nitetrain8601

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 05:03 PM) The injuries are what stops Wade from being in that top group for sure. I'm going to have to say I agree. He rebounds really well, plays the passing lanes as well as anyone, uses his size and strength as good as anyone. Only thing he's never developed is a consistent three ball.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 05:06 PM) They're no doubt the front runners imo to win it all but there's no chance they'd win it with out Bosh. I think they can. What does Bosh provide for them? Scoring that they can already get from two other players?

QUOTE (HeGone33 @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 05:06 PM) No, it's not too high. Last four opponents in Soldier Field average 30 pts, so it is possible! And don't give me the crap about week 17, it doesn't matter. I could care less about Week 17, even though Lovie admitted in the paper the other day, he treated the game like they needed it which goes against fans saying they vanilla'd their way through. With the cold, it's going to be a heavy ball they're throwing. Both QB's aren't going to be able to just sling it. I'm expecting at least 1 turnover from both sides. And the Packers don't have a great running game, despite what Starks has done. I don't think the Bears have a great one either, but they have a better one. I think a bunch of short passes are going to have to be completed.

And the bad Jay, good Jay comes from reality. Yes, his receivers aren't the greatest, but at the same time, he makes passes that make you go "WTF?" and it's not because the receiver ran the wrong route or the game dictated it. For example, the near pick he threw last week against the Seahawks in the end zone. He already started running backwards because he knew that was an awful pass.

QUOTE (HeGone33 @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 04:38 PM) Packer 31 Bears 17 Hester with a return Cutler 1 pick Rodgers 1 pick Too high scoring. BTW, Ted Bruschi also picked the Bears. So this whole, "Us against the world" schtick needs to stop. It's ridiculously dumb.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 04:54 PM) Wait a minute. I never compared the Heat and Jazz. I compared the Bulls to the Jazz. People can hate on the Heat all they want. But they've got two of the top 5 players in the game and another top 10 player in the game. They are special. They have two perimeter players who are awesome defensively and can cover so much ground. Also, when they cheat on defense, they can recover better than most because of that size, speed, and athleticism. That's why I really don't see them not winning the championship. They honestly don't even need Bosh. I really don't think he adds much to that team.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 02:41 PM) The Bulls are on a 56 win pace halfway through the regular season. Considering how they haven't had all their main guys for almost 50 games and certainly not all at 100% for probably more than 50 games, you'd have to think they have a decent shot in the playoffs of winning a couple of rounds. I think if Miami is healthy, they are the team to beat. Boston's age is going to start to show pretty soon IMO. Orlando has been playing really well with their new players, but if the Bulls are 100% healthy, I like their chances vs. any except Miami. (given that LeBron and Wade are both reasonably healthy as well) Disagree on Boston. They've been pretty smart. Making their players sit out who feel they have nagging injuries they could play with. They're gearing up toward the 2nd half. In fact, yesterday was the first time the entire team practiced together all season.

BTW, I don't know what the NFL can do with Soldier Field 5 days ahead of time. Honestly, what could be done? "We're moving the game to Green Bay..."??

For the Bears to beat the Packers, they're going to have a flawless game when it comes to turnovers. That means defense needs to cause 3 turnovers, the offense needs 1 or less. In "Bear" weather, I think the game benefits the Packers more. Their defense will cause Cutler to throw at least 3 stupid passes he usually does, but will be caught. I also think the 7 step drops combined with the Bears O-Line will be a recipe for disaster. We'll see though. That's why the play the games. In the end: Packers 24 Bears 14. It'll be close throughout, but the Packers put them away with a field goal late.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 03:31 PM) That might be the worst spending of $45 million in one season I have ever seen. I have to agree. I like all the players somewhat minus Penny. Individually, they look nice. Together, they aren't nice on that Tigers team unless most of them are bench players.

Badge, I suggest going after it.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 11:28 AM) Fixing the O-line has to be the Bears main goal this offseason. along with the turf. It really is the worst field in sports. They should move to that synthetic mix that GB has or rolly with what NE has.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 11:33 AM) What does the Sox payroll have to do with how much money Ricketts will spend? I was using it as a basis for the argument. Think about the Sox payroll being capped at 110 million in a typical year. For the Sox to add Pujols, they would have to get rid of every big contract because he would take up a 4th of your salary alone. That means their entire rotation, and bullpen is gone. AJ would be gone. Rios would be gone. Teahan is gone. To compete for a World Series, the Sox would have to find a bunch of Alexei Ramirez types, have them contribute right away and then that will lure Pujols. The Cubs don't have that at this point neither. So Pujols will be going to a team that isn't ready to win when he's in his prime. Doesn't make sense.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 11:08 AM) I could see this being a valid point regarding Ricketts going forward but they still make a ton of money on WGN, corporate sponsors, and merchandising. And he has already started jacking up prices with tickets. But it would seem understandable that he would not let Hendry spend more money to go after Pujols. The other reason I thought about the Cubs is that it is very close to St. Louis if Pujols still wanted to live there if he left via FA. Well my thing is, Ricketts may go after him, but then he won't have the pieces to surround him with to actually contend for a World Series. Ricketts strikes me as a guy who had enough money to run the team's day to day operation, but doesn't have much more to fix what needs to be fixed including the front office, the team and the stadium which is why he's practically begging for money from the state. The state can't grant the money, even if it wanted to because of how bad the public perception would be. We're running a deficit and we'll continue with that to pay for a baseball stadium. And the state won't take another tax hike to help him out. He just seems like a guy who was a legit Cubs fan, but doesn't have the funds to bring them where they need to be. Cuban would've been much better, but no one really is a fan of his antics. With that said, I don't know what his plan is. Is it to shed salary and build through the draft? Because if it is, they definitely have the wrong GM and scouting department for that. Is it to build through FA and trades? Doesn't look like it.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 11:07 AM) Reprogrammed Martz has Bears offense clicking I like that he has adjusted, not only to the run game, but to feature the TE's like he did yesteray. It was a huge F.U. to the critics. I will say though, the Bears still need better WR's and overall a better turf to get a consistent offense rolling. Until that happens, any offense which predicates on speed as well as defense, would not be optimal. Unfortunately for the Bears, everything they do is predicated on speed. I fully do not expect them to win the Super Bowl. Heck, I don't expect them to make it, but I've been wrong before. And Bears fans better hope Angelo doesn't use this year as an excuse to not fix up that O-Line which Tice has done a crazy good job with. I would've expected Cutler to be icing in the offseason from the beating he took throughout the year.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 11:06 AM) Offense? Lol, yes, offense.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 17, 2011 -> 08:48 AM) And next year, it'll be another Rebuilding year for the Pats. After all, they just drafted 8 guys in the first 4 rounds of the 2011 draft, you can't expect them to compete right away. Right? We're hearing that Manning is starting to slip and get old already...Brady clearly has more talent surrounding him right now (esp. given the injuries), I just haven't heard the same silliness regarding Brady yet. Strongly disagree about the talent. When they got rid of Moss, Brady had much inferior talent. Tate is a decent player and they have some decent TE's, but Branch was their best WR and he's nothing to write home about. Welker really isn't all that good, he's just sneaky and is good for underneath routes. Manning has Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne. Two guys alone who make Indy's defense so much better. I will say Brady has a better RB, but not by much.

I don't think he would sign with the Cubs. In the end, the Cardinals always present the best chance of winning if he stays in the NL Central. I think he will stay in the NL until his body can no longer take him playing 1B. Only AL teams I can think of are the usual suspects, Boston and New York and they already both have 1B. And neither would be easy to move as they make huge cash. Also, Pujols hasn't seen anything from the Cubs to make it worthwhile to move there. I know the Cubs want him badly, but Ricketts is not going to have a payroll higher than the Sox, and you need to if you're going to sign Pujols to that large of a deal and still contend.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jan 16, 2011 -> 07:13 PM) read the article a few days back, i don't disagree with Rosen's analysis on Rose's defense. He has shown flashes of he can become a very good defender this season, but many times he is still getting torched by the opponent's pick and roll offense. last night alone, he has given up 3 to 4 good looks to arroyo, house and chalmers off a pick. when he came out of college, many scouts thought he could be a shut down defender and a all defense talent, but he is in his third year now, and playing under one of the best defensive coaches in the league, you have got to wonder if Rose is ever going to live up to his potential on defense. He's improving in that regard. He always had the talent to do it, but my question on him coming out was work ethic, especially on that side of the ball. John Calipari even mentioned several times where he got lazy and a guy who had no business scoring on him would burn him.

Have: Pace, CTA and Metra Want: Pontiac G8 or Honda Accord Coupe When I graduate and have a decent amount of change saved up: Jaguar XFS Completely Unrealtistic Dream Car Until I Win The Lotto: Aston Martin DB-9.

Read all the latest updates. He's not in the wrong for refusing the job offer, nor should he get fired for it. What I will say though, you may make your employer overlook you for a promotion in the future because of your previous salary demands. If they promote within and have non-negotiable as a part of that process, and now they know you want to negotiate anyway, they'll probably rather not deal with it and get someone else. You're basically burning bridges from within in my opinion. If you were simply to say, "Nah, I don't think I want this job and walk away", that would be a different thing. But the fact that you turned a non-negotiation into one, they're going to think you're a headache.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 13, 2011 -> 03:51 PM) I have yet to find a con for my Evo 4G. Battery life I guess. And you can get an extended battery that works wonders from Amazon.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 14, 2011 -> 11:58 PM) Picks for the weekend: Pittsburgh -3 Green Bay +2 New England -8.5 Interestingly, the Bears line has not moved all week...kind of crazy. I wonder what the Seahawks line is because I'd bet on it. At those lines, I'd also take Pittsburgh and New England. I will take Atlanta and you can have your stinkin two points.

Let's not crap on PER. It takes into account defensive impact as well. Statistically, this season, Kevin Love is a top 10 player. And Griffin definitely is going to have a higher FG% as he goes inside much more. Love doesn't dunk like Griffin does, instead he jukes, jives and then shoots. I'm not a Love fan in the least, but he's a heck of a player for at least this year.

Guess that takes them out of the Manny race.