Greg Cote: Miami Heat faces forever-shame, Tkachuk hits penalty box & more in new Hot Button Top 10

GREG COTE’S HOT BUTTON TOP 10 (MAY 28): 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 18th edition of the new HB10:

1: HEAT: Collapse! Miami needs Game 7 win in Boston to avert historic shame: No team in NBA history-- not one, ever -- has led 3-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series and not advanced. Miami will make that dubious history unless it wins Game 7 in Boston Monday, with only the NBA Finals at stake. The unpredictability of sports is unending magic, except when it crushes your team as it did the Heat Saturday in a 104-103 last-second loss on a tip-in after Miami had roared back late. Bottom line? Heat did not deserve to win. Shot 35.5 percent. Was 16-for-52 in the paint. Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were 9-for-37. Those two show up big Monday, or Miami owns the worst kind of history ... forever.

2. PANTHERS: Florida will be rested entering Stanley Cup Final. Is that good?: Panthers swept Carolina, albeit the closest sweep ever -- all four wins by one goal, two in overtime. While in the West finals, Vegas leads Dallas 3-2 with Game 6 Monday. That means Florida will have ad eight days rest in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final next Saturday, at least double that of the West survivor. That good (rest and healing) or bad (rust)? In any case, the Cats are almost certain to be underdogs again, as the 8-seeds have been throughout in a miracle on ice unfolding by degrees.

3. HEAT/PANTHERS: Tkachuck’s new sports? Fence-sitting: Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk took in Saturday’s Heat-Celtics game in Miami and joined the TNT pregame show. He has become a big Heat fan, but also was high-school friends with Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Tkachuk helped eliminate the Bruins in the first round of the NHL playoffs so he’s already a public enemy in Boston. Would he dare side against the Heat in favor of Tatum? His diplomatic answer: “My two favorite players are Jimmy Butler, Jimmy Buckets, and Jayson, so I hope they both go off tonight I have to keep the honest answer going and root for both of them.” [Whistle] Get in the box, Tkachuk. That’s two minutes for fence-sitting.

4. TENNIS: French Open underway in a down time for sport: The major in Paris is underway through June 11, with Carlos Alcaraz at +150 a small betting pick over Novak Djokovic at +230 as the evolving sport gets used to someone from the Old Big Three not being favored by rote. Women’s pick is Iga Swiatek (-105) in a landslide. Tennis, for me, is in a transitional lull as it moves moves past the Djokovic-Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer triumvirate and past Serena Williams. Next Big Thing, please? (Politics entered the French as victor Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine refused to shake the hand of Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, which supports Russia’s war on Ukraine’s.)

5. MOTORSPORTS: It’s anybody’s Indianapolis 500 at The Brickyard: Can’t remember a tighter field via betting odds for today’s Indianapolis 500, which gets its one day in the sun in a motorsports landscape dominated by NASCAR and Formula One (not necessarily in that order). Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou and Scott Dixon are the bunched favorites. Old Helio Castroneves of Miami, a longshot at +5500, is our sentimental hope-pick.

6. HORSE RACING: Tragedies at Churchill Downs a warning to the sport: Twelve racehorses have now died at Churchill Down in Louisville just since April 27, sending up alarms throughout thoroughbred racing. The home of the Kentucky Derby is sort of America’s racetrack, and when the crisis hits there, it has America’s attention as the treatment of racehorses becomes a growing issue. Said the track: “We do not accept this as suitable or tolerable and share the frustrations of the public and, in some cases, the questions to which we do not yet have answers.” Horse deaths undermine the credibility and ultimate popularity of this great sport. As a fractional part-owner of a racehorse myself (named Calmly), I have an emotional stake in changes to prevent what is becoming an epidemic.

7. NFL: Will Washington ever get a team nickname right?: The defrocked former Redskins tried ‘Washington Football Team’ for awhile -- because who doesn’t love generic and bland? -- then settled on Commanders. It was not well received. Lent itself to Commies for short. But now there’s another problem. Team does not own a trademark on “Washington Commanders.” Filed for one, but it was denied, partly because a name-stealing squatter named Martin McCaulay had already filed a claim. The NFL team may still keep the name and sell merchandise, but it would be harder to stop others from doing the same. Another name change is doubtful. Look for the Washington Whatevers to appeal the patent-office ruling instead.

8. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Sad priorities in Georgia football’s White House snub: Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said it was not a political statement. No, instead the statement in declining to be honored at the White House on June 12 was, “Our priorities are sort of out of whack.” The team isn’t going because it says June 12 is in the middle recruiting season and offseason workouts. Seriously? As someone who has visited the White House (1972 Dolphins honored there in 2013), I can tell you that, no matter your political leaning, it is awesome to experience. Dumb of Smart to rob his players of the chance.

9. NFL: Tom Brady failing miserably at fading away: Tom Brady a new minority owner of Las Vegas Raiders. Tom Brady signs 10-year, $375 million deal to be Fox’s lead NFL analyst. Wait, are Tom Brady and Kim Kardashian dating? Hey, not too late for another Tom Brady comeback rumor! He’s only 45! For the love of gawd. We finally found something Brady is bad at: Fading away in retirement. We’d love to miss ya, Tom. But you’d have to go away first.

10. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Don’t drink the Kool-Aid ... draft him: Take a full year to enjoy Kool-Aid McKinstry, or at least his name. He’s an Alabama cornerback expected top-10 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Born Ga’Quincy, Grandma nicknamed him when he was an infant because his smile reminded her of the Kool-Aid Man. If it didn’t go without saying, he now has an NIL deal with Kool-Aid. Take notes. Be strategic. Consider adopting the nickname Amazon. Or perhaps Walmart?

Other most recent stuff from me: Heartbreaker loss as Heat facing road Game 7, historic playoff collapse / Time to worry? Heat lead down to 3-2 after loss in Boston / Rats and a sweep: Florida Panthers in Stanley Cup for first time since 1996 / No sweep: Heat still up 3-1. No need to worry ... right? / Brooms out! Florida Panthers join Heat at 30 as double-dream grows / Heat embarrasses Celtics for 3-0 series lead / Previous HB10 from last Sunday / And my latest podcast: