SpongeWorthy

Big sequence by KT there.

Why was half time so long

From what I can tell on the TV, "That Guy" at the UC is some douche who's more enthralled with his Blackberry than with the game and the spectacular player in front of him.

It's not that he thinks Rose is terrible at defense, he just thinks Thibodeau should get all of the credit for any defensive improvement, and Rose should get none. That's a little absurd. Problem is, there isn't a really good way to determine how effective a player is defensively. Going by straight defensive rating, Boozer is in the top 10 (along with the rest of the team, practically). Going merely by the difference in team defensive rating when a player is on the floor vs. without, Rose is the worst defender in the NBA, and Howard is in the bottom 10. No, the problem is that the award is subjective and this dude took a stand a long time ago and now has to search out ways to make it seem right. That compounded with the fact he is the inventor of a decidedly flawed statistic that shows Derrick in a negative light give him little choice but to make his stand. The problem is also that we Derrick Rose fans are super, giddily annoying and when someone presents opinions that are anything but completely positive, they get a lot of attention from us in the form of page views and more generated discussion. Seriously, we Rose fans are almost intolerable in our devotion and even though he deserves the positive attention, from a rhetorical perspective, we cause a lot of people to form adversarial opinions based mostly on how over the top we are. Completely agree. I read that Daily Dime Live chats on ESPN.com and almost every day, there is a long Derrick Rose discussion, and half of it is people ripping on the bloggers for "dissing" Rose. Love me some Rose, but I can understand the backlash. This is what vexes me about all you guys in the Chicago area who basically think the Bulls are a bit of an after thought in town. They seem like a pretty big deal to me! Every day I hear some story about the Bulls and DRose on some national outlet. Way more than I basically hear about the Bears.

I agree w/ slick I mean there's definitely some overlap between people who say that and the Ryan Theriot slobknobbing types but no one that anyone should be listening to actually says that.

Derrick Rose is a blinding brilliant light from heaven.

Is that John Hollinger?

Really, he's an idiot because he was wrong once about a pick 3 years ago? I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way now. If you remember, it was a pretty even 50/50 split on who the best player in the draft even was that year. Sure, the Bulls chose right, but let's not pretend it was a slam dunk. His statistical tools are very offensive-skewed, which he fully acknowledges. It's a measure of efficiency, which says more about how effective a player is than simply looking at points per game, or even field-goal percentage. Sure, it'll overrate a guy like Paul who never takes a chance on anything, but overall it's a pretty accurate evaluation of how good a player is, at least offensively. His column today was about the MVP race, which he does every year. He says in the column that the MVP always goes to the best story, rather than the best player or even the most important player, and he doesn't think that should be the case. He says Rose is easily the best story, James is easily the best player, and Howard is easily the most important player. If he had a vote, he'd vote Rose in the top 5, but not to win. I think it was more of a 50/50 split on the day of the lottery and something closer to 25/75 to Rose by draft day.

In any case I hope Lebron wins MVP. He's been playing out of his mind and extra motivation never hurts.

Hollinger is an idiot. He thought taking Beasley was a no brainer and never acknowledges that maybe his statistical tools arent all that great. Basically he thinks because he takes his numbers as seriously as a SABR guy that he can capture a basketball's value just as well.

Hollinger was spewing his impotent nerd rage all over Rose in his chat today.

I miss Chappelle's Show now. How about you and your crew against me and The Revolution?

What elite job is going to open up in the next few years that would make it worth it for Stevens to stick at Butler and risk his stock going down? I see UConn and that's about it.

I feel like I am in some bizarro world. Holy hell when did Butler become the Yankees?

Its not the real billy sadly.

Frontline is doing an NCAA story tonight.

Here are some pointers on how to fan up SSR: http://www.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Miami-Heat-Fan-Up-e1290392138749.jpg

Wonder why no other AD considered this. How bout we make the bowls the playoff sites!!?? Are we not talking about the school that thinks Ron Zook and Bruce Weber are the best available options for its two most important athletic programs? 3 years running you refuse to understand how there can be a disconnect between fans and the AD Sounds like the Illini faithful need to fan up.

Wonder why no other AD considered this. How bout we make the bowls the playoff sites!!?? Are we not talking about the school that thinks Ron Zook and Bruce Weber are the best available options for its two most important athletic programs?

Few has never taken Gonzaga as far as Stevens has taken Butler the past couple seasons. Plus for every Mark Few there are 10 other guys who went on to bigger and better programs (in theory). Few's done it for 12 seasons, Stevens for 4. The point is, not every guy is looking to jump to the next spot. You honestly think teams with openings last year didn't inquire about Stevens? 99% of guys that aren't looking to jump to a bigger spot are already in one of the biggest spots--they're not in Butler. Hell, even K is linked to the Lakers every time that job opens up. Sure there are guys like Mark Few but that's the exception that proves the rule. I believe that Stevens is the exception to the rule too. If one of the high profile jobs becomes available, then sure I could see him leaving. If Painter were to actually leave Purdue, I can't see Stevens going to Purdue either. Illinois becomes a high profile job as soon as Stevens steps on campus. Back up the dump truck full of cash and he'll consider it.

Few has never taken Gonzaga as far as Stevens has taken Butler the past couple seasons. Plus for every Mark Few there are 10 other guys who went on to bigger and better programs (in theory). Few's done it for 12 seasons, Stevens for 4. The point is, not every guy is looking to jump to the next spot. You honestly think teams with openings last year didn't inquire about Stevens? 99% of guys that aren't looking to jump to a bigger spot are already in one of the biggest spots--they're not in Butler. Hell, even K is linked to the Lakers every time that job opens up. Sure there are guys like Mark Few but that's the exception that proves the rule.

Few has never taken Gonzaga as far as Stevens has taken Butler the past couple seasons. Plus for every Mark Few there are 10 other guys who went on to bigger and better programs (in theory).

I don't think Stevens is a realistic option for Illinois. He's going to stay at Butler for at least another year and then we'll see what happens with Crean at IU. So he's not a realistic option because Illinois can't make a case for being a better job than a terrible Indiana team? That's pretty sad. I don't think Stevens is a realistic option for anyone right now. Loser talk. It's [expletive] Butler.

I don't think Stevens is a realistic option for Illinois. He's going to stay at Butler for at least another year and then we'll see what happens with Crean at IU. So he's not a realistic option because Illinois can't make a case for being a better job than a terrible Indiana team? That's pretty sad.