Rex Hudler

That game was frustrating to watch at times tonight, but the best team finally broke through and won. The game would not have been as close as it was for as long as it was if IU had hit their FT's. SIU is a good team and is very good defensively. I think tonight, we saw that IU is just as good on that end of the court. If IU can figure out how to score consistently (you can sub SIU in here too), they could be dangerous down the road.

It would certainly be nice if IU could actually hit a FT tonight.

Probably the 2nd best episode of the year minus the season opener. You guys have already cited so many funny lines. I watched it for the 2nd time last night and laughed just as hard. The best show on television!

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Dec 17, 2006 -> 11:30 AM) So character is not an issue in sports to you? I'm getting tired of this BS. Until Kelvin Sampson was hired by IU, his "character" was never mentioned. I have asked before and I will ask again. Take out the phone call issue and give me one publicized issue with his character. We all know about the phone calls. That is a moot point. But in way too many posts on this and another board, Illini fans (predominantly, if not exclusively) want to act as if he is a horrible human being. I'm still waiting for someone to give me something that goes to a questionable character beyond the phone call issue. If you've got something, speak up. If not, then how about just shutting the F*ck up about him and worrying about your own damned team?

Chicago-native Sal Fasano

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 10:13 PM) Are we talking about new cars, or used? Frankly, I don't see the point in buying new cars. The only advantage you get is a lower rate (but you pay more in inusrance, and the car loses a lot of value after you drive it off the lot.) I got my Corvette for almost half the price of a new one, and mine only had 9600 miles on it. I was asking in general. Mine was a refi, so the used. I do agree with you however, that new cars are not a great financial deal. But that wasn't the question asked. lol I bought a 3-yr old Lexus ES300 (with ext. warranty to 100k miles) for the same price as my girlfriend bought a brand new Accord LX about 5 yrs ago. I had to eat 40k miles, but with a good car that is well worth the price you pay. I've found that you can get a much nicer car, esp if you catch it after it has been leased, for the same money as a lesser new car and you don't lose the depreciation. Leased cars tend to be more well taken care of in my experiences.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 10:33 PM) Yes, but there are companies that have very limited advertising or don't advertise at all...who, you ask? Whole Foods. Not a thing and look at their success. Never heard of Whole Foods. And my comments never said advertising was the be all, end all in business. There are tons of factors that can affect a company or products success. You can have great ads, great sales but if your business is not run effectively and your costs are way out of whack, then you won't be profitable. But that doesn't mean advertising is at fault. The basic premise is still true. Have an ad budget and then cut it back and see what happens. Most of the time, absent other factors (technological advantages, competitive advantages in logistics, location, etc.), sales will go down.

What are auto rates at now? I'm currently at 4.95% on a refi, done about 3 yrs ago.

The problem with 1080p today is there is no programming broadcasting in it. Also, note that the Vizio's are a good value for what you pay. I just can't equate them with the others, price excluded. If you are thinking about going that route, then check them out carefully again. If the price and the picture works for you, then by all means, go for it. Another very good resource for info on TV's...... There are also forums for HDTV programming, local HD info & reception, and everything else HD. You gotta search a little bit, but there is good info here. AVS Forums

