thedoctor

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2008 -> 08:09 PM) I have a crazy speculation for the ending of the show. Could the flash-forwards not necesarily be forward to the end of the show? Could they all get the same feeling about needing to go back to the island, and then the show ends with them finding the island again? Thoughts? it would not surprise me. they've flipped the storytelling convention already so it would surprise me to see it happen again. i do think they will eventually pick the show up in present time and all try to return to the island. maybe there are people still there. it's also neat how they've flipped to the flash forwards in regards to walt's character. people always have alluded to walt being a really important character, but they wondered how you could accomodate a kid who is getting older and bigger quickly. this is a genius way of handling that. my guess is that walt and michael will (for this season at least) be featured totally in flash forwards.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 1, 2008 -> 02:00 PM) I totally missed that! screen cap of "jacob" from last night

the oceanic six.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 1, 2008 -> 12:53 AM) I was actually having this debate the other day. Is it better for your program to stay away from the top talent guys that leave after a year and focus more on building and developing a system with a team instead of having to regroup every year because your lineup goes pro? I have specifically looked at my team of course, but I wonder about other programs. i think that you take the most talented players you can get every year and worry about the rest later.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 31, 2008 -> 06:28 PM) No kidding, weird isn't it? it is. just think, on oct. 9 mario little committed to kansas. this was just the latest major loss for weber. since then, the following players (not in order) have committed: alex legion, stan simpson, d.j. richardson, joseph bertrand, brandon paul, tyler griffey, and crandall head. that's just nuts when you consider what was going on for the years before that. props to jerrance howard.

abcnews.com

at the least i think the young guys have shown something this year. now, there's no question they are not top-notch freshmen and i don't expect any of them to be leaving early. but, i think they are the types of kids a program needs--kids who stick around and provide the consistency and continuity you need. the best part is that when the real good recruits start arriving in 09, they'll be joining a team that doesn't need them to be saviors. they'll be joining and experienced and seasoned group that has a lot of big ten basketball under its belt. experience and outstanding talent is a great combination.

QUOTE(AssHatSoxFan @ Jan 31, 2008 -> 06:15 PM) Just wondering why you don't think adjustments have anything to do with it? You look at some of the great 1st halves Illinois has had this year and everything that went right goes completely wrong. Other teams adjust to what we are doing and play well in the 2nd half so how come we have a hard time figuring it out? I understand that Chester totally falls flat with less than 10 minutes in the game and it could totally be on the players too. i just think that you can not hide this team's offensive ineptitude over the course of a 40-minute game. we are not good offensively and eventually that will catch up to us. i think you can gameplan to get guys open looks and stuff like that, but the teams we are playing are just flat-out better and more talented. over 40 minutes that will show. i think another thing to consider is the effort that gets put into defense. i'll give this group credit, they work hard. not well, but hard. in a second half the effort they put forth on the defensive end starts to take a toll offensively. shots get shorter, drives to the basket aren't finished and fatigue is undoubtedly a factor in my mind. plus, i think that in league play halftime adjustments are somewhat overrated. these coaches know each other so well that i really don't think weber is going to pull something out that izzo has never seen before. these guys know each other inside and out. i also don't think it is necessarily other team's adjustments. they're just better and over a 40-minute game the better team is going to rise to the top. i tend to go by the bum phillips philosophy: it's all about the jimmys and joes, not the x's and o's.

QUOTE(AssHatSoxFan @ Jan 31, 2008 -> 04:04 PM) more like another great 20 minutes (first half) for Illinois followed by a completely pitiful 20 minutes (2nd half); so it is apparent that we cannot make FTs, make any halftime adjustments, or do anything remotely resembling an offense at the end of the game i honestly don't think adjustments have much to do with it. this team is never, ever going to be good offensively. the talent is just not there to be able to have consistent offense. i think we all suspected this would be the case before the season, it's just maddening to have to watch it play out over the course of an entire year. it also doesn't help that this team has had an absolutely brutal schedule thus far. more than anything this team needs confidence, and it's hard to get when you play on the road against five best teams in the league in your first nine conference games. playing at wisconsin, purdue, ohio state, michigan state, and indiana is no picnic, even in a down year for the league.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 31, 2008 -> 04:12 PM) Absolutely huge get for the Illini. Congrats. it's amazing. in a relatively short period of time weber went from a great coach who can't recruit to a great recruiter who can't coach. good times.

