Dick Allen

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 01:30 PM) Once again another close call goes to Iowa. That was an incomplete pass. And was ruled one as well.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 01:21 PM) How do they overrule that call? It was called a td on the field, the side judge was standing right there, and the one angle clearly showed the receiver getting a foot down. You could even see dust in the field turf being kicked up from the receiver dragging his foot. Again, how do you overrule that? His foot was not down. That was clear when it was in slow motion. Just because the guy was right there doesn't make the call right. See 2009 MLB playoffs, umpires. Stansi needs to sit down.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Oct 31, 2009 -> 12:58 PM) At this point I don't want to hear about Iowa being good. Even if they come back this result is enough for me to want them blackballed from BCS discussion. They are so overdue for a loss, it's not funny. I don't want to hear the RB was out excuse. It's Indiana. 8-0 with road wins at MSU, Wisconsin and Penn State, I guess you can't call them good. They are getting lucky today no doubt, but teams have downer games. I don't know why Davie said the guy dragged his foot. It was pretty clear he did not.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 28, 2009 -> 07:18 AM) For all of you having a contest about what college head coach is the biggest tool, just be happy you didn't have to live through Jim Walden telling you the team is losing because they are wearing do-rags under their helmets. Jim Walden >>>>>>>>>>> ALL on the college football head coach tool scale. I remember seeing this happen. Brett Beilema while at Iowa met Walden after a game at midfield after some Cyclones flipped him off. Bielema shook Walden's hand and said: "Coach, you've been a big . . . and I've enjoyed kicking your . . . the past five years." "I'm glad you enjoyed it," a stunned Walden said.

QUOTE (bschmaranz @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 05:07 PM) Swisher will be whining to someone by the end of the night, that's for sure. He's hitting .114 in the playoffs with 12 strikeouts. He actually said he was shocked he was sat down. Maybe the Yankees need a new hitting coach.

While that playoff series was outstanding, let's not forget it was a first round series and the opposition was playing without one of the greatest players in league history. I say between 35-43 wins. I think they will miss Gordon. Noah and Tyrus hopefully will begin to shine. I'm just really worried their waiting for a big free agent is going to go bust. That would really suck, but at least they still will be in position to take on some money and if you believe some, there is a whole lot of financial trouble with some NBA teams. So even if Wade, Bosh, Johnson and LeBron play elsewhere, there may be a sleeper available. If not, the Bulls will be mediocre for a long time.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 29, 2009 -> 01:23 AM) While it's true that people on Soxtalk could probably coach the Yankees to the playoffs, the Yankees also spend $200+ mill and have talent up the ass. There are middle of the pack teams every year that get to the playoffs though and the coaches in those spots do wonders for those teams. The Rockies this past year might not have won 80 games with Soxtalk managing them, and instead won 92. The White Sox in 2005 probably wouldn't have made the playoffs if not for the job Don Cooper did bringing that pitching staff back together, and I think you have to give some credit to Greg Walker for resurrecting the career of Jermaine Dye. The Sox offenses the past few years have been anywhere from inconsistent and mundane to inconsistent but explosive, and a lot of that has to do with Greg Walker. Like I said, I think Walker might be coaching his last year in Chicago, but he does serve a purpose and he has done a little good for the White Sox. That's my point. A lot of people here think coaches can get players to do things they cannot do. If Dewayne Wise or Brent Lillibridge is leading off and Corky Miller is batting 6th, unless you are playing in some beer league someplace, chances are you aren't going to score a lot of runs, and its not because of the hitting coach.

