Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast

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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“DODGERS & NFL”
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Never a quiet moment in sports.

Now this.

The Dodgers doing what the Dodgers do…opening their checkbook to sign the marquee free agent, the ex Cubs slugger, Kyle Tucker.

Supposedly waiting the free agents out, thinking the prices would come down, the Dodgers blew everyone out of the water.

Tucker (4Y-260M) deal to join LA as an add-on to their superstar batting order.  Gold Glove, Silver Sluggers, All Star status.

They gave him the biggest AAV-average in this year’s crop of free agents.  They gave him opt outs after years 2-and-3 of the deal.  He gave them the okay for deferred dollars to help with the exploding Luxury Tax fees.

Just amazing isn’t it.  Dodger Blue spending Dodger Green.

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Brief thoughts heading towards a great NFL weekend:

RAMS-BEARS…Bravado from QBs-Matthew Stafford-Caleb Williams at the prospect of playing in (-2) wind chill factor.  Both have firepower people around them.  But the Rams have more explosive players, more experience in postseason, and a better defense.

SEATTLE-49ers…The Seahawks, playing infront of the raving fans, 12th Man up there, have Sam Darnold, a big play WR, two tough guy RBs, and what looks like the Legion of Doom defense.  The Niners’ Brock Purdy is starting to turn the ball over, and San Francisco has to find a way to get Christian McCaffrey to run the ball. End of the run San-Fran.

DENVER-BUFFALO…All things set up nicely for the Broncos…home field the whole way..a relentless defense (68 Sacks-29TDs-17Games) and an emerging star in Bo Nix.  But that is Buffalo with Superman Josh Allen, tough guy RB-James Cook, and an improving and healthier defense.  Picking Superman in this one.

HOUSTON-NEW ENGLAND…This is scary, all things Houston.  This 53-sacks Texans defense and the ballhawking secondary.  Scary too, the sometimes turnover prone Houston QB-CJ Stroud.  Drake Maye is putting up astounding numbers and making everyone around him more dangerous.  Tough call, but I take New England.

Gonna be fun, at least the NFL games will be, not chasing the Dodgers in the pennant race that has already been decided.

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Hacksaw’s Thursday’s Podcast..1:30pm
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“The Golf War”
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It’s been 3-years running.
Alot of bloodshed, ill will, and no true peace settlement.

The PGA has moved on, with new and bigger purse money for players.
The LIV has paid its players handsomely to play exhibitions.
The PGA has developed another wave of stars.
The LIV has lost billions, has no TV ratings stateside, and draws few fans

Peace talks about a merger stalled.
Those who left for the 100-200M pay days have not been welcomed back
Memories of violations of their PGA Tour Card are intense.

And now a crack in the wall.

Brooks Koepka is coming back to the tour, but paying a steep-steep price.
He exited the LIV tour, asked for reinstatement, and agreed to sanctions.

But he is the only one.  He pays a 5M-readmittance fee to charity; gives up any rights to big bonus money for 5-years in the Players Equity Fund; and gains to Fed X bonus money at the end of the season.

The same terms were made to Bryson deChambeau, Cam Smith and John Rahm.  They rejected those terms and will stay abroad.

The chance to return was not made to the ringleaders who left early, Phil Mickelson-Dustin Johnson-Ty Hatten and others.

The response has been muted for sure.  Hard liners like Rory McIlroy must be pleased, a big price of retritubtion has been paid.  The others believe it is a good concept to have all the stars play together is big tourneys, though that is not the full case yet.

Tiger Woods ended his silence and he carries clout.

A unique story from Front Office Sports website:
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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Tiger Woods defended the PGA Tour’s decision to swiftly reinstate Brooks Koepka, who is set to make his official return just over a month after announcing his departure from LIV Golf.

“He’s not taking a spot away from any player. That was one of the main concerns and one of the big things that myself and the other player directors demanded, that that was never going to be the case,” Woods said Tuesday following the first TGL match of the season for his Jupiter Links Golf Club. “He’s an additive.”

Koepka is planning to make his return at the Farmers Insurance Open, which begins Jan. 29. Woods said Koepka sent a letter to PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp on Dec. 23—the day he announced he would not play for LIV in 2026—saying that he wanted to come back.

“We had lots of subsequent meetings, worked through the holidays,” Woods said. “There was no days off. We just worked through it day after day after day, and we came out with a plan that we unveiled.”

Woods, chairman of the PGA Tour’s newly formed Future Competition Committee, said the goal was to “implement a plan that would be fair and adequate, that justifies Brooks’ time away from our tour, the penalties served, the fines if necessary, what the integration would look like on our tour, and obviously the bonus payouts, yes or no.”

Koepka is ineligible for this year’s FedExCup bonus money and is forfeiting any potential equity in the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Program for the next five years. The terms are part of the new “Returning Member Program.”

“Yes, we’re not going to satisfy every player. This plan was created for a very select few players that met the criteria. You know the names.”

LIV stars Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Cam Smith are the only players other than Koepka who could apply for reinstatement before the Feb. 2 deadline. However, all three said Tuesday they don’t plan to do so this year.

“We’ve been rolling through scenarios for a very long time,” Woods said. “Ever since our talks at the White House last February to now.” (Woods attended a meeting last year with President Donald Trump, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and fellow PGA Tour policy board player director Adam Scott.)

“There was always ways in which—how do we make our sport unified again? Is it total unification, some type of integration, how do we do it, where do we do it? Different tours are involved,” Woods said. “But this is a first move, which is a great move.”

Ultimately, Woods called Koepka’s return “a win for everyone.”

“The whole idea is to make our tour better than what it was,” Woods said. “With Brooks’s addition to the Tour, it does. It makes it a better place to play. Now with players who have earned equity—and there are four more years of potential earning of equity for these players—the fact that they own the tour, if Brooks plays, it puts more money in their pocket.”

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“NFL-TEAMS IN TURMOIL”
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What happened in Pittsburgh is different than what happened in Baltimore, but both are stunning for different reasons.

They are different from the demise of head coaches everywhere else, stretching from Cleveland thru New York, to Miami, into Arizona and other places.  What a frantic off the field first week of the off season.

Mike Tomlin exits after 19-winning seasons in Pittsburgh-never a losing season with the Steelers, but having gone 9-years in a row without a playoff win, despite a Super Bowl win years ago..

John Harbaugh exited Baltimore after 18-superb seasons including a win in the Super Bowl.

Changes are surely coming, or should be coming.

In Pittsburgh, they need an organizational shift in philosophy: how they get players, the top type of players they get, and the style of offense they run.  The Steelers are neanderthal in their approach to offense.  There is little athleticism, little explosiveness to what they do.  And they have yet to find a replacement for the long retired Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.

Felt bad that Tomlin was abused by the fans at home the final 3-games of the season.  A man with a (193-114-2) record, a Super Bowl ring and 7-AFC North titles did not deserve that.

Harbaugh exited with (194-wins) nearly identical stats to Tomlin, but more defiant in how a team should be built, coached and led.  His inflexibility on changing his staff led to a change in head coach.  The cupboard is hardly bare there, but growing Lamar Jackson and that wide receiver group is a must.

In Philadelphia, Nick Sirianni has his hands full with distractions on a roster full of personalities, most notably the volatile but dynamic AJ Brown.  They need an identity on offense, for what they showed in 2025 was a shell in what they were in 2024.  They need a change in maturity too.

In the Chargers case, square pegs don’t fit round holes, and the Greg Roman-Mike Devlin firings (Off Coord-OL) had to take place.  They need help upfront and at running back.  There is a real fear Justin Herbert will wind up like Andrew Luck, battered into early retirement.  Jim Harbaugh needs to bring in proven assistants who can fit their scheme around the talent they inherit.

What a unique off season this shapes up to be.

Take a look at the interview list of quality coaches out there…Harbaugh-Tomlin-Stefanski…offensive smart guys like Mike McDaniel…veteran coaches like Mike McCarthy…to veteran guys who have rebuilt reputations, Raheem Morris, Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, to hotshot coordinators like Jess Minter to Klint Kubiak.

Of course we should not forget there are some franchises with bad ownership history, who never seem to get it right in Arizona, in New York, in Cleveland, and the Black Hole history that is the Raiders.

But when we see what Mike Vrabel’s experience brought to New England, what Ben Johnson’s creative juice meant to Chicago, you can fix it quickly.

What a cross section of regarded-respected coaches, and now 9-NFL jobs waiting to be filled.  The hirings will come fast and furious.

But I would never have thought two of the modern day icons would be out of jobs suddenly.  Bet Tomlin-Harbaugh-Pete Carroll did not believe it would end this way either.

But like an old coach Jerry Glanville said once upon a time.  NFL…’Not For Long’ if you don’t win in this league.  Never more so than now.
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“CHARGERS FOOTBALL–NEVER ENDS”
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You hoped this would be a breakout season for the Chargers.
You wound up with an injury ravaged roster.
You finished with a brutal beatdown at the hands of the New England Patriots.

From start to finish, I feared it would be a very hard road game in New England.
And it was and it ended really badly, with a battered Justin Herbert crushed by sacks

A quick look see at every aspect of another post season failure.

JIM HARBAUGH….His team, his coaching staff, his playbook, his shortcomings.  Enough with all these Network TV guys telling the world this coach teaches toughness and has changed the culture of the Bolts.  Then how come this year, they got bulldozed by the lowly Giants, Washington, Jacksonville and then the pounding in New England.  All that after they were creamed in 6-different games in 2024, when they lost to team’s that played tough guy football.

GREG ROMAN…Enough with all the praise for his creative play-calling.  Do you know in the two playoff games he has called with Justin Herbert, Roman’s offense has 1-touchdown in 33-possessions.  The bigger crime is the inability to make adjustments to help the battered QBs.  His offense looked ill-prepared to cope with the stunts, twists, delayed blitzes.  He never changed the pass protection packages, by using tight ends of fullbacks as extra backers.  And as things went bad, instead of going up tempo, going to shorter pass packages, slants, outs and tight ends, Roman insisted on having Herbert stand back in the pocket, with the heat coming, and try to go thru progressions.  He got crushed.  Add on the wide receivers never got separation, dropped passes, and never got the balls.  It was a horrific day.

JUSTIN HERBERT…6-sacks, 11-hits, 12-pressures, no rythym, no hope of rallying the offense.  This was about what was around him, not what was his fault.

PASSING GAME…Not much there…Got bullied coming off the line of scrimmage…never got into patterns with all the combo coverage the Pats threw over the receivers…dropped balls…just a failure.

RUN GAME…What run game is the issue-did not stick with it long enough…virtually no holes to run thru…and the blitz block pick up was woeful.

OFFENSIVE LINE…Staple it to their resume, they allowed Herbert to take 60-sacks…The injuries wrecked the book end tackles…RG-Mekhi Becton cannot hold up in pass coverage-cannot handle stunts and twists…OC-Brad Bozeman breaks down too much and seems to be moving in slow motion…Thank goodness Rashawn Slater-Joe Alt return next year-they need more OL and a true starting center.

JESSIE MINTER..Added more credibility to his resume with exotic packages to go after the Patriots quarterback, five sacks, a tough run defense, but in the end, on the field too long because the offense did not do its job.

DEFENSIVE PASS RUSH..It was fierce and it was effective but it ran out of gas.

PASS COVERAGE…They got burned because QB-Drake Maye kept making plays downfield, 12-chunk plays, and a pile of big yardage pass plays off broken plays….The LBs-and young CBs did not hold up…Derwin James got beat on a formation pass route…It just got worse as the game moved on.

WHAT’S NEXT…Serious consideration to an Off Coord-change…Figure who runs the defense if Minter gets his head coaching opportunity…Mandate to upgrade the offensive line and maybe a year’s growth from the kid receivers-this will be a step forward.  But my lasting memory if Herbert getting plastered time and time again and the smart guy coaching staff failing their Superman QB all night long.

 

All the regular season wins don’t mean much if you miss the playoffs or just become a 1-and-done franchise…again.

 

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