Ding Dong Johnson

I tend to immediately think of Milwaukee when "worst" announcers are mentioned, and I was a little surprised when they fell in at #22. I have to admit, the guys below them are all worthy of their rankings.

I don't. In fact, most people I know don't either.

I'm going to have to say Urlacher based solely on the number of jerseys I've seen.

The Cubs need to find a way to pick up about 12 wins in this series.

I'm not bothered at all, and that's not really how the tangent started.

It is, I just find it silly.

Why would Hill start after an off day? Lou is a strange old man

Again, I'm not evaluating Hendry's overall job performance at all. I'm simply discussing a few of the great trades he's made. It's not an evaluation in any way, shape, or form. Outshined One asked what awesome trades Hendry has made other than the ones he mentioned, I brought up a pretty nice trade. It's not an evaluation nor a statement on his overall job performance. And I still find it silly. It reminds me of women that say "I know my boyfriend beats the [expletive] out of me but sometimes he buys me nice stuff".

Every GM has made bad trades, not nearly as many have acquired talent like Lee, Ramirez, Lofton, Harden, Nomar, Karros and Grudz for guys who have done little in the majors. With the exceptions of the Maddux and Pierre trades, Hendry's bad trades have consisted of trading decent to solid bullpen guys (Cruz, Wuertz) for players who didn't turn out. Those are bad trades, but are overshadowed by the very good trades. Like TT said, I'm not arguing that Hendry has been great. I'm not even defending Hendry in any way. I think it's time for a new GM. I just don't see what the big deal is about discussing good trades he's made and how, overall, he's good at pulling off trades. I guess I prefer to judge his performance on the sum of the parts as it should be. Over the better part of a decade, somebody should be able to make a few good or great choices. The problem is, he hasn't made nearly enough and made way too many bad ones.

Talking about the great trades Hendry had made doesn't have to mean that you're a fan of his. I don't see a problem with it. It's absurd. It's like talking about the great outings Shawn Estes had. Sure, he had a couple gems, but he sucked. So if a player, coach or executive isn't good overall you can't discuss the good points about him? That doesn't make much sense. Hendry hasn't been good overall, but I see no reason why we should be forbidden from discussing some of the good things he's done. It seems a bit silly to say "he's good at X because of these examples" when X is also littered with bad examples.

That's not a sign of how good the teams are compared to how bad they are. Bingo. Big Ten baseball ain't pretty.

the beginning is always nice

LOL. If I indulge you and act like this is even close to being true, it wouldn't be a drastic change. A "worse" Lebron would still be the 3rd best player in the league. 2nd, he'd still be better than Kobe

Even a broken clock is right twice a day? Maybe over the long haul this turns out to be a good move, but you simply cannot deny the fact that this team is horribly constructed. Perhaps the level of mediocrity shown under Hendry's watch is acceptable if you have the resources of the '86 Expos, but this is perennially a top-tier payroll team.

Ryan Bowen is all kinds of awesome. But I just wonder why he wants to do the video coordinator thing, when I imagine he could have gotten on as an NBA assistant? I think he wanted to be at Iowa and wants to work in the college game. Plus it wouldn't be surprising to see Speraw get a head job somewhere in the next couple years. Bowen doesn't need the money and is willing to work his way up. Spend a couple of years as the video coordinator, learn the ins and outs and he'll probably have a spot as a full-time assistant within a few years. You're right though. With his reputation in the league he probably could have gotten an NBA assistant gig sometime soon. I think a lot of it also has to do with how Alford and Lickliter both shunned former players and completely ignored the history of the program. It was music to a lot of ears when Fran said how he wanted to get them involved again, and I'm ecstatic that he's following through. There are a lot of former players that could have been helping this program a whole lot more if they were asked or allowed. I have a feeling if Speraw or Bowen move along in the next few years that they'll probably be replaced with other former Hawkeyes. Side note: it'll be cool to see the names Marble, Stokes, and Payne in the programs next year even if Cully is no relation to Michael.

wait, what just happened?

I don't like your attitude

Iowa has assembled quite the staff: Andrew Francis, Kirk Speraw, Ryan Bowen as video coordinator, and now announced Sherm Dillard as an assistant. There are still some rumblings that Jeff Horner is getting consideration as graduate assistant. Looks good to me.

Have we burned through our list of game thread starters yet?

If only there was a place players could play to keep developing.

I wouldn't do that

Seattle seems like a sleepy kind of town

because he's crap, I tell you

I liked him on Cheers

I hope we're only 9 games under on June 2