ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Hot Button is a 'round-the-clock feature that covers anything across the scope of sports. We're here to bring you everything hot: News items, highlights, takes — everything but hot meals — whether local, national or international. Better yet, it’s interactive. Share your thoughts in comments, and even post your own links to interesting, safe-for-work sports stories.
So let’s go! Come on in!
SAINT PETER'S TO ELITE 8,
TOPPLING NO. 3 PURDUE
Friday, March 25: Saint Peter's men's basketball team may no longer be a Cinderella after beating No. 3 Purdue, 67-64, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Friday night to advance to the Elite 8, the first No. 15 seed and lowest seed to ever advance that far in the NCAA Tournament.
In a back-and-forth affair that was tight throughout — no team led by more than six points — Saint Peter's tied it at 57-57 on a Darryl Banks III jump shot with 3:18 remaining and took the lead for good on another Banks jumper with 2:17 left. The Peacocks then made all eight free throws down the stretch and Boilermakers guard Jaden Ivey missed a three-pointer as time expired to send Saint Peter's to the East Regional Final on Sunday against the winner of No. 8 North Carolina and No. 4 UCLA. Banks led the Peacocks with 14 points — six coming in the final 3:18.
Saint Peter's (22-11), a small private university of 2,600 undergrads in Jersey City, New Jersey, out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, has had no break in the bracket, beating the best possible team in each round: No. 2 Kentucky; No. 7 Murray State; No. 3 Purdue.
My take: This is a disciplined basketball team, which can distribute scoring through the lineup and playing with a lot of confidence. I wouldn't be surprised at this point to see them beat UNC or UCLA to get to the Final Four. — Bob
WATSON HAS INTRODUCTORY
PRESSER IN CLEVELAND
Friday, March 25: Deshaun Watson denied ever "assaulting any woman" and "... I never disrespected any woman," during an introductory press conference with Cleveland media. When challenged about the allegations made by 22 massage therapists in Texas, Watson said, "I can’t speak on what people’s opinions are ... but what I can continue to do is tell the truth and that is I’ve never assaulted or disrespected or harassed any women in my life ... I was raised differently. ... That’s not me as a person and that’s not how I was raised." He later said he would be actively involved in working with women's groups in the Cleveland area, adding, "I have to earn that trust, to be honest. I have to earn their trust back."
Gerneal manager Andrew Barry opened the press conference with a statement acknowledging the controversy from trading for Watson: "We as an organization know that this transaction has been very difficult for many people, particularly women in our community, and we realize that it has triggered a range of emotions. That as well as the nature of the allegations, weighed heavily on all of us. ... We are not naive to the fact that there are people who are not as comfortable with this transaction as we are today but this is something, a trade that we made to be evaluated over the long run."
My take: When you have to open a press conference by trying to justify a trade for a player who denies any wrongdoing in 22 separate allegations of sexual abuse and assault, you're not speaking from a position of strength. The press conference was inevitable, but I don't think it will do much to change anyone's opinion. Then there will be the inevitable monetary settlement, which will confirm the biases of those who think he's guilty, even if it includes no acknowledgement of guilt. Rough road ahead still. — Bob
BRADY TO DOLPHINS LATEST
RIDICULOUS NFL RUMOR
Friday, March 25: [Ed note: This is commentary — Bob] The latest National Football League rumor of a potential trade of Tom Brady to the Dolphins shows how absurd that league's rumor mill has become, as talk shows and radio hosts went wild discussing the alleged deal, a notion so absurd on its face that it boggles the imagination.
Just look at the facts: Brady retires then unretires a couple weeks later. After unretiring, he talks nearly every Buccaneer set to test free agency into resigning with the team, because they are going to chase another Super Bowl together. Then he gets traded to the Dolphins? Who just spent five draft picks to get Tyreek Hill? Who can only offer the relatively ineffective Tua Tagovailoa in exchange? And from the other perspective, after signing Hill for $30 million a season in exchange for those five draft picks, Miami, in the same division as Buffalo, are going to trade .. what? ... their first-round picks for the next three years to get a soon-to-be 45-year-old quarterback for one chance at a Super Bowl, then set the franchise back a decade?
After all the Steelers-are-really-interested-in-Baker-Mayfield nonsense from earlier in the week, one can see why Dale Lolley is often writing and tweeting how poorly sourced and idiotic most of this speculation is.
Serious question: Do you find these types of rumors entertaining (I can see how some would) or is it too over the top? — Bob
WATSON UNINDICTED AT
SECOND GRAND JURY
Thursday, March 24: Another criminal charge against Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was presented to a Texas jury Thursday, and for the second time Watson was not indicted.
There was only one charge presented to this grand jury — sexual abuse — and it was in a different part of the state from the other charges presented.
The Browns issued a brief statement acknowledge they were aware of this second grand jury before they signed Watson and they were aware of the evidence that would be presented.
My take: It's evident that there will be no criminal charges against Watson at any time, based on the current evidence. The NFL should move forward with whatever suspension, or not, is forthcoming. — Bob
DADONOV TRADE TO DUCKS
DEAD, REMAINS WITH VEGAS
Thursday, March 24: The trade of right wing Evgenii Dadonov from the Golden Knights to the Ducks is officially invalidated, with the NHL citing a problem in Dadonov's limited no-trade clause. Dadonov and a conditional second-round pick were to be sent to Anaheim for defenseman John Moore and the contract of Ryan Kesler, who has missed the last three seasons with a hip injury.
