danman31

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Feb 1, 2012 -> 05:07 PM) American sports are on a much smaller scare compared to, you know, THE REST OF THE WORLD. There's hundreds of soccer leagues in the middle of the season right now, and this one riot is supposed to make it seem like a frequent occurrence? Yes, it happens, but it's also because it's the top sport in most countries around the world and the pure volume of soccer matches outnumbers anything that happens in the US. To be honest, the atmosphere is way overrated in a lot of these leagues. The Serie A plays in half full stadiums. EPL can have great atmosphere for the derbies, but the big clubs charge way too much for the drunken idiots to be a majority. I'm not saying the passion isn't amazing and I'm not saying you need hooligans to have a great atmosphere, but great atmospheres aren't everywhere for every game in international football. Plus, I'll take college football against anything in the world in terms of pure volume. In terms of stadium size the US is unmatched. The US has 48 stadiums (says wiki) of 70k+ capacity for pro/college football. That's more than the entire planet does for soccer stadiums. NFL doesn't always have a great atmosphere, but many college venues do for every game and they fill these places. I love soccer and I love the passion the rest of the world has for the game. I played it, loved it and then discovered a whole different world to the sport. The drama involved in promotion/relegation and a minnow taking on a big name in Europe is something we don't have the way our sports work. That doesn't mean we don't have the same passion for sports in this country. It's just that we don't have that passion for soccer unfortunately.

MIZ-DGB

I've never noticed a difference in the effort. There are guys dogging it in college too. One thing the college game has on the NBA is exciting finishes. The game is almost never over because these college kids can choke and do so regularly. It's fun to see a team s*** itself at a full-court press with an 8 point lead.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 08:27 PM) Of course, I'm also of the opinion that anyone who dislikes watching a game that Gus Johnson is announcing should quit watching sports. In fairness, Gus is over the top when it's the beginning or middle of the game. No one better in sports for the last few minutes of a close game though.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jan 30, 2012 -> 10:45 PM) From the sound of Musburger, you guys arent running much zone this year? That's literally all Miami did under Haith. It's been a mix. It's certainly not all they do.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Jan 30, 2012 -> 10:20 PM) I'm not too familiar with Barnes but I'm guess thats the norm for Texas in the final possession? If so, I guess that's who Haith got it from when he was at Miami. Good for Haith though. I'm sure he's learning a lot from having better assistants this year but from all accounts he was a really nice/good guy and it's nice to see him having success. Not final possession as much as brutal in-game coaching. For all of Texas' talent they have had very limited success, especially recently. He couldn't even make the second weekend with Kevin Durant! That said, Haith's decision to slow Missouri down on the offensive end was brutal and cost them the lead. This is a team used to running that's good in the half court set. Don't limit them on the shot clock and force them to hold the ball. Let them play and you'll win.

Was there any doubt a Rick Barnes team would fail to execute in the final possession there?

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jan 30, 2012 -> 08:30 AM) Ryan Boatright situation keeps getting more interesting It's been a brutal run of Mr. Basketballs in Illinois lately and I'm not sure this year is going to be any better.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 30, 2012 -> 07:48 AM) So I was a big fan of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, but I missed the premier of Gods of the Arena when it was first airing. I managed to DVR the last 5 episodes of the season, but Starz did not air the first episode again after the initial airing. I had it in my Blockbuster queue for months but it was always a "very long wait." Finally I found it on iTunes and watched it on Apple tv. Finally, I was able to get going on this damned series...it's been pretty good, but a lot of the plotlines seem to be recycled from the Blood and Sand. Vengeance started last week so I will be excited to get into that once I finish the finale of Gods of the Arena tonight. I do miss Andy Whitfield. I tried watching that show, but I couldn't get through it. A bit too violent for my taste (and one of my favorite movies is 300) and vulgar. The episode where they castrated the guy and showed you was the final straw for me. Something good needed to start happening. It was just a bunch of a-holes pushing people around with limited story development.

QUOTE (Rex Hudler @ Jan 28, 2012 -> 09:34 PM) Pet Peeve - I hate it when announcers refer to it as first overtime when a second has not materialized (and especially when it doesn't appear imminent). It's not the first OT until a second exists, its just overtime! It's like calling a guy John Doe Sr. that doesn't have a kid or a even a pregnant wife. Welcome to the world of bad announcing. How about true freshman? Especially in basketball this is silly whenever I (rarely) hear it, but even for football just say freshman and redshirts can get the distinction.

