cabiness42

Would be nice to see the BIG take a stand and give them the boot, but I give that about a 0.0001% chance of actually happening.

Dennis Green is #1, followed closely by this:

I've played some damn fine football in those tailgate lots if I do say so myself.

Lots of places do this. I applied for a job where I was overqualified, but I really wanted to move to that location and the top of the published salary range coincided with the bottom of my salary range. I met every required qualification as well as every preferred qualification, had double the experience required, and a degree higher than required. I was initially offered the 25th percentile of the salary range, and was only able to negotiate them up to the midpoint of the range. All the HR lady kept saying was that I did not qualify for anything higher. I asked her if in the last 5 years she had ever seen any candidate that was qualified for anything higher than the midpoint of the range and she wouldn't answer the question.

Lonely world is in Canada also, no?

I'm not aware of anyplace that has stats like that. I stand by my assertion that Hester is getting his hands on the ball less for punt and kickoff returns due to more touchbacks and better punting. I'm not saying the Bears should get rid of him, but that his impact has lessened.

When I lived in Chicago and went to 10+ games per year, it was always one game per year in the 300 level and the rest in the 100 level, because I'd rather be able to afford to go to more games. Now that I live 300 miles away and only get to 2-3 games per year anyway, they're almost always in the 300 level.

No, you're missing the point. The original statement was that Kate Upton's boobs in his face would ruin his concentration. I'm claiming it wouldn't, and the only way to prove me wrong is to rub her boobs in my face to see how it affects my concentration. Get it now?

Sure they will, because at some point the TV networks will figure out that getting rid of the AL and NL means that it becomes possible for the Red Sox and Yankees to meet in the World Series, and the TV networks will throw any amount of money at MLB in order to get that to happen.

There would be no AL and NL. Playoffs would be 5 division winners and 3 wild cards. Or if they really want to, 6 wild cards that play each other in an opening round and then 3 of them moving on to join the 5 division winners.

You guys are focusing too much on the first half of my statement and not the second half. I made an outrageous claim, and I'm waiting to be proven wrong.

If we're being liberal with the term "potato chip", then Cheetos are my far and away favorite. If we're being literal with the term "potato chip", then regular or cheddar Pringles would be my favorite.

OK, since you're too f***ing lazy to look it up yourself: Bears punt returns: 2009: 39 returns, 7 fair catches 2010: 33 returns, 10 fair catches 2011: 30 returns, 16 fair catches Is that enough stat for you?

I'm 100% certain it wouldn't hurt my concentration, and you're welcome to try to prove me wrong.

Yeah, because the MLB team 80 miles from there is drawing so well.

During the ASG last night, my wife picked this up off twitter. I had to try to explain to her who Kate Upton was without getting myself into trouble. It wasn't easy.

No, you can access the 100 level with a 300 level ticket.

I could see five divisions with six teams each: Northeast: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Pirates Southeast: Orioles, Nationals, Braves, Rays, Marlins, Reds Great Lakes: Indians, Tigers, White Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Cardinals Midwest: Twins, Royals, Rangers, Astros, Rockies, Diamondbacks Pacific: Mariners, Giants, A's, Dodgers, Angels, Padres Maintains the most important rivalries and cuts down significantly on travel. Play 18 games per year against division opponents and 3 games per year against non-division opponents. You could probably work the schedule so you only have one 9-game road trip to each of the other divisions per year. How much would the players love that?

If you can afford it, it's well worth it. The biggest plus is the temperature-controlled concourse, especially if it's a very hot or very cold day. Second biggest plus is the limited access to that level--it will never be very crowded. Another bonus is that you have a server who comes to your section to take food and drink orders. Only real downsides are that you of course are not as close to the field as the 100 level, and that there is a better food selection on the 100 level.

I know it sounds like a terrible idea to traditionalists, but what it would do is make the Sox much more visible to Cubs fans. Seeing the Sox above the Cubs in the standings all the time might chip away at that fan base . . .

They may have more offensive talent, but they are only outhitting the Sox at SS, 3B, and CF. It's going to take a very significant acquisition for the Tigers to be able to take this division away from the Sox.

My belief is that eventually the NL will adopt the DH, and at that point the leagues will be eliminated and all the teams will be realigned geographically. I think the changes for 2013 are the first step, but there are apparently enough NL owners still resisting the change.

A lot of that average starting field position came when kickoffs were on the 30, meaning that Hester either got the ball and got a good return, or they squib kicked it and got good field position anyway. Since last year, pretty much all drives after kickoffs start on the 20 for all teams. Yes, Hester is more likely to return a punt than a kickoff for a TD, but his overall impact on field position was greater on kickoffs. Also, some teams are getting better at directional punting.

The rules that moved the kickoffs up to the 35 pretty much destroyed Hester's value.

I still don't get why so many people are saying this. I've people saying this on espn.com, Sports Illustrated, and here. The Tigers are giving up nearly 4½ runs per game, and they have a lot of games left against the top 5 offenses in the league (TEX, BOS, TOR, NYY, SOX). Their defense isn't going to get much better. Now, something could always happen to cause the Sox to fall apart, but I don't see the Tigers winning more than 85-86 games.