[Official 2008-2009 NHL Thread]

I thought Campbell was supposed to be fast, just got beat on that GW goal.

[WBC # 2]

With the Youkilis injury, not many options left for the Americans.

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/base....out/index.html

 

 

Kevin Youkilis is out of the WBC because of a sprained left ankle.

 

Youkilis returned to Red Sox camp in Fort Myers, Fla., to get an MRI. He injured it two days ago and it grew worse last night.

 

Derrek Lee is the only other first baseman eligible to be added, but he is hurt (knee) and has been ruled out by the Cubs. Adam Dunn is playing first base in Wednesday night's game against Venezuela, against the preferences of the Nationals. He appears to be their only option for the semifinals, which will be played in Los Angeles this weekend.

 

 

[Some cuts]

Quick question: What does it mean for the guys sent down to minor league camp, and not straight to AA or AAA? Are they still trying to determine what level they want them to play at?

[Official 2008-2009 NHL Thread]

They are tied now.

 

And the Blue Jackets are only five back, and we still have 3 to play against them, including in Columbus tonight.

[WBC # 2]

I do not like the fact that this tournament is solely controlled by MLB. The finals rounds are in the USA for the second time. The games are played with the Rawlings. Only MLB umpire are allowed behind the plate. The rules were made thinking about MLB players first.

 

Japan, Korea and Cuba should say Hell with MLB.

 

Good luck with that. If you think that a lot of the best players from North/South America are missing the WBC now, imagine if its not sponsored by MLB. You would have all-star teams from Japan, Korea, & Cuba facing teams of minor leaguers/scrubs from USA, Canada, Dom., Venezuela, Puerto Rico. Might as well make a four-team tourney with Japan, Korea, Cuba, & Taiwan or someone like that.

[Official 2008-2009 NBA Thread]

Anybody else expecting a Bulls loss tonight? Thats been their MO the past few weeks. Look great at home, beating all the top teams in the league, then head on the road, and get beat by lottery teams. I'm hoping they dont lose, but its just what they have been doing. I'm sure the 8-man rotation doesnt help the back-to back games either.

[South Regional]

He's important, but I don't think his playing will stop us from winning or losing Thursday. Gonzaga might be a different story. It's pretty rough losing your best defender and probably your smartest player. He sets up the offense and handles the ball. While McCamey and Brock can do it, the team is better with Frazier for sure.

 

If we can get out of the first weekend, I'll consider this season a whopping success.

 

After how bad last year was, and since our only incoming freshman was gonna redshirt, I expected an NIT bid at best. 2nd place in the conference, a 5 seed, the development of Davis/Tisdale, they so exceeded my expectations, I already consider it a huge success, although getting upset in the first round, would put a little damper on it now.

[South Regional]

According to the experts, I dont see what the point is for Illinois to even fly out to Portland. Chester Frazier = Deron Williams and without him they are gonna get smoked by Western KY.

 

 

[Who would you rather see at the plate?]

Juan Uribe

[Pujols, 'Believe in me..."]

Then every player has been on the juice in the past 10 years? Thats a pretty crappy way to look at things. Pujols succes is not really based on pure power as much as it is his perfect swing and approach.

 

It is a crappy way to look at things, no doubt. The steroid spectrum goes from the best players in the game like A-Rod, to players at the lower end of your roster, like Jim Parque and Juan Rincon, to minor leaguers you have never heard of. It was rampant throughout baseball. Bud Seling and the players reaped the benefits of the long ball, while turning a blind eye to it. I'm not saying every player was on the juice, but I think its hard to be 100% certain that any of the players were clean.

 

Pujols is the best player in the game right now. Is it possible that he has always been clean? Definitely. But with the way the time were back then, I think there will always be that cloud of suspicion over it.

[Pujols, 'Believe in me..."]

No matter what he says, I still cant believe that he was never on the juice. I think you have to question anybody who played in the past 10-20 years, especially someone as large as Pujols.

[WBC # 2]

Well we have our ULTIMATE proof that the WBC does not matter at all, since Vazquez pitched well last night.

 

[WBC # 2]

USA disappointed me. How can you leave a pitcher get rocked and fall behind like that?

 

cause the WBC doesnt matter, and its more important for the pitchers to get work to get ready for the season, the manager Davey Johnson admitted it

 

"Yeah, we had a lot of one-inning pitchers out there. Just basically let him get a little more work. Unfortunately, it wasn't really great work, but he still needed the work. Like I said, it's double elimination. It wasn't a thing where it was ... hook him in the second inning. Just let him get his work in."

 

 

[Big East Tournament]

UConn was up 5 in the 3rd OT and I gave up, thinking they would win it, shut it off and went to sleep....couldnt believe when I saw SIX overtimes this morning

[Big 10 Tournament]

Chester Frazier doubtful for Fridays game with a bruised hand....hes the type of guy to play through anything, but I'd rather see him rest this weekend and make sure hes healthy for the real tourney next week....

