=============

Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Look-Listen-Share-Subscribe

=============
“NBA-Do You Like it”
=============

The push for playoff spots and the fight to get to the play-in games is underway in the NBA.

It’s almost desperation time for teams.

If you watched the Lakers comeback win over the Clippers, you saw LeBron James take over the night.

A 21-point Clippers lead disappeared.  James went off for 24-points in the fourth quarter, outscoring the entire Clippers roster in the 4th quarter.

It was thrilling.  But is NBA basketball thrilling?  Do you think all offense-no defense really is good for the game.

The stats are staggering, and you will have to tell me if you like the game you are seeing these years.

The NBA will set an all time scoring record this year.  The 30-teams are averaging 115-points a game, the biggest ever.  NBA teams are giving up 119 points a game, and this would set a record for points allowed.

We have had 8-games this year in which a team scored 150-points in a win this year.  The Pacers had 157 in a win over Atlanta; Boston ripped off 155 against the Packers.  Utah had a 154-148 victory over Detroit.

On any given night, anyone can go off.  Luka Doncic had 73 in Dallas.  Joel Embiid had a 70-point night for the Sixers.  Giannis Antetokounmpo got 64 and Devin Booker 62.  Great accomplishments, but likely little defense against them.

The 3-point rule has changed the game, and everyone has guys who can stroke it. Steph Curry has already hit 266-bombs.

Indiana leads the NBA with 123-points a night but they are dominant because they don’t play at the other end of the court, giving up 124 per evening.

Washington is awful on defense allowing 119 a game, one of three teams giving up those record numbers.

The big paydays in the NBA, the 40 to 50M contracts are going to the great scorers.

Rebounding-and-defense don’t garner much attention, don’t get you mega paydays and are not on the ESPN highlites.

Maybe come playoff time things will get ramped up, but maybe not.  Maybe it’s just ‘I outscore you’ and hope your team can move on.

The era of Bill Russell’s defense, Karl Malone’s rebounds are seemingly gone forever, replaced by LeBron James bullying his way to the basket, or James Hardin’s non stop 3-point bombs.

You’ll have to tell me, if the 2024 version basketball is as good as the Lakers Showtime era or the dominance of Larry Bird’s Celtics or the Twin Towers in Houston, or even Air Jordan via Chicago.

Great individual talent replacing great teams of years ago, is that good?

I don’t think it is.

================================================

================

“Ducks Hockey–When Does It Ever End”
================

The NHL Trading Deadline is March 8th.

It has become a target date for blockbuster trades, the NHL have-nots sending veteran players to teams in the Stanley Cup chase.

It’s also become contract dumps, where teams ship out veteran players on expiring contracts to try to get some assets in return before those players leave as free agents.

And here we have the once proud, Stanley Cup type Anaheim Ducks franchise, which seems to be stuck in the rut of constant rebuild.

And here we sit with its top farmclub, the San Diego Gulls, once an AHL flagship franchise in a town that loves hockey, buried at the bottom of the standings for the 3rd year in a row, its working agreement with the Ducks, not working out.

There is the new GM-Pat Verbeek,continuing to try and rebuild the franchise that once delivered its fans Paul Kariya-Teemu Selanne-Corey Perry-Ryan Getzlaf and so many other quality players.

Stockpiling picks, high draft choices, is great, if those picks-choices turn out to be quality players.

The Ducks were thought to be on the right track, with the likes of Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger and others.

But it’s tough to force feed so many young players at one.  Losing begets losing that begets loss of confidence in the organization.

Verbeek dealt away Drysdale to the Flyers.  Now reports Zegras may be headed to Montreal.  Moving cornerstone players that were supposed to be the building blocks with others.  Maybe it’s injuries.  Maybe it’s an unwillingness to pay the going rate for players whose career is on the way up.

Left behind in the transactions are a ton of rookies, few veterans, and little chance of becoming a playoff team, while the career of star goalie John Gibson erodes away.

The Ducks seemed so gifted, as their rebuild was underway with the likes of Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Jakob Silfverberg and Rikard Rickell, and kids like Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour.

Most of that wave is now gone.

Left behind are veterans Adam Henrique and Alex Killorn, and look where the Ducks are in the standings, and just other guys who are not difference makers..

You can bring in all these young players, but can they play?  Nick Ritchie didn’t do much and was gone.  So did one year wonder Maxim Comtois.  Defenseman Simon Benoit was moved too.  Ditto for people like Jacob Larsson, Ondrej Kase and Sam Steel.  All here with hope, and now departed.

