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Matt Capps is another, if Torres doesnt close for the Pirates he gets the ninth.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 24, 2007 -> 12:23 PM) And that's why I expect both Pruitt/Young to test the waters. I recall an article from a month ago that said Young is almost a lock to go pro. Yeah I can see Young going pro, I dont think he will be a first rounder because this draft class is looking real deep.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 24, 2007 -> 01:56 AM) USC may have choked, but they are my team to beat next year. They will be 100 percent better.l Ill probably be the first person to say it this year that I think Mayo wont mix well with this team. He will be a great player putting up about 30 a game but hes a graceless player, very selfish. From what Ive heard not exactly a team player. Better yet hes playing in hollywood territory, I guess I just dont like the mix there.

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 23, 2007 -> 12:29 AM) The DEVIL you say... http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?s=...t&p=1372538 Devil you say, I dont see it?

This tournament is just ridiculous this year, so many good games. I know i preached Tenn would win to help my chances in pools but regardless Ill take the positive points from Ohio St. All the one seeds are playing poorly in the first half and have been behind throughout the tournament it seems and just easily come back and win the game. Dont know why Tenn decided to run it up Odens path at the end, that was possibly the worst drawn up play/idea to go in the paint. They had to give the ball to Lofton. Should be a good one between Memphis and Ohio St.

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Mar 22, 2007 -> 06:36 PM) Thats why I said or second or third. I have the Vols in the final four though W/E i dont care lol. I just wrote up a big preview on how much better Tenn is in their thread. And they are, and should win. BTW, Salukis finding their shot so far, looked nervous at the start but got rid of the jitters.

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Mar 22, 2007 -> 05:45 PM) SIU shocks the world and Tennessee beats OSU. You heard it here first! or second or third... Oh no, ive been pleading the vols this whole week, dont get me started. Tenn for the win. SIU um GL.......Your gonna need it, still dont know why i picked them to win.

Pfft they all looked like geeks, 5/10

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 21, 2007 -> 01:43 PM) Butler actually averages more points per possession than KU. Now obviously KU is a completely different type of offense and they're much more explosive but it's not like we haven't played good offenses before. As for our offense, I know people have a hard time believing that a team that doesn't average 80 points a game can actually be a solid offensive team, but we are indeed an efficient offensive club. We're not great by any stretch of the imagination on offense but our offensive 'woes' are very over stated. We're an above average shooting team, we're above average in points per possession and we're in the top 25 percent of college basketball in 3 point shooting. We're not "lost" on offense(though earlier in the year we had issues with zones), we just run a slow down offense which obviously confuses some people. Butler has a weaker schedule than KU so of course they will score more. There wasnt really a team Butler played that was as talented as them that stopped their offense except SIU. That being their only top 25 loss. Your slow offense might help you against KU. I bet they try to make this a fast paced game so you guys dont get your defensive scheme set.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 21, 2007 -> 01:15 AM) They without question have the best talent in that division IMO, question is whether they can stay healthy and whether THEY are aware they have the best talent in that division. I love the Brew Crew though, I have a friend that lives not even a mile from the ballpark and we have a good time at the games, great park. Not a bad seat in the house too, Ive sat i many spots and have liked the view of the field from each spot. They should be a fun team to watch, really young and lots of talent.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Mar 21, 2007 -> 12:07 AM) I dont think my team has any chance, im being realistic. The team cannot play well under pressure. Kanasas is too much of an offensive team for SIU to handle. Granted SIU has great defense they havent seen this kind of offense they are about to play all year, closest thing they saw was prolly Butler. Honestly, SIU on offense, they look lost lol, its horrible to watch, its like your pick up games in public gyms. Their defense is going to have to win them the game here and have a hot hand shooting. Rock Chalk will be fine. Sorry had to restore confidence in you to jynx kansas because i got siu winning lol.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 20, 2007 -> 03:26 PM) They dont belong in the tourney? I dont understand what you are trying to say there. If Duke doesnt get a miracle shot from Laettner they arent talked about as one of the best cbball dynasties of all time. Such is college hoops I think he meant getting ousted by a team (xavier) in the tourney that didnt belong there, kind of referencing that it would be a sad way to end the year.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 20, 2007 -> 12:21 PM) Kerry Wood's celebrity Hot Tub LOL thats good stuff, if theres one thing I enjoy bout the cubs its laughing at them.

I got two more, I know its tough to find catchers well here are two solid sleepers for ya. Chris Ianetta, Javy Lopez was cut so Ianetta will take over the starting spot, Torrealba is his only challenger but his 249 avg just aint gonna fly. Ianetta is a career .300 avg minor league hitter and hitting in Coors will help him. Another one is Ronny Paulino of the Pirates, this kid had a nice year for his first full season. Not overwhelmingly high numbers but it was his first season and well I can expect somewhat higher numbers this year around.

Pretty ridiculously good team you got there tony, althoug im not a swisher and chavez fan because both are so inconsistent at the plate you got great hitters around them. Weaks is going to have a monster year if healthy. I love how in all my leagues lots of people overlook bonds and i grab him as a bench player. Pitching well Id say you could use a closer but tahts because I love having up to 4, guarantee me a win in category and lower my whip and era most of the time.

