whitesoxfan101

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Feb 9, 2008 -> 05:19 PM) I love Huckabee's charisma, he has a really slim chance at getting the nominee, but at least he's putting up a fight. They showed a graphic on CNN tonight that showed just how unlikely that is. If Huckabee won every single state left (literally, every state) by a 50 percent to 40 percent margin, McCain would still have enough delegates to win the nomination before the convention. So, not only must Huckabee go perfect the rest of the way (and he might not, Lousiana and Washington are neck and neck right now, and he won't get the LA delegates tonight since he doesn't have 50 percent of the vote), but he must win by a lot. It's pretty much impossible, especially since quite a few states left are not republican only primaries.

Great night for Obama, he'll probably sweep on Tuesday as well. I will say this about him too: the more I watch him, the more I think it's almost destiny he'll be the president. I am not even going to vote for him in November, but he's just a phenominal speaker and combine that with the youth and excitment he provides, I can't see him losing. It just seems like he's building a bowling ball of moment that might carry him past Hillary and all the way to 1600.

QUOTE(ChWRoCk2 @ Feb 9, 2008 -> 10:32 PM) Purdue has just had a really surprising year in my eyes. They lost Landry and Teague and I thought the year would be mediocre at best. Just goes to show what one good year of recruiting can do for a squad. A bunch of underclassmen are carrying this team and should only get better. Ehhhh I am not surprised they are NCAA Tourney good, but I am suprised they are this good this fast. Losing Landry and Teague hurt, but they replaced talent with talent, and you can't overstate just how big a shot in the arm it is for a program to add several really good players like Purdue did. The best part for them though is that those 4 freshman, while very good, are not leave early for the NBA good and thus they will be around for 3 or 4 years to terrorize the league. And yeah, to say Purdue got lucky with Weber going to Illinois, leaving them Painter is a HUGE understatement. They'd be stuck in mediocrity to say the least had they not gotten fortunate there. As amazing as it is what Weber has done to Illinois' program on and off the floor, he could have done it even quicker in West Lafayette with what was left when Keady retired from coaching.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Feb 9, 2008 -> 08:02 PM) The Gasol deal was the biggest joke of an NBA deal in some time. There wasn't anything more than financial reasons for that move and to me that isn't what a trade should be. Teams should never be allowed to purely by players in a trade and the NBA should have gotten involved. What can the NBA do? Nothing technically illegal happened in the trade. While I agree the trade was a joke, the NBA is setting a dangerous precedent if it were to get involved with trades that had no actual rule breaks. The best part of this is Popovich and all the other teams out west whining because this trade happened, what a bunch of babies. Shouldn't have just assumed that they wouldn't trade Gasol. And wow, the Bulls looked atrocious tonight. Guess it was too much to ask for them to look alive 3 nights in a row.

Going into this year, I thought Purdue would get better as the season went on, make the tourney as an 8 or 9 seed, and be the favorites to win the league next year. While the last part is true (70 of the 72 points they scored tonight will be back on the roster next year), it's also clear that Matt Painter is one of the fastest rising coaches in the nation (and certainly the best coach in the league with SIU ties) and that Purdue might win the league this year. If they can defend their home turf Tuesday in a tough game against Michigan State, they will win out (sorry Ohio State, your not that good) with the exception of perhaps their trip to Indiana, and at least win a share of the Big 10. It's amazing the progress they have made. Oh, and Jimbo: Your still the best team I've seen this year, and yes you beat a tourney bound Baylor team by 10 tonight, but 90 points? 57 in a half? Letting them make 12 three pointers? Gonna have to work on that defense buddy, or else you'll lose in the Elite 8 again.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 04:25 PM) Tiller has never had a top 150 prospect, he has long been a respected member of the big ten coaching circle, even being part of many of the decisions regarding the conference. I havent ever seen another coach speak out about him in that way, nor have I found even a hint of a scandal in an article. I would like to see some evidence of him stealing a top recruit through under the table practices or "snake oil" salesmanship. T he names your brought up were not stolen on signing day, nor did they change their minds and fax in a LOI to Purdue out of the blue without speaking with the coaches they verbaled with. At 11pm prior to signing day, Roundtree reiterated that he was solid with Purdue, then faxed in his LOI the next morning to Michigan. And Fabian Martin, and I don't know the whole story but if he verbaled to Ill then it was for WHOLE Week. He was deciding between PU and ILL the first and second week of Dec 2003 and verbaled to PU Dec 23rd, 2003. As far as Zach Logan, yes he was a ILL verbal for about four months and verbaled to PU in November of 03. A whole 3 months before signing day. Got anything that actually pertains to this situation? The Fabian Martin one I know for sure was pretty much the same thing, because I remember it happening specifically (although you might be right he didn't change on actual singing day, maybe a day before). Your probably right about the two incidents in 2004 though, I just took that off some message board because I didn't feel like looking it up. I know Tiller has done this other times before, I just can't find the examples. Joe Tiller is the only football coach in the Big 10 I'd consider more dirty than normal though, which is funny since his recruiting and general program are mediocre.

