IlliniKrush

Aaaaaand done with a 14 hour work day.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 10:28 AM) Dinner at Girl and the Goat tonight....anyone been? I have. It was pretty darn good. Probably not surprising, the time I went, Vince Vaughn was there. Did you like it?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 4, 2012 -> 03:00 AM) Is this serious? I don't get the Illini hate against NW. They are my #2 team to root for, they have been since I have been young. If they aren't playing the Illini, I always root for the Cats. One of my best young sports memories was NW beating Notre Dame in 95, that was so awesome. One of Thomas' big goals it to have a stronger presence in Chicago. Having NW make the tournament while the Illini miss really hurts that cause moving forward. It also plays right into the hands of their slogan.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 1, 2012 -> 09:34 AM) Barring a run in the Big Ten tourney, I concur. So many close losses too, what a bummer. I was hoping to get the chance to root for NU in the tourney, since the only exciting thing about the Illini is the hunt for next year's head coach. Major fail. If you're actually an Illini fan you aren't rooting for Chicago's big ten team.

QUOTE (SnB @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 02:45 PM) except everyone just thinks bajenaru is your last name. Just like they think my last name is McCarthy. Damn it.

Alcatraz is a must, but book your tickets early, you can't just walk up and buy. Also, book a tour in the morning, there is less of a crowd and easier to get around everything, do the audio tour, etc. Then by the time you're done with everything you'll dodge the big crowd. Even if the Giants are out of town, do the tour, it was like 15 bucks and well worth it. Gotta hit up some of the piers, good food (fish) and stores there. Bridge - rent a bike and bike across, it's pretty fun. Then you'll end up in Sausalito, which is a pretty cool town. You can then take a ferry back, very common to do so. Or you can bike it back again but most people hit up the ferry. As Balta said Chinatown is cool to walk through. We did have some food there and it was great, don't remember which place though. Eat dinner here and order the "The Best Damn Crab Cioppino": http://www.yelp.com/biz/sotto-mare-san-francisco And yeah it's colder than you think, obviously check the weather but you'll want some long sleeve t's and some jackets out there.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 03:54 PM) If you think a sport that has seen it's brightest star succumb to concussion is going to continue to allow talentless hacks to get in bloody duels on the ice, your head is broken. Not relevant. He didn't get a concussion from a fight. I don't think my head is broken for thinking the league will continue to allow fighting. Do you want to revisit this in a year? 5? 10? I think it's still there.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 03:35 PM) Finally. It can only lead to a ban in the pros as well. No thanks.

QUOTE (The Critic @ Feb 25, 2012 -> 10:20 PM) Rarely has someone skated so much and so quickly to accomplish so little. I really wish he was skating quickly and pointlessly in Rockford right now. Jack Skille says "hello Mr. Critic"

Apparently there will be a lot more coming out on this, if sources are to be believed. I'll wait to see what else is coming out that will apparently move to clear his name.

http://www.selfish-indulgence.com/2012/02/...ews-in-car.html

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Feb 22, 2012 -> 03:00 PM) Sadly if he thought he sat out the last four games and the Hawks lost, the season would be in real dire straits..... Sadly if he gets a career threatening problem from it, the Hawks future for years to come is in dire straits.

If he knew he had one and hid symptoms to keep playing he's a complete idiot. I really hope that isn't the case.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Feb 21, 2012 -> 10:17 PM) Another gigantic win. It seems like it's been forever since the Hawks won a low-scoring, 1-goal game. Jimmy Hayes never should have been sent down. The back-check tonight was the difference to me. For all intents and purposes, Sunday was too.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Feb 18, 2012 -> 05:15 PM) I'm not surprised. Like I had been saying, Weber should have been fired after Wednesday. Players have quit on him. Players have zero pride, whatever. Firing him now can only hurt perception moving forward, not sure why you'd want to do that.

