caulfield12

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 17, 2013 -> 06:10 PM) Hopefully Iowa doesn't play only HS teams in the non conf next year... There's two ways of looking at that. They were one of the youngest teams in the country (May's the only player graduating), so they needed to build their confidence and pick up as many wins as possible. Before the season, MOST Hawkeye fans weren't expecting an NCAA team until next year. So the early results got hopes up a bit too much, and then January happened. In the end, they couldn't quite push through against the elite teams at home and they couldn't get a quality win on the road. Having two freshman guards in Gesell and Clemmons as well as Marble get torn apart (like the last ten minutes of the quarterfinal game) game after game in the early non-conference wouldn't have done the team any favors at all in terms of development moving forward. They were CLOSE, but just never managed to get that signature win OR knock out MSU when they were down 33-20 and Oglesby had a couple of looks at 3 to blow the game completely open. I think it would have been 48-33 had he connected on those two occasions. But we have definitely scared the heck out of Wisconsin the last 3 seasons...a team we match up better with physically/athletically, compared to OSU, UM, MSU, IND and even Illinois or MN.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ventura-sold-...23263--mlb.html

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 17, 2013 -> 05:09 PM) Reminds me of how much the Orioles were supposed to benefit from players wanting to play for them because Peter Angelos sided with the players during the 1993 strike. It never happened. If the rebuilding effort stalls or for whatever other reason, it is determined that it's in the best interest of the organization to trade Sale it has to be done. But not even you are going to come out and advocate doing it right now, after bringing in Peavy, Lindstrom and Keppinger, and not dumping the likes of Thornton or Crain. If the Sox, through some bizarre set of circumstances, were to have 2 seasons in a row with under 70 wins and Sale was still healthy, then I think fans would be reasonable enough to understand at THAT point the cost/benefit analysis of trading him vs. risk of future injury/non-performance. That's also assuming he's an All-Star and Top 10 MVP/Cy Young candidate during that time. And any comp to the Orioles is bunk, because the Jays were just coming off two World Series titles and then you had the Yankees and Red Sox as well in the same division. Other than accepting his overly generous FA contracts given out to all the wrong players, the Orioles went through an almost twenty year period of hoplessness since the Jeffrey Maier incident in Yankee Stadium. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Maier

Yeah, yeah. Well, Iowa's still one player short right now. Next year's the year, if McCaffrey doesn't make the NCAA's, he will be fired or have just one year remaining, but with such a young roster...and how well Alford has done at New Mexico, they should be careful they don't push him out too, right when he's starting to have some success rebuilding the program to the point where fans care again and are invested in the team for the first time in half a decade. Going a long ways in the NIT's would benefit them more than losing in the first round of the NCAA's, although it still stings to have lost so many close games and had MSU down 33-20 and let it slip away.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Mar 17, 2013 -> 05:37 PM) The Sox' reputation as an organization has long term, real effects. The reason we got a guys like Sale, Peavy and Konerko to sign team-friendly contracts is because people like to play here and the organization is well-respected by everyone whose last name isn't Guillen. On the other hand, the Marlins had to overpay like crazy for all their spending spree stuff last year, in part because the ownership is not at all respected. And Swisher, Javy, Cabrera, etc. But that's 90% on Ozzie, and 10% on KW for bringing in guys he didn't perform enough "due diligence" on.

On the platform front, A24's Spring Breakers was off to a terrific start with an estimated $270,000 from just 3 locations in New York and Los Angeles. That gave the much buzzed about film starring James Franco, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens a massive per-location average of $90,000. Spring Breakers will hope to springboard off of its strong platform launch when it expands into moderate nationwide release this coming Friday. boxoffice.com I think you're referring to the scene earlier in the movie....as opposed to the one at Equilibrium HQ at the end?

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Mar 17, 2013 -> 12:32 PM) However, as a fellow Iowa Stater, I say f*** Iowa. Back at ya. Hampton. ISU couldn't even beat Iowa this year.

83-79 Stuck in the middle of the pack.

