thedoctor

red wine and lots of it.

damn.

i missed from the sixth inning until the eighth trying to get my daughter to go to bed. other than that i watched every pitch. the game got done at 2:20 a.m. my time and i was up at 5:30 a.m. for work. but it's the happiest tired i've ever been. i will say that i really want a win tonight if for no other reason than i need the sleep thursday.

welcome gsh.

QUOTE(THEWOOD @ Oct 21, 2005 -> 09:22 PM) where in cbus do you live? hang out and such? i actually live in lancaster, but i work in columbus and usually go out up here. generally i hit up the campus area and the short north. occasionally the arena district if i have a little extra cash flow.

QUOTE(Queen Prawn @ Oct 21, 2005 -> 09:05 PM) Saturday: bachlorette party (we are going to try to catch the last half of the game at Bourbon Street). Sunday: at home (have to clean and finish table and seating arrangments) is bourbon street in the old handy andy building?

saturday: i'm moving in a week so i'll pack most of the day. probably start drinking at around 7 p.m. (edt) for the illinois game. friends are coming by at 7:30 p.m. and we'll head out in columbus for the night (perhaps the varsity club). sunday: i watch my daughter on sundays so i am planning a mini-sox party for us (she's 3). i probably won't be loaded or drinking, but i'm hoping my enthusiasm can rub off. she and i will both be in full-fledged sox regalia.

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Oct 21, 2005 -> 07:45 PM) I will not buy merchandise until the last possible round. who needs an AL champ, when you can get World champ. But that is just me.. p.s. that hoodie is sweet. that's my philosophy. i think i'm going to wait until all is said and done then make my purchases. however i was really tempted to buy that black al champions hat because it was pretty sweet.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 07:01 PM) Hey faith is what it is. I still think he will have his best performance with someone elses recruits, and his next years here will constantly be trying to reach that pinnacle again, with his own players. I just hope Thad can beat him again this year. he should. they will be good. losing f-c and stockman is addition by subtraction and dials will be hands-down the best big man in the league provided his back holds up.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 06:35 PM) Normally it takes 2-3 years after the event like Illinois had last year for the recruiting edge to kick in. Players 13-14-15 etc became fans of the Illini last year and it should pay off in future classes, most likely the 07 class, which is loaded. On Insiders, the Illini have interest from 20 4 star players or above in the 07 class. I don't think there's any denying though that Weber could stand to improve on his recruiting. He's got a great year to build off of, and has the Illini in the national spotlight, he now just have to find a great recruiter that he can put on staff, like Roy Williams has with Steve Robinson, or Coach K has with Johnny Dawkins, or like Rick Barnes has with Benjamin Franklins ;-) agree totally. i'm not saying weber doesn't have work to do. he clearly does. this isn't southern illinois anymore. that said, kill me for having faith that he will do better.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 06:25 PM) According to rivals Carlwell is the 9th rated PF, and he is not a player that one of the top programs should hang their hat on. Do not forget that Illinois was the talk of the nation last year, they were on covers, had extreme coverage and leap into the elite group of teams. Yet, Weber can seem to get the attention of the really blue chip players, doesnt that send you red flags? according to scout he's the fifth-rated center. tomayto, tomahto. i know michigan state wanted him pretty badly. it doesn't send me a red flag at all. it tells me there's still work to do. illinois has had one year under the national spotlight. nine times out of ten they are still going to have an uphill battle against the name programs (duke, kansas, kentucky, carolina, etc.). how did maryland capitalize on their national title? do you see red flags around gary williams?

QUOTE(Chisoxrd5 @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 05:58 PM) Unless you have seen them both play then I wouldn't comment. Collins is a "wow" player...Carlwell is a project Carlwell projects out to be a dominant big man but he has a long way to go. Sherron Collins is the real deal. i have. i grew up on the south side and get home quite a bit. usually i make it to a few games each year and i made a point to see both last winter since i knew they were illinois targets. no question that collins is a great player. but if the argument is that weber can't recruit highly rated high school players, than carlwell is a compelling counter-argument. project or not, he was recruited by big schools. it's not like illinois beat out southern and western for him.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 04:56 PM) Is that the recruit you are going to hang Weber's hat on? Being that he had probably the best team in the nation last year, you find that signing Carlwell proves he can recruit? no, i don't think it proves it anymore than not getting those other three guys proves he can't. and why be dismissive of carlwell? he's a four-star recruit, collins is a five-star (fwiw, which ain't much). he's a skilled 6-10 kid who projects to grow to seven-feet. he's the fifth-rated center prospect in the nation according to scout.com. you make it sound like he sucks.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 04:48 PM) Its nice you are thinking positive and all. But the fact that you are dissapointed shows the truth enough. He had probably the best team in the nation last year, yet many of his top targets are going elsewhere. Something is wrong there. Its not like this reputation just sprung out of nowhere, he has the rep for being bad in the living room with recruits, and you are now seeing that first hand. then how was he able to get carlwell if he's so horrible at this?

