hitlesswonder

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Feb 26, 2007 -> 06:27 AM) Just ripping on the Big Ten some more..I guess I need to develop some better sarcasm.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 26, 2007 -> 01:32 AM) These two statements contradict each other. If they take two years to give meaningful results, why are you making a judgement? Yikes... this offseason has turned you quite pessimistic. I'm assuming that Dial's metric becomes more accurate as the data accumulates, and for Anderson it looked liked it was converging to average. So, I don't think it's contradictory. That said, it's possible that BA will absolutely kill with the leather this year. Even if he was only slightly above average last season, he's young enough to improve (Rowand did) and may end up being a great defensive CF. My point (what there was of it) was simply that I'm not sure BA is a better defender than Erstad. If Erstad is healthy and close to what he was when he played CF fulltime, Erstad is probably the better CF. I do think BA has more offensive upside at this point, and I really hope he hits in spring training. As for my pessimism, that stems from the loomimg shadow of Pods and Erstad starting and hitting 1-2. The trib already quoted Ozzie as saying he was leaning to starting Ozuna and Erstad in the OF against Sabathia. That implies to me that BA isn't even in the platoon picture right now, and is probably headed to AAA. I don't see any other backup CF option besides Terrero in that case. Who know what will happen, but I'm not happy with hoow the OF looks right now. Overall, I'm not that pessimistic. The Sox have the talent to contend for the playoffs, and I'm ready to do my part -- on opening day I'll wear my new jersey, pop open a beer and grab seat in front of my TV.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Feb 26, 2007 -> 06:02 AM) The Ohio State fans were probably just celebrating the fact they clinched an NIT berth by winning the Big Ten.... I don't know. I think Ohio State needs to win a couple of games in the Big Ten tournament before they're assured of getting an NIT bid.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 24, 2007 -> 04:06 PM) Why? At this point in their careers, Anderson is the better defender. In my opinion, Anderson's defense is overrated. Both Scott Gregor and Greg Couch wrote articles saying that people assumed Anderson had good defense just because he couldn't hit. Gregor specifically mentioned Anderson had difficulty going back on balls straight at him. I trust a beat writer's opinion on that, since he saw way more games in person than I did. I admit, I thought Anderson looked good in the field, but I'm no scout and I think it's possible BA just looked good to me in comparison to Mack. And for those of a statistical bent, Chris Dial's defensive metrics had Anderson as a plus defender before the ASB and an exactly average one after the ASB. As more data accumulated, Anderson's defensive stats continued to go down. I've heard it really takes 2 years of data for Dial's metric to give meaningful results. I wouldn't be surprised if Anderson's defensive ranking continues to decline. Anyway, the point is probably moot, since I'm pretty sure the CF combo will be Erstad and Terrero.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Feb 25, 2007 -> 11:07 PM) I just posted the article because for the first time kansas got some love. though they will lose at OU People may disagree with the tone, but the article is right on the merits. The Big Ten is a bad, bad conference, and more than 3 teams from it making the NCAA tournament would be a travesty. Really, it's hard to justify more than Wisc and OSU making the dance. And I'll also go along with Kansas being the best team in the country -- I think this is the year Bill Self wins a national championship.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Feb 24, 2007 -> 04:51 PM) i've never seen a study that stated that. it's usually a huge difference with Republicans donating much more time and money to charity. That's exactly right, according to Scientific American:

