bukie

I can't get over that OSU has zero yards passing and leads by 10 on account of a turnover and the opening drive.

This isn't true. He said that he'd love to have Theo as the GM for 20 years. Rest of the quote, please. You can find it in this thread several times. Here is the actual quote:

Henry knows that Theo's time in Boston is up. He said so himself on Boston radio yesterday. Everything else is just posturing.

Maybe now Zook will go for it on 4th down in opposing territory, realizing that the team actually needs to score to win.

It was 4th and 5 from the 32 too. It wasn't like it was 4th and a mile. That's just playing not to lose the game. Overly conservative. Hell, even if it's 4th and goal from the 32 and the wind is howling 50 MPH into your face, you still don't punt it.

I don't see why you'd want to call time outs there with 20 seconds left just to get the ball back at the 10. I also don't see why you'd punt from the opponent's 32. Ever.

Oh, the MAC isn't going to be happy about that.

Here's a good read: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44875232/ns/sports-nfl/

Basically, I need 5 of 6 from this group: Hillis @ OAK Green-Ellis v DAL Starks v STL Nelson v STL Garcon @ CIN Maclin @ WAS

Keep in mind, this was back when Eckstein was undervalued, prior to 2002.

Why not? Because he's not expensive, he's a league-average player, there's nobody waiting at the gates internally to take his roster spot, and he's not here long-term anyway? What's the upside to keeping him, though? I couldn't care less either way whether he was traded in a Jose Ceda type deal or he stuck around. One less roster spot to have to fill, basically. Jackson and Byrd can play CF/RF without hindering Jackson's progress if he's ready. The Cubs already need to find a SP or two and a quality 1B (and likely a 3B).

Why not? Because he's not expensive, he's a league-average player, there's nobody waiting at the gates internally to take his roster spot, and he's not here long-term anyway?

Winning 90 games in back to back seasons? (last done in 1929-1930)

I hadn't realized before that Epstein started as GM of the Red Sox the same year Hendry started as GM for the Cubs. Two roads diverged.

I'll go with white, maybe with a touch of dark blue. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5dDQwFp_ItU/SYI9JhsFShI/AAAAAAAAADI/DYnmrP9Kmh0/s400/win-flag1.jpg

I like where the depth of the roster is overall, but I'm really concerned about the team's ability to finish opportunities. They're just not the type of team that is going to be able to be successful by overwhelming the opposition with scoring opportunities against first-tier competition, and only Dempsey looks to be able to create any decent shots on this roster.

Last thought of speculation from me until this all becomes official. If Tom Ricketts made the Cubs organization going forward sound like a better place to be for Theo Epstein than the Red Sox, despite Theo's dream job being GM for the Red Sox, that makes me really excited about the Cubs organization going forward. Also... Tom Ricketts

Some times I feel that way, but then other times you see the guy go out and trade for a legit #1 QB. He ignores the offensive line in the draft, then he spends 2 #1 picks in 4 years on linemen. He got arrogant on things like the Bazuin and Wolfe picks, thinking he could overspend on his own diamonds in the rough. But then he also went out and got Peppers when his pass rush picks weren't panning out. Cutler fell into his lap. Peppers was a great fit (and on defense where Angelo seems to have some intelligence). But O-line only becomes important when he has no other choice. If he had been drafting O-lineman the way he drafts safeties, you'd think we wouldn't be in this situation. Also, he apparently cant judge a safety from a hole in the ground with his recent picks. Cutler fell into everyone's lap. Angelo actually made the move to get him.

So does this mean that, once official, Ricketts starts getting the Geovany Soto treatment?

Better than zero, less than 100%.

Barney makes up a bit with his defense. WHIP/ERA is heavily influenced by the Cubs' abysmal defense. I'm not following your logic. Walks, hits and ERA are not impacted by errors. Am I being overly simplistic? If a defender gets to a ball and boots it/airmails it, it's an error. If a defender has bad range and can't get to a ball, it's a hit. Both are affected by the defender.

I think Illinois would be in great shape for a BCS bid if they went 11-1 beating Michigan and losing to Wisconsin. I'm sketchy on the BCS rules, because unfortunately it hasn't applied to my teams since the Illinois Rose Bowl: Are there obligations to take the higher ranked team from a particular conference? If not, I'd imagine a bowl would prefer an 11-2 Michigan team over an 11-1 Illinois team who beat them or an 11-1 Wisconsin team over a 12-1 or 11-2 Illinois team who beat them. There was the Kansas State rule, but I'm unsure how high you have to be ranked in order for that to take effect (either top 4 or top 6).

I was going to go with @Minnesota, but yeah. I think the ultimate Zooker would be to somehow go into the Minnesota game at 11-0 and lose.

I think Illinois would be in great shape for a BCS bid if they went 11-1 beating Michigan and losing to Wisconsin.

