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“PADRES BASEBALL–OWES US”
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The Padres are ready to open the season, with the NL East-power Atlanta Braves in town starting Thursday afternoon.

When last seen, the Friars were giving us a ‘lost’ season of opportunity to be a World Series team.  Built for it, they failed to do it.  Failed to put the Dodgers away.  Missed the chance to likely take down the Mets in the NLCS.  Lost the chance to face the Yankees in the Fall Classic, the World Series.

Forever in my mind, in your heart, and on the back of Manny Machado’s baseball card, is the 24-straight scoreless innings that cost the Padres the playoff series with the Dodgers.  It pains me to say ‘choke job’.

Yes you can say the Friars are back, but they are not the same team that had the Dodgers on the brink.

So we launch 2025 not with foul line to foul line optimism, but some realism, and a ball bag full of questions that must be answered.

The Padres really need star years from Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis and Xander Bogaerts, not half seasons of hot bats, but a 40-home run season from El Nino and a 30-bomb season from LaSalsa and a bounceback solid season from X.  Getting paid superstar money.  Give us superstar stats.

Jake Cronenworth needs to be what he was early in his career, a .280-bat with continued good play with the glove.

Expect the usual, lots of spray hits from Luis Arraez and no such thing as a sophomore slump from the wonder boy in center Jackson Merrill.

That’s the good side of Friar baseball.

The question mark side includes how, who replaces the (.280) hits and excitement in left that Jurickson Profar provided?

Can anybody behind home plate hit the ball above (.143) or are you willing to settle for great glovework and leadership as a trade off for an automatic out in the batting order?

Who is first in line to be your DH?  Gavin Sheets, new lease on life, not wearing the 121-loss White Sox uniform.

Is this the correct bench bunch led by Brandon Lockridge-do everything personality, Jose Iglesias multi talent history, Jayson Heyward’s credibility as a rock solid veteran leader, and Yuli Gurriel’s bats with pop can come thru?

Pitching staffs are never the same year to year.  Two years ago, they all made 30-starts.  Last year, Blake Snell left, Joe Musgrove broke down, and Yu Darvish had ailments and family issues.

This year, the staff is even less.  Pray nothing happens health-wise to Dylan Cease-Michael King-Nick Pivetta.  That is a good front three.  But they will be without Darvis and Matt Waldron for a bit.

They are gambling that Korean League free agent Kyle Hart and Randy Vasquez can pitch better than they have in the past, Hart was awful as a Red Sox, and Vasquez registered big blowup innings virtually every start.

The bullpen needs to know Robert Suarez horrid spring ERA was an aberration and that he will dial back in his mixture of pitches rather than pumping fastballs all night long.  They at least have pitching depth when the phone rings out there in the left field bullpen.  Keeping Tanner Scott would have been a plus.

But this team just does not feel complete.  And yes I know, Stephen Kolek, Connor Joe, Luis Campusano, Tirso Ornelas are just a Southwest Airlines flight away, but who knows if they are difference makers.

The payroll is higher than we expected to start the season, but ‘name acquisitions’ are no longer part of the way AJ Preller is allowed to do payroll and roster building business.  And if they were to deal away Dylan Cease-Michael King somewhere this summer, it sends a horrid message to the 3.23M-fans who made Petco Park a destination point.

The Dodgers seem to own all the headlines right now as the season starts.
It sure feels as if the Padres, Phillies, Braves, Arizona and Mets  are in a dogfight for what will be wildcard spots.

I projected 88-wins last year; they delivered 93 plus the playoff experience.  I don’t know if (85-77) gets them to the postseason this year, and that’s 85-wins if nothing catastrophic happens.

And that’s what worries me.  Just don’t think the Padres have any pitching depth to trust, and little margin for error if they lose an everyday bat with a major injury.  Playing for 2nd in the NL West is the likelihood.  Hoping they could hang on for a wildcard spot, if anything goes wrong, is the real-real concern.

The Padres owe us for last year.  I have the receipts right in front of me.  I don’t know if they have the full roster to pay off the debt.

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“BASKETBALL–SAD STATE”
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From bad to worse in basketball.  Name it.  It is bad.

AZTECS…Disappointed by the loss of G-Nick Boyd, going back on his word about returning next year, then broadsiding Coach Brian Dutcher in his exit meeting, saying he was going to transfer.  Boyd was many things to SDSU in his lone year here.  Tremendous competitor, fiery, vocal, a leader.  But you can cross ‘loyal’ off his resume.  His turnabout came 7-days after he told us in the media he was going to stay at SDSU.

AZTECS II…Monday brought another meeting and another chunk of bad news to Dutcher, with 7′ forward Magoon Gwath telling his coach, he was signing into the Transfer Portal because there was a potential payoff of 1M from another school.  It had to be expected considering how fast the young star had grown as a player in his first year of actual game action with SDSU.  A terrible setback for the program, but it is life.

NCAA…This is what life in the neighborhood will look like from this moment on.  The big time teams buying up all the players from the group of five schools, throwing big money as the kids San Diego State and all these schools at this level develop.  Here today, now likely all gone tomorrow.

