whitesoxfan101

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 12:12 PM) Since May 22nd, Beckham is 27/109 (.248/.261/.431/.692) with 7 doubles, 1 triple and 1 homer. Not entirely horrible...for all the hemming and hawing about him seemingly having it and losing it, that resembles an actual major league line for a little over a month. A .261 on base, particularly when paired with a .248 average, doesn't really resemble a major leaguer IMO.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 01:42 PM) 5 millions a year for a 7 footer who can rebound, defend and block shots at the age of 25? It could be a LOT worse. His contract in relationship to many of the typical "so awful the GM must be trying to lose" contracts? Not bad. His contract in general? Still not good. He averaged 6 and a half points, 4 and half rebounds, and a block a game in 21 minutes last year. I know that means his per 48 numbers are pretty good, but there's a reason he's never averaged above 24 minutes a game. Although I will admit, there always has and always will be a bias to make fun of the "human victory cigar" because of where he went in the draft.

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 01:28 PM) David Kaplan also reported that without blinking his eyeballs so I pay his report no mind. David Kaplan also reported that the rumors are true, and that rather than sleeping in a regular bed, he sleeps in a tanning bed.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 12:03 PM) Rock, you seriously have no idea what you are talking about. Versteeg and Byfuglien are role players, and Eager and Sopel didn't even play the majority of their teams games and weren't necessarily very good when they did. Sopel carries more value only because he's a body who can clear the zone on the penalty kill. Everyone they have traded is entirely replaceable, and that's pretty much with players we've already named who are within the organization. The biggest issue we're looking at is goaltending, and hopefully Niemi is reasonable and signs for 3.5 million or less. The Blackhawks, as stands today (+ Niemi) are still EASILY the best team in the NHL next year. The Blackhawks weren't "easily" the best team in the NHL this year. In fact, they were 3rd best in the regular season, and three of their four playoff series went 6 games and could have gone the other way had a bounce or two went against them. So I have no idea how they have improved from a Stanley Cup winner right now after cutting ties with several key role players. In the long run, they may be better off because the kids have the ability to be really good, but you simply can't say they are already. Hockey is like football in that it's the ultimate team game, and depth and the strength of the entire roster is important. The Hawks core is still together so they'll be very good again, but how the role players will fit in and perform is a big question mark right now. And that's the difference between being a playoff team and being a Stanley Cup team.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 12:26 PM) Oh my, Bucks reportedly close to re-signing Salmons for 5 yr, 39 million per David Aldridge. I hope they enjoy the "not playing for money" version of John Salmons. He'll help them, but 5/39? Good luck with that. The NBA just continues on with bad contracts. And 20 million for Darko, wtf? How long must he prove he's just a tall guy that's not any good before people stop giving him gobs of cash?

Yeah, Simmons is great. He's also right in this case, a true max deal for Joe Johnson? Have fun with that.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 11:12 AM) I actually think 2008 is Ozzie's and Kenny's saving grace as much as 2005. Because that showed they could build a winner a year after disaster. Still, the game is evolving. I'm still satisfied with KW as our GM. But I'm not certain this franchise can fully take off with Ozzie as manager. I just find the lack of accountabliity in our organzation very disturbing. Nobody is held responsible when things go wrong.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 12:02 AM) Good for you, Elin! Yeah, she deserves every penny of it as far as I'm concerned.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 11:15 AM) No, Lebron is not that much better than a healthy Wade. Healthy obviously being the key word. But I'd take Lebron 10 times outta 10, obviously. But I certainly wouldn't cry if we ended up with Wade and somebody like Boozer. The bolded is the key. Healthy Wade is the 3rd or 4th best player in the league (behind Lebron and Kobe, very close with Durant), but you cannot trust him to stay healthy, which is a concern.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 08:29 AM) The Sox system does indeed suck right now. But that doesn't change the fact that Law, as a pattern, has consistently talked Sox prospects down below where everyone else has them, and has taken every opportunity to bash, even when off topic. There is clearly a bias there. Exactly. Our system sucks, but Law has a clear bias against us even in rare cases we deserve praise. I'm not sure why anybody would generally take Law's word to mean much though, his evaluating has shown to be iffy in recent years at best (although he's not the only one with that problem in the business).

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:32 AM) Not that my opinion means a thing, but if we don't win the central, I want Ozzie's ass gone. He's just not a very good manager, and he still has an impossibly large ego. I don't see how he'll get fired though since he apparently has even more power than KW does, which is unfortunate. If we miss the playoffs this year, I really can't think of a reason to keep him around though. You have the 2005 pointers who think he should stay as long as he wants, but other than that, good luck defending him.

