RockRaines

I honestly dont know why everyone is so upset about the bowls, I think they will be entertaining and close for the most part, except for Cincy and Florida.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 10:27 PM) If you scratched anyone of them your finger nail would be full of orange crap. I cant believe people actually think those types of tans and hairstyles look good. That region apparently thats the style, same as those t shirts with colorful s*** all over them that I saw a bunch of when I travel out west. Sad really.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 7, 2009 -> 11:46 AM) Is that Iowa punts or total punts? I realize GT can score, but Iowa has a premiere defense and I would expect that we could force at least two GT punts. And Iowa doesn't exactly have a potent offense, although they are close. The exciting thing is a few insiders are talking about Henderson having Iowa climbing up on his list and some believe Iowa is at the top of his list. If they could land him, it would be Iowa's best recruiting class in..well...forever. I got Iowa in that game. And where are you hearing this about Henderson? Is he even taking a visit to Iowa City? Top school are supposed to be USC, OSU, and Fla

Soriano should be rocketing up to the top of that list over the next few seasons.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 09:23 AM) Well, light-green maybe. I think UI aganist any of ISU, NW, SIU, Bradley is a toss-up. I don't think you can say UI is certainly better than any of those teams, and the Boise State game (at home!) makes that clear. The Big Ten season is going to brutal for UI. I can say they are better than all of those teams.

Buehrle is literally the coolest guy on the team. Good for them. his wife is cool as hell too. If Mark doesnt get into the HOF, he should have his number retired by the SOX. Seriously he is the best. My favorite player was always Frank and Fisk, but after I met Mark it wasnt even close. He's the best White Sox player in history IMO.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 5, 2009 -> 10:56 PM) I saw Cincy's offense today. TCU would crush them. By alot. Cincy is so weak, I wish OSU played tem this year, they would have had 400 yards rushing. Cincy is the weakest BCS team by far.

Turner broke his back, out 8 weeks. f***

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 06:23 PM) Brian Kelly was announced as Cincy's coach on Dec. 3rd the and coached them in their Bowl game that year... I dont think he would leave the best team he ever coached before their bowl game.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 03:29 PM) I'll agree to disagree (about Alexei>>Uggla). please elaborate.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 04:10 PM) So I just got my ipod touch today and I am trying to figure this thing out when it comes to putting videos on it, can I transfer dvds to it? For example, I want to put my Its Always Sunny collection onto it from the dvd boxsets, but Im not sure how to do so. Yes, you need a program though. I used IPOD cloner i think before, and now I use a few tools and Vuze to put them on. http://www.e-zsoft.com/DVD-to-iPod-Converter.html

