SoxFan562004

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Feb 25, 2011 -> 06:49 PM) For those who love Mr. Bosh; http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont...?urn=nba-326283 It might be a little overkill, but I would have zero problem if Stern came out and suspended him 2 games for that. That is ridiculous, flopping is silly and really makes the game lame.

WWE signed Mistico, will be interesting to see how he gets over

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 09:42 PM) Bosh 1 for 18, bench 1 for 8, and lose by 4 in Chicago. Heat have to feel pretty good. eh, they lost the game, they're something like 1-7 against the other top teams in the East... every game you can make a reason like that, fact is they're not beating other elite eastern teams. Also, yeah, he was 1 for 18, but Spolestra (sp?) should have started playing a little offense/defense rotation with him instead of leaving him in there to clank shots, that's also shows poor coaching. To top it off, they gave some crazy stat on the TV broadcast that nobody but LeBron or Wade scored for over 2 quarters, it's not a deep team and as constructed their margin for error is too thin to win a championship.

awesome game, and Bulls are only going to get better when Noah gets back to 100% game shape, he looked winded at times.

ick, let's get the ball inside a little on offense

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 05:51 PM) Didn't think you guys would be that interested in trade talk. Mayo would benefit the Bulls more than Asik or Gibson would. At the same time, I can see why the Bulls didn't do it. They want big man depth because that's how you beat the Heat. I also think, why not a crazy deal, the Bulls were not overly interested in adding any significant money. The new CBA is going to be a pretty dramatic change in a lot of peoples opinion

John Fox said Orton will be his starting QB, not Tebow. Early for this type of statement, but I wonder if at least some of it has to do with the possibility of a lockout, and a vet like Orton would be more prepared with limited or no offseason workouts and training camp

Heyman tweeted how Freddy has a leg up for the NYY 4th starter and 5th is up in the air... I've known all off-season how thin their rotation is, but seeing it type like that really brought it as a reality, and to top that off you have the erratic Barnett holding down the 3rd spot.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 11:36 AM) Press Release written by yours truly.... Cool, good stuff... post it or link it, I would like to read it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 11:41 AM) This is exactly what happened in the 1999 NBA Lockout...eventually the Union broke because the players hadn't saved enough money. But...that cost more than 1/2 the season. If owners got a hard cap or a franchise tag type deal I'm sure they'll eat 1/2 a season again

According to Marc Stein, Williams can't sign an extension with Nets until July.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 08:44 AM) They put so much into it without much planning at all. You would think with the biggest event the promotion has, they would map out a better game plan, instead of scrambling for venues and if some of their fighters(Barnett) can even fight in certain states. Couple that with just straight awful production values, it's frustrating to see the coverage they get when they put such little effort into the events. I agree. The production value on the Fedor/Silva show was laughable, not only the horrible camera work and direction, a microphone screeched at least 5 times. I also do not like Mauro because he constantly yells about everything, it gets annoying, and Gus Johnson is just there so casual fans recognize him. I'm really interested to hear the reason this thing got delayed. If they are moving this thing to accommodate Barnett I'll be annoyed as hell. I don't think he should be in there at all because he offers no upside to SF. He wasn't a U.S. draw and if he wins, while not the favorite he could pull it off, they'll have a 3x caught red handed juicer as their new poster boy, one who the California AC wants nothing to do with and he won't even appear in front of to attempt to get re-licensed there. Marlon Sandro signed with Bellator and Hioki hasn't asked for his release from SRC yet, but if he does Gross reports he prefers UFC over Bellator. On a side note to that, it looks like MMA in Japan is done for awhile, guys are coming over to U.S. based promotions in droves at this point and all a fighter has to do is ask SRC for their release and reportedly they'll give it to them

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 10:57 AM) Do you have a link to where I can see current cap data? I remember being told on here that the cap would probably be high enough as to not require the Heat to shed one of the "big three", but what other teams would be impacted? I actually wouldn't be shocked, or even annoyed, if they did some sort of "phase in" of a cap, ie if you have some guys on longer term deals you get a grace period. Not sure exactly what teams, WSCR was talking about the Bulls scenario of wanting flexibility. Although, for some teams you have to look at the mid level guys making 10-12m a year, those are usually the cap killers, not so much the superstars, look at Martin Gortat's deal, that thing sucks Although, this is just a pure personal speculation, if Heat flame out in the playoffs short of a championship the next 2 years, Wade and Lebron's people will get in there ear about it being Bosh and they'll get him out of town.

