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BASEBALL’S CALENDAR-JUNE”
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June 1st is the demarcation line for alot of things.

For kids, the start of summer vacation.
For the NBA..time to head to the Champiohship round
For the NHL..Stanley Cup time

For Baseball, it’s the beginning of the real pennant race, as we march towards the midway point of the schedule.

Some candid comments on what we have seen:

PADRES..My biggest fear is about to be realized, not enough pitching, key guys hurt and an unforgiving schedule about to begin.  The Friars, on Friday, begin a stretch when they play 26-games in the next 27-days.  In the bigger picture, they have 32-games in a 34-day span.  And as the calendar turns to June, they play 22-road games in this month.  Goodbye Pirates-Marlins-Rockies and the woeful teams on the schedule.  Hello multiple series with the Dodgers, Giants-Diamondbacks, Mets and more

What makes it hard is the lack of starting pitching.  Hard enough knowing there is no Joe Musgrove this year.  There has been no Yu Darvish yet and who knows how long he can hold up.  Now Michael King has a mysterious scapula-shoulder blade issue.  Matt Waldon may be doing rehab starts in far away San Antonio.  Kyle Hart, found wanting in his first group of starts, has been brought back from El Paso, only because there is no one else to callup.  They keep sending Randy Vasquez out, and good starts are off set by bad innings.

Yes Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease have gone out as warriors and had more good starts than bad, but how longer can that keep up?  And the bullpen has done yeoman’s work, but is there not a burnout factor attached to that usage.

Yes the DODGERS have been front and center, having put 16-pitchers on the disabled list this first half of the season, and they too are stressed out, with little left at Oklahoma City to call up. But some of their injured arms, Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin are back, and Shohei Ohtani seems a month away from returning and Bobby Miller and Landon Knack may bail them out in the interim.

Of course the trade market might net these two teams some rental help, but there’s an issue there too.

The Dodgers have no limit about how much salary to take on.  Hell, they just ate some 16M-in salaries in releasing Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes, so taking on a rental hurler will not be an issue, for money is no object due to Dodger Dollars.

The Padres seem pinned against a financial wall from a payroll standpoint.  Can they afford to take on a half year salary to rent, say a Tyler Anderson or Kyle Hendricks of the Angels?  And who would AJ Preller trade away to get a rental starter, considering the farm system is threadbare.

Yes June 1st is the demarcation date to see who is a pennant contender or pretender in the fight for first place.  It’s also the date we find out who has the health to make a pennant run, and who has the resources to go get a deal done.

Tough games on schedule, and tough decisions ahead too.

Circle it on your calendar Dodgers-Padres fans.
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“NFL-FAREWELL”
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The end came quickly for the owner of the Colts, but many within the inner circle knew Jim irsay’s life as owner of the NFL team was reaching the end of the road.

Very ill, confined to a wheelchair, a body that was breaking down at age 65, because of health issues, drug and alcohol problems.

But his spirit was never broken as his health declined.

He left behind a special relationship with Colts players and employees.  Even more, a special relationship with Civic charities, government causes and the common fan.

History may write a free spirit owner, always living on the edge, and a man of many interests.

I interviewed him a couple of times, and found him a ‘Rubik’s Cube personality’, but the more you talk to people, you found out about his diverse, dynamic approach to life.

From NFL owner, to rock and roll aficionado, to museum collector, to charitable causes, to a stand up guy.

The son of a raging alcoholic, Robert Irsay, who moved the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis in the middle of the night, Jim Irsay tried to distance himself from all the trauma he grew up in that household, a mad man as a parent, fraught with problems and bad genes he inherited.

And despite his own demons, Jim Irsay became his own person, and his touch-touched alot of people.

Included was his influence to help create NFL-free agency and the salary cap that has made everyone rich.

And he was the one who stood up to Daniel Snyder-owner of the Washington Redskins, and pointed a finger, that Snyder did not represent what the NFL Shield stood for, and he wanted him out.  This came after Snyder had sounded off he had ‘dirt’ on Commissioner Roger Goodell and alot of owners.  At which point  Irsay said ‘no dirt on me-I know my demons and so do my friends.

And with that Snyder was voted out, taking his toxic workplace environment, lawsuits and losers record, leaving the USA for London, England.

