Fotop

All this talk about Williamson in the 2nd round is a pipe dream. He's probably the 3rd best receiver in the draft behind edwards and williams. There's no way he falls to the 2nd round. Roddy White, Mathis (or whatever the guy from Hampton's name is), Roscoe Parrish, and maybe even Mark Clayton are more reasonable expectations.

tracey walks leadoff hitter on four pitches. Should have just hit him (would fit his M.O. a bit better)

Almost gametime, can't wait to see the team on tv again. It's one thing to listen to games and talk about baseball, it's a whole other thing to see everyone suited up and playing on tv. Can't wait.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Mar 7, 2005 -> 12:28 PM) Having seen most analysts pick the Twins as the favs & the Tribe as the runner-up I ask Sox fans what needs to happen to our beloved Chi-Sox to win the division. Try to keep your expectations or hope at a minimum so we can keep it real. #1 - Hernandez gets 25+ starts. If that happens then the Sox will get 45+ wins from their front 3. Contreras & Garland are good for 25. The pen is good enough for 20+. I think the likelihood of Hernandez getting 25 starts is close to Milwood getting 15+ wins with the Tribe, Bonderman breaking out for the Tigs, & Mays getting 25+ starts for the Twins. All of these teams have an equal dependancy on that kind of luck as the Sox do with Hernandez. #2 - Pods+Igs combine for a 340+ OBP. In the land of Oz, the #2 spot is Igs to lose. If this happens the Sox will have a consistent offense. I think this is as likely to happen as any of the other teams in the ALC producing a combined 340+ OBP out of their top 2 spots. #3 - The Sox have at least 1 300+ hitter. Every division winner has had at least one. Everything sounds good except for #3. Last year, the Yankees didn't have a .300+ hitter (Matsui was closest with .298) and they won their division. I think it seems pretty arbitrary that you HAVE to have a .300 hitter...and as evidence by last year's Yankee team it shows you can be pretty successful without one.

QUOTE(BaseballNick @ Mar 6, 2005 -> 09:56 PM) I believe this is true, however, he's not ready. He's MAYBE the third best player on the team. Dee and Luther are definitley more NBA ready, and I personally think he'll be a below average NBA player. He's not a pure point, and he's not a shooting guard either. He can knock down a shot, but a good defender will have a field day with him. Obviously I don't agree with you about the not being ready for the NBA part, as evidence by my first post. But let's say you're right about him being a 'tweener (re: one who doesn't have a true position). I really don't think that means all that much to the NBA as everyone thinks it does...especially with Ben Gordon completely blasting the concept. I bet we all read the same thing about Gordon last year, "too small for the 2, not a 1, great shooter" and we all know how well he's doing this year. I'm not saying Williams is Gordon, but Williams can run a team much better than Gordon can. I really doubt we read much about him not being able to play the point if he choses to go to the draft. My point is though, in the worst case scenario you're presenting, guys like Gordon and to a certain extent, Wade have quelled NBA team's fears about drafting guys that don't really have a position. I think being able to play some ball is a bit more important and I assume the NBA thinks that as well. Edit: Woo! 400th Post, just noticed.

QUOTE(Ishmookie @ Mar 6, 2005 -> 08:10 PM) 1. Deron Williams is not ready for the NBA and his status for the draft took a HUGE hit today with him scoring two points. 2. Now everybody will shut up about how we NEED to lose a game. (I personally thnk thats bs) P.s. I'd like to send a shout out to seth davis for saying that the Illini would go to saint louis undefeated, this was at the half. :puke This loss wont hurt if we win it all. In regards to #1, you've got to be kidding me. Unless Illinois has a Cub-like collapse, Deron Williams will leave for the NBA. If they get bounced early I can see him wanting to come back to make one last run at a National Title, but if they run deep and his stock is where it is now (as one of the top five PG prospects in college) or higher he's as good as gone. You can hold out for him to stay all you want, but realistically the NBA will be too much to turn down. Frankly, I'd be afraid of Dee Brown running his draft stock up there during the tournament with a bunch of good games. I know he says he's coming back, but if he goes on a run he could garner a Ben Gordon-like buzz and that also may be too much to pass up. One game, especially a meaningless game against Ohio State, does not cause a guy's draft stock to plummet. Prime example, Chris Taft, this guy has one awesome game and five awful games yet he's still considered a prime NBA prospect. Scouts know Williams has the tools, and if one game blows people's draft stock then well no one would get drafted because EVERYONE has at least one bad game. The guy can run the point, has NBA size, and he can shoot the lights out. Some scouts compare him to Jason Kidd. One game against Ohio State can't hurt that opinion...because that's a pretty damn high opinion of the kid. He's ready for the NBA, and it's downright laughable that you can write him off like that after one game. On a serious note, all this Illini talk is getting ridiculous. Let them play the games, then talk. Judging by the reactions to today's game, most Illini fans on here are setting themselves up for a huge letdown because the bar is set so high. You're 29-1 and people are getting ready to jump off of buildings. I'd kill for my team to be 29-1 (figuratively, of course). You almost assume they're already in the Final Four. However, it's called March MADNESS for a reason; you never know. Just keep that in mind when you're talking about St. Louis so you're not setting yourself up for what might happen if you lose. Just a little advice, TFWIW.

Scorsese was screwed. Again. They really must have it out for him. Haven't seen Million Dollar Baby, I've heard mixed things about it, but after winning best supporting actor, best actress, and best director you had to expect it to win Best Picture. Logically, it makes sense. The Scorsese thing is the only thing that is bothering me about this year's Oscars, other than that it was a decent show and moved rather quickly.

How is it pathetic to compare to two years ago? Thomas was a sophmore then too, remember...and quinn was a freshman as well. Pretty much the same talent on both teams then as there is now. You really can't use the "our players were young then" excuse, because the same pretty much applies to ND. Also to say that you're not the least scared of Francis, then you're out of your mind. He dominated UCONN this year, who have some of the nation's top frontcourt players, and would probably manhandle Illinois' excuse for a frontcourt...like he did when he matched up against big bad Brian Cook. I'm not saying ND would win, in a one game situation there's a lot of luck involved. But to say you're not the least bit scared of a team like ND in a tournament situation is just plain silly. I mean if I were in your position, I'd be scared as s*** of that target on my back as well as any other battle-tested conference team (read: ND). Really, I'm going to catch a lot of heat for saying this, but everyone needs to lay off the Illinois kool-aid around here...they're a good team, but everyone's expectations for them are insane. You can't just expect them to be in the final four, and I sense a lot of people are thinking this way. The NCAA tournament is the most unpredictable thing in sports, so really don't get your hopes up too high...watch the games, enjoy them but don't act like you're God's gift to basketball.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Feb 9, 2005 -> 03:26 AM) I'd play ND in a hearbeat this year, our guards would out play your guards pretty badly. Chris Thomas has been an enigma lately. Good win, but i wouldn't be afraid of them in the tournament. Just like your guards outplayed us two years ago? I distinctly remember playing Illinois in the tournament (I was there), and that team had Brian Cook as well as the same guards you speak of and got worked by ND. Carroll and Miller are gone now, but we have Falls (shoots the three just as good, if not better than Carroll) and Lattimore now. Granted, Illinois is a better TEAM this year, but the talent between the team two years ago and now is pretty comparable. So to say you wouldn't be afraid of them in a one-and-done situation shows the confidence you have in your team, but in my opinion we'd match up pretty damn well with U of I. Btw, who the hell would guard Francis on Illinois, Augustine? The Bird Man, Nick Smith? Good luck with that.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Feb 8, 2005 -> 09:41 PM) Not to rain on the parade, but I wouldn't go as far as to say teams don't wanna play ND. If you as an Illinois fan saw ND as the 8 seed in your bracket, you'd have to at least think you got a pretty bad draw. I'm not saying EVERYONE doesn't want to play them, but in a one and done situation I wouldn't want to play a team who could catch fire from three. Colin Falls, our third guard, had SEVEN threes tonight and he's been a machine from behind the arc with thomas and quinn being good 3pt shooters as well. A three guard system, where even the PF can hit a three from time to time (J. Cornette) coupled with a halfway decent inside game (Francis/Lattimore have stepped it up recently) can be viewed as "dangerous". I'm not trying to say ND is a consistently good team, because we haven't been this year. But they defintely possess the talent to be "dangerous", and the past few weeks it has slowly been coming together.

I know this was put in the college basketball thread but I think this deserves its own thread. I just got back from the game, ND knocked off BC 68-65 tonight. Big win for us, with one more big win we might not be a bubble team. If only we could play consistent basketball for 2 halves...Either way if ND does end up making the tournament, I don't think many teams will want to play them. I'm quite happy right now, very big win for the team and to come against our biggest rival makes it even sweeter.

Well, I don't know about you, but for me a "Good" Conference is one that has "Good" teams in it. I could care less about rankings, Top 5 or whatever means basically nothing in a March Madness situation. And the reason for Gonzaga having more wins NOW vs the top 25, is because they have to play an extremely hard non-con schedule to balance their poor conference schedule. So basically they've just flat out had more opportunities because the Big East season is only half over. Again maybe it's just me, but when I think of an "elite" conference I think of not having any gimmie games and having to play a good game every night. And the Big East is just that, a bunch of solid teams playing solid basketball. They're not going to be on sportscenter every night because their names aren't "UNC" or "Duke", but they play the type of basketball no one wants to run into come March.

QUOTE(Hall of Famer @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 08:31 PM) The Big East isn't what its cracked up to be. Should be a hard transtition, but not a tough one. Well that's quite the blanket statement, isn't it?. The past five years, the Big East have sent a ton of teams to the tourney and have won 2 National Titles in the last four years...it might be three. They are a consistent force in the tourney with many teams making the Sweet 16. This year they'll probably send 6 teams, if everything works out right and they send about that pretty much every year. Top to bottom this year, the Big East could be argued as the best conference in America. The ACC hasn't lived up to the hype, plus the few bottom feeders in the ACC are really bad (VT for example). The SEC is a solid conference, but again lacks on the low-end. The Big 10 is extremely overrated, always has been, but they get enough press to choke a horse around here so I won't talk about them much. In the Big East any team can lose any one of their games. St. John's is probably the worst team in the league and they put up a fight every game they play. Blow outs are rare, and it's damn hard to win on the road. Really, the Big East gets the shaft when it comes to "who's the best conference" talk. BC is undefeated still; Uconn, Pitt, and Syracuse can match up with pretty much any team in the country and there are dangerous fringe teams (ND, Villanova, G-town) that could be highly competitve in a one and done situation. Then looking at next year with the addition of perrenial NCAA tourney teams (Cincy and Lousiville) as well as solid DePaul and Marquette teams, plus USF (don't really know much about them) you can't help but say the Big East potentially is the hardest conference next year. The only probably with the league next year is the loss of home and home series between rivals due to a 16team league, as well as a s***ty conference tournament. But really, you can't say going from C-USA to a monster 16team league won't be hard to adjust to. Every game will be a struggle, unlike playing in C-USA or with a upper mid major schedule. Depaul is a good team and I think they'll fair well next year, but to say it won't be tough playing road stretches against Uconn, Syracuse, Louisville, etc; you've got to be kidding.

Leinart is a dope, he'd easily be the first pick in the draft if he left because san fran could use a qb. This could mean that he doesn't want to play for the niners and is inadvertantly pulling an Eli Manning, but this is pure speculation. So much can happen between now and this time next year and if you can get guarenteed tens of millions of dollars now why the hell would you stay with your two national championships and a hesiman? Is there some sort of uber-award he can win that we all don't know about? All I know is if someone pulls a McGahee on him, his future disappears. Seriously, any sort of injury would destroy him. This really makes no sense whatsoever, and I'm not going to say I respect him for staying in school because it's a fifth-year...it's not like he'd be leaving "early" (after 3). He should have a degree or be damn close by now. Way to go Matt, you may have just screwed yourself out of a huge (guarenteed) signing bonus that could set you and your family for life. What an idiot.

Just ended, Magic cut the lead in junk time but the Bulls win: 105-90.

I was surprised to see there wasn't a game thread or something so I figured someone had to point it out. Anyways, those too hungover to watch tv are missing out on a great Bulls game.

Where's DBAH0 when you need him? Bulls crushing the Magic 80-49 w/3mins left in the 3rd Quarter. Way to ring in the new year, Bulls!

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 1, 2005 -> 02:56 PM) Hawthorne Heights The Killers Maybe not top 5 of the year, but they are the two cd's I'm listening to most right now. Good call on Hawthorne Heights, I've been listening to them lately...they're pretty good, hopefully they'll grow into a stronger band though (a lot of their songs sound the same, they could use a little depth) I'd also have to agree with Jimmy Eat World (even though it took forever for this new cd, it was worth it) and Green Day (def. different than old Green Day, but I like it). Can't forget about Kanye as well, the guy is damn talented; hopefully he doesn't burn himself out though by doing too many collaborations. I'd add Taking Back Sunday and My Chemical Romance to this list, they both had quality years w/quality albums. Can't wait till new albums come out this year from Brand New and Thursday (I think they have a new one coming sometime in 2005). Also a bit off topic, I just saw the Incubus live at Redrocks DVD and I've now made it my goal to see a damn good rock show at that venue, the place looks amazing...many bands have taped performances there, I suggest you check it out if you haven't seen Red Rocks before.

Oops, my bad...I was at the last game, and they won, so hopefully I'm not bad luck!

Didn't see anyone post one of these, but the Bulls are going for five in a row

I'd be pissed too because now I'd have to find ABs for a guy who's getting paid 4+mil and I'd be committed to Utley at 2b. A trade should be in there best interest, only problem is will Wade get 1st round pick value for Polanco? Will it be the same as if he lost him? He better hope so or he loses almost 5mil in financial flexibility.

I don't think I've seen this anywhere as well, but Polanco agreed to arbitration according to ESPN. Looks like he'll be the super utility man for Philly next year.

Just saw on the ESPN BottomLine, Jay Gibbons agreed to a one year deal with the Orioles. Sorry to dash all the dreams of the Gibbons lovers...

My not so obvious answer here is: Aaron Rowand. Ok before I get jumped on for this let me explain. Before last year, Rowand was an everyday player, I understand his stats for his limited ab's were nice and he hac a nice year last year but it's scary to think that a key cog in our offense will be a player who had one good season and has only been a starting player for a year. I understand a lot of you have confidence in Rowand, as do I, but for this team to be successful Rowand needs to produce as much, if not more than he did last year. Rowand has made players like Mags and Lee "expendable." If he doesn't live up to expectations our OF is below average unless Dye explodes (which is possible) and Scott P. looks more like his 2003 version (not likely). So in my mind the world is on Aaron's shoulders and we don't know what to expect of him with increased pressure. Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of Rowand, I think he's a solid ballplayer, but KW may have jumped the gun on unloading two OF studs when Anderson is a year and a half away and Sweeney may be two years away. Anyways, Aaron Rowand...the ball is in your court. You need to step it up, be a leader of this team, and a bat we can rely on day in and day out in the lineup. Without you, a solid offensive season will be nearly impossible (unless PK, Dye, and Thomas go NUTS or Christ himself takes over Joe Crede's body and turns him into a hitter), and as a result an AL Central pennant will also be nearly impossible.

Seriously though, what about CLee this year is not Paul Konerko two years ago? I know most of you wanted to get rid of Konerko when he was struglling because of his "awful" contract. CLee basically got the same contract, so say he struggles...you can't trade him because of the money committed to him. The financial flexibility this trade gives us for the future is outstanding because we're not on the hook for the next few year's of Lee's contract and have two quality inexpensive players in his place. Addition by subtraction here people.