I don't even find Rauch attractive. How are they in the same league?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 28, 2012 -> 06:26 PM) Bernadette>Penny False. Plus how could you get past the fake voice?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 28, 2012 -> 03:07 PM) Kansas is so very overrated, and their conf schedule is getting tougher. They were 7-0 in the Big 12, hard to say they were overrated. The win at Texas was quality. Obviously their schedule gets much harder the rest of the way. Missouri twice, at Baylor, at K State. QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 28, 2012 -> 03:14 PM) That'll do it. Nice win. Oh come on, rushing the floor? Really? Its a big game, but its not like they've never done anything like it before. And the season is still long. Still shocked that ISU has only sold out 2 games this season, that's a shame. It's a HUGE win for the program. Iowa State hasn't done that any time recently and it likely pushes them from the bubble to in for a team that hasn't been in for a while. Rush worthy.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 27, 2012 -> 09:46 AM) Very well done list. I see lots of pitchers, a few middle infielders, and one 1st baseman...and two catchers. In the opinions of those better versed in the minors, is in concerning to not have a good potential replacement for Konerko? I imagine having pitchers, outfielders, and middle infielders is more important (as 1st base seems to require less athleticism), but after years of having a good power-hitting 1st baseman, what does the future hold for the Sox once Konerko leaves or retires (hopefully the latter)? You don't really draft for first basemen. They happen more organically. Even Konerko didn't start there. Generally speaking, the system lacks good hitters. Most of the best ones the Sox have are high upside/high bust rate players with limited success so far. The pitching depth in the system is getting to be pretty good. They have loads of potential future relievers, which is why trading Santos and Frasor was sustainable. There are a handful a potential decent starters as well, but Sale, Danks and Floyd may have to be the anchors of the rotation for a while.

2012 Preseason Top 25 White Sox Prospects With ballots from myself, Scenario, NorthSideSox72 and DirtySox we came up with a top 25 rankings for the system. We had several ties (Reed/Molina was one) that were broken via voting from the admin/mod team to give us a little more variety than four voters. AP poll style ranking. Be sure to click on a players name for his prospect profile. How did we do? What's your top 25 look like? Maybe we can have a broader community list as well if enough people are interested. Credit to Matt (NSS72) for writing the absurdly long post.

Steve watches too much TV.

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Jan 26, 2012 -> 07:19 AM) Anyone hear anything on the promising pick Royse who had arm surgery over a year ago? Also, no one thought Royse was promising. Most people blasted the pick when it was made. The injury only amplified that concern.

It was actually poor tennis from Federer. He's better than Nadal, but is at the point where he's completely mental. His forehand was downright bad in the last 3 sets.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jan 25, 2012 -> 04:48 PM) I used to like HUT but its such a money making racket for EA it got annoying. If you ever do get into EASHL and playing 6 on 6 I can point you in the direction of a cool league that Im in if you wanted to check it out. FIFA has the exact same modes and UT is very annoying. I do like the evolution of first person sports video games though. Unfortunately they ruined FIFA by allowing the human GKs to all be superstars and basically unbeatable even on breakaways.

Gotta love playing on the road as a top 10 team. Mizzou led by 8 with 6:30 to go and then Oklahoma State went 8/9 from the field. Just two of those were layup/dunks. 6/7 on jump shots including 3/3 on 3s down the stretch. Ok State is a brutal team that had the game of their lives. If only the rest of the conference would do this s*** against Kansas we could win the Big 12, but they all s*** themselves at the sight of them.

It's so awesome to see a top level team of professional athletes absolutely lose their minds against one team. Real certainly isn't the better team, but they are one of the best in the world right now and they just melt every time they play Barca. The first half today was dominated by Real early, they missed a few easy chances, and suddenly Barca magic and they lead 2-0 at half. It's great to watch and there are few things better than watching Ronaldo lose. What a prick. Jose Mourinho's faces when they go down to Barca are fantastic as well.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 24, 2012 -> 06:06 PM) I'd say that Pujols is a significantly better player right now, and a significantly better physical specimen right now, and thus, I'd still expect Pujols to age vastly better than Fielder. And to top it off, Fielder has to compete with another guy for the DH spot over the next 5 years. I'll agree to both counts, but Fielder is 5 years younger and his deal lasts one year less. Pujols can age significantly better and still be too damn old by the end of his deal.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 24, 2012 -> 05:43 PM) I think they are both bad deals for the teams. Cecil's body started falling apart when he was about 30. Prince has a lot of his genes, and I think he has even more girth than his dad. For the first couple years, I'd love to be the owner with with the contracts, after that, the roof may and probably will cave in. That's likely. I didn't say the Fielder deal was good, but his deal expires at 36. Pujols' at 42. You can't tell me you're going to want to pay Pujols 25 mill a year at 40 years old when he still has 3 years left on that deal. Fielder at 34-36 for 24 mill? Both seem equally crap on the back end and I think Fielder has a better chance of making the middle years look good.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 24, 2012 -> 02:08 PM) You pick. 10 years, $250 for Pujols 9 years, $214 for Fielder. I'll take Pujols. You're out of your mind. Pujols is 32. That deal is atrocious. Fielder is 27.

I didn't even watch the Minnesota game. By the time I got home it was 18-4 so I just said f*** it. This team might have been good enough, but the injuries have made them far too thin.