I don't think either a potential NBA or NFL lockout would be overly extended simply because no matter how much they've been warned, I don't think a majority of players saved enough money and once checks start being missed those guys are going to put pressure to end it quickly. I know these guys make a ton of money, but if you're not an established vet that has had a few years of a big money deal, you didn't save and you continued a lifestyle either at or even above your means, you will be hurting for money real fast.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 10:31 AM) And next on the list will be Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. And when Blake Griffin is eligible he's gone. This is unbelievable. I figure we've got two years MAX to win a title with D-rose as the centerpiece before he becomes a FA or gets traded because of a beef with TT or complains about not winning. strong owners and weak union means that owners are going to get basically what they want when the CBA is redone. It's reportedly one of the reasons the Bulls don't want to add any significant payroll before tomorrow, they're hoping to get a real good player when the hard cap is instituted and a team needs to shed a salary.

thanks all, like I say every year, love the site and appreciate all banter that goes on!

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 08:36 PM) Working in the industry for a little while now, Strikeforce has to be one of the worst run organizations in professional sports. they just put so much into the HW GP, I don't know the details, but I would have to imagine they basically put the future of the company as a significant MMA org into it. I just have a feeling they gave M-1 a lot to promote Fedor and him losing screwed a lot up, add to that the burden of Barnett and they're scrambling a little right now. I do think if they can keep delays to a minimum they still can roll with some of the momentum they have, but they need to get straightened out.

Nothing official yet, but a few sites, including sherdog who's been solid about breaking stories lately, have the other 2 quarter finals of the GP scheduled for April being delayed. No reason on why or when they're going to be rescheduled to. Sounds like SF still wants an event that day, but multiple locations that have been rumored athletic commissions haven't been contacted by SF regarding a show for that date. Earlier they said they wanted to run Japan, it might have fallen through and can't or don't want to scramble to hastily put together an April show for their showcase event. Best case is they got a better TV deal and need to wait until summer for an open slot. Also, looks like since Thiago Silva had a positive drug test and their fight will be changed to a "no contest" UFC isn't cutting Brandon Vera

It will be interesting to see what comes out of Heat, Orlando, Celts and Bulls in regards to reaction to the 'Melo deal. My guess would be they feel they're more dangerous on a game-by-game basis due to having 2 explosive players, but in a 7 game series, I imagine all 4 still feel they're better.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 04:27 PM) They really haven't spent *That* much more money though, at least when you consider that 2 of their bigger contracts end after this season. yeah, but again, team is worth 10% less than when Ricketts bought it, he has a 30m debt service every year and state isn't rushing to give him any sort of money to keep status quo at the shrine, much less improve it. The team as an entity isn't as flush with cash as some media and Albert Pujols' agents lead people to believe

outside of 3-4 teams, he's right.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 03:59 PM) yea, i thinlk steroids wrecked priors arm, not baker, stupid could be, but it also seems he had some mechanical issues that people were glossing over and instead praising his mechanics...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 11:25 AM) Yeah, although the NFL has floated things like an enhanced schedule, they're basically arguing first and foremost over revenue distribution. The NBA seems like it will have a much more philosophically based lockout. Can teams be allowed to go over the cap? Is it good for the league when things like the Lebron incident happen? How do you create a situation that doesn't require owners to take a loss in order to win games? exactly, the NBA and NFL labor issues are extremely different. I actually believe NBA owners when they say they need to redo the system to make the NBA work going forward, NFL has a pile of money and they need to decide how it's going to be divided up and if they're going to add 2 more cash cows to their schedule.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 10:15 AM) There has been a lot of talk about a hard cap in the NBA and if so, there is no way they can sign one of the PGs in addition to Amare/Stoudemire. yeah, either hard cap or other protections such as much larger exceptions for players to stay with their own team, sounds like a goal for Stern and owners is to curtail FA for the bigger names, and NBA doesn't have the strongest union. If I were to guess, the in the next CBA it will be much harder for stars to move. Another huge concern has to be A'mare's knee and the amount of minutes and running D'antoni is making him play.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Feb 21, 2011 -> 10:24 PM) james dolan is a moron. knicks had all the leverage in the world and he blew it unless in their meeting this weekend Carmelo told NYK, he feels CBA goes through with lower value full boats for vets or "franchise tag" type thing is added, so he was just going to sign with Denver before the deadline if NYK don't pounce now.