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HACKSAW is Back..

Podcast Returns 3pm-Thursday

You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton-Sports

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“COLLEGE FOOTBALL–FIX IT”

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College Football is coming thru an electric-exciting football season.
College Football is in chaos.

The incoming President of the NCAA-Charley Baker inherited a mess, that has gotten even worse during his first year on the job.

College football is all about money.
How much the schools make in TV contracts.
What the players are getting in NIL payoffs
What the Transfer Portal has become
The dissolution of the APR-academic rankings
The end of the Pac 12-Conference
The latest siege of schools changing conferences
The raging playoff selection controversy and the expansion to 12-in-2024

A new era is coming but this will be complex, how to reign in control of the sport.   How to solve the growing disparity between the big money schools and the rest of the schools in their conference.  The greater divide between the Power 5 Conferences and the Group of 5-schools.  Rich man-vs-poor man.

My lasting memory of Mark Emmett-who retired last year, is the mess he left behind, his shoddy leadership, his lack of vision.  The NCAA, once a power dictatorship, has become a Banana Republic operation.

And now Charley Baker comes in from Boston, with a mandate to do what Emmett did not do, regain control of the NCAA, and give some structure to football.

Yes it is a money game, so much to the point, it has wrecked the specialness of what college football-basketball, its history, and its rivalries used to be.

The players’ rights issue took over the sport.  The transfer portal has wrecked the structure of programs, team’s coaches have to re-recuit their own talent year by year.  Teams are stealing other team’s players.  It’s now about NIL money if you leave one school for another.  Families are calling schools offering their sons for a dollar deal.

Baker sent out a proposal to all NCAA programs, proposing the formation of a ‘Champions League’, taking the top teams from each of the remaining Power 5-conferences and putting them into their super league.

The plan would have the Super League operate as an independent entity.  They would determine how to control the NIL money.  They would have their own set of rules on the transfer portal.  They would determine what their roster limits look like.  And they would configure Academic aid and health care for players during their careers and post-careers.

But there is a price that comes with a move.  Each school must guarantee an NIL pot that could allow each athlete at their school, men and women, would get up to 30,000 a year in benefits.  Big Cigar boosters, send your check now.

Who runs the Super conference?  Who polices all they will offer?  What happens to the conferences left behind?  What kind of TV money will be left on the table for the conferences and teams not part of the Champions League?

It’s quite a roadmap that must be navigated.

The thumbnail sketch looks like this:

Ohio State-Michigan-USC-Oregon-Washington go to the Super Conference.  Who else in the Big 10-can put together that type of package to join the league?

What if you are a have not like Vanderbilt or Rutgers, what kind of revenue do you raise from your games, when the SEC or Big 10 name teams are no longer on your schedule?

Does a debt ridden UCLA have the ability to raise the money to put into the pot to come join this mega league?

Is the government going to help supervise this league?  Gee the post office works really well doesn’t it?

And then there is the TV network world, which is writing checks of 30-to-50M a year to all these conference schools.  What are those network conference TV deals like for the conferences that won’t have Texas-Oklahoma as members?

Will all the big money go only to the Champions League schools? The paydays will be over for the conference members who are not good enough to raise money to join this league.  Suddenly the have nots get pennies on the dollar compared to what schools everywhere are getting today.

The Baker Paper proposal does not reference what happens to the schools in Division 1AA..II or Division III, who have their own set of financial problems.  Think how tough life is in these smaller conferences, from the Mid American to the Big Sky and everywhere in between.

Think there is rage-like  conversation right now, the aftermath of what happened to Georgia-Florida State, wait till you see the rage that happens if this neogitation takes place, with haves leaving the have nots behind.

You may love Big Game-Saturdays in college football and March Madness in basketball.  No one can love what has happened in a 24-month period with money driving everything in college sports now.

Hard to think things like Harvard-Yale in the Ivy League, might be the purest thing in college football right now.

Somebody needs to ‘Fix It’.  The Baker Report and the Champions League idea is a start.  Where it ends up remains to be seen.

