Exile on Waveland

That's hilarious. The bolded is the most ridiculous, however. The way the guy rolled it into the Coach K being the best ever is awesome though. It needed to be done to get that authentic Dickie V feel to it. Except Vitale is also obsessed with Knight. It would have been authentic Vitale if it had said that IU could never live up to Knight's legacy, ramble for a couple sentences about how IU should re-name their court after Knight (using all 3 names in every sentence) and then transition it back to Duke again. Exactly. All while never mentioning the fact IU's court is already named Branch McCracken Court. Vitale loves Coach Knight, though Duke uber alles.

That's hilarious. The bolded is the most ridiculous, however.

\:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/

As far as I know, none of the SEC football fans on this board have stated the SEC is perennially superior. Personally, I've stated that I believe the SEC has been the strongest conference for the past two years. Should one be characterized as being maniacal for saying this? I deem it to be a fair evaluation. Derwood, I'm not confident that your theory holds water. There are a tremendous amount of Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and LSU fans that are crazy about college football...yet they still are fans of their state's respective NFL teams. Your first paragraph is correct, I believe. The SEC is generally the strongest football conference. That's a fair evaluation. I doubt most Big Ten fans would debate that point. We simply have a problem with acting like there's no way we can complete -- that's been proven untrue year after year. Your second paragraph is incorrect, I believe. Fans care most deeply when they have but a singular rooting interest. Derwood's theory is cogent and, honestly, not an epiphany (not saying that Derwood thought it was). Having one team magnifies everything. In fact, the Big Ten against the SEC is a great case study for this very point.

In which of these games do you believe the Big Ten is going to pull off the upset? I have wisconsin beating tennessee. in other games, i have penn state beating aTm and indiana beating okie state (both those teams kinda suck) Hey! How can you say Indiana sucks!?!?! Actually, I think OSU is better, but am hoping emotion carries the Hoosiers to a victory.

In which of these games do you believe the Big Ten is going to pull off the upset? Every year the Big Ten has no chance against the mighty SEC. And, every year, they win one or two of the matchups. I don't know specifically which game the Big Ten will win, but I feel comfortable that they will win one.

lol Purdue won lol I sure hope Purdue can beat the same Central Michigan team that lost 44-14 to 1-AA North Dakota State. And 70-14 to Clemson. And 52-7 to Kansas. They also lost to Purdue 45-22 (31-0 at halftime). It was next to impossible for Purdue to take this game seriously.

If Gerrard can pull out another miracle he will be close to Sainthood.[/quote You're implying he isn't already?

Your basketball team isn't very good. You're right. We suck. Beaten more ranked teams than you have. wow 1-0... we'll see how good ole miss is once conference play begins. i'm guessing "not very" They did win the SEC West last year. It was at 8-8, but still. I would imagine they'll do just as well this year, as the SEC isn't good at all. However, I don't think Ole Miss is very good. Their only decent win was Clemson. Yes, Clemson is ranked, but their best wins came against Mississippi State (7-5, lost to South Alabama) and Purdue (7-4, lost to Wofford). Clemson wasn't deserving of its ranking, nor of being a marquee win.

Same here. I'm not expecting to be in the running to win overall at all. I started but decided I didn't care enough to rank 32 games, so I'm sure I'll get burned in points. I am, however, hoping to finish near the top in games picked correctly. That's my goal.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071222/SPORTS0601/712220433 That's not exactly a contradiction. Sampson admitted to participating in impermissible calls, including, I believe, one that he was aware of. This report simply reveals who the contacted players were (it had been redacted in the Ice Miller report). Of course, I still think Sampson probably is lying. But this report is by no means a damning revelation.

Good trade for the Rangers? They just traded pitching for hitting. OK, how about a Dempster for Dunn trade then?

Ugh, Liverpool matches up with Inter? Doubt that turns out well.

Miami's good. not miami, miami...miami of ohio. i just hope the illini can win @ purdue on jan. 19th....my girlfriend and i are making the trip up to w. lafeyette and she is a big purdue fan...i don't want to imagine how much bull i'll have to take on the car ride home if the illini lose. I realize which Miami it was. It was the superior one.

Miami's good.

What the heck? He's determined to waste his senior year away. Can't wait to get him back. He averaged 10 ppg last year. Any word if Bassett will play? Yeah, it's unfortunate. A.J. clearly worked very hard to improve his grades, did so, but is rewarded with an injury. He's missed -- a good defender, shooter and athlete. Plus, an experienced senior on a young team. Hopefully the ankle heals soon -- the scuttlebutt implies it's not terribly serious. Not totally sure on Bassett, but indications are he'll miss another game, to match Crawford's three-game suspension. Sure will be nice to see the whole team on the floor for once. Perhaps Dec. 29 against Chicago State?

A.J. Ratliff got over a 3.0 and is eligible again. . . but rolled an ankle in practice and is out for Saturday's game against the next nobody on IU's schedule (Coppin State).

I think the stigma is explicable. It's the dogmatic obsession with the strikeout once logic has been entered into the discussion that is inexplicable to me. I'm a firm believer in the "an out is an out" theory, but my initial reaction to almost all strikeouts from Cubs players is still a little more vitriolic than most any other outs. I'm glad you admit the later. I know "an out is an out," and I don't put much stock into strikeouts when evaluating a player. What matters is how much a player produces, not what happens when he fails. However, I still can't help but be more upset at a strikeout than a flyout. Irrational it may be, but I think it's also a natural reaction.

