sircaffey

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Feb 21, 2008 -> 03:10 PM) I think Hughes has big money and 2 years left after this one, and Gooden has 1 more year after this one. While I like Ben Wallace being gone, I don't see how this move helps the team win, other than open up PT for Thomas and Noah. Of course sitting Wallace down would have accomplished that. I think Smith is better than Gooden, and Hughes doesn't do much for me. Why do you think Smith is better than Gooden? Smith is 32 while Gooden is 26. Gooden is bigger and a much better rebounder. Hughes doesn't do much for me either (although he clearly didn't fit in on CLE. He's not a PG), but he'll be more productive than Wallace would be over the next 2.5 seasons. It also allows us to not have to overpay for Gordon not to mention since Gordon is a restricted free agent, we can get something for him through a sign and trade. We got rid of 2 guys in Wallace and Smith that are aging and likely to see drops in their production in the coming years for 2 guys under 30 who are likely to be better next season. We still need to make other moves, but I like what was done in the deal.

Chester Taylor with 13 REB? What, did Pruitt hoist him up on his shoulders?

It's misleading when you point to some of the losses the Big Ten has had this season particularly Purdue and Indiana. Both of these teams are very young teams, and anyone not expecting them to struggling at times in the early going were fooling themselves. Purdue right now, is a much better team that lost to teams like Iowa St. early in the season. IU's drubbing of MSU without DJ White doesn't necessarily show how much MSU is overrated more than how much IU has progressed. You can see clear improvements in both PU and IU as the season has progressed. These progressions should continue.

Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Feb 17, 2008 -> 12:11 PM) There is a rumor going around that Scott Skiles will be the Hoosiers next coach. I for one thing that would be a tremendous hire. I don't know how he'd recruit, but he's one hell of a coach and given the college environment, where most players would stay 2-3 years as opposed to sticking around the full 4, he's less likely to ever have guys get tired of his message. On one hand, I'd be happy to see Skiles coaching somewhere, on the other, as someone that despises the Hoosiers, I would hate to see them get such a good coach and not get punished for hiring a crook like Sampson. Skiles' no-nonsense, his way or the highway style would be very Knight-esq. It'd be a very interesting hire to say the least.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 16, 2008 -> 10:06 PM) And the "overrated" chant as well. Intelligence was in Bloomington in abundance tonight, I guess. You don't think MSU is overrated at #9? I sure as hell do. They've been playing pretty average of late. Morgan's disappeared.

And this is what happens when Gordon puts in a good first half. All year he's been a stud in the 2nd half. If he can put up 1st halves like today (which still wasn't as good as his 2nd halves have been), he can carry IU pretty far.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Feb 15, 2008 -> 06:56 AM) That's debatable. What sicaffey is trying to say, I believe, is that if IU handles this properly then the penalties will be less and more manageable. It appears IU did everything right in handling this and there does not appear to be any lack of institutional control. So the penalties will be different if IU fires Sampson or if they do not and cannot change the minds of the committee on his transgressions (lying). Yeah that. I think IU is looking to receive or give themselves something very similar to what Oklahoma gave themselves (probation, loss of 3 scholarships one year, 2 scholarships the next, loss of practice time, etc.). Sampson on the other, I think will carry with him much more serious penalties. I don't think Sampson is likely to coach anywhere anytime soon.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan99 @ Feb 15, 2008 -> 01:22 AM) Sorry but that is simply not true. If that is the case than no schools ever do anything wrong and only the coaches should be punished. You're right poorly worded. IU did do something wrong, but they did not break any rules. They weren't participating in the rule violations. How "wrong" that something is is debatable. But this case is a little different. The NCAA found that Sampson "lied" and "misled" not only them, but also IU. Those statements lead me to believe that the NCAA is already viewing Sampson and Indiana University on different levels. What IU does in the coming weeks will go a long way in determining what the NCAA does.

QUOTE(dasox24 @ Feb 14, 2008 -> 10:46 PM) Yeah, but whether you like it or not, if the coach messes up, the school is gonna take the fall with him. As an employee of Indiana University, Sampson is representing the university with his actions. They're not just gonna be able to fire him and lessen the penalty that much. It may be less, but it will still hurt the program. Of course they will receive some punishment, but some have suggested it's going to major. I disagree with that. IU showed great initiative in seeking out the violations, instilling their own punishments on Sampson, and then bringing their findings to the attention of the NCAA. It's not like the NCAA caught them in a big scandal. If you look at the rare cases in which teams are banned from post season play, they are mainly paying of athletes in some way connected to the athletic department or alumni. IU's situation involved Sampson and an assistant or 2, and that's it. Like I said, I expect scholarship losses, probation, and a fine. Post-season ban is highly unlikely, if history is any judge.