Anyone see much value in Max Jones, Issac Lundestrom and other young prospects still there suiting up but not doing much?

Sure they have Leo Carlsson, last year’s high first round pick phenom, and you still have Troy Terry and Lukas Dostel.

Sure more names are in the pipeline, from newly acquired Flyers pick Cutter Gauthier, Tristan Luneau, Carey Tarrance and Sam Colangelo.  And the Gulls rookie goalie Tomas Suchanek has been a pleasant surprise.  But most of those other names, they are in the college ranks, or in Europe or in junior.  Do you know how far away these guys might be?

As the Ducks play and lose, so does our team in town, the Gulls.  The kids have been overwhelmed.  They seem so far away, even if they can play.  Ben King, Sasha Pastujov, Nikita Nestorenko, Judd Caufield, Jaxson Weibe, Noah Warren.

Last year’s Gulls roster was wretched.  This year’s collection of kids, can’t score goals yet.

Since opening night 2019, the Ducks are (120-182-47), that’s 120-wins over 349-games played.  The last three Gulls seasons have given us a (66-105-18) record, that’s 66-wins in 189-nights they dropped the puck.  And I don’t see it getting better.

You don’t win in Anaheim, you don’t win in San Diego.  The scoreboard does not lie.

And now the trade deadline is next ahead, and you wonder what the Ducks can get to improve their product and the Gulls product.  They seem hopelessly lost in this rinse-wash-spin dry cycle of player personnel acquisitions.

Feel bad for the fans at the Honda Center and the Sports Arena.  Sure seems like Verbeek is spinning his wheels.  These past years don’t give me hope good years are just around the corner either, for the fans who wear Ducks colors or the Gulls crest.

When does this ever end?

================================

=========

“NFL COMBINE NOTES”
=========

It was interview day in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine.

General Managers took to the podium, and in the AFC-West, the leaders of the four teams had alot to say.

CHARGERS…Newly installed GM Joe Hortiz remained steadfast how he would do business to fix an underachieving roster.
..We will get under the salary cap-stay tuned
..I believe in churning this roster
..We will get players in the draft-then in free agency.
..We will sign free agents after OTAs in June
..We will sign free agents in August after the final roster cut down
..We will change the bottom of the roster continually during the season.
..My rosters are never set.

RAIDERS…Tom Telesco has taken over as GM and knows he has challenges ahead-but he is not ready to tear the roster apart.
..Davante Adams will not be traded-he is a Raider.
..Josh Jacobs is valued-rushing-receptions-pass blocking.
..Quarterbacks, I want leadership in huddle, a preparation driven player.
..We will look at trading up

CHIEFS…From Super Bowl ceremony to moving onto next year, all that from GM-Brett Veach.
..We will use the franchise tag for sure on either Chris Jones or LeJarius Sneed
..Jones franchise tag figure is (32M)
..Sneed’s tag number is (21M)

BRONCOS..Sean Payton is calling the player decisions on this roster.
..The Broncos must not get the next QB selection wrong
..Russell Wilson’s status will be decided within 2-weeks
..There have been no trade offers for Wilson-yet.

The Chargers draft 5th and could trade back.
The Raiders are outside the top 10-and need to trade up for a QB
The Broncos have a myriad of issues and trade chips to sue to move up
The Chiefs draft 32nd in the first round and have a great history of drafting.

===================

=============
Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus PODCAST
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Look-Listen-Share-Subscribe

 

=============

“NFL-Free Agency”
==============

Ready-Set-Go..NFL Free Agency.

The Chargers are headed to free agency with alot of work ahead of them.

The excitement of the hire of Jim Harbaugh is now officially over and the real work has begun, with the combine in Indianapolis, then free agency, then the draft.

The NFL salary cap has rocketed to (255M), an all time.  The cap went up (30M) from last season, another all time one year increase.

The NFL financial ledger shows the Chargers still way above the salary cap, some (25.5M) over the cap.  That despite of the 30M-cap increase and the fact they just restricted the contract of soon to retire OC-Corey Linsley, saving them another 10M.

There are problems everywhere, including players not there any longer.  CB-JC Jackson, axed at midseason last year, still have a cap figure (21.2M) and he’s not there any longer.

How do they get below the cap?

