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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“MARCH MADNESS-BATTLE OF BIGS”
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The old adage…’you better have a great point guard to win March Madness’ no longer holds true.

At least not this year, this era of college basketball, or these teams in the final four in Indianapolis

Locked-loaded-and-big, the only way to describe the rosters.  The bigger story, which big men get in foul trouble or which bigs can stay on the court.

A look see at what should be a war:

ARIZONA..So deep, starting with Koa Peat and rolling thru Motei Krivas and the bigs off the bench.  Of course they are led by hi scoring guards Jayden Bradley and Brayden Burries in the backcourt.  Deepest team in the tourney.

MICHIGAN..They counter the Wildcats with their own tall timber, led by explosive scorer Yax Landeborg and the big Spanish center Aday Mara.  Does Michigan have enough guard scoring to hold up.

U CONN..What a run in March with different heroes every night.  Some tourney by 6’11-Tarris Reed-who has exploded, coupled with veteran shooting forward Alex Karaban.  Big issue is Reed must stay out of foul trouble.  Where do the points come from if the Huskies big’s cannot carry the load?

ILLINOIS…What an eclectic collection of European transfers, led by the shoot Andrej Stojakovic.  The real stunner, the growth of 3-other bigs, Tomislav Ivisic, his brother Zvon, and the unheralded David Mirkovic.  They just keep beating on you.

WHO WINS:  Arizona wave after wave of talent.  Illinois to pull off an upset with all their bigs overwhelming the Huskies.

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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast…1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“MARCH MADNESS-LADIES VERSION”
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We are heading to Final 4-Weekend, capping off a spectacular couple of weekends of wild college basketball.

But as the country pays attention to what happens on Saturday, when Arizona faces Michigan and U-Conn tangles with Illinois, lost in all the conversation is a piece of history.

The March Madness scoreboard flashes back to the greatest teams of all times.  History tells us so much:

UCLA…11-NCAA titles…the legendary John Wooden winning 10-crowns in an 11-year span, going (335-22) in that decade plus that incorporated the greatness of Jabbar and Walton.

KENTUCKY..A history that brought 6-titles, starting with Adolf Rupp in 1948, with 4-wins in a 6-year span.

NORTH CAROLINA..A modern day version of greatness, six crowns, triggered by Dean Smith and carried on by Roy Williams.

DUKE..reeled off 5-times cutting the nets down thanks to the brilliance of Mike Krzyzewski.

U CONN..A modern dynasty thanks to Jim Calhoun and now Dan Hurley with its 6-wins.

So many special ceremonies over the lifetime of basketball.

But with all the conversation, no one hardly ever mentions what is happening in that other tournament.  The NCAA’s Women’s Tournament has spawned the birth of the WNBA, and 1-school is responsible for its explosive growth.

LADY HUSKIES..Gino Auriemma has U-Conn back in the Final 4-for a 25th time in his Hall of Fame career.  He has won 12-women’s titles dating back decades when the tourney was small and no one paid attention.  He has (1,288) career victories.  This team has a (38-0) record, and has won 54-games in a row.  U Conn has had two (39-0) seasons already and a (40-0) year in 2014.  And if you posted the names of greatness, they would flash in neon lights as to their specialness.  Think Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewrt, Maya Moore, Paige Beuchers and this year’s star Azzi Fudd.  In 44-years of women’s tourney play, U-Conn has been to the Final 4-25 different seasons.  Can you say ‘Dynasty for a Lifetime’?

So while we watch what happens in Saturday’s men’s semi finals, don’t forget about what will come first on Friday, U-Conn-vs-South Carolina..and UCLA-vs-Texas.

The Ladies Version has become so impressive, and now as important as a Christian Laettner jump shot, Jimmy V-rushing the floor, Magic-vs-Byrd or so many other magic moments in modern basketball time.
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“LAKERS-SEEING IS BELIEVING”
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No one expected this, but here we are, with a week to go in the season, and the Lakers are playing at a frantic pace that has gotten them to 50-wins.

This is the same team that scuffled early in the season.

The one that had 10-games where they lost by 20 points or more.

A team that was staggered by nagging injuries, to Luka Doncic, an aging LeBron James, and the wear and tear type things that took Austin Reaves and others out of the lineup.

But that was then, this is now.

The message to players changed from JJ Redick.  This is your role.  Be part of this. This is Luka’s team, add to what he can do.

LeBron has come back different.
The dual centers Jaxon Hayes and DeAndre Ayton are different now.
Rui Hachimura has found health and his 3-point shot.
The trade deadline deal brought in Luke Kennard and his 3-point artistry.

And this hot streak, 15-wins in 17-games, has not necessarily come against the have-nots in the league, Utah-Portland-Washington etc.

The Lakers beatup really good teams, Minnesota, Denver, Oklahoma City, Houston.

They did it with lots of 3’s, a high octane fastbreak, and some sizzling in your face defense.