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“BASEBALL NOTES”
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Baseball’s off season is off to a rousing start.  Who knows where it is headed?

The two biggest questions going to the Winter Meetings in Nashville involved Ohtani and Soto.

They have both changed teams, Showtime Shohei goes to the Dodgers.  Soto gets traded to the Yankees.

The baseball world seems back to normal, the big teams spend and spend and get what they want.  Too bad for the rest of baseball.

The Dodgers record setting 10-year, 700M contract for Ohtani set new standards for total contract and average salary.  And though there is enormous push-back, the Dodgers followed the letter of the law, how to finance the deferred payment package Ohtani will receive starting in 2034.  What they did is legal, just that very few teams have packaged contracts that way.

Then the Yankees, aka the Evil Empire, did what they usually do, make a deal to get a star player.  The 5-for-2 acquisition of a player with MVP qualities came at a price.  The Yankees will pay just 30M this year, but will have to find a way to keep Juan Soto,  who becomes a free agent next fall.  They traded 4-young pitchers and a backup catcher to make the deal go thru.  Nothing illegal here, just the rich getting richer.

Next up will be the decision of Japanese pitching sensation Yosh Yamamoto, who could get upwards of a 200M package at age 25.  And right behind him, the bidding on Korean outfielder Jung Hoo-Lee, a great pure hitter and a superb glove, who just agreed to a (6Y) deal with the lowly San Francisco Giants..

The Dodgers and Yankees are front runners for Yamamoto.  The Padres-Giants-Cubs among those desperate to get Lee.

Once those players are locked up, the flood gates will open.

Blake Snell-Josh Hader-Jared Montgomery  figure to be the next off the free agent board.

Beyond that, veterans looking for one last payday will sign.  Justin Turner, JD Martinez, Lucas Gialito, Marcus Stroman, Michael Wacha, Mike Clevinger among others are waiting for offers.

So too are those with troubles on their resume, Trevor Bauer and Julio Urias.

Is baseball in trouble for the way business is being done?  The Union thinks not.  Alot of owners don’t think this is good, the wild numbers given to superstars.

I fear MLB will have 5-super teams and 27-others that cannot be in a pennant race.

The Yankees-Dodgers go shopping at Nieman-Marcus.  A ton of teams wind up doing business at Dollar General.

And the price on everyone keeps going up, from an MVP like Ohtani to some journeyman pitcher getting 15M per year.

Yes Arizona and Texas got to the World Series from different roads, but the bulk of baseball needs a different set of financial rules.  The few don’t want to make changes.  The rest be damned.

How is this type of disparity good for baseball?  When you figure it out, let me know.  Baseball’s leadership doesn’t seem to care.

Baseball today does not look to be in a good place.

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CHARGERS-RAIDERS-NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE”

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They play on Thursday Night Football.
Neither is having a good season.
Both could be looking for head coaches again.
Neither is playing infront of its real home fans

The Chargers are in Los Angeles.  The Raiders in Las Vegas
Neither have had any success in their new venues.

It used to be a great rivalry.
Close your eyes and remember Dan Fouts-vs-Ken Stabler.
Marcus Allen-Bo Jackson
Junior Seau-Kellen Winslow
Air Coryell vs Al Davis

Powder Blues-vs-Silver and Black.

Both have fallen on hard times, both owners under siege, Dean Spanos-Mark Davis.

Both coaches could be gone at the end of this messy season, Brandon Staley-Antonio Pearce.

Both have had big name coaches, who exited, Jon Gruden who self destructed, Marty Schottenheimer-Bobby Ross, who were dismissed by ownership.

It’s been a miserable run by the Raiders.  All those high draft pick quarterbacks who failed, led by J’Marcus Russell to the acquisition of Jim Garoppolo.

Derek Carr was allowed to leave. Justin Herbert has been allowed to take a beating and is now hurt again.  The eras of Fouts and Philip Rivers are in the rear-view mirror.

The Raiders, despite Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs, have continued to struggle.

The Chargers have Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler but are still found wanting in how to go up and down the field.