The thread title is misleading as Walker said he probably would have been fired. As far as the reasons for underachieving, I don't know if they were attitudes or what, but I thinking age, injury and one dimensional players. While a good coach can make a difference, and I think Walker is a good coach, you want to make a coach look good, get better players. He said he's the best man for the job, and obviously the organization agrees. You can have the best manager who ever lived, best hitting coach who ever lived, best pitching coach who ever lived, best first and third base coaches who ever lived, best bench coach who ever lived and give them the Washington Nationals roster, they are still going to suck. You can pick out any 6 or 7 guys on Soxtalk, and make them the on field staff for the Yankees and they are still going to make the playoffs.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 25, 2009 -> 01:19 PM) LOL. He isnt even the best coach in the conference. Who's better? Here's how Rivals rates them. Ferentz has NFL teams all over him every winter. 1. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa The true measure of a man is how he responds to adversity. Ferentz has passed the test, pulling the Hawkeyes from a three-year slump to a 9-4 mark in 2008. Even better, Ferentz appears to have Iowa poised for another glorious run after leading the school to two Big Ten crowns from 2002-04. And Ferentz has done all of this with less-than-blue-chip talent. 2. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan Think round peg in a square hole. That's the best way to describe Rich Rod's dubious and dreadful debut. We all know he's better than that. Witness the national power he built at West Virginia, where he went 60-26 with four Big East titles. It was painfully obvious the offensive personnel Rodriguez inherited in Ann Arbor were ill-suited to run his spread-option offense. That slowly will change as he fills the roster with his players. Then, look out. 3. Jim Tressel, Ohio State Let's go ahead and bronze his sweater vest. He has won five Big Ten crowns and the 2002 BCS championship, and he played for two other BCS titles. And he hasn't even been on the job for 10 seasons, posting an 83-19 record. Not bad for a former Football Championship Subdivision (i.e., Division I-AA) coach. 4. Joe Paterno, Penn State His recent success seemingly renders moot any notion JoePa should retire. He obviously still has it, coming off his second Big Ten title in four seasons. In fact, JoePa appears energized and healthy, primed to pad his lead as the all-time leader in Football Bowl Subdivision (i.e., Division I-A) victories (383). 5. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State This all must seem so delicious for Dantonio. He followed a 7-6 debut with a sterling 9-4 record that had Sparty in Big Ten title contention late in the season. Dantonio's secret to success is simple: smart, tough, disciplined football built around defense. As long as he's in East Lansing, Michigan State will be an upper-division Big Ten challenger. And a conference title drought that stretches to 1990 figures to end soon. 6. Ron Zook, Illinois He answered the critics who say he can't coach by leading the Fighting Illini to the Rose Bowl after the 2007 season. Zook is an unmatched recruiter who has built a strong staff, leading to a renaissance in facilities and attitudes in Champaign. Energy, enthusiasm and an ability to connect with players fuel Zook's success. 7. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin There are rumblings about how Wisconsin's record has gotten worse each season under Bielema: 12-1 to 9-4 to 7-6. Give the intense Bielema credit in that he has altered his offseason approach, looking to connect better with the players and enhance their development. More than anything, Bielema would be helped by the emergence of a quarterback in what shapes up a critical season in his career. Don't bet against the smart, hard-working Bielema getting the Badgers back on track. 8. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Cut him, and "Fitz" bleeds purple. And Fitzgerald's coaching ability quickly is catching up to his energy and enthusiasm for his alma mater. At age 34, the best is still yet to come for Fitzgerald. Each season in Evanston, Fitzgerald has improved the Wildcats' record, from 4-8 to 6-6 to last season's 9-4. The key question: Can Northwestern keep Fitzgerald? 9. Danny Hope, Purdue No one will outhustle Hope, who is one of the most positive and enthusiastic people you'll meet. Those traits help make him one of America's most underrated recruiters. Hope was 35-22 in six seasons as coach at Eastern Kentucky. Watch his star rise. 10. Tim Brewster, Minnesota Brewster has been a 1,000-watt charge of energy into a program that was growing stale. And from all indications, Brewster's recruiting hustle has improved the talent base. His cause is further buoyed by the christening of a new stadium. Brewster's Gophers teams have featured strong offenses. But it will be his ability to craft a decent defense that will determine his fortunes in the Twin Cities. 11. Bill Lynch, Indiana He has one of the most extensive r?m?in the Big Ten, having also been head coach at Ball State and DePauw. The problem? Lynch hasn't had much success, save for an 8-2 mark in 2004 at DePauw. Lynch went 37-53 at Ball State (1995-2002) and is 10-15 in two seasons in Bloomington. He failed to build on the momentum of a bowl trip following the 2007 season, going 3-9 last season. And things could be tough this fall, too. I really think if you put any of the other guys in Iowa City instead of where they are at, the Hawkeyes don't win anywhere near as many games as they do. I also think Zook is way too high on this list and Fitzgerald way too low.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 25, 2009 -> 12:20 PM) Ok, I need to rephrase this after I remembered something. I only remember one team having interest in Deng the past few years so if he gets off to a good start and if the Suns don't believe they can resign Amar'e Stoudemire after the season, do you think a Deng-Tyrus-1st Round Pick for Stoudemire deal could be done? I'd then either sign Stoudemire to a deal or let him walk and use that money on Wade (since I doubt you could sign Wade and keep Stoudemire) Didn't the Suns basically sell Deng to the Bulls?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 25, 2009 -> 11:25 AM) Shutup dumbass. They had to drive 72 yards for the win because of a fluke play that the Spartans pulled on Iowa. So no, that isn't lucky, thats good and doing what you need to. The Northern Iowa game was a beatdown the 2nd half. Iowa completed dominanted and left tons of points on the board. It happens and those weren't chip-shot field goals and they wouldn't have needed 2 blocks had they been smart and fallen on the ball after the 1st block like they could have. Figure it out. I don't see you blabbing about Bama being lucky cause they needed the luck of the missed field goal this week to beat Tenn or Florida being lucky for the calls and breaks they've gotten (see Arkansas game). Bottom line you need to play well and have things go your way a bit to be undefeated at this point of the season in college football. And you blab about the Arkansas State game...did you watch it, Iowa was up 2 TD's most of the game and Arkansas State scored a late TD with like no time left to make the score closer...but never was the game in jeaporday. Iowa also dominated the Wisconsin game in the 2nd half, Penn State game in the 2nd half, was up on Michigan most of the game (albeit they almost blew it). Hell, outside of the first week of the season, by the time you were into the middle of the 3rd Iowa had the lead in pretty much every game. Oh and Iowa also drubbed a ranked ARizona team. Not to mention they have been playing without their #1 running back all season, and lost their All American tackle for a few games. They are solid, and probably have the best coach in the country.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Oct 23, 2009 -> 11:33 AM) Yesterday, McNeil and Spiegel were debating the wisdom of Versteeg getting sent off after "retaliating" for the big (but clean) hit on Toewes. Today, Rosenblum chimes in and (with the full benefit of hindsight) is all against it. http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....ing-a-game.html I'm really not adamant for or against fighting, but I had absolutely no problem with what Versteeg did, even the way things turned out. I like the (mostly internal) message it sent. This early in the season, I think you can afford to lose a few battles if it helps win the war in the end. Any thoughts? While it probably ended any shot of winning that particular game, its good for the team and will probably result in many more wins during the season. Usually I'm against the goonery, but protecting and sticking up for your guys pays big dividends. Its like a pitcher retaliating. It may not help you win that particular game, but its great for team chemistry and other teams know that the team has everyone's back.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Oct 24, 2009 -> 09:43 PM) They are the luckiest college football team I've ever seen outside of 2002 Ohio State, but I agree that they'll end up where they deserve (especially considering they still have to win in Columbus to go perfect). They are still a longshot for the title game though, the odds are still pretty strong that Texas and Florida or Alabama will go undefeated, and that would force the Hawkeyes to settle for Pasadena. I'll be interested to see how they would do in a bowl against a major opponent from the Big 12, SEC, or perhaps against USC though, because regardless of if they go 12-0 or not, that's who they are going to get in their bowl game. You can still consider me a doubter though, they'll have to win at Ohio State to fully convince me. Even with the Buckeyes down a bit this year, they are still the only team Iowa will play this year who has much better talent than them (I guess you could argue Penn State might too, but Iowa always beats them anyways), so if they win that, I promise to finally give them their due. I just can't do it yet because I have a hard time admitting i'm wrong in situations where it's not blatantly obvious such is the case . I don't know where lucky comes into it. Tonight they had a minute and a half and one timeout to get a TD and they got it done. If marching down the field 72 yards is lucky, Texas, Florida, Alabama must be lucky as well. The manhandled PSU at PSU, but had some tough games vs. Northern Iowa and Arkansas State. Wisconsin was a pretty close game, but Iowa dominated the second half. They don't have the talent level as most of the other teams ranked in the top 10, but their talent level goes up considerably when DJK is in the line-up. If they do play in Pasedena, I would be shocked if they embarrassed themselves.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 24, 2009 -> 09:25 PM) It's their year so far. The Hawkeyes only have one more road game left until the Bowl season. At Ohio State. They have had a tough Big Ten schedule this year. At PSU, Wisconsin, MSU and Ohio State and they don't get to play Illinois or Purdue. While it really hasn't been pretty except for the final scores, if they run the table, no one can say they don't deserve where they end up.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Oct 24, 2009 -> 02:16 PM) Danks ended up with 2 hits, one being a 2B and knocked in 3. Keith Law is not a fan of Jordan Danks. I don't know if he's a fan of any White Sox prospect. Ever.