QUOTE (zenryan @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 09:20 PM) Decided I just had to turn on the show Jersey Shore on MTV. I dont watch anything on the music channels but couldnt help myself. Holy s*** these losers are going to make me kill myself if I watch another episode this season. Its really terrible. The girl kept saying "look at me, I mean look at me" like she was hot, but all I saw was a fat girl with a couple of pounds of cellulite cascading down her thighs.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 03:20 PM) Uh no. Lets put this in perspective using Wisconsin as an example. Wisconsin finished 6th last year in the Big 10, meaning that all 3 MVC teams would have to have been better than Wisconsin. Wisconsin was 20-11, losing only 3 OOC games. Wisconsin's OOC losses were UConn (ranked #2), Marquette and Texas (ranked #8). Why do you believe that Creighton or UNI would have finished higher than Wisconsin? In comparison, Creighton lost to Arkansas-Little Rock and Nebraska OOC. Northern Iowa lost to Illinois Chicago, lost to Marquette by 30 (Wisconsin lost by 3), lost to Iowa by 19, lost to Wyoming and lost to Iowa State. So no, I dont believe there is any rationale argument that either of those teams could have finished higher than Wisconsin. Last year Wisconsin had: RPI Rank: 45 SOS Rank: 16 UNI: RPI Rank: 59 SOS Rank: 84 Creighton: RPI Rank: 40 SOS Rank: 111 Notice the difference in SOS. Wisconsin was 16 and had similar records to 84 and 111. Sorry to bring facts to this argument, but its getting ridiculous. . Wow, pwned.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 02:36 PM) Rock and everyone else I'm not saying that the Valley should get the same amount of bids as the big conferences I'm just saying the the 2nd and 3rd teams in the Valley are better then the 6th and 7th teams in the Big Ten. So when the Tournament gets picked leave the 6th and 7th teams of the Big Ten out, and put in the 2nd and 3rd teams in from the MVC. You saying that the top MVC teams wouldn't be able to compete for the Big Ten is true(most years) but ISU, UNI, and Creighton could finish higher then 7th in the Big Ten which according to the committee last year is tourney worthy. Great, this is what you are saying, unfortunately you are wrong for the most part. Would they be able to finished in the top half in their better years? Probably, but year after year, no. Which is why they wont get the bid.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 12:34 PM) I think the 02(?) SIU team would have competed for a major title too (whatever year Weber took them to the sweet 16). Throw a team like Davidson from last year or george mason in a weak major conference and I could see them winning. But that was my point. Obvioulsy 95% of the time it's not going to happen, but every few years there's a good mid major that could compete. And I don't think the road games matter that much. The ultimate winner of the conference more often than not loses those tough road games anyway. Exactly, so they would end up in the middle of the pack most of the time, which are teams that shouldnt be considered according to this argument earlier in the thread.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 12:26 PM) It's simpler than all that. There's an $18M difference between the two through 2011 and there's really no argument anyone can make to prove that Uggla is $9M per season more valuable than Alexei. The Marlins are going to have a ton of trouble trading him, his value is absolute s*** right now due to arbitration pay raises. What team is going to pay him $11M in 2011? Right now there's a better than even chance that he's non tendered after 2010. You and your sensible money argument can go to hell.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 12:16 PM) He did take a chance on AJ. AJ is one that most people still can't stand in the clubhouse but busts his tail on the field. however, I don't think Padilla has the upside to help the club like AJ so I don't see it happening either. Plus AJ and Padilla hate each other.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 11:33 AM) That was not an AND, it was Alexei + Jordan Danks/Flowers or Floyd/John Danks straight up. And I cant believe people here think Alexei is better than Uggla. I can see Alexei plus Danks/Flowers being too much, but Uggla is a better player than just Alexei. I disagree. He may hit for more power, but thats about it. Alexei is a better defensive player, has better speed, hits for more contact and has more tools and ability to play around the order and the diamond. Uggla has a concrete glove, K's a ton and can only play one position badly. Uggla may end up striking out 3 times more than Alexei. He's no slouch and still appears to be improving, but Alexei is just a better baseball player IMO.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 12:02 PM) I dunno that I'd agree with this. Take a really good Valley team and they could compete for the upper echelon of the big ten (or any other major conference) with the chance of winning it if the stars align. I think every few years there's a mid major team that is really, really good (teams with 4-5 four year players). But in an average year, no, they probably would not be able to compete on that high of a level. And despite the bad losses to Utah and Bradley, I would still bet lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of my money that if Illinios and ISU played 10 games ISU would be lucky to win 1 (let's keep this retread argument rolling!) I'd like to know who these mid majors are that would compete for a major conference title. I'd like to see one of the come in and play some away games at Purdue, Wisconsin, Duke, UNC, etc and see if they survive that schedule. Here are some of the best ones this season: Gonzaga, Butler, Portland, Richmond, Northern Iowa, Missouri State and Siena. Some of these schools could compete for a BCS conference most of the time like Butler and Gonzaga. However most of the time they would end up somewhere in the middle of the pack most likely, which according to some, makes them "mediocre." And the question is, are there multiple teams outside of these in the conference that deserve an automatic bid over a mid range school in the ACC etc.