Many people have sounded off since the Friday passing of Irsay, from superstars he treated so well (Peyton Manning) to coaches he loved (Tony Dungy) and coaches he fired (Frank Reich).

A compilation of quotes from people in and around Indianapolis about Jim irsay:

..COLTS LOST A LIFER..INDY LOST AN ICON
..JIM LOVED COLTS WITH WHOLE HEART
..FIERCE COMPETITOR-IMMENSE COMPASSION
..TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED-NOT READY
..MY SOUL HURTS

..MAN OF THE PEOPLE-GENEROSITY UNMATCHED
..FOREVER CLOSE TO MY HEART
..GAME BALL OF A PERSON
..LOVED FAMILY-TEAM-COMMUNITY

He lived life on his own terms.  Took blame where warranted.  Gave back constantly.

Diverse-dyanmic..  Destined now to forever be remembered in Indianapolis

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Hacksaw’s Monday PODCAST..1-30pm
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Stay for Fans Forum
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“INDIANAPOLIS..THE EPICENTER”
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‘Back home in Indiana’…the tune that flashes thru my mind on a Memorial Day weekend.

And it really seems to carry special meaning this holiday because of what is happening in Sports.

Market Square Circle is the focal point in downtown Indianapolis, with its big soldiers-sailers monument in the center of the circle.  Everything, all roads, leading into and out of downtown, go around that circle.  A sight to behold.

The sports spotlight is on downtown Indianapolis right now too for lots of reason.

The Indy 500-was celebrated on Sunday with a record 350,000 on hand at the Old Brickyard, in addition to likely a Global TV-audience, as Spanish driving star Alex Palou raced thru traffic, outrunning Marcus Ericsson of Sweden to win the Ring, drink the Milk, kiss the bricks.

It was a wild day of crashes, mishaps in the pits, a couple of fires and more.  But it was a riveting 4-hours of the greatest event in the history of racing.

From that, you journeyed to take in the Indiana Pacers, hosting the New York Knicks, coming off two emotional road wins at Madison Square Garden.  The Pacers, a mixed bag of players they traded for and guys they drafted, are deep, passionate, physical and athletic.  They are just two wins away from going to the NBA finals.

There is lots of Pacers history too..dating back to the ABA days of George McGinnis, then the Reggie Miller era,  and so many more players who wore the colors.

In a basketball crazed area that brought us Bobby Knight, Larry Bird, and the movie ‘Hoosiers’ this is a pretty cool time .

And so too is the explosive growth of the WNBA, thanks to the Indiana Fever, and its 2nd year superstar Caitlin Clark.  For a franchise that averaged (1,722) just two years ago, they now draw over (17,000) a night, play to sold out arenas in every city, draw record TV ratings, and have enough time to deal with the Clark-Angel Reese public feud that began in the college ranks that has continued for a second year in a row.

The Fever win, and have put out the tee shirt that reads..’Every game is a home game’.  Everyone what to see the Indiana Fever star shoot 3’s from the next area code, and whistle passes to teammates.  You don’t average (20P-10R-10A) per game unless you are a great talent, selfless, and ego less.  She, and they, are something special.

Quite a time in downtown Indy.  The epicenter of sports at this hour.
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“The Indy 500-Memories”

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They sing ‘Back Home in Indiana’ on Sunday.
Gentlemen start your engines will be replaced by the roar of engines
The Green flag will see guys leading the pack who posted 234mph laps.

The Greatest Spectacle in Sports will be run before 350,000-fans this weekend.

The storylines are amazing this weekend, just like the history of years and decades gone by.

But this Indy 500 has delivered surprises.

Start with the pole sitter, a Russian refugee, from Israel, who came from Formula 1-Robert Schwartzman, who has never raced on an oval.  He is on a 1-race contract, and goes (232) to take the pole.  An F-1 test driver on the pole.  Who could imagine that.

Marquee names you would remember are in big trouble and the race has not started.  Defending champ Josef Newgarden starts 32nd and teammate Will Power goes off 33rd on the grid, in the aftermath of an illegal equipment that led them to being DQ’ from qualifying upfront.

Upfront in the 2nd row are the likes of the legend from New Zealand Scott Dixon, and budding superstar Alex Palou, who has won 4-races this year already.

Pato O’Ward, the Mexican star, has run upfront but has not won the Indy, but he will be at the head of pack when the green flag drops too.