Viciedo isn't going to be a 3rd baseman for the White Sox, there's a chance he may fill in there from time to time, but he's destined for a different position.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Oct 24, 2009 -> 11:54 AM) Should have just said he was only 5'10 in the first place, would have been more amusing. Gordon was 5'10 with shoes on according to collins i'm sure? Shoes off? Doug collins may be the only person in the world to make such a claim (which i have never seen or heard... but i will take your word for it). No league in the world tacks on five inches to a players actual height, for any sport. Three inches is already highly stretching it. Things like 3-5 inches in height differential seems like it would be slightly more noticeable to everyone other than yourself, well, and of course good ol' doug. You go right ahead and believe in your tippy toe theory, because after all it's only logical. I didn't say he was 5'10", thats Collins, I said he was under 6 feet. Sam Smith believes he about 6 feet tall. The pre draft measurement was 6'1". So I'm saying he's a little more than an inch shorter than that measurement. Its not a lot, but it is a heck of a lot closer than the 6'3" he is listed at. Sorry to bother you. You should put me on ignore.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 23, 2009 -> 07:14 PM) So, the deal as written fills one of our OF and leadoff holes and does so cheaply, it cuts salary in the bullpen and gets us another LHP arm, and what it costs us is a weakened IF. Move Beckham to SS again, we're back open at 3b. Joshua Fields Forever? Pretty much we're filling 2 holes while opening one at 3b. But we also have people on the way up who eventually might be able to handle it. Run Fields out there and try to salvage something for a year or at least a few months, and maybe it's Viciedo time. While I think moving Ramirez to another team shouldn't happen, unless Boston wanted to do what Olney suggested, if he was traded, what would you rather have, a SS for the next 10 years or a 3B for the next ten years? That's a no brainer. I think Fields time is up. He gone. I think eventually Beckham is going to be the man and the captain of the White Sox. While Alexei is physically gifted as a defender, I question the mental approach. Its not just having his head in the clouds during certain situations. SS also have to communicate a lot of information to other players. It appears he wasn't very good at that in 2009. I don't know if that's something he can improve, but Beckham at SS with the status he will bring would be a better dynamic IMO. Again, I wouldn't trade Ramirez even though he frustrates me a lot due to his sweet contract and he does have a lot of ability, unless it brought back something similar and Ellsbury and Bard would definitely fit that description. That said, there's probably a 99% chance Ramirez is at SS and Beckham at 3B on April 5,2010 if they both are healthy.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Oct 24, 2009 -> 09:27 AM) Everyone in the nba is measured with their shoes on unlike the euroleague, australia, and the olympics. The average shoe will increase a players height by no more than 2 inches. Generally, shoes add anywhere from 1.25-1.75 inches... this would be according to pre-draft measurements which date back quite aways. There is no chance gordon is under 6 feet. Zero. If there was a way we could get him in for a measurement, I would bet you everything I have he isn't 6 feet tall with no shoes on and heels on the ground. Even Doug Collins said he wasn't a centimeter over 5'10". His pre draft measurement was 6'1", and he was probably on his toes.

