DBAHO

At my work office on Monday.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 2, 2007 -> 11:52 AM) If you know any college students, seriously, consider asking them to purchase a copy for you @ their bookstores. Most students can purchase 1 copy of any microsoft software at very reduced (i.e. $5) prices (make sure they won't need to buy a copy of it for themselves though). I'm still a college student myself actually, so I should go and check that out. I can get a discount on the Premium Academic Version down here though, so it'll only cost me $165 (yes our prices SUCK down here). I'm just at the stage where I'm either going to purchase a new computer and start from scratch, or try Vista. And I think I'm gonna go with Vista.

I have had problems with XP on my computer for a while. I have missing cabinet files, can open winzip files because of CRC errors etc., certain games won't work, so I think I'm gonna bite the bullet and buy the Premium Version of Vista.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Feb 2, 2007 -> 09:23 AM) You guys sure could use my 90+mph fastball and my heavy sinker with no control to start a bean war. Hello Eduardo Sierra?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 2, 2007 -> 09:06 AM) So, 1 question...you're citing a statistic which says that Luis Terrero would be a better outfield performer than Mackowiak, Podsednik, Owens, or Ozuna. So in other words, why should I trust it? And Josh Fields hitting .272 would be wishful thinking I would have thought.

Well done to everyone who got nominated.

Dye's defense has slipped a bit no doubt, but it's not like he's below average as a RF compared to others in the league. I mean look at a guy like Vlad Guerrero who has a hell of an arm, but can overthrow to the cutoff man or to third base quite occasionally. He's got the skills, but is quite wild, if you will. At least compared to Podsednik, Dye looks like a godsend out in the OF. But with less Mackowiak, and hopefully more non Pods alternatives in LF, the OF defense will be improved in 07, which will help us win an extra game or 2, which could be crucial in this division when it's all said and done.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Feb 1, 2007 -> 11:40 AM) How about no? Wear long socks and pull them up to your thighs then. You'd really look the part then.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 31, 2007 -> 09:05 AM) just trade for ichiro and put the LF concerns behind us. Or better yet, sign him as a FA next off-season. I can't see him re-signing with the Mariners unless they're a +.500 team this season.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 04:04 AM) Nooooo...I don't need you picking us Oh I definitely think I should now.

How does Thomas, Brown and the 1st pick or Gordon sound?

QUOTE(shipps @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 08:09 PM) Aren't the Bulls in the drivers seat with the Gasol trade talks?From my understanding the grizz want to get rid of him,he wants to be traded.That should make trade talks a little easier for Paxon,right?I dont think we have to give up as much that has been reported. Absolutely not, for these reasons. 1 - Memphis DOESN'T have to trade Gasol. Pau hasn't officially requested a trade yet, or at least pubicly, and no-one knows what Jerry West is going to do. 2 - There would be interest from almost every team in Gasol if he was available. So that means the Bulls are going to make a good deal if they want to get him. FWIW, Hoopsworld had this little blurb;

Ahh the irony;

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 10:38 AM) Cool site, but it seems like some of them take a while to load.... I started playing Super Mario Bros 3 on that again. Always get the 2 whistles on World 1, and go straight to World 8, Dark World. Can't get past the 3rd stage on that level ATM though (and the 1st battleship was hard enough, that took me quite a few goes).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 02:35 PM) I'm quite impressed that it's that low. I don't think that's a good thing. Down here we're really feeling the effects of it. Thanks to the El Nino Weather Pattern, we've suffered drought after drought after drought. And that means water shortages. Certain states down here are going to start to use recycable drinking water, because well we're not getting enough rain to put in the dams. And if greenhouse gas emissions stay like they are for the next decade, it's only going to get that much worse. And you're going to have situations where certain places whether they're islands, or close to the equator become unliveable basically.

THIRTEEN per cent of Americans have never heard of global warming even though their country is the world's top source of greenhouse gases, a 46-country survey has revealed. The report, by ACNielsen of more than 25,000 Internet users, showed that 57 per cent of people around the world considered global warming a "very serious problem" and a further 34 per cent rated it a "serious problem". "It has taken extreme and life-threatening weather patterns to finally drive the message home that global warming is happening and is here to stay unless a concerted, global effort is made to reverse it," ACNielsen Europe president Patrick Dodd said. People in Latin America were most worried while US citizens were least concerned with just 42 per cent rating global warming "very serious". The United States emits about a quarter of all greenhouse gases, the biggest emitter ahead of China, Russia and India. Thirteen per cent of US citizens said they had never heard or read anything about global warming, the survey said. Almost all climate scientists say that temperatures are creeping higher because of heat-trapping greenhouse gases released by burning fossil fuels. The study also found that 91 per cent of people had heard about global warming and 50 per cent reckoned it was caused by human activities. A UN report due on Friday is set to say it is at least 90 per cent probable that human activities are the main cause of warming in the past 50 years. People in China and Brazil were most convinced of the link to human activities and Americans least convinced. The survey said that people living in regions vulnerable to natural disasters seemed most concerned - ranging from Latin Americans worried by damage to coffee or banana crops to people in the Czech Republic whose country was hit by 2002 floods. In Latin America, 96 per cent of respondents said they had heard of global warming and 75 per cent rated it "very serious". Most industrial nations have signed up for the UN's Kyoto Protocol, which imposed caps on emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from factories, power plants and vehicles. President George W. Bush pulled the United States out of Kyoto in 2001, but said last week that climate change was a "serious challenge".

