Greg Cote’s Hot Button Top 10: MLB, Cats, Liberty & how you can smell like Lionel Messi for $72

GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (OCTOBER 13): WHAT IN SPORTS HAS GRABBED US THIS WEEK: Our Sunday Hot Button Top 10 notes column brings you what’s on our minds, locally and nationally, but from a Miami perspective and accentuating stuff that’s big, weird, damnable, funny or otherwise worth needling as the sports week just past pivots to the week ahead. Welcome to the 77th edition of your Sunday sports-potpourri notes column, the HB10:

1. MLB: It’s Yankees-Guardians, Dodgers-Mets final four in LCS: New York, New York waited while the Dodgers beat the Padres Friday and the Guardians beat the Tigers Saturday, both in five games. Now the AL and NL Championship Series are set beginning today/Sunday, with World Series-winning odds (per Fan Duel) at NYY +155, LAD +170, NYM +420 and CLE +500. So Yanks and Dodgers are favored and Fox, the World Series TV network, undoubtedly hopes the faves advance. Why? Dodgers-Yanks would be ratings goldmine. When they met in 1978 it set a WS ratings record averaging 44.3 million viewers. Yanks-Mets in the 2000 Subway Series averaged a mere 18.1 million.

2. PANTHERS: Rough first road trip for champs so far: Florida has followed a season-opening 6-4 home win over rival Boston with two straight road losses including Saturday’s 5-2 defeat at Buffalo. Stars Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk sat with minor injuries. Goalie Spencer Knight played his first game since February 18, 2023. No panic, please. Champions began last season 0-2 and 2-3, recall? Panthers are back at it with a rematch at Boston Monday. The early four-game roadie ties for third-longest trip of the season. Cats are away five straight games in December and six in March.

3. INTER MIAMI: Smell like your hero with new Messi cologne!: “Discover Leo Messi Eau de Parfum, a unique fragrance blending freshness and warmth, inspired by Messi’s dynamic spirit and refined elegance. A scent that brings out every man’s confidence with top notes of cardamom, crisp apple leaf and wild cypress.” (Maybe a note of odious lockerroom sweat, too? No?) That’s the ad read. I’d have been more succinct and gone with: “Smells like a GOOOAAALLL!” Sold in the U.S. only at J.C. Penney at $72 for 3.38 ounces. Back on the pitch, Inter Miami and the fragrance purveyor close their MLS regular season at home vs. New England next Saturday needing win to set all-time league standing points record. Playoffs start October 25.

4. HURRICANE MILTON: Several teams, sports impacted by storm: As Milton hit hard Greater Tampa Bay/Sarasota area this week, sports were impacted. Tampa Bay Lightning canceled preseason game and postponed season opener vs. the Carolina (irony alert) Hurricanes. Roof of Ray’s Tropicana Field was destroyed. Bucs left early for a game in New Orleans. South Florida moved its Saturday home game from Tampa to Orlando. Florida Panthers canceled public championship-ring ceremony and Heat postponed preseason game. Sports was lucky, though, compared to those devastatingly affected.

5. WNBA: Is Finals jinx about to swallow New York Liberty yet again?: Liberty were WNBA Finals betting faves over Minnesota Lynx -- despite history -- but blew an 18-point lead to lose Game 1 by 95-93 in OT. New York hosts Game 2 in best-of-5 today/Sunday. Minnesota is a four-time league champion, though not since 2017. New York has yet to win the WNBA title but has been runnerup five times including last season. Too late to take some pressure off Liberty, but WNBA Finals will smartly increase to a best-of-7 next season.

6. DOLPHINS/CANES: Bye weeks well-timed for both teams: Beyond the distraction of Hurricane Milton, Dolphins and Hurricane each not having games this weekend was well-timed. For Fins it gives QB Tua Tagovailoa an added week to recover from his concussion as Miami preps to visit Indianapolis in what could be last game Tua will miss. For No. 6 Canes, off-week provides time to ponder how close 6-0 is to being 4-2, after fortunate escapes vs. Virginia Tech and at Cal. Odds not out yet but UM given 56.4 percent (ESPN/FPI) win-likelihood next Saturday at Louisville, and Fins only 28.9% to win in Indy.

