Exile on Waveland

Holy wow.

no it wasnt...pretty classless actually It was definitely classless. But I'm drunk so I don't really care.

His celebration was awesome.

If the Big Ten expands, setting off a chain reaction that lands Texas in the Pac 10, then the Big Ten will have blundered immensely.

I really don't want a 16-team Big 10. I'd prefer 12, but 14 would be fine. And I would GLADLY accept Texas A&M (even notwithstanding the obvious coupling with Texas).

dew, help a divisional rival fan out: Jacques McClendon?

As a Titan fan, I don't like that. That'll be a really hard defensive line to block. It makes me glad we have Fisher, Munchak and a terrific offensive line. That's the plan: hard to (pass) block. The Colts defense is pretty much predicated on just that. Hopefully it'll work out like I/they suspect/hope.

Yeah, I definitely think they wanted JPP, but when the Giants took him the easy pick was Derrick Morgan. I'm thrilled with the pick and very intrigued to see what we do with our pair of third round picks. I still have no clue what they were thinking with that pick. They easily could have traded down and gotten Alualu easily, I think. 1. I think the Titans will be happier with Morgan and they lucked out by not taking JPP. He just seems like a high risk/high reward guy that could very easily bust. Morgan will be good, I'm sure. 2. Alualu was a guy I thought could potentially be there for the Colts in the second round. And he went No. 10. To the Jags, haha. (No one in the AFC South likes them, right?)

Hey dew: great pick for you guys, and outstanding value at No. 16. Also, let's all, in unison, point and laugh at the Jags.

I almost picked him in the first mock draft that NSBB did. Like Mathis, he's too small to be a 3 down DE consistently. But he'll be a fantastic 3rd pass rusher for their scheme and that really hurt them in the SB. I definitely think it's a good pick. I'm thrilled. I feel like we perhaps missed the boat in our mock draft -- I initially figured DE but with Polian's talk about the offensive line I leaned that way. I'm really glad Polian didn't take Saffold or Brown (like we did), neither who I think are great value at the end of the first. The Colts really needed a third pass-rushing defensive end. In my opinion, two of their last three playoff losses are directly related to Freeney's injuries and lack of depth at DE (2008 Chargers, 2010 Saints). You can't have a defense so reliant on rushing the passer -- especially from the ends -- and only have two competent ends. I really want overall improvement on the offensive line so they can run the ball better, but another defensive end was the biggest single-position need in my opinion. A great pass rush covers a lot of flaws in a defense. As to Hughes, evidently they are going to use him in the "Joker" role a la Raheem Brock (outside on rushing downs, inside on passing downs). That means they expect to play Freeney, Mathis, and Hughes together on certain downs. Hughes is undersized, but has a great motor and is explosive getting to the quarterback. Sounds like a prototypical Colt. I was surprised end depth wasn't addressed two years ago -- perhaps they expected it to be with fifth-rounder Marcus Howard, but that didn't work out -- and am ecstatic to get another end.

What, is he a ninny? He should just tough it out. /this is sarcasm, just in case it's not clear.

I hinted at this in the initial thread (without any analysis whatsoever, thanks TT). The brightside is that the move could possibly save some wear and tear on Zambrano's arm. In and of itself, that could be a blessing in disguise. I think this likely improves the bullpen, but it does so by weakening the rotation. I like Gorzelanny, but he and Silva are almost certain to be worse than Zambrano as starters. I think Silva, especially, is going to have a serious fall from grace. Moving a starter to the bullpen isn't per se stupid, but moving one of your best, if not your best, to the bullpen isn't smart. I think, more than anything, the management could be saved by the offense heating up. If the offense heats up the bullpen won't be as big of an issue, and will therefore blow fewer games. At that point, assuming Zambrano has pitched well, this move will likely take a lot of credit (not that it should, but people are myopic).

I initially read this as "I now know how insanity works." Also apt, I think.

My gawd. What a moronic, reactionary decision. Silva and Gorzelanny (who I actually quite like) in the rotation over Zambrano? Holy crap. Trying to find some bright side: any chance this could extend Z's shelf life . . . he does seem to have been overworked during his career? Then again, Lou will probably use him for multiple innings every day.

Maybe they should trade for Geovany Soto. Yes. Yes. Yes. Kid is off to a good start this year, hitting .286/.459/.429. That production would look real good behind the plate for the Cubs.

