Chisoxfn

QUOTE (zenryan @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 12:07 PM) Yeah they will. I just hope its in a meaningless Rose Bowl game instead of the national title game. Would hate to see a Florida/Alabama/Texas team just handed a national title. Give me a break. Alabama and FLorida have looked every-bit as beatable the past few weeks. You want to talk about the teams to watch, it is Oregon and even USC (with the way there freshman Barkley is playing, although there D has struggled massively the past two weeks). Bottom line, to go undefeated when you play as many quality opponents that Iowa, Alabama, and Florida do is very tough. You can tell me how Iowa played Arkansas State and Northern Iowa, but we also played a ton of very solid programs and there is a reason the computers have us #1.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 12:04 PM) I know you're not really gay. Doesn't matter, Indiana is folding again. I'm honestly happy for the Big Ten, but this Iowa team will get annihilated in a BCS bowl if it were to get there. I've heard it before, but thats the same Iowa team that has beaten the glorified SEC 3 seperate times since 2004 (Florida, LSU, and South Carolina).

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 11:51 AM) DA, go back to about 1:16 pm on your dvr and watch the view from behind the end zone. Certainly looked like his foot was down. I do see what you're saying about him being out of bounds from the one angle, but I think it's an illusion that you don't see his foot drag. As one other poster said, from the side view, you can see the line in the turf where his foot dragged and you can see the dust/dirt fly up as well. Considering it was called a td on the field, and there has to be indisputable video evidence that it was NOT a td to overturn it, I don't understand how you can overturn that call. You don't clearly see his foot being dragged, but you also don't clearly see him going out. Bottom line, it should have probably stayed a TD cause there just wasn't conclusive evidence one way or the other. The top angle camera was the best view of the play though and it looked like he was out, but again, nothing conclusive.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) We must be like Cubs fans in Iowa. I'm just hoping the Hawks can ride this a long time. I am very nervous about today and next week. I think they will play well at Ohio State. Our RB depth is a major major issue. Plus Northwestern and IU's offenses match-up very well (in there favor) against our zone defense scheme.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 11:37 AM) Yeah...and someone on this board said he was the best senior QB in the Big Ten. I still say he is. And I think it looked a lot more evident of why they were having so much trouble when you factor in what the wind was doing to the QB's today. Both of them. And Stanzi's last pick wasn't really his fault, more had to do with McNutt hitting the Ref and having his momentum in-peded (such is football). It takes a whole hell of a lot to come back from that type of quarter and than look so good in the 4th. Albeit he was helped by his WR's who really made nice plays, Stanzi still had to make the passes. Iowa's WR's/TE's are the most under-rated aspects of the team. They are rock solid. Note: Dan, he is a JR.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 11:36 AM) I'm not going to argue with the 15 yard penalty. Never think it should be called in a play like that, but it was helmet to helmet. Come on, you guys are just ridiculous. Both plays were helmet to helmet (the MSU one too). It really is an easy call and the rules are the rules.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 11:30 AM) Once again another close call goes to Iowa. That was an incomplete pass. Edit: It's closer than I thought. I actually thought it was a catch and should have staye that way. Although the point was on the ground he had posession of the ball, but I understand the call.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 11:21 AM) 8-0 with road wins at MSU, Wisconsin and Penn State, I guess you can't call them good. They are getting lucky today no doubt, but teams have downer games. I don't know why Davie said the guy dragged his foot. It was pretty clear he did not. I thought Iowa got lucky on a couple calls. The spot call, but karma rewarded them anyway. I thought both TD calls which went Iowa's way were close, although some of the camera angles made it look like there was no way that guy dragged his foot and the first one I agree nothing was conclusive enough to over-turn it. I would have kept the 2nd one though as a TD cause I just didn't see the evidence to over-turn it. My brain told me no way was it a catch but I didn't see a clear camera angle that told me that. Either way, Iowa battled back and absolutely murdered them in the 4th quarter. Iowa over-came a s***-ton of turnovers, a 9 yard punt, a fumbled punt and still won.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 10:58 AM) At this point I don't want to hear about Iowa being good. Even if they come back this result is enough for me to want them blackballed from BCS discussion. They are so overdue for a loss, it's not funny. I don't want to hear the RB was out excuse. It's Indiana. Indiana should be 6-2, actually 7-2 following today's loss. They had Michigan, Northwestern and Iowa beat. Iowa made a ridiculous comeback and dominated the 2nd half but that was the worse game Iowa has played all season and they should have lost. Unbelievable. That game reminds me of the Bears vs Arizona Cardinals game of a few years ago.

List em.

Has anyone seen the following 2 horror movies: The Audition (1999) or the Orphanage? I'm going to rent one of them tonight and watch it with the lady after we carve pumpkins. Both were on a ton of top horror lists and I haven't seen either. Anyone recommend one over the other or anything like that?

Very cool. My only question is going to be how well it will do in the off-season.

