LittleHurt05

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 02:45 PM) My God please stop with this nonsense, the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was a joke. They went 2-6 in conference, losing 6 straight. That was an epic meltdown. Let's not honor that as some sort of great accomplishment. History of the program or no history. An Illini fan calling a bowl game a joke? That's like a Northwestern basketball fan calling the NIT a joke. But I guess that goes back to my expectations being more realistic than everyone else.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 02:48 PM) Hawks have had Dallas' number lately, but I can see the "first game back from a long road trip" cliché playing out tonight. JINX!

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 08:44 PM) He might be the only reason Illinois has a chance to get into the big tourney. Next season with the freshmen hopefully improving and transfers being elgible along with Rice should be a good enough team to even win 3 games in March. I just hope that Rice doesn't become Trent Meacham once Big Ten play starts. Meacham looked good during the non-conference schedule too.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 09:04 PM) Swapping Cano for Ellsbury probably makes the Yankees worse, not better. What was the point of this signing if they can't keep their biggest bat? They claim the still have room for Cano. Makes me think that they are expecting to not have a certain 3b on their payroll next season due to suspension.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 10:49 AM) His 2010 and 2011 classes were Ron Turner level bad (maybe worse when you factor in attrition) and his 2012 class wasn't going any better before he was fired. Propping Zook up with coordinators who did most of the coaching led to a couple mediocre seasons where Illinois had as much or more NFL talent then pretty much any other team in the Big 10 not named OSU or Wisconsin but predictably Zook's recruiting also fell off because no one had any confidence in him after the 2008 and 2009 seasons and none of the coaches on that staff were particularly good recruiters. If that staff stays together last years team might have been ok but with the lack of talent coming into the program Zook had Illinois heading back to the end of the Turner era. A real program would have fired Zook in 2009 and the next coach would have come into a really good situation to succeed right off the bat. But that would have actually required balls and forward thinking and sadly Guenther doesn't have either of those. Seriously besides Jonathan Brown and Cvijanovic there isn't a single player from the 2010 class who is an above average Big 10 player and you have to stretch to find average Big 10 players. And the only good Big 10 player from the 2011 class is Josh Ferguson with Lacosse and Jon Davis being solid Big 10 tight ends. Notably there isn't a single legitimate Big 10 defensive lineman in either of those classes. Beckman was a bad hire but I have no problem with the decision to fire Zook. So you are willing to fire a guy solely based on his recruiting while ignoring his team's success on the field? If a couple of mediocre seasons are no big deal at Illinois, why had it been 19 years since they won even 6 games in back-to-back seasons? Who cares if the coordinators did most of the coaching, it worked. Maybe he could have turned the recruiting around had he had any support after making two straight bowl games, which isn't very common in Champaign.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 09:31 AM) After the Rose Bowl? Ran the program into the ground. He had to go, and should have went earlier. Whether or not Beckman is the answer is irrelevant to keeping Zook. His final two seasons were the first time Illinois had consecutive winning seasons in 20 years. How exactly is that running the program into the ground?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 08:17 AM) Someone hasn't been watching Paul George. Elite defense? Check. Score from anywhere? Check. Painfully handsome and stylish? Check. But is he an awful tipper?

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 09:16 AM) Nothing like overrated closers making $10 mil a year... It's amazing how much teams are willing to pay for "proven" closers, when so many recent WS champs have found closers in the middle of the season.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 07:12 AM) The assignment of teams to Pots 2-4 is being announced at 10:30 Eastern/9:30 Central. It's pretty much known exactly how the teams will be split up already, right?

So does this mean the Red Sox collapse in September 2014 and AJ makes it a cool 3 for 3?