http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/m-ba.../020808aaa.html Although very surprised, I must say it's nice to see Guenther and Weber show some class and try and put the embarassment of last night behind them. I'd like to see Illini fans do the same, but I'm afraid very few will, and in fact many will become mad that any wrongdoing was admitted to by the school. What a shame.

QUOTE(dasox24 @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 04:01 PM) So do all of you who think Smith should have been kicked off the team not believe in second chances? You're all a bunch of hypocrites. I will promise you that all of you have been given 2nd chances in your life for messing up. Forget all of you for saying s*** like Smith should be kicked out of school. A 20-year-old kid made a huge mistake, but from what I've gathered he has been a model citizen since it happened. I guarantee you he'd be kicked off the team if so much as a peep is heard from him. He's going to end up doing good by sharing his incident with younger kids for years to come, and helping them stray from drunk driving. I feel very strongly about this, and I can't stand seeing people post all this s*** about Smith like they've never done wrong in their life... Let those throw the first stone who have never sinned. Oh wait, that's none of you. No offense, but your wrong. I believe in second chances, but not for everybody, and certainly not everybody (in fact, hardly anybody) has been convicted of a felony. I'll be glad to throw stones, because my house is not made of glass in the sense that I have yet to be convicted of a felony, or any crime for that matter. But yeah, second chances are deserved, but there is a line and Jamar crossed the one where you even deserve a second chance.

New York beat Miami in 1999 as an 8 seed, so it's actually happened 3 times. That NY team went all the way to the Finals before losing to San Antonio.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 03:19 PM) Perhaps, but I mean the same stuff was thrown at the IU fan section sitting down there. It wasn't just the Gordon family being hit with stuff. Oh well definitely, but I wonder if the stuff is even thrown in that direction if the Gordon's aren't there, and weren't saying in the paper they'd be there the day before the game.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 03:11 PM) I don't agree with the assumption that that was going to happen. Lots of times rivalries occur, but rarely do you ever see stuff thrown at the FAMILY of a player. I agree their bad apples, and I don't cast judgment on the entire Illinois fan base, but you don't assume the family of a player is going to be in physical danger by flying objects. I don't really see the point of Gordon Sr. bringing his wife and family with and wearing all black. I usually agree that you can't assume crazy stuff like people throwing things would happen, but it was obvious for a while the crowd last night would have at least some people out of hand, so in this case, I think the Gordons would have been best staying home, their son will have plenty of games for them to go to the next 15 years where they won't have to worry about their own safety due to stupid, crazy college fans in a foul mood. QUOTE(ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 03:13 PM) IMO, that is a bit ridiculous. You're basically saying kids dont deserve a second chance. Before playing at UCONN, Caron Butler spent a few weeks in jail in high school. Now, he has turned himself into an all-star caliber nba player, a model citizen, and has helped his family out immeasureably in the years since. People make mistakes. I'm sure other people have been granted scholarships for non mainstream athletics or academics who had made a mistake in their past too. Was he a convicted felon who nearly killed somebody else? (not to mention, that somebody else was his own teammate).

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 03:01 PM) I agree with you. To further that, Indiana dropped one of their commits for next season because he was convicted of possession (perhaps selling as well, not sure) of cocaine. Bud Mackey is his name and Rivals rates him as the 35th best overall player in the 2008 class. He was deciding on Kentucky or Indiana, and chose Indiana. Now, it appears he's headed to lowly Cincinnati. I commend Sampson for pulling his scholarship. It would have been easy to just say, he deserves a second chance, and netted the #35 best player in the country, but he didn't. Thanks for the info, I forgot all about that but you have jogged my memory and are correct. Again, Illinois makes Sampson look classy, which is amazingly difficult to do with the exception of Illinois lately. I have seen almost every Illinois game since Lon Krueger took over, but it'll be difficult for me to watch whenever Jamar Smith is on the floor next season. And btw, just to clarify, I didn't find the liar and cheater chants inappropriate, just incredibly lame. They might as well have went to the 2nd grade handbook and went to "liar liar, pants on fire" and "cheater cheater pumpkin eater".