Thats pretty freaking good Row.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 11:16 AM) Interesting question and observation. We have heard the same thing said of the Big Hurt The most important skill of a hitting coach is the ability to communicate and work and adjust to each persons skill-set. If you can do that and of course have an understanding of hitting as well as the ability to break-down guys swings (from when they were rolling to when they weren't), than you'll be pretty good, imo. Coaches that have a my way or the high-way one size fits all approach are not very good, imo. And I also think the mental aspect is so very important in baseball (hitting coach, pitching coach, etc). The only portion its less important for is the manager because the X's and O's calls aren't really related to the mental aspect of the game. The manager does have a key job to do in keeping the team prepared, motivated, etc. I'd argue that depending on the type of manager you are, that could be more important (ie, if you are a sit back wait for the 3 run mgr, than x's and o's, ie hit and runs, bunts, etc, get thrown out the window and your motivation becomes much more important).

QUOTE (JuiceCruz16 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 11:07 AM) It is also BY FAR the most difficult game to ref. I have worked all three and it is not even close!! Football and baseball do not have constant bang bang calls, I do not see a fix aspect at all. Holding/non holding inconsistencies in the NFL, or floating strike zones in MLB, is every bit as common. Hell, look at all the blown calls this playoff season in the MLB, and baseball has a fraction of bang bang calls that basketball has. The SEC refs getting hit for calls the past two weeks in football as well, and football has far fewer judgement split decision chances then hoops too. NBA games have constant instances like those on violations or fouls . As for the stars getting more calls, that happens in every league all the way down to high school, it is not always an intentional thing, but reputation and status do effect those making the calls in every game across the board, even if it is a subconscience thing. The strike-zone argument is pretty rare. Very rarely do I see one team get a far bigger or smaller strike-zone as the other team so I would argue that while strike zones vary from ump to ump they rarely vary from team to team. And while people would point out the 90's Braves squad where there pitchers got the benefit of the doubt and what most perceived as bigger strike zones, I would argue that when you throw strikes constantly and have your pitchers frame the ball well it is much easier to get strikes called. And it works both ways. Whenever a pitcher in baseball throws strikes, they tend to get more favorable calls. However, on the flip-side, if you are all over the place in a game, typically you don't get the borderline pitch because the ump is so used to everything being a ball. I almost consider it momentum. I personally believe this is different from the NBA and I would agree with you that the NFL is the closet to the NBA, but I haven't seen the blatant fixes in long-playoff series as I have in the NFL. And of course the NFL is just one game per playoff series so that makes it easier to get away with so-called fixes, I'm sure. But when you see 7 game series blatantly f'd up and called to the pure benefit of a team constantly it makes you wonder.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:41 AM) The benefit is regulars need rest especially older ones in the greenie -free MLB. Say against righties maybe DH Kornerko and put Kotsay at 1st. Just rotate things depending on matchups. I only suggest this based on my idea of improving the D and something somewhere will suffer . The Sox won't fix every hole in the off season so I choose DH as the last priority but I know many want a slugger . I'm just trying stay reasonable on payroll. Thinking of Fielder or Dunn is like dreaming the impossible dream. It also allows you to be more flexible in the case that one of your guys goes down with injury because you don't necessarily have to worry about fixing that exact hole, you have extra flexibility with the DH who can become the starter and than try to find a bat that can stick or play the match-ups a lot more.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 08:32 AM) I believe every word of it. The NBA is dirty. The Sacto-LA series in 2002 confirmed that for me. I have no doubt in my mind. The one thing which has really pissed me off about the NBA is the way the refs work. It is so blatantly the worst referred sport around and the calls are just so so subjective. I'm not shocked at all by the comments. And I hope the NBA gets taken to town and has to be held accountable for these actions. I would argue the NBA at times is more fixed than Boxing for most of the last 20 years.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:40 AM) I completely agree. Ryan Mallet had all the tools. Hell to be honest, Arkansas is a lot like Notre Dame. I don't think Mallet is quite as good as Claussen though and they don't have quite as good of WR's as Notre Dame has. Defensively they are both awful though. Bottom line, Arkansas is a worse version of ND and while I love ND there is no way I'd be arguing about how great they were. ND has all the talent in the world offensively and could stun someone in any one game, but in no way shape or form are they that great of a "team" (and I'm a ND fan). They'll make a bowl and be rated but Weiss needs to get canned. Ole Miss - They aren't very good. People argue that its such a deep conference cause Ole Miss was a pre-season top 10 team, but you know what, Ole Miss flat out sucks. The experts got it wrong. Florida and Alabama have had poor offensive play. Both have legit defenses and some special players on offense. Bama has the stud running game, Florida has Tebow willing them to victory but neither team can pass there way down the field. Hell, Stanzi is a better passing QB than Bama or Florida's and he's the weak link of the hawkeyes (who in no way am I necessarily insinuating are a better team than Florida/Bama, although I'd widely argue the notion that them or OSU would get blown out). Iowa and OSU have gotten better (OSU much better following that Purdue debacle) where as I don't think Florida or Bama have gotten better. Hell, I think LSU is the team that is improving and is probably the best in that conference.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:37 AM) Its funny how long this debate has raged on. I am reading 1968, about OSU football and Woody Hayes best recruiting class and there are numerous statements about how the SEC couldn't compete with the size of the Big Ten back then. And BTW, if Mallet stayed at UM and DickRod never came in, he would easily be the best QB in the Big Ten. I completely agree. Ryan Mallet had all the tools.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:35 AM) Whatever, Gossip Girl is full of a bunch of hot tail. Indeed it is. It replaced the OC and I honestly think it might just be better than the OC (a show that I loved).

