SpongeWorthy

Mayo is a more cerebral player than I think he gets credit for. He's the kind of guy you can let take the ball up the court and get you into your offense but he doesn't force too many shots. He moves well without the rock too. If the Sonics get him I think he'd be a great fit along with KD and I don't see too much of a problem in terms of shots--Durant would clearly still be The Man.

Also, a heinous schedule and no conference championship game. If they go to the NC game again this year and get killed, something is going to have to be done about it. If they go undefeated, they'll have earned it since that would mean they went to LA and beat USC. If they can do that and then run the table, I'll have no problem with OSU being in the title game. Ugh, I just don't want to see them in the title game again this year. Someone needs to stop 'em. I'm not really a OSU hater, but someone else plz. I agree and I don't want to see them in the title game either. But if they go to LA and beat USC, they'll certainly have earned it. Badgers'll stop 'em at Camp Randall in an upset. I'm calling it right here. Hey, you gotta step out sometime. :mrgreen: Tell me If I'm wrong gentlemen, but didn't they lose a game before the BCS Championship last year? By no means do they have to go undefeated. Yes, I agree with this. I don't buy the argument that Ohio State must go undefeated to go to the BCS title game again. The coaches and Harris pollsters aren't going to collude and vote differently than then would have in previous years just because OSU got spanked two years in a row. And obviously that won't be a consideration for the computers. Which isn't to say that a one-loss OSU is by any means a shoe in since so many other variables are involved but they're not going to be excluded because of what happened the last two seasons.

Yeah, I think home field/court advantage is more important in the NFL and NBA than it is in baseball and DEFINITELY in college football that's the case. I understand there's a rule as to why home teams have a built in advantage in baseball but if that doesn't overcome referee favoritism, crowd noise, comfort level, etc. then I don't see why it's material to the argument.

Also, a heinous schedule and no conference championship game. If they go to the NC game again this year and get killed, something is going to have to be done about it. I'm all for adding a championship game to the Big Ten, or else adding a +1 format to the BCS. I wish they'd just stop with all the excuses and do it. There shouldn't be a way for a team to simply slide from their conference schedule right into the Championship game with no other buffer at all. No incentive for the Big 10 to do so though. They get 2 teams in the BCS every year by keeping the status quo. Yep, why change and lose millions (why I'm not that mad about ND not joining a conference). And OSU played the 53rd and 38th toughest schedules the last two years. By no means tough but not cupcakes either. How about someone doing something revolutionary and acting in the best interest of the sport instead of for their own selfish financial interests? Just a thought. That's a contradiction in terms. Whatever is in the best interest of the sport is whatever is going to create the biggest financial windfall. Then again the NCAA purports not to be a business which is a huge farce in and of itself. Although I would argue that instituting a playoff system makes everyone richer besides certain bowl committees.

Since Sammy?

that's a 4-6-3 double play if you're scoring at home...or even if you're all alone [/Olbermann]

Here's a long profile piece on Sonny Vaccaro that I ran across on The New Republic's website--pretty stuffy mag for a profile of a shoe maven. It details a lot of Vaccaro's arguments against the NCAA and some alternative ideas he believes he has the clout and connections to pull off. They involve lobbying congress about the NCAA's tax-exempt status and moving towards a pay-for-play model. He's also had a few other ideas that he's tabled (send high schoolers to Europe for a year, a basketball academy alternative, etc.) http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=d0f34d09-ede4-431a-8477-e616b25f1360 MOD EDIT: For space and copyright reasons, I edited out the entirety of the article.

His fastball is nowhere close.

China will be very, very motivated to win the gold medal count this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/sports/olympics/21athlete.html?ref=todayspaper It's pretty sickening what the Chinese government is doing to its Olympians. I understand college coaches scouting middle schoolers is low but this takes the cake.

who are you talking about? Harang has only had 3 years with 200 ip and 2 years with an ERA+ 120 or above. Is it really unclear as to who I'm talking about or are you just nitpicking for the hell of it? I'm assuming he's going to get over 200 IP this year. He'll probably fall short of the 120 ERA+ but if he improves from his mediocre-ish numbers he'll be close to it if you aggregate the 4 years.

So what do you think the potential price tag on a Harang trade is vs. say Rich Harden? I'd prefer Harang...he's a horse and I couldn't stand another Prior-type situation. I remember back in 03 and all anyone could talk about was how Prior, Harden, and Beckett were going to rack up every Cy Young for the rest of the decade--only Beckett's lived up to his potential. 4 years of 200+ innings and ~120 ERA+ is rare and he's still only 30 with a reasonable contract going forward.

So how many poor offensive outings in a row do we need before we reach a tipping point and a good number of people want to sign Bonds?

I'm only interested in seeing if Eyre can give up a cycle in reverse order at this point.

How do you guys see the WR position shaking out? I've been flipping through some of the preview mags and they seem to put Booker and Lloyd at the top for flanker and split end. I'm sure the reasoning there is because they're veterans and it's probably a stab in the dark anyway. Booker probably has the inside track on a starting job but I can't imagine Lloyd is ahead of anyone. Personally, I'm fine with Booker but I'd like to see the young guys get lots of snaps. Physically I think we have a talented group and I'm hoping Monk can step up because we'd have a good mixture of speed/possession/size if he did. Also Mark Bradley not shattering like a piece of glass would be nice.

Oh poor Kerry he has to save a one run lead. I'm sure he's fine with it.

Hopefully we won't be baffled by Hoffman's 82 MPH heater.

We're going to put a man on Mars before we get decent GameCast software. Is there any area of technology that has improved less than gametrackers in the last 10 years or so?

Maybe Pax just wants someone who will go quietly when the time comes so he can take over as coach. We all know Collins will be out of work for about 2 seconds until he's back in the booth.

It's effeminate for Martin to be a such a singles hitter. He's a catcher for god's sake. Yeah, I'm reaching. I'm frustrated.

DeRosa has the most nondescript .857 OPS in major league history.

Not that he's had a bad one, but Lowe has always struck me as the kind of pitcher who should've had a better career than he's had. I've watched a lot of Dodgers games the last few seasons and the guy can look like one of the best pitchers in baseball, stuff/location wise, on any given start.

Marmol just wanted to get some runners on so our sham closer wouldn't have to face the heart of their order.

Edmonds is the Holocaust of ballplayers.

Edmonds is a horror.

If they can drive those early count pitches then they should swing. Kuroda doesn't walk many and we're not going to feast on their bullpen anyway. This doesn't bother me other then the fact that they aren't getting good wood.