Players exiting, buyouts, like oft-injured WR-Mike Williams, DT-Austin Johnson.  But when you buyout Williams (34.2M) cap figure, and Johnson (21M) cap figure, you pick up dead money that still goes against the cap.  Add that to the dead dollars Jackson accounts for, so you still save money by moving big paydays off the roster, but you don’t gave full space.

Khalil Mack’s great season means he stays with a cap figure (38.5) cap figure.  Joey Bosa, his career marred with nagging injuries, has missed 21-of-35 games over the last two seasons, drags a (36.1) cap figure into camp next year.

Star WR-Keenan Allen has a salary figure (34.7M) and won’t be cut.

So Harbaugh and his front office have to do some creative financing work that means veteran starters have to exit.

Austin Ekeler was told he won’t be offered a new deal, taking his (8,239APY-69TD) out the door after a fabulous 6-plus years of productivity.

The Chargers new Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman says his new team will run the ball, and that means you need a proven running back. Is that in free agency or via the draft?

The defense needs veteran talent, and that means a pay day to go get linebackers or corners. How do you do that some (25.5M) over the cap as of today?

They do draft 5-and-37 in the top two rounds.  What they need, offensive lineman, a defensive tackle and a tight end, will be plentiful in those two rounds.   The best order of business might be to trade back from the 5th slot,for a team that wants a shot at one of the top QBs, get a later opening round pick and add maybe another 2nd or 3rd round choice.

Decisions, decisions, an absolute ton of things to get accomplished.

The Chargers do have QB-Justin Herbert, but they now look to have alot less talent on this roster that the roster that opened the season last fall.

Jim Harbaugh talks a good game.  Now he and his newly minted front office have to find ways to fix everything wrong with the franchise.

Get ready-get set-go…solve the cap crisis and find the right draft picks and veteran free agents.

=================================

======

Program Note-Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus PODCAST
Livestream 1pm-You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Join us for Fans Forum
=======
“BLACK EYE-BLACK BALLED-BLACK LISTED”

========

Bad decisions-bad outcomes.

Matt Araiza-NFL..Trevor Bauer-MLB

One sidetracked his career, the other may have self destructed his career.

Questions worth asking:  Since when is being stupid a reason to keep a player out of the NFL?  How many times do you have to commit hideous acts to make yourself a toxic talent in MLB?

Matt Araiza, surviving a sexual escapade with a 17-year old, is back in the NFL after missing two seasons following an investigation and lawsuits.  It cost him his rookie salaries and his spot on the Buffalo Bills roster, who released him after the gang rape investigation began.

Araiza was cleared by police and both sides dropped their defamation lawsuits against each other.  But the damage was done to his reputation.  He will never get back the two years of athletic ability he lost.

All he did was be stupid and have consensual sex with a girl who lied to him about his age.  Stupid decision with his NFL career just ahead of him.  He was never part of the gang sex possible rape case inside an on campus apartment later that night.

NFL rosters are dotted by alot of players who been arrested.  Pick any charge, DUI, guns, domestic abuse, cocaine, PEDs and guys are still playing.  No one would touch Araiza until his troubles finally were off the court dockets and out of the court room.

He kept his mouth shut, kept working out, got cleared and got another job kicking in the NFL for Kansas City.  A painful price for being stupid.

Trevor Bauer says he’s served his sentence, a record 194-game suspension, loss of 31M-in salaries, his exile to the Yokohama Bay Stars, for sexual misconduct.

He too investigated, never charged, case tossed out of court, lawsuits dropped too.  But his case is deeper because the ‘rough sex’ allegations are not isolated incidents.  3-other women say they experienced similar issues while Bauer was in the Indians-Reds organizations.

Trend there, lifestyle choice, not a stand-alone happenstance.  Kind of surprising for someone with a UCLA degree.

He’s still unsigned.  That’s him standing on your street corner wearing a sandwich board that reads ‘willing to work for minimum MLB salary’.

He has kept talking, kept active on social media, saying he paid his price, deserves a 2nd chance, apologizing for his reckless decisions, but still alluding to the fact ‘it was consensual’.

No one has offered him any type of incentive laced contract, despite baseball teams being desperate for established starting pitching.  Even his (83-56) record doesn’t impress anyone anymore because of what is attached to his resume now.

Black eyes for both Araiza and Bauer for sure.
Black listed maybe for the punter.
Blackballed-sure looks like for the pitcher..

=====================================l