QUOTE(dasox24 @ Mar 14, 2007 -> 04:08 PM) How 'bout them Titans of Rockford Boylan!? I just had to give them some props since my Uncle is the head coach there. Tsk you knocked out my old school Conant.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 10:36 PM) Wisconsin was hurt by the loss of Brian Butch. They were not a fraud. And Kansas will win it all. FYI Thats what I kept telling everyone, Butch is a big difference on Wisconsin playing or not. UNLV just was more prepared and aggressive than Wisconsin and it paid off. Oregon and UNLV should be a good one, UNLV faces a similar team to Wisconsin in Oregon who has two players they mainly go to in Brooks and Taylor who just dont miss. Or they pound it low to the big man (name escapes me) and he puts it in. This game will be a buzzer beater.

I will look into that one.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 04:23 PM) Besides all off the defensive arguments in your post, this is what I would like to point out. They really arent as young as people really think. They start 2 freshmen, yes, but also 3 vets, including a 5th year. The game should be close, and the winner will be decided on whose part of the game shines more. Will it be OSU's speed and post play, or Tenn's perimeter game. Solid Point, both teams have some vets and youths. Guess we will see who wins when the game comes.

Havent watch too much of OSU, hmm ive seen them play purdue twice, watched them play wisconsin and tenn early in the year, shall I go on,i love watching oden literally. Im obsessed with big ten ball kid, but nothing against you, you didnt know this. I didnt feel like mentioning Ohio sts whole team as well as Tenn but that would just get redundant. So what I think Tenn can beat OSU, OSU is young, what happened earlier in the year means nothing for any team, everyone plays differently when the tourney hits. OSU was lucky to make it out of last game vs Xavier, cause Xavier cant hit a free throw. Im not basing the game on that. Nobody in this region can stop Oden, most of the teams have stayed away from the post because of him, Tenn will too because Lofton like you said game lies on him and he loves to shoot from outside. FYI Tenn hasnt played to its potential, just a year ago they were a 2 seed, dont recall if they lost anyone to the draft but they certainly are gonna look to beat Ohio St this time around. For the record I have Ohio st beating Tenn in all my pools, I just want Tenn to win because it screws people in my money league. Oh and WOOD your somewhat biased, yes ohio st is playing better and same with oden, but they arent playing as good as they did in the big ten tourney.

Hmm well lets see: Ive never done 6x6 stats, im assuming ops was added to hitting and either Losses for pitching or walks? Id imagine some guys like Bonds become more valuable because he generally has a great ops, same with Big Hurt and Hafner. Pitching not too sure.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 10:37 AM) Alex Gordon, Chris Young, Bmac, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, Andre Ethier... among others Oh you stole mine Well I was gonna say John Maine (sp) he did really well second half of last season and Mets lineup can put up enough offensive numbers to help him win. Definitely take him in deeper leagues. Pelfrey (sp) too but a stretch, he was called up but didnt do too hot. I REALLY LIKE IAN KINSLER (2b), if he counts, he missed first 6 weeks of last season and can put up some big numbers with Texas if he hits towards top of the lineup. Chris Duncan (1b, of) could do well also he only had about 400 at bats and was most in a season, he should do better the second time around and put up nice numbers batting around Pujols, rolen and edmonds in the lineup. Those are really only players i like, not much in pitching, Broxton could be solid if Saito goes down if you need a closer, Josh Sharpless of Pitt had a nice season and might be a longshot option if Torres doesnt work out as a closer. Maybe even Humberto Sanchez of the yanks could see some action idk.

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 03:22 PM) I can't see sheyer getting drafted out of high school... Well that might have been a bad example lol. But Oden and Durant certainly werent, and im sure there were others who could have gone into the NBA but didnt.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 02:49 PM) Man. It sucks when your team loses in the NCAAs. Singletary picked a bad time to have one of his worst games of the year. Idk, Tenns guards did a terrific job stopping him, it did leave Reynolds open but he got cold. Hurting their chances. Im going out on a limb saying Tennessee beats Ohio St. I really see this happening Id even wish to have the opportunity to go back in time and change my pick but I cant. Reasoning: Player to watch is Dane Bradshaw, is hes matched up against Mike Conley Jr, Conley is in trouble. Both are guards so this might be a matchup we will see. Bradshaw can shut guys down, he has some great defense, presses the ball handler hard and gets up in his face. He can potentially stop Conley. Tennesse just has too many offensive weapons for Ohio St, granted St has Oden who is just physically a beast down low, they might not even need to play the post vs Ohio St if their perimeter shooting is as good as it was vs Long Beach St and Florida early in the year. Tenn is a quick team might slow Oden down and help them. Should be close but give Tenn the edge, guys your brackets are about to be busted I like the AM Memphpis matchup too, 2 athletic teams, have no favorite but picked AM.

My take on this years tournament is that it hasnt changed since last year. ESPN makes it seem like a downyear because they love when a cinderella team upsets higher seeded teams, this lets them make more predicitons and go off on tangent stories on these cinderella wonders like George Mason. Kind of puts alot of pressure on the cinderellas you could say. This year the top seeds are FINALLY playing to their potential unlike other years where Kansas usually gets knocked out early or a 5 seed goes down in round one. Biggest change maybe that has altered this is the talented high school players who instead of going to an NBA team have gone to a top NCAA school, Ohio St gets Oden and Texas Durant. Where would these teams be without these three, these athletes have improved the top NCAA teams in the league leaving mid majors in the dust recruiting wise. IMO it has made better teams more competitive and heck if all the top seeds make it to final 4 technically we should see some close games no? Like said earlier Saturday ws an example of what happens when high seeded teams face off. With exception of VCU who was an 11, and is irrelevant to what I said.