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 05:45 PM) What Balta is getting at is these companies need YOU and not the other way around. Tell them the names of the other Honda dealers in town and say "I know what car I want and I know what other dealers are going to give me, give me your best price" Or better yet, do your homework on edmunds.com and go to the Honda dealer and tell them "This is what I want and this is what I am willing to pay, not a dollar more. If you can do it, we have a deal today." And don't let them ad the BS to the end of the invoice. Give them a bottom line price. Car dealers make a big profit on rust-proofing, paint protection, etc. If you really need it, you can usually get it aftermarket cheaper. Most agree its not necessary. Depending on the competitiveness and # of Honda dealers in your area, I'd offer about $200 over invoice price. If you lack a lot of Honda dealers in town, tell them you are deciding between a Civic and a Corolla (or similar make from Toyota or Nissan). Oh, and be prepared to walk if they don't give you the deal. Patience can often get you what you want. Note: I am not sure what the market will bear for a Civic right now, so $200 over invoice may or may not be realistic. That's why you need to do your homework first. When I helped my girlfriend buy an Accord, none of the local dealers wanted to come off sticker at all for a 2-door because they were in demand. I was patient and finally found what she wanted at a dealer in another town. We had to drive to go get it, but that wasn't a big deal for us because I had family there. Just don't get in a big rush buying your first car. Do not let them pressure you into anything. A deal that is there today, will be there tomorrow. Maintain control of the sale from the very beginning. But having financing in place ahead of time (or at least being pre-approved) is a good move because they can't play interest rate games with you.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 05:16 PM) I've been looking to get one for quite sometime, but have been holding off due to falling prices. Just read the other day that prices will be coming down 30% in 2007. I've pretty much got it narrowed down to what I want, but wanted to get some thoughts/feedback on the set you own or the one you're looking at... One other thing is I'm seeing a lot of commercials about this company called Vizio and I took a look at a couple of their sets at Costco the other day and the picture seemed to stand up just fine against the competition, mainly a Sharp Aquos and a Phillips. Anyone have any experience dealing with them? I'm zeroing in on the Panasonic TC-LX60, it's a 32" and I can get a pretty nice discount on it to take it to around $900 (shipped) through Panasonic's Direct site (my company has a partnership with Panasonic). I haven't been as impressed with the Vizio's. To me, the picture quality isn't as strong as a Panasonic, Phillips, Sharp, etc. My understanding is they have a high return rate at Costco compared to the other brands. That's not necessarily based on any hard numbers, just things I have heard. Here is a good reference point for high-end TV's. Best Buy Plasma (not affiliated with Best Buy retail stores) Then take the model # and plug it into pricegrabber.com. Buy.com has had some very good deals on Phillips plasmas (42" and 50") lately. I think they had one of the 42" models for around $1200 shipped recently.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Dec 12, 2006 -> 03:50 PM) Nothing works for everyone and you'd be hard pressed to get someone to completely commit to the thought that advertising DIRECTLY affects sales. You are correct that it is VERY difficult to tie specific advertising to an increase in sales. But it is pretty widely accepted that as soon as you stop advertising, sales go down. How to best spend advertising dollars and measure their effectiveness is next to impossible unless you have a very targeted campaign to drive traffic with a specific promotion. And that, is what makes advertising so random and why ad companies use words like impressions, exposure, etc. I had a guy today trying to sell me on the effectiveness of advertising on grocery carts. He was talking about how radio is not good because not everyone listens to the same station. I guess he forgot that not everyone goes to the same grocery store. It was comical anyway.

QUOTE(smalls2598 @ Dec 11, 2006 -> 05:18 PM) I'm looking to pick up a new car within the next few weeks, but I'd like to go into the dealership with a loan instead of having to deal with their high rate BS. Has anyone ever tried Lending Tree.com for a loan? I've heard many commercials on the radio about them, but I don't know anyone who has used them before. Or does anyone know of another highly reputable online loan agencies? I've refinanced two auto loands through eloan.com and everything went well. They typically are very competitive. I would guess that they would be on new loans as well as the refi's.

Successful advertising depends on the goal of the ad campaign. Is branding the goal? Driving traffic? Positioning the product/company as a community partner? Most TV is brand oriented advertising, building the customer's recognition of the brand with repitition. It can be done in many ways, including humor. The more a person sees and hears the brand, the more likely it will be factored in when that customer is making buying decisions. Finding a way to make the customer associate the product/company with something of interest is another way of being effective. An example would be coaches/celebrity endorsements. Ads to drive traffic tend to be more specific in where they are placed, unless they are done by a widely national company (McDonald's monopoly game, for example). Targeting a specific audience can make advertising for a smaller company more effective. Often they are regional or local companies rather than national. For example, a sporting goods retailer advertising on a fishing show or marketing baseball equipment during baseball games. Often times a company is merely intending to associate their company with the community. This is often done by banks, hospitals, etc., often with local sponsorships rather than broad TV ads. These types of advertising can be combined. Not all ads are simply one of the three, but these are the most common goals of an ad campaign. That answer your question? lol

Joe McKnight is an unbelievable athlete and would be a HUGE get for ND. He played against Hoover this year and you could tell he was on a different level than the rest of the players, even with Hoover having two high level D-I defensive prospects.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Dec 10, 2006 -> 11:45 PM) So who are you hearing in that area Rex? I still think Paul Johnson is the hire to make honestly, but it seems Paul Bryant, Jr is longing for that 'wow' name still that really isn't out there, we'll see. Right now all is quiet. I think they could look into Johnson and/or Grobe, but if they do so, they will do it on the down low. I really think they were hoping if all went right, that Saban could be a possibility if they could keep things out of the media for a week or two and the Dolphins continued to lose. They didn't do that today, so I am not sure how that affected things. Either Saban has some interest or "his people" are posturing for him, because Bama folks are still being told he is a possibility. I think the best thing they can do at this point is not panic and be patient. I don't think it is necessary to "save" one recruiting class by rushing and not getting the right guy. There may be other names not even mentioned to this point.