7. NFL: Did Jets firing Robert Saleh involve Middle East politics?: Saleh, of Lebanese descent, wore the flag patch of that country last year as part of the NFL Heritage Program. But that was before the Israel-Hamas war, and before he got fired. Saleh wore the same patch last week in the loss in London that would be his final game, and some in mainstream and social media say that gives the firing ;political overtones. Only Jets owner Woody Johnson knows. But I would note: Hezbollah, the Iran-backed military group in Lebanon, has a violent past with Israel and has escalated the Israel-Hamas war. Can understand why Saleh or anyone else wearing a Lebanon flag patch amid this current turmoil might be seen as political.

8. TENNIS: Wimbledon replacing line judges with non-human technology: Sure, Rafael Nadal is retiring, but this caught my eye more. In another small step toward the end of civilization, Wimbledon announced starting in 2025 it will dispense with human line judges for first time in its 147 years. All England Club will middle-finger tradition by utilizing Electronic Line Calling (ELC). Henceforth players arguing a call will constitute a (sorry, Tom Morello) rage against the machine. John McEnroe in ’25, shouting at no one: “You can’t be serious, you pathetic amalgamation of cameras, computers and algorithms!”

9. HEAT: Countdown 10 days until Opening Night: Miami open its NBA regular season October 23 vs. Orlando, with festivities scheduled October 27-28 related to the arena unveiling of the Dwyane Wade statue. Heat lost its preseason opener to Charlotte but now has three straight fake-games at home starting today/Sunday vs. New Orleans. Five-game preseason ends this coming Friday in Memphis.

10. BASEBALL, SORT OF: Savannah Bananas bring sillyball to Miami: The independent team taking Globetrotters-type antics to the diamond brought the clownball to Miami for a sold-out “game” Saturday. (So weird to see Marlins Park full!) They’ve announced a 2025 tour that’ll play three football stadiums and 18 MLB parks including Miami’s March 1-2. I’ll be sure to again not attend the clown-bastardization of baseball that includes caught foul balls counting as outs. Like Monster Jam, it’s a fake-sport pandering to the desperately bored or too easily amused.

THE LIST: MLB’S FINAL FOUR TEAMS: MLB has had League Championship Series since 1969. Here is how the current four finalists have fared in the ALCS/NLCS era:

Team / WS wins / ALCS-NLCS record (most recent)

New York Yankees / 7 / 11-7 (Lost in 2022)

Los Angeles Dodgers / 3 / 8-7 (Lost in 2021)

New York Mets / 2 / 5-3 (Won in 2015)

Cleveland Guardians / 0 / 3-2 (Won in 2016)

Other most recent stuff from me: NFL Week 6 picks // Florida Panthers celebrate Cup with opening win. But should game have been played? // Herald NFL Week 5 QB Rankings // With eyes on Milton, we rank Miami’s Big 6 teams on Exhilaration to Angst scale // Dolphins’ win in New England was ugly but sweet for a team just trying to survive // Previous HB10 // Poll Dance: Likeliest unlikely thing to happen in Miami pro sports? // Don’t sleep on Canes! Miami’s epic 39-38 comeback at Cal a redeye win for the ages // Pete Rose wasn’t perfect, but MLB’s endless lack of mercy followed him to grave // Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill victim of police abuse of power, MDPD needs to apologize /./ Messi at 37 has missed more than half of Inter Miami games. Cherish him while you can // Book it! Miami Hurricanes will vie for ACC title, make playoff in huge return to power // Jazz trade continues Miami Marlins’ losing cycle of talent-for-prospects cost cutting // And my latest podcast: