thedoctor

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Feb 10, 2008 -> 09:05 PM) DJ White is scary good. IU will need him to be big for the next three, as we have a three-game home stint beginning Wednesday against Wiscy, MSU, and Purdue. at this point, white is hands-down league player of the year. he has really come into his own.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 08:35 PM) One drunk threw beads at Gordon Senior after he had flicked them off. So what? Am I missing something? That's all that went wrong with Illini fans last night. word.

i will be really happy when this entire thing is behind both illinois and indiana fans. in general i tend to think they are similar fanbases, classy, with a keen eye for tradition, and both possessing a lunatic fringe that embarrasses even fellow fans. debating who was right and who was wrong in the situation is entirely pointless now. i'm not proud of how some people acted last night, but i also think it was relatively tame compared to what people were suggesting was going to happen. of course, i know some indiana fans will take issue with that and claim that last night was some horrendous episode, but to me they were going to say that whatever happened. i think the worst part is that the two people at the center of the thing (weber and e.j.) come out of it with a little bit of a stain even though neither really deserves this degree of negative attention. i firmly believe gordon could have handled the situation better, but he's a kid and you can't hold it against him until the end of time. i think it is really unfortunate that it has to be brought up with regularity when you talk about him. he is a rare talent, and as weber said last night, one of the best freshman he's seen in his 20 years in the league. we should be talking about that, not some extraneous bullcrap. as for weber, this has just become another opportunity to those who already have an axe to grind against him to chirp about what he should and shouldn't do. i love it when people try to put themselves in his shoes and dictate how he should have handled all of the situations that have grown out of this. gmafb. for whatever you want to say about weber (and he has plenty of faults) he's someone who for the most part has unwavering dedication to and from those who have played for him and coached with and against him. that tells me a helluva lot more about him than any of the tripe associated with this entire mess.

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 09:55 AM) Anyways, I would blame that trash bag Sampson for the Gordon situation. Now Illanoy can go back to fighting for a NIT birth. illinois isn't fighting for anything other than the end of the season. there will be not postseason of any sort for this group, nor should there be.

indiana played hard, congrats on a tough win. pruitt, what can you say? a chance to win it in regulation and overtime and you go 0-3? wtf. mccamey was the best player on the floor tonight. great effort from him.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 7, 2008 -> 08:16 PM) Come on man, its ok, hes a nice guy just has some baggage with him. And hes not even close to the shadiest coach in the Big Ten right now anyway. Here is some quotes from Joe Tiller who is very well respected around the league. and another http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...eDwuaMy4HJzE%3D tiller should stfu because he's done the same thing in the past to other schools.

QUOTE(He_Gawn @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 12:12 AM) I don't know what board that is but those people are freakin' jokes. agreed. thankfully the mods are deleting some of that yit. anyone wishing harm or injury on gordon or his family is an absolute jackass, whoever they root for.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 7, 2008 -> 10:01 PM) Two points: 1. I am already embarassed at tonight's events in Champaign, and they haven't even happened yet. Gordon changed his mind after IU got a new coach, and went to a better team since this is the only year he'll be in college anyways. That, and Weber couldn't recruit until Jerrance Howard arrived. 2. Anybody mad at Eric Gordon and who is an Illinois fan is a hypocrite. Illinois signed four players yesterday who decommited from other schools. All teams in NCAA football and basketball benefit and are hurt by decommits, just the way it is in today's world. 1. i'd wait until it is over to express embarrassment. generally i try to hold off on being red-faced until something really extreme happens. if the worst that happens is he gets booed and heckled, i won't be embarrassed at all. if the situation was reversed the same would happen any where. besides, i would bet that he and his family will have a better security detail (provided by illinois, btw) thank bin laden. 2. i won't now and never have been willing to use gordon as a crutch or explanation for this season's woes. weber's repeated misses before this year, not gordon, are the prime reasons for the fact that illinois sucks. that was just the cherry on top. at the same time, i don't see a huge similarity between basketball and football recruiting, so i'm not sure throwing the hypocrite label around is valid. i mean, how many situations happen like the gordon situation each year in college basketball? not many, if any. how many of those situations happen in college football each year? many. football and basketball recruiting are entirely different animals. if you want to try to argue it on a moral level, than you've totally lost me.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 6, 2008 -> 10:33 PM) You know i love Zook, but he had a rep as a snake oil salesman long before last year's recruiting class. i don't recall any allegations of zook cheating before last year.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 6, 2008 -> 09:25 PM) I am also impressed with minnys class, to out recruit ill is impressive. I wouldn't put them in the top 20 though, for total points yes, but for overall rank and quality, I would have them slightly outside the top 20. Scout puts emphasis on total numbers which hurts teams that have less schollies to give out. This is what moves up miami because they had 33 committs but only a 3.33 star avg. Great pull by minny though, in fact marqueis gray is going to give the big ten fits for the next 3 years at least, that kid is unreal. i think it is great that minnesota got the class it did and i'm happy that another big ten school is starting to recruit well. that is only good for a league that clearly needs more high-caliber players. i'm also happy that brewster was able to pull of this class without any of the stupid and totally unfounded allegations we saw against zook and illinois last year. maybe people are getting the picture that a dynamic coach who has playing time to offer and can sell his vision of the program can pull kids away from teams that have historically been more successful. then again, maybe minnesota just didn't compete for kids against schools that piss and moan when kids don't choose their programs.

QUOTE(scenario @ Feb 6, 2008 -> 01:35 AM) Sorry. Didn't see it. With so much content on the site, sometimes it's hard to go through everything before posting. you should be ashamed. how could you?

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Feb 5, 2008 -> 06:45 PM) True, doc, but more and more NFL teams are using modified spread offenses. It will never be the same as college spreads, but those skills translate more than they did even 5 years ago. well, i see the spread more in the passing game than in the running game. i am not sure that the zone read, pretty much the meat and potatoes of the illinois running game, is ever going to be a realistic option in the pros. that would require the quarterback to be an option on the run and i don't ever see that materializing in the nfl. either way, i don't mean to say i don't think illinois will get great running back recruits, and harper could be another example of that tomorrow. zook is good enough to overcome such trifling things.

QUOTE(JuiceCruz16 @ Feb 5, 2008 -> 07:15 PM) For those of you familar with Illinois football, how much of a role was expected for the frosh (LB I think), who is accused of shooting off his gun at some bar, and has since been suspended for now. I think Erique Robertson was the name I saw. He is being charged, so it sounds like he may be in some trouble. i am fairly certain he gawn.

QUOTE(Shadows @ Feb 5, 2008 -> 05:17 AM) With the success of Mendenhall under Zook I would hope more top RBs start looking at Illinois, especially with Mendenhall leaving early.. i think it depends on the back, his style, and future aspirations. some backs don't like to play in the spread option because it is not a legitimate nfl offense. the running plays you run in spread option are more often not what you are going to run in the nfl, so that could be a hindrance for some people. i know on pretty good authority that mendenhall was not a fan of the spread because it didn't give him the best case to showcase his skills for nfl teams.

this quote made me LOL:

thanks to the mods for fixing my wack subject line.

just kickin' it by myself at the house. the girlfriend is in michigan with some of her friends, so i'll just kick back, drink a beer or three and watch. normally i take the monday after the super bowl off and get stupid drunk during the game, but i just wasn't feeling it this year. plus, last year i came home, fell, and wiped out my ironing board so i think i needed to check myself.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 3, 2008 -> 06:44 PM) If all the players in the old days were drunkin assholes, I wonder why anyone would follow the sport. because they could be drunken assholes and get away with it. the general public never knew because those things weren't written about in those days.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Feb 3, 2008 -> 05:39 AM) That's ok Jungle Jim. I don't particularly believe in predictions in baseball, but at this point in the season we are tied for 1st place. (smile) this is the type of overwhelming optimism that keeps me coming back to soxtalk.

QUOTE(Brian @ Feb 3, 2008 -> 12:54 AM) Just because... *staggers across the room*

and one more thing, my apologies on effing up my topic title. i'm not that good at the internets.

edit on topic title: As of today, do you think the White Sox are legitimate contenders in the AL? although there are still some potential moves pending with this team (crede, uribe come to mind), i don't think that we can expect anything major that greatly affects how our opening-day roster will look. with that said, do you think this sox team has a plausible chance of qualifying for the playoffs and contending for the american league championship? although i am happy with a lot of the things kenny williams has done this offseason, i don't think he's done enough to make us any better than the red sox, indians, yankees, angels, or tigers. i do think he may have set us up in a better position for future seasons, but i don't see us as a playoff team or al contender in 2008.

to me, you have to give jerrance credit. now does he deserve all of the credit? heck no. it's not that simple. but, a lot of times a key component of recruiting is image and perception. there is no doubt jerrance helped change that. and from a practical standpoint, i think his hiring sealed the deal with richardson, who in turn turned into a recruiter and got bertrand on board. we were already in good shape with paul, so him joining was no surprise. jerrance also gets the majority of the credit for legion, because it's been widely reported that they had a great relationship at kentucky. i don't think he was the key piece with simpson (illinois was his best option) or head (who just loves illinois). with griffey i give weber credit and i don't think there was a coincidence he committed shortly after cooley got his offer. this shows he has learned from some past mistakes. in terms of his connections, i think he immediately put us in a better situation with larry butler, who had a somewhat contentious relationship with weber prior to jerrance. now how are his other connections? i have no idea. i do love the fact that he has another two years to develop relationships before illinois is in a position where it starts having a great need. really our classes our filled out until 2011 barring a transfer or two. i still would love to have anthony johnson on board, but i don't know if there is room.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Feb 1, 2008 -> 09:57 PM) I would lean towards that, not only because elite players win championships but because not every elite player leaves after one year. I haven't kept track and don't feel like researching it now, but I would guess that generally like 4 freshmen tops are good enough to go pro. The freshman classes these last two years have just turned out to be absurdly good. no doubt. i guess my general point is that you can't really predict what is going to happen with kids once they get on campus. a kid may be highly rated, but there's no guarantee that he's gone after one, or even two years. one and done guys are really rare and i don't think you can recruit speculating on how long they are going to stay. this goes for every kid. can you recruit kids thinking, "this kid will be here four years, this kid three, but this other kid is definitely one and done." i don't think any coach is that smart. so, with that removed, you just take the best you can get then figure it out. i do agree that the best teams are ones that blend veteran leadership and really special talented players. it's just that the great majority of the time you don't know who those kids are when you are recruiting. so you take the best.