JuiceCruz16

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 2, 2009 -> 12:20 AM) The choker tag was stupid. Baseball is a funny game. He didn't choke in past postseasons, he just sucked. He's a stud. Now if you want to blast him over the steroids thing, fine. But he's not a choker. --On another note, nice pregame radio interview with Swisher. Hard to hate the guy after hearing his personality. He gave a great interview. Happy for A-Rod. I agree the choker thing was garbage to me always was, always will be. Same thing with Bonds and his playoff stats until his season with the Giants!

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 01:08 PM) Does Champ Bailey get away with pass intereference more than a Zackary Bowman because of who he is?? No Does Cliff Lee get a much bigger strike zone than Scott Eyre? No Does Kobe Bryant draw way more fouls than Jannero Pargo because of who he is? You best believe it, and the NBA doesn't really hide that fact either. Hell yes, Champ Bailey does! and Brady gets more roughing calls then Josh Johnson does. Hell yes, Lee gets corners more! and George Brett or Wade Boggs got the benifit of close pitches called balls where Mario Mendoza would be rung up consistently on those same pitches.

I guess fans of the Fire can claim they are in the playoffs so they are the best talk in Chicago right now. Hey the Hawks may be the most interesting and up and coming team, but hockey is not in the same universe as basketball for the casual fan in Chicago. Now the hard core hockey fans are as diehard as they come, but it is a niche. I have many rabid sport fan friends, that can rattle off players and stat for NFL, NBA, MLB, franchises all day. Only about 25% of these can give you anything more then a couple guys throughout the NHL. These are sportnuts, the average casual fan is clueless about hockey at all. That is why endorsements and recognition in general is so little for NHL guys.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 30, 2009 -> 12:49 PM) The one thing which has really pissed me off about the NBA is the way the refs work. It is so blatantly the worst referred sport around and the calls are just so so subjective. I'm not shocked at all by the comments. And I hope the NBA gets taken to town and has to be held accountable for these actions. I would argue the NBA at times is more fixed than Boxing for most of the last 20 years. It is also BY FAR the most difficult game to ref. I have worked all three and it is not even close!! Football and baseball do not have constant bang bang calls, I do not see a fix aspect at all. Holding/non holding inconsistencies in the NFL, or floating strike zones in MLB, is every bit as common. Hell, look at all the blown calls this playoff season in the MLB, and baseball has a fraction of bang bang calls that basketball has. The SEC refs getting hit for calls the past two weeks in football as well, and football has far fewer judgement split decision chances then hoops too. NBA games have constant instances like those on violations or fouls . As for the stars getting more calls, that happens in every league all the way down to high school, it is not always an intentional thing, but reputation and status do effect those making the calls in every game across the board, even if it is a subconscience thing.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 09:43 PM) Wow, who knows what to expect from this UNC team. Gotta feel bad for Ryan Williams though, fumble cost VT the game, but he's an amazing back. Might be the most talented back in the nation as a red-shirt freshmen. Great win, but it makes blowing Florida State and not showing up against Virginia that much more painful. Last year UNC pissed away the game against Va. Tech this year they gave it back to us I guess.

Very Impressive opening night win by the Bullies!!!! Noah/Thomas/Gibson/Miller combo will be key to how far this team can go. Not sold on this group yet for our frontline, but they played well in game 1 at least. As for the Hawks/Bulls, NHL/NBA debate. The Bulls just have a much greater mass appeal. The Hawks and hockey in general is a niche sport that has a very loyal fanbase, but nowhere near the citywide or countrywide appeal of the National Basketball Association.