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 10:21 AM) Guys like Deng arent available very often either. I dont see Gasol as being the difference maker for the Bulls. He doesnt rebound as well as he should and plays the perimeter a bit much like a forward would. What the Bulls need to turn the corner is a true big man who plays the post and rebounds, and has the ability to take on bigger centers like Shaq and Howard. And we arent going to see eye to eye on the top 5 thing. There are more than 5 better C/f than Gasol IMO. Camby Ming Okur Shaq Duncan Stoudemire J Oneal Boozer Howard Okafor Garnett I might even take Curry instead of Gasol. And the problem is how many of those guys are available in the NBA? On your list, it all comes down to whether or not you consider guys like Garnett and Boozer 4 and 5's, even though I consider them purely 4's. I would still take Gasol over Camby (strength and injury factor), and maybe Okur (more of an outside shooter for a big man) and certainly Shaq. The rest are all pretty close. And yes players like Deng don't come available everyday either. But a player like Luol Deng isn'ta franchise player, he isn't a guy who you build your team around. When I'm building a team, I start from the inside out, and I think Gasol is argubly a franchise center to build around. Personally I think Bulls fans overrating Deng and Gordon a little and undervaluing Gasol a little, but I can understand why you'd want to keep those 2 young players are part of the nucleus long - term. It's all a matter of opinion anyways.

A few Americans over there now. Clint Dempsey signed for Fulham, Spector has been playing for my team West Ham, McBride also plays for Fulham, so does Bocanegra and now this move. Newcastle have been ravaged by injuries at the back this season, so he'll get plenty of playing time initially.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 06:43 AM) Gasol and Deng's numbers are so similar im not sure if the bulls would take a step back bringing in Gasol. From watching the guy, i do not think he would improve this team to the point where we mortgage a future star like Deng, its a ridiculously short-sighted trade idea, and is nonsense. They're totally different players though. Gasol gives you that inside scorer that the Bulls desperately need, while Deng is more of a slasher. I totally disagree that Gasol isn't a top 5 center (from your earlier post) in the league though. Look at his competition; Yao Ming - Best in the NBA. So that's 1. Shaq - Chronically injured. So I'd rather Gasol. Brad Miller - Doesn't get enough rebounds, and has been injured lately. Wallace - Doesn't give you much on the offensive end. Dwight Howard - I'd rather Dwight. So that's 2. Eddy Curry - Close, because he's come on this season, but doesn't give you much else besides points. So I'll take Gasol. The guy you draft at #11 obviously isn't going to have the same potential as Deng, but he should be a pretty good starting SF in time nonetheless. And considering the likes of Gasol aren't made available very often, that's why I think the Bulls should bite the bullet and go for it.

I'll puke if Edge loses his WM streak to John Cena. Desperately time for a new champ anyways.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 29, 2007 -> 06:49 PM) No way, Podsednik gets traded in a second, and you hope that Anderson or Taveras can make the transition from a hard OF position to an easier one. I don't know, it's a 50-50 scenario for either Taveras / Anderson or Pods getting moved in that scenario. You have to remember that Pods's value is down, but the Sox still have faith in him. They could probably get more for Taveras or Anderson on the trade market, and get some of that young pitching that KW craves.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 29, 2007 -> 03:11 PM) It would be one of the worst moves we could make. It would be better to wait for next season to trade or draft a big man. Deng is a future superstar and is on the cusp of being a great player IMO. The thing is, I don't know if that's a luxury the Bulls have. Having a look at the draft, at the moment the Bulls would have the 11th pick. Oden, Durant and Noah are all definitely going top 5, while the likes of Hasheem Thabeet and Yi Jianlian are slated to go top 10. The only big on the board really round there could be Aaron Gray and I don't think the Bulls should go down that route. And if the Bulls go on the trade market, are they going to be able to trade for a big as good as Gasol in the off-season? Gasol is a bonafide top 5 C in the NBA, and players like that don't come along very often, because you build around them. The Bulls could trade Deng in a deal for Gasol, and then draft a Marcus Williams, Thaddeus Young or Al Thornton to replace Deng.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 29, 2007 -> 06:19 PM) When the whole Houston deal was being talked about, I really didn't want much to do with Buchholz or Willy T. I love Burke, and I personally thought a Burke-Hirsh for Garland deal would have been a steal. But yes, I agree with you. Hunter Pence was the deal breaker in that scenario. But if I got offered Pence and Hirsh for Garland alone, that's still an extremely hard deal to turn down. Unfortunately, Pupura decided to go and overpay for Jason Jennings instead. But imagine getting those 4 players in that deal. Pence takes over for Dye in 2008, Hirsh steps into the rotation for 6 seasons, either Anderson or Taveras gets traded to a team like Florida for some of their young pitching, and Buckholz gives you more options for the rotation or pen.

What's some middle ground here with Buehrle? What is he going to ask for compared to what we're going to offer him, and is that gap too large to find a middle ground? We have supposedly offered according to Levine a 3 year $31M deal last off-season. Mark has come out and said he doesn't want Zito money, and he'll take a hometown discount, but not a big one at that (and why should he considering what he could really be paid if he has a good season). So I'm talking years, dollars, and options here. The White Sox obviously have shown they only like to have pitchers locked up to 3 year deals recently. Mark is probably going to want a 5-6 year deal. Could both sides agree to a 4 year deal, with a mutual option for a 5th maybe? Could the Sox make that 4th season an option as well, or would Mark only agree to having the final year of the deal with an option? And how about with the salary. $10M a season obviously ain't going to cut it. Mark could probably get $18M per easily in FA I'm thinking, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. So could the Sox go with a 4 year $60M deal (and they could make the salary ascend or descend depending on where they see the payroll going) with a mutual option at about 16M for the 5th season? Is something like that doable for both sides here?

So the Bears are $2.85 to win at my local sportsbet place, $15 if they win b/w 13 and 18 points, $34 if they win b/w 19-24 and $67 if they win b/w 25 and 30. Worth a punt at those odds (because right now I think the Bears are going to win (and it shames me)).