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 23, 2007 -> 10:06 AM) He will find a nice support system in jail. He doesn't need to be sitting on the bench. If I were coaching the team, I think I would have suspended him pending the outcome of the legal process. He wouldn't have benn on the bench. So we agree there. I'm not sure that sending hime to jail is a great idea. Really DUI, is equivalent to running around town randomly shooting a gun. Smith could have killed a bunch of people. I think the act should be punished accordingly, but I also think sending him to jail for a few years would be more likely to produce someone who will commit more serious criminal acts when released. I'd personally be in favor of yanking his license for 5 or more years, and thousands of hours of community service. In general, I'd like a lot stiffer penealties for DUI. Very hefty fines like in Japan would be good, maybe those could be used to finance some sort late night public transportation for drunks -- I don't know. The fact is that DUI enjoys broad bipartisan support in this country; both the current President and Ted Kennedy have done it repateadly and skated. I think it's clearly a problem that most people don't want to be severely punished because they have done it or think they will do it and don't want stiff penalties in place. Anyway, hopefully the legal system is wiser than I am, and comes up with a good solution.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 10:35 PM) So let me get this straight, he wants to be here, says he would sign here for less, but our GM wants him to go through free agency because he owes it to his family. Wow. Either KW is drunk or he just doesn't want to sign Dye for 3 or 4 years no matter what the cost. I think you're right, and Williams is probably sober. I think KW has Sweeney penciled in for RF in 2008, and that he's already made the decision to let Dye go. FWIW, if Dye is willing to take a slightly below-market contract for 3 years plus an option, I'd sign him. The key would be a no-trade clause. A full no-trade would be a dealbreaker to me. Anyway, if the Sox do let Dye/Buehrle/Iguchi go and then trade Crede, in 2008 they'll have a payroll below what the Royals have in 2007 (Sox 2008 would be roughly 50 million). They'd be ripped apart by fans and media if that happened -- I'm wondering who they're planning to spend money on.

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 07:35 PM) /stops the presses We agree! I'll add my vote as well. Imagine that, 3 people who went to Illinois and don't care about the Chief...I had no idea there were so many of us.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 04:46 PM) I've jumped all over this program for what's happened recently, but that article went over the top, as did your comments. He tried to paint Illinois as the most corrupt program in the history of the NCAA, and that's just a joke. You may be right -- maybe I was over the top (and I agree that Downey is generally a hack). I'm just angry, and I do think Illinois needs to change. Anyway, I should probably should stop posting about this until the whole story comes out. I can't wait for the baseball season to start.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 04:21 PM) Yeah cause Kansas players never have any problems (rolls eyes) Well, I'm not aware of anything like this happening at Kansas, but it's not like I follow Kansas basketball so maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. I'm just saying, if you read Downey's column, it really seems like Illinois has more issues than other universities. Which is bad, because collegiate athletics in general seems pretty lousy. It's the flagship institution of the state I live in, and for a bunch of reasons I actually care about how it's run. And it's not being run well

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:44 PM) Bruce Weber is a slime ball. Reading what the media is reporting I have to think most people would agree. The mock funeral thing was just one more example of terrible judgement that reflects poorly on the University of Illinois. Bill Self made a great decision to leave for an institution with some integrity. I normally consider Mike Downey a hack, but I have to agree with his column The University of Illinois is an embarassment. Something needs to change.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 11:42 AM) i don't think this reaches even close to the level of what happened at baylor, so i'll disagree on that point. I disagree. I read about the Baylor scandal and it seems pretty comparable to me. The crucial part in both is the coaching staff's attempts to cover up or alter the appearance of a crime committed by a player. I've read in print media that an assistant coach was called, and on WSCR yesterday Bernstein said a coach knew within minutes of the Smith getting back to the apartment complex. Now, it's possible for the media to get something wrong, so we'll see what's confirmed as more investigation occurs. But it seems pretty likely a coach knew what happened, and still no call to 911 occurred. The key for Weber will be if he knew. I guess it wouldn't be prudent to guess what happened, but at this point the trajectory of the story seems to me to be a program-killing scandal.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 10:56 AM) This is really not going to help there lackluster recruiting either. 2008 is a big year and parents are not going to trust Coach McSqueak with this floating around. I don't think that should matter. The University of Illinois administartion should simply focus on doing the right thing now, scew worrying about recruiting and their precious streak of NCAA appearances. Are the facts of the case are in doubt? Smith drove a car while intoxicated and then left the scene of an accident, and he had 5 other players left Carlwell in the car to try and cover up what happenend rather than seek medical help from. Oh, and an assistant coach was called for advice and he didn't tell them to call 911 and didn't call himself. I understand the prudence of waiting for the legal system to resolve the case and for an internal investogation to be completed before taking permanent action like firing a coach and kicking people off the team. But it wouldn't be out of line to cancel the rest of the season and suspend people with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, in my opinion. The lose of the remaining season would be unfair to those on the team not involved, but it certainly would be a motivating factor to prevent something like this from happening again.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 10:11 AM) Something is wrong when a coach makes more than all those Nobel winners combined. The team should bring prestige and entertainment to a campus. But, today, it only needs to bring money. Nobody would like the solution. Take all college athletics off TV. Give up the revenues. Remove the money and you remove the entitlement and cheating that goes on in the name of Amateur Athletics. I agree -- revenue generating college athletics is simply a disfunctional system. It's based on offering people, the majority of whom don't want a college degree, a scholarship in return for performing athletically and making millions of dollars for the NCAA, ESPN, and the schools involved. And playing for a college is a player's ticket to shot at a professional career, there's really no good altternative for them. the whole thing is just a mess. Just the legal, above-board garbage that goes on in high pressure recruiting (see the Post's artcleon Benn and Notre Dame) is obnoxious. I can't even imagine what goes on below-board. I'm sure it's not a popular opinion, but I'd rather schools just concentrated on education and research. I love basketball, but I think it would be much better just to have people who want to play ball go to the NBDL and play proffesionally (sort of like what happens in Europe). That would be the true market-based solution, where basketball players get to offer their services to the highest bidders, and there's no NCAA to superfically enforce "amateurness". But, I realize that's just not going happen.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 12:01 AM) Now since I never have or will go to U of I, I won't fully understand. But having been to over a dozen football and basketball games in Chambana, having family that went to school down there, and knowing people now down there....I never have or will get the Chief thing. All those people crying and such tonight....get over it and remember it's just a student in a costume dancing around. Cry over what the Indian race in this nation has become. I'm glad the Chief sillyness is over, although I would hope "fighting illini" doesn't go away. If they get rid of that, might as well change the name of the state. Well, I graduated from Illinois and I don't get it either. I think keeping the name Illini is a good idea -- it's one of the last reminders that the 6 tribes making up the Illini confederation used to live here before being killed or exiled to Oklahoma. I also agree that if people want to get upset about something, the state of life on reservations today would be worthier. Or, if people want to get worked up about the University of Illinois, how about being concerned that the State now funds less than 30% of the university budget? It's getting to the point where tuition will have to be raised to the level of private schools, which is a problem if you think a college education should be affordable to people from a middle-class income level.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 03:21 AM) Some real quality people there.... It's a university that educated 11 Nobel prize winner and has had another 10 on the faculty. It's given the world the web browesr, paypal and youtube. And all anyone will hear about is that it's a racist institution because some idiots are abnormally attached to watching a guy dressed as an Indian jump around, and that the basketball team likes to leave teammates to die while they try to cover up a DUI accident. What an absolute embarassment. The University administration should announce today that it's forfeiting the rest of the season. Those 6 guys need to kicked off the team...actually I wouldn't be upset if they just abolished the whole athletic department.