The Raiders OL has been in disarray for years.  They have never found components to put around Kolton Miller.  The Chargers have all these high draft picks and yet they cannot run the ball and their pass blocking is lacking.

On the defensive side the Raiders burned thru so many draft pick failures, it’s like Maxx Crosby by himself out there.  The Chargers have drafted so many athletes on that side of the ball, and there they are rated 30-31-32 in virtually every category on defense despite waiting for a breakthrough season that never came.

The Raiders have always signed the shiny new objects in free agency, Mark Davis trying to emulate his father Al Davis.  It’s a disaster.

Team Spanos, calls itself the 1st Family of Football, the ones buried in last place in the AFC West heading into Thursday’s game.

The Raiders fans follow the team and it’s national brand.  But they never win.
Chargers fans sell their tickets to out of town fans which is why the Chargers play more road games than anyone else, because fans wearing their team’s colors over-run So Fi Stadium more Sundays than not.

The days of the Holy Roller, the Mad Stork, the Mad Bomber and Fouts-Winslow-Joiner-JJ-Chandler seem like another lifetime ago.

The Chargers-the-Raiders-Thursday Night.  Only the historians remember how great, how important these rivalry games used to be.

Mark Davis-the Spanos Family have destroyed what used to be so special.

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“WEEKEND TO REMEMBER”
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The Dodgers, pioneers, front runners, trend setters….winners.

There are no other words to describe Dodgers baseball, then in Brooklyn, now in Los Angeles, and in the future, globally.

The Dodgers won the bidding war to sign Angels star Shohei Ohtani, the (10Y-700M) deal far outdistancing the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and others.

The franchise that broke the color barriers with Jackie Robinson, delivered us Mexican legend Fernando Valenzuala, and brought many stars from the Pacific Rim, Hideo Nomo, Kenta Maeda, Hyung Jin-Ryu, plus all the Caribbean stars of the past, are more than America’s team, but have become a Global brand.

In an era with Luxury Tax thresholds and significant penalties, the Dodgers maneuvered with creative financing to defer upwards of 500M of the salary, getting discount benefits under the tex rules.  Instead of a tax figure of 70M per year, they will be charged 40M a year under bookkeeping rules, allowing the Dodgers to stay active in the free agent market to go get pitching.

Remarkable that Ohtani and his CAA-agents are the ones who proposed deferred payments, without interest, so that the Dodgers could continue to roster-build.

But that’s not strange, because Ohtani has always done business differently, from demanding autonomy to train as a DH and a pitcher at the same time. Demand he be allowed to rehab with his own medical people outside the circle of Angels physicians.  Be allowed to participate in the WBC on his terms.

He is also the one who left Japan early to come to the Angels eventhough he could not sign a lucrative free agent contract, being underpaid 5-straight seasons before he became a mega free agent after his final 30M-deal his final year expired at Angels Stadium.

And now he agrees to a creatively packaged record transaction to move to Dodgers Stadium.

Here are all types of reaction from what we saw in the Dodgers version of a Great Sports Weekend:

DODGERS…Add a 44-home run bat to an order that already has Mookie Betts-Freddie Freeman-Wil Smith and many others, wow.  The fact the Dodgers have a history of helping rehab pitchers coming off elbow surgeries, can you imagine a rotation a year from now that includes Ohtani-Beuhler-May plus the myriad of younger arms like Bobby Miller and possibly Clayton Kershaw?  Wow-wow.

PADRES..In the aftermath of the Juan Soto-Yankees trade, I ask if San Diego got the right players in the deal?  The Yankees top group of young players includes P-Clark Schmidt..2B-Gleyber Torres..CF-Jason Domingues..and top young minor leaguers Oswaldo Peraza and Ev Periero, and none of them were included in the haul the Padres got.  Yes, P-Michael King and future prospect Drew Thorpe came to San Diego, for an MVP player like Soto, but the Padres needed to get other proven young players.  They did not.  And now you don’t have Soto and the Dodgers have Ohtani.