Sarcasm? Lefty/righty splits at least have some level of legitimacy. Granted, not a great sample size... It may not be a great sample size, but at least there exists some tangible, empirical reason why one might produce differently against a righty or lefty. Hitting leadoff perhaps affects the psyche of some feeble-minded player -- even that's tenuous -- but it shouldn't matter. I am, however, reluctant to believe one wouldn't/couldn't hit differently against different handed pitchers. (Not that you were asserting such.)

I'd say it's clear that, barring injury, it will be Man U and Arsenal battling for the title with Chelsea challenging. Man U beat Chelsea 2-0 at home, tied Arsenal 2-2 on the road, and beat Liverpool 1-0 on the road. Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 at home, tied Man U 2-2 at home, and tied Liverpool 1-1 on the road. Liverpool tied Chelsea 1-1 at home. So Liverpool has played each of the top three, all at home, and only took 2 of 9 points. That doesn't bode well for when they go on the road against the three teams. Man U has taken 7 points with one home and two road matches. Arsenal has taken 5 points with two home matches and one road match. Chelsea has only taken one point but they've played all three matches on the road. I just don't think Liverpool has what it takes to compete with the top-3. Chelsea will be making some moves in the transfer window and will undoubtedly improve their team. But I'd bet right now that Arsenal and Man U will occupy the top-2 spots at the end of the year. They really don't have enough. Maybe next year with another year of Ryan Babel they will be a little better or close the gap between them and Chelsea. Torres has made them better than last year though. Gerrard should just go to Arsenal so he can win the personal Trebel :-). Watch they will probably make another Champions League semi or even final. At this point that is what they are playing for this season. The Big 4 is a myth. Liverpool just aren't in the same class as the other 3, and haven't been for a while. IMO they're at the top of the Next 3 - Liverpool, Everton, Portsmouth. And this year Aston Villa, Man City, and Tottenham are the next tier. Liverpool can concentrate on the Champions League (and FA Cup), which Rafa started doing with 20 minutes left against Reading anyway. The last six years Liverpool has finished 2nd-5th-4th-5th-3rd-3rd, plus have won a Champions League and were runners-up last year. They haven't been as good as the other three, but are closer to that group than the second set. And the FA Cup. They are probably one player away. Ah, true, forgot. I'd optimistically agree, though I hope it's only one player. I'd be satisfied with fourth this season. They've only lost twice, so it's not like they've been poor.

The Giants are going to hurt the Giants in the playoffs.

I'd say it's clear that, barring injury, it will be Man U and Arsenal battling for the title with Chelsea challenging. Man U beat Chelsea 2-0 at home, tied Arsenal 2-2 on the road, and beat Liverpool 1-0 on the road. Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 at home, tied Man U 2-2 at home, and tied Liverpool 1-1 on the road. Liverpool tied Chelsea 1-1 at home. So Liverpool has played each of the top three, all at home, and only took 2 of 9 points. That doesn't bode well for when they go on the road against the three teams. Man U has taken 7 points with one home and two road matches. Arsenal has taken 5 points with two home matches and one road match. Chelsea has only taken one point but they've played all three matches on the road. I just don't think Liverpool has what it takes to compete with the top-3. Chelsea will be making some moves in the transfer window and will undoubtedly improve their team. But I'd bet right now that Arsenal and Man U will occupy the top-2 spots at the end of the year. They really don't have enough. Maybe next year with another year of Ryan Babel they will be a little better or close the gap between them and Chelsea. Torres has made them better than last year though. Gerrard should just go to Arsenal so he can win the personal Trebel :-). Watch they will probably make another Champions League semi or even final. At this point that is what they are playing for this season. The Big 4 is a myth. Liverpool just aren't in the same class as the other 3, and haven't been for a while. IMO they're at the top of the Next 3 - Liverpool, Everton, Portsmouth. And this year Aston Villa, Man City, and Tottenham are the next tier. Liverpool can concentrate on the Champions League (and FA Cup), which Rafa started doing with 20 minutes left against Reading anyway. The last six years Liverpool has finished 2nd-5th-4th-5th-3rd-3rd, plus have won a Champions League and were runners-up last year. They haven't been as good as the other three, but are closer to that group than the second set.

Prime time football, where the NFC East plays!

i forgot about the linebacker thing. losing freeney is a huge loss, because as the eagles showed, the only way you have a shot against the pats is if you pressure brady. their offensive line is amazing. the officiating in that game was (a)awful and (b)extremely one-sided. any neutral observer could see that. chances are the colts won't be so lucky if the teams meet again. Freeney is a huge blow, specifically against a team like the Pats. Luckily, they still have Mathis, hopefully (he's hurt and didn't play today, but should be fine especially since a potential game against the Pats is five weeks away). Well, the NFL said the pass interference on Wayne was the correct call. The offensive interference against Moss was crap, but the Pats scored a TD that drive anyway. Those were the two calls everyone complained about and the later was irrelevant. There were a couple of iffy calls. If you want to see extremely one-sided, I can show you a tape of the 2003 AFCCG.* *And I just commented on the officials garbage.

Great play by Westbrook.