bmags

I don't mind the pacers.

Reading this thread makes me not want any of them.

I'm fine with that, but I would appreciate announcers calling out Wade and James for how dirty they get when they are frustrated and feel like they are being fouled. They are KG level for me.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 04:19 PM) Recently we found out that tech companies are really stupid and dont have attorneys, because you could have legally done what they wanted by putting a restrictive covenant into the employee agreement. Non-compete, non-solicitation, are allowable. Not sure what this has to do with unionization. Non compete and non-solicitation are not allowed in California. The point is regardless of whether you find someone's pay large enough to live on, such as engineers, if their pay is being restricted either illegally or unfairly, it shouldn't matter that they make more than a typical student or employee.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 03:51 PM) And it's not irrelevant. The whole point of this movement is how unfair it is that these poor athletes have all these restrictions on them and they make the school so much money and they don't get a slice of the pie. And we all know that's bulls*** because they do get a slice. Again, I think this is inaccurate. Recently we found out that dozens of tech companies basically organized a cartel to not steal eachothers managers and developers because wages were getting too high and cutting into profits. Software developers and engineers make great money! Their income was going up in those years! But the fact is their wages were deliberately being kept lower than they should have been in ways that was not affecting the CEO pay or bonus structure - which was being set by the market. In professional sports, the top athletes salaries by and large eclipse the coaches and general manager pay. If the schools suddenly want to tax player income and TRULY feel like athletic scholarships are money out of their pocket, rather than listen to athletes demands, I'll happily watch it blow up in their face.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 03:55 PM) And that's how every business in the world works. Why should student athletes get special treatment? Actually my company pays me in money, in addition to "perks" like providing a computer, phone, internet, pays for some of my phone and gym bill, gives me an office to work in, etc.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 02:38 PM) I have tempered enthusiasm about it. I love the show, but it's gotten pretty slow and I feel like last season it was going over the same themes (and plotlines) that we saw in seasons 1-3. yeah, I stopped watching. And the "that people never change is the point!" doesn't do it for me 6 seasons in.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 03:37 AM) The whole scene with the boat in the storm easily could have been cut. I agree, I think he was just trying to include a scene to show how he sacrificed everyone around him to keep the party going, and the catalyst for him getting clean. Both of those were compensating for the fact that they did a terrible job of showing the first part in the earlier parts of the movie.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 03:26 AM) Couldn't have said it better myself. This is a very vital draft for the future. Have to hit on some young talent. I also said this last draft. We got 2 starting o-lineman, though debatable whether Mills will need to be replaced. Bostic, I know Chisoxfn or NS want to be patient, but I was just appalled at how bad his instincts were. How many times can you see a running back following his blocker toward you, and you jump out of the way? That's crazy. Greene looks like ST fodder. Washington and Wilson are interesting but slow to develop. We need more like 50% this draft since 2012 was such a bust.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 09:24 PM) Eh, I think this gets overturned. The NLRB guy makes a distinction between student athletes and regular students because of various restraints put on athletes to keep their scholarship. Well, that applies to regular students with scholarships as well. Hell, anyone receiving financial aid from the school could be considered an employee if scholarships are now considered payment for services (though this guy distinguishes scholarships from financial aid and talks about a case that held financial aid is not payment). He also points out how a winning football program makes more money and notoriety for the university, but Northwestern is a pretty awful example of that, since it's been a highly regarded (and popular) school for decades despite really s***ty sports programs. Also, LOL at these guys not being compensated fairly. $61k in scholarships a year plus $1,200 to $1,600 a month in stipends. That's $300k + to play football and get an awesome education. I'm not really swayed by your arguments, but I did think the reason this would fall is the conclusion of whether any scholarship is a form of employment. But I actually think you can split that. I think the last line is completely irrelevant. Students on full academic scholarship get 61k in scholarships, work-study programs and an awesome education without the expectation of traveling all over the country, staying over breaks, mandatory team meetings, twoaday practices, charity work, media interviews, mandatory workouts, etc. The student athlete's obligations seem to me to be dictated by their athletic work. That they have minimum standards applied to being a student doesn't really matter to me. As for this just going through because it's an Obama stacked board, LOL. I doubt he's even been able to appoint anyone. But when an organization becomes a billion dollar revenue company largely through the free labor of amateur athletes while paying themselves lavishly, the shoe is gonna drop at some point.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 01:15 AM) Sounds like he could be an UDFA type, in that case. I agree that TE isn't a huge concern right now, but if Bennett goes down, I'm not too comfortable with Rosario and whoever else out there. The TE position goes back to what it was pre-Bennett days. It's not my preference to take a TE on Day 2 of the draft, but if the right guy is there, I'd have no problem with it. I hear you. I guess really we just need to hit on this draft. We need cheap talent regardless of where. We can't keep buying every position.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 12:17 AM) I haven't read much of anything about Waters (probably because CBS has him ranked as the 35th TE in the draft) but it kinda sounds like you want Fendi Onubun, who was resigned. I just don't know what to think about Rosario. He seems like he could be a solid backup he's not really someone I'd like to see out there if Bennett were to go down. Last offseason we heard a lot about 2 TE sets (even some rumblings about them taking Eifert in the 1st despite already signing Bennett) so if that's something they really do wanna utilize I'd like to see someone better than Dante. Perhaps taking one in the first few rounds is a bit of a stretch, but I certainly think they could/should draft a TE, esp. if they end up trading down and grab a few more picks. Maybe taking a chance on Colt Lyerla in the 5th or 6th might be a more plausible pick, and one that I would love. Lyerla is a guy who has huge talent but he's had run ins with the law. Yeah, that's exactly right. I basically want to keep trying for gold with the Onubun's etc. Waters was a TE at Missouri who basically did nothing reception wise, but blocked well, and then just tore it up on pro-day. If he does well, great, if not, not a lot of opportunity cost there.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 10:48 PM) I would like to add a 2nd TE, though, for sure. Like you mentioned earlier taking ASJ in the 2nd round, I would be okay with the Bears taking a TE in the 2nd or 3rd round. I like Fiedorowicz from Iowa too. Honestly I'd rather just take a complete athlete like Waters out of Missouri undrafted or 6th or 7th and try and coach them than use a pick on a backup TE. We still could use more young OL depth. I just don't really care about TE at all right now.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 18, 2014 -> 02:47 PM) Is this really true? From a fans perspective, it seems to me that the perks of being a D1 scholarship athlete have gotten a lot better over the last 20 years. And the amount of money going through the game is insane compared to 20 years ago. TV deals are nuts.