Granted the playoffs match your talent against really good teams.  You face Oklahoma City or Detroit, the Knicks or Minnesota in home and home playoff series, the road gets rougher.  Boston-Cleveland and others are looming out there too.

But for once, this looks like a complete Lakers team, not some false facade living on past laurels.  They look, complete, dangerous, explosive, committed, and maybe ready to go deep into post season.

The Lakers have 1-championship in a decade plus.  Shaq & Kobe, Magic & Showtime, West-Baylor-Jabbar was a long time ago.

This looks different, feels different, seems to be like a season of greatness.

Only time will tell.  But this potential has come together.

It might be LeBron’s farewell season in LA.  Might be Luka’s greatest season ever.  Might be the best team we have seen in years.  And no one could have expected this.
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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus-Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“PADRES–WHAT SHOULD YOU THINK”
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So we have started the Padres season with a bit of a thud infront of all these sellouts at Petco Park.

We know about needing patience to sort thru the injury situations in the starting rotation of the pitching staff.  1-tough outing does not mean the season is headed for bad times if your name is Nick Pivettta or Michael King or Walker Buehler.

Take the big picture approach to see if they stay healthy, if there is improvement.

But what about the batting order.

Please remember history in 2025 won’t you?

Not a great hitting team last summer.  Negligible power.

Then a post season in which everyone stopped hitting and the season run seemed to burn to the ground.

And this spring, a rather anemic set of statistics in the .500-Cactus League season the Friars played.

 

And here we are, in the middle of this series opening game against the Giants.

As I write they have just 2-hits against San Francisco; this after showing little offense in losing 2-of-3 to the Tigers.

As of this hour, these are the batting averages of the guys in the Padres batting order:
..Cronenworth (.214)
..Machado (.182)
..Merrill (.154)
..Castellanos (.145)
..Sheets (.000)
..Campusano (.000)

A small sample size-for sure.  But a trend that started last summer, runs thru the spring, and now into the regular season.

Collective team batting average at this hour (.188).

Not sure what to make of all this, except to say, it is a 162-game schedule.  But they sure are not hitting.

Swinging Friar…more like Swing & Miss Friars.

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Hacksaw’s Monday-Bonus Podcast…Monday 1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics-Stay for Fans Forum
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“TIGER WOODS–ON A BINGE”
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Tiger Woods is in the headlines again, like he has been for virtually all of his career and his life.

Honors, accolades, riches, trophies, wins, endorsements, global success.

Everything a super star could want, and now it has all caught up with him.

There’s Tiger Woods, a must-get quote at every press conference.  Tiger’s record setting wins, the 15-Grand Slams, the torching of historic courses with his sub par scores.  Tiger and his red shirt-Sundays, surging to the top of the leaderboards, roaring past challenges, stacking big wins on big wins.

Tiger-the master marketing guy: buy my Buicks, buy my clubs, by my clothing line.

And now it is over.  The 7-surgeries on his back for career long injuries.  The knee surgeries for his chronic problems.  The near amputation of his leg, the aftermath of a shattered leg in an auto accident.

And now it’s over.  The great days, the big wins, all pushed to the side by his addictions.

It started with being a gross adulterer that led to an ugly divorce.  Then the auto accidents, triggered by drinking, pain medications and sedatives.

He lost all his sponsors and became a borderline outcast, a media tired of one story considering the stories they have to cover now.

Time for anyone-everyone to question his judgement, his honesty.
Time to question, not the player, but the person.

Years later he still hopes you will buy his lies.

Friday’s 2pm DUI-rollover accident, a byproduct of pain killers or sedatives.  Out speeding-buzzed….at 2pm in the afternoon when he hit a truck.

In 2021, the high speed horrible crash-flipping his SUV twice, shattering his leg, and then talking his way out of a Celebrity arrest, where they never investigated alcohol-drugs or possible tests.  Call it a coverup and he was driving this way at 7:30am.

The other incidents involved him being buzzed and falling asleep at the wheel-engine running.  And of course the end of his Trophy marriage when his wife discovered all the women he was spending time with, away from the wife and his kids.

Addiction is a complex issue, especially when his denial is part of the equation.  Equally troubling, Tiger the entrepreneur has alot of influential people in his inner circle, and this has gone on for years and no one calls him on it.  His closest people might be allies, but they are his enablers too.

Age 50, busted relationships with women, busted body by abuse of drugs-alcohol, and now busted reputation, for we know who the great golfer was, but we see the great deal of problems he has created with his messy personal life.

Lucky he has not killed himself yet.  Lucky he has not killed anyone else with all these accidents.

Tiger was fun covering when he get on his binge on the course.
Tiger has become a sad figure  with the binges his personal life has taken him on.

Don’t want to hear about the next press conference so Tiger can talk about another  golf comeback.  Don’t care about the next line of golf shirts or clubs, or the course you might design in Scotland.

How about spending time instead working on your addictions? You are about to double bogey away your life and credibility

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