Here's your next five to ten thread ideas, Marty34. 1) Trade Sale before it's too late and he goes all Sergio Santos on the Sox 2) Danks and Dunn are horrible contracts, fire JR/KW 3) Trade Viciedo 4) Trade Ramirez again 5) Gordon Beckham should be moved to SS 6) KW sucks 7) JR and Hahn suck....White Sox will never be competitive in the AL Central again in our lifetimes 8) It was a mistake to not keep AJ because Flowers sucks 9) White Sox wasted money on Peavy and Keppinger when they should have gone younger 10) Everyone is too optimistic about the Sox....conclusively, i am 100% sure they will win 72 games or less and draw less than 1.8 million in attendance, therefore there's no reason not to start rebuilding in full

Well, let's get to the main point. KW (not Hahn) and JR okayed the signing of Danks, Dunn, etc. Danks, according to Marty's insider knowledge, will never be healthy again for the remainder of his contract. Therefore....what? They should fire KW? Reinsdorf should sell the team if he won't spend $150 million to make up for the Danks, Dunn and Alexei Ramirez contract disasters? You can't really use Danks as a reason for a White Flag, because we have five other legit starters and an obvious replacement in Santiago, who might actually be even better for all we know, so that's not going to fly. Plus, there's insurance on that contract just like Peavy's that Marty isn't taking fully into consideration, either.

It's not bad if he pitches like a 2 or 3 starter. He's young, and left-handed. If he's nothing better than a 5 and Jose Quintana or Santiago pushes him out of the rotation or he goes Jim Parque (minus the steroids) on the Sox, then, yeah...it's really really bad, but nothing like Barry Zito bad. That's the problem when you're paying Peavy, Danks, Konerko, Dunn and Rios that kind of money. If two or three of them struggle, you're in a world of hurt. That said, putting all your eggs in the Josh Hamilton or Greinke basket is even asking for more trouble than spreading your risk amongst 5 players.

Has anyone seen Equilibrium, the Christian Bale movie from about a decade ago? Quality flick, I guess it came out the exact same weekend as another famous movie and got buried but lives on via internet and DVD's.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/off-the-cuf...-223849056.html

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 16, 2013 -> 11:01 PM) Yes, this is true. If he can produce 80% of his prime, he's the three hitter. If he's washed up, bury him at the bottom. He averaged a 908 OPS for the six years preceding his turn with the Sox. Then 592 and 801 with us. 80% of 908 is a 726 OPS. Not even at 90% of his prime can he be the #3 hitter because that's essentially what he was last year, roughly.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 16, 2013 -> 06:47 PM) I believe greed and religion are two very distinct things. The thesis "more wars have been started for religion" is very different than "more wars have been started for greed". The old exploration saying of doing it for "gold, God, or glory" holds true with wars as well. Yes and no. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_talents_or_minas Can you separate the belief of many Christians that multiplying their wealth is analagous to faith/works/actions that bring greater glory to the church and more followers into the Kingdom? There's two very different threads in the Bible. The "peace and social justice" side, and yet many parables are used to defend the philosophy behind amassing wealth. Then you have the other side of that same coin, self-determination without the religious backdrop...Ayn Rand's atheistic theory applies http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Parill...t_1_of_4).shtml

Was the British Empire more about the glory for England or for God, or both? The explorers' conquests, like the Spanish, Italians, Dutch or Portuguese? To put World War II or I in the religion column would be a simplistic reading of it, but you do have the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the religious/ethnic issues in the Balkans...as a precipitator, and obviously the Holocaust (which you can certainly indict the Catholic Church for their passive or inert stance in the face of Hitler in the late 1930's). Depending on your take on the Japanese, that was either imperialism or the threat of being cut off from precious natural resources such as oil....so the strike first before your enemy grows too strong theory. With the American Civil War, there's no way to get away from the theme or religion, religious faith of the slaves and abolitionists....read many of Lincoln's speeches, they're steeped in religious imagery and verbiage. Revolutionary War....religious freedom, self-determination, emancipation from monarchical control, you can go through every single world conflict and find this latticework connecting the dots, especially the war against the Native Americans in the 1870's, 1880's and early 1890's.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 16, 2013 -> 09:55 PM) I know Mitchell isn't making the team no matter what but I thought maybe his performance so far would have earned him an extra week or something. They still bring the minor leaguers over for some games, but the Sox probably want to get a closer look at Danks, Wise and Tekotte. Sitting Mitchell on the Sox bench would do nothing for his development, he needs to play everyday.