The piece mentioned Placido Polanco and Cary Schueler, but did not mention Polanco as another player drafted after Schueler's daughter that year. Another was Mario Valdez, who came up with the Sox and played briefly in the Majors with the Twins. Why the GM's daughter was selected before actual baseball players, I have no idea. I'm guessing the Sox didn't have much of a clue back then either.

Indianapolis hosted the Circle City Classic: Challenge of Champions yesterday. Below is an article from the Indianapolis Star. The Classic included a lineup of six games that featured top teams from Indiana as well as teams from Peoria, Chicago, and Dayton. The Classic featured several Division I recruits including Purdue-bound JuJuan Johnson, Illinois-bound Bill Cole, IU-bound Eric Gordon as well as several others. See the article for results and performances by several top recruits. Stars Shine in Showcase

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 05:17 PM) Illini won, way to include that in your recap jackass. He was only listing the important games

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 12:14 PM) I agree that have elite mentality and the fans are passionate. But top 5 is a pretty big reach, top 10 maybe. Alabama easily has the potential to be a top 5 job. Key word: potential There really isn't any limitations on the job. It has everything necessary to be a top job: -- history -- passionate fan base -- administration support -- facilities -- prime recruiting area -- dominant program in state -- ability to pay top $$ -- media the right coach can have in his hip pocket -- existing talent Did I miss anything?

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 9, 2006 -> 02:00 AM) WHOOO Iowa...at least I got bragging rights over Heads. Iowa wins in football and basketball and will probably suck in both but at least we got those wins. That said I'm calling the Longhorns upset right here and right now in the bowl game and I still say Iowa has a chance to back its way in the tourney because we are developing some serious talent. What's up with that? When Iowa has good teams, they lose to ISU. When they suck, they win.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 10:38 PM) I don't have any feelings for Bama either way. I just think that Bama fans need to get a grip on reality and see things how they really are....the Alabama head coaching job is not this end all, be all elite position that all the head coaches in the country line up to have a shot at. Bama fans think that they can just say "Our head coach position is available" and have every elite coach line up, its not true anymore. This isn't your fathers Alabama team. Every college team in America has some misguided fans, but if you read the Alabama forums, you'll see that they are just downright delusional. Its not always about how much money you can throw at someone, thats something that the Alabama BOT can't seem to figure out. I agree with you to a point. But if you are objective you would realize that the Alabama job is still potentially a top 5 college football job with the coach at the helm. Having such a passionate fan base can work for or against a coach, depending on how he handles things. Like any school with a storied history, fans are going to embrace and hang on to the past and yearn for the same in the future. There is certainy an elitist mentality with Alabama fans and it irritates the hell out of me too (remember I am an outsider living down here). Some of them are downright idiots. But that does not change that the potential for this job is great.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 09:59 AM) Coaches have to say stuff like that because of recruiting, that's the way it is. Fans don't understand that.I'm suprised he went out of his way to call in to a radio show though. What made the Francione situation sick is he begged the players to stay when they were on probation but he leaves the very next year. Actually it was how he did what you said and then took the job and left without even addressing his players. He flew straight to Texas and the assistants and AD had to meet with the players. Obviously, what Rodriguez "did" is a moot point now, but it is far different than what Franchione did. Rodriguez never said he wasn't going to Alabama. His phone call to the radio show didn't state that. Pay attention to the words used. Had he gone through with the change, Rodriguez handled this situation more than fairly with WVU. Capn, just has a jealous hard-on for Alabama.... QUOTE(Capn12 @ Dec 8, 2006 -> 10:06 AM) Yes, there is a degree of coachspeak that goes on everywhere...BUT...WVU was RRods alma mater, his 'dream job', all that he wants in a job!!! Coachspeak is one thing, blatant lying to the kids that put faith in what you tell them directly, over and over, is a bit too far for my likes. That's a bunch of crap and you know it. You have no clue if he lied to anyone!

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 09:33 PM) I hate the fact that coaches take jobs before the bowl season is over (those with bowls at least). I wish all this stuff could wait til after the season is over. If recruiting weren't such a huge deal they could. But with signing day on Feb. 1, waiting until after the bowl games would be too late for a new staff to get started.

QUOTE(chimpy2121 @ Dec 7, 2006 -> 06:43 PM) Deion is actually seen as one of his caretaker IIRC. That's kind of my point. I'm sure there is an explanation, because otherwise it would seem way to blatant. I just don't know what it is.