My Tarheels will be very interesting to watch this year. Strickland or Drew will have to be pretty solid if they are going to be anywhere near 4 or 6 as the meaningless pre season polls predict. If they get solid play at the point they can be dangerous to be back in the final four, but that's a big IF. As for Kentucky, hell yea I would have them that high. Wall (if eligible) is a D. Rose. Pat Patterson with Cousins, plus the depth and yes they are deserving of a high pre season ranking even with all the new faces to mesh together. I could see it implodeing on them as well, which would be fine with me. Kansas is a well deserved pre season #1. So, glad that means next to nothing unlike NCAA football.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 26, 2009 -> 05:15 PM) Call it a gut feeling. I just think expectations are going to be really high for them. And they have a tough road schedule (playing @ all of the top 6-7 teams). Also, I dunno how you think there's such a big gap between msu/pur and the rest of the conference. Illinois beat Purdue twice last year, and are going to put a better team on the court this year. And the majority of the conference played underclassmen last year. There aren't too many teams that lost a whole lot of important seniors. MSU has a crazy 2 week stretch in late jan-early feb, playing @ minn, @ mich, home versus NW, @ wis, @ ill and then home against pur. That'll prolly determine the conference title right there. The unbalanced schedule can be difficult, but I just like the veteren leadership with their big trio having two solid years of leading the show opposed to many of the other teams talented youngsters. It will be interesting as always with some surprises along the way that's for sure. As for Minnesota, I'm just not a believer.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 23, 2009 -> 04:23 PM) My prediction for this year's Big Ten: 1. MSU 2. ILL (within a game of winning the conference) 3. MINN 4. PUR 5. MICH 6. OSU 7. WIS 8. NW 9. IOWA 10. PSU 11. IND MSU loses some games it shouldn't early on, making the race for the title closer than expected. Illinois has a somewhat favorable schedule, so they come within a couple of games of winning. Basically 2-7 are a toss up, but I DO think Purdue is going to take a step back this year, while Michigan and Minnesota become really tough outs. OSU I'm not sold on. Unless you've got 3 NBA ready players (not just NBA potential players), you can't just plug in 2-3 blue chip starters each year and expect to be good. They have the names, but I dunno, its a wait and see for me with them. I also think one of the bottom three is going to have a suprise win or two against one of the top three. They're all not very good, but I think they'll be competitive. Come tourney time I expect the top 6 to get past the first round, 4 will get past the 1st weekend, 3 will be in the elite eight, and at least one will be in the final four. Depends on matchups, otherwise I'd say which teams. Possible, but I don't see how Purdue will take a step back. With Moore, Hummel, and Johnson as seasoned juniors they should be very tough to deal with. 1a. Michigan State 1b. Purdue Fairly big drop off 3. Michigan 4. Ohio State 5. Illinois 6. Wisconsin 7. Minnesota 8. Penn State 9. Northwestern 10. Indiana 11.Iowa

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Oct 23, 2009 -> 12:17 PM) All the stuff I've heard has Barnes to Duke now. I still think they are the favorite, but not as much as before. Barnes has been a longtime Duke lean, and they are still going to be tough to beat for him, but Roy has got into the picture bigtime and there is a decent chance now for UNC. Kansas still has a shot as well, but I agree he is still Duke's to lose at this point. He said he will commit in November, so I think he has pretty much made up his mind already. + commit in November, so I think he has already pretty much made his choice.

Kyrie Irving will announce tomorrow, but so called leaked information has it That Chris Collins has announced for him that he is indeed a Dookie. Collins has denied since Kyrie wants his moment to announce, but all signs point to Durham. Good get for Coach K, and the fans in Bloomington who were/are irate with Kyrie for backing off of the Hoosiers can rest a bit since he is at least with their boy Coach K. I'm more interested in how this may affect Harrison Barnes.