Danks it putting on a rush now, but probably too late....they'll go with the veteran in Wise, with Danks "first man in" in case of an injury. Thought at the beginning of camp the LH catcher (Anderson) had a shot (maybe even platooning with Flowers) but it seems the job is now Gimenez's to lose. Gillaspie has definitely been the most pleasant surprise, along with the continuing progress from Mitchell, but we've seen him play well in bursts throughout his entire spring training, AFL and minor league career. https://twitter.com/M_Montemurro Didn't know the White Sox and Cubs had a beat writer with the Northwest Herald, or that there even was such a paper (just knew the Arlington Daily Herald). Good for her. Not the easiest job for women to be in a locker room in any sport, but especially on a daily/weekly basis. I'm sure there are others around MLB teams, but there can't be more than a handful.

Sale hit hard White Sox's 11-5 loss to A's http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/baseball...1191e3f812.html Love how the Associated Press (which went out all over the country) focuses on Sale, when Parker gave up more runs and the White Sox actually won the freakin' game. Wonder if that would ever happen to the Cubs or Cardinals?

QUOTE (qwerty @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 09:26 PM) What have you been watching lately Caulfield? Tell me all the noteworthy films from the past few months... along with whatever you plan on viewing in the near future... Norwegian Wood, Japanese film, it's a similar "depression" story to Silver Linings Playbook or Girl, Interrupted, but very dark/somber and yet beautifully filmed at the same time....story of love and loss, based on one of my favorite writers in the world, Murakami (Wind Up Bird Chronicle). One of the stars is the Japanese actress who was so good in Babel and got an Academy Award nomination for her smaller role. Identity Thief wasn't bad Oz: The Great and Powerful Will definitely see Spring Breakers Mama The Interrupters The Invisible War The Gatekeepers I actually liked The Last Stand with Arnie more than I imagined I would....have held out against any desire to see the new Die Hard Here in China, Lost in Thailand and The Journey West (Stephen Chow)....the two biggest money makers in Chinese history, following 2/3 behind Avatar's box office. Undefeated (not to be confused with the Sarah Palin one) I've watched the Ayn Rand movies just to laugh at how atrocious they were, Atlas Shrugged and its sequel Cloud Atlas (tried to read the book but couldn't get into it) Am reading Robopocalypse (Wilson) and really enjoying it....mothballed Stephen Spielberg film project project Upside Down (Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst), some of the reviews have been quite critical of the central plot element, but I really liked it.....kind of reminded me of Adjustment Bureau, albeit lacking the ability of Matt Damon as Sturgess is something of a bland actor IMO Really want to read Dark Holes (Kip S. Thorne)....by the Cal Tech physics professor whose work has been loosely translated into the plot for INTERSTELLAR, the next Christopher Nolan project Another great book is Shantaram, albeit 932 pages long. But worth it.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3649&p=.htm Which movies will make over $1 billion worldwide in 2013.