Bah, used the AP poll results instead of the Coaches poll results in the calculations. Here's the BCS ratings with the correct poll. I'll include every team that has accrued at least some semblance of a score: |------------Overall BCS----------|--Coach Poll--|----Harris----|----------Computer Ratings-------| |---------------------------------|--------------|--------------|---------------------------------| | # Team Score| Rank Score| Rank Score| JS BI MA CO AH Score| | 1 Alabama 0.9613| 3 0.9485| 2 0.9489| 1 2 1 1 2 0.9867| | 2 LSU 0.9512| 2 0.9553| 1 0.9784| 2 1 5 4 3 0.9200| | 3 Oklahoma 0.9498| 1 0.9722| 3 0.9440| 3 3 3 2 1 0.9333| | 4 Oklahoma State 0.8240| 7 0.7919| 6 0.8000| 5 5 2 3 4 0.8800| | 5 Boise State 0.8039| 6 0.7932| 5 0.8184| 7 4 6 7 5 0.8000| | 6 Wisconsin 0.7542| 4 0.8434| 4 0.8459| 6 7 14 14 15 0.5733| | 7 Clemson 0.7498| 8 0.7092| 8 0.7270| 4 6 4 8 7 0.8133| | 8 Stanford 0.7181| 5 0.8353| 7 0.7990| 15 9 23 12 12 0.5200| | 9 Michigan 0.6100| 10 0.6041| 10 0.5993| 13 17 12 5 6 0.6267| |10 Georgia Tech 0.5832| 12 0.5458| 12 0.5638| 10 23 9 10 10 0.6400| |11 Arkansas 0.5796| 11 0.5905| 11 0.5882| 9 10 10 21 16 0.5600| |12 Illinois 0.5110| 15 0.4298| 14 0.4365| 8 13 11 9 8 0.6667| |13 Oregon 0.4894| 9 0.6746| 9 0.6602| 16 8 26 26 26 0.1333| |14 Kansas State 0.4447| 18 0.3132| 17 0.3541| 11 12 8 6 9 0.6667| |15 South Carolina 0.4251| 13 0.4597| 15 0.4157| -- 20 13 15 13 0.4000| |16 Nebraska 0.3814| 14 0.4549| 13 0.4494| 17 11 24 22 21 0.2400| |17 Virginia Tech 0.3122| 17 0.3546| 18 0.3287| 21 18 18 23 20 0.2533| |18 Texas 0.3067| 21 0.1647| 20 0.1955| 14 -- 7 11 11 0.5600| |19 Arizona State 0.2600| 20 0.2325| 19 0.2543| 18 15 19 19 19 0.2933| |20 West Virginia 0.2582| 16 0.3580| 16 0.3899| 24 -- -- -- 23 0.0267| |21 Baylor 0.1956| 24 0.1254| 21 0.1948| -- 24 15 17 17 0.2667| |22 Michigan State 0.1548| 19 0.2922| 22 0.1722| -- 25 -- -- -- 0.0000| |23 Houston 0.1481| 22 0.1356| 24 0.0953| -- -- 22 13 14 0.2133| |24 Texas A&M 0.1115| 23 0.1342| 23 0.1203| 25 21 20 -- -- 0.0800| |25 North Carolina 0.0980| 28 0.0292| 32 0.0115| 23 -- 16 18 18 0.2533| |26 Auburn 0.0964| 29 0.0224| 26 0.0668| 12 16 21 -- -- 0.2000| |27 Penn State 0.0943| 25 0.0522| 28 0.0306| 19 -- 17 20 24 0.2000| |28 Florida 0.0579| 26 0.0488| 25 0.0717| 20 22 -- -- -- 0.0533| |29 Notre Dame 0.0215| 30 0.0210| 29 0.0303| -- 19 -- 25 -- 0.0133| |30 Washington 0.0195| 27 0.0353| 30 0.0233| -- 14 -- -- -- 0.0000| |31 USC 0.0178| -- 0.0000| -- 0.0000| 22 -- -- -- 22 0.0533| |32 South Florida 0.0171| 31 0.0203| 27 0.0310| -- -- -- 16 -- 0.0000| |33 Rutgers 0.0119| 36 0.0054| 38 0.0035| -- -- 25 24 25 0.0267| |34 Wake Forest 0.0096| 32 0.0149| 31 0.0139| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |35 Georgia 0.0071| 33 0.0102| 33 0.0111| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |36 SMU 0.0060| 34 0.0075| 34 0.0104| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |37 Texas Tech 0.0042| 35 0.0061| 35 0.0066| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |38 TCU 0.0026| 38 0.0027| 36 0.0052| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |39 Southern Miss 0.0018| 37 0.0047| 40 0.0007| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |40 Cincinnati 0.0009| -- 0.0000| 38 0.0028| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |41 Louisiana-Lafayette 0.0002| -- 0.0000| 39 0.0007| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |42 Hawaii 0.0002| 39 0.0007| -- 0.0000| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |43 Florida State 0.0001| -- 0.0000| 41 0.0003| -- -- -- -- -- 0.0000| |---------------------------------|--------------|--------------|---------------------------------|