QUOTE(illinilaw08 @ Jan 31, 2008 -> 02:39 PM) Tyler Griffey to Illinois per the News-Gazette. Barring transfers that wraps up recruiting through 2010. http://www.news-gazette.com/blogs/basketbl...fey_to_illinois wow. this is exactly the guy we needed. happy day, happy day.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 03:10 AM) Rumor that Eric Gordon's out for the year with a broken wrist. yeah, i saw that. no real good confirmation yet, but there's smoke.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 03:01 AM) Tomorrow against Nebraska, Mizzou will have only eight players available and only six of those are scholarship players. Stefhon Hannah, Darryl Butterfield, Jason Horton, Marshall Brown and Leo Lyons are all suspended indefinitely. Great job here by our bball team. yeah, sounds like that was a helluva brawl. hopefully hannah will be ok. he's supposedly returned to chicago.

i pretty much agree with perry's take. i think the sox have unquestionably gotten better this offseason, but there are two teams in their division, and four in the american league who will be appreciably better, on paper at least. now, i'll allow that unexpected things can happen and i hope they will, but i just have a hard time seeing this team win the division, let alone the al. but i will give kw credit. he's made a few moves this offseason (particularly swisher, quentin, and ramirez) that brought pretty strong young talent into the organization. all those guys have favorable contract situations and if they pan out the moves could look very shrewd. or, we could all spend all of next offseason b****ing, too.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 09:43 PM) They say Gomez is lightening quick, decent OBP, good fielder, basically a 5-tool guy, but doesnt walk a whole lot. Guerra (sp?)is supposedly a Liriano-type guy, good change, good heat. gracias, rock.

other than humber, i'm not real familiar with the guys the mets gave up. any insight into these guys?

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 08:11 PM) 6 of ten. I can't wait for this show to start! when is the premier? thursday night. they moved the show from wednesday to thursday which sucks, since i watch my daughter that night and won't be able to watch. thank god my girlfriend has dvr.

it's better than a bag of balls and a tin of dip.

best: 2005 the first bulls championship illinois win over arizona in the elite eight worst: watching in person as illinois basketball lost its final regular-season game at ohio state. i was in orange and it was ugly. on the positive side, i was also there when the football team won there earlier this year, so maybe things are even now.

i think it's difficult to accurately grade an offseason until you get into the following season and can see how some of the moves pan out. i know that's not really a trailblazing thought, but i generally try hold off on any assessments until i see our team on the field. i will say that on paper, we are better. then again, we were better on paper before 2006 than in 2005 and we know how that turned out. that said, i do think that at the least kenny made a nice recovery from what was looking like a bad situation. we can debate the merits of trading some top prospects away all day long, but kw has said from the end of the season until now that he is in a win-now mode. with that philosophy in place, it's understandable why he'd trade prospects.

hopefully he's on their roster on june 20.

hmmm.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Jan 14, 2008 -> 04:19 AM) I agree that Davis minutes should go up more than Tisdale's, but at this point I also think all the freshmen should see more minutes. Get these guys as game ready as you can. This season is a lost cause. yeah, at this point you have to place a premium on getting guys minutes and ready for next year. i also think cole and semrau need to play more, at the least to get a better understanding of what you have. i'd bet, though, that those guys will probably continue to get limited minutes until the tournament is totally out of the question. either way, after watching yesterday for the first time in a few weeks i feel better about the future. a guard group of mccamey, smith, legion, frazier, and meacham is pretty solid. in that group, frazier and meacham are in their proper roles, energy guy off the bench and three-point marksman. to have two seniors in that role should help. i also have to give brock props for his play yesterday. he did a nice job on gordon and is really growing into a guy that i love to watch play.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jan 13, 2008 -> 11:42 PM) Not to stir the pot here, but I believe somebody in this thread predicted a second-place Big Ten finish for U of I. i haven't been able to find that prediction, although i don't doubt that it was made. if you check back a page or so you'll note i called illinois's fans out for their homerism as well. anyhow, i and many of the illini fans here understood that this wasn't going to be a great year. i was hoping that a weak big ten would propel the team into the tournament, but i probably underestimated how poorly we'd perform in the pre-conference schedule.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 13, 2008 -> 11:55 PM) Wow, so many things to say about that game. For anyone who thinks Weber can't coach, re-watch this game. His plan was perfect. If only the two biggest morons on the team (Randle and Pruitt) showed some patience and senior/veteran decision making in the last 5 minutes, this would have been a win. How worthless is Sampson? Did he even try to get Gordon the ball on set plays? A ball screen? That's all you've got? And you have one of the worst shooting teams in the nation, and you play zone like three times? Anyone could see that the success Illinois had against the zone (i think two baskets) were lucky ones - how often is meachum going to drive right under the hoop? He's terrible. He made zero adjustments. He relied on Ratliff draining ridiculous three point shots to win this game. IU fans are real classy with the shut up Weber chant - shocker there. In the end I'm happy. I expected Illinois to get blown out. Honestly it reminds me of the Indiana game in 04, when Deron, Dee and Luther finally saw what the motion offense could do. I think the last two games, two of the toughest on the schedule, will go a long way in helping this team grow. well said. i agree with a lot of that.