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 10:07 AM) Yes. And in the last 4 years the Valley has finished above at least one power conference in the rpi twice, so lets not pretend the Valley is some s***ty conference here or even "mediocre," it's a pretty solid conference. But I know, I know, the Valley has some how figured out the rpi formula and that's the only reason some thing like that could possibly happen. And if some of us have "little man syndrome" it's because some of you guys need to get off your damn high horse. Saying only one team from the Valley could survive in the b10 is ridiculous or saying that Illinois State would only have a 1 percent chance of beating Illinois is absolutely insane. Not saying the Valley is better than b10 because it isn't but some of you guys think your league is sooooooo much f***ing better just cause it's the big 10 and just because the Valley is a "mid major" league. It is so much better, sorry. I went to school at a mid-major and the talent level is so much different its not even funny. The best team in the Valley may have a chance to compete in the Big Ten, but more than one? Possibly, but not more than 2 teams would have a chance to complete whereas in the B10, at least 6 or 7 teams can compete. The NCAA tourney is VERY accurate at getting the correct teams in, there are what, 5 or 6 teams that feel "slighted" after selection? Out of all the college programs in the country thats pretty accurate. Mid Majors just dont have the firepower, and thats a fact. And given that the argument is still about ISU and Illinois, would you feel more comfortable saying that maybe 2 times out of ten they win? That still shows the difference between the conference IMO, even if its a 30 percent chance at most. Win your conference title, or win some big games and you'll get in the tourney, thats all.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 12:38 AM) 4 mid majors got at large bids last year. 30 of the 34 at large bids went to power conference teams. There is no argument here. It's become impossible to get into the tournament if your not a power conference team unless you win your conference tournament. The regular season no longer matters. If your a power conference team you have to play your way out of the tournament, and a mid-major has to play themselves in. I hope the selection committee remembers the game Creighton gave Michigan, and the game Bradley beat U of I this march when the Valley gets one bid, and the Big Ten gets 7. Teams with great seasons should make the tournament, not mediocre teams. Define a great season then. You still didnt answer his question BTW, you just gave the numbers of teams that got bids, that is not evidence that its harder for teams to get in just because they are from a small conference. I would argue that most of those mid major teams are much more mediocre with good records than a team from a big conference would be with an average record. The NCAA tourney lets in qualified teams based on their resumes, this includes who you've played, who you've beat and who you played in your conference that season. With medicore conferences, of course you have to play your way in, because your competition level is total crap compared to a team that runs an ACC, B10 etc schedule. Even look at your example, because a team gave an avg team in the Big Ten a game, you think it makes a conference warranted to get another bid. That is just little man syndrome. Is there more than one team in the Valley that could survive a B10 schedule?

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 07:17 PM) Years ago, but the at large selections for non major conferences has been dropping every year since the MVC sent 4 teams. More and More mediocre BCS conference schools are getting the at larges. I'll never understand sending a middle of the road ACC or Big 12 school over a smaller conference team that actually had a great year. Because having a good year in a mediocre conference with a mediocre schedule doesnt prepare a team for a tourney like a team in a good conference with a tough schedule. If the school is qualified, they'll get in.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 06:45 PM) Are any of these kids worth anything? Also it is funny to see the Cubs dumping salary like it is going out of style, and NO ONE in the Chicago media saying a word about it. If it was the Sox Cowley would have a full pager on how JR doesnt spend money.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 06:43 PM) I think Uggla can be had for a package of prospects like: Shelby, Morel, Retherford, and Santos. Morel is just about the only guy that has value in that bunch, Shelby is really nothing of value at all.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Dec 3, 2009 -> 07:05 PM) Two years in a row now that they have only got one bid. The selection committee doesn't want mid majors anymore. less money for everyone. Come on, if anything the tourney is so popular because of the success of mid majors and underdogs, this isnt football. The NCAA tourney has maybe a small few teams that feel left out each year but its no nearly a "mid major" problem as much as its that some teams dont have the resume.