QUOTE(JDsDirtySox @ Feb 14, 2008 -> 10:27 PM) Unfortunately they made the first wrong move the day they hired Sampson. His Cheating ways at OU seemed to be treated as "no big deal" when he left them behind to go to Indiana. Now IU will have to pay the price. Of Course the Coach, and some of his coaching staff is the problem... but The President, Athletic Director, and Board of Trustees have to be held accountable here. Well yes, but in the eyes of the NCAA they did nothing wrong. People should lose their jobs over this, but from the NCAA's perspective the university didn't break any rules.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 14, 2008 -> 05:08 PM) Espn.com says its day-to-day. I'm sure they are talking to their lawyers to make sure they act appropriately and don't waste millions in fines and legal fees. What I don't get is that they're talking about buy-outs and wrongful termination stuff. Doesn't his contract have a clause in it that gives Indiana the right to fire him for something like this? I don't get what they need to talk about, unless they amended his contract after the first time he got caught. And Rex - I hear ya. If you look at this story out of context you'd laugh and chalk this up to a slow news day. But the fact that he didn't get caught once, or twice, it's now three times he's done something bad (the 3d being the lying/covering up). This from a guy who was the president of the ethics board. The first time i'll give you the benefit of the doubt - call the improper calls a mistake (which I doubt 500+ calls over the limit is a mistake, but whatever). But the fact he did it again and then lied about doing it again is pretty clear evidence his actions were willful. He knew he was cheating but decided to risk it anyway. I just don't see how the NCAA could accept that and give a minimum penalty, especially when the report says "major" all over the place. The point here is that Indiana University did not do anything wrong. They took the initiative to investigate. They didn't try to ignore what Sampson was doing. They didn't try to cover it up. THEY found that Sampson broke the rules for the 2nd time and cried foul. Considering the NCAA concluded that Sampson lied to IU, they know that IU had no knowledge of what Sampson was doing. I don't know how they could find IU to be so much in the wrong that they are going throw the book at them especially when IU took serious action. Loss of scholarships and probation. I can't imagine anything more. If Sampson is indeed fired soon like rumored, Indiana handled this situation very well. Both initiating the investigation and ending it.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 14, 2008 -> 10:10 AM) I think if the allegations are true, they're looking at a loss of few scholarships (maybe one or two for a couple of years) and a minimum of one year post-season ban. Espn has a good article about how lying to investigators is one of the bigger no-no's. Now the writer of the piece fails to accurately compare the violations - he's talking about Baylor (telling kids to lie about a murder), Minnesota (writing papers/taking tests) and Ohio State (the most ridiculous one imo, giving a kid 6k to go home to the other side of the world) - but it still shows how the NCAA comes down strong on programs that lie to it. Except for Ohio State, the schools he talked about got major penalties - often multi-year loss of scholarships and post-season bans AFTER the school had already given self-imposed penalties. I also wonder how the NCAA would view Indiana keeping Sampson around this year, even if they just suspend him. You'd think allowing a cheater to continue just because he has a good team and some good players (a "one year window") would make them react stronger against it. And does anyone know if this current team will be affected? Lets assume they make the final four or the championship, is that something that can later be taken away by the NCAA because of Sampsons actions? I find it very hard to believe there will be any post season ban. Very hard to believe that. IU is not in the wrong here. Sampson is in the wrong. IU launched their own investigation and notified the NCAA what they found. Then the NCAA found that Sampson lied to Indiana University. Indiana University wasn't attempting to cover anything up. In fact they imposed their own penalties before the NCAA even had time to look at the case. If anything, I could see a couple more scholarships lost and probation, but Indiana University certainly is not a main culprit in this case especially if they fire Sampson pronto.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Feb 14, 2008 -> 09:04 AM) given that he's a big name and grew up as an indiana fan i do think his name will come up and maybe iu makes a call. that said, i don't think there's a snowballs chance he goes. Matta said no to IU 3 year ago as well.

QUOTE(Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 14, 2008 -> 12:28 AM) What about Mark Few?? He said no to IU 3 years ago.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 13, 2008 -> 10:51 PM) Grumble about the refs?? Free throw attempts were 20 to 5 Indiana, Eric Gordon alone had twice as many free throw attempts as the entire Wisconsin team, who shot their fewest free throws in 2 years. Yeah that play late was a travel, but overall the refs helped IU more than hurt them. I'm not grumbling, but I thought there were a couple missed calls on DJ towards the end. One where he was shoved from behind under the basket. I thought that was missed, but the refs didn't lose the game for IU. This was a great game. Butch banks in a 3, I still can't believe he made that shot. And how IU was absolutely deflated after that, that they inbounded the ball within a couple seconds to Ellis, instead of Gordon.