So apparently Seattle offered him 7/yr and Bears came in with 8 mill and that sealed it. Fun stuff.

I'm irrationally excited for a 3-4 pass down package that includes Shea and Bostic. It must be offseason.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 04:20 PM) In passing situations, Houston will definitely move inside and Young can play outside. In the modern NFL, you can't have enough pass rushers. And the Bears are still really only three-deep with proven DE talent, so there is definitely enough snaps to go around. Plus, Allen will probably be more effective with less snaps so he can stay fresh. Izzy has proven competent in specialist roles. I don't have a problem with him taking up snaps.

How about Kirk Hinrich's random aggressiveness recently? When he actually tries to force his will shooting and driving it opens up our offense so much more. Much better than dribbling until the shot clock expires.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 03:05 PM) He's probably going to play 70% of the snaps. The Bears aren't just going to let Willie Young sit for 90% of the time. Lamarr Houston can play DT too. There are lots of ways to rotate in Young.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 02:59 PM) While I do think Allen's regressing, he's an upgrade over Peppers at half the price (if we would have kept Peppers). I'm assuming only the first two years of the contract are guaranteed ($15.5 million over 2)? He's obviously getting older, but I think 2 years in we'll be solid. Last year vike's O was so bad he was on the field a lot, and I'm guessing saw more run plays. Despite all that he got 11.5 sacks last year. I hope we get double digit sacks from him but 8.5 to 9.5 plus lots of pressure is fine with me.

Yeah I still wouldn't hate a DT/DE in first round. Regardless of 2014, we need to develop cheap talent at that position. We can't keep buying Oline/Dline, though it's remarkable in 2 successive years we essentially have brand new both. Let's hope this is as successful as the oline rebuild was.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 02:38 PM) Caught some movies on plane rides this weekend: Wolf of Wall Street - again, good solid movie, very entertaining, but not great. Why Leo was nominated is beyond me. He's literally just playing Leo from every movie he's ever made. Same with Hill - he was funny, but what was so great about that performance? Minor gripes, since the movie itself was pretty good. Typical Scorcese though, 20-30 minutes too long. I think Leo role was damn good. My main gripe with the movie was the poo-pooing of what they were actually doing illegally really hurt the movie. I thought Kyle Chandler was the best role in the movie and would have preferred he play a bigger role (the boat scene was by far the best). I saw it this past weekend, and after seeing it, I think a lot of the criticisms of the movie were pretty valid. It was just a bro-heaven genre movie. The last 30 minutes when the party stopped did not redeem that.

Last year was the first year I really wanted to go and didn't get tickets. This year, I'm pretty sure I'll never go. That is awful. Because so many conflicts and the damn heat, I'd take quantity of mid-tier bands I want to see over a few really great bands. And the quantity and quality suck this year.

Years and money more than I thought he'd get but oh well at this point just happy he's on he team.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 11:18 PM) It was 2 years ago. Drummond or Beal would have turned out much better, and Barnes would have been better too (not counting Lillard because they weren't taking a point). Cleveland (Waiters) and Sacramento (Robinson) can't be any happier. I mean, they kinda shoulda had Anthony Davis.