 

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/eye-on-th...ement-expected/

[Big 10 Tournament]

and there goes the dream for NW...maybe one of these years they will finally break through and make the tourney...a guy like Coble is definitely a good player to have for a couple years...

[Sears Tower to be renamed "Willis Tower"]

Maybe to the outside, but not here. Even after 6 years, most of the city Sox fans refer to our ballpark as Comiskey Park. It is that way with a couple of the towers that changed hands as well.

 

I do hear a lot of Comiskey Park, but feels like I hear more and more people call it "the Cell" as time goes by...

[Jon Heyman on Appreciating KW, Sox]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...iams/index.html

 

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Like his team, White Sox general manager Ken Williams is routinely underrated. He's one of the best GMs in the game, though listings of the great current GMs usually exclude him.

 

Williams and his team aren't exactly media darlings. They are the second team in the second city, and treated as such. But it's more than just geography or history or lovability.

 

No one has written a book on the White Sox's style, though they certainly have one of their own. They are never the chic pick. Last year they finished first in a tight, tough American League Central. But now, in some cases, they're a last-place pick.

 

"People don't really understand our way, our method," Williams said.

 

As he's talking, Williams is doing what he does, which is perusing the talent that's out on the back fields here. And by the way, he likes what he sees very much.

 

Yet, other people are looking at the payroll cut from $111 million to $96 million, and uncertainties at second base, third base, center field, plus two spots in the rotation, and are picking the White Sox to fall to the bottom of the AL Central.

 

Although Williams -- whose 59 trades involving 157 major league players is more than any other GM during his tenure -- has a history of good deals, and got Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez in trades and signings that can only be considered superb, the doubters still far outnumber the believers. And although Williams' White Sox have the best record in their division over the past four years -- winning two division titles and a World Series in that time -- the doubters still far outnumber the believers.

 

I'm not sure whether this means anything, but it's interesting to note that while their co-tenant at the beautiful new Camelback Ranch, the P.R.-driven Dodgers, let everyone in, the White Sox's side has fort-like qualities, such as the tunnel from the clubhouse to the practice fields.

 

"We need to take a Promotions 101 class," said Williams. "It's our fault. We don't let too much of the outside world in. It's like a fraternity."

 

As for what the Sox are all about, Williams said, "We've done a lousy job of articulating it to the general public."

 

No surprise -- hardly anyone outside of the Sox's inner circle seems to like the Sox again. Regardless of whether it bothers Williams, it certainly doesn't affect his opinion.

 

"We know what we've got," Williams said. "We've got a chance to win a division. And if you've got a chance to win a division, you've got a chance to win a World Series."

 

Most folks predicted the White Sox wouldn't make the playoffs last year, and they wound up winning a tight, competitive AL Central. Same thing this year. Most see them as a third- or fourth-place finisher, if not dead last.

 

The vaunted Baseball Prospectus picks the Sox dead last, though with an explanation. The smart fellows at BP explain that they routinely underestimate what Williams and Co. do because they use numerical formulas while the Sox's front office has its own brand of magic.

 

That's a nice bouquet. But it's still last.

 

Putting aside his baseball picks, BP star Nate Silver is actually a favorite in Chicago's front office since he correctly predicted that noted White Sox fan Barack Obama (an acquaintance of Williams' and others in the Sox front office) would win the White House. Silver got quite a sterling reputation after nailing the presidential election, but he isn't perfect, as one White Sox person noted. "I hear his Oscar picks [stunk]," that person said with a laugh.

 

BP has been a pretty good baseball predictor, as well, but regularly underestimates the Sox; by an average of 8 1/2 wins a year, it turns out. Contrary to what others believe, the Stanford man Williams says they do look at SABRmetrics (and even goes so far as to point out his SABRmetrics guy, Dan Fabian). But they go with their eyes and their gut and their heart more than just the raw numbers. And that doesn't compute for some prognosticators.

 

The Sox, in fact, seem to specialize in players with bad stats who would qualify as "reclamation projects." Jose Contreras, who's months ahead of projections, and Bartolo Colon are the clear stars of camp so far and appear ready to make the Opening Day roster as the Nos. 4 and 5 starters (over youngsters Clayton Richard and Jeff Marquez).

 

People in the game respect the Sox's way much more than outsiders do, and they do remark how the White Sox front office is as tight-knit as they come. "One thing about all the White Sox people, they all seem to take pride in being with that team," one AL general manager said, attributing that to the organization's two biggest personalities and leading men, manager Ozzie Guillen and Williams.

 

"Every day, every night, we're just kind of hanging out," Williams said. "Underneath all the layers of fun -- and Ozzie -- is a very structured way of doing things. It's a structured business model ... but only to a point."

 

Others don't see the structure. They see Guillen's goofy facade (on this day, he was excitedly commenting on the garb of fans, the managing of Venezuela's Luis Sojo and anything else that might come up that has nothing to do with the Sox) and Williams' tempestuousness and wrongly assume they're just guessing.

 

Out here on the back field, Williams is swiveling his head, enjoying the exploits and engaging in a rare bit of promotion. Outsiders may see holes at second base, third base and center field. But Williams sees strength at least at second and third.

