=======Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast…1-30pm
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Join us for Hot Headlines-Stay for Fans Forum
========
“3 POINT SHOTS & TURNOVERS”
========

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?
=================

=========

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

==========
“MARCH MADNESS-OPENING NIGHT”
==========
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
=============

======

Hacksaw’s March Madness Podcast
Thursday..1-30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table-Stay for Fans Forum
========
“HOW WOULD YOU VOTE?”
========
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?
=========
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.
———
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.
——-
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.
——–
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.
————
Read it..React to it.
====================

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

“AZTECS–A BAD NIGHT–ON TV”

==========
Mountain West Conference teams don’t belong in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

San Diego State didn’t belong on the floor with North Carolina in the NCAA Play In game in Dayton.

it started bad, got worse, became a blowout.  And the worst part, it was on national television for the nation to see.

North Carolina’s legacy program put on a show.  San Diego State, in the NCAA championship game just two years ago, came off looking like a wannabe.  It was ugly for sure.

Carolina, too much team speed.  Too many athletes.  Too much defense.

San Diego State, beaten on the boards.  Beaten down the floor.  Buried at the 3-point line.

How bad was it?  Worst beating in Brian Dutcher’s SDSU  head coaching career.

At one point the Tar Heels had a 40-point lead, and the Aztecs leading scorer Miles Byrd at that moment had 0-baskets.

RJ Davis,, an all time leading scorer at UNC and an elite all time scorer in the ACC, was on a rampage.  He was magnificent from start to finish, drilling 6-straight 3-point shots.

The Aztecs defense must not have made the charter flight.  They couldn’t stop Davis’ penetration, passes, layups or long range bombs.

But UNC played above the rim all night.  Dominated the glass, shot at 60-percent for much of the night.

Aside from the heart of Magoon Gwath, hardly anyone else could cope with all things the Heels threw at them.  Oddly, this was not a great UNC team, witnessed by the controversy at different parts of this season.

That’s what makes the SDSU blowout feel so bad.  This was not a Dean Smith nor Roy Williams’ Tar Heel program that laid a Blue beat down on them.

You knew it would be bad when it was 41-19.   When State had just 8-baskets in 20-minutes.  Or when UNC reeled off 23-3 spurt.  Or when SDSU’s guards went (3-18) shooting in the first half.

Next year is a new year, hopefully with Gwath and Byrd coming back, with the young roster Brian Dutcher has brought in, plus the return of two veteran guards.

But it was painful, this (95-68) hammer job in Dayton.  A bad night, and worst of all, the whole nation saw it.

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

=======

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

=========
“BASEBALL-OPENING DAY-ABROAD”
==========

The 2025-MLB season has arrived.  It actually started in the middle of the night, (3am) Tuesday-West Coast time.

The much anticipated debut of America’s Team, or maybe, the Evil Empire, with the Dodgers playing the Cubs in the Tokyo Dome in Japan.  Opening day, in the middle of the night.

It has been a week of celebration there,  the Dodgers entourage of Shohei Ohtani, Yosh Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.  The Cubs brought their foreign stars too, Shoto Imanaga and Seiyu Sasaki.

But the tidal wave of Japanese media only wanted to see and hear from Ohtani and his teammates.  Manager Dave Roberts, with his Japanese family ties, became the point man ambassador.

What a week for baseball, as Japan, year by year, is sending more and more talent to MLB via its posting system, and now not only have stars arrived, their first, Ichuro Suzuki, will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

But it was not always that way.

In the 1930s, before Pearl Harbor, the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig put on hitting exhibitions in Japan.

MLB sent All Star teams on tours to Japan as far back as the late 1950s, pioneered by Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley.  The Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe Dodgers made those journeys.

Japan had a global presence  of attention in  868-home run hitter Sadaharu Oh, but he never crossed the Pacific.  He is now 84-years of age and was saluted this week by the Dodgers, and his beloved Nippon following.

The first Japanese player did not come to the US till the mid-1960s.  Anyone remember the experiment with the Giants and lefthanded reliever Masahiro Murakami?  He was here two years and left.

Think how strange, how foreign, how hard it must have been for him, the only in all of baseball.

But it opened the gates and then they came, pitchers after pitchers for the most part.  Hideo Nomo to Kenta Maeda and more.  Then Kaz Ishii, Dice Matsuzaka all the way to Hidecki Matsui , Masa Tanaka, Hiroki Kuroda and a legend unto his own right-Yu Darvish..

Ohtani became the first superstar prospect to come before his free agent status kicked in, arriving as an International free agent, meaning his earning power was limited.  Now Roki Sasaki has followed in those footsteps

And it’s now more than Japan.  Chan Ho Park led the group from Korea and Taiwan, and there are more to come.

The game is very different.  The culture takes time to adjust too.  But MLB teams are now better in-tune with how to help the Pacific Rim stars adjust.    T

The failures, to the tune of Hidecki Irabu, of the Padres-Yankees, have been few and far between.

It makes you think, as spectacular as Ichuro was, wouldn’t it have been something to see Oh here at this level at his high point in a baseball life.?

But at this hour, it’s about opening day, the Dodgers, the pennant race, the Evil Empire and more.  It has taken us decades to appreciate what was abroad.  They have arrived and that is good for the Grand Old Game.

Play Ball at the Tokyo Dome, and across all diamonds in MLB shortly.

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