That's when all of Soriano's money is finally off the books and we're not tied down (theoretically, anyway) by any albatross contracts. If you subtract Soriano's contract, we still have the highest payroll in the division. The Cubs payroll is $145 million. The next highest payroll in the NL Central is the Cardinals at $94 million. Soriano makes $18 million annually. If the Cubs can't field a competitive team with the remaining $127 million -- and that figure will potentially increase -- something is seriously, seriously wrong. In sum, Soriano's contract may be an albatross but it's certainly not prohibitive.

Seems a pretty compelling reason.

A few things: 1. It's crazy to assert Rose isn't a top-5 point guard. 2. I'd definitely take Williams over him at this point; in fact, I'd take Williams over every point guard in the NBA (I believe illiniguy and I got killed a couple years ago for saying this, I doubt we do now with Paul's injury issues though). 3. I don't watch tons of NBA games -- especially Bulls games. So I'm at least partially ignorant. However, I know from watching him in college I never really considered Rose that great of a passer relative to other point guards. Perhaps this has changed. But it wouldn't stun me to see him have lower assist numbers than comparable point guards throughout his career, even when the offensive talent around him improves. He's a great player, but, from what I've seen, he's not a great passer/assist man. On that finite point, I'd have to agree with da bum.

He said the other. And I'm pretty sure that the majority of people who have started out their post with "not to be racist, but..." have ended up banned. Yowza. But, yeah, anytime you need to preface a statement with "not to be racist, but . . ." you should immediately stop because what you're about to say/write will indubitably be racist. I could see, however, why that preface would work better with the usage of "thug" than the other. I am shocked someone could think any preface would alleviate that level of epithet.

I just assumed he said "thug" -- which would have fit with the preface. If he said the other thing, well, sheesh. Not sure why he thought the preface would help at all (not that it really ever would/could).

I'll say no thanks to both. Hope its Ekpe Udoh, Eric Bledsoe, or Xavier Henry. So will I. I wanted to say no to Ty Hansbrough. Alas, neither of us has a say. I have no faith in Bird to do this right. Chad Ford said Hayward was a late lottery to mid 1st guy, and I don't think I agree. I think he's a mid-to late 1st type of pick. I also wanted nothing to do with Hansbrough, and the glaring need for PG is evident. That's why I'd take a chance on Bledsoe. There's always a chance someone falls to 10, so I feel better than if the Pacers were picking their usual 11-20. The Pacers needed a point guard and a power forward, and ended up drafting a power forward in a point guard draft last year and very well may draft a point guard in a power forward draft this year. Instead of an energy-off-the-bench player who shot 36% from the field this year, the Pacers could have had their pick of Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday, Rodrigue Beaubois, etc (though AJ Price was an excellent second-round pick). That said, I do think Bledsoe would likely be a very strong pick were the Pacers are likely to draft. I'd prefer him over Patterson (if he does enter/stay in the draft). My hopes -- outside of the Pacers having their lottery ball pulled -- are Greg Monroe or Ekpe Udoh. I love Monroe's size and skill level, though he too often plays passive. I love his game though. Udoh would be good value at No. 10, though I don't believe he is a lock to perform as some seem to think. I've just been expecting the Pacers to draft the most lily white player available (within reason). Hayward being in the draft, if he stays, makes that easier with the built-in hometown excuse. I think he's got great potential as his talent level is exceedingly high for his size. However, he is still developing. He does not control the game/impose his will as much as he should; this is something that I think would naturally come as he progresses in college. He's not assertive enough. I really hope he goes back to Butler for a multitude of reasons.

I'll say no thanks to both. Hope its Ekpe Udoh, Eric Bledsoe, or Xavier Henry. So will I. I wanted to say no to Ty Hansbrough. Alas, neither of us has a say.

The Pacers may actually have to decide between Cole Aldrich and Gordon Hayward. I always figured their choice would be obvious, maybe not . . .

How is it possible for every team in the league to play a majority of their games against the other conference against playoff teams? Maybe it is possible but I can't think of how, especially when schedules are made before the season starts and thus you don't know who will make playoffs and who won't. Because the schedules are uniform as to inter-conference games. Each team in the Western Conference plays two games (one home, one away) against each team in the Eastern Conference, and vice versa.

Weber was at this year's State Finals in Indiana, so he's definitely looking at some Indiana kids for 2011/12. (Crean, Painter, and Roy Williams were there too -- I walked literally two feet by Williams.)