NCAA II…Say good bye too to the history of the little guys beating the big guy.  Look at who’s in the Sweet 16 going forward.  All big time, big conference teams, with big time NIL accounts to go lure players from the little schools who used to dot the March Madness schedule and who pulled off upsets.  You might never see SDSU, George Mason, St Peter’s and the like, ever get to the Sweet 16-Elite-8-Final 4- weekends.  It is what college basketball has become.

USC..A horrific loss on the floor in the Lady Trojan’s NCAA tourney game with Mississippi State.  Superstar Ju Ju Watkins goes down with two torn knee ligaments some four minutes into the game, driving the floor on a fast break when her knee buckled on a layup shot.  Devastating to say the least to Women’s Basketball’s next star.

COACHING-POACHING…A busy day on the coaching front too.  Guys who did good jobs, leaving immediately for bigger jobs.  Minnesota hires Nico Medved-Colorado State.  Texas takes Xavier coach Sean Miller.  Iowa tabbed Ben McCollum of Drake.  West Virginia was talking to Utah State’s Jared Calhoun.

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“3 POINT SHOTS & TURNOVERS”
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Firing away after a weekend of basketball:

AZTECS..What a lost weekend.  The blowout loss to North Carolina and then the loss of G-Nick Boyd.  A week after he stood infront of the media with a ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ that he was returning to SDSU next season, he goes to his exit meeting with Coach Brian Dutcher, and exits.  Decides he is leaving for the transfer portal.  It it all means he was talking to people last week, while they prepared for their Tournament Game, which means he was being tampered with all along while intimating ‘Aztec for Life’.  His resume describes his as tenacious, athletic, explosive, and a leader.  But you can scratch ‘loyal’ from that resume.  A shame to lose him.  Bigger shame how he acted.

LADY AZTECS…Big difference between being a national power vs being a good mid-major team.  End of run, a real bad end of the run for SDSU.  Down 11-0 inside two minutes.  Trailing (40-21) at the half.  Giving up 53-rebounds.  Letting the other team shoot 55%.  Trailing by (56) late in the game.  Losing (103-48). What did you expect in the game against LSU and Kim Mulkey’s ‘Take No Prisoner’ style.

UCLA..All the coaching and yelling and screaming from Mick Cronin could not get his team a tourney win.  Torn apart by Tennessee.  His team shot 35% and his guards were streaky all year.  The #1 ranked Lady Bruins-still playing.

USC..Ever wonder if Eric Musselman made one too many rules, job jumping everywhere?  His season burned down to the ground with a (16-17) record.  No one came to Galen Center to see his Trojans.  His former team, Arkansas, in the power based SEC, is still playing.  The former Razorback coach is watching them on TV.

LADY TROJANS…A bit lopsided this USC win (75-25) over UNC Greensboro, a team that shot (12%) in losing.

UCONN..Gino Auriemma’s Lady Huskies destroyed Arkansas State (103-34).  That’s right a 69-point win…led by 50-at halftime…hit 13-3’s.  A bit over the top.

ST JOHN’S…Angry Rick Pitino, at his team, the refs, the media after they fell apart in their loss to Arkansas.  Barked all day at the refs.  Scowled at the media when they asked how he could bench his leading scorer Robert Luis over the final 5-minutes.  And his team shot a pathetic 28% and his team went (2-22) on 3’s.

ARKANSAS..Frantic playing style.  Lots of fouls. Yet lots of fire power.

HEY CBS…Enough with the crowd shots of John Calipari’s wife and daughter weeping  off and on during good and bad parts of the Arkansas game.  Enough, please.

NEW MEXICO-COLORADO STATE…Nice and surprising opening round wins for the last MWC teams still standing the tourney, replacing SDSU and USU who went home after opening night losses.  Then the Rams led till final (:02) in losing to Maryland.  And the Lobos had a 9-point lead vs Michigan State before depth and the clock worked against them.  None-the-less, a pretty good run..

UPSET CITY..Always happens, so St Mary’s beat Vanderbilt, Memphis got derailed by Colorado State, and Mc Neese took out Clemson.

GRAND CANYON…Welcome to big time basketball, you can go home now after a 49-point effort in losing to Maryland.

NORFOLK STATE..That’s what big time talent looks like, trailing Florida (51-19) at one point in the game.

UTAH STATE..Good season equated only to a 47-point output in their opening loss.

KANSAS..Stunning to play so bad in losing to Arkansas after playing one of the toughest and best non conference schedules in the nation.

KENTUCKY…What a truck load of talent on the roster and getting hot at the right time or the year

GONZAGA..Some opening night win over Georgia.  Just could not duplicate it in their second game, but Mark Few’s teams continue a tradition of out producing bigger teams with his talent and scheme.