Dadonov's trade was announced at the deadline Monday, but the league pushed back on the deal Tuesday after it reviewed the fine print, so to speak, on Dadonov's movement clause. In Dadonov's original contract with the Senators, signed in 2020, he is required every season to provide a list of teams to which he would not accept a trade. That list was not updated this season and included the Ducks.
The Golden Knights claim the Senators did not inform them of the clause or the list of teams when they acquired Dadonov in July. Vegas is now in a difficult position. The trade was down to clear up nearly $4 million in cap space and now they don't have enough room to activate players off of Long Term Injured Reserve.
My take: This is all on Vegas. How does your front office not know the full details of the contracts of all players? Whether it was disclosed by the Senators or not, it is written in the actual contract. Shouldn't someone in the GM's office have read it and gone over the fine points? Baffling. — Bob
DOLPHINS LAND HILL
IN SURPRISING TRADE
Wednesday, March 23: News broke early Wednesday that the Chiefs and three-time All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill were at odds over a contract extension and that the team gave his agent permission to seek a trade. It didn't take long. By noon, Hill was a Dolphin, with Miami sending the Chiefs three picks in 2022 — their second first-round pick (No. 29), their second and fourth round picks — and fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2023.
The Dolphins then gave Hill a new four-year, $120-million contract, with $72.2 million guaranteed. Tua Tagovailoa now has three prominent targets, adding Hill to a receiver unit that already has Jaylen Waddle and DeVante Parker.
My take: Shocking. Things went sour between the Chiefs and Hill pretty quick, but if he was demanding a similar deal that he got with Miami, one cans why. With Mahomes making $36 million this year and $46 million next season, it's tough to invest one-third of the payroll on two players and stay competitive. Of course, Hill just ramped up the cost of top-flight receivers in the league, just one week after Adams did the same last week — the Fish now have $40-million AAV tied up in three receivers this season. It's a good thing the Steelers know how to pick 'em in the draft. — Bob
USFL ANNOUNCES NEW RULES,
INCLUDING EXTRA POINTS AND OT
Wednesday, March 23: The latest iteration of the United States Football League announced rules for its inaugural season. Prominent among the new rules are:
• A three-point conversion on a touchdown, one play from he 10-yard line
• In overtime, teams will alternate plays from the two-yard line. The team with the most points after three attempts is the winner. If it's tied after three attempts, it becomes sudden death
• Each team gets one replay challenge per game. Replay rulings are determined by a league replay center
• In lieu of an onside kick, teams can attempt a fourth-and-12 from their own 33-yard line
• Kickoffs are from the 25. Any kickoff not touched by the receiving team after 20 yards is a dead ball to the receiving team where it rests
• Clocks stop on first downs inside two minutes in the second and fourth quarters
• Pass interference is a 15-yard penalty for a pass beyond 15 yards, unless the fdefender takes the receiver to the ground, then it is a spot foul; a pass interference occurring under 15 yards downfield is a spot foul.
• Like the NFL last season, two forward passes behind the line of scrimmage are a legal play.
The league kicks off April 16.
My take: I like some of these, notably limited replay challenges, clock stoppage on first down, and the possession play after a touchdown. Not a fan of the three-point play, but it will make it interesting. I'd prefer the 10-yard play as the sudden death after three rounds of plays from the 2. What do you like or dislike from these new rules? — Bob
DURZI, TRENIN HAVE BIG
SCRAP IN PREDS-KINGS GAME
Wednesday, March 23: Fighting has mostly vanished from the NHL — generally a good thing — but rarely seen are the longer, haymaker throwing brawls of old as seen between Sean Durzi and Yakov Trenin last night:
Sean Durzi and Yakov Trenin were throwin' em. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/ESjzbgUNVm
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 23, 2022
My take: I don't know what precipitated that, if anything, but it looked like the end of Rocky II there for a minute. — Bob
MLBPA AGREES TO 2022 RULES,
CLUBS VOTE NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, March 22: The Major League Baseball Players' Association agreed to new rules for the 2022 season. The following will go into effect this season, pending a majority vote by the 30 clubs next week, which is expected to pass:
• Expanded rosters to 28 players from April 7 to May 1, no pitcher limits
• Runner on second base to start extra innings (2022 only)
• What will become known as the "Shohei Ohtani Rule": A pitcher who hits gets to remain in the lineup after he is taken off the mound. He becomes the designated hitter (Thought the current CBA)
My take: Why does Ohtani get the benefit of something no other player gets? If the Angels choose to start him, he should be subject to the rules just like any other pitcher, or take a position in the field. If this is allowed, why not for any other player who'['s replaced in the field? Just ridiculous. — Bob
BARTY YOUNGEST
NO. 1 TO RETIRE
Tuesday, March 22: Ashleigh Barty, the women's world No. 1 ranked tennis player announced her retirement from he sport Tuesday at age 25. She did so using an Instagram post:
"Today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis. I wasn’t sure how to share this news with you so I asked my good friend @caseydellacquato help me. I am so thankful for everything this sport has given me and leave feeling proud and fulfilled. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, I’ll always be grateful for the lifelong memories that we created together."
I wasn’t quite sure of how I was gonna do this . . . it’s hard to say … I’m so happy and I’m so ready. I just know at the moment in my heart for me as a person this is right.”
Barty, who in January became the first Aussie to win the Australian Open in 44 years, also said more would be shared in a press conference at a later date.
My take: Wow. Another in a line of players in various sports who are retiring at younger ages. Good for her. She has plenty of career earnings — over $20 million — if she's been smart with them. Barty's a national hero, too. She'll be awash in endorsement dollars for a long time. — Bob