ANGELS..Just don’t understand Arte Moreno’s mode of operation.  His GM-Perry Manazian has not accomplished much in 3-years.  The roster is thread- bare of talent.  Aside from the oft-injured Mike Trout, it looks like a Class AAA-roster in the Pacific Coast League.  And now Ohtani has departed.  Leaving with him all the star studded stats, pitching, hitting and the awards.  How awful this must be on Halos fans to see this.  Yes, they have 70M-budget space to use, but what star players will want to come to Anaheim, and how do you replace the player, the personality, the fans favorite?  And I understand why President John Carpino said ‘no comment’ about the Angels attempt to keep Ohtani.  I guess I wouldn’t have much to say if I were Carpino, who has overseen the demise of this once popular franchise.

So Showtime moves to Dodgers Stadium.
Tell me the Padres season isn’t over before it even started.
Angels fans should boycott the team till Moreno-Carpino sells the franchise.

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“NFL-Preview…Big Games-Big Problems”
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CHARGERS-BRONCOS…What’s the bigger surprise?  The Chargers with torrid QB-Justin Herbert, not really in the playoff race any longer, or the coaching job done by Sean Payton, resurrecting QB-Russell Wilson and taking a Broncos team to 5-wins in a row.  Yes the same Broncos team that gave up 70-points and over 700-yards in a terrible loss to Miami early in the season.

BILLS-CHIEFS…Important game for a troubled (6-6) Bills team, now challenged with this off the field story that Coach Sean McDermott made reference to the 9/11 hijackings, talking about the Saudi’s teamwork in hijacking the planes that went into the Twin Towers.  On the field, turnover plagued Josh Allen faces turnover plagued Patrick Mahomes.

COWBOYS-EAGLES..Some season by Dak Prescott, with a QB rating now of (108) with his TD-Interception ratio of (26-6).  The Eagles, what a year for Jalen Hurts (3425APY-31TD) even if they were steamrolled by the Niners last week.

MIAMI-TITANS…Tua Tagovailoa’s offense (426YPG)…Tua has thrown for (3457Y-24TD) in their big play package.

PACKERS-GIANTS..Green Bay has won 3-in a row, and Jordan Love’s numbers keep growing (22TD-10Int).

TAMPA BAY-FALCONS…Two struggling teams.  Big challenge for Falcons QB-Desmond Ridder (8TD-14Tovers).

LIONS-BEARS..Detroit now is averaging (400YPG) going for their 10th win of the year…QB-Justin Fields needs to make this a shootout.

COLTS-BENGALS…Which is more impressive, Gardner Minshew leading Indy to 4-wins in a row or Jake Browning, lifetime backup, throwing for (354Y) last week?

JAGUARS-BROWNS..No Trevor Lawrence for the next 4-weeks so the defense and CJ Beathard will have to have an extraordinary day.  Joe Flacco comes off a stunning first game start after joining Cleveland.

SAINTS-CAROLINA…Derek Carr is hurt, as is Michael Thomas, so the Saints are in big trouble.  A bad year for rookie Bryce Young and the (1-10) Panthers.

HOUSTON-JETS..CJ Stroud has QB-rating (100) and a (20TD-5Int) season.  The Jets meanwhile are putting Zach Wilson back into the starters role of an offense that has jsut 10-TDs on the season.

RAVENS-RAMS…Sean McVay has driven his team to 3-wins in a row, but now they face a monster, QB-Lamar Jackson’s offense and a Baltimore defense giving up just (273YPG) and has 47-sacks.

VIKINGS-RAIDERS…Minnesota is keeping turnover plagued Josh Dobbs in the starting lineup.  Minnesota faces a Raiders team that has lost 4-of-6 and its QBs have thrown 17-interceptions.

SEATTLE-SAN FRANCISCO…The Seahawks have lost 3-in a row.  The Niners numbers are staggering (391YPG) on offense…a defense has has 36-sacks-21-takeaways..and Brock Purdy had a wild (116R-23TD-6Int)

STEELERS-PATRIOTS…Two once proud teams, virtually incompetent on offense.  What a bad Thursday night game we had.

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