OREGON-ARIZONA..Interesting atmosphere, all this booing from the fans before the game.  Not sure if it was Ducks fans booing Wildcats fans, or UA of people booing UO…or fans booing both teams for the death of the Pac 12-Conference?
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“MARCH MADNESS-OPENING NIGHT”
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Three point shots..fastbreaks..fouls…and a few upsets.

The first day and night of the tournament was pretty impressive.

Big teams won handily.
A few spirited comebacks.
An upset or two along the way.

Candid comments about what I saw.

UCSD..What great heart the Tritons showed.  Down 10-0 to start, unable to hit their threes, a 15-point deficit looked to be too big to overcome.  They nearly died, came back, got the lead, but finally succumbed to Michigan.  But the Tritons were not bullied,not intimated, ran their offense, and cut the bad deficit down to two before fading.  A great experience for a good group of kids.  Think about this, a team of Division II-transfers from everywhere, showed great grit against what was supposed to be a superior Big 10-team.  It was a UCSD win even if it was a loss in the box score.

SDSU…Sitting at home, it must have been a sickening feeling for what turns out to be a lost season for the Aztecs.  Saving grace, alot of key players can come back, and hopefully will.  There is unfinished business for this team.

MICHIGAN…How unimpressive was this Wolverine team?  Careless, sloppy, at times unathletic.  And this was a 5th seeded team?

GONZAGA…An explosive win for a team that has not been what Mark Few has had in recent years, but they trashed the Georgia Bulldogs, shooting 55%.

UCLA…Destroyed Utah State, but the Bruins guards continue to be streaky.  They won with athleticism and the fact the Aggies were (4-31) from the arc.

CREIGHTON…They staggered out of the gate early in the season, but did they improve as the year wore on.  Just asked Louisville, who lost to the Blue Jays.

AUBURN…Continued their regular season explosive march with an opening day win.  Somebody has to prove they can take down the War Eagles

ARKANSAS..Some comeback in the final 5-minutes against KU.  Push the ball up the floor, lean on them on defense, force turnovers and hit 10-free throws in a row.  Razorbacks surprise win.

KANSAS…Played as tough a non conference schedule as there was, but they fell apart at the end, especially their scoreless 7-center Hunter Dickinson.  It was a disappointing Jayhawks finish.

DRAKE..You are kidding me, beating Missouri, holding the Tigers to 33%-shooting

HOUSTON..Stomped SIU-E..was to be expected.  Ran up a big score in 38-point win.  A force to be reckoned with, a likely Final 4-team.

CLEMSON…Loses to McNeese days after the coach gets an extension.  McNeese is losing their coach to a job at NC State but they never wilted.

ST JOHNS..What did you expect.  Rick Pitino’s team is explosive and relentless.  They are Final Four fabric too.

Just think that was just the first 16-games..with 16-more on Friday
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“HOW WOULD YOU VOTE?”
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Changes are coming as the NFL-NBA-NHL meet with the Unions to talk about rule changes.

Take a look at what is being kicked around?

How would you respond?
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NBA…MOVE THE 3-POINT LINE…Take it out of the corner…push it beyond the 22′ mark out to possibly 24′ and change the game, putting the mid-level jumper and space to drive to the basket back into the game.  General consensus, too much offense-little defense.
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MLB..ROBO UMP…Spring training experiment almost over in Florida and Arizona…now we wait for MLB to implement it.  How?  Manager’s given two balls-strikes challenges per game?  Is it the pitcher-catcher-batter call, or would it be inviting long delays if we waited for a manager’s decision?  Stay tuned.
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NFL..INSTANT REPLAY & MORE…Big time votes coming on and off field:

NFL..COACHES QB REPLAY CHALLENGE..Extra challenges given for hits to facemask or roughing QB calls.

NFL..BOOTH REPLAYS..Booth can message Refs on field about replay hits on QBs, sideline hits out of bounds.

NFL..INSTANT REPLAY-PENALTY FLAGS…Booth can message Refs to ‘throw penalty flag’
for missed hit…Already allows refs to pick up flags after booth review

NFL..PLAYOFF SEEDINGS…Top team in Division gets number 1-seed…All other teams are seeded on won-loss record, regardless of where they finished in the division.

NFL..OVERTIME RULE..Both teams given a possession in overtime in regular season games

NFL..TUSH PUSH..Outlaw goal line play because of injuries at line of scrimmage

NFL..KICKOFF RULE..Any touchback on kickoff would go out to 35-yard line

NFL..ONSIDE KICK RULE..Make onside kick a 4th and 20-yard play rather than onside kick to retain possession.

NFL..18 GAME SEASON…Cut preseason to 2-games…Start season Labor Day Weekend normally reserved for College Football start of season.
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NHL..OVERTIME RULE…Make overtime 10-minutes of 3-on-3-rather than 5-minutes..Game would go to shootout if still tied.

NHL..SEASON..Change All Star format  to North America vs World

NHL..SCHEDULE..Expand schedule from 80-to-84 games..shorten preseason…Start schedule in late September.

NHL..PLAYOFFS…Eliminate wildcard format..go back to seeding teams 1-thru-8 in each Conference.
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Read it..React to it.
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