Greg Cote's Hot Button Top 10: NFL Draft Week in America, Heat & Panthers turn it up, Messi and more
1. DOLPHINS/NFL: Draft Week in America! Top-pick CB looms for Miami amid Ramsey trade talks: Cam Ward is all but sure to be only the Hurricanes' third overall No. 1 pick ever. If only the Dolphins' first-round plans were as certain. Miami is shopping veteran star cornerback Jalen Ramsey in trade talks, so a CB to Fins at 13th overall is likely. At 30 and coming off a so-so year, Ramsey won't fetch more than a third-round pick. It signals a budding rebuild by the Dolphins, with vets Terron Armstead and Calais Campbell also gone. Is problem-child WR Tyreek Hill next? Meantime Ramsey's departure would perhaps nudge cornerback ahead of guard as Miami's biggest 1R need Thursday night, with Michigan CB Will Johnson a popular mock-draft guess for Dolphins.
2. HEAT: Two big road wins have resurgent Miami in playoffs vs. Cavs: After a 37-45 down season hijacked by the Jimmy Butler drama and trade, the Heat has saved two of its best performances for when they mattered most: On the road, in must-win play-in games at Chicago and Atlanta. Two wins fueled by fierce defense and Tyler Herro's 38- and 30-point shows have Miami as the No. 8 seed at No. 1 Cleveland in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs' first round tonight/Sunday. Miami is a longshot to beat Cleveland, but the past two games alone will see a more encouraged Heat team enter the offseason.
3. PANTHERS: Tkachuk back as Cats' title-defense opens Tuesday at rival Tampa: Panthers ended the NHL regular season 47-35 and third in their division after a late grind of nine games in 15 days and hobbled by injuries. But now Matthew Tkachuk is back as Florida regains health and guns for a Stanley Cup repeat beginning Tuesday night with Game 1 in the playoffs' first at rival Tampa Bay. Cats expect to also have back Aaron Ekblad from a PEDs suspension sometime during the opening round.
4. INTER MIAMI: Team Messi is last unbeaten in MLS; CCC semis next: Inter Miami won Saturday at previously unbeaten Columbus 1-nil on a goal by home-grown Benjamin Cremaschi to stay undefeated in MLS at 5-0-3 -- the only team yet to lose. Lionel Messi played the full match. Giant games ahead as IM plays CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals this Thursday at Vancouver and April 30 vs. the same foe in Fort Lauderdale, with an MLS home match vs. Dallas in between next Sunday.
5. MARLINS: Reeling Fish lose fifth straight as Alcantara trade talk simmers: Miami is amid The Big Sag after a hopeful 3-1 start and is now 8-12 with a fifth straight loss on Saturday. Marlins are back at it Sunday in Philadelphia. Meanwhile Miami, forever looking to not spend, is widely expected to trade ace Sandy Alcantara before the July 31 MLB deal deadline in a continuing cycle of trading pricey talent for cheap prospects and building toward a future that never arrives.
6. WNBA: Bueckers top-drafted as new season and Caitlin Year 2 nears: UConn champion star-guard Paige Bueckers went No. 1 overall as expected to the Dallas Wings in the WNBA Draft as the regular season and Caitlin Clark Year 2 looms with a May 16 tipoff. Reigning champ New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces and Clark's Indiana Fever are preseason faves in betting odds. Woeful Dallas, even with Bueckers, inches up only to a longshot tie for 10th among 13 teams.
7. GOLF: Even in triumph, McIlroy's DeChambeau feud escalated: It was Rory's Masters Sunday, his first career green jacket and first major in 11 years to become only the sixth man to accomplish a career Grand Slam. It drew 13 million viewers, golf's most since 2018. But during his triumphant day McIlroy's icy relationship with Bryson DeChambeau continued as they played in the final pairing even as DeChambeau withered out of contention. 'Didn't talk to me once all day,' DeChambeau told Golf.com. It was McIroy's choice. Was it the height of competitiveness? Lingering animus from PGA Tour vs. LIV golf? His sports psychologist has since said it was 'part of the plan.' All that matters: One man soared as the other caved.
8. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Nine months early, Miami touts hosting '26 CFP title game: Next season's College Football Championship title game at Hard Rock Stadium isn't until January 19, 2026, but what better time to celebrate Miami as host than now, right!? The CFP staged a 'kickoff event' at Miami's Brownsville Middle School, recipient of a makeover by the CFP and Miami Host Committee, to tout local events in the buildup. No response yet to a request that the host-city Miami Hurricanes receive an automatic bid to play in the championship game.
9. BUSINESS: Belichick, girlfriend look to lock up trademarks: Jordan Hudson, who puts the girl in girlfriend at age 24, is behind efforts by coach Bill Belichick, 72, claiming trademark rights to various phrases he coined while with Patriots -- trademarks now owned by Robert Kraft and New England. Hudson's company has filed for 14 federal trademarks for phrases including 'Do Your Job,' and 'Ignore the Noise.' The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is expected to hear the petition, unless President Elon Musk fires those government workers, too.
10. MEDIA: Farewell, Lee Corso: From Miami to ESPN legend: Retiring Lee Corso's final broadcast on ESPN's College GameDay set will be August 30, three weeks after he turns 90. Corso, known for his popular headgear segment, has been a fixture of the network's college football coverage for 38 years. 'My family and I will be forever indebted,' he said. Less known: Corso grew up in Miami. His family moved here when he was 10 and he played quarterback at Miami Jackson High.
THE LIST: Most championships won since 2000: Most league championships won in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS or WNBA since 2000:
No. Team (League) Most recent
6 Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 2024
6 Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) 2020
6 New England Patriots (NFL) 2018
4 Golden State Warriors (NBA) 2022
4 Seattle Storm (WNBA) 2020
4 Boston Red Sox (MLB) 2018
4 Minnesota Lynx (WNBA) 2017
4 San Antonio Spurs (NBA) 2014
Note: Ten teams including Miami Heat have won three championships this century. Seventeen teams have won two.
Other most recent stuff from me: Resurgent Heat win again, make NBA playoffs. Wait, do you believe in miracles? // Miami's stay-alive play-in win lets Heat smile after a hard, chaotic season // Previous HB10 // Poll Dance: Position Dolphins should target in 1st round // Miami Dolphins should be fed up with Tyreek Hill, but team is too desperate to trade him // LeBron vs. Michael, now Ovechkin-Gretzky. Our obsession with ranking greatness // Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders will own NFL Draft. But are they franchise QBs? There are doubts // NCAAs crescendo with exciting Final Fours, but college basketball is broken. Let's fix it // To owner Bruce Sherman of low-hope Marlins: Spend more on payroll, or sell team // After Miami Heat's lost season, urgency this summer will be Riley's epitaph to write // Dolphins' 18-month decline, quiet offseason heap pressure on Tua, coach, GM in '25 // New Hurricanes coach Jai Lucas' job: Make Miami college hoops matter like never before // A tribute to Miami sports legend Jimmy Johnson as he retires from Fox TV // Must-win MLS season for Messi, Inter Miami a tough climb, as opening 2-2 home draw shows // 15 years later, Dolphins Cancer Challenge is the life-saving legacy of Jim Mandich // Rivalry! Politics! Power shift? NHL is ice on fire with U.S.-Canada in 4 Nations final // Unprofessional Jimmy Butler quit on Heat, ruined his legacy in Miami // Our Top 10 biggest Miami/South Florida sports stories of 2024 // And my latest podcast:
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Royals put Kris Bubic, Jac Caglianone on IL; newly acquired Randal Grichuk into starting lineup
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals placed All-Star left-hander Kris Bubic on the 15-day injured list with a rotator cuff strain and outfielder Jac Caglianone on the 10-day IL with a strained left hamstring amid a series of moves before their series finale against Cleveland on Sunday. The Royals also welcomed outfielder Randal Grichuk, who was acquired on Saturday night in a deal that shipped reliever Andrew Hoffmann to Arizona, and recalled right-handed reliever Jonathan Bowlan from Triple-A Omaha to help the bullpen. Bubic walked the first four batters he faced and only managed to last 2 2/3 innings against the Guardians on Saturday, when he started the second game of a split doubleheader. He needed 42 pitches to get through the first inning, and he wound up allowing four runs and three hits in his shortest start since Sept. 18, 2022, at Boston. 'He's getting some further testing and then we'll talk to the doc here and see what we got,' Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. Bubic said he's experienced some shoulder soreness for much of the season, but he's been able to pitch through it at a break-through level. Even with the rocky start Saturday, he has a 2.55 ERA — the fifth-best mark in the American League. 