The leadup week has been marred by the Team Penske cheating scandal, that led Roger Penske to fire the top three execs of his legendary team, as a show of force about the integrity of the sport and this Sunday’s race too.

The Indy 500 has become a global event.  The field is so international, it has a different feel and flavor now than a decade ago, than 100-years ago, than when Ray Harroun running in an old roadster won the first ever.

There is so much tradition come Sunday.  It is a slice of Americana as they run for the 109th time.

It’s a race now just of speed and guts and luck and craft, it is a race of personalities.

AJ (Foyt) and Lone Star JR (Rutherford).
The Gas Man (Sneva)
Big Al and L’il Al (Unser)
Mario and Michael (Andretti)
The Boys from Brazil (Castroneves-Kanaan)
Vukie and Tony (Vukovich-Granitelli)
Spin and Win (Danny Sullivan)

It’s the brilliance of owners and visionaries like Roger Penske

It’s a race of heartache, late race crashes, blown engines and ever changing track conditions.

It’s daring last lap passes and brutal 1st lap crashes.

It’s airborne cars and terrible fires from back in the day with Swede Savage and Salt Walther..

It is everything you would ever want in the race, and we get it on Sunday.

The Indy 500…speed, speed and more speed.  Safe run guys.

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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast…Back at Regular Starting Time 1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Fans Forum returns
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“INDY 500-GREEN FLAG & BLACK FLAG”
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A stunning story at the Old Brickyard, where the owner of the Indianapolis Speedway, who puts on the Indy 500, and has the top team in the circuit, dropped a black flag on the people who run his organization.

Roger Penske, who has won 20-Indy 500s, and runs the sport and the Speedway, saw his team ensnarled in a scandal over an aerodynamic rule, that knocked two of his top drivers off the front row, sent them to the back row.

It’s the second scandal in two years for a Penske team.  He terminated the top 3-execs in his organization in a stunning move.

The race comes Sunday, but key Penske drivers may have a tough time winning.

Green flag on Sunday.  Black Flag already out.  Details from the Associated Press story:
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Roger Penske attempted to close the latest cheating scandal engulfing his race team — this one at his beloved Indianapolis 500 — by firing his top three executives at Team Penske after two of the Penske cars were found to be illegal.

Penske fired team president Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer on Wednesday in the wake of this Indianapolis 500 cheating scandal.

“Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams,” Penske said in a statement. “We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down.”

Penske is owner of the three-car team, IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. He has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.

The firings and Penske’s statement have been his first public reaction since two-time defending Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden and teammate Will Power were found to have an illegally modified spec part on their cars ahead of Sunday’s final round of qualifications for the 109th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

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Penske after the firings were announced held a team owner’s meeting remotely in which he took responsibility for his team’s actions. Some who dialed-in told The Associated Press the meeting lasted 20 minutes and the owners were satisfied with the outcome; no owners called for the Penske cars to be kicked out of the race, and the only questions asked were about how IndyCar moves on from the scandal ahead of the biggest race in the world.

“What he did in firing three people is a big deal,” Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan told The Associated Press. “I think everyone recognized how big of a deal this is to Roger and now it’s just a question of how to move on and how to make sure tech doesn’t miss these things again.”

Neither Newgarden or Power were allowed to qualify Sunday when rivals pointed out the illegal modification. Both drivers on Monday were dropped to the back of the field and will start 32nd and 33rd. Rival teams have been arguing it was not enough since it’s the second cheating scandal in two seasons and potentially illegal cars bumped Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing from the field.

Newgarden is attempting to become the first driver in history to win three consecutive Indy 500s; no driver has ever won starting from the last row.

Cindric and Ruzewski had already been suspended by IndyCar for the race and both teams fined $100,000. It is the second consecutive year Cindric and Ruzewski were suspended from the Indy 500.

Rivals have been calling on Penske to address the situation since Sunday while questioning if IndyCar and the Indy 500 can continue to operate without an independent governing body absent of any Penske employees.

The trouble for Team Penske began before the fast 12 shootout on Sunday, when rival team owner Chip Ganassi was among a chorus of competitors who accused it of cheating. They noticed unapproved changes had been made to the rear attenuator, a safety device designed to absorb and reduce the force of impacts, and the assumption was the modifications would have given the two Team Penske cars an aerodynamic advantage in their four-lap qualifying runs.