 

"We've got too many infielders," he said. "We don't know what to do with all of them."

 

Everyone at second has been superb this spring, including Chris Getz and Jayson Nix, and everyone here will tell you Getz is the favorite. But Williams, who'll consider thinking outside any box, says they've been talking a lot about No. 1 draft choice Gordon Beckham, who's tearing up the Cactus League. "Beckham's trying his best to kind of screw up all these plans," Williams said.

 

The White Sox have youngsters all over these back fields who can play, according to Williams. If anyone's down on Josh Fields at third, it's not Williams. "He's going to have a good year now that he can feel both his legs," Williams said of the young player who had two surgeries on the same knee last year.

 

Williams actually envisions one of the best infields in baseball, and maybe the best shortstop. About Alexei Ramirez, Williams said, "I've never seen anyone who can play every position, and play it at Gold Glove caliber. He never played second base before last year, and he made plays I've never seen made."

 

Center field is a spot where Williams is a little less certain, though. DeWayne Wise, Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens are battling it out there.

 

"That's the only position where you might say, 'We'll see what happens,' " Williams said.

 

You can claim this is just talk. But the reality is, the Sox have outplayed their division over the past several years. And Williams has out-thought many of his competitors.

 

His trades this winter already look better than when he made them, as offloading $44 million in contracts (both Javier Vazquez and Nick Swisher have $22 million remaining) seems prescient now in these brutal economic conditions. The Swisher trade saved them $4 million for 2009, which was exactly the signing bonus they gave hotshot 20-year-old Cuban import Dayan Viciedo, who's already ready to hit in the bigs.

 

Swisher hit .219 last year, but the stat people say he was especially unlucky. The Sox don't seem so sure, as one other Sox person said, "We would have traded Swisher for a bag of balls."

 

Williams would only say Swisher didn't fit into the plans. In any case, neither of those players would now bring the haul that Williams got. He loves powerful Tyler Flowers, who came in a four-prospect package for Vazquez, and young pitchers Marquez and Jhonny Nunez, who came for Swisher.

 

When Williams picked up Danks and Floyd, those deals were widely panned. When he got Ramirez, it received little notice. And he was the only one talking up Quentin when he got him from Arizona last winter.

 

Quentin was on his way to an MVP season when a self-inflicted injury killed his chances. (And probably hurt the White Sox's chances.) Though Williams isn't making any excuses. "The fact of the matter is, we went to Tampa [for the Division Series] and couldn't get it done," he said. "So, start over."

 

And start with less. Williams trimmed the payroll by about $15 million, and with three positional questions plus veterans Contreras and Colon likely manning the Nos. 4 and 5 spots in the rotation.

 

The future looks secure to Williams. But he surely isn't giving up on now, either. Rebuilding, remarks a colleague, "just isn't in Kenny's DNA."

 

While others see a rebuilding, last-place team, Williams sees another surprising Sox squad.

[Big East Tournament]

and Georgetown falls to St. John's...amazing...they were ranked top 5/10 in like December, have wins vs. memphis, Syracuse, @ Villanova, & @ Uconn, but end up 16-14 and not a chance to make the NCAAs....how did they fall apart like that?

[Official 2008-2009 College Basketball Thread]

The problem is that if they do over turn it then they open themselves up to having to review any taped game where someone receives two technical fouls. This is why it is a stupid rule to begin with. But really, that call is so bad (at least from what can be seen on the video) that it makes you wonder if the ref had an ulterior motive.

 

Wow, looks like they have reversed the suspension. Richmond will be allowed to play tomorrow.

 

http://yourseason.suntimes.com/1468056,030...ll-play.article

[WBC # 2]

Korea up 1-0 on Japan to start 6th.

 

not gonna ruin it for ya if it is, but are they playing again, or is this the game from this morning?

[Flight of the Conchords Season 2]

Are you kidding me? This episode was by far the funniest IMO, the styling gel crack addicts, trying to be cool, the prime ministers drawing, New Zealand town, LUCY FRIGGIN LAWLESS.

 

 

I was laughing from start to finish

 

there definitely were tons of awesome moments, but i dont know why just thought it was missing something, but thats just me. Either way, its still 10x funnier than anything i saw all week. I think Brahbrah and the epileptic dogs is still tops for me.

[Flight of the Conchords Season 2]

Episode started off hilarious, but I think the second half was a bit disappointing. Probably one of the weaker episodes this season, but this season has been so good, thats not such a bad thing.

[SEC Basketball Tournament]

wow, Boers & Bernstein should include this one in their Tournament of Bad!

[Big East Tournament]

I think it's stupid having all 16 teams in New York and single and double byes and all that stuff. Making teams earn their way to New York by playing into the top 12 was a better system in my opinion. This still should be a fantastic tournament, once you get past the first round which could be pretty sleepy.

 

I like giving those bottom teams a chance to still make the tourney with one last run. Will a 13-16 seed ever win 5 straight? No, but I still think its good that they theoretically have a chance.