Chisoxfn

I think the East is going to come back and win this thing. Has Deng even scored? I was cooking some garlic shrimp pasta during the 1st quarter so wasn't paying a ton of attention. Did Deng even play much?

Damn, Illinois played hard today. I was hoping Iowa would find a way to pull it out. They got it close a few times but clearly were outmatched by the Illini. Both teams had way too many turnovers but the difference was Illinois did a much better job converting easy points on the turnovers.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 08:44 AM) Just found out I know someone who is deeply involved with Blackberry software development and the new Tablet and phone OS. Kinda cool. Does there first name happen to be Joe?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 09:04 AM) Last time he made 30 starts was 2007 Dude is only 30. It sucks, I think he's going to have a really good year and the Sox will lose him (cause they clearly wont' want to pay him 20M per year). Best case, Peavy kicks ass and Sox can deal him for some pretty legit prospects. Well I guess the real best case is Peavy leads the Sox to the series But I'm a realist. I'm starting to get excited about White Sox baseball though. After a bitter offseason, March is around the corner and baseball is near. I love me some baseball and I love em White Sox!!!

QUOTE (daa84 @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 11:04 AM) I agree with this. alot depends on FA too. if the bears are able to nab a guy like Vjackson, then I think they can wait til later rounds to get a WR (even if floyd is on the board). Unfortunately, this is looking like a shallow draft for OTs - after the top 3 guys (kalil, reiff, martin), i'm not sure Adams is a guy you gamble on at 19. He's got character concerns, durability issues, only did 18 or 19 bench reps and people are worried about his strength ...sounds a bit like Chris Williams (outside of character concerns). If the bears are able to get a solid WR in FA, im honestly not so sure that they shouldn't go after someone on defense with the top pick, or like you mentioned, trade down a bit Bears are supposedly very high on the Illinois DE. In fact, there are some reports that Bears insiders indicate if a wideout isn't there that they like @ 19, the Bears will draft him. I guess there hope is he's the next JPP. He's been a one year wonder but had a very strong combine and is clearly the type of athlete you'd love to have at end. Put him on the opposite side of Peppers and with guys like Melton/Paea (who are pretty good athletes at the tackle spot) and the Bears dline would be pretty athletic. The NFL graded the Illinois DE as a 3rd round pick but most experts have him going late 1st to the 2nd. I have zero problem targetting dlineman early in the draft. Given how good offenses are getting, having a strong Dline is key to stopping opposing offenses.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 10:49 AM) There is no way I'd draft Jefferey now before Day 3. The guy might be talented but with character concerns like that...all the dude has to do is run to show where he's at and then he can improve by that much at his pro day...there is no way I'm using a top pick on him. It's absolutely mind-boggling that he didn't run. He's just going to wait until his pro day. He appears to be in good shape (15 pounds lighter than his playing weight) and has arguably the best hands in the draft. He is also just a hair under 6'4. I think some team might get really lucky with him. I know if he's there in the 2nd round, I'd love it if the Bears took him. I wouldn't take him at 19, however, if Floyd is gone (and the Bears don't get a wideout in FA), I'd move down and target Jeffrey/Hill, add another pick to add value later on. Unless Martin is there at tackle.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 10:40 AM) I don't know where I've read it, but I think the real worry is that because he has a record in college he's immediately going into the league's substance abuse program, where if he gets in trouble again he doesn't get a pass, he goes straight to suspension. That is interesting and definitely something that you have to be concerned with. Given that there is a lot of talk about Stevie being close to signing an extension with the Bills, it looks like the Bears are going to have to target wideout. Stephen Hill just moved himself into the potential 1st round (from the 3rd) with his strong combine performance. Some talk that he outperformed almost all of the top wideouts. His major flaw is he's an inexperience route runner, given that he was stuck at Georgia Tech in the option offense. Fathom could probably tell us quite a bit about him though. He is a freakish athlete though and supposely a tremendous blocker (wouldn't be surprised given the need for wideouts in an option system to run block). However, he showed really good hands at the combine (and we know his size/speed combination is off the charts).