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) Link? Well friends that were behind the basket near the IU section, not to mention the Illini board and ESPNEWS, have reported that Gordon's mom was a direct hit of a cup of ice last night with some sort of beverage in it. I'd have to search to find a link that 3 things were thrown at her, but you can do the basic math that no drunk would be on target enough to get a direct hit the first time.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 02:50 PM) Some of you people can't comprehend that what is crazy to you isn't crazy to a whole lot of others. So you agree that pornography is the reason for a high divorce rate and the amount of people with only one parent in their life? If you do, your crazy just as Romney was for saying it yesterday. Sorry.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 12:59 PM) I totally agree...it made me so angry I turned it off. What makes me the most upset about these concession speeches is that they are usually the most detailed speeches. Where was that on the campaign trail? Get the word out. Put yourself on the line. Don't wait til ya quit...Mitt. With the crazy, at times Pat Robertson like stuff he was saying...........he was better off waiting to give that much detail until he dropped out.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 02:35 PM) One drunk threw beads at Gordon Senior after he had flicked them off. So what? Am I missing something? That's all that went wrong with Illini fans last night. I know at least 3 others threw drinks at them, one hitting a bullseye of Gordon's Mom, and that the orange krush was threatening them through the first overtime, which caused extra security to show up. Not to mention the cheap shot Frazier took at Gordon before the game. My issue beyond that is the crowd, when it wasn't chanting "f*** you Gordon" (nice), was busy with the LAME chants of "nobody likes you" and "liar". Give me a break, be creative or something.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 12:30 PM) I forgot...who were those players? 2004 was Zach Logan, and Tiller took him from under Turner's nose in almost the exact same fashion that Rich Rod took the recruit on Tuesday from Purdue. Actually, the best part of this is Logan went to Trotwood Mason HS, the EXACT SAME HS that the kid Rodriguez swooped away from Tiller (Roy Roundtree) went to. The irony is outstanding. The other kid he stole was Fabian Martin of the Chicago public league, but actually I think he was the same class as Logan on second thought. There was a third example as well, 2005 prospect Keyon Brown of Harvey was an Illini until the last second when Purdue grabbed him (although that was Zook's first class, but still). So yeah, Joe Tiller, a classic who ya crappin candidate.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 02:16 PM) Yeah, because 8 seeds never, ever have a chance against 1 seeds. Why waste that round? I mean, I can't even remember a time in my lifetime when an 8 seed has beaten a 1 seed. A better option might be to dump the conference format and just go straight off of record seeding. That way, if the best 2 teams in a year were, say, Phoenix and San Antonio (perish the thought those 2 could be the top 2 teams, when would that ever happen?) then you would have a shot at saving that matchup for the finals. Bingo, that needs to be done badly at this point.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 12:29 PM) Nah, it won't be fun because both Gordon and Sampson will be gone. And just out of curiousity, do you think you can EVER forgive? I mean, he served his two weeks in jail, and has 100 hours of community service AND has two years probation. And that's for a first-timer. He's paying his debt to society. Let it go. I can and will not ever let it go, a convicted felon should not be on scholarship at a land grant public state university to represent it on a national stage for something like basketball. Ever. I still would like somebody to come up with another convicted felon to play in the Big 10, because it's never happened and is a burden of embarssment Illinois will have to live with forever starting this fall. Yes, Gordon and especially Sampson acted poorly in the whole saga, but that is nothing compared to a school supporting felons to play on it's team. And I find it funny that everybody is so sure Sampson will be gone just because Loren Tate and a few insiders (people full of crap on the illini fan boards) say it is potentially true. Sampson is indeed a scumbag, but the Illini fans made him look like a saint last night. I do agree with you doctor that Indiana would have b****ed over the fan behavior last night though no matter what (although I give credit to the Indiana fans here, only one of them showed up and b****ed like a baby), but the Illini fans lame actions last night gave them reason to do so.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 09:09 AM) I think Boylan's rotations have been a huge improvement over Skiles, he has given Gray plenty more time to develop his low post game and I see Noah out on the floor more as well. He is much better than Skiles with these young guys. Huh? He's shortened the rotation drastically and when they are healthy, he avoids playing the young guys like they have the plague. I gotta go with SoxAce on this one.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 09:07 AM) Why is that? He did the exact same thing Rich Rodriguez did Tuesday to him, to Illinois, in back to back years (2003 and 2004). And I'd be willing to bet the fans of other Big 10 schools outside of the Ohio State and Michigan have similar stories about Tiller's "ethics".

