CWSGuy406

I honestly believe that Pacific Poker has some type of hex on me. I haven't hit a flop in at least 100 hands, and have lost about $50 bucks since starting off with $75. It pisses me off, too. People call down with s*** till the river, and something like an inside straight draw on me. Or, I'll have A-J to another guy's A-10, and there we'll both have aces going to the river, only to see a 10 hit.

Is that a typo? He finished second on his team with a .360 slugging percentage? That's awful...

QUOTE(KevHead0881 @ Feb 21, 2006 -> 01:20 AM) What I will challenge you on is what Maggs did for us when he was here. The guy will go down as one of the better hitters in our history. Yes, we only made the playoffs once when he was here. But how many great players have come and gone without many postseason accomplishments for us? That shouldn't discount their overall production. I'm not a big Maggs fan myself, but to think he was anything other than a great player for us is crazy. There really should be no debate as to this part of your post. Maggs' peak years for the Sox ('01-'03) was really the best three-year offensive period since Frank Thomas ('95-'97). Really, I'm not greatly concerned about Magglio. He's obviously peaked (2002), has had knee problems (among other things) on-going for the past two seasons, and is on the wrong side of 30. It's one of the few things I can probably hang my hat on and say, "I was right". Even a healthy Magglio, back when he was asking for a contract extension, wasn't worth his asking price, which was 5/$75. Few players are, really. He wasn't an elite hitter -- a step below -- and it's not like he played defense at a particularly important position. I guess the broken clock saying applies here, though...

Awesome -- Marquette at a #6 seed? That's excellent. I'm thinking they'll end up closer to #7 or 8. I'd just rather they not be an #8 or 9, for obvious reasons... Still, though, if they get a matchup with a team that doesn't have an inside presense, watch out. That's really Marquette's biggest weakness -- they're awful on the inside.

I really love watching the Fins play. Sorry to bring out a cliche here, but they really play some solid hockey. Just wish Tuomo was playing...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Feb 17, 2006 -> 04:21 AM) Well...no one can take away the fact that you will always be the intercontinental champion. Nope -- all mine.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Feb 17, 2006 -> 04:15 AM) I wouldn't expect anything less from you. At one point, I was considering not shooting the ball the rest of the year when I came off the bench. I was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, clearly the best shooter in the conference (can't beat 100% ). That didn't last long. I remember my first miss. Our coach was subbing in five guys at a time in this Lincoln Way East Tourney, and he subbed me in in the first quarter. I was so f***ing nervous. I had a wide open three coming off of a screen, and I must have missed the rim by a good three-four feet. I couldn't help it -- my hands were shaking so bad... Yup -- my fall from basketball greatness is almost like Sammy Sosa's...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Feb 17, 2006 -> 04:11 AM) Shouldn't playing be in quotations as well considering you were on the bench. Come on, Rowand, I wanted to give the impression that I was a starter. Thanks for ruining my plan... I did hit a three against Hillcrest. It was awesome... Kid drove to the basket, kicked it out to me, and I buried it. And held my hand up running down the court. Probably looked like an idiot, as we were down by 20, but I didn't care -- it's all about me, baby.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Feb 17, 2006 -> 04:01 AM) Speaking of Marquette, I'm in love with their freshmen backcourt, those guys are going to be something very special. I'm watching McNeal especially closely, as he's reminding me of a young certain somebody that used to play for Marquette. I had the "honor" of playing against McNeal (twice), as Hillcrest was in the SICA, the conference my high school (Oak Forest) is in. They played this 1-3-1 trap that absolutely ate teams alive. They also had another D1 player, Maurice Acker (Ball State). Those two were amazing... The only thing I can say about McNeal is that he isn't a great shooter. He's quick as hell, however, on the one-two dribble move to the basket, and he can also pull up and hit the jumper. And, as you guys have already seen, he's quite the defender. I don't know if he'll ever be able to shoot well enough to be like Mr. Wade, but I'm rooting for him. He was a really nice guy, on top of being the second best high school player I've ever seen live (Julian Wright gets the #1 honor).

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Feb 16, 2006 -> 04:52 PM) ISO -- SLG% minus batting average, I think. BAPIP -- Batting Average on Balls in Play. I believe by BABIB, he meant BAPIP. And PA is plate appearances... Of course, it's probably better to actually inquire and learn what they are (even if you aren't statistically oriented), rather than being ignorant and making a comment like "completely crazy", but I'll digress.

