Fotop

QUOTE(Beastly @ Jun 2, 2004 -> 06:14 PM) Magglios successor, please...that just makes me want to :puke ...how could you have Rowand, a number 5 outfielder at best on the ball club STARTING? Just looking through this thread I thought that was a funny little tidbit. Here's to Aaron for making that statement seem hilarious right now...

Albert Pujols $11,000,000 Mike Sweeney $11,000,000 Having those two names right next to each other reminded me even more how much the Cardinals have Pujols for a friggin' amazing rate. $11million for arguably the best hitter in baseball and a servicable 1st baseman? That's unbelieveable. I mean you could say you could have 2 Pujols's and 3mil to spare for one Arod...but that's stretching it since Arod is such an outlier contract. Either way, Pujols at 11million? Sick.

As a baseball fan though, we are fans of a sport with the most superstitious players of any professional sport. Seriously, how many times have you seen a pitcher jump a foul line...or nobody talking to the pitcher currently tossing the perfect game/no-hitter....or the not so widely known "no one in the dugout recognize the rookie after he hits his first career HR"? As a baseball fan, I take all of this in and am predisposed to being superstitious myself. Am I saying a guy on a message board will turn the game one way or another? No, and you can't really expect everyone here to not say something "jinxish". However, I won't say that I'm not superstitious about baseball. Hell my dad took a Cubs pin, put in the freezer sandwiched between two Nellie Fox patches during the Cubs playoff run a couple years ago (and then Bartman happened.) Did I think he was crazy at the time? Sure, but it makes baseball that much more fun. That's why I'll continue to be superstitious...I mean not Wade Boggs "fried chicken before every game" superstitious, but not saying a guy is throwing a no-hitter superstitious (if you get my drift). Anyways, my point is people believe what they want to believe. We shouldn't think lesser of someone if they're superstitious or not...but in turn we shouldn't flame people for "jinxing" things. It's really that simple, so if you want to talk about "growing up" talk about not getting on someone for believing in certain things.

I went to San Diego last year for a couple Pads games, and let me say I wasn't as impressed with the stadium as others are. But before I get into that bit let me say that San Diego is awesome, the weather is absolutely perfect. Gaslamp (I think that's what it's called) District is pretty fun, and it's the area around the park so it's in close proximity to the game. The stadium however did not impress me at all. I've been to quite a few stadiums (probably about half of them, maybe a little under half) and I have to say Petco is the definition of "BallMall". I know the term doesn't get used all that often, but the place just feels like a damn shopping mall or a hotel or something. Don't get me wrong, once you get to your seat, everything is beautiful, the game itself will be great. However, if you ever have to get up (and you will because there's like zero walking vendors) you have to traverse a maze of ramps and steps to get to the concourse. Once on the concourse, you can't see the game, unless you watch it on the tv's. That's really my main problem with Petco, the baseball isn't really "connected" to the rest of the stadium...if you get my drift. However, if you do get a chance to see Hoffman close it's a ridiculous sight to be seen. That alone made the trip worthwhile. All in all, I was a bit disappointed with Petco, but San Diego on the whole is a great time. A great place to relax and enjoy some awesome weather while maybe taking in a game or two at the shopping ma...err Petco.

Ya Krush, I've been to Illinois to visit friends and they all say the same thing. Here you can't be an RA unless your a senior, and you have to go through a ton of stuff to qualify for it. However, I feel as though it makes a ton of difference. Every RA I have had here has made some sort of positive impact on my life and I hope to do the same. We have many traditions here that I am passionate about and I for one want to see them instilled in the underclassmen.

Nope, ND is uber-strict about RA stuff. Really, being an RA here is a world different from anywhere else. Btw, training is only four days...missing two is a lot.

Hey guys, as many of you know I'm a student at Notre Dame and next year I'm going to be a senior. As someone who is actively involved within the dorm, I decided to be a RA next year. Well, I just found out that I was denied even the possibility of an internship due to my training. I was trying to intern for VanKampen Investments (a subdsidary of Morgan Stanley) because I am a finance major and the offices are very close to my home. The thing is, their internship program runs from June 6th to August 12th...my training starts on the 10th of August and supposedly the program is structured to the point where I can't leave it early. It sucks right now, just because I have very few leads on other interships in the finance field but I know in the long run that being an RA will be great for myself personally as well as being great for my resume. Just thought I'd share this with everyone here because I need to vent my frustration a bit, but if any of you are propsective employers looking to put me to work this summer I'd be more than happy to listen. So ya, don't be an RA kids...it'll cost you job opportunities. [/sarcasm]

Three Year Averages Dye vs. LHP: OPS of .767 (OBP .354) Everett vs. LHP: OPS of .655 (OBP.301) Dye vs. RHP: OPS of .735 (OBP .306) Everett vs. RHP: OPS .862 (OBP .361) From that it looks like it should be a classic Dye v. Lefties, Carl v. Righties platoon. Therefore, they both would be playing a good amount of time even if it wasn't a strict platoon because Everett could play LF or DH to give other players rest days. If they go by the numbers, Everett should still be getting a good amount of ABs even after Frank gets back.

Intestinal Trouble? Man, this injury sounds Giambi-esque. I'm not saying Maggs was/is on steroids, but I remember Yankee players complaining of the same thing last year (Giambi and Brown). With Brown it wasn't that big of a deal but w/Giambi it wrecked his season...so who knows what this is, even if it isn't his knee. Either way I'm glad we don't have all of this drama on our club this year.

Did anyone catch the Twins highlights last night? Morneau got drilled in the head yesterday by Seattle, was pretty shook up. It looked pretty bad, he took it to the side of the head, unlike Jeter when he got hit in the bill of his helmet yesterday. 4 days worth of baseball, two guys hit in the head...I can't recall how many times that happened last year but it certainly wasn't very many.

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I like Haren a lot. He's got good stuff, and towards the end of last year and during the postseason he pitched pretty well. He seems to me like a young guy who just misses bats, and I'm assuming he'll get a good amount of Ks for you. However, you'll have to put up with the growing pains, but for a guy pitching in the colisseum it shouldn't be that bad. If your looking for bargain bin pitching, guys like haren, bonderman, etc. are the way to go because they get Ks. Granted, Haren isn't to bonderman's level yet, or an oliver perez type level at all...but he's got everything you would think in someone who could "potentially" breakout.

Bulls win 112 - 97. oops I thought this was a game thread, my mistake

Spiff, the coach comments are what impressed me the most. I don't watch a lot of SEC football, but it sounds like he was a terror for these coaches. Plus, the basketball factor is huge...look at Antonio Gates or Tony Gonzalez for that matter. I think with more and more teams in the NFL preaching speed over size at corner (due to the enforcement of contact rules, etc.), this guy could be a damn tough matchup. In a perfect world I'd love to see the Bears pick up a 3rd rounder and have Jones still be there, but it seems like he'll go in the 2nd round from the sound of it. Sticking on the "Fotop's favorites" concept...I also like Adrian McPherson a lot. Sure he has a checkered past, but it's not like he's getting indicted for drug conspiracy (coughjamallewiscough) and I think he'd add some damn good depth to our QBs. Maybe 4th round? I don't really know where his stock lies, but it'll be interesting to see where he goes.

Fun fact about tonight's game: Fotop had a bet on Bulls -3... You'd think that would be a winner up 4, with two free throws to go and 3 seconds left? Nope, I pushed, but in the end I think I was lucky to just push considering Curry and Hinrich were out as well as Chandler getting ejected in crunch-time. But gosh, when it's in your grasp like that and a meaningless two wrecks that it sucks. Again, don't gamble kids. It makes pointless finishes to games unbelieveably cruical.

Am I the only one who is more excited to see Bronson Pinchot on this show than any of these other has-beens? It's Balki people...BALKI! As in "Perfect Strangers" character Balki Bartokomous. Granted, Canseco is cool but we've heard from him since he left the public eye...but Balki? I thought this guy fell off the face of the earth. Either way, this is a damn good lineup and makes me want to watch the surreal life for once.

Anyone read up on this guy at all or have seen him play? Chris Mortenson on ESPN wrote a rather long article about this guy, and it was damn impressive. The kid is 6'6" and ran a 4.37 (hand-timed)/4.40 (electronically-timed), as well as having a 39.5 in vertical jump. He played QB for Arkansas, but doesn't project as one because of his unorthodox style and an old shoulder injury. But what I'm thinking is he'd be one heck of a receiver...something out of the Randel El mold. He's taller and faster than Mike Williams, granted he hasn't played nearly enough reciever as Williams has but potentially he could be a huge matchup problem. So here's what I'm thinking, with all of this talk of the Niners trading down and the chargers grabbing edwards before us...why not take the best player available at the #4 (probably a RB) and grab this Jones kid with the 2nd round pick? Maybe 2nd rd is a reach, but he's got all of the tools of the top guys. Maybe I'm jumping off a cliff for this guy, but mark him down as one of my favorites in the draft. I think taking a long look at this guy is warranted, especially if the Bears grab a third round pick in a trade. I've linked the article I read below if you're interested. Matt Jones

Tad: Samurai death on the mound for the loser? Ichiro: Deal. (shake)

I know a lot of people are posturing for Iowa here, and this thread has talked about it a lot...myself included but I don't think it's a total "screwjob" if they don't get in. Iowa, like many other teams lost the game that would clinch them their bid. When you have the ability to control your own destiny and lose (I don't care if it was by 1 or 100 pts...all bubble teams have had losses like this) you can't really complain if you're on the outside looking in come tourney time. Believe me, my team is notrious for doing the exact same thing. I'm not going to get into who's resume is better, who should be in, etc. My point is if you control your own fate and blow it, there shouldn't be any crying come sunday....of course if the MAC and A-10 get two bids, then you can scream bloody murder like me because that's bulls*** plain and simple.

Real quick, two reasons to completely disregard the credibility of cold pizza: 1) Skip Bayless 2) Woody Page Those guys are both AWFUL, I watch the 1st and 10 replay pretty much everyday and Skip is just a whiny old man whereas Woody is off his rocker. Not much good sports talk, mostly just fluff and outlandish predictions/comments.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Mar 12, 2005 -> 03:08 AM) Its all good fotop. Its good debate and I just hope Iowa gets in and proves everyone wrong and wins a few games. Personally I like the tourneys because they add a ton of excitement and they give the chance for a potential cinderella story. And best of all, good teams step up, imo. And if your not in by the time the tourney comes its your fault if you falter in the tourney and don't get yourself in. Thats just the way I see it. Of course there are also tons of reasons why tourneys are bad, namely when a team wins there conference and is awesome but plays in a crappy conference and then loses the conference tourney and doesn't get the bid. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the ability to actually talk about this constructively...I live in the Chicago-Area (on spring break right now) and to actually have an educated discussion about the Big 10 is like a god-send. Usually the discussion is, tEh BiG 10 roxorz@@!!!1 And then I go, No I think the Big East is better for reasons A, B, and C. Repsonse: the BiG EAST SUX!!111 So yes, this is nice. Anyways, I love watching conference tournaments as well but I just think they've gotten to the point where people are overvaluing the games played in them. I completely agree with you about being a lock before the tournament so you don't set yourself up...believe me I was at the ND/PITT game before the BET and I was so pissed that we couldn't beat them on our home court to be a lock. To me though, conference tournaments = money/media horses. They build up all this hype, not to mention all the revenue created, even though they may not have the substance. By substance I mean it's still one game. It's not worth two....yet some make it out like it is.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Mar 12, 2005 -> 03:06 AM) Losing to a Rutgers or a Clemson can make you hated pretty damn fast. Well sure you can say that, but losing to those teams two months ago doesn't mean as much because of the emphasis on Conference tournaments. I mean come on, Maryland was a friggin' virtual lock with losing to Clemson TWICE....but they lose the third time in the tournament and they're DEAD. ND has no bad losses all year (you could say Michigan, but we lost to Michigan on the road before they lost everyone) and they lose to Rutgers and everyone wigs out. It's Rutgers last run...they know they won't get in the tournament, and playing a team that has that kind of motivation you kinda have to throw records out the window. I'm not trying to excuse losing to them, we deserved to lose that game, but really...this conference tournament s*** is overblown for many reasons.

I understand that talent doesn't get you in, see florida the past 5 years for a prime example of wasted talent. I think the problem here stems from my hatred for conference tournaments. Think about it...Iowa was basically DOA this time last week...they win two games (one against a s***house purdue team, obviously the other being huge), and everyone is so hyped up. Conference tournaments magnify wins and losses so much, and people forget about everything up until then. I mean just listening to these people on tv and it's like their bi-polar. One min they love a team, the other the hate them, etc. Basically, Conference tournaments to me are pretty worthless, but that's a whole other argument in itself...I'm just trying to show you where I'm coming from with all of this. Built up Conference tournament hatred.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Mar 12, 2005 -> 02:49 AM) On a sidenote, I'm not saying that the Big 10 is as good as the Big East. I was also really dissapointed in the way the Irish played. They had some big wins but man did they have some major losses as well. All they need was one loss and they would of been in. Heck, Iowa would probably still need a win if it weren't for the other bubble teams taking a major dive, I won't deny that. However, Maryland, UCLA, IU, Notre Dame, and maybe even ISU all opened up the door for Iowa. And then Iowa made sure the door was left open by defeating Purdue with ease and then pulling out the game against MSU. There will be absolutely zero doubt about it if they beat Wisconsin. I wasn't going to compare the Big 10 to the Big East because I figured everyone here isn't stupid enough to think the Big 10 can hold a candle to the Big East. I'm holding out on my last glimmer of hope, just as a fan, that the Irish get in so I get something to cheer for (I only have one year left here after this year so I want to see us at least with some shots before I leave). I've said it a ton though, I don't think the team deserves it...if they did they would have played hard to get that last f'n win. And I'm 100% aware that Iowa will be in, I think the AD is going to play a huge role. It's just a damn shame because there are better teams out there, that may or may not be punished by a late loss, IMO. EDIT: By 'better' I'm not talking records, I'm just talking talent...I really can't get past this whole Pierce thing, especially since there isn't a large enough sample size to gauge how good the team is without him.

Arizona could be lethal in the NCAA, Jason...don't sell them so short. Salim can carry them in a one and done situation and Channing Frye is actually turning into a decent player. I wouldn't say ASU and Stanford are "god awful" especially when Stanford's a lock for the NCAA. I also disagree about UCLA...the talent is def there, Affalo and Farmar are good freshman and Thompson can score. But hey, this is coming from a guy who sees teams on paper and expects them to perform (cough*ND*cough) so I cut some slack for teams with some pure talent. May be my fault, but potentially, it's there.

Don't forget ASU, pretty much a bubble team until they s*** the bed. Ike Diogu is a friggin' monster. And once you start talking about the Minnesotas and Iowas of the world I think they'd be 50/50 with the 2nd tier in the Pac-10. But like I said, I don't watch lower tier Pac-10 ball so I can't be so sure...I'm just trying to say that the Big 10 is nothing the write home about. And I hate to bring this up, but their track record in the NCAA speaks volumes of their "quality." (the big 10 that is)