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:20 AM) I have nothing to hide. I also watch Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives, the latter of which I think is absolutely hilarious. Does this take away from the other things I enjoy (ie Sons of Anarchy, It's Always Sunny, the lovely taste of my wife's vagina, my ps3, the sox, blackhawks, bears, and bulls)? Absolutely not! Every man has there things that will get them ball-busted. I watch every episode of Gossip Girl. XOXO Chisoxfn's Man Card

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:08 AM) In terms of waiting until Feb. to sign an incentive-laden deal or in terms of giving his team next year great value on his contract? Both

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 09:49 AM) If Deng is healthy and can play at his form from a couple years ago and Tyrus Thomas can be a legit staring PF (He was in the 2nd half last night), this team could be vastly better than I thought. I love the leadership this squad has. I think it really has something it lacked in a Pargo and Hunter (quiet, back of the bench leaders). Than you add a Hinrich (always plays his ass off, great D), Deng (hard working, quiet leader), Brad Miller (more vocal leader), Salmons (whats not to like about this guy) and damn you really got to loev the squad. Add a Joakim who brings intensity and a Derrick Rose who can create points and this should be a pretty freaking fun squad to watch. In fact, I'm really excited to see what Del Negro does in his 2nd season. He's been very humble and well spoken and I like what he's told the various players. He's new to the position but has a lot of nice intangibles and could turn into a very good coach. We'll learn a lot about him this season as he will have some pressure handling so many quality players who will all want minutes.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:14 AM) Actually I agree hockey is a niche sport. It just is, and a lot of it has to do with the way it has marketed over the last 10 years. People don't see it on SportsCenter everynight, so they don't think it matters. That sounds overly simplistic, but that has a lot to do with it. Also Jas, do you really think you are able to 100% accurately talk about what the "want" is in Chicago, living in Cali? I listen to Chicago sports radio every day at work, run a Chicago message board, so I think I got an idea as to the pulse of the city. I do miss out on the day-to-day discussions I would have living in the area, but I would say that I have a pretty good pulse on Chicago in general. And I'm not trying to hate. If you say there is more excitement around the Hawks than the Bulls, I'd completely agree. A bigger buzz, sure....are they more popular, probably not. I've came to accept stuff like that and don't care whether my team is more popular...hell, the Sox won the 2005 World Series, we weren't more popular than the Cubs but who the f*** cares, we were the champs.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 10:04 AM) That's just a cop-out. Blackhawks vs. White Sox is a perfectly acceptable comparison and you can't use the Cubs as an excuse. I don't consider the White Sox a niche, and I don't consider the Blackhawks a niche. Hell, last night I attended a wine-tasting, and the game that was on was the Blackhawks, not the Bulls. It's not as black & white as you're making it out to be. Look, I'm not saying the Blackhawks aren't a great story. They are easily one of the 3 to 5 most popular hockey teams in the NHL right now and might very well be the most popular. However, the NHL doesn't compare with the NBA, let alone with MLB or NFL (which are two juggernauts, as you can see by the post I just made previously). And while comparing the Sox to the Blackhawks there are a lot of things you have to factor in. A more fare comparison would be to compare the Sox to the Islanders (ie, the 2nd favorite team in the respected city for one sport vs the 2nd favorite team in one city for one sport). I won't point the Sox out as a niche team because they aren't a part of the 4st most popular sport in America. Now even if baseball was the 4th most popular sport, I wouldn't give a s*** and I'd just enjoy the hell out of my team (like you guys do the Hawks) but at the same time I wouldn't live in this delusional mindset that they are more popular than other teams/sports with far bigger fan bases with wide-scale popularity. Hell, doing the research, I really was shocked by how damn powerful MLB really is. It isn't quite the NFL as the NFL is a complete an absolute juggernaut, but revenue wise they are close, with MLB reportedly passing them. * All my numbers were based upon google searches. * Note, I'm also not debating with you guys what is the better sport NBA or NHL. I'm simply stating which is more popular, that is all. To each there own. I get s*** from everyone I know for being such a die-hard baseball fan and I could care less, I love the sport, just like you guys love the NHL and thats all that f***ing matters.