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 02:19 PM) WRONG WRONG WRONG!! If Illinois were undefeated right now, I'd be just as pissed. This isn't about wins and losses, it's about a drunk driver, apparently his roommate, and maybe even more players LEAVING SOMEBODY (a teammate no less) FOR DEAD. That is a lack of instituational control if your players are that dumb, period. I just said a lot fewer people would be calling for Weber to be fired, not that you wouldn't. I completely respect that the on-court performance isn't the basis of your opinion. FWIW, my last post essentially agreed with you about Weber's reponsibility as the head of the basketball program (especially if there was an assistant coach involved). But all I know is what I've read, and I don't feel comfortable judging whether or not someone should keep his job based on a bunch message board posts and a column by Greg Couch. It's pretty clear something needs to change with the basketball program, whether or not it should be the coach I'm not in a position to say.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 02:06 PM) In theory, you are correct. I haven't heard anything about Weber answering Jamar's call and not calling the police. If that comes out, by all means fire him. Until then, hold the assistant coach responsible. He's not a 19 year old either. No matter what is preached by Weber, an assistant coach can make up his own mind about what do do. Fire him if you want. But quit drawing every line to Weber. Because if you want to do that, might as well draw it to everyone in the university, like ss2k5 said. The longer this goes on, the more and more blame Weber is taking, and it's becoming ridiculous. Last time I checked, he didn't drive the car, enter the car, drink that night, drive drunk, not call 911, ignore a phone call from a player, etc. A 19 year old acts like a moron and all the sudden Weber is to blame, almost more than Jamar it seems. Kick Jamar off the team, hand out whatever other punishments you feel necessary, and move on. The real reason Weber is taking heat is becuase people are disappointed with his recruiting and the lack of a 25 win season. If Illinois were closing in on a top seed and a 5 star recruit was signed for next season, you can bet there would be a lot fewer calls for him to be fired. But I do think you have to consider that Weber hired (or retained) the assistant coach and recruited the players involved. It's his program, and like any manager he's ultimately reposnsible for the end result. I don't know enough to say if Weber has somehow been negligent in running the program. I would hope the AD would know more than me and be able to make an accurate assessment. I don't necessarily think Weber should be fired, but the AD needs to take a hard look at how the program is run and decide what to do. And all options should be on the table. Weber seems like a decent guy, and I hope somehow things improve. And I think that's enough of me sitting judgement for today....

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 01:33 PM) Just reading some of these posts and the responses to them, most of you guys are around the same age as these players. Am I really hearing people saying that college aged kids aren't mature enough to be held responsible for their own actions? Are the people who are saying that Weber should bear responsiblity really trying to tell me that you all should still be answering to your parents, and they should be making your decesions for you? Well, I'm far away from being 20 years-old now, but I'll answer anyway. Certainly, someone of typical college age should be held responsible for their actions. And it's pretty clear that Jamar Smith will. The culpability of Weber is in creating a program where a bunch of players and an assistant coach apparently thought covering up a DUI accident was more important than health, maybe even life, of a teammate. If that interpretation of the events is wrong, which is possible, then I don't think the AD should fire Weber. But if it is correct...well, Weber is a like the manager of a division in a company, and it's clear his division has problems. He should be held accountable for that. I don't know if he should be fired, but it has to be strongly considered. I'm sure a lot of people are down on Weber because he can't recruit and the team is on the tournament bubble. I really don't care about that. He may not relate well to 20 year-olds, but I'm sure that's true of a majority of the coaches at Division1 basketball schools. I actually admire Weber's apparent compassion. And I doubt that a stiffer penalty for McBride would have dissuaded Smith from drinking and driving in a blizzard (although a half season suspension wouldn't have been inapproprate IMO). But the thing with the assistant coach, Frazier and Smith leaving Carlwell in the car...something needs to change, becuase that's inexcusable.

QUOTE(fathom @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 11:35 AM) Greg Couch's article in the ST today. I didn't see anything about Brown having a problem with Weber in that piece. I do remember that Weber wasn't happy with Brown's decision to try to go pro the same year as Deron Williams, and there clearly was some bad blood there. It doesn't seem like he's holding much of a grudge though, becuse Brown apparently showed up for the game on Sunday and talked to the team. Anyway, in my opinion Couch is an idiot (even if I happen to agree that a coaching change might be a good idea). His columns routinely seem to be hit pieces that have little factual basis. I remember his column about the Bears-SEA game ripping Grossman's performance in passing (never mind that he was probably the Bears MVP that game and outperformed proven veteran Matt Hasselback). Couch seems like a Mariotti-wanna-be to me. As for Weber's performance, on the court his team is poised to win 20 games this season and as bad as recruiting has been it's probably a sign that he's not violating NCAA rules. If I were the Illinois AD, I actually wouldn't have any concern about his coaching ability.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 11:32 AM) Should he watch over them 24/7 or something? They are college kids, and Jamar made a big mistake. Don't try to play this off any other way than Jamar just made some terrible choicies. Another coach, same story. And oh btw, if you want to talk about Luther Head and communication, at least mention how Weber helped him turn his life around, and now he's in the NBA. No, a coach can't chaperone players 24/7, and I wouldn't expect him to. And it's not like I expect a coach to bust into the player's apartment during a party and take a baseball bat to all the alcohol and whatever else is laying around. But, the head coach is ultimately responsible for the program; he gets paid a lot of money to build a solid program. It's pretty clear that this program is disfunctional. The two most disturbing things from what I've read are: 1) An assistant coach was called and apparently didn't tell Smith to call 911 and didn't make the call himself. It's interesting that Weber wasn't the one that got called. 2) At least one other player saw Carlwell injured and did nothing about it. It's possible (probable) other players were there but didn't even go out to see him, and didn't call 911 either. Both of those, particularly the first, reflect terribly on the program Weber has built. Things may be different than what was reported. Maybe Smith called the coach after the police were already on the scene, I don't know. But if things did happen the way they have been reported, this program needs to be ripped apart and a new staff brought in. And the players involved beyond Smith should be urged to transfer. Smith made two terrible decisons, but assuming it's a first offense, I do hope he avoids jail time. In fact, I'd even be supportive of Smith keeping his scholarship after doing tons of community service, but if he wants to play basketball again I think it should be somewhere else. Not that my opinion means anything, for some reason I just feel like yapping today.

I have to agreee with whomever pointed out that these quotes make it appear that Erstad is the starting CF for 2007. I think that's probably a done deal. If Anderson has a great spring, I think he makes the team. If he has only a good or worse spring, I'm pretty certain he'll be in AAA or another uniform. I would guess that right now, Ozzie would keep Terrero over him. In any case, when Pods is health I fully expect to see Pods and Erstad batting 1 & 2. And that will mean an OFwith two guys below a .700 OPS in it. Ugh. I know Cheat is counting on Erstad getting hurt to avoid that, but you can't count on health (or lack thereof). Plus, if Erstad does go down, I would expect Terrero to be his replacement. It's a lose-lose situation. The most baffling thing is that Ozzie and others have been repeatedly mentioning OBP as the key at the top of the order, and then they talk about Pods/Erstad or Ozuna/Erstad.

Really, at this point the University Chancellor or President should just forfeit the remaining games and end the basketball season. And they should seriously consider firing Weber and his entire staff as well. You have at least 2 members of the team who left a severely injured teammate in a car and didn't call 911. You have an assistant coach who apparently didn't tell them to call 911 and didn't call himself. I really don't care about the underage drinking and drug use (as someone pointed out, that's a personal choice to do something that, although illegal, doesn't hurt anyone else). Driving while intoxicated and then leaving a severely teammate in a car in a attempt to cover up the incident(?) is inexcusable. Not that my perosonal opinoin means anything, but I hope that Jamar Smith doesnt end up in jail. It's apparently a first offense(?) and as bad as it is, others in similar situations (like our Presiident, who was fortunate enough not to wrap his car around a tree in Maine) have avoided serving time. In any case, I can imagine that doing a billion hours of community service would be better for everyone than sending a 19 year-old kid to prison to ljail to ive with people have committed crimes of aggression rather than one of recklessness and cowardice.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Feb 19, 2007 -> 12:26 AM) We're not coming close to any of those names. Here's a website I found with other possible 2007 FA's: http://sports.aol.com/mlb/story/_a/top-20-...118044909990001 Many pitchers, few corner outfielders. In all seriousness, looking at that list the Sox are going to sign Rowand and that will be it. If Young makes it to free agency, I could see the Sox bidding for him. But I don't see any way they will outbid Texas for him (he's a deity down there and Arias isn't ready to replace him). If all the Sox FAs do depart, and Crede is traded, the payroll in 2008 should be back down around $60 Million.