thedoctor

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Oct 19, 2006 -> 06:31 PM) I know this will be argued a lot, but I guarantee this Illini team will be better than last years. They won't look much better in the final numbers (probably 3rd in the league and sweet 16), but they will be better. I hope this isn't quoted for stupidity later either, lol. i'd agree that the potential is there. although a lot of focus was on dee and augie last year, the team's experience level was almost non-existent after that. only really mcbride had played much outside of those two guys. this year, you have randle, pruitt, smith, frazier, carter, arnold, and mcbride (maybe) who have played. meacham played a lot at dayton. that gives you eight experienced guys, and typically weber only has about an eight-man rotation most years anyway. so, i'd say the potential is there, but we're going to need to have some guys step up and do things they haven't done in the past. that's the variable.

QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ Oct 19, 2006 -> 02:51 PM) i realize its a show and all but to say the hatch is nothing but a hole in the ground yet the three in the hatch get blown outward to various parts of the island without any major injuries was pretty laughable. and this is from a HUGE fan. Locke's flashback was interesting as it showed him getting burned again by someone he trusted. yeah, that was sketchy. especially since they said the hatch "imploded" during the episode. if that's the case, they all would have been crushed inside. but, it is television. gotta keep up the old suspension of disbelief, i guess.

yeah, i really enjoyed the episode. i always do. and i don't clamor for answers every week. to me that's the beauty of the show, the lack of answers. but, i like surprises, so maybe it's the way i am.

john locke, marijuana trafficker? who knew!

two new beach characters will be introduced tonight as well. nikki and paulo.

yahoo story we are breeding a generation of wussies.

can't wait, either. should be kewl. looks like we're back to the beach folk tonight.

QUOTE(whitesox61382 @ Oct 17, 2006 -> 04:44 PM) As an IU fan I am a little bias and optimistic before the season starts, but IU really has the chance to be a sleeper. Most preseason rankings have IU just outside the top twenty-five, so they are getting a little national recognition as well. The key for IU will be the return of DWhite. If he is healthy and in shape, he will be one of the top big men in the Big Ten and maybe the country. Lets not forget that he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year two years ago. A dominating big man in the college game is like gold. They also have three veteran guards in Calloway, Wilmont, and Ratliff. Calloway brought stability to the PG position, and was a key factor in the Hoosiers late season run(no coincidence that his minutes drastically increased around that time) including two impressive performances in the NCAA Tourny. Wilmont and Ratliff are freaky athletes who are streaky shooters, but who have the talent to be a go-to guys. The question for IU is about depth and uncertainity. They have a handful of players who will see significant increases in PT(or who have never played at the college level to begin with), and it will be interesting to see who steps up. Up front they will be relying on two juco players in MWhite who is being compared to Killingsworth(only two inches shorter), and Stemler who is more of a perimeter big man. Ben Allen will also see minutes up front, and has reportedly bulked up to about two-fifty/two-sixty(Sampson wanting him to be more of a post player). At the wing they will have Shaw who is talented 6'6 guard who skyrocketed up the charts his senior year and was reshirted last year. He will be a guy to watch out for. Finally, Bassett the true freshman will see minutes as the back-up PG. There are a lot of questions marks, but this is a team that could develop into a potential sleeper. is there a faq about the beauty of paragraph breaks that i could link to?

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 11:40 PM) doctor, A lot of times I think 5 star recruits actually set a program back. They come in for 1-2 years and then leave. The coach has no time to adopt to their playing style and really get the team going. That is why many times these "vet" teams take out the diaper dandies. Im not an Illini fan, but honestly I just cant understand why so many people are down on Weber. He may not be the greatest recruiter, but so far his teams have done well. Isnt that all that matters? Self has recruited like a champ but has bombed in the tourney. Which would you prefer? well, you can accomplish some pretty good things in a short period of time. besides, i don't think a majority of four-star recruits are going to the nba after one or two years. even five star recruits, for the most part, are going to be with you for a few seasons. i do agree on weber, though. i'm an illinois fan and i'm bitterly disappointed in the gordon stuff. but the fact of the matter is that weber's first three seasons have been unrivaled in school history in terms of winning. yes it wasn't his players, and yes he has struggled in recruiting, but i think history has born out that just having really talented players isn't good enough to get it done. weber's played a role, and his role is what makes me confident that illinois will be a team to contend with as long as he's the coach. as for self, he's had his tournament problems but i'm not going to give him a hard time about it. as zoom pointed out, i think kansas's arrow is pointing up, and if he can harness all that talent, kansas will be tough for anyone to beat this year. if they aren't his seat will be hot.

i was hoping they'd hire bevington. oh well.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 11:16 PM) I put Wisconsin and Illinois at the same level since 1999. And your mistaking my argument. I am not saying that a team that does not have atleast marginal recruits will do well, what I am saying is that if you can get a majority of your team to be 3 star to 4 star recruits you have a chance to succeed. If you have a great coach, it makes those 3-4 stars play like 4-5 stars. I just do not believe that you need McDonalds all-americans constantly to have a quality program. While it makes it easier, it is not the end all of basketball. generally i'd agree with your points. however, if you have a great coach and pair it with those 4-5 stars, i think you end up boosting your program to an even higher level, a level where you are competing for final fours and national titles more years than not. without them, you are still going to be pretty good, but your ability to compete for the big prizes more consistently decreases.

geez. i didn't know they rolled like that. i gotta get back to disneyworld.

i don't mind this stuff. i remember all the hang-wringing when the bears announced their partnership with bankone. people suggested all these nightmare scenarios (uniform patches, the logo on the helmet, etc.) but they never materialized. to people not going to the game, the influence of bankone is benign, if not nonexistent. i have no problem with this. my only question is where is the money going? is this something that could allow greater payroll flexibility in the future, or will these funds be diverted into another bucket?

i used to have a photo of me on the sidelines at the 2002 national championship game, but recently changed it to an uber-cute photo of my daughter. what is your desktop photo?

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 9, 2006 -> 05:43 AM) He has no chance. He'll be in New York but he won't win it. i think even getting to new york would be a huge victory for him, his team, and his conference.

they can't kill off locke. they need someone to provide man cry moments.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Oct 3, 2006 -> 10:52 PM) Same for me! I had watched the series premier, but sort of forgot about it after that. Last winter break, I borrowed the DVD's from one of friends. Hooked instantly. The one thing I don't like is how they just sort of forget about different plot lines. When was the last time they brought up that weird ass black smoke thing? Or the noises? Now it's becoming more and more about socialogy and power struggles and such. Still a great show, I just don't get why they abandoned some things. i'm guessing that they haven't abandoned any of those things. there's a lot at work here, and just when you think a plot line is going to disappear, something will resurface. i'll be interested to see how michael and walt are handled. from my understanding they are not in season three at all. but, i also don't think they're gone. too much has been alluded to about walt to have him just disappear off the show.

i'm excited to be able to finally participate in lost threads. i wasn't into the show until my gf bought me season one for my birthday in february. so i made it through that season, then bought season two and ripped through it in a few weeks. i just watched the finale last night, just in time for the season three premiere. anyhow, in the meantime i've avoided every bit of extraneous lost info i could avoid, so as not to ruin any surprises. but i'm finally caught up. what a great friggin show.

frank! stick a fork in the twins.

four-star power forward a.j. stewart has narrowed his list to illinois and kentucky. he'll visit illinois oct. 7, and kentucky on oct. 14. this will be a tough get for illinois. kentucky is his dream school and they get the final look.

illinois basketball player rich mcbride busted for dui suspended indefinitely. just plain flocking stupid.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Oct 2, 2006 -> 06:45 PM) Never. McDonough talked about it and basically said he and Hendry are going to hammer out a plan for next year.

zook lands another: nathan bussey bussey safety/outside linebacker prospect. he's also a teammate of illinois target arrelious benn.

QUOTE(GaelicSoxFan @ Oct 1, 2006 -> 11:10 PM) The way Musberger, Herbstreit and Davie were talking last night, you would've thought that Ohio State already has the national championship in the bag. Frankly, I'm not suprised. Musberger hates Iowa and I knew Herbstreit was gonna be a homer for his alma mater. lol. when you look at ohio state's remaining schedule you can see why people are confident they are going to the national title game. imo, you can pretty much mark them down for the national title game or the rose bowl at this point. they WILL be 11-0 heading into the finale against meatchicken. that should be a great game. as for herbstreit being a homer, i don't agree at all. he's highly critical of ohio state when he needs to be.

reda field goal. illinois 20, msu 10 late third quarter