whitesoxfan99

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 23, 2011 -> 11:41 AM) And franchise tags. I really think the NBA is going to have an extended lockout, it seems like there are going to be huge philosophical differences between the owners and players that aren't going to be easy to solve.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 10:44 PM) I think Mike Davis falls into the category of getting too much crap, too. Overall he's had a solid season. He's thoroughly reviled on message boards but if people look over his career he's been a good player for Illinois. I understand that given his height and jumping ability people want more, and he never really added aggression going to the hoop but Illinois was lucky they managed to pick him up late in the recruiting cycle. He and Tisdale are bad fit together, I think. In fact, the whole Illinois team is less than the sum of it's parts. It's funny that until 4 years ago the opposite was usually true. Davis has been a solid player, my problem with him has always been that I think he could have been great and I am generally harder on guys that I think actually have a lot of talent. The lazy passes, constantly missing wide open 3 footers at inopportune times, generally lackadaisical attitude, inconsistent effort, etc. is what has driven me nuts the last 3 years. The thing is as DMac and Richardson have disappeared the 2nd half of Big 10 play, Davis has for the first time in his career given consistent effort on D and on offense and has finally been making far fewer stupid plays.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 10:10 PM) I didn't expect to win, but when you shoot that hot from three for the first 3/4 of the game or so (I believe we were 10/12 at one point), you would think you'd be in it. Bottom line is this team can't get to the line, they can't get in the paint, so sometimes even if they shoot well it's not enough. I will say this though, OSU seemed really good at denying dribble penetration. The lane was always clogged. OSU played really well, let's give them credit. Very efficient offensively. I have to ask though, why does Lauderdale still start? Actually, why the hell does he play at all? He dunks the ball once in a while and that seems like that's about all he does. Craft is super valuable, I don't see why Lauderdale takes any minutes away from him, and starts over him. Hell even that Thomas kid seems alright sometimes. OSU is 5x better when Craft is out there and he can drive and play shut down defense. Offensively the lineup of Sullinger-Buford-Diebler-Lighty-Craft is really, really hard to stop. They beat you 20 different ways. Thomas has been an absolute disaster against teams not named Illinois in Big 10 play.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 08:52 PM) I still think Tisdale gets way, way too much crap from Illini fans. You really want Leonard on the court more? Tisdale is what he is...great shooter, weak interior offensively, mediocre defense. Better than Leonard who contributes negatively on the court right now. Agreed. Leonard is a great athlete but unless he is within 2 feet of the hoop when he catches the ball I cringe. And this wasn't just the seniors tonight, I thought the effort from basically everyone not named Crandall Head in the first half was pathetic. Guys not fighting through screens, lazy help defense and rotations, lazy close outs on shooters, lazy passes, etc. Don't get me wrong OSU is really good and obviously a much better team than Illinois but coming out with that effort in the first half is inexcusable. And the sad thing is Illinois was having one of their lights out shooting games so if they had played with energy from the start they might have had a shot to pull off the upset.

Rock, one of the big reasons that the officiating has been all over the place is because Burr is involved. The guy is the worst official in any sport.

Refs have decided not to call anything this half apparently. Also this is what pisses me off about this team, where the hell was this energy in the first half?

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 22, 2011 -> 11:55 AM) How'd ya figure that out? LoL Now we get to wait for it to end badly? Weak. But guessing we see the mother in the season finale. I've been saying it since she wasn't the mother since they met and I thought it was obvious to everyone but I saw people speculating here and elsewhere that she was the mother despite the fact they said in the season premiere that he meets the mother at a wedding.

Re: HIMYM

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 18, 2011 -> 02:11 PM) What are the terms? Where did you here this? ESPN is reporting that the Nets and Nuggets have agreed to the framework of a deal that centres around Anthony heading to the New Jersey, along with Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Melvin Ely and Renaldo Balkman. In exchange, the Nuggets would receive Devin Harris, Derrick Favours, Troy Murphy, Ben Uzoh and four first-round draft picks.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 15, 2011 -> 04:01 PM) My brother in law is a big 49ers fan, and he was talking about the what-if of the 49ers taking Rodgers instead of Smith. I basically dismissed it and said that Rodgers wouldn't be nearly as good as he is now because he would have been expected to man the ship right away. I would be really excited if the Bills took Cam Newton. Quite frankly, he has all of the intangibles of a Tim Tebow, he just wasn't as outspoken or as loved as Tebow. I also think he's more physically gifted than Tebow as well - seems to me that he is faster and has a stronger arm. The Bills can roll with Fitzpatrick for this year, let Cam learn on the sidelines for a year (or even two), and then let him start. I also really like the idea of Chan Gailey working with Cam Newton, as he really does a great job of getting the most out of all of his QBs. Rodgers could easily be just as good right now if he was with the 49ers as he is with the Packers. Plenty of QBs have stepped in and been the man from day 1 without it hurting their development.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 17, 2011 -> 04:52 PM) Has baseball ever suspended anyone, as a league, for conduct unrelated to anything happening on the field of play? Has anyone (Lincecum) ever been suspended for a positive marijuana test? John Rocker was suspended for his comments in Sports Illustrated.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 17, 2011 -> 01:41 PM) Of course torturing dogs isnt a sport though. Neither is hunting animals with modern weapons.

