greg775

I think we NEED a long-term premium third baseman. Maybe Burger is the real deal.

Yeah I read that in the Trib after I posted. I still can't get over what a great season BR had. Very special. Too bad Bean wasn't 100 percent. I know in games I watched he indeed had some BIG runs when the team needed first downs and of course lotsa great passes. GO RICE!

Congrats to Loyola. From what I read sounds like Loyola defense found itself in the playoffs. Didn't see the game, not sure what happened. I know Rice offense was pretty unstoppable until tonight. Congrats to Brother Rice players and coaches on one of the best seasons in school history.

I will be a happy camper if Brother Rice wins state.

I laugh at firings of coaches with multiple titles. Is Q any dumber now than when he won titles? Cmon.

Doesn't Rice only have 800 kids? Back in the day 1500? If we're recruiting, we're not doing a stellar job. GO RICE!

It's very interesting to those of us who went to Brother Rice. I'm stoked. Win or lose, I credit coach Badke and his staff and the kids for a great year. However, now that we're in the final it would be fun to win it. We beat Loyola, 35-3, earlier which means nothing now IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if Loyola scores first in the final. Hopefully Rice can maintain incredible intensity in the rematch as they did in the rematch against Marist. What do you all predict? Will Rice cap an undefeated season and greatest season in school history with a win over Loyola? Or will Loyola, which has had the better program the last several, several years, dust off Rice? What was today's atmosphere like? I watched the highlights and the fans were going crazy. I will say up to this point, I've never seen (I watched almost all the regular season games on Br Rice TV) a high school team with as consistent a defense and offense as Rice. By that I mean the defense has forced turnovers, got a lotta sacks, made a lotta big hits/plays. The offense, while not scoring as much the last few weeks, has limited penalties, turnovers and looked like a balanced well oiled machine. It's not the days of early coach Badke when the team threw every down and was competitive but couldn't stop anybody. It's almost as if we're due for a bad game. Rice hasn't had a bad game all year, maybe one. Knock on wood, baby. Brother Rice has had a helluva season. Comments? Give me a prediction. I won't jinx the team by predicting. Wish I could attend!

If you went to a high school game and it was sold out and tried to sneak in, would you get in? Which QB is better? Rice QB Bean or Marist QB Markett?

Let's say Avi was healthy and had identical stats to two seasons ago in 2019. And makes 8-12 million whatever he gets in arbitration? Let's say Harper has his normal season. How much more valuable is Harper to a team/front office, considering how much more money Harper receives, than Avi? I think that's a good math question for today.

Isn't this truthfully what happens following most free agent signings of the excessively large nature? Regret? Philosophically you either pursue these kind of guys or you don't. I could go either way (on Harper signing), take it or leave it. I would be surprised if the Sox signed one player for that kind of money. Those who do not want to spend that kind of money on one guy could have their positioned backed by the fact many people are saying this one signing won't even make us immediate contenders. If that's the case, why sign him? Just continue with the rebuild. Either way, I don't care. If we get him hopefully he'll help us win. If not, the Sox move on.

That might be right. I haven't lived there in a while, but hasn't the Catholic League shipped many a lineman to other schools? And haven't there been plenty of skilled positions guys all over the state that Illinois could have signed and thrived with? Didn't Northern Illinois do a pretty fine job for years with Illinois athletes? And Northwestern as well?

If our scouts/spies think a Central Division team is going to sign him, we better keep him. That would be unacceptable if he blossoms with another team in the Central.

Some team is going to gobble him up if we release him. I hope it's not the Royals. Think about it, his bat is potentially potent and I don't want to have to face him 19 different games with him on KC or Cleveland or Minnie or Detroit. He's not exactly a stiff, folks. You may not like him, but he gets hot and the last two years for the most part when healthy he's hit the ball. Hope he goes to the Pads or some other NL team.

Hope that's a joke. Be kind to each other. I have a fear of fire, too. It's the worst possible trap to be in. Bless you, Ed Farmer. Safe trails ahead!

This is the best take on the situation. Give him his one year arb money. Sox can afford it and it's a nice check for a good guy/All-Star or fringe All-Star. How can ANYBODY argue with this correct take?? Hibbard with the post of the week.

Now that's my kind of fan. Excellent post, sir.

I did forget Illinois did make the NCAA title game under Weber, but time is flying by. That was 2005.

You should find the thread. I stressed I realize it WOULD NEVER happen. But I better not go there again.

I don't understand how it works. If he's ticketed to make 16 million this year in arbitration, he's probably not in any hurry to sign a 4-year deal for 48 million which probably is fair to both parties. Will he just take the 16 mill? Then sign with somebody in the offseason?

I was wondering about the Illini football and bball programs the other day. ... Shouldn't they be powerhouses in theory? You've got Chicago basketball phenoms to recruit. You have Catholic League linemen to recruit and skill players from all over the state, including QBs galore. My question is ... a.) will the Illini win a Big Ten (and/or NCAA) title in football or bball in the next 10 years? How come U of I sports aren't dominant? It has to be more than questionable coaching hires. Are you hopeful that in the future the Illini start to perform better in the 2 big sports? I mean compare Illini football to Nebraska football. Illinois has homegrown talent. Nebraska has to go all over the place cept for linemen. Doesn't U of I have inherent advantages? My uncle was a standout pitcher at Illinois.

That was taken out of context IMO and led me to take a vacation for a while.

Fathom is one, smart fan. He is correct again.

That would change the rebuild a bit. Robert, Madrigal and Cease are 3 of the huge pieces of the rebuild. To trade them for one veteran is wild. Trout turns 28 in August. Love him but ...

That's a fair post. I didn't know you were willing to praise him much at all. I'd just like to see him play with Eloy and some of the others when we become contenders. I'd rather have he and Avi be our veteran presences than some guys from other teams.

If we sign both those guys I'll be a happy camper. ... Regarding your post, nice that a guy who takes a 3 month vacation from the board is still remembered nuff to be quoted.