Whatever. He was asked if he should resign. He just listed some things that happened. A lot of those were crucial and at weird times. Things that happened aren't excuses, they were legit reasons that helped contribute. You make it sound like he went on a long explanation of why those were the exact reasons things haven't worked and that's it. He explained a lot more in the other press conference where he blamed himself a lot. Simply saying "every program has to deal with things like this" doesn't discredit the things that happened. Plus, not everyone deals with the same things. Some have it worse, some have it better.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 02:35 PM) Chris Kuc @ChrisKuc NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says Chicago "is on the radar" for a future NHL All-Star Game. You knew that was coming eventually, Chief Blackhawk has probably called him every day for 3 years about it. QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 04:48 PM) There'd be no stopping me from attending that. Hey you're in luck, I have a ticket available for 1 million dollars. PM me your CC info. Actually it'd be funny, it'd be worse than a normal Hawks game because 95% of people would have no idea who any players are out there. QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 05:10 PM) Whitney Houston's Super Bowl anthemn has been mentioned a lot lately (for obvious reasons), but Wayne Messmer's at the last All Star Game here (also during Gulf War I) was really something, too. Yeah, it was epic, I was there and even though I was only like 8, I'll never forget it and it'll never be matched.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 11:51 AM) And the new coach won't be coming into a team devoid of talent either. James and Hill will stay committed if you hire a competent coach, you have 3 freshmen that have showed flashes this year and Bertrand still has two years left. If Paul doesn't go pro you have the talent to be good (not great but good) right away. If Leonard stays and the team is actually coached properly they could be top 15 right off the bat. This isn't an Indiana rebuilding job. There is a 0% chance Leonard comes back, unfortunately.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 10:59 AM) I agree he should not be fired with only a small part of the season left anyway, but if he were fired tomorrow and that press conference was the proverbial straw, I don't think it would be because he threw his players under the bus so much as how defeated he was (not just implicitly, but what he actually said, too). That's more damaging, I think, for the man who's supposed to lead his team (and, at a Basketball school like Illinois, be the most prominent public face the University has). If this were Crean, I'd be way more upset about the apparent defeatism (not just currently, but saying he's been like that for awhile) than throwing players under the bus. He's supposed to be the face but everyone knows he isn't anymore, so I don't know what difference it makes. IMO, Bruce isn't a guy that won't keep coaching and trying to win as many games possible and get them to the tournament, even though he's done. But that's just me. He probably still cares more than half the roster, which is pathetic considering he knows he's done. There's nothing to be upset about over the defeatism. I don't see why I should be upset over it. What do you expect from him? It was the symbolic end. Besides the late games in the 05 run, that was the biggest game of his Illini career. I'd feel the exact same way. This isn't a team that has title hopes he's somehow crushing with his words and attitude.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 09:43 AM) I would like to also say that i have always been right about Corey Crawford the many, many years he's been in the system. Dude f***ing sucks. I always thought he sucked since I watched him while on Rockford a ton of times. I thought I was being proven wrong over the past couple seasons, and was happy about it. It might be turning back around, which blows. The goaltending has been bad recently, the defensive coverage has been brutal, and the stars haven't controlled the game up front during this stretch. I wish it was only goaltending, then we might be able to fix it. Right now it's everything, but the Nashville game was a lot better all around. Maybe it all comes together tonight, although it's a hell of a team on the other side.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 16, 2012 -> 08:57 AM) Agreed. Let McClain show is coaching expertise (none). In all seriousness though, the whole thing is just sad. The guy never had a chance with the fan base. No one wanted him, even when he succeeded beyond what Kruger and Self were able to do (the whole line about Self's recruits is bulls***. He coached that team up from borderline good to great). He probably should have been fired a few seasons ago to save the embarrassment both of him and the program. Or at the very least they should have told him take that job at Oklahoma last year, or wherever else he got a job offer (wasn't Oregon one a few seasons back?). Losing to teams like Penn State and Northwestern year in and year out is just not acceptable. The fact that he's been on the hotseat for a few years - you just can't coach that way, as he admitted last night. Too much pressure because every loss gets you that much closer to losing all support. So instead of losing early to win later, he wanted to do everything he could to win in the present. And you could see that with his refusal to play younger guys because they make mistakes, so instead he plays guys like Sam who won't turn the ball over, but probably won't be good enough to win either. He needs a fresh start, as does the program itself. I still see a gigantic problem with expectations though. All those highly ranked recruits the next few years? Most are Weber guys, including any chance they had with Parker (who according to Klee, is still very interested in Illinois). So the program is back to being stuck in a recruiting rut, no matter who they bring in. When the new coach fails to land big recruits in his first season or two, get ready for the same boo birds that were all over Weber for not being able to land anyone. f***ing sucks, the whole thing. Agreed, this is a sad situation. I know it's a message board and we're all supposed to be fire-breathing assholes, but I feel bad for Bruce and the end of the road here. Last night you were listening to a man defeated. He knew it was the end. It's hard to imagine what he's feeling, don't think any of us have been in such a situation. I'm not terribly upset with his comments. Did he throw guys under the bus? Sure. But for years he's been protecting dumb, lazy players, and he finally called a spade a spade. And it's not like it was crazy, he was just defeated and was honest. I mean what exactly did he say that was incorrect or so out of line? Leonard was a dog, he's got a terrible attitude, Paul plays like an idiot (that last play is not what was drawn up at all, Paul was selfish and just stupid), DJ failed to do anything on offense. So on and so on. It IS sad that Abrams is your leader. Now yes, he recruited those lazy, dumb, etc, players. So yes, it's the end of the road. Ultimately, it's on him. I'm sad to see him go. Not in the I want him to stay kind of way, just sad that it's coming to an end. Bruce is a good guy, he ran a clean program (nothing tells me otherwise), he works very hard and cares a lot about the team and the university. But yes, the success recently wasn't there, so this is what will happen. Doesn't mean it isn't a sad time, IMO. I don't see the point in firing him now just because of those comments. He's not the first coach to call out a player or a team, whether that coach was on the hot seat or not. Will it be awkward? Sure. But maybe it will get through to them, and even if nothing happens productive this year, those players can take some of that with their career moving forward. But I think he deserves to just coach through the BTT at the least, and then we can move forward. I also don't think it looks very good to the college basketball world to fire him right now. I mean yes he won't be here next year, however I don't see all the great things that can come from him not being here and having the rest of the staff coach the rest of the way. It's not a great situation, I know. MT also said he will wait until after the season, and I don't think an 8 minute press with a defeated man after 9 years will/should change that. I wishing nothing but the best for Bruce at the next program he takes over. He was around for some great years early, and just IMO, he coached that team up to get to where they needed to be. We don't need to argue about Self recruits for the rest of the thread. But generally he's respected as a good coach, however his lack of talent (or the wrong talent) brought in ultimately hurt him. I see what he means by coaching not to lose. Obviously he was feeling everything and nowhere to go with the team, trying to win now and that's it, not thinking long term. He takes the blame for it, and it's a shame that's how it played out with the last few teams. Color me sad today just with the overall situation. I hope both the team and him can move forward over the next few years and both have success.