I'm so torn at the moment. I'm choosing between Marquette and UofW. I'm not worried about the education at this point, as I know that if I were to choose either school, I'd be getting a top-of-the-line education. Both really have great selling points, for me personally. A couple of my buddies might also go to Marquette -- if they choose and are able to go to Marquette, I'd probably pick there. I also qualified for the Ignatious Scholarship, which is nice. And, Milwaukee is nice. A casino just a couple blocks away, Miller Park a couple miles away, and the city itself. But, I went up to Madison sometime last fall, and fell in love with the campus. I was there for just a couple of hours, and man -- State Street is absolutely loaded. Plus, the whole sports thing is a huge selling point for me -- they have good-to-great teams in football, basketball, and hockey. Having one of the best business schools in the country also helps, not to mention a kick-ass campus. There's one problem -- I haven't been accepted their yet. Part of the blame goes to me, as they didn't receive my ACT scores on time (for whatever reason), nor did they receive my transcripts on time. I basically sent in my application, ACT scores, and transcript in three separate increments. I'm worried because I've heard the business school is very tough to get into, and they may have already filled their out-of-state quota for next year's class. Who knows, though. I'm not too worried about it, just enjoying my last semester in high school. I'd rather be forced to make a tough decison, though, in choosing between the two schools (ie, get accepted to UofW).

Greasy -- can I ask a favor of you? Under my avatar, can you place the title, "Intercontinental Champion"? Krush, SnB, and Rowand44 will understand the joke.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 15, 2006 -> 08:24 PM) Actually there was something fairly significant last year about "Ozzieball"...whether or not it won a lot of games is worth asking, but I did a bit of work on this sometime around the All Star Break. Last year, the average number of runs we were scoring per game had gone down, but also, the variation in number of runs scored per game declined. http://www.southsidesox.com/story/2006/2/1.../759#commenttop [/snip] What I want to find out is if this is a repeatable task.

USA with an early 5-on-3, as Irbe tried clearing the puck and it went over the boards. I really wish they'd put that Slovakia/Russia game in HD. That's a helluva game there.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Feb 15, 2006 -> 06:09 AM) I get that. I just don't believe this particular experiment is so risky not to give it a try. So what's Spring Training going to prove? Seriously -- it doesn't mean a whole lot. If Uribe hits .500 hitting in the #2 spot in Arizona, it'll make me no more or less confident than if he hits .100. Juan put up a .344/.412/.525 last year in Tuscon. If he does that this year, what exactly will that prove? It's a sticky situation that probably won't mean a whole lot in the long run. Switching Uribe/Iguchi in the lineup might mean a run here, a run there, but in the end, not enough to get worked up over.

Can I bring up a non-favorite/worst president question? My teacher (who is an absolute American History buff, extremely intelligent lady) last year for AP class told me about one of the presidents who would hold these giant parties, and would literally bring in big (and I mean huge) blocks of cheese in. Anyone know who the heck I'm talking about? And, since I don't think I'm really entitled to give a well-rounded opinion on the subject, what everyone's thoughts on FDR? Good, bad, otherwise? BTW -- the reason I ask is because I remember studying a lot about him last year, but not remembering most of it this year (I'm in a European History course this year). It seems to me that there was something specific that rubbed me the wrong way about him (though, overall, I was very impressed by what he did for this country, WPA, CCC, etc etc)... Ahh -- now I see the 'Best Pres.' thread. Nevermind.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Feb 13, 2006 -> 05:37 PM) They trail the Pens by 5 points, Blues by 3 points, and Caps by one point. Ahh -- the race for last place. For the third year in a row, I'll be (like a sucker) following along the whole way. But there's a little twist this year. Phil Kessel seems like the consensus #1, but I've heard rumors that he and Jack Skille (Hawks first-rounder last year) aren't exactly the best of friends. I've also heard that he (Kessel) isn't the most well liked guy. We will see. If it's anything like the last two years, the Hawks will miss out on the cream of the crop (like in 2004 with Malkin + Ovechkin), and will have to choose from the "Best of the Rest" group.

I really wish Ruutu was playing for Finland. I still have memories of his spectacular goal against Canada in the WCH in 2004, in which he beat multiple defenders to score. Ah, well. I'll still enjoy it. And I agree with you about the US. I doubt they metal.

Borchard couldn't even muster a .500+ SLG% in one of the better hitting parks in AAA. He comes across as very whiny in this article, which is pretty much the opposite of everything I've heard of him. If he leaves, so be it. Ben Grieve has put up a career .269/.367/.442 line. That's not bad production coming off of the bench.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Feb 13, 2006 -> 04:31 AM) Why do you have off I have school tomorrow, too. Apparently, we observed his birthday on Friday, as we had off.

That Frazier kid is one helluvan on the ball defender. Talk about quick... Oh, and I'd say 99% of the teams in America will lose a game in which the opposing team shoots that well from beyond the arc. ...... Go Marquette!

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Feb 12, 2006 -> 06:33 AM) Actually, I guess I could ask the same question. I also have 8 locked up. Need two more. M.Giles,S.Hillenbrand,C.Tracy,L.Overbay Gotta keep Giles. He was one of my few bright spots last year, and he's one of the best hitting second-sacker in all of baseball. Greinke... eh, not so much. Traded Francisco Cordero to get him. :banghead

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 05:53 AM) Sorry, but IMO, after really watching Ruutu, I really dont see him being better than a 2nd line center. If he can score 30 goals a year, great, good for the Hawks, really. However, he was hyped up to be the savior of Chicago. The entire franchise, starting from the top, all the way down needs to be blown up. Did you watch him play in the second half of 2004? i.e., when he was actually healthy, and in a groove? Ruutu is just about as complete a player as you can ask for. He hits, he skates well, he passes well, he can put the puck in the net, and he plays decently enough on defense. Is he at the level that an Alexander Ovechkin is going to be? No. I'd say he's a step below that, which is pretty damn good. Of course -- he hasn't been healthy, which is a problem. He's only 23 years old though (on Feb 16th, actually, he turns 23), so he's still got his better years ahead of him. And, BTW, I'm in full agreement with this: The entire franchise, starting from the top, all the way down needs to be blown up.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Feb 10, 2006 -> 03:45 AM) Freddy was inconsistent? And Kenny doesn't make the deal if he didn't think he could lock Freddy up long term. Which he was able to do. Thome is somewhat of a risk, but everything points to him being healthy in 06. Think Kenny even considers the deal if he had doubts? I'll just say this w/r/t Thome -- he wouldn't be the first big-slugger type to hit his mid-30s, and then just fall off of a cliff. Of course, he doesn't strike me as the type of guy who's lazy, and it also helps that Herm Schnieder (sp?) and co. are one of the best trainings staffs in baseball, but still. He's anything but a sure thing going into 2006. And Chris Young... man, it sucks he isn't with the Sox anymore. If the Mike Cameron defensive comparisons are spot on, I'd say that he could already come up and just catch the ball, and still be better than a lot of major league CFers. If his combo of power and OBP is for real, and he becomes that .280/.380/.500 type player? Yikes... That's a star right there. Oh, and here's my Ross Gload plug. I think he would've put up better numbers if given the same PA as Everett last year.

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Feb 7, 2006 -> 05:38 PM) For the xbox 360: The xbox 360 version wont ship simultaneously with the current-gen versions, but 2k sports believes that it will be trailing only a few weeks behind, placing it in late March or early April. Like 2k sports first gen basketball foray, the majority if the additions to this version are of the graphical sort. The entire crowd ( which can stretch up to 60,000 people) will be fully modeled. If a foul ball is hit to a specific section, the fans will leap to their feat and jockey for position as they try to get their hands on the souvenir. Fans will also have the ability to get up and head for the bathroom. Vendors will make their rounds up and down the stairs, and you'll even see security guards on patrol. All of the stadiums in the game have been completely rebuilt for this version. Youll also see volumetric grass in the outfield and the most realistic dirt around. Much like the incredible cloth technology features in NBA 2k6, the uniforms in this game will wrinkle and flow as the players move. New gameplay features are also being introduced, such as context-based moves like leaning over a railing to snag a fly ball. And yes, 2k is throwing around the idea of inlcuding a fan at wrigley that looks an aweful lot like Steve Bartman.. Okay -- you can have the cool looking fans and vendors with 2K, and I'll take the kickass gameplay and realism of MVP.