bukie

Just a week ago, they lost to the Clippers and Warruirs, so no. Those losses, while frustrating, weren't as inexplicable as everyone makes them seem. Pargo had to play significant minutes in both games. That's a huge dropoff from Hinrich or Salmons. Pargo is bad. Really, really bad. He's poison when he's on the floor. Oh, I'm not saying it's not a playoff-caliber team, just that nothing is safe.

Just a week ago, they lost to the Clippers and Warruirs, so no.

Bulls are now back to .500 already after that awful start, and just one game out of the 5 seed spot.

That Derrick Rose kid is pretty good.

Roster deadline is February 14 - points limit 2000

That might just be the shortest power play I ever saw.

Go for the Saints. They are pretty much the Cubs equivalent in the NFL. I'd argue the Saints are more the Mariners equivalent in the NFL.

Sure he's a better player, but I don't know that he can fill Gray's role of "guy on the bench that celebrates like a cheerleader" adequately.

Well...he's better than Pargo.

Here are some interesting spider-web esque charts showing each team's relationship between players' usage rates and their PER. The Bulls one, safe to say, isn't good.

They can't believe what they just saw? Did they never watch Favre in the past? That was his signature move.

I have a feeling this Super Bowl will be a blowout, because if ever there was a team that was going into the Super Bowl with a "just happy to be here" vibe, it's the Saints.

In African Cup of Nations action, Ivory Coast lost in the quarterfinals...to Algeria.

So you're saying my attempts to use the jedi mind trick have failed? Hey, you know last year the guy with the first pick traded it away and won the league...

You'll have to give him a couple minutes while he finds someone else's post on the subject.

I'm in. Why would it be losing its luster? Just because the Cubs are uninteresting?

Because those poor innocent pitchers would never imagine using steroids...

The argument for having your better hitters batting earlier is that you'd normally like your better hitters getting more plate appearances than a guy who can "move the runners over". I don't think there's any argument that when Soriano is hitting well, he's a better hitter than Theriot. But he's not the Cubs best hitter so why should he bat 1st and not Ramirez or Lee? That's a different argument, though. I'd be all in favor of moving Lee and Ramirez up. I'd much rather see Fukudome-Lee-Ramirez than Fukudome-Theriot-Lee-Ramirez. It's not different. If the argument for Soriano batting 1st is getting your best hitters more PA, then it's a flawed argument because he is not the team's best hitter and could conceivably be out of the top 5. And if you are putting a guy who makes lots of outs 1 then you are making it more difficult to get more PA for your actual best hitters, let alone more PA with runners on base. Qualified with "hitting well", I'd argue Soriano is at worst the third best hitter on the team. Coupled with the likelihood of something Piniella will actually do, I think there's a better chance Soriano gets moved up than Lee/Ramirez. EDIT: Granted, the likelihood of Soriano hitting well at this point, let alone consistently well enough to be sufficient high in the order, is minimal. Until then, I'd much rather see a lineup of Fukudome-Lee-Ramirez, bunting be damned.

The argument for having your better hitters batting earlier is that you'd normally like your better hitters getting more plate appearances than a guy who can "move the runners over". I don't think there's any argument that when Soriano is hitting well, he's a better hitter than Theriot. But he's not the Cubs best hitter so why should he bat 1st and not Ramirez or Lee? That's a different argument, though. I'd be all in favor of moving Lee and Ramirez up. I'd much rather see Fukudome-Lee-Ramirez than Fukudome-Theriot-Lee-Ramirez.

The argument for having your better hitters batting earlier is that you'd normally like your better hitters getting more plate appearances than a guy who can "move the runners over". I don't think there's any argument that when Soriano is hitting well, he's a better hitter than Theriot.

I know Penn St is 0-6 in the conference now, but they are a solid team. I bet truffle and Derwood disagree. I know I do. Penn State is solid. Solidly in last place Plus, they just likely played their two most winnable games (@ Iowa, Indiana, since they only play each once), so the schedule just gets tougher from here. Not that they won't beat Illinois/Northwestern/Michigan at home, but that just was the easy part of their schedule.

Honestly, I think I like the Winter Olympics more because most, if not all, of the events are the most important event for that sport. Heck, even olympic hockey is a bigger deal for that sport than olympic basketball, baseball, softball or tennis is for their respective sport. As for judged events...gymnastics, anyone?

Bulls now have the second best road record in their division.

They're also the only team in the NBA with a home loss to the Nets.

Iowa State against UNI. I watched that game. Yep, and I only mention it now because either the numbers start to even out tonight, or two top 3 teams lose.