why not? from the beginning longstreet and collins acknowledged that longstreet was running the recruiting show. collins referred any questions about his recruitment to longstreet, and even his aau coach larry butler (one of the most influential aau coaches out there) had little say. sherron made the decision and i am certain it was his decision, but to dismiss longstreet's influence in this ignores the high-profile role he played throughout collins' recruiting process.

six would be great. not too sure i'd want to see oswalt in a game seven. dude's just plan filthy.

ozzie sure does love the word "horses***."

QUOTE(fathom @ Oct 20, 2005 -> 02:47 PM) So far, it's been horrible. He's missed out on Wright, Scheyer, and Collins. If you keep losing top in-state talent, your recruiting is going to be considered horrible. Could you imagine a similar program like Georgia Tech, if they kept missing out on the best players in Georgia? Quite simply, high school recruits don't mesh well with Weber's personality (and this isn't just a rumor). but i don't think he has "kept" losing top in-state talent. carlwell, jamar smith and brock were all considered among the top players in the state and none of them were lower than top-5. they all committed to ui. i'll acknowledge they haven't gotten THE top kid in the state in any of the past three years, but i don't think that's totally attributable to weber's attitude. it hasn't helped that illinois' cycled through four coaches in the past 15 years. i agree that it totally sucks ass that collins didn't come to illinois, but as a die-hard illinois fan i never thought we were seriously in the running for either scheyer or wright. scheyer wanted to play at duke. period. wright had a hard-on for self which was obvious. why else would he commit without even visiting the campus. weber is not the recruiter self is, no doubt about it. that said, i'd take him on gameday any day. just ask bucknell.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 09:23 PM) Its no secret that Weber is a horrible recruiter, and thats one of Self's only real positives. Weber made a good run with someone else's recruits, but not its gut check time for him, and I honestly dont think he can do it. I wouldnt be surprised to see Illinois start to fall back to 3rd or 4th in the big ten eventually. horrible is a little strong. he has shortcomings as have been well covered, but it's not like he's pulling in dogs***. carlwell is a guy everyone in a country was after, and he'll be wearing orange and blue next year. calvin brock was the player of the year in chicago and he'll be wearing o and b this year. horrible is not an accurate term, imo. also, some good new for illinois. guard eric gordon out of indianapolis will be visiting again this weekend. he was there for midnight madness and is returning this weekend because he had a great time. eric gordon

too bad double duty didn't last. that would have been nice.

i could quarrel with some details, but there's no doubt they are both polarizing figures.

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 06:42 PM) Do any illini fans think it's just a case of self being a better recruiter and kansas being a more attractive option? I liked our chances with rose before traitao left, and in a discussion between a few fans and a former assistant coach, he was hinting that we were doing well in recruiting him. Now that Leitao left, I'm not surprised when I see recruits losing interest and DePaul losing out on recruits that were seemingly on their way here. All I ask for is a top 50 recruit commit next year. Wainwright has a lot of work to do, especially since many DePaul fans were not impressed by the hire. Tough schedule this year too. It'll be interesting to watch this year's freshman, which is a top 20 recruiting class, grow. self being a better recruiter? that's a good reason. self is a helluva recruiter. kansas a better option? no. they are stacked at point guard, including chalmers who as was noted above is in the exact same mold as collins. also, weber put two guards into the first round of the nba draft this year, and it's clear that his offense is a better fit for a guard like collins. nine out of 10 guards would rather play in motion than in a hi-low.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Oct 19, 2005 -> 07:56 AM) From Mark Tupper's blog: I still can't believe this s***. This was in the bag. I wasn't even concerned about it, really. What did Self do, sing and dance for another recruit? cha-ching.

i think they should get all the members of the 59 team they can get to do a group pitch. if they go with an individual, billy pierce should merit consideration.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Oct 18, 2005 -> 02:21 PM) Probably Greg Couch. He has been a tool all season. Aaron Rowand told him to shove his columns up his ass a week ago. what's the story here? i didn't hear this.