ZMovieman

Don't worry about it. Nothing to see here.

I can say this to you because I know you personally, put down the beer and don't pick a fight. Best thread everrrr ](*,)

I can say this to you because I know you personally, put down the beer and don't pick a fight.

I will punch you in the face I think he's referencing ND, Nova, and Georgetown more than he is Marquette (even though Marquette has been a mixed bag thus far). And he's absolutely correct about the first three teams. Hopefully not the fourth.

Funny thing is, a slower game works more towards Marquette's advantage. But this is a crazy back and forth game so far.

Watching ND vs ODU, I just realized I couldn't give a damn about my brackets. I just love watching these games.

Buzz isn't going anywhere, at least for now. Marquette paid handsomely for Tom Crean ($2.3 mil a year), so money shouldn't be an issue. Marquette also will do all it can to avoid losing yet another coach in short time. Buzz is also vocal about his spirituality, which goes over smoother in a private institution. He says he wants to stay for as long as Marquette will have him (which might easily be coach speak), but I really only see him leaving for a place like Texas. That's where he's from, but Barnes is going nowhere any time soon.

As a Marquette grad, I'm a little floored. The only thing I can think of is that the committee did one of two things. They relied (albeit too heavily) on the eye test, taking into account all the close games and winning conference road record. The second is that they favored Sagarin and/or Ken Pom rankings as compared to RPI placement. Sagarin has us at 24 (last six) and Ken Pom at 28 (last seven). Still, I'm shocked and not complaining, all things considered. We got a break in seeding, as I thought we were headed for a 8/9 against Kansas or Kentucky.

I know this hasn't gotten a ton of press, but I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to this. Has any team won three straight road games on the same trip in OT like Marquette did last week? I can't imagine the situation happens often (like the Bulls winning five straight road games on the same trip against teams with winning records).

He didn't. The closest he had was Robert Jackson, a transfer from Mississippi State. (Unless you count Steve Novak as a "big man.") This is disconcerting and it must change. I'm concerned it won't really. Crean left Marquette the same year I graduated there, so hopefully I can shed some light on his recruiting and coaching, etc. IU got a great marketer and PR guy in Crean. That's always been his bread and butter. Indiana will remain prominent even when struggling because he will make people pay attention to them. However, two things during his tenure at Marquette always seemed to be an issue (though not insurmountable): 1. Big recruiting. Especially after Wade, Crean never had a problem bringing in talented, athletic guards to play in his system. Wade, Diener, McNeal, James, and Matthews (who's doing ok for the Jazz now) all fit the bill nicely. However, Jackson excluded, he couldn't connect on a big. He often took the JUCO or project big man, though I always attributed that to pure numbers than anything else. There's just only so many quality bigs out there. Hopefully that changes at IU for you guys. Also, he tended to have turnover in his assistant coaches over time, which can disrupt recruiting at times. As a result, he'd often lock in on two to four recruits and hope for the home run. Sometimes he'd get it (Tyshawn Taylor before Crean left for IU) and other times he'd miss (Schumpert at Georgia Tech). He'd then have to scramble to fill in the gaps. 2. Game management/planning. I'm going to assume that Crean's game management and coaching hasn't changed much since Marquette. He was always a big fan of fast, strip steal oriented defense. As such, Crean's teams always did well in steals which helped compensate for size at times (MU vs Stanford's Lopez twins). However, offensively, Crean tends to run through two primary offensive options. When he left MU, those were Dominic James and Jerel McNeal. Wes Matthews would be the third option, but the offense didn't flow through him nearly enough. These sets would someimes become problematic against zone defenses if the jump shot wasn't falling. Syracuse always gave Crean fits for this reason. His offense is different to MU's current variation in offensive creativity vs set plays. Honestly, despite my still lingering distate for how he left (the team found out on Sportscenter instead of in person and the AD was en route to Colorado for the Women's NIT so everyone was blindsided), Crean is a good hire for IU. They will become again a perennial tournament team with an exciting brand of basketball. But his two flaws were his ability to recruit the big and in game management. Hopefully he can overcome that, though it would appear the IU faithful already are noting some of these in action.

I agree. Plus, on a side note, it was nice to see, as an MU grad, Wesley Matthews have a nice game trying to earn a roster spot with the Jazz. If their injuries keep piling up, he just might.

Most people probably don't care much, but I still found it interesting. Marquette is likely to jump ship with Wade to Nike's Jumpman line. I believe that would make Marquette one of three colleges in the brand line with UNC and Georgetown. Probably also means a jersey change, though probably not for this season. I know some people don't like them, but I personally love the MU jerseys, especially the gold and powder blue ones.

Since I don't post a lot (I just don't sign in unless I have something to type), just letting you all know that I am around, since my turn is coming up in what I hope (for our Cubs) is several weeks away.

Don't shoot the messenger, but I remember hearing on the radio after Soto got hurt that Lou mentioned that Fox could be a backup catcher. Bad.

For what it's worth, it would appear that Boozer's contract is up after this upcoming season. There's another potential plus.

Reed in, so I gotta assume Milton's out after this next potential at-bat.

There's an article on SI Truth and Rumors saying that the Bulls might have to part with Deng in a possible Bosh trade, as apparently the Raptors are thinking he might have to go.

Yes, it would've been if you wouldn't have jinxed it. We're losing this game now Never said we would win. Just asked if it would be the case.

Would this be our first win when we didn't score 4+ runs? Big if.

I had one bad experience in a seller who apparently did not verify my purchase (my credit card was never charged). After one week of no response, the sale was cancelled and Stubhub notified me that this seller was to be watched from this point on and issued me a $10 voucher for any subsequent purchase. It essentially knocked out any surchages and delivery. But that was my first 'bad' experience in around 20 dealing with them. They are good and reliable.

IBL

Oh, and forgot to mention this, but I feel like if Peavy were a 'rent a player', then the deal makes more sense. But I'm just confused as to why the Sox.

Yeah, this really doesn't make much sense. Sure, the White Sox get a Cy Young caliber pitcher, but several things seem off: 1. The White Sox are an average team this year, but attrition would take it's toll beyond this year as several of their veterans would more than likely leave (Dye, etc). The Sox as is are heading for a bit of rebuilding, but by trading top prospects for Peavy, they hurt their long term prognosis. 2. I thought the Sox were cutting payroll. Maybe it wouldn't be an issue down the line, but Peavy's contract isn't cheap. 3. Unless the deal sends Beckham and one of Floyd or Danks, I don't see how the Padres wouldn't just wait for a better offer. There would have to be, right? 4. Peavy to the Sox would be terrible for Peavy. He's still got that NTC, so couldn't he just hold out for a better team with a brighter potential this year and beyond (Cubs, Angels, etc). For the record, I'm not really in the trade for Peavy camp. I won't complain if he comes, but he's a luxury when we clearly have other needs.

The last two batters on ESPN Gamecast had half of the balls as strikes. Is this accurate?

It's head to head. Napoli got picked up a while ago. I was an idiot to let him go in hindsight, but Inge has helped me more than the average C on the wire (plus he's 1B and 3B eligible). As for relievers, the best available are Scherzer, Hanrahan, Lindstrom, Putz, Downs, and Franklin. Franklin right now would get me the saves, so he seems at this point to be my best bet. Am I right? As for the number of pitchers vs. position players, I've always been the type of guy who feels the bench guys on offense wouldn't provide me the same impact as pitchers, who I can put in when they pitch on any given day.