Lose tonight and it's probably the last nail in the coffin. Appealing a judgment call is silly. If it was something where a clock expired, or something technical like that, then that could be legit. A foul call like that isn't anywhere near that. It's just so desperate, and even if it was a bad call (which I'm not saying it is), that wasn't even the main issue on the play.

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 11, 2012 -> 11:11 AM) Is it possible to believe that Paterno is guilty by not doing enough, and that the condemnation of him as a person is out of scale as compared to others who were also involved without defending him? Mike McQueary and Mrs. Sandusky IMHO should be the ones that receive the highest condemnation. But his name is forgotten because he told someone famous. It's "out of scale" because of how many people are defending him on a national level "out of scale", saying he didn't do anything wrong, shouldn't have been fired, etc. Last I checked PSU wasn't rioting over Sandusky or McQueary, nor were articles being written to defend them, etc. It's pretty easy to see how it follows.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Feb 11, 2012 -> 09:48 AM) This has been ongoing theme at UI with multiple players. It starts at the top. Weber whines, the kids whine...The refs react. Please feel free to expand with examples. Bruce is the only coach to "whine" or talk to officials during a game? You must not watch a lot of basketball. Plus, Leonard is who he is, he gets that from himself.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 12:50 PM) I wish they would stick with the rivalries. There are plenty of them. Original six. Norris division. Having an entire country watching. Blues don't do that much to excite.