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 11:51 AM) This statement is just mind blowing. You clearly have not been watching the Big 10 if you feel this is the worst big 10 in a decade. Can you name any other year in the last 10 where 4 teams could arguably be big 10 champ? The absence of an elite team does not make the league the worst its been. In fact the Big 10 is probably better than it was last year. Wisc 2007 > 06 MSU 07 > 06 Indiana 07 > 06 Purdue 07 > 06 Minnesota 07 > 06 So outside of OSU, Illinois, what other good Big 10 is actually worse than last year. I find it very hard to believe that youve been watching the big 10 for the last 10 years hard core because my guess is when you were 11 you werent exactly a basketball mastermind. Are you serious? If you don't think this is a historically bad Big 10, your not watching the games. I won't even argue this point because it's a waste of time and not even close. And the reason 4 teams can win the league is a point to my argument, since (1) there isn't one or two clubs that are really good and (2) There are 7 teams that completely suck and can barely win games behind the top 4. I mean, I've seen you make some asinine arguments but this is right up there. And as for the chants at the game last night, IU fans get their chance to get even next year when Illinois will become the first team in Big 10 basketball history to play a convicted felon. That should be fun.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Feb 8, 2008 -> 01:05 AM) Why? Other than a couple weeks of practice, there is no difference between the NIT and no NIT. IF they are bad, they are bad, who cares about to what level. The future is already set regardless. Because 11-21 isn't a down year, it's a potential disasterous fall for an entire program. Illinois is VERY fortunate they have so many guys locked up in the next 2 classes, as nobody will jump ship since they know talent is coming with them. But to be this bad, and have no talent, and be awful on free throws, and recruit this badly for a span of 3 years........it's not acceptable. A down year is acceptable, but a terrible team in a terrible league that was caused by 3 straight years of incredibly bad recruiting (outside of Pruitt kind of) can't happen.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Feb 7, 2008 -> 11:57 PM) I figured you for being smarter than this. IU CANNOT admit anything exists. Unless the Gordon's talk aobut the injury, you won't hear anything. Remember the law passed a few years ago to protect the privacy of student-athletes???? That's the 3rd or 4th time I have read someone make such a comment inferring IU was "hiding" the severity of the injury. All were from Illini fans, not sure what that says. But it would just be nice for some to be objective enough to know what is actually happening rather than taking every shot they can at IU. But if that makes you feel better......... Well I'm not BLAMING IU for hiding it, most teams hide injuries you can play through, it's just the nature of the beast. I just think Gordon will continue to struggle (by his standards, only 3-13 from the field tonight) and very few people will know why. And yes I know that law about injuries actually, and now that I think of it, I guess they couldn't tell anybody about Gordon's wrist even if they wanted to. I guess it's just I know most of the stuff that happens with Illinois and NIU athletics, so in that respect I forget about the law often times, lol. As for Soxbadger, he is somewhat right. The problem is, a down year shouldn't mean you are just AWFUL like Illinois. If you have a down year or two and are a just over .500 overall and a couple games under .500 team in league play, and end up in the NIT, then I mean it happens. But to be as bad as Illinois this year can't happen, you have to at least pad your fall when it comes to bad years. I mean, they are going to go in the 11-21 range and be just god awful in the worst Big 10 I've seen in over a decade of watching it closely. That is not acceptable, especially when you played for the big prize only 3 years ago.

Well, one positive of the Bulls losing the big 3 is for the first time not including Pistons games, I think they are playing hard. Two straight very good efforts in terms of trying, and a very nice win tonight at Golden State, who was 29-19 and 29-13 with Stephen Jackson. Not sure where the hell that performance came from for Duhon (luck, but hey he lit it up from the field), but Tyrus, Joe Smith, and to a lesser extent Noah and Thabo played well.