QUOTE (PeavyTime @ Feb 17, 2011 -> 12:19 PM) Wait, so after the fact, they went back and changed it but didn't put the 3.7 seconds back on the clock? That's BS. From his post it seems that the refs called it a 2 initially and then confirmed the call on replay so it is Oklahoma's fault for not being more aware.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Feb 16, 2011 -> 10:45 PM) I'm shocked Illinois didn't lose. I hate watching Weber's teams on offense (actually, defense too but they are better there). They need to bring in an offensive coordinator...burning off the shot clock with a bunch of looping slow passes (slow enough to allow constant double-teaming that generated turnovers) to take a worse shot than you could have gotten by just chucking at the beginning of the set is ridiculous. And it's clearly not the players choice...you can tell they would rather run. Illinois is 2nd in the Big 10 in possession per game and I think Weber would actually be fine with running more but this team hasn't been forcing turnovers and isn't great on the glass. When that is the case you aren't really going to be able to push tempo. I don't like the offense at the end of games although I don't think the idea of putting the ball in your best players hands and letting him make a play is a bad one. It is just that McCamey has proven time and time again he isn't that guy.

I'm about to put the Illinois game on mute, wow Tim Doyle freaking sucks. The BTN really needs to stop hiring no talent hacks from NW. Shon Morris and Doyle are brutal.

Jim Burr is such a f***ing joke. He has no business reffing college games. That technical he called on Green was ridiculous. There is almost no chance it had an impact on the outcome but that was pathetic on his part.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 15, 2011 -> 03:20 PM) Palehose, I'm a big fan of Williams, but his game doesn't translate well to the NBA level right now. Thompson's wing span is insane, which should boost him up the ranks. Also, I thought I heard Kanter might stay another year at Kentucky. Unless something has changed, there is no way Kanter isn't in this upcoming draft. He was ruled permanently ineligible so there wouldn't be any reason for him to stay at Kentucky another year.

For Illinois fans, Illinois offered Max Biefeldt yesterday. Not sure how I feel about this. That kid is a tremendous high school player (I'm not sure there is a better high school player in the state, but he wouldn't be in my top 10 for ranking prospects), is highly skilled for a big man, and he adds toughness. But he is undersized and not particularly athletic which is obviously a huge concern. I think more than anything this speaks to just how awful the 2012 HS basketball class is in Illinois.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 03:00 PM) Purdue is very physical on D...lots of hand-checking and contact. That's not a complaint -- I think it's good coaching and particularly good strategy against Illinois who can't handle the ball. But I do think it's interesting that some teams can play that style without the officials lowering the boom and other teams rack up touch foul after touch foul. I don't really get why that is... And lest anyone think otherwise, I think Illinois lost this game today because Purdue is a much better team, not because of officiating. I'm not complaining the officials being unfair.... Purdue's entire defensive strategy is to foul on every single possession because the refs won't call them all and a lot of times refs will let more contact go as the game goes on. I have yet to see a Purdue game where the other team should have been called for more fouls than Purdue. It is insane how many fouls they get away with.

QUOTE (hitlesswonder @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 02:40 PM) Richmond, like a lot of players and coaches at Illinois, does seem unlikable. But, you know, there's lots of players in recent memory with the same level of obnoxiousness. DeMarcus Cousins comes to mind, although at least he had a dominant game to along with the arrogance. Paul should start. McCamey should be on the bench. It's mind-boggling how McCamey's game has disappeared. He doesn't seem injured but the difference between the non-conference season and now is enough to make you wonder if there isn't an underlying physical reason behind the decline. Right now, Paul is a better point guard which is shocking. I have never seen a player fall off the way McCamey has. To go from an all american and a guy that a lot of NBA scouts had in the 1st round to a guy that is frankly terrible is hard to fathom.

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 03:30 PM) Weren't some fans thinking Meyers could be a one and done? The dude is so bad everytime I see him. Seems like he has a ton of potential, he just plays dumb and does more whining with Richmond than anything else. There were some stupid fans based on his length and athleticism but every team has fans that over hype players. I think and have always thought Leonard could be an early entry guy because there just aren't very many 7 footers with his athleticism but it clearly wasn't going to be this year. I think Leonard will be a very solid player next year but not special and then will be a great player as a junior and that will be when he could possibly go pro.

LOL at the Clippers

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 11, 2011 -> 12:29 PM) It's funny, basically since the pilot episode, I HATED the football scenes from the show. It was so much better for the drama off the field than on it. Agreed. Some of the football scenes were well down but others were just absolutely horrible. And way too many games came down to a final play, that just doesn't happen often in football.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 9, 2011 -> 10:51 PM) I wasn't necessarily emotional when watching FNL finale, but when it was over, it definitely made me sad that we'll never see another episode. I already can't wait for 3 years down the road when Becky is in a movie with straight hair and I'm going to be like "that girl is so hot, she was on FNL." I thought it was a solid episode. Some of it seemed a little forced (which is the case with most series finales) but I thought it was really well done and I'm going to miss the show.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 11, 2011 -> 11:10 AM) It looked like the most intense game Illinois has played in quite awhile though, McCamey finally played with a purpose. If they had played with that intensity all year they would have at least 4 more wins (IU, UIC, PSU, NW) and would be ranked around 10th in the country.