still being finalized.
9. WNBA: There has to be a better way to make a living, Alex Stein: Stain-I’m-sorry-I-meant-Stein is the right-wing “YouTube personality” and professional pissant-irritant who filmed himself shoving through security to yell at WNBA star Brittney Griner in an airport. “Do you still want to boycott America!?’ he yelled at the woman who had been detained in a Russian jail for eight months before being freed in a U.S. prisoner exchange. Yes, in America, you have the right to make a living being a willful annoyance. Ah, freedom!
10. TENNIS: You had me at … the first selfie request: Lovely lil’ story. Two-time Grand Slam champ Garbiñe Muguruza first met Arthur Borges when the fan asked to take a selfie with her on the street near her hotel off Central Park during the 2021 U.S. Open. This week she announced their engagement on Instagram with the Jerry Maguire line, “You had me at hello.” She told hola.com: “Suddenly, he turns and says ‘Good luck at the U.S. Open.’ I was left thinking, ‘Wow, he’s so handsome.’” Sweet.
Other most recent stuff from me: Parades left to imagine: What-ifs and What’s -next for Miami Heat, Florida Panthers / Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup dream, sweet playoff run end in brutal 9-3 loss as Vegas reigns / Champ Denver, No. 8-seed Miami Heat both deserve applause for historic NBA Finals / Previous HB10 from last Sunday / And my latest podcast: