GoodAsGould

I think more likely than Mario Williams the Bears go after a safety and olb or a lesser de.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Mar 13, 2012 -> 02:24 PM) Did I just read a few pages of people defending the Bears' offensive line? I'm going to clean my eyes out and try to re-read the last few pages. The Bears had one of the bottom two offensive lines last year with Philly being the only team in their stratosphere of bad. Carimi looked good when healthy. Garza to me looks like a good backup C and a good RG, but he's nothing special. Williams looked good for a few games at G. I would not pencil him as a starter though. Simply put, the Bears need all the help they can get. The issue isn't if the O-Line is good or not, it's the fact that the coaching staff is satisfied with Chris Williams-Garza-Louis-Carimi and Spencer/Edwin as backups. Like been said repeatedly the only questionable spot is Webb and Tice seems high on him.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 13, 2012 -> 12:20 PM) And Illinois isn't in the same boat as Indiana. Illinois still has talent and they've got some guys already committed. They just need a coach that can relate to that talent and maximize it. Next year is going to be rough, especially with Leonard gone, but they should still be a tourney team. My dream scenario is whatever new coach (Stevens/Smart/Marshall), Smith from Simeon as an assistant, Howard as an assistant, and whoever else the new guy wants to bring. That's more of a transition than the straight up rebuild. Smith I think has already stated he wants to be head coach only, no interest as an assistant. But, obviously people don't always say the truth publicly... and with Smith/Howard as part of the staff you should be bringing in all the talent instate.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Mar 13, 2012 -> 12:15 PM) http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Dwight...-142354445.html And the one thing we knew was coming finally comes. If that managed to happen I'd definitely quit watching the NBA, it would be a waste of time and I think every non Heat fan would feel the same way.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 11:21 PM) I think the point is that Illinois is at best top tier in the Big 10. Any coach that comes into Illinois is going to have a challenge because right now the Big 10 is one of the deepest leagues with some of the best coaches. If you want to believe Illinois is a top 5 program nationally, that really is your choice. But those type of expectations are why the next coach will fail in Illini fans eyes just like Weber. Where did anyone say Illinois was top5. I think most fans would say 10-15 range and given the talent available in state I agree with that. The program should be making the dance on a yearly basis and really should be winning 2 plus games once making it most years.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 10:47 PM) If I were the Bulls, I would trade the Charlotte pick while it has some value. Charlotte will finish with the worst record this year, they will almost certain to land either Davis, Barnes, or Drummond, and perhaps another top 5 selection in 2013. They will be a force in the East by 2015. A core of Biyombo, Anthony Davis, Henderson, Kemba Walker (and bless not Shabazz Muhammad) is and excellent core to build on. The only sure fire real deal is Davis and even with worse record chances are they don't get him, add in the fact of Jordan's basketball decisions not too worried about Bobcats being good in near future.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 09:00 PM) I don't buy it at all. We have no RT. Webb pretty much the worst tackle in football last year. I have no idea what Carimi wil bring, so until I see him healthy and on the field making an impact, we really don't have a LT. Williams-Garza-Spencer is a decent middle three, but nothing special. But again, we are one injury away to those three from being back to s***. And yet we still don't have a swing tackle. And with Mincey and Wimbley both FAs who can be had for at least half the price of Williams, I think it makes way more sense financially to get one them and add to OL with the money saved. Carimi was a first rounder so he is penciled in as a starter bringing in a FA won't change that for this season or next. And you don't even mention Lance Louis who had dominating performances last season. Right now it is Webb-Williams-Garza-Louis-Carimi. Edwin Williams/Spencer are the backup guards/center and Louis is the backup tackle. I don't see them making an addition to the OL at all unless its LT but Tice seems to like Webb.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 07:24 PM) While Mario and Peppers would be a sick DE pair, I just don't understand how the Bears can continually ignore the O-Line and WR core assuming the rumors of Williams is true. If we sign Williams, we would most likely be going after second-rate offensive tackles and WRs, which just isn't gonna get it done. There is a good chance they don't make a move towards the OL at all, it depends how much faith Tice has in Webb. The rest of the OL is solid, I think people just get caught up in it being the popular thing to say but there are bigger issues than the OL on the Bears and the only spot even questionable is LT.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 06:59 PM) I wouldn't mind getting a nice LT, but the Bears don't need to spend big money at guard when it's a position they have adequete players at. Yes, we have Peppers at DE but when Idonije is the best we have on other side that's not very good.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 06:26 PM) Only if the Bears also can pick up some WR's somewhere will I be excited by that. I'd Imagine they'd go for a second tier WR if that happened like Meachem or Manningham.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 05:05 PM) A 7-loss #1 seed? LOL I think just about everyone knew the winner of that game was going to get a #1 seed, so either way it would be a 7 loss team. Don't get why that's a shocker.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 02:02 PM) Figures...Boozer plays strong and no one talks about it. Really enjoyable game to watch last night. Boozer and Korver both stepped it up and Butler looked solid in his 25 minutes of play. Butler really looks like he could be a good defender and a solid player. Given the position the Bulls are in, I hope we see him get more minutes for the next couple of weeks. It will really help his development and you never know when you need him to step up. Plus it only helps him for the long-term as I know Thibs really likes him. Boozer did give up as many points as he scored, but I don't hate boozer like a lot of people do. Nice to see him, Korver, and butler step up though with the injuries.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 10:37 AM) Just curious, do Illinois fans feel that Shaka is looking at Illinois as a stepping stone? If he is, does that change your feelings about him getting the job? Well there are only a handful of jobs worth leaving Illini for and those jobs aren't open a lot so I wouldn't be worried about it.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 04:36 PM) So this Gasol trade is either: Lowry, Martin and Scola from Houston for Pau. OR Steph Curry, Wright, Biedrins and Lee from the Warriors for Artest, Pau and picks. I don't understand why either team would do that trade.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 04:16 PM) As a Wisconsin fan Im happy because I doubt that Illinois can attract a coach as good as Weber. I know that Illinois was once good and all that, but Illinois facilities are not on the same level as Wisconsin (Kohl Center 1998), OSU (Schott, 1998) or even MSU (Breslin, 1989) Illinois really needs to invest in its sports programs, because there really is no reason that Illinois shouldnt be a contender in both basketball and football. The school itself has made some stupid decisions, but youd still think they can overcome them with such a large population. Maybe their facilities aren't as nice but Illinois basketball wise is still a more attractive job than Wisconsin.... Weber isn't a bad coach it just wasn't working out and really given what he has done the past 3 years it's hard for the next coach not to be an upgrade.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 08:30 AM) 30 Rock has been terrific this season and last night was great with the Standards & Practices stuff. Do we know which partner corresponds with which reality in AWAKE? Is the young partner in the sons reality? I think his old partner is with his wife alive and young with his son but I could be mistaken. The end of this episode was really weird with the police captain and random guy talking..... i hope they don't ruin a really interesting concept with some lame coverup conspiracy.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 8, 2012 -> 12:27 PM) Alright, just fire Weber now, refuse any invite to the NIT and get this season f***ing overwith. Don't think they get an invite to the NIT, but yeah Weber might as well as packed his things before this trip.

I don't understand how its such a struggle for the Illini to pass to Leonard.

I think all time is kind of dumb since majority of people would have never seen at least half the people on their list and if they have it would just be on espn classics which isn't enough to judge a person either.

It's hard to tell in gamethreads if people are being sarcastic or taking the results of 2-3 games for hitters and a couple innings from pitchers serious... I just hope it isn't a sign of things to come in regular season gamethreads.

I think making a list of top75 current NBA players is very doable but I think the 76-100 would be me just throwing names in there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 7, 2012 -> 10:45 AM) Martin would be a big offensive upgrade, and a big downgrade defensively. I know everyone has completely written off Rip, but I haven't gotten there yet. Rip isn't exactly a stellar defender if I recall, so don't think the downgrade would be that big. Not too mention Rose was probably below avg. defender before Thibs got here, I'm sure on a contender Martin could at least put forth avg. defense.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 05:45 PM) You stay classy, Steve... When someone was posting "f*** Cleveland" or "f*** Detroit" in all the whitesox winner threads everyone thought it was the coolest thing ever, someone calls a player a p**** for letting a bruised shoulder knock him out of a game and people are all on his case and say stay classy.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 01:03 AM) Just trade for Ben Gordon. He can't have much value at this point, I know he is undersized but the Heat backcourt isn't exactly tall so could work.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 5, 2012 -> 08:12 PM) Bulls fans arent yelling about calls. When Deng was pushed down youd expect a large chorus of boos, trying to force the refs to call the game more favorably towards the home team, IE home court advantage. The fans have been pretty quiet, cant have that. This is a bit ridiculous.