QUOTE (daa84 @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 10:44 AM) nfl.com has knox at 4.34 Hester ran a 4.41 at the combine, but a 4.27 at his pro day - I don't know that they have the splits from the first 10 yards, but id be shocked if hesters wasn't truly elite I'd be curious if Hester ran now. The past year to year and a half, he hasn't looked near as explosive as he did early in his career. I realize he is older but it isn't like he's "old".

QUOTE (daa84 @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 10:30 AM) its possible, but i just dont think the 40 time really matters for QBs...i mean teams know he's athletic enough to scramble. With a QB who can move, its less about the straight line speed and more about the elusiveness... The NFL network gun is apparently quite a bit quicker than the official one (surprise surprise - they must buy stopwatches from the same company that fox buys their radar guns that they use in the mlb playoffs)....so floyd really ran a 4.47, and RG3 a 4.41 - both are still really good for those guys I thought something might be up when NFL network had like 10 guys in the 4.3s on the broadcast (given that only 7 did it all last year, and the RBs, DBs had yet to run). still, lots of very good times this year - probably a product of guys really training for this event I had read somewhere that Hester and Knox both ran 4.27 40's. Is that true.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 26, 2012 -> 10:16 AM) The alcohol suspension worry seems to be another major issue. To be frank, that wasn't a major concern but maybe I dont' know the whole story. He isn't the first person in college to get in a little trouble becuase of alcohol. Now if he is an alocholic, that would be an issue. And I don't know the answer to that and mabye that is what teams are concerned about.

When you watch Floyd play, you see a guy that is just a total beast. The problem is he's had some injury issues and people have questioned his toughness. Physically he's a total stud though, imo. He's a game changer and the type of guy the Bears would be lucky to get at 19. The issue I have is this time probably moves him up and I'd be surprised if he's available @ 19. That said, there are still other questions about him that could keep him there at 19. He is a very good route-runner with good hands and great body control.

Haha. Iowa better be making a tourney.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 07:59 PM) Odd game, refs were all over the place but I think they hurt both sides equally. If Gatens doesnt go insane Wisconsin probably wins, ah well, at least the rushed the court makes me feel a little better. Gatens has been getting better and better. He's made major strides under Fran, too bad he was stuck with Lick early in his career. The win probably helps Iowa get there NIT birth. They have some really quality wins and are a pretty up and down team that still has some major flaws, but seems headed in the right direction. They also have some terrible losses (and huge blowout losses). I'm still surprised they aren't in the top 100 RPI wise, given the fact that they have quite a few conference wins (and the Big 10 is a strong conference), and that included some big road wins. But in no way am i arguing they are a top 50 team. Iowa pretty much played Wisconsin style basketball the final 4 minutes and luckily, they were just able to run enough clock out to hold on and win.

Wohoo. Gattens was money and Iowa rushes the court. 1st sweep over Wiscy since 94-95.

Wiscy is shooting 60%.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 06:47 PM) Well I assume at half Ryan gets told that hes been screwed at least a handful of times, so I expect that if it keeps going this way Ryan gets a technical in the 2nd. That being said, even with all the nonsense, Wisconsin can win this game if they play better. Of course they can. They are a better team than Iowa. Plus, Iowa has blown 2 good size leads this year already.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 21, 2012 -> 01:17 PM) A few minutes ago, I saw but couldn't hear a TV. It was a press conference for the Mets with what looked to be their manager. I had no idea who it was, looked it up, and still have no idea. Never heard of Terry Collins. He managed the Angels years ago. Solid baseball guy.

Heated up in the oven.

Fantastic article. I still quote a couple lines from that episode in my day to day. Whether its a...."Mattingly, cut those sideburns", or a "Daryylllll, Darryyyyl.....". Truly a tremendous episode and one of the best shows ever written. I know it isn't what it once was, but man, there were a heck of a lot of classicly awesome and whitty Simpson episodes.