QUOTE (G&T @ Oct 23, 2009 -> 08:47 PM) Newsday This makes a little more sense. If Chapman got $40-60 million while Strasburg "had" to sign for $15 million, b****ing about Boras anymore would be a joke. I still think the economy is going to play a huge role in the offseason. I think most teams will not have cash. In the NBA, I read something where someone with some inside knowledge thinks something major is going to happen by the end of the season, like 1-3 teams disbanding. Of course the NBA has priced many people out of their games.

Listed height doesn't mean he really is that tall. I can tell you Jose Contreras isn't 6'4". I also think if you had a guy on the street who says he's 6'2" and walked up next to Buerhle, he would be a little taller than him. Not 3 inches but an inch or so. Ben Gordon, and of course the NBA stretches it a lot, isn't 6 feet and he's listed at 6'3". I have no idea how tall CJ is, but little guys are fun to have around.

The Bulls are in NBA no man's land. Good enough to make the playoffs. Not good enough to win. Not bad enough to add impact players through the draft. Unless something crazy happens and Gar Foreman and Paxson can pull a Danny Ainge, they are pretty much screwed.

He's Michael Jordan's kid. He isn't going to wear Adidas. I'm sure whoever recruited him told him that wouldn't be an issue. If I'm Michael Jordan's kid how in the world could I wear Adidas shoes? I think the university saw the benefit of adding a Jordan and lied through their teeth about the shoes.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 22, 2009 -> 07:37 PM) If they're going to give him that kind of money...then in a couple years, we can trade for him after he busts because they're expecting the impossible from a rookie and turn his career around/turn him into a W.S. winning pitcher. Something says giving this guy all that money, having him pitch in New York or Boston with all that pressure, isn't going to work out well. Then if he doesn't blow out his arm, pick him up for a has been and have them eat money. Jose Contreras Jr.