The older I get the more I despise people using officials as an excuse to rationalize a loss. That said, I come away from watching Iowa’s 59-56 loss to Michigan State in the second round of the Big Ten tournament feeling as though the men in stripes played too great a role in the contest. Michigan State has a reputation for playing in your jersey defense. They are physical. It’s the type of physicality the Big Ten is ‘known for’ and quite frankly the type of physicality that is ugly basketball and has made the Big Ten the butt of more than a few jokes through the last decade-plus. In the second half of this game, right about the time Iowa was up double digits with under 10 minutes to play, Michigan State’s guards were delivering a lot of contact on Iowa’s guards when they had the ball, but no calls came. That happened over and over. Michigan State’s Adreian Payne ‘blocked’ an Iowa dunk attempt that actually didn’t get any ball, but no foul was called. Late in the game, with Iowa down one and Michigan State shooting with three-seconds left on the shot clock, Aaron White was whistled for a very, very questionable foul. It was so bad even Iowa State fans could not believe what they were seeing: @nvil23 @haw k eyenation :Woo-wee, we have s ome ref coo k ing here tonight … a s a Clone fan, Haw k s getting s crewed — JGerjet s (@JnJ4cy) March 16, 2013 @haw k eyenation Cyclone here, M S U getting away with s ome K U s tyle mugging s . The old rule of s tart mugging early s o it won ’ t get called late. — Nic k V (@nvil23) March 16, 2013 I realize this is going to read like a ‘whiny fan’ rant. I’m fine wearing that one in this instance. The ‘hand checking’ that MSU was allowed to get away with was just egregious, and former NBA Champ Bob Hansen felt the same during and after the game as I listened to the broadcast. Does Bob want Iowa to win? Yes he does. However Bob is not your typically bleeding heart homer that you hear on University approved radio. All this said, Michigan State is a very, very good basketball team. They are a better basketball team than Iowa is and the better team, on the whole of the season, won the game. Aside from the highly debatable officiating, here is where Iowa lost the basketball game: Iowa had 19 turnovers to 13 for Michigan State and the Spartans had 16 offensive boards to Iowa’s seven. Iowa had back to back unforced errors in the last two minutes by Marble and Anthony Clemmons led to five MSU points. Going over eight minutes and forty seconds scoring just two points (10:24 to play and leading by 12 to 2:21 to play trailing by eight) in part of a 24-4 run. Yes, that is why Iowa lost. But we’ll remember the officiating, and while it was poor and certainly contributed to the changing of momentum and it was mind numbing how a team as physical as Michigan State is had just three fouls with just over three minutes to play in the game, Iowa had more than enough chances to win the game. Fran McCaffery led off his press conference with this quote: “I’ve coached in a lot of games, a lot of seasons. I’ve coached in a lot of tournaments, NCAA tournaments. This team deserved a better fate tonight.” McCaffery was asked a follow up question on officiating…he paused for over 15 seconds before providing a three word answer. It was uncomfortable and also spoke volumes about what he thought of the officiating and how it impacted his team’s chances to win. When asked about whether youth had anything to do with his team falling apart down the stretch, he became angry and defensive, perhaps even defint: “That had nothing to do with it! Nothing…at all…to do with it.” He didn’t scream, but he was firm. In the end, Iowa drops to 21-11 on the year and went 10-10 against Big Ten competition. Iowa’s RPI will settle somewhere in the 70′s, most likely too far out of the mix to make it into the NCAA tournament. Iowa will likely wind up as a #1 seed in the NIT tournament and while this sort of finish is what I expected for this team before the season began, they were so close to a magical kind of season…something that comes out of the blue that you do not expect. It’s a shame that Iowa won’t make it into the NCAA tournament because they are playing like a Top 30, Top 40 team in the nation. But that’s not how it works and Iowa’s out of conference schedule is going to wind up costing them. Iowa will learn its post season fate on Sunday evening and school officials have said they would be able to host some NIT games, even with Carver Hawkeye Arena being a site for the Women’s NCAA tournament. jon miller/hawkeyenation.com

You know it's bad when ISU fans are feeling sorry for you. No NCAA appearances since 2006. F--- Gary Barta for firing Dr. Tom Davis in 1998 and putting a curse on this entire program. It used to be that we'd automatically get into the NCAA's almost every year, win the first round game and then come up against a superior ACC team and get it handed to us. And then to watch that megalomaniac and prick Alford having success at Univ. of New Mexico. It sucks to be from Iowa and see your teams get destroyed by PAC 10 and SEC speed and never be able to recruit against it. Same thing with going up against MSU, OSU, Illinois and Michigan in recruiting. At least Wisconsin has a winning coach, even though his talent level hasn't ever been much higher than Iowa's or ISU's or UNI's/Creighton.

So basically, who do you want to keep, besides Konerko? Chris Sale? Why not trade him too, as he just signed an extremely team-friendly contract, before he gets injured? By the time that the team has been rebuilt to your liking, Sale will probably be injured or his salary will be too high for your tastes. Is there ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION you actually like and want to keep around for 2014 and 2015? Who are you going to build around? Oh, that's right, the solution was to go out and pay huge money to Josh Hamilton and Greinke. Okay. And, since every scout in baseball agrees with your assessment that Viciedo won't make any continued progress at all as a hitter or fielder, we can't trade him for BJ Upton, either.

What new? My Hawkeyes choking away another 2nd half lead. 17-4 Spartans run. Oglesby had two looks at 3 to make it a 15 point lead, but continues to have no confidence. Wilting down the stretch, too many turnovers. 19-4 run. Iowa down 3 now and desperate for any offense. 24-4 run. Jesus. 33-20 lead evaporated after they held off the Spartans for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. Iowa always down 2-3 dominant athletes/wings when they play teams like MI, OSU or MSU.