I see Vander Blue is now going to Marquette instead of his original verbal to Wisconsin.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Oct 15, 2009 -> 12:31 PM) Beal isn't going to Kentucky You are correct Beal and Kentucky are not a issue. CJ Leslie and Irving are the headliners of an impressive group going to Kentucky for midnight madness. Beal and Kentucky are not connected whatsoever.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Oct 15, 2009 -> 07:11 AM) Beal's not going to KU anymore, going to Alabama State instead. That would be a huge recruiting upset! actually, his brother plays football at Alabama St., just going to watch him play This has actually fueled the fire to the rumors of Irving and Beal ending up at Kentucky now.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Oct 12, 2009 -> 09:58 PM) KU is bringing in a monster group of players for Late Night in the phog Harrison Barnes (#2 2010) Josh Selby (#4 20101) Doron Lamb (#21 2010) Beal, Josian Turner (#56 2011) JP Tokoto (#4 2012) Big night for Kansas, especially if Barnes leans towards KU. Selby seems to be upset that Irving is going to Kentucky for their Midnight Madness, as the rumor mill is churning that he may verbal there to shock Duke who seems to be the clear leader for him now that former clear leader Indiana was eliminated. If he does, that would clearly have an impact on Selby who is very interested in Kentucky at the moment. The Irving and Barnes recruitments have been interesting to say the least. I will be interested to see if any big names come out of these trips as commits! My Tarheels have Late Night With Roy, but mostly recruits already in the fold or a bit further down the line in class will be attending.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Oct 6, 2009 -> 11:31 AM) Duke was s***ty before Coach K.I hate Duke, but they were far from s***ty before Coach K. They had some down times, for their standards, but other then Carolina, UCLA, and Kentucky along with possibly Kansas and Indiana nobody matches up with the consistency of Duke being a legit national championship contender throughout the history of their program.

The Harrison Barnes courtship is really getting to a fever pitch. Duke and Coach K. had the last scheduled in home visit, but then the Barnes family requested that Roy Williams come back that night for a second in home after Coach K. left after his afternoon visit. Speculation is running wild. It does seem that Duke and Carolina are the last two standing for Mr. Barnes at the moment and ole Roy has made up so much ground UNC may be looking good right now.

Damn, my Tarheels losing to Ga. Tech I could see, but 16 - 3 losers to Virginia !!!! Their offense is beyond bad, John Shoop being your teams O' coordinator is just never a good idea at any level!!!!!!!

How many people even remember that Stanford was not known as the Cardinal but the Indians and made this change years ago partly due to having a quarterback named Jim Plunkett who was an actual Indian. Stanford has never been the same since becoming the Cardinal have they.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Sep 16, 2009 -> 04:00 PM) He had a great in home with Roy last night, leading to a lot of good feelings about UNC's chances. It seems to be down to UNC and Duke with Kansas behind now, with UNC in the lead and visits to Duke and Kansas to go.I hope you are right, but I still think Duke is in the best position at this point. I see UNC cancelled their home visit with Jones though. Roy is amazing with his recruits, I hope we have another "surprise" like when Brandon Wright verballed at late night with Roy!

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 15, 2009 -> 03:24 PM) I had UCONN season tickets last year, and went to see them play UNC last week. You get the feeling that anything is possible in that division. Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech, UNC, Boston College, Clemson, Ga. Tech, etc. are all teams that would be a tough matchup on a schedule. The ACC will be interesting. My Tarheels need to show some offensive firepower though. They were lucky to survive against UCONN, but I'll take it.

QUOTE (knightni @ Sep 16, 2009 -> 12:32 PM) Why be Elton Brand when you can be Marcus Fizer? Why be Shane Battier when you can be Fred Hoiberg? I hope he is thinking like that! Duke appears to be the leader but the normally tight lipped Barnes and family are openly impressed about their trip to Carolina for the alumni game. He mentioned sitting 15 feet from Jordan and watching Vince Carter put on a show during the game, and how his family was wowed with all that the Carolina "family" has to offer. The Heels are making a big impact on the Barnes family, but he still seems to be Dukes' to lose at this point.

I always said if the Redskins is an appropriate name then the Cowboys should have their name changed to the Palefaces. Just have the Redskins vs. the Palesfaces on Monday night football. The other one that I have a major problem with is the bright red toothy Indian logo used by the Cleveland baseball franchise. If Norte Dame had a rosey cheeked/nosed drunkard as their logo for the fightin' Irish as opposed to a fictional creature who protects his pot o' gold, then I think the logo may be a problem for most Irish as well .

Stud point guard Joe Jackson stays home and commits to Memphis. Nice get for the embattled Memphis program!

McAdoo verbals to UNC for the 2011 class. Roy hits another early home run. Great get for my Heels!