Good breakout. That makes you think the Bears are closer to the 28M cap spot and based upon this article, it would appear that they don't have a ton of flexibility in creating additional cap space (by releasing/renegotiating players). The few exceptions are Tillman (renegotiation could give you 3M in cap space); Omilaye can give you another 2-2.5M. Cliff Stein, the Bears capologist, does a tremendous job managing the cap and hopefully he continues to do that. I also must always give Angelo credit as well (since I'm assuming it wasn't just Stein). They realized the importance of the cap and having flexibility and were able to maintain that. The Bears would appear to find them in a pretty good position and should be able to resign some of there own and make a few quality signings (including one impact signing) via FA, without putting the team in cap hell.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 07:16 PM) Not a lot of Iowa fans are happy about it. Iowa fans are some of the whiniest fans in the world. The guy has had success running pro and spread offenses and has done a good job adjusting his offense based upon personnel. I've never seen more ungrateful fans in the world. Ferentz is one of the best collegiate coaches in the game and they whine and complain about how terrible he is. The dude gets a call every year from a couple pro teams that try to lure him (and he is usually near the very top of the list of NFL teams who want to look to the collegiate ranks). He also just made two shrewd hires in bringing his son to be the oline coach and Lavar Woods in as the LB coach. Heck, even when they hired Fran, they whined and complained, wishing they had Keno Davis (mistake) or another number of guys that were ex Hawkeyes. It was stupid. And I will point out, Coach Fran hasn't proved anything yet, but he's already shown himself to be light-years better than Lick. Look at Greg Davis reputation. He was a pretty successful OC for North Carolina as well. Now maybe it was Mack that was the smarts, I have no idea, but his track record would appear to be pretty good. Now you can argue about the talent Davis had and where they should have produced, but as an OC, his offenses ranked (in 12 years of being an OC w/Texas). In all but 2 of his years as an OC, he had top 30 offenses. 3 Top 10 5 Top 15 9 Top 30

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 05:41 PM) Iowa has reportedly offered former Texas OC Greg Davis, which would be just fantastic. That would be a pretty damn good hire. He was the scapegoat a year ago but had 12 years of leading an above average offense. Hopefully he can recruit too. That said, having not followed Texas football, I have no idea what/how he was. He also had all the talent in the world to coach. I had even seen rumors of Moore, although I call those rumors utter BS.

QUOTE (Felix @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 05:27 PM) Except if you actually READ the article (and not the headlines or spinoff rumors), it's clear that the rumor was started from Marca.com, which is less reputable than Sheridan himself. The only quote in the article that Sheridan got himself is from an unnamed source that said that Rose wouldn't have a problem with the Bulls trading for Gasol. Everything else (including the absurd idea that Boozer and Watson for Gasol might be enough) was pure speculation. It's a garbage article, just like 95% of the s*** that gets put up these days around the trade deadline. That's on Sheridan for putting that garbage up than and even giving it legs.

QUOTE (Felix @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 03:54 PM) It's akin to me saying I'd be alright with the Timberwolves trading Darko Milicic and Wes Johnson for Dwight Howard. (to be fair, Boozer is far better than both Milicic and Johnson, but it doesn't mean that deal would be any more likely to happen) I didn't write the article. It isn't like Sheridan is some hack.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 20, 2012 -> 06:25 AM) Care to say why? We still have a rotation with a few relatively proven quality arms. Floyd/Danks are quality starting pitchers, no bones about that and I don't think anyone would argue that. Peavy is a huge x-factor and I could make a lot of cases for why he should be closer to what he was with the Padres than what he was with the Sox, however, I could also make a lot of arguments for why he wouldn't be. However, from a pure stuff perspective, you could see at times last year that he had the stuff it took and it would be hard not to expect him (pending another injury, which you could easily predict). Humber was solid and an inning eater and when you look at his actual performance, I think you feel comfortable thinking he can be a league average starter. Add in Sale as the #5, who is a legit talent, and well, good things could happen. Our rotation definitely has some question-marks, but 4 of the starters have had at least one above average major league season. It could very well turn out to be a better than league average rotation. The bullpen also has some question-marks but there are some above average relievers there (Crain/Thornton). Add in guys like Reed who have some upside and the pen isn't horrendous. The lineup is bad, however, if Rios/Dunn produce, than all of a sudden your 3/4/5 (with Konerko producing) is doable and it makes things easier. Again, I'm hard pressed to say we have a good offense (in almost any scenario) but the rotation could be good and the offense could be better than you expect (with those two, who again, have a history of having success). Viciedo is a wild-card but he is a major league talent. Morel/Beckham are bigger wild cards since they still have a ton to prove and don't have any extended historic success (outside of Beck's rookie season).