'I mean, you see how he's performed,' Quatraro said. 'Most pitchers when they go out there, they feel something almost every time. The severity of it and his ability to continue to deal with it has been manageable, by his own admission. ... And it's gotten to the point where, you know, he doesn't, and we don't feel like it's best for him to keep fighting through it.' The Royals rotation has suddenly thinned considerably. Left-hander Cole Ragans remains on the IL with a strained rotator cuff and is not expected back until late August, and right-hander Michael Lorenzen is progressing from his strained left oblique but may need to make a rehab start before he returns to the Royals sometime in August. The Royals already have had to plug one spot with 45-year-old Rich Hill, who pitched well in his debut for them this past week. Caglianone, the Royals' 22-year-old power-hitter, felt tightness in his hamstring while running down a double into the gap in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. Then he felt the twinge again while running to first on a groundout later the inning. The timing of the injury could have been worse: The Royals had been working on a deal to land Grichuk, who nearly signed with them in the offseason but will now help them primarily against left-handed hitting for the rest of the season. 'You've seen our outfield had gotten very heavily left-handed. Something we thought we needed to add was a right-handed bat,' said Quatraro, whose team began the day 51-54 and 4 1/2 games back in the AL wild-card race. Grichuk was 0 for 2 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh, flying out in the second inning and the fourth, when he was told by the Diamondbacks that he had been traded. He hugged several teammates in the dugout and then headed out, catching a flight first thing Sunday so that he could be in Kansas City in time for the series finale against the Guardians. He was put in the starting lineup right away, batting sixth and playing right field. 'When they called they said, 'If you're willing to be here to play, you know, we want you in the starting lineup,'' Grichuk said, 'and yeah, I want to play. That's kind of my M.O. And so I said, 'Let's do it. We'll make it happen, even if it's crazy travel.'' The one hang-up was Grichuk's number: He's always worn 15 and that number was taken by backup catcher Luke Maile. But it turns out the two knew each other from their days together in Toronto, so a quick text message smoothed things out. Maile took No. 17 and gave his old buddy No. 15 — 'We'll work something out,' Grichuk said of potential compensation. 'It's pretty cool that he was able to give it to me,' Grichuk said. ___ AP MLB:
San Francisco Chronicle
a minute ago
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Royals put Kris Bubic, Jac Caglianone on IL; newly acquired Randal Grichuk into starting lineup
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Shedeur Sanders Has Officially Been Called Out By The Browns
Shedeur Sanders Has Officially Been Called Out By The Browns originally appeared on The Spun. Shedeur Sanders has officially been called out by the Cleveland Browns for his off-the-field behavior. The fifth round NFL Draft pick is no lock to make the team. Sanders, one of two quarterbacks drafted by the Browns - Oregon's Dillon Gabriel being the other - has had a couple of off-the-field incidents so far. He has reportedly twice been pulled over for speeding, once going around 100 MPH. Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry officially called out the young quarterback while speaking to the media at training camp earlier in the week. The Browns admitted that what Sanders has been doing is "not smart." Berry didn't hold back when discussing Sanders' off-the-field incidents. "Not smart. Just not smart," Berry said. "It's something that we've addressed with him. Look, he understands the implications, he understands the consequences. It's not just about yourself. It's not just about having a joyride, but that you could injure other people. … A deer or something cuts in front of you, your reaction time, it's just dangerous." Sanders, meanwhile, has said that he's learned his lesson. He won't be driving fast anymore. "Yeah, I definitely learned not to drive fast at all," Sanders told reporters. "So I really don't even drive that much anymore. But I really don't drive fast at all. So I definitely follow the rules and I hope everybody learned from my situation, you know that not drive fast at all." Sanders was first cited on June 5 for driving 91 MPH in a 65 MPH zone. Less than two weeks later, he was cited for driving 101 MPH in a 60 MPH zone. The rookie NFL quarterback settled both tickets, paying more than $500 in fines and court fees. Sanders promises that he's learned his lesson from the two speeding incidents. Shedeur Sanders Has Officially Been Called Out By The Browns first appeared on The Spun on Jul 27, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