QUOTE (farmteam @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 09:37 AM) Which? I totally thought Eli was getting the axe the past few episodes. I'd be perfectly fine with Chicago becoming the main storyline. While Nucky is still technically the main character, the show has become more decentralized every season. The Chicago parts are my favorite scenes every episode. Re: Homeland Setting up for quite the finish. I want to punch Lockhart every time he's on screen, what a tool. I assumed Eli, Chalky, or Narcisse would go. I do enjoy the Chicago storyline, so another Atlantic City death or two could have been a good crossover.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 02:33 PM) Arencibia to be non-tendered if not traded in the next 8.5 hours. http://www.bluejaysmessageboard.com/thread...ibia-a-Contract Stolen from Twitter: "It is very ironic that the Blue Jays let Arencibia walk"

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 07:58 PM) Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 4m Sources: If Robinson Cano is getting $200M, it won't be from the Yankees. They are adamant they won't go there. News: http://yhoo.it/19dTIyR I'll wait until the contract gets signed before I call out Jay-Z. There is so much posturing now, but teams tend to get desperate, a player like Cano is always in the catbird seat. (Did I really just quote Hawk?)

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 11:35 PM) He ran the program into the ground. And now we're seeing the results. Please don't let "bowl games" cloud your judgment. That's the biggest bs statement. Should have been gone after 2009. Ran the program into the ground? Did you see what he inherited from Ron Turner? You were there then. Look at what Turner inherited from Tepper. The program has been in the ground several times, Zook didn't ruin some blue blood football program. Plus, you are ignoring the most important fact:

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Dec 3, 2013 -> 12:21 AM) Ronald Belisario also non-tendered. Could be a good bullpen guy He sounds like a bad matchup with the nightlife of Chicago.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 10:57 PM) What the f***? 3 bowl games in 5 years and first back-to-back bowl games in 20 years. He may have made some awful gameday decisions, but he brought in a lot of talent to Champaign and always kept it entertaining. It's not like Illinois has ever been a football powerhouse since the Second World War. Plus, dude can barefoot waterski.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 07:41 PM) Haha. What's interesting is that the only other SEC that I guess I actually do like is Ole Miss. The Grove is unbelievable. Oxford is incredibly charming. Lots of fun. I would love to attend a football game at nearly any SEC school, but Ole Miss is #1 on the list. The football may not be that good, but by all accounts the atmosphere can't be beat.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 06:43 PM) Orgeron furious and quit. Talk about a hot commodity. So far he has interviews set with Wake Forest and Florida Atlantic.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 10:19 PM) Obviously anything can happen in one game but good luck beating Seattle in Seattle in the playoffs. Exactly. I don't know if Seattle is the best team in the NFC but they are the overwhelming favorite with home field advantage. (Just disregard the Buccs game)

Worst trade ever! Fire KW

Good luck to Dylan. Don't get the hate for him. He's an independent leaguer who managed to make a few good major league starts. Good for him.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 10:23 PM) former White Sox Dan Hudson non-tendered by Arizona. Worst trade ever!

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 07:43 PM) Incredible trade for the Nationals. I wonder if this is a prelude to Tigers signing Cano or Ellsbury? With this asking price the Tigers had for Fister, I'm stunned the Cubs didn't try to get him. That's what I was thinking. After the Kinsler trade, I doubt it's Cano, but maybe Ellsbury?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 07:06 PM) I think Florida and ILL would love some Zook right about now. I still don't think Zook should have been fired from Illinois, but I think my football expectations are much lower than most.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 03:03 PM) Remember when Mizzou and TAMU joined the SEC and never had a chance? Didnt take long to prove that theory completely unjustified. Maybe the rest of the division is just "bad" like you say. Georgia did have about 28 ACL tears and this was Florida's worst season in about 30 years. But I agree that the success of the top teams in the SEC has to lead a wrong opinion about the rest of the league. Bama & Auburn & LSU have been that good, but that in no way means that Arkansas, both Mississippis, Kentucky, Vanderbilt & co. are good simply for being in the same conference as the other schools. QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 2, 2013 -> 03:06 PM) Compared to what? Washington was very good from about 75-92, then 3 bowl wins in 20+ years. They were ineligible in 93 & 94, then went to 8 straight bowl games after that. Not their heyday anymore, but still consistent until the wheels completely fell off. But if we are gonna use bowl wins to judge a program's success, Illinois has more bowl victories than OSU & Wisconsin combined in the last 3 seasons. I L L !