The cast of characters around Lebron really isn't good at all. The fact that they've done all that they have with them is the best argument the Bulls (or the Heat I suppose if Wade stays) can make.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:50 AM) Exactly, they will compete, but they may not have the horses to go the whole way and beat that many good teams in the playoffs. But they should be a contender for several years while some of the players in the pipe develop into those serious contributors. Yeah, they're not going to have to worry about missing the playoffs or something anytime soon. But the goals are a lot bigger than that.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:52 AM) No they wouldn't. They've added CDR and Gooden. The Bulls were a 5 seed in the East before Rose got banged up and Noah went down with the PF. Although this depends on what "strike out" means. They have to get SOMEONE. Well my assumption of favorites was based on a true Bulls strikeout, and the idea that the Bucks keep Salmons (although I suppose that's a big assumption). If the Bulls strike out in free agency and Lebron leaves Cleveland, both teams are going to have to fight just to make the playoffs IMO.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 05:46 PM) Owning a gun is completely pointless, and doing a lot more harm than good, if you don't know how to use it. Actually it's ridiculously irresponsible and endangers others unnecessarily with little benefit, and if it wasn't such a slippery slope I'd say anyone that doesn't know how to use a gun either needs safety and marksmanship training or needs to surrender it. This is doubly true for assault weapons, and besides having an armed rebellion against an oppressive government (something that only wingnuts really believe and say to each other usually, and something that's completely overblown too) while I'm not arguing that they should be illegal, I can't really think of any legitimate uses for them either. You can use it in your house, but you'd f*** everything up, and probably stuff in other rooms and maybe even your neighbors too. And that's pretty much what shotguns are for anyway. I agree on owning a gun being completely pointless and doing more harm than good. Even people who own one to "protect themselves" are kind of wasting their time unless they carry it around everywhere they go and keep it bedside at night in case they hear a noise (and not many gun owners are doing either of those things). It doesn't change the right you have to own one under the constitution though (although I think you know that based on saying you're not arguing they should be illegal, and were just making a general point on how dumb gun ownership is). QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 09:59 PM) The state of Illinois doesn't have a right to interpret the US constitution. They are completely trumped, and thank God, or else who knows what would still be going on in Mississippi right now. I'm not sure gun ownership rights in Illinois are quite at the level of importance of the stuff that went on in Mississippi that I assume you are referring to, but you make a good point nonetheless.

The Bucks would be the favorites in the Central next year by a wide margin if LeBron went to, say, the Nets, and the Bulls struck out in free agency. Not likely, but you never know.

A big part of what made the Hawks so awesome last year was their depth, because it meant they got contributions from all over the place. A lot of the depth is going to be a lot younger and less experienced next year. The big boys are still studs, and the young guys are not short on talent, but I just think it might be another year before the kids are ready to balance out the team to the point where they can win 16 playoff games.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:34 AM) i think the wade to chicago chances are better than most think...especially if they can get a big man also If Miami can't get him any help (which is possible, but not likely), I think he'd leave and Chicago would be the leader. I think Miami will at least be able to get him a decent guy like a Boozer though, and that'd be enough incentive for him to stay there, because he really doesn't want to leave.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:37 AM) There's been rumors about Jefferson being gay for 5 years now...and then there was the bizarre wedding cancellation with him. The bizarre wedding cancellation was last summer I believe, which is the first time I saw the rumors. I didn't know they went back as far as 5 years though.

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:33 AM) Every guy we traded as a sole player alone was replaceable but as a group I think it is going to be hard to replace that much and expect to be right back where you were. I think the team is still built to be good for a long time, and potentially win another Stanley Cup or two. I don't think next year will be a year where they win it all though. There are still a ton of talented guys so they'll be very good again, but I think some of the younger contributors might need a year or so of experience before the team is ready to win it all again.

I saw a rumor about Jefferson that he's gay and they kind of found out about it in San Antonio, which is part of why he wants to get out of town. It's certainly sketchy as to if that's true (I think those rumors actually started last summer), but even with the lockout potentially coming, it makes no sense for him to opt out of 15 million dollars next year. I'd be surprised if the TOTAL for the deal he ends up signing is even 15 million.

He'll probably put some pretty big (albeit empty, since the team is a pile of crap) numbers for the Leafs next year.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 1, 2010 -> 10:29 AM) Reality definitely sucks. If we don't get LeBron, Wade (yeah right), or Bosh, we're pretty much screwed. Definitely, but we've known that all along.

I'd be pretty surprised if the Bulls don't end up with either Boozer or Bosh. Beyond that, who knows.

"my behind was so tight, you couldn't pull out a greased tea with a pair of plyers".