Perhaps Scott Drew (Baylor) who's done a fantastic job down there. He has some Indiana state ties as well coaching at Valparaiso.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Feb 13, 2008 -> 10:40 PM) That is what I heard last night, but not from a source I trust enough to have said it. We'll see, but there is a lot of smoke on that story. IU fans: If he's fired, what names will come up besides the obvious like Matta and Sean Miller? Matta isn't a choice. Alford will of course come up. Lon Krueger (UNLV) perhaps considering his Midwest ties...although it was at Illinois so that doesn't count. I pray Sean Miller wants the job.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Feb 13, 2008 -> 10:30 PM) http://thebiglead.com/?p=4613#more-4613 YES! Thank you god. I actually think we're better off at least for this season without Sampson. I never thought he was a good X's and O's coach. This may be the best thing to happen to IU. Not even joking. If we can snag someone like Sean Miller, a coach who actually knows how to coach, we might look back at this day (or Friday, or whenever Sampson is fired) as a good day.

QUOTE(2nd_city_saint787 @ Feb 13, 2008 -> 03:16 PM) it looks as if the final stat line will be the 6x6 format, we have a ton of people agreeing on this. Runs, home runs, RBI, BA., OPS. and stolen bases/ W,L,Saves,Ks,ERA, and Whip the league is lock cocked and ready to explode, if the draft time is not good for you guys please make a pre draft list, remember this is a keeper league so adjust your list accordingly. the issue of how many people to keep is the next issue to tackle. I kinda want it to be like the other league where its 2 hitters two pitchers and 1 choice. but i have been given the suggestion of just keeping everyone....heres another idea that may be completely out in right field but how about we make it to where if the actual mlb team doesnt re sign the player then that player will have to be cut in this league as well. this means all the mlb free agents at year end would also be free agents and go into a draft for next season. I like 2-2-1. That seems like a successful rule. Keeping the whole team take away from the best part of fantasy baseball, imo, the draft.

I'll gladly take Self. Please bring your ass over here. The man can recruit the s*** out of the country. He's better than anything I think IU will end up with. Unfortunately, if I was a betting man, Alford would be the next IU coach. The appeasement of the Knight backing alumni as well as Alford bringing some of the old Indiana tradition makes him seem like a good fit to bring IU back to what was. It's not the right fit, imo, but it appears to be on the surface. Too bad. Greenspan really f'd this one up.

QUOTE(BigEdWalsh @ Feb 13, 2008 -> 10:32 AM) I'm a stat nut. I like having having extra stat categories, but that's just me. If y'all think it'd be better without extra stats it'd be ok. I was in a league a couple of years ago that had I think 28 different stats. Even I thought that was too much.There were lots of categories especially in pitching that enabled the guys who didn't stay active to benefit from not having full lineups. That sucked. However, I like having doubles and triples and (hitters) BBs. Guys like Swisher and Dunn are so much more valuable because of the BBs. Last year, in a league that counted triples, I had the good fortune to have Granderson. Either way, do what you think is best, Commish. I would take BB out for pitchers because that's really already covered in WHIP. Also, I think the number of stat categories for offense and pitching should be equal. Currently, the offense has more categories and thus is more important. It should be even, imo. I'd suggest adding OPS for hitters (while taking out 2B, 3B, and BB as it takes in those stats) and subtracting BB for pitchers as its in WHIP already. That way it's at 6x6 and its now even between pitching and hitting.

QUOTE(2nd_city_saint787 @ Feb 13, 2008 -> 12:14 AM) i kinda wanted it to be roto too but im a man of the people and so far me and you are the only ones wanting roto, im glad you still joined, if possible i might switch the format next year. Either way. I'm mainly just against adding new categories like 2B and 3B. Standard 5x5 stat categories is the best whether its roto or head to head. Adding in multiple categories throws some funky player ratings into the game imo. Perhaps just compromise at use the standard 5x5 stat categories but do head to head. Best of both worlds.

I'd prefer standard 5x5 roto.....but im in. I suggest making it the same as the other Soxtalk keeper league for comparisons sake. I think that would be interesting...

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Feb 12, 2008 -> 04:49 PM) Well, it looks like some of our guys (mainly young players) will get some stats up alittle bit now (doesn't hurt that Johan is gone as well.) Definitely. Hell, even a signing bonus for a high/overslot draft pick would have helped for the future (even if that really isn't their